Page 94 - Obruni In Ghana | Amber Lockridge

92 EPISODE 11: LOSING GHANA
finally see a deep-rooted American culture in what had always appeared to me before as a shallow ever- shifting face of modern trend. I watched “O brother, where art thou?” and for the first time felt really and truly proud to be an American.
It cannot be said that my transition back home has been easy. In some respects, I don’t think I was pessimistic enough. Life is so much more complicated when there’s no end-of-stay orientation in sight. You can’t just graciously endure the injustices of the world for a few more months and then fly away before they break you down.
I am no longer me in this place, defined as I willit. IamamixofwhoIamnow,whoIusedtobe, and a comparison to the standards of my society and class. Old jokes are sometimes pleasantly nostalgic but sometimes equally painful. Suddenly I am physically weak, disorganized, emotional, serious, socially awkward, a nerd, overdramatic, intellectual, and “not as pretty as my sister”. I don’t really seem to have a choice as to whether I’m these things or