Today we visited the Kwame Nkrumah memorial and museum and it was just so beautiful and awesome and inspiring. I didn't know anything about him, so it was really great to learn about someone who was critical to the independence of Ghana. The tour guide that we had was really great and I really, thoroughly enjoyed hearing him go through the artifacts and photographs in the museum, telling us in great detail and with great enthusiasm about each. History and museum tours aren't always the most interesting things in the world, but he made it all so riveting and wonderful. I walked away from the tour very inspired by what this one man was able to accomplish and his ability to cultivate relationships even with all kinds of people (befriending JFK and Fidel Castro? Insane!). I definitely want to find a couple of his books and read them to learn more about him and his interests / research / observations.
After the tour and picking up one more member of our group from the airport, we began the long drive to Kumasi. Unfortunately for us, some storms rolled in, so we were not only driving over rickety back roads and up hills, but also through a serious downpour. All in all it took us about 7 hours to get to Kumasi, and thanks to Francis we all made it safe and sound. On the way there, Dr. Okech and I sat down together (because the rain from outside was pouring through the window and drenching me in my original seat) and had a chat. He had approached me saying he wanted to get to know me, and I just really loved that he's getting to each person on this trip in an attempt to know more about them. It was really great to just open up and discuss my past, present, future, and beliefs and expectations of life. My favorite thing was our discussion on the meaning of life, which he asked me about when I said that I wasn't a religious person. Our agreement was basically that what really gives meaning to life and what matters most are the relationships that you have with people and the impact that you leave, whether on one person or many. He said a lot of very kind things to me about how he thought I seemed like a very strong person who knew herself well and would do well and change the world. It's not like I don't hear those kinds of things from friends and family, but it's kind of nice to hear them from a complete stranger. After the chat with Dr. Okech, I chatted with Dr. Lowe for quite sometime before alternating between nodding off and reading for the rest of the trip.
When we got to this hotel,I felt like kind of a brat. I think we were spoiled by the first hotel, because to be honest, this is probably more like what I had expected our hotels to be anyways. Dim light, weird shower, creaky everything, tiny cell block space. But honestly, it isn't so bad. I also realized that's left Harrison at the first hotel, and that only made things worse. I won't lie, I felt like crying for a second there and when I told Katie not to judge me if I did, she made a good point. Basically her reasoning was that there were already frustrations and anxiety and things like that over various issue within me so loosing my little guy was just a valid reason to actually express those frustrations. I sucked it up like a big girl though. I just scrapbooked my day (who needs drugs when I can craft) and I felt a lot less uneasy about everything. Tomorrow we're supposed to be starting the day off with a tour, so I'm really just so excited to be in a new place and to explore and do more.
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