I've reached that point in my trip when the homesickness has set in. I miss my family and feel like I need a break. It is not that I want to go home yet but just a quick stop to say hi for a few days, as if it were a regular break at school. I think I am feeling like this because with every day that passes, I set a new record for the longest consecutive amount of time that I have ever been away from home. I did not think I would notice it that much because it is only a few weeks more than other semesters, plus I am in AFRICA so I was sure that there would be more than enough to keep me busy and my mind preoccupied. But I guess I didn't realize how much being at home just even for those few days packed full of stuff can make a difference and 100% re-energize you, and I cannot figure out what special factor it is that makes that possible.
Perhaps it is the familiarity of the environment, not having to be in a new place and constantly calculating your movements and trying to find ways of making a foreign place (whether Decorah, IA or Dar es Salaam, TZ) a second home with that same comfortable feeling. Or maybe it is your family, that they will always love you no matter if you do well on a test, forget to turn off your alarm before leaving for work or even are just having a bad day. More than likely, it is probably because of the way you are doted on when you come home for breaks, a very absent luxury in the fend-for-yourself atmosphere in the college realm. Mom cooks whatever your heart desires and takes time from work to spend with you; Dad always has an apple crisp warm out of the oven and plays board games while swapping stories (perhaps an even more elaborate version of his successfuk deer hunting weekend than you have ever heard?...just teasing, Pops); my sister spends girl time with me after dropping plans for homework or other social engagements (but with her at Luther now too, I guess we instead will get to share in the break fun together). They always revolve their lives around me when I am home for a break, and in retrospect, I guess I have to admit I really liked it. I liked being cared for and safe to be who I really am.
Now that we're into November with a little under a month from our departure date, we can almost start the last downhill stretch, yet not quite. It is like we are just sitting at the top of the hill, waiting. Waiting for what? Days to pass as the countdown draws nearer to December 13th. But counting down this final month is not at all done in anxiousness to “finally be done”; to think like that would be to cheapen the experience and imply that I haven't loved almost every minute here and learned more than I can ever express. Rather, we wait for the countdown in anticipation of seeing our family and friends, and each day that passes will remind us that we need to channel that excitement for seeing them into efforts to accomplish as much as we can in the little time we have remaining.
*Picture was taken at a craft market in Arusha last weekend, my third trip north; it has become a sort of home in TZ for me, I guess. I'm holding some of the Maasai beaded work for sale there and just love the vibrant colors and the paintings in the background, don't you? Doesn't hurt that it was a perfectly beautiful day, too...
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