a quick pre-departure note

So, my time in Ghana has come to an end. I'm flying home tonight, and with any luck and a little providence, I'll be in San Francisco (with all my bags?) Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. PST. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go (thanks John Denver), but I honestly can't believe that this trip is over. I'm ecstatic to get home to everyone and everything that's waiting for me there, but Ghana has a little piece of my heart. So do the mosquitos, literally, who have been eating me alive in recent days; I think they're just really sad I'm leaving. Regardless of the bugs, I hope to come back. I'm not done with this country, but it's time to come home. The following quotation, which Ryan provided from a book he read, summarizes it best: “It’s a long time to be gone, but a short time to be there.”

Anyway, even though this is the end of the trip, it's not quite the end of the blog. There's still a few story ideas and half-finished entries floating around, so once I get home and have a little more time for updating, I'll get those posted. In the meantime, I'm going to get out of the internet cafe and get back into the world ... I only have a few more hours here, and I intend to savor every one of them.

See you in the States!