We're "Ghana" Miss You, Accra!

One final hello from Ghana! Thank you to everyone who has followed along during our adventures abroad. Although today was our last day, we made sure to make the most of every minute before leaving. 

We started off the morning exploring some of the bustling markets on Oxford Street. Common items being sold ranged anywhere from colorful clothing and hand painted canvases all the way to wooden fertility dolls! After spending some time on Oxford Street, we took a short trip over to an Arts Center where we were able to further practice some of our bartering skills with the sellers (some of us being more successful than others). Once we had all finished our eventful afternoon of shopping it was time to return back to the hotel for one final late lunch prepared by Nana Ama - yams and my personal favorite, her spicy tomato stew sauce. Trying new foods has been one of the highlights of the trip and I am excited to try and recreate some of these dishes we learned from our cooking class for my family back at home. 

The rest of our afternoon was spent packing before it was time for one final bus ride to the airport. We of course had to have a classic "Minnesota Goodbye" with all the SIT Faculty, our bus driver, and the hotel staff who together have truly made this trip unforgettable. Forming these one-on-one personal connections have allowed us all to make the most of our trip and immerse into local customs/traditions with open minds and hearts. We then shared some gifts consisting of special treats and relics from home with all of our new friends to try and give them a taste of our hometowns. After lots of hugging and reminiscing of good moments, it was finally time to head to the airport and start our 27 hour travel day. Officer Reginald came along for the ride and despite all of our best convincing efforts trying to get him to come back with us, we settled with one final group hug once arriving at our terminal. I speak for the whole group when I say we are all crossing our fingers he will come to visit us sometime soon in Minnesota!

This trip has been unlike anything any of us have ever experienced before and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to grow our global mindset and learn about a vibrant culture that is unlike our own. We are coming back with our bags packed with mementos from our travels, tons of photos, a filled quote book, and most importantly a new found appreciation for travelling and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zooms. I and the rest of the group would also like to say one final big thank you to Dr. DeVinck and Adrian for all they have done to make this trip possible and supporting us the entire time we were abroad! From the endless snacks and jokes, we could not have made it through this trip without having such a strong and encouraging support system. 

We are now on our way back to St. Paul, trading in the 90 degree sunny weather for the familiar snowy cold of home. I have never been the biggest fan of goodbyes but would like to end on a quote my dad would always say to me growing up-

                                             "Don't be sad it's over, be glad it happened!"

                             "Mma w'ani nnye ho sɛ ɛba awiei ma w'ani nnye sɛ ɛbaa saa!"

- Alexandra