To those of you who don’t have the time to hear me babble today, please skip to the last paragraph for some appreciative pan-handling…
Having a deadline in Africa is like having a burly-man beard to trim with a dull razor (I would imagine), and the last 3 weeks has left me exhausted and dizzy! Somehow we have managed to pull this project to reasonable place, and now I am preparing to leave. My heart is heavy as I write today, knowing this may be my last note to you from Tamale.
The day after our highly anticipated web site came into existence, I was in much need of a “mini-vay-cay;” so my friend and I decided to jump on the tro-tro (African-style chicken bus) and head to “Bolga,” the closest larger town to Tamale about 400 miles away.
We traveled East, passing through small villages that began to look more and more desolate than the last. At every stop woman and children forced their sweaty heads through the windows of our tro-tro pushing strange musty breads, fish heads, and fu-fu (a taste-less dough that feels like glue in your mouth) into our faces…I would give anything for a cheeseburger.
Bolga was quite similar to Tamale, not the get-away-fabulous I was looking for but we made the most of it. We ate at the exact replica of “Swad” (our favorite restaurant in Tamale) there named “Swat,” which is owned by one of two Indian men who have been competing for business since one stole the others wife a few years back. You could almost taste the tension in the menu.
Bolga also has a water crisis unlike any of seen so far. It was impossible to believe that people bathe, swim, wash, and drink all from the same murky puddle in-between communities. While there, curiosity overcame me and I visited a Guinea Worm Clinic to see if what I heard was true: that these skinny devils enter the lesions of clue-less victims in the water, only to be reeled out weeks later with a small rod; delivered ten times their size, with lives of their own inside you!
To my amazement I witnessed a young boy go through this process with bizarre ease, only to walk away with a relieved smile; as I stood mouth-gaping in disgust! Now I scream like a mad woman at anyone I see scratching or picking his or her scabs.
It takes a lot to shake me these days though, Pearl and I were laughing last night at the fact that we no longer shriek when we see old men in Muslim robes sneak into green-leaves to take a poopsky, and we simply flick large bugs, beads of sweat, and dirt of all kinds, away as if it were nothing.
Yesterday was our big going away party, I invited all of the Brilliant Future girls, teachers, peers and friends to have 3-legged races, egg tosses, and prize-winning games of all kinds…I sat there watching all of these girls laugh and play, feeling a joy that is un-describable. I can’t wait to show you all pictures of this day, it is the only way to give you an idea of how amazing it really was.
After the African dancers gave us an outstanding “farewell dance,” and all 65 guests said their tearful goodbyes, I sat in the courtyard with close friends under the stars and reflected over the past eight weeks, which truly feels like a lifetime.
Many of you ask me if Africa has changed me, and I believe that it has. I have a new understanding of the world and my place in it; I am more grateful for everything and everyone I have in my life, and I hope to spend a lot less time worrying about the small stuff, taking more care of where and with whom I exert my energy.
My project finally has a name, it’s called “Brilliant Future International!” These girls have become like daughters to me, I’ll fight for them until they can fight for themselves…this much I know is true.
There is a lot to figure out when I get back, but I am full of ideas and optimism so that’s a good start right?
God I’m gonna miss Africa.