If you haven’t noticed I’ve been m.i.a. for a little while. Well, the news is my family and I moved from sunny Southern California to… wait for it… even sunnier Western Africa!!! Accra, Ghana to be precise.
Why, you ask? Well, if we told you all the details we’d have to kill you. Let’s just say it has to do with the hubs’ job and the U.S. gov’t. Very official stuff.
As you can imagine prepping for the move took over my life and getting here and trying to get our little clan used to living in Ghana has been all consuming. But we are finally settling in and getting into the swing of things. Life is… interesting… and good. Having to navigate the traffic, power outages and mosquitos is not ideal… But the simple living, exploring the culture, the accessibility of fresh fruits & veggies (seriously there’s like a farmers market on every corner) and, on a deeper level, being able to have my feet on the soil in Africa is amazing.
Getting to this place hasn’t been easy. Leaving my friends and family in the States was much more difficult emotionally than I thought it would be and although I had ample time to mentally prepare I was not ready and I was NOT happy. The key though, for me, has been to let go of my expectations. I had to stop worrying about what I thought this place and this journey would be and just accept and experience it for what it is. Once I did that I realized just how beautiful this experience could be.
And now, my friends, back to our daily illustration posts… possibly peppered with a few adventures.
This is gonna be fun!
-Nicole Updegraff
drawing the life you want!
