Day 81 (tuesday) Final day in Africa!

The Accra mall.  It was really a change of pace but nice nonetheless.

Just a cool building across the street from the mall.

Me and the fam...unfortunately the picture that included Aunty Grace did not turn out well so this will have to do.

Me and Maame Esi...total sweetheart.

Me and the one who made this all possible...Maureen.

I didn't really sleep much but I figure that I've got a long day of traveling tonight so it will be ok. I spoke with Maureen for a short time and we discussed what the day was going to look like. I can't believe that the experience is coming to a close and that today is my last day in Africa. We had a little bit of lunch and then set off for town. I was planning on looking at a jersey that I saw a couple days ago and I know that someone would have liked it. We met the lady who makes beaded jewelry at her place so we could see more of her items and I found some really cool things. I bought a few of her pieces and she was so nice that she included a fancy looking bracelet (I bought another one similar to it because I was going to give it to Maureen and the lady included another for no cost so I ended up giving them both to her). As we were looking through more of the necklaces and bracelets, a woman came frantically into the shop to let us know that the president of Ghana had just died. Maureen thought it was clever to say that it was quite a coincidence that he passes away on the day I was leaving. We got a pretty good laugh out of it. After the shop we traveled into another part of Accra to a bookstore because Aunty Grace wanted something. Maureen couldn't find exactly what she was looking for but ended up with a couple books (mind you it was purely a christian based book store). As we were walking towards the main road I saw a few things and decided to check it out just in case I couldn't find what I was originally after. I settled on a cool scarf (also for somebody else) and made our way into one of the busier parts of town. We walked by the shop and it didn't look familiar so we walked up and over the crosswalk to make sure and we went back down and I couldn't find the jersey I saw the day/s before. It wasn't too big of a deal but it was starting to get a little late and I wanted to spend some time with the fam before I had to go. We got home and I finished writing my letter to Maureen. It was really hard because, as I said in the letter, there are no adequate words to express how grateful that I am for her. I had planned all along to leave her some money so I included a nice bill with the letter and bracelets. I told her that she couldn't open it until I was gone though, just to make sure that she would accept it. I took a quick shower and came in for my last meal which included stew, rice, and my favorite fried red plantanes. After the food, the family wanted to get together for a little fellowship and prayer. Aunty Grace is wonderful with words and said a lot of valuable and sweet things and Uncle Joe, well, he's just Uncle Joe (a sweetheart). Afterwards, Maureen had given me a bunch of little things for a few people that she got the chance to meet. She also wanted to give me the books that she bought at the bookstore earlier in the day (I felt so bad but I respectfully declined them. It also turns out that I didn't have the room in my bags for them so I told her that I would contact her at a later time via email and possibly have her send them with Kwadwo as he will be spending the fall semester in Salt Lake City). We took a few pictures with the family and started saying our goodbyes (they were going to church and Maureen and a cousin were going to take me to the airport). It was kind of interesting to note that one of the cousins, Maame Esi, sort of took a liking to me but didn't talk to me until the night before (just a few words) and the day of my departure. It was sweet and she is certainly a cute girl. I was packed and ready to go so we headed to the airport to try and get there early. We hit a little bit of traffic but nothing too crazy, as expected. I got in and Kwadwo had come from Kumasi to see me off. The terminal was super hectic so I thought I might be in line for a long time but British Airways was the only airline at the time with almost no line at all so I was checked in really quickly. We spent the next couple hours just sitting around and having some drinks and finally it was time for me to go to my gate. It was tough to say goodbye but I hugged Maureen one last time and turned around and didn't look back. I went through the customs process and apparently I was supposed to extend my visa as it was only good for 60 days so the (*$&#) immigration officers hassled me and I had to pay to get them to stamp my passport (not only were they incredibly rude to me but they tried to overcharge me...I called them out on the price inconsistency and got the guy to say it too). I got to the gate and they were already boarding for my 10:45 flight.