end of the study abroad

thursday was a pretty hectic day. we woke up early so that we could be on the road for accra by nine. it was so nice to be back in accra. i didn't realize how much i missed that city. i really enjoyed the other parts of ghana, but accra is still my favorite. i missed the little familiarity that i had gained from being in accra for three weeks. when we returned we unloaded our things in our rooms and took off for osu. everyone who was leaving on saturday wanted to buy last minute presents and things for their families and friends. i didn't buy much, just some earrings and another carving. (for only 20 cedi total, i love shopping here). we went to dinner at a five star resort called the golden tulip. the resort was GORGEOUS. i got a cheeseburger (god, i miss american food) and a pina colada! it was way too expensive, obviously: five star resort, but it was so worth it. on the way back from elmina we tortured ourselves by talking about all the american foods that we take for granted at home. mainly i miss dairy products, like milk and cheese. the potatoes also taste different here, even though we get french fries with almost every meal. and snacks, like potato chips or tortilla chips and salsa. when i do get to eat at home, however, the fruit is not nearly as good as it is here. the pineapple is amaziingggg.

on friday we had a party planned for us on a private beach with everyone from the hotel and us. the beach was about an hour away, but it took us longer because of that wonderful ghanaian traffic. i went swimming in the ocean for the first time. it was such a nice day too, everyone got sunburned since we're so used to it being cloudy. i'm surprised, i didnt get burnt, only my face a little. i played frisbee and soccer with our friends and then some local boys (probably between ten and twelve) wanted to learn frisbee. it was so nice to just relax and have fun. after tiring myself out on the beach, we were served wine and food. the meal was great but as always, there was too much food! i can't believe i acutally thought i was going to loose weight coming here. i'm positive the opposite is happening. it's rude not to try a little of everything, and it's a compliment to have seconds, so we all end up eating way more than we should. also, we're never quite sure when our next meal will be (since our schedule changes alot and sometimes we'll have breakfast at 8am then not eat again until 3pm) we always stuff ourselves. after the food there was a lot of dancing. we danced for hours. i absolutely love this aspect of ghanaian culture. EVERYONE dances. i mean everyone. little kids barely walking, babies on their mother's backs, old people bent with age, everyone. and they are all so good at it. i was sad to leave the party because it signified the end of our study abroad.

most of my friends left this morning at around six. breakfast was depressing, there were five of us still here. soon its only going to be three left in our hotel, because the students doing the hospital internship will be an hour away in Apom, staying on site.