IT'S BEEN A WHILE...

I did not realize how long I had not posted a blog until this morning. I was in a work meeting earlier today when someone pointed out; "what does an African Nomad stand for; have you been traveling in Africa"? I froze for about 10 seconds because I had forgotten my Gmail account still had "an African nomad" as the username.  A part of my brain had to recollect that I used to post blogs some 8 years ago! The fact that it's been 8 years is mentally jarring to think about. 

A big part of why I started this blog was to share my experiences as a Ghanaian immigrant some decade ago when I first moved to the US as a student. I wanted to share about my new life here, partially due to extreme home sickness; a longing for what I once knew and yet a hopefulness for newness I was being challenged to embrace. I lived a big part of my life prior to immigrating to the US, with my parents and 4 sisters. We lived in several cities and small towns in the Southern part of the West African coastal country. My sisters and I attended about 6 schools on average prior to High School, so I never really felt a sense of stability. Whiles I enjoyed our simple, mundane family routines which were mostly spent cooking, cleaning, helping our mother out with baking, going to church etc, being the new kid almost every 3 years in a new school was not the most enjoyable experience. It meant not having a stable group of friends and as a child, that level of instability felt earth-shattering. Even though this was a downside, one of the blessings my formative years as a child created for me was becoming close to my sisters. I will even call them friends. Having to be the new kids all the time meant we were forced to be nice to each other :) and out of that, I would say, we found a treasure; a close-knit sisterhood which up to today, remains one of the most important relationships in my life. Family time always fills my heart in the most warming way; for that, I am grateful.

Once I moved to the US, this core foundation of closeness to family was shaken and to say the least, rocked me in ways I couldn't describe at the time. Thankfully in the last decade, I have been blessed with many friends and family away from family who I believe God used to remind me that HE is always there and knows what we need best. I have since been able to visit home and part of that home sickness has been cured; and for that, I am grateful. Grilled, spicy catfish which may or may not upset your gut microbiome, leading to a few trips to the bathroom remains a culinary experience I will forever look forward to in Amasaman (Accra, Ghana). In an interesting turn of events, I have stayed here way longer than I anticipated and to that, I believe God has a plan. Do I consider the US home now? Maybe. I still feel like I am straddling 2 worlds; a place I have always called home and another I am still learning to call home.

Since I was last here some 8 years ago, I went back to school to study Global Health, I have been able to visit Ghana to see family 3 times, there's been a global P*NDEMIC ( I hear you can't spell or say this word on the Internets), I visited Disneyland and as a Disney adult, it remains one of my top 3 favorite life moments, I have run 2 marathons and currently training for a 3rd (and maybe final, because "why are you running"?), I started learning piano and fell in love with the works of Bach, Schumann and Beethoven, I picked up baking even though, the cake I have tried to make always turns out to be too hard (I blame the flour..haha) and up until this post, I have been working in the healthcare industry after leaving the field of Biotechnology where I worked for some 7+ years! A lot has happened and while I have gone through many transitions, I have learned more than ever the joys of family, good friendships and the opportunity to "SANKOFA"; a Twi (Ghanaian language) proverbial saying which literally means "to go back and get it".  I am starting blogging again and this time, I hope to share about the simple, joyful ways I am living; whether it's in the music I love to play, in family times, spending time with loved ones or perfecting my cake recipe so it tastes better than a pseudo-biscuit! 

Some life update; in pictures..