It has been more than 20 days since I came back from the Ghana trip. The influence I brought back still keeps impacting my family. They ask all kinds of questions whenever they can, over and over again. Sometimes, I feel like they just want to confirm with me that the images of Africa in their minds (they got them from media of course) are true.

They consider Africa as a whole with unsolvable problems like poor, pollution, hunger, disease, and etc. Recently, with the most popular Chinese film in history (more than 5 billion RMB box office, about $750 million USD) showing up this summer, Chinese people’s misunderstandings of Africa get even deeper. In the film, War Wolf II (Jing Wu, 2017), Africans are living in hell.

However, the beautiful gifts I brought back from Ghana for my family present a better image of Africa than what I could describe. My family is impressed by the clothes aunty Janet designed, the jewelries Sowah made, and the wood decorations I bought from the street. Unlike the negative attitude they had two months ago, now they keep reminding me that next time I go to Africa, remember to get more custom-made cloths and bracelets for them. “Next time you go, I want a dress like this and a ring like this,” they say.

Sharing my Ghana memory becomes a routine at my family dinner. And I know it will continue for a while. Because the experience and pretties I got from Ghana also brought my family joy and happiness.

I have started making the list of the things I need to do next time I go to Ghana. Yes, of course it will be a next time, or even next times.

Shuo’s Ghana exploring is waiting to be continued.