A Final Chapter

Saturday, July 27^th

            Unlike the routine I follow religiously back at Pitzer, this summer has been literally months of unexpected travels and adventures.  Today turned out to be one of those days.

            Having exerted myself far more than I had planned to the previous day, I was ready for a nice, relaxing evening.  Bryan was in the same boat.  As a casual golfer, I thought it would be a shame to come to Scotland and not see one of the most famous courses of all time, St. Andrews.  Only an hour and a half away, we decided to head to the course then come back to the city in the late afternoon.

            The drive up to St. Andrews featured some of the most beautiful countryside I’d ever seen.  We’d pass through quaint little towns with colorful two story houses stacked side by side, then dart through narrow roads with expansive fields of lavender and hay to our left and majestic cliffs to the right.  It reminded me of the Spanish town Girona followed by countryside featured in Moonrise Kingdom or Everything is Illuminated.   

            Once we arrived in the city of Saint Andrews, we took an hour to explore the city streets, beach, and famous church graveyard.  Up the road, we found ourselves at the iconic St. Andrews clubhouse resort.  I seldom watch golf, but I was able to recognize the building the moment I saw it.  My dad and I used to play golf often when I was younger or on vacation, and I figured a proper golf shirt from this famous course would be a proper gift.  When talking up the saleswomen in the shop, I found that there was a twilight rate for golfers without reservations.  I could also fib and say I’d only play 9 holes and just follow through 18 since the marshal finished his day at 5.  I couldn’t resist – I talked Bryan into playing a round.  We bought some 50% off collared shirts, and headed to the clubhouse to make a tee time. 

            Once at the clubhouse, we found the cashier was working one of her first days.  She helped us rent clubs, buy some balls (I was rusty; hadn’t swung a club in over a year), and ringed us up.  The total came to 84 Pounds, which seemed oddly low.  It was even more peculiar when the cashier told Bryan I’d paid for him.  No use arguing – we headed out to the first tee.  As we set up, I emptied my pockets into the golf bag (did I mention we were rented 2013 Titlist clubs?) I checked my receipt and noticed that the green fee came to be $0.00 – Free! The cashier must have screwed up, but again, I wasn’t going to argue.  Instead, I was going to play a free round of golf at one of the most famous and iconic courses in the world.

            Our 18 holes were incredible.  Granted, I was rusty from the beginning.  I “borrowed” some range balls that had rolled over to the first tee, and by the end of 18 holes, we’d lost our fair share.  However, both Bryan and I had some beautiful shots.  I had two impressive drives, 250 yards plus, one near pin-point chip, and a 27 foot put.  The course itself was gorgeous; rolling hills and cliffs running right up to the ocean along with picturesque fields of grain and a low mist.  It was just beautiful.

            With a full 18 holes, walking our bags and the course, it was certainly time for some food.  We ended driving all the way back to Edinburgh to the restaurant we ate at our first night, followed by a long drive out of the city to our minimalist Holiday Inn Express.  It may be a theme of my summer, being young, or just life itself, but I’ve really come to understand that the unexpected can work itself out in incredibly satisfying ways; all you have to do is go out and see what you get.

Sunday, July 28^th. 

            This entry is a short one.  The following morning, after breakfast and a drive back to town, Bryan and I found ourselves in a powerful rainstorm.  We enjoyed driving the gothic architecture, cobblestone streets of old town Edinburgh, visiting the iconic castle on the hill, and driving fast in the now familiar “backwards” Toyota Yaris before heading to the airport.  

 After a short flight and dinner in downtown London, I carefully packed my bags, and laid everything soft I had on the floor.  Shirts, pants, quick-dry towel, and Kente-Cloth as my sheet, I slept on the floor of Bryan’s apartment, excited to head home the following day.  After two months abroad, I can say without a doubt that this has been the most incredible, fulfilling, industrious summer of my life.  Transcripts, journal, and papers combined, I’d written over 320 pages while reading four books.  I traveled both on my own to foreign places as well as “vacationed” with friends in familiar ones.  Most importantly, however, I’ve grown to appreciate the hidden experiences behind the vale of unplanned adventure.  In every situation, I’ve come to appreciate and look forward to figuring out life as it comes; to let go of scheduling, planning, being on-time and regimented, and just enjoy the ride.  In the end, no matter how much I worry or plan for the future, there really is little I can control.  Making smart decisions coupled with a good outlook on whatever comes really is a recipe to good stories and a good life.

             

Ol' Ness

Friday, July 26^th

            Once awake, showered, and packed, Bryan and I headed out for breakfast at a little pub adjacent the river for a wonderful breakfast of salmon, toast, and juice.  Scotland, although very similar to London, was far less expensive, which meant we could afford to eat out comfortably.  At breakfast, we decided we’d head out to Loch Ness to find the monster.  Although I never met him, my grandfather (Robert Knox Little) was fascinated with the loch ness monster.  Part of a Scottish society of believers, he took his three sons to the Loch when they were young.  I’ve only heard stories of my grandfather from my dad, and figured Robert would have gotten a kick out of hearing that I’d visited the Loch Ness.

            Although long, the drive to Loch Ness was beautiful.  Unlike my previous trips, I had no idea what kind of geography I’d see in Scotland.  We drove through broad valleys, rich with green grasses and forests wedged between steep cliffs.  Every now and again there would be the ruins of a castle – unmarked and nearly forgotten.  

            Four and some hours passed before we made it to the Loch Ness.  A surprise to me, Loch Ness is no small pond or lake, but is a long, deep lake several miles long.  On the east end, a wall of trees encircles the road, only broken by select pullouts to view the lake from.  We finally arrived at the visitor center in the late afternoon.  Almost like a Disneyland ride, the tour consisted of a series of decorated rooms with documentary video projections chronicling the history, theories, and pursuits of the monster.  Although fun, the tour was a bit anticlimactic; each segment spared no time dispelling the magic and mystery of a century old, giant dinosaur-like creature.

            To get the most out of our visit, we traveled to the northern most point of the lake.  A short loop trail led us along a narrow canal rich with thistle and cow parsnip on the sideline.  I was recommended to go camping and fishing up in this area by a waitress who’d been married in the nearby town of Inverness, and I could see why; the lake is surrounded by dense forest and calm rivers to row or kayak.

            By now it was time for dinner, so I hopped in the right side door of the car and drove on the left into the unfamiliar city of Inverness.  This city proved to be more difficult to drive in than Edinburgh; almost every intersection was a multiple lane roundabout, parking was nonexistent, and I had no idea where I was most of the time.  After dinner, we searched for a place to stay, and everything reasonably priced was booked up.  I finally lost it after getting trapped in a parking lot.  Bryan had spotted a hotel that was said to have open rooms, but when we arrived in the gated parking lot, we couldn’t find the entrance.  As I turned around and headed for the gated exit, I found that the gate wouldn't open.  I walked up the small incline to the gate sensor and waved my hands.  No luck.  No parking attendant.  We were trapped!  Luckily only a few minutes later, a couple emerged from the pub inside the lot.  I approached him, but he already knew what I was going to ask.  “1-4-3-7-E” he yelled with a smile.  I thanked him, punched in the code, and got in the car.  As I approached the gate, it closed again.  Hmmmm, I must have to go quicker.  I pulled right up to the keypad and punched in the code.  The gate opened, I drove up closer, and the gate shut again!  The timer must have been five seconds or less.  Mind you, I was in manual car going up hill, holding the emergency brake in between punching the code, then punching the clutch, throwing it into gear, releasing the brake, and playing the balance game giving gas while releasing the clutch…it was literally impossible.  I was having a good laugh, and the friendly man who had given me the code noticed my struggles.  He kindly came over, unprompted, and punched the code in for me.  I gassed it and was out of that lot as fast as I could be.  

 

            Frustrated and energized, we decided it would be best to get faaaaaaar away from Loch Ness and head back to town.  I enjoyed the long drive back to Edinburgh, watching the sun set (which took hours here).  Of course, being a Friday night, we encountered a similar lodging problem like in Inverness, so we ended up staying at the hotel that we’d checked out only that morning.  It was quite an adventurous, long day.

To Scotland!

Thursday, July 25^th

            It’s been nearly two weeks since my last journal entry, sorry for the delay!  I’ve got a good excuse, though.  Over the last twelve days, I’ve worked hard and written up my Mellon Grant Research Paper, whopping 86 pages!  In addition, I prepared about ten pages and 3 presentations for my RA retraining sessions in a week, and written an essay on The Meanings of Marital Equalityby Scott Harris.  I’ve written around 10 or more pages a day since last Tuesday, and I’m EXHAUSTED!

            Earlier this week, Bryan and I booked a flight, room, and a car to head to Scotland.  I’ve always wanted to check it out – see Loch Ness and such.  So yesterday (Thursday) I cleaned up the house I’ve been staying in, packed my bags, and headed out to meet Bryan.  I spent the morning at his apartment while he went to class before out afternoon flight.  I had just enough time to shower, repack my bag, and get some final writing done before my last mini-vacation.  Bryan is living in a new student-housing complex at King’s College here in London, and although his room was small, he had an excellent view of the city.

            Around noon I began the short journey to Scotland.  After meeting Bryan in the tube, we transferred to the Piccadilly line, which goes straight to London Heathrow airport.  Unfortunately, we made it two stops before we were forced to leave the carriage; someone had jumped in front of the train the next stop over.  This is an all too common occurrence; I’ve seen delays twice before in the two weeks I’ve been here due to suicide by train.  With only a short time until our flight, we traveled above ground to catch a cab to the airport.

            Our flight was short aboard British Airways, and we quickly made it to Edinburgh.  Although I was excited to be in a new place, I exited the aircraft feeling like Scotland was a familiar place.  Unlike my previous excision to Iceland, Scotland featured a familiar language and comparably mundane landscape.  The feeling of calm familiarity vanished quickly, however, when I was handed the keys to a stick shift Toyota Yaris with the steering wheel on the right side of the car.  

            Driving in Scotland was one of the larger challenges I’ve faced in a while.  Aside from adjusting to driving on the left side of the road and learning new traffic signs, I also had to readjust my perception of the car spatially; now I had a vast unknown to the front left of my car, and was very close to the right side of traffic.  Oh, and of course the car was a stick shift, adding a level of difficulty for my left hand.  The drive to our hotel was terrifying; every intersection was a cause for panic, right turns were painfullydifficult, and it was rush hour.  I left the car sweaty and shaken.

            The rest of the evening improved once we made it to the hotel.  After dropping off our bags and calling our parents, Bryan and I took a stroll around town.  We were staying outside downtown Edinburgh near the ocean, and decided we’d look to have some seafood for dinner.  We picked a reasonably priced pub called the Granary, which we agreed was our best meal in months.  A few drinks at happy hour, olives, French onion soup, and a fish called sea bream all proved to be excellent choices.   We left full, happy and tired, ready for an adventure the following day.

The Golden Circle, and descent to reality

Saturday, July 13, 13

            Waking up exhausted and hungry, Bryan and I drove down to the same breakfast place we had visited the previous day.  My stomach was bothering me, and I ended up leaving breakfast, craving pretzels and some sparkling water to settle my stomach.  After breakfast, we headed out on the “Golden Circle” driving route, which would take us to some of Iceland’s most incredible natural wonders.  Having just seen the blue lagoon, this was a tall order. 

            Again, the drive was incredible.  My eyes swelled up with tears at points, listing to some of my favorite songs that fit so well with the incredible scenery – Hoppípolla, Með Blóðnasir, Takk… - It’s not worth wasting space trying to describe the feeling.  We spent a few hours driving northeast, taking stops when we felt like exploring, eating, walking, or just soaking in the majesty of the Icelandic landscape, full of beauty, full of nothing.  It was the most incredible, satisfying drives I’ve ever experienced.  

            After stopping at the large natural park, rock status, and other pit stops, we had lunch at a gas station / supermarket.  I was exhausted, not having slept well since Monday night, and I binged on some gummy candy, mozzarella sticks, and ham…not in that order. 

            After several hours of driving (which could be made in about one hour, we just took so many stops), we made it to Geysir, a natural “old faithful” with added Icelandic flair.  We knew we were approaching something special when the ground in front of us began to burst with steam and flowing water.  After parking, we took a small walk up an unlabeled path to the main geyser.  Along the way, we took pictures at the colorful steamy earth, decorated with vibrant foliage and flowers.  The main attraction, however, was the powerful geyser that erupted every few minutes with little warning.  A large granite circle, oozing with blue water, would shoot up about 50 feet into the air, shocking and soaking the people gathered on the sides.  It was Awesome.

            I was embarrassed, but I nearly had to turn to Bryan and ask to take a nap.  Luckily, he was on the same page and asked first.  We walked to the car, and passed out almost immediately for a little over an hour before hitting the road again.  We drove about 6 miles further north to Gulfoss, which can only be described as a combination grand canyon split by a double Niagara falls.  We explored several lookout points, and soaked in the misty air and majesty of two enormouswaterfalls in the middle of a stoic rock valley.  Again, Awesome.

            We took an alternate route back to Reykjavik.  A few miles outside the city, I pulled over to a rest stop that had several cars parked in the lot (a good sign).  Unexpectedly and lucky for us, I had stopped at Kerid, a natural lake formed in the basin of an old volcano.  We walked around the perimeter and explored the unworldly wonder, the third of the day.  One could call it natural beauty overload.  

            We celebrated our successful trip with a seafood dinner at a local restaurant, and were too exhausted to go out for another night in a row.  The next morning, we visited the rather odd Icelandic Phallological Museum, located right across the street from our hotel (we could see it from our window).  This was our last stop before taking WOW AIRLINES back to Gatwic and train to London.  We only spent 60 some hours in the country, but it was enough to change our lives and plan a subsequent visit sometime in the future.  The Immigration officer at the airport was quite perplexed with my passport, having been in Ghana, London, Iceland, and back to London in 5 days. Bryan and I exchanged cheers at a local pub, having completed a mini adventure of a lifetime.

            Monday and Tuesday (15&16 of July) were far more normal days for me, filled with grocery and phone minutes shopping, cleaning, and laundry.  Tuesday was a special day, for I went to the LHR airport, picked up my good friend Phoebe and fellow PZ student Ashton for a mini London tour and lunch.  The two will be studying in South Africa for the semester.

            I suppose I’ll end with a nice tube ride I had back after a long goodbye hug with Phoebe.  I sat down on the Piccadilly line, and was joined to my right by a Spanish couple.  The two spoke quickly and were obviously nervous.  I overheard their conversation in Spanish, and understood they needed directions.  If you haven’t understood it by now, I LOVE speaking someone’s first language over the all-triumphant English, at least when I get a change.  So, I kindly interrupted the couple, gave them my tube map, and helped them find out where they would need to go and transfer to, all in Spanish.  It was enough to make the three of us smile.  As I put my headphones in, a black couple sat to my right.  These two spoke very loud, and everyone on the car shot the couple annoyed looks.  I couldn’t understand the language, and figured they must be Senegalese.  But then the body language caught my eye.  The “hand in hand slap” and the female “jerk head away in joking disgust.”  I took out my headphones and listened closely.  Anne…dabbi…brofu………..OBRUNI – I turned to the man sitting next to me and spoke – “Me pa wa chow, wo te twi, anna?” The two stopped their conversation.  “Come again?” the man asked, and I repeated.  “Wo te twi?” he asked.  Nice one.  “Oh, meda anfwo, me te twi kakra, kakra!”  I said.  The two ERRUPTED with laughter and joy – To see a random Obruni speaking their home language, thousands of miles away.  I spent the rest of the hour ride talking to the couple about Ghana, London, Ghanaian politics, ect.  We parted with an exchange of phone numbers, emails, and an invitation – “next time you head to Ghana, you come stay at my place.  Hope to see you soon”  I retorted.  “Meda ase paaaa.  Me hunu wu, medanfros.” –Thanks a bunch, I’ll see you later, friends. I could see the couple beam from the outside window. 

            This summer has been one full of adventure and unexpected success at every corner.  Of course I’ve grown, studied hard, ect, but I’ve really enjoyed this pseudo spiritual sense that everything in the world works out, and no matter where you are, you aren’t lost (or at least for too long).  Here’s to another two weeks of hard work and incredible adventure before I return to the states.

Reykjavik

Friday, July 12^th

            After a night void of a dark sky, I itching to get out and see the countryside.  Before we left our hotel, I took a shower in the special overhead ceiling shower setup and repacked my bag.  Bryan was as excited as I was, and I was thrilled that he was up for taking spontaneous road stops here and there for photos or just to marvel at the foreign landscape.  Only three minutes into our drive, we got out of our car and took pictures with these statues.

            It was a quick 45 minute drive to Reykjavik, and the countryside was breathtaking.  For about half the drive, we were by the sea on our left, with small colorful houses every few miles decorating the shore, and green mossy rock to the right for dozens of miles.  Then we transitioned into more city landscape, full of roundabouts and unpronounceable Icelandic words.  Once we arrived in the city, we chose a side street to park and searched for food.  Reykjavik is populated mostly by 2-5 story buildings; always modern, often colorful.  Small gardens and several statues line the streets, and the local Icelandic people were incredibly good looking – men, women, old and young.  

            We stopped in the first diner we saw for breakfast, followed by a touristy pit stop for postcards and CD’s.  The unfortunate consequence of booking the cheapest car was that it lacked, among other features, an AUX jack; Instead, I settled for two Sigur Rós CDs (one being Takk, one of my favorite albums of all time) as well as a heavily publicized Icelandic Indie Music CD for the car.  

            The next several hours were spent roaming the beautiful streets of Reykjavik.  It’s impossible to capture the atmosphere in words.  One street would be populated by small coffee shops, boutiques, music stores, and endless clothing shops full of warm sweaters; the next could be filled with colorful, artistic graffiti; around another corner, an iconic church or a nameless bronze statue.   At the top of the small hill in the center of town, we stopped to explore the Hallgrímskirkja Church, an unforgettable modern structure which featured an open visiting area and talented organist.  It was hard to get me to leave the city, but we needed to explore all of Iceland in the 3ish days we were here.  

            We decided to drive to the Blue Lagoon, a mysterious geothermal spa about 30 minutes outside of town.  The drive was beautiful as usual, and along the way I decided to pull over at a small turnout.  Upon exiting the car, I noticed a small wooden staircase town to the left situated among the volcanic rocks.  It was unlabeled, and I descended into a small cave.  Casual.

            The lagoon was only a few minutes drive away from the cave – at first, Bryan and I suspected we were approaching an energy plant of sorts due to all the steam, only to yell “WOAH” simultaneously upon seeing the milky blue river to our right, with white banks against black volcanic rock…and it was steaming.  And that was only the beginning of the Lagoon.  We parked, paid, changed, and walked out into a foggy shore overshadowing a sea of blue water.  The temperature was a perfect 98-103º anywhere in the lagoon, and a free beer was included.  We spent hours exploring, enjoying the exfoliating volcanic paste that we could grab from the nearby dispensaries, and relaxing in the steamy blue water.  It was an incredible experience.  

            The white clock in the distance was the only force that prompted us to leave.  With no sunset, it’s incredibly difficult to gauge what time of day it is, or even when it’s appropriate to eat.  We drove back to downtown Reykjavik and sat outside where we could pick up free Wifi to book our next hotel.  Call after call, every hotel was booked, from cheap hostels to expensive hotels.  We nearly had given up hope on staying in Reykjavik for the night when I found a place, a bit expensive at about $100 each, called Ocean Comfort Apartments.  I called up the manager, and he said if we could be there in a few minutes he’d hold the place for us.  We made it in time, and the rush was well worth it.  A friendly man named Ilhelm invited us upstairs to our apartment, and indeed it was an apartment.  With touch key-card access we were let into our double room apartment, complete with automated touch dimmer switches centrally located at the door, cameras to the outside, another ceiling mounted shower, two balconies, kitchen, living room, and bedroom.  And it was Nice.  We thanked the manager, and enjoyed the rest of the night talking waiting for a sunset that would never come.  An incredible first day in Iceland.

Spontanious trip...to REYKJAVIK!

Thursday, July 11^th, 2013

            I’ve never been a fan of the phrase YOLO to describe poor decisions, but today I couldn’t think of a better term for what happened.

            With a full night’s rest, I awoke and took a warm bath, ate a tasty breakfast, and just enjoyed familiar civilization – intermet, music, youtube, ect.  Bryan texted me alerting me he’d be heading over to my place, and about the time he arrived I was browsing Reddit’s /r/Iceland.  We’d been talking on the phone about visiting the country; I’d always wanted to see the home of one of my favorite bands Sigur Rós, Bryan because he loves the combination of exotic travel and hidden gems.  Our conversation escalated quickly, and before lunch, we’d decided to head to Iceland after his class let out at 4:30.

            Time began to move very quickly after our decision.  I used Google Flights to help locate the cheapest flight, an 8pm WOW AIRLINESstraight shot from London Gatwic.  I booked the cheapest car rental I could, along with the cheapest double room for tonight.  I ran upstairs to the room of the eldest son who lives here, and borrowed a duffel bag and a few jackets and pants, and just like that, headed off to a common Tube stop to meet Bryan.

            We took a tube to Victoria station, a train to the airport, and had dinner and a few pints before boarding what seemed to be a made up airline’s flight to Iceland.  Indeed on the plane, it seemed like we’d chosen a sketchy flight.  The announcements and pamphlets were made in Icelandic, yet the aircraft was pieced together with mostly Spanish parts with, American made windows.  Needless to say, I was thrilled to land safely outside Reykjavik.  

            We headed outside to our rental car after exchanging some USD for some Icelandic Krona, a hyper inflated currency that is over 100X less than the dollar.   

 I hopped in the front seat of out Toyota Yaris, popped it into first (it was a manual engine like all the cars here), and headed off to a bed and breakfast shortly after 11pm.  Immediately I was struck by two things: 1 – the sun was NOT going to set tonight; it would only get slightly darker before getting lighter again, and 2, I was witnessing the most alien, beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen.  Wild, mossy, volcanic earth that stretches for miles, punctuated with flowers here and there, not roads and people.

            We arrived at our “cheap” double for the night, only to find that it’s an incredibly luxurious apartment all to ourselves, complete with a spa and a shower that has a ceiling mounted raining structure.  Very cool.  

            Feeling hungry, we made our way down the road to a subway for a midnight snack.  I got a six inch sub, which cost 700 Krona.  I felt like I was on a whole new planet, but of course, that’s been my life recently.  Tuesday night in Ghana, Wednesday night in London, now it’s Thursday and I’m in Iceland.  It’s an adventurous summer, that’s for sure. 

London Calling!

Wednesday, July 10^th

            After a swift 7 hours in the air, I had made it to London.  I disembarked the plane, and regrouped with the TMS students on the way to the main terminal.  Once we were all together, I said my goodbyes, and shortly after lost the group.  See you in the US!

            I passed through immigration, bought an Oyster Card (transit card), and followed the signs for the London Underground.  I suppose I must have looked quite out of place, adorned with REI quick-dry clothing, backpacks on both sides of my chest, and an outrageous plastic “Kente Cloth” design bag to my side.  I realize now that culture shock can come in one massive wave, or lap over you slowly over time.  I first met it while trying to exit the Tube.  In Ghana, when you’re moving with lost of gear, people won’t only move out of your way (cognizant of your space), they’ll even help carry your gear.   Not the case here.  I struggled past a crowd of standing passengers, saying “Pardon me....Excuse me,” and met so much resistance that the doors closed in front of me at my stop.  Saaaa.

            I did eventually make it to my stop after backtracking a bit.  After emerging onto the streets of London for the first time ever, I believe I was completely paralyzed, unable to make my way to the house that I was to house sit.  Whereas I Ghana I could make my way around the streets where signs were absent, the well labeled London streets baffled me with the streams of traffic coming from every which way, traveling on the left side of the road.  Billboards, tall buildings, and an abundance of busy people.  It was a lot.  I eventually gathered my bearings and made my way down to meet a neighbor to drop the key off with me.  If you’re not familiar with my situation, I changed my ticket to leave Ghana early to house sit a nice home in London while I write up my Sachet Research report. 

            The day flew by.  I took a long, hot shower, using shampoo and conditioner for the first time since California.  My friend Bryan, studying at King’s College for the summer, met me for lunch, and we took the tube downtown.  We decided on Pizza (understandably unavailable in Ghana) and I danced between wolfing down such incredible food, and savoring each bite.  The simple pleasure of enjoying the taste, texture, and experience of food is a luxury; I learned on my first trip to Ghana four years ago that eating is primarily about gaining energy for the day, and taste comes secondary.  It may sound like stating the obvious, but it’s something that, growing up in an upper class family with an abundance of choice and the option to reject food if it wasn't tasty, I could easily forget.

            Later I made my way to a corner store to buy a new SIM chip for my dinky TECNO cell phone.  While installing it, a Spanish woman came in to the store for the same purpose, yet had difficulty installing the chip.  I enjoyed trying to help her, speaking Spanish for the first time in ages, but came to the conclusion that her phone was unlocked.  She returned the chip and package open to the cashier.  Although I had left Ghana, Ghana has yet to leave me; I quickly asked the man, “How much for the open chip?” and bargained the guy to sell it to me for two pounds, a discount of over 50%.  I think we both smiled.

            In the afternoon, I finished my laundry and went grocery shopping.  I cooked dinner and felt exhaustion begin to settle in.  I ate carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and vegetarian ravioli (Vegetables were strictly off limits in Ghana due to the potential washing in dirty water). 

            With a completely full stomach for the first time in a while, I fell asleep before 9 in a new home.  More adventure and work to come!