I left Atlanta with a huge pain in my chest Wednesday night. I sat curled up on my couch watching an episode of 'Girls' on HBO with Asher and Ashley. If you haven't seen or heard much about the show it's a fabulously crude and hilariously relatable comedy/drama on HBO about a group of 23-24 year old girls who are best friends in NYC. Far from the ladies of Sex in the City, it gives me a sense of comfort in knowing that my angst-y quarter-life "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?" crisis is pretty typical of my generation. The end of the episode we watched Wednesday night had two of the main characters dancing around their bedroom to a song called"Dancing On My Own". It's hard to describe the ending in a way that conjures the same emotions we were feeling that night sitting on the couch about to say goodbye. But after the credits rolled we hugged and cried, and I had to leave my two 'limbs' to head to the airport.
I didn't allow my mom to come to the airport. I knew how proud she was but I also knew that she was going to be an emotional wreck and I didn't want to get on the plane with that last sight of her. My dad and I drove alone to the airport, listening to the sweet mix-cd 'my limbs' made for me. I said goodbye to my dad which was terrifying. I was walking through security and immediately I started to wonder why I was doing this alone. Was this a good idea? Could I really take 5 weeks without my best friends and family? But oh well, it was too late!
The flights were painful. I can never really sleep sitting up with a total stranger's elbow so close to mine. However, I sat by a wonderful Saudi Arabian macro-biologist on the way to Amsterdam. He was in the US at a conference for antibiotic resistance. On the flight from Amsterdam to Accra I sat by an older gentleman, a native Ghanian, who was working in Amsterdam but coming home to visit his two daughters in Kumasi. Both of his daughters are nurses, and we exchanged contact information so that we may all have lunch or dinner once I get settled. There were about twenty 13-15 year old's on the flight to Accra from Great Britain. They were coming to Ghana for some type of service project on their holiday. There was also very beautiful Ghanian woman about my age who sat to the left of me on another row. She spent the ENTIRE 6 1/2 hour plane ride doing her hair and makeup. Seriously.The only break she took was about 45 minutes where she read a few chapters from '50 Shades of Gray'. It's nice to know that some things will be exactly the same as back home! hah!
When I arrived in Accra I started to unravel a bit. I dressed appropriately for the arctic temperatures of the airplane, but as soon as I walked off the plane, the 90-something degree heat had me baking in my clothes. The airport was chaotic, and I quickly realized that yes, I am a 24 year old female alone in another country, on another continent, at night. Too many people were trying to have me let them carry my bag, or pay them an exorbitant amount of money to 'help' me get through customs. Sweaty, exhausted, and frustrated I finally got a cab to my hotel.I know that I my yoga pants, nikes and old sorority t-shirt don't exactly scream worldly. And my small stature and blonde hair don't help my cause. But part of this trip for me is about independence, and that quick moment of feeling defeated put me in 'defense mode'. But I left the cab driver in good spirits again and stepped into my beautiful hotel to get some much needed sleep.
This morning I woke up with determination. I CAN and WILL maneuver this airport! I took the hotel shuttle back across the street to the hotel and found my way to the check-in line. Thankfully, the staff for 540 Airlines were nothing but helpful. An absolutely beautiful woman helped me figure out my flight, and made sure that I understood where to go and when to board. When you first check-in there is an air conditioned tent where you sit and wait before you can go through security. I suppose the area to wait for the domestic planes is very small, so they have people wait in this area.
Once I went through security I waited in another holding place before the lovely woman from earlier came out with a megaphone and called us all to board a shuttle which took us to the plane. It was a small plane, but the ride was short (45 minutes). They gave us some very strange ginger cookies and orange Fanta as a snack! Ghana was turning out to be pretty great! The airplane literally lands right in front of the sliding glass doors of the Kumasi airport. I grabbed my extremely heavy 3 bags smashed into 1 and found my ride.
And now I'm in Kumasi! The city is incredible. The streets are packed with cars. It appears as if there are no real traffic lanes. Cars are just packed into the street every which way trying to move forward. There are lots of pedestrians, and a constant honking sound coming from irritated drivers having to slow down. I can't tell if half of the buildings are falling down or in the process of being built. It's hot, and the streets are covered in a dust/dirt mixture. But oh my god- the vegetation is beautiful. Everything is so green and lush. The city seems more laid back than my very brief experience with Accra. So far, I think I'm really going to enjoy this place. My hotel is very nice. There are lots of trees and grass, and I can hear birds instead of cars which is a plus. The view from my back window is of a nice grassy area where a clothesline sits with white linen sheets stretched out. There are also lizards everywhere. I'm pretty sure that one crawled across my foot earlier, but I was much too tired to address that possibility. Overall I'm very happy. It was a struggle getting here, but I feel safe and very comfortable now. All anyone said of Ghanians before my trip was how kind and helpful they are. NOW I see what everyone is talking about. What a lovely country that I will be spending the next month getting to know!
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