The flight from Accra to JFK was about 10.5 hours and seemed much longer than that. I wasn't in the best frame of mind, I had a headache and there were unsupervised children roaming the plane and trying to destroy the bathroom doors that were very close to my seat. Wow. I was not doing well. I couldn't sleep and they didn't have any movies for us b/c the machine was broken. This is not the best to start my return back home. While I wouldn't have minded a traveling companion for most of the trip, I realized upon arriving at JFK that I was very cranky and so it was probably best that I was alone:) Actually it was kind of nice to be in that busy airport with everyone absorbed in their own lives and flights so that I could just sit and recover and people watch in peace. It was a bit odd to not have my white skin stand out like a neon light and not be called "obroni". Sweet anonymity - at least for that time it was sweet. Even though I was on American soil, I didn't feel at home at all. But the desire to spend money sure rushed back with familiarity. That was a surprise. There is so much at my fingertips - almost anything and everything you could want. Fortunately I escaped with only buying a piece of not great NY style pizza. Can't wait for Chicago pizza!
A few things in the airport that surprised me - the availability of as many napkins as you want, getting change for a $20 without any hassles or someone having to hunt down the change, an ipod/phone charging station that was free and the abundance of clean bathrooms. My eyes were immediately drawn to Burger King and Starbucks. I noticed that there was no humidity at all and my hair had a bit of static in it. I was of course freezing as the central air was blasting away. And the JFK security and airport people were amazingly efficient and organized. They make things as streamlined and smooth as possible for people- and they were really nice and helpful. As I was sitting at my gate, I suddenly remembered that it was the fourth of July. No one in the airport seemed to notice or care.
The plane from Accra left on time and got me to JFK in plenty of time to catch my connector to Chicago. The plane to Chicago happened to be delayed for 2 hours so I had more than enough time. Generally speaking I don't mind sitting in airports unless I am completely exhausted. This time it was good. A chai tea latte from Starbucks was a good "pick me up" and so I could people watch to my heart's content. We finally leave for Chicago and I am able to sleep on this flight. PTL. Once we start our decent to O'Hare, my heart jumps and my adrenaline starts flowing. I am so excited I can hardly keep my seat. I actually am tearing up when I see the high rises and Navy Pier. Chicago is a great and beautiful city. Now I am feeling like I am home. We get to see lots of fireworks all over the city as we land. That was really neat. Somehow in the middle of all this wonderful stuff, I have a dull, vague feeling that part of me is missing and I left it in Ghana.
At O'Hare my fellow passengers and I find out that b/c the small plane we are on was overweight, a bunch of our bags were left behind in NY. I have 2 of my 3 and so must stand in line to fill out the forms to get the third one delivered to the house. By this time I have connected with my parents and that is really great. It is about 1am on Sat. when I finally get home. Basically a 24 hour travel period if you stick with one time zone. I am completely exhausted but somehow still wake up at 6:30am as I would have done in Ghana. Weird.
My first impressions at the house were that I could drink water out of the faucet. Two days later I still have to remind myself that that is ok. I don't have to wait for the hot water heater to run for a hot shower. I put real cow's milk in my morning hot tea - and it ruins the taste:) And it is cold! My mom and I sit on the back porch where I am wrapped in two fleeces and holding a hot cup of tea. There doesn't appear to be any humidity in the air and I feel dry. Strange. But my mother's back yard is beautiful as always. She has a real gift with flowers and I had put up bird feeders for her a couple of years ago and it is all just wonderful. I can hear the call of my favorite little bird, the nuthatch, before I see it. I have missed sitting on this porch watching the birds flit around the feeders. I find it extremely relaxing.
The weather over the last two days has been perfect. Blue skies, 80 degrees and sunny. Really nice for watching a fourth of July parade (on the 6th) and being with family. My emotions seem to be all over the place and I am still recovering from jetlag. It is good to be home. It is also strange to be home. I actually feel like I am just visiting for a couple of months and then I will be gone. But to where I don't know at this point. It is just a feeling. Yesterday at church I surprised many people b/c only about 4-5 knew that I was coming home this past weekend. It was wonderful to see everyone and to be in my home church. There were moments when I missed the music of my church in Accra, especially during the offering time when they sing in Twi and we dance down to the baskets. But overall it was wonderful to be back and to be hugged by so many good friends and caring people.
I am sure I will have many more emotions to look at over the next days and weeks. Right now I am going to go have lunch with my best friend and enjoy it. :)
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