We awoke at 4am to finish packing up and loading the bus. I had gone through my belongings yesterday while packing and had left almost an entire trashbag of clothes, medicines, bug sprays, shoes, etc. Most of the team left bags of things as well. These items will be distributed amongst the village and other Habitat affiliates in Ghana. When I was packing, I just couldn't bring myself to throw my stuff back into my suitcase after seeing what little the villagers had. My favorite shirt seemed like it would have a better home with one of the children we see who only own one pair of underwear and a t-shirt. There are going to be a lot of stylish KTK villagers! :)
We had breakfast and NaNa stopped by @ about 5:00am to say good-bye to us. He is such an amazing man! We were in the bus by 6am...I was feeling a bit nervous because my stomach had been upset since waking up and I had run to the outhouse 5 or 6 times... nothing like getting on a 10 hour busride with an upset tummy... lucky for me, it calmed down pretty quickly! Most of us were exhausted and tried to sleep on the way to Kumasi... there were so many things to look at though!!!It tooks us about 3 hours to get to Kumasi and we stopped at a market there. It was bustling and Jennifer and I stuck with the cooks Regina and Jacqueline to help show us around. At one point someone slapped me hard in the middle of my back... I though maybe it was Jennifer playing around but when I turned around, this African woman with a basket on her head was walking away chuckling... uh, ok? :) A bit random if I do say so! In the market I bought some bracelets and I got 2 CD's with Ghanaian music (it's called Hiplife or Highlife). After the market, we drove to the hotel that we stayed at the second night. We ate lunch there but it couldn't even compare to Regina and Jacqueline's cooking! Out in KTK, all the food was pure, nothing was processed...straight from the source... whereas here, it just wasn't the same :( But it was a good way to ease back into mass produced food :)
On the way back to Accra... I learned that the word for the day was romance... turns out that a few romances had developed during our time in KTK... some of the teammates were sitting next to their new "significant others."
We stopped again at the "rockin rest stop" that we had stopped at on the first day... how different everything felt in just 10 days! Jennifer, Karen and I went to the bar at the rest stop and got a shot of Almond bitters... I don't know what the alcohol proof is but holy crap! That stuff is strong!!
We stopped at a few other places on the way but the worst was this one gas station... it was a concrete wall on three sides and had an inside of about 6 by 6 feet. Along the outside wall there was a little ditch where people had gone to the restroom... I guess when it rains, it just clears out the ditch out a drain in the back... nice! Here is a picture of me pretending to us the restroom... yuck!
When we had originally left KTK at 6am this morning, we had all taken bets at what time we would get to the hotel in Accra... I had guessed 6:20pm, Angela guessed closer to 7pm, Jennifer guessed 6:39pm. Wouldn't you know it... we pulled into our hotel at exactly 6:39pm!!!! We are staying at a different hotel tonight... it's called the Miklin and is MUCH nicer than the first hotel. They have free internet and there are no trees poking through the ceiling of the shower! I must say though...I was REALLY looking forward to the shower here.... what a letdown! the water would come on with a good pressure and about 10 seconds later would decrease to about a drizzle, then it would surge back on. Sometimes it would surge on warm and sometimes it would surge on cool. I have to say though... it was the best worst shower of my life :)
After dinner, Crispin did his reflection. He had us all write down one thing were were grateful for during our time in KTK and then one thing we were grateful for overall. Here are the lists:
1. While in KTK: The ability to stay in the village and connect on a very personal level with the villagers-Quiet moments- Dancing!!!- KTK friendly villagers that treated us with so much respect and appreciation- One lovely people- Helped define my future life goals- Nana- The children- Overcoming or conquering the intense situations along the way- NANA!- Salamin (Smiley's) smile- Adassa (cooks daughter)- unbelievable gifts from the village
2. Overall:- Family- Freedom- Supportive friends and family- The freedom to be who I am,authentically : )- My parents- Supportive/amazing friends- Education- Tickets
- Still happy- Education / Life opportunities- Freedom to travel
You'll notice that nowhere on there does it mention a Gucci purse or the brand new bigscreen T.V.. That was really poignant to see... the things we are most grateful for are the things that we, as an American culture, take for granted. The moments that we appreciated the most were the times when we were interacting with the villagers... free from our blackberry or IPOD... it was the moments when we were free from the confinement of technology and were simply present and enjoying people and places around us. And those experiences reminded us of what is truly important back home. For the last part of Crispin's relfection, he had us each pick out a small stone that he had chosen on the jobsite. He had NaNa bless them all and he wanted us to have them as a reminder to be grateful for the things we have and the experiences of this trip... I love my stone and have already made it into a necklace that I can wear to remind me to be more grateful for all I have! Here is NaNa's blessing:
"MAY THE GOOD BLESSINGS OF OUR SPIRITUAL ANCESTORS, THE ALMIGHTY GOD, THE GOD OF OUR SEVEN RIVERS, MOTHER EARTH AND THE ENTIRE SPIRITUAL WORLD OF KATAKYIEKROM COME UPON THE LITTLE STONES PICKED FROM OUR MOTHER LAND. AND MAY THE SOULS OF OUR GREAT GRANDFATHERS RICHLY BLESS YOU IN ALL YOUR ENDEAVOURS. AND MAY THE BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP, LOVE AND FRATERNITY GROW NOW AND FOREVER. AMEN."
I love it!!! Soon after the reflection, we went outside because it was time for the first round of people to leave for the airport. Tim, Beatrice and Angela were on a 1am flight so they left the hotel at 9:30pm. It was sad to see them leave but I didn't feel NEARLY as overcome with emotion as I did in Thailand when we had to say good-bye. I was exhausted and I think I went to bed at 10pm. One more day left... I will try to write tomorrow and then that will be the end of this blog :(
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