Page 82 - Obruni In Ghana | Amber Lockridge

80 EPISODE 10: COMING HOME – PART 2
Entering the Ghanaian airport last August, my first thought was “everyone is black!” Sitting in the London airport I am filled with the same startled realization, everyone is white! It’s making my vaguely uneasy. People blend into walls and lights and I can’t seem to see them coming. I can’t help staring at everyone; they don’t seem real. What must this experience be like for a Ghanaian leaving Africa for the first time?
There are so many lights here that it hurts my eyes. My nose stings with every breath and my dry throat aches for lack of humidity. I’m cold and it is absurdly quiet. This many Ghanaians in one place would be crazy, loud, and emotional.
It’s ironic that in that country you can never quite leave the Western world behind. Foreign TV shows, clothes and billboards abound. But step off a single plane outside of Africa and Ghana is swallowed into oblivion. I spot a few touches here and there, shea butter for sale and a lone woman in bright cloth, a child tied across her back. These fill me with unanticipated warmth and fondness. I am