I had said goodbye to the server at the restaurant where I used to have my daily lunch. As I walked back to the office after lunch hour, I tried to attentively observe the streets, the restaurants on the way, the mothers carrying their babies tightly tied on their back, the distinct questioning honk of the taxi asking me if I needed a ride and so much more. I wanted to remember it all.

Today was my last day at work.

The feeling of not going to work every day feels a bit strange. I had just settled in my new schedule of going to work early in the morning. Saying hi to the regular faces waiting for their tro-tro and learning new words of Twi every day from that same friendly fruit vendor had become a norm. As I was getting comfortable, it is time to go back.

I have not been to my home in New Delhi for a year, and I will go directly there to visit family for five weeks before I head back to Eugene. Though there is excitement to meet them after a complete year, I feel particularly sad when some good relationships were beginning to form with people here in Ghana. My colleagues at work have been extremely affable. They have not just helped me at work, but also tried their best to make me have a good taste of Ghanaian culture.

I remember my colleague Rosemary patiently teaching me to eat banku and okru soup while trying her best to keep a straight face. After we had finished, she kindly handed me a napkin to wipe my face and dress that had random splashes of the reddish-brown soup.

It is a bitter sweet feeling…