So here I am...December has somehow snook up from behind the crops and harvests and is now marching ahead of me in a 'You're going home soon missy!' African dance. Wow. It is taking me a lot of time and energy to get my head around the fact that in three weeks time I'll be dancing at my leaving party, eating my last bowl of fufu (!!), and saying goodbye to all my World Vision colleagues and Zebilla friends. I've got the biggest lump in my throat even writing about it, it's going to be sooooooooooooooo hard to say goodbye!!

I've therefore had to start to get myself into wind-down and finish-up gear, and boy is that a hard thing to do. I've quivered at the pile of paperwork I'm supposed to complete for VSO before I leave, and gulped at the long list of things I am supposed to be involved in with World Vision before I go. Pheweee, it looks like I'll be ending this trip in the same whirlwind style as I started it! But somehow, I've managed to make some headway practically, and emotionally I've shifted from thinking about how much I'll miss this place, and not wanting this amazing experience to come to an end, to getting super excited about the fact that so soon I will see all my friends and family again (oh dear even bigger lump in throat), and thinking about everything that I've done in this last year and all the amazing experiences I have had.

Being a VSO volunteer for just under a year has been a really profound experience, which most of the time we volunteers are simply 'in', but coming out of it is like stepping outside of the bubble and looking at what it has been, and it's just fantastic. I do feel very lucky to have first of all had the opportunity (and the sabbatical from work!), and second of all to have been so lucky with my placement and the town in which I have found myself.

So my last few weeks here are going to be all about finishing up at work, writing my reports, making the most of time with friends and adoptive families, and enjoying every last bit of Zebilla life and Ghanaian culture before I leave (lots of eating, singing and dancing coming on then I think!). I've also got to find a way to ensure that what I have done so far can in some way be continued and built upon, so I'm hoping that a new CASO will come to replace me in the near future!

In the middle of all that, there is the national elections, so things could be quite interesting the next few weeks! And then of course there is Christmas!!! It doesn't feel Christmassy at all here, not in a bad way, just that with the hot sun and blue skies, and absence of zillions of adverts for Christmas stuff, and all the shops bursting with gifts and wrapping paper...to be honest this does make a nice change! I am sure it'll be super hard to be away from home nearer the time, I am already missing the trips to xmas markets with friends all wrapped up in cosy hast and scarves drinking mulled wine and eating frosty marshallows (!), but the brilliant decorations and huge amounts of goodies that my folks and sister have sent are already making up for it!

Oh, and just to make a quick apology if I can't Skype call as often as usual or if my emails are not as long (probably a good thing haha), as it's going to be a full on few weeks from here! And a warning to friends and family at home; be prepared to be squishy squashed with the hugs I have in store for you!!

With love from Ghana,

Em

Xx