Well hello there! So a lot has happened since I last wrote.
I’ll save you the empty promises of committing to write more, and just give you
an update.
At the end of March, the Mister’s grandfather passed away.
We returned to the States for his funeral. We figured we’d visit both of our
families while we there. Needless to say, we spent a very busy three weeks
hopping from state to state. From Ghana flew to New York bus to Baltimore road trip
to New Orleans road trip back to Baltimore flew to Milwaukee flew to Baltimore
again bus to New York train to New Jersey train back to New York, and finally flew
back to Ghana by way of London! Whew,
if you’re tired just reading that, imagine living it! It was exhausting, but well worth the hassle.
Before leaving for the States we debated whether we’d be
coming back, being that we weren’t really having the experience we’d imagined
it’d be. Blah blah blah and $$$$
later, we decided to return, at least for another school term. When I got back,
I had this nagging feeling that we’d made a mistake. The renewed energy and
attitude that I’d promised to bring didn’t make it through Customs. I found
myself at a loss for motivation and interest. Even though I love the students, it was taking so much
for me to psych myself up for dealing with the day. Day in and day out I’d
promise myself, “Tomorrow I’ll do better.” But very quickly I was being
convinced that returning was indeed a mistake. The trip back home was partly to
blame. Friends and family, high speed internet, running (and temperatured)
water, lights at my fingertips, food galore (which funny enough, I had NO
appetite when I was home. I ate tomatoes, apples, cucumbers and bananas with
peanut butter for most of the time.), and just the familiarity of knowing what
to expect or what to ask for, or where to go for… the list goes on. Once back
in Ghana, I was totally in the dumps ready to throw in the towel at the
slightest provocation. I needed some serious reminding of the power of positive
thinking. So I turned to Deepak Chopra’s Seven
Spiritual Laws of Success. It’s one of my favorite books; it always has an
uplifting effect on me.
One of the applications of The Law of Intention and Desire, Chopra’s fifth spiritual law, is
to make a list of your desires. I’m not really one for lists or vision boards
and whatnot, but for some reason this time around, I did it. I made an honest
assessment of my present desires and I put them down on a list. After I
finished my list, I read and reread it a few times really wanting to commit my
energy towards my desires. Well one of the things I put down on the list was a
change of pace. I desired for something
to happen to change my feelings or allow me to have a more enjoyable experience
in the time that I have left in Ghana.
That weekend we were transferred from our positions with the
Primary school in Agogo to the Secondary school in Abenase. When I heard the
news I was relieved, excited and hopeful. Relieved that the dreary monotony of
Agogo had been broken. Excited at the prospect of something new. Hopeful that the relief and excitement wouldn’t be short-lived…
That was two weeks ago, and I still remain relieved, my
excitement has turned into curiosity as to what this town has to offer, and
hope is alive. We are still with the same organization, but just at a different
school in a different town. This town, Abenase, is much smaller than Agogo,
however it is closer to Kumasi, one of Ghana’s major cities. It also lies just
outside of Ejisu, a smaller city (? not sure if it’s a town or city) offering
more than Abnase, but less than Kumasi. Abenase has its water and power issues
like anywhere else in Ghana, but with it being rain season, so far so good.
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