Please excuse grammar, spelling, etc.
Day 1: Nerves. They get the best of me. After little sleep last night and some frustrations this morning, I am sitting in MPLS-ST PAUL waiting for my next flight. The first leg took me from Saskatoon to MPLS-ST PAUL. My next leg takes me to New York. There I will have to entertain myself for 7 hours. Who will be waiting for me on the other side? What can I expect? Well my dad will be at the airport. This gives me comfort. Going to an unknown land, albeit my homeland, is scary to say the least. Apparently people have been waiting for this my whole life. Each time my parents travel home, they receive inquires of when Mavis will be coming. I'm on my way. I don't speak the language or eat the food. I don't do well with large groups of people. I generally like to be left alone. I anticipate I lot of tears on my part. ... My flight to JFK was overbooked so I, along with one or two other people, gave up my seat. Since I had a 7 hour layover, it didn't matter where I was. Part of me wishes I hadn't, but it's too late now! I will fly into La Guardia and take a shuttle to JKF. My bags will meet me in Accra as per the original flight. ... In New York waiting to board my final flight. The next part of the journey will be the hardest. 10 hours on an airplane. No stops. Day 2: The flight from New York was pretty uneventful. We took off 45 min late, but made up time in the air. Total flying time 9ish hours. I fell asleep on the tarmac and woke up just in time for take off. I sat near the back of the plane with a gal from New York. We didn't talk much, which was fine with me. At one point in the night we opened the window. The sun was on the horizon. I just took it in. No pictures to show for it. After supper, which I didn't eat much of (b/c it reminds me of hospital food) I fell back asleep. I got up once during the whole trip. I thought we had much more time on the plane, but to my surprise we only had an hour left of flying time. Breakfast was served and we landed shortly after. ... My dad called out my name, just as an airport worker was trying to get money from me. My bag was open and I was trying to get out of the situation. I got out of there in a hurry. I met my cousin Moris, our driver. We stopped at a house in East Legon to drop off my luggage. We are headed now to a shopping centre for food. ... A few things I have noted while being in Accra for an hour: my Canadian accent gets stronger the further away I travel, the driving here is similar Europe. No rules. .... Rather than eating at the mall we went to the Golden Tulip Hotel. My first meal in Africa was spring rolls and samosa. I wasn't feeling very well so I only ate half. We sat outside by the pool. There were a lot of Europeans (I assume they are from Europe) swimming, smoking, and having a good time. En route to the mall (or anywhere) you are treated with street vendors. Trying to sell anything from water to belts. Woman have bowls full of water bottles on their heads, while infants play at their feet in the dirt. We did a quick walk around the mall. I saw many familiar stores: bata, puma, and an apple store named iShop. ... We returned to the house to wait for a visitor. I had an unintentional nap outside. The man never showed. We are now headed to the house my dad built in Afieyna. It is 6:30 and dark. The breeze is cool and I have put my sweeter back on. ... I fell asleep on the way to the house. Woke up just as we entered the 'block'. Someone opened the gate for us and we drove up the driveway. The house is more modern than I thought it would be. There is a family living on the property. As I came around back, to the door I was greated by a hug from the youngest child. The mom and other children took my bags and said 'you are welcome'. This isn't the first time I have heard this and I'm sure it will not be the last.
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AuthorI am a daughter, sister, auntie, wife and friend. Categories
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