Hello Friends,
Its been awhile since I've sent an update and this
will be a short one. I meant to do it sooner but I've been busy and
haven't gotten to it before now. Obviously I made it safely back from
Ghana and thankfully, without any hassle, back in June. The flights back
were uneventful and my layovers were short, mercifully. I was greeted
at the airport by my sister, Jenn, and my friends, Erica and Amanda. It
was so great to see them!! It was nice to be back in a familiar place,
too. Being home has brought many challenges but many more points of
appreciation and thankfulness.
It's been about 3 months since I
got back and I've had time to readjust and try and get back into my life
here. As with all my trips, though moreso with this one, my life is
forever changed and in more ways than I'm sure I'm even aware of. My
time in Ghana has brought so many experiences and blessings into my life
and I am so entirely thankful for that opportunity. My first month back
was probably the hardest so far. My body did not seem to like the food I
was once again putting into it and that lasted most of the month. I
never had any issues with food in Ghana and that alone is a miracle and a
blessing. I think the biggest problem or difference is that here all
our food, no matter how it is grown or raised, has so many hormones,
chemicals, preservatives, etc. in them whereas in Ghana, they don't have
those things in their food and most of it is fresh of the tree or from
the farm. I'm no scientist but I think that had a lot to do with my
physical reaction to the food upon being back here. Also, the variety of
food here is much different and that was part of it. I've gotten
through that unpleasant reaction and am back to my previous level of
tolerance to these foods and everything.
Many people go through a
'reverse culture shock' upon returning from a trip like I had. I can't
speak for others but some of those feelings come from being so
overwhelmed by all that we have access to, from overly abundant grocery
and department stores, clean running water at our disposal whenever we
need it, public sanitation that isn't generally a real health hazard
regardless of how disgusted you might be by public restrooms, a vehicle
to drive that you own or are in the process of owning that allows you to
avoid using public transportation that sometimes seems to cause your
life to pass before your eyes, to friends and family who really have no
idea of what you have experienced despite your efforts to share it with
them, a disgust and frustration with American attitudes that include a
sense of entitlement and superiority and not to mention how loud, rude
and obnoxious Americans are, and on and on. These are just a few things I
have experienced and there are many more things but I can't list them
all. It is really hard to go from having literally only the things you
brought with you and having to make that work for a variety of
situations to returning the land of too much. We have so much, SO VERY
MUCH here and very often, I think, we never realize it until we step out
of our regular lives and experience something entirely different. We
take it for granted and we get complacent. That's just life I guess,
though it disgusts me and frustrates me more than many things. These are
all things I have dealt with and I knew there'd be this sort of
reaction upon my return as I've been through it before, plus I think I'm
more prone to being aware of these things in my life in general than
some people. That isn't meant to be an "I'm better than you because . .
." statement or anything so I hope you don't take it that way.
I
have been blessed to be able to spend the summer in Yakima, staying
with my Mom, and working 2 jobs!! Two jobs, in this economy??? Yep. God
has been so good. I first got a part time job at little Christian
bookstore down here and worked about 20 hrs/week. Then I got a job
working at City Hall in the utilities office, answering phones, filing
paperwork and that sort of thing. I have been working there about 40
hrs/week and then working the other job in the evenings and some
weekends so I've been staying busy. haha!! I'm sure not used to working 2
jobs like that but I am thankful that I've had that opportunity this
summer for a few months. I wasn't sure what would happen when I got back
and the prospect of looking for a job in Spokane upon my return was not
thrilling. I have had a great time staying with Mom, getting spoiled by
her really, and getting to see my family more. It has sure helped with
my transition and I am so so thankful for the time I've had here.
Course,
I'm sure missing my Spokane friends and my house. By the time I return
to Spokane next week I will have only been there for maybe 2 1/2 weeks
this whole year. I've been gone nearly 9 months with 5 of them being in
Ghana. Yakima isn't Ghana though it does often feel like another world.
haha!! I'm looking forward to going back to Spokane, though I'll miss
hanging out with Mom watchin NCIS or something and I'll certainly miss
her cooking for me. :)
I start school Sept. 21 and I hope this
will be my last year. I've been working on my Anthropology degree and
I'd like to be done by next June. We'll see how that goes. I do hope to
go back to Ghana next year though I haven't any idea what these next
several months will bring. Only God knows and that's enough for me.
If
I haven't said thank you enough to all of you who supported me on this
trip with your friendship, encouragement, prayers and thoughts, again,
THANK YOU!! Medaase!! Graci! Merci! Terima Kasih!! Gracias!! Akpe!! If
you have any questions or anything about my trip or whatever, I hope you
feel free to msg me, call me, fb me, or come over and visit. I'd love
to hear from you and what you have been up to these past 9 months. This
next year is going to be a tough one for me with a lot of things going
on. I'd sure appreciate your intention prayers as there are many things
for me to figure out.
I am also doing a photo promo through
December that I wanted to share with you. Starting in Sept, I started
something new. We'll see how it goes. If
you would like to purchase any prints, cards, notepads, calendars, etc.,
for every
$5.00 you spend, your name will go in a drawing for a free 11x14 print
of your choice that I will frame! The drawing will be done the Dec.
10, just in time for Christmas. So if you need some gift ideas or just
want a beautiful photograph for yourself, let me know!! Any of my
photographs can be printed any size you like, color or black &
white, and they can also be made into note card sets which are one of my
favorite things to make. The cards come in packs of 6 and can be 5x7
or 4.25x5x5. The packs are of one image and are not assorted at this
point. If you have any questions, just ask. :) My prices are
listed in my notes section on fb which I can get you if you don't have
access to facebook. The proceeds will to help finance a future trip to
Ghana or perhaps another country should that be an option and for every
$100 raised, $25 will be donated to Kiva.org, a microloan organization
I'm involved with. The loans are a minimum of $25 and they really are
changing lives all over the world. You can get more info about them at
www.kiva.org. I encourage you to take a look regardless of your interest
in my photos. I'll be putting more photos up as I go through them but
there are some available to see on FB for now.
For now, that's
all I have to share. You all mean so much to me and I thank God for your
presence in my life and for your allowance of me in yours. God bless!!
Sincerely,
Cat
link to my fb albums: https://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=132034340167321
link to my Africa fb album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.238725076164913.50729.132034340167321&type=1
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