Farewell to My Summer Abroad

I just returned from taking a walk on Meads Bay. Next to Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay is my next favorite stretch of beach. It’s about two miles long and borders the island’s largest cluster of hotels and guest houses. From Viceroy to Malliouhana. I like this beach also because it’s pure sand. Some of the others I spent time on were very rocky. Someone explained that the tide had washed out so much sand as to reveal the rocky land beneath the sea water. The Cove and Rendezvous Bay for a example are pretty and usually have tourists but I ended up with mini cuts on my feet cos I was always having to negotiate the rocks and gritty sand.

So I went to say goodbye to Yemaya this morning. I’m a bit sad to be leaving her and the ability to visit her everyday, yet I am now quite eager to return to work to begin this new academic year. There are tons of ideas floating around my head and I am almost jittery with excitement. I have missed four days of prep because I needed to stay for the closing rituals of the summer, and also my ticket would have been more expensive had I left last week. So anyway, I’ve been in touch with our new director who just arrived and the energy from her is infectious. We also have two new RDs and I am looking forward to meeting them.

I woke up today pondering if I was satisfied with how my summer had turned out. I was a little hard on myself because I had not done anything with the memoir besides read parts of it. I was also a bit disappointed because I hadn’t written everyday as I had originally planned. But I had to snap out of it and remember that i did write. I contributed two pieces to Adventures. I contributed a piece to Jennifer Browdy’s upcoming anthology which is an offshoot of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers program. I contributed a piece to This Is Africa and I wrote quite a number of blog posts. While doing this, I cooked once a week for my host and the family and tried to be as helpful around the house as I was allowed to be.  I served as a tour guide on three occasions and that gave me great joy. Imagine knowing a place well enough to show others around! I did some emotional work in finally getting out that piece about identity. I made some new friends, one of who I’d love to have visit me in the U.S. I met one of the other Africans on the island. (everyone said we looked alike…go figure).  I have made a promise to take a couple people back to Ghana universe willing in 2015. So have I had a productive summer? I think I’d have to cut myself some slack.

I hope wherever you are and whatever you’ve been doing with your summer, it’s been good. You have stayed cool (or warm depending on which hemisphere you are in) and you’ve had some fun. Thank you for coming along on my island journey this summer. See you back stateside!