Coming and going

So, I went to the US in July for two weeks. What a trip it was.

Generally, it was great to come back to good old New England, walk in my favorite Boston  neighborhoods, see friends, eat cheese (aaah, cheese!), and feel generally ignored (as in not being stared at and being called “Obroni!”everywhere I went ). However, I didn’t feel like I missed America all that much. It was just….there. And I was just…..a visitor who politely dropped by on her neighbor to check on things. As my plane was descending at Logan I did not feel any butterflies or urges to cry as I saw familiar buildings of the downtontown. I felt like I was cryogenically frozen for nine months and then woke up one fine day and started walking around Boston. In short, not too much changed in the Beantown while I was in Africa. And yet something was different. It was my perception of Boston and the US in general. For one thing, I was overwhelmed by choices in my life. If in my market town there were only a couple of types of canned sardines, several brands of crackers, and only one type of margarine (Blue Band, baby), Harvard Square was this overwhelming jumble of shops, eateries, brands, sales, coffee houses and ice-cream shops that all screamed: “Buy, buy! Spend, spend! Eat me! We know you want it!”

Many volunteers go back to the States to visit families, attend weddings, eat their favorite food, drink their favorite beer and shop till they drop. I heard some volunteers had hard time coming back to Africa. Some had trouble while they were already in America – there were too many meetings, too many events, too much time driving around and seeing too many people. Many wanted to simply sit and people-watch for hours like they did back in the African bush. I even heard how one volunteer stayed in London on the way back to Ghana – she simply decided not finishing her Peace Corps service.

As for me, I did not have trouble adjusting and re-adjusting myself between my lives in America and Africa. True, there were some comical moments during my visit: at one party, while sitting in the kitchen, I picked all plates clean because  - come on! – it was a crime to leave all this salsa and hummus uneaten. I also put cream cheese on almost everything – cookies, bread, fruit, pasta (how can you NOT put cream cheese on everything? It’s so good!). Ok, so most comical things involved food. I admit, I did miss American food in the bush, and I was happy to be reunited with as many dairy products as I could lay my eyes on. I was also glad to spend my first week in rural New Hampshire – that made my transition from African laid-back way of life to American hustle and bustle easier. I swam in the lake, hiked in the woods and enjoyed a simple camp food (pizza! Mac and cheese! Salad bar! Ok, I’m stopping now….).

When it was time to go back, I did not go to the airport kicking and screaming – I was simply excited to return to Ghana. With two suitcases stuffed with snacks from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, that is. They will keep me sustained until my next visit. Cheer up, America – I’m still your #1 fan. But I still want to roam around in the African bush and learn a thing or two about its people and myself.