Saturday, December 5, 2009

Count these numbered days.

Jubilant greetings one and all!

I'm done with my ISP. I have handed it in for binding. Life is exciting, because I'm not rushing at the last minute to finish up my work. My weaving is done (and awesome), my presentation has at least a vague outline, and life is good.
Aaaaand now I have to somehow fill eight days with activity before I fly home. Granted, three of these days are for presentations, but that only fills the morning and part of the afternoon. My wonderful roommates and I are going to go to the pool for two of them, and pool days are the best days on earth, but... I'm a bit at a loss for what to do with the rest of my time.
Because I stayed in Accra for the bulk of my ISP period, I have already seen the sights, both major and obscure. I've visited libraries around the city, seen the graveyards and mausoleums, the historical and cultural landmarks. And (though it may be a little mean to say this), there aren't that many.
Ghana, despite its prominence (at least on this continent) as a stable and developing, working, democracy, is still that. Developing. And as a result, I have already completed the complete "What to see in Ghana" checklist. So I'm sitting in Accra, counting down the hours until my presentation.
On another note, although I'm quite happy with my roommates, our room has deteriorated into something only we can ever appreciate. Our shower, once a soft spray of water, has devolved into a drip we catch with a bucket in order to bucket shower. Our floor is caked in a layer of dust, our bathroom an inch of mud. The balcony, once boasting a view of the courtyard, is now a wasteland from drying laundry and collecting a slow and grotesque collection of stray hairs from the four female occupants. The kitchen area, once so exciting and novel, is now a wet mess of squishy things we try to ignore as we prepare food and try to touch the counter as little as possible.
Oh, life, you are so glamorous.
My wardrobe and physical appearance have also taken a turn for the worse. I wear the same thing every day, not only because I only brought two pairs of pants (and one had to be thrown out after Mole) and I have to wear pants to weave, but also because I am so close to the end of the program I just can't bring myself to do laundry again. I suck at laundry, done by hand here. I put the clothes in the water, and no matter how hard I scrub they always come out dirtier. Or smelling of mildew.
I bet you can't wait to give me a big hug when I get home now, can you family?
I would feel guilty about being such a slob (my damaged hair is an abandoned project completely, I just secure it back as much as I can every day and remember it is all getting chopped off when I go home) except for the fact that everyone on the program is going through the same process. We can easily spot the new international students on campus now, their faces full of hope, their eyes shining bright, their clothes white and not some off-brown color. Oh, what I could tell them if we stopped to chat. But some things you can only discover for yourself.
Melodramatics aside, I am very excited to go home. I miss you all and I can't wait to be asked five billion times about Ghana! No, really, you can ask, it's okay. But keep in mind I'll want to hear about everything I've missed in your lives too.
I'll try to update once more before I head back. Until then, my friends, I bid you adieu.
Love,
Lo

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