A World Away....

I'm on my way back to NY...sitting in the airport in Amsterdam.....trying to believe I'm still back in Ghana...but easily reminded I'm not, as I look around and see the lavishes I've been without for the past 5 weeks. How could it be that one continent can be so entirely different than another one. Though I've only traveled 6 hours to get to Amersterdam..I truly feel a world away from the one I experienced in Ghana. I've gone to the bathroom more times here in Amsterdam than I have in probably 2 1/2 days in Ghana. Why...you might ask? Well...because they are readily available here, toilets...tissue paper...running water and all. In Ghana....I'd have to pray very hard at times not have to use the facilities...and if my prayers weren't answered...I'd pray harder to find a "comfortable" spot to do my business. For most people....a toilet is nothing more than a porcelin figure sitting in their bathroom. My time in Ghana...I know see it as a luxury!!! (I've already promised myself to go home and clean my toilet as if it were gold! :)

Everything looks a bit wierd here.....though in a short time...it'll all once again look familiar. I just question why it is I have to take a plane to see and feel what is in Amsterdam....NY....but a place like Ghana is without so many of the things we take for granted...and will continue to take for granted. For the past week.....I've been without running water. Everytime I went to the tap....I prayed that water would flow out of it....so I could wash my hair...my hands...or flush the toilet. It came back for about 2 hours...and then quickly disappeared. To my friends...it's a part of life there...not really able to be so annoyed or concerned...since it happens so irregular. To any American, it would be a great disturbance, at times...so unaware of that running water is actually a "luxury" in many parts of the world!

Why it is that some countries have so much...while others have so little. Though...what I have realized is that on the outside, countries like America and Europe might have so much...but in reality, it is countries like Ghana that truly have more than America will ever have. You have to go there to truly understand what I'm trying to convey. And I hope you do!