Sunday Service break through

The last post I briefly talked about doing what you love in life. The feeling you get when you are doing something involving that emotion (love) is immeasurable. I absolutely loved my trip here; in fact today I thanked God for it. Now don’t get me wrong I have thanked him for this trip on numerous occasions but this time was different. I said “Lord, I thank you for losing my job”. LOL, I was in church. We were in prayer and I raised my head, opened my eyes, and smiled. Here I am in the middle of what I thought was my life’s biggest catastrophe and yet love is what I felt. I was never happy about losing my job or anything else that had been taken from me at that time. Quitting is all good, but who wants to loose their job?! So I found it delightfully funny that I made that particular prayer. Despite the oddness, it felt right to say and the words were truly from the heart so I knew then I was ready to move on. I think that is what this whole process has been about. Sure, I liked what I was doing, but this journey was preparing me to move on to a career and lifestyle that I “love … because ‘liking’ is not and never will be enough.” Is it okay to quote myself? lol

These are some of my favorite things

This was my first night back in the States. I stayed the night in New York because I missed my connecting flight. Our plane from Ghana to New York was delayed 3hrs! Not because of Volcano ash in Europe, not twisters in the midwest, not oil spills in the Gulf, but because the pilots did not know how to fly from Ghana to New York! True story! They had no flight plans and were trying to figure out which countries they could and could not fly over. It was a very questionable experience for a well known carrier. It was Delta after all and they fly here all the time, how does that happen?! Anyway, I was very happy to be back and I still have to write a post on the thoughts I had while in route. Very unique for lack of a better word, but give me a few days and I will share.

BTW I had no idea I was cutting off half my face, sorry lol

This will probably be my last post while actually in Ghana. Where did the time go? Seems like it just came and went. Tomorrow I go to church with the school head (Nana Simmons) and a few students. Afterwards they are going to host a good bye party for me. I am sad and happy and regretful and enthusiastic all at the same time. I have had a wonderful experience here. You just don’t realize how precious and short our time here in this world is. I am still working on my “in conclusion” speech :) but today I will leave you with this… God placed us here to live not exist, to experience not observe, and most of all... love, because ‘liking’ is not and never will be enough.

For those interested I will continue the blog for sometime after I get back home. Like I said, I have plenty of pictures, videos, and stories if you would care to listen, watch, and learn. And please post questions of things you want to know or issues you were curious about. I may have answers.

I am not my hair

Taken today at the WEB DuBois center

Maan! I got followers and comments! I know I am no professional blogger by any means but, I am definitely feeling myself right now :). So I want to talk a bit about my hair. I have been letting it grow. It was not my idea originally but after a friend recommended it I fell in love with the idea on the spot. I have always wanted to let my hair grow but, what is considered acceptable for people of color is that even steven or some rendition of a fade….boring! I tried in elementary school, I tried in high school, I tried in college. No matter the period of life I have attempted to alter the appearance of my hair I have been met with a negative consequence. Why can’t twist and braids and afros and locks be acceptable looks? Yeah, I know the answer to that, I am just venting. Anyway that is the 1^st reason I decided to let it grow, no consequences here. The 2^nd reason was I did not want to bring extra attention to myself while here. Because I am a Black American it is assumed that one of my parent’s is White, and of course “white means right”. I asked my students how ridiculous is that when I am darker than half of them? Well maybe more like a third, these are some “colored” mofos lol (Another story for another day). But yeah, they think you have money because you are a foreigner and I did not want to run the risk of being robbed so I chose to look like a bum (which has worked out flawlessly until I open my mouth). Concerned with my bummy look, today I was asked “Chris what is with your hair?” They have barbershops on every corner here and I look rough even by their standards (which are actually about the same as ours). So first I questioned to myself why she asked since she does not know me well enough to know how I usually carry myself, and then I simply replied “I am getting twist”. Well she said my hair was not long enough and I should get a perm to straighten it first. What?!?! So to naturally style my hair you want me to put chemicals in it! Let me think….NO. I was totally against it and before someone tries to put me on blast I will come on out and say it. I had an S-curl in high school LMAO, yeah it was 2001 but I kept it tight though lol! Anyway my hair has been coming up a lot these days so I thought I would share a few thoughts on where I am going with it. Long story short, I figured I would see some different hair styles while here, and I had hoped to get my hair long enough to try one.

My 1^st “This one time in Ghana” Story

This one time in Ghana I was with Hayford (Ghanaian organizer) and Megan (Canadian volunteer). Hayford had taken us to see this older lady who had taken a small business loan, I believe. Hayford and I got out the car first and they lady spoke in Twi. I did not reply because I did not understand. However, I did notice she gave me a look (kind of like eye rolling). So to ease her mood I said Menim (I don’t understand) then I said I speak English, but it was too late, she was already insulted. By this time Megan was getting out the car after me and the focus turned quickly to her, but not before I heard the lady angrily say “What Ghanaian can’t speak Twi?!” under her tongue. She was definitely offended but when she saw Megan her mood brighten as she went “American, American”. Megan corrected her with the quickness “Ca-na-di-an”! Who know Canadians hated being called American, lol? They are part of the continent after all. So anyway Hayford pointed towards me and said “He is American”. LMAO they just looked. My gosh! they were sooooooooo puzzled. “No, No, Noooo, No… he is not American!” And we laughed as the argument continued for a good minute. They assumed from my hair that I was just some poor local Hayford was helping out. Then they called me white boy (obruni) after they heard my American accent. AWWW! I WAS SO HURT. Ain’t that bout some stuff, first I am not African enough and then I am not Black enough!!! Sit back and think on that one. They pulled my Black card on a whole new level. Yeah my feelings were slightly hurt but it was all good.

Keep it real though, if I loose my passport between now and next week I am not getting out of this country! They will take one look at me in the American Embassy and be like “Naw, he isn’t one of ours”. Of course, that is assuming I even make it inside. The embassy guards would probably be like “Boy, get out of here wasting these nice white folks time…crazy street rat” lol.

BTW I hate the bum stage when you are letting your hair grow, too short to style and too long to brush. How long does it have to be for twist? I have at least an inch and I thought that was long enough :(

Thanks for listening friends

Living in a box

I was working on a blog post a while ago that I could not post. I was thinking about those horror stories about people being trapped and forced to grow up in side of a basement or dungeon. Being trapped in a house for decades at a time?! One of the more recent stories was an Austrian woman who was thought to be dead. Her kids had never seen the world outside of that prison! Can you imagine? My most memorable childhood experiences were the many camping trips my Dad took me on. What’s yours? Swimming in the ocean, catching your 1st foul baseball (Go Braves!), or maybe that sleep over when no one actually slept? Most of everyone’s major experiences have taken place outside of their home. Well, let us take the concept a little further. What if those four walls were your city, state? I initially hated it, but moving to Texas was a huge blessing in disguise. I was totally ignorant to that portion of the country. I thought I would see cowboys and Indians with their long rifles and bow n arrows. I was shocked when I saw skyscrapers and automobiles. I was looking for the OK corral and horse drawn carriages. Are you starting to see my point? When you live in a box you miss out on experience and you tend to lack a certain understand about life/ lifestyles. The person who has never stepped foot outdoors can’t understand that the sky is the limit because the ceiling is in the way. Realizing America was my box I am glad for this off chance to make it out. Circumstances can dictate our opportunities (which is the reason I am trying my best to share my experience), but if you have the chance see the world take it! You will be surprised at what it has to offer you.

Nouns and verbs

So my countdown to return has started. I only have one more weekend (9 days left to be exact). My time here has made me better appreciate the quality of life we live in the States. I don’t really know what to write about or what I would like to share. There were a lot of things that just make you go ‘hmm?’ but not much that you could sum up in a blog. These were experiences and personal accounts that you have to sleep on. I think I may have found what I was looking for; or maybe I just found that everything I needed was there all along. It’s hard to say. In fact a lot of things are hard to say right now. Lately I have written 2 or 3 unposted blog entry because I can’t find the words. I think some of the things I have been feeling are so overwhelming that it is just going to take time for me to understand and eventually explain. And then of course I have so many “this one time in Ghana” stories to tell. I have not made as many entries as I had planned and the majority of my trip is still untold, but I hope the few posts that I did make meant something to someone. I really wish I could have done a real world style video diary. I should have and posted it later. There is still time, maybe I will for the next couple of days.

Change is good

How do I go on being the same person? I am forever changed. The drastic difference between what I have known and what I have now witnessed I can not begin to explain or predict how it will/has affected me. Nothing will look the same when I get back. Everything has a new meaning, a new perspective, a new feeling. What I am trying to say, I guess, is that I am uncertain of this next life chapter. This is the part of the story where there may be a huge plot twist and you know me, I like to prepare for the unexpected no matter how futile it may be. I do thank you all for the encouraging words on and off the blog. It has been a difficult path to walk the last few months and I have managed to continue smiling through it all. I have you all to thank for that. God’s grace is never that far away with friends and family like mine.