Mzungu in the District

Welcome back! USA to Africa!
Left to right: Kate, Tirzah, Doug and Diana

I couldn't have asked for a better welcome home. It's true I have some of the greatest friends on the planet. Tirzah pulls up curbside to pick me up with her car all decorated in welcome signs! She knew I was sad to be home and her excitement to see me was just what I needed. Africa to America may only be a day of flying apart, but it's a world apart...

The drive home was short and I excitedly talked about my adventures away and inquired about the hubbub of the District. Tirzah had had a long couple of weeks moving and I think it was good for me to hear the more normal circumstances of my home.

As we neared my apartment, I realized I wasn't even excited to be in it. My home had become my house while I was away.

My staircase up to the door seemed long. The double lock keeping my things safe seemed excessive. I slowly inserted by key, not sure what the other side held for me. I've never been away from my apartment for that long and not really missed it. I didn't know what to expect.

What was on the other side, I never would've guessed. Kate, Diana, Doug and Tirzah had surprised me with a welcome home party!!! I had an instant realization that it was their faces that I wanted to see. There was so much to talk about and my brain was still in sleep mode from my flight. It was so special to be welcomed by my nearest and dearest friends.

I realized quickly enough that I hadn't become an entirely new person. My first thought went to how messy I had left my apartment! They assured me it wasn't, but I know better...I'm fairly certain they made my bed. Now, that is true friendship!!

We made small talk - I couldn't handle much more than that! The adventures too numerous, the challenges too massive, and the changes too precise to even know where to begin. For now, the short conversations would suffice. I have so much to share that I can't imagine I'll ever convey justly.

I was asked what single word I would use to describe my experience and it took me just a few minutes to decide what it was...happy. Not my happiness, which, of course, I was, but their happiness. I have never seen so many smiles and so much joy in my life. Moshi is a town of immense wealth...just not the kind we are used to in the States.

I've started thinking about my future plans. I want to go back. I have to go back...a piece of me is still there. I don't want to return to help them. They don't need help. They are more rich than so many people here in the States. I realize that's another trite statement and a gross overgeneralization, but it's simply the truth. I have even seen that in my life, I find myself always needing and wanting more. How can that be? I am one of the wealthiest people I know -- I have a healthy family and friends who I can always count on and are always by my side. I think that's what everyone learns when they go to Africa. The people in their lives are what make a life worth living. I learned even more...

Left to right: Tirzah, me, Kate and Diana

Left to right: Tirzah, me, Diana and Doug

In Tanzania, you don't say 'goodbye', you say 'badaaye'

I've made it back to the States...in body, not quite yet in spirit. Everything here is so drastically different it's hard to get back into my life, knowing that the old life isn't exactly what I want. The goodbyes were hard. I made a lot of new friends in the volunteers from around the world and from the local volunteers in Tanzania. Mostly, though, I made a connection with the place. I felt so at home, constantly covered in dirt, being called mzungu, and incessantly mobbed by little kids.

My ride to the airport was a somber one. It still didn't feel like I was really leaving. I think Moshi must've fit me like a glove because even as I was leaving, everyone was shocked that I was only a three-weeker. I had found my place and a home in Moshi.

It was surreal at the airport. The day before I had taken Ann-Michelle to the airport. It was finally my time. Jes was my traveling buddy, so that made things a little easier. Richard and Athumani both took us to the airport...dressed in their finest! Athumani had been ill from malaria all week, but rested up enough to give me a proper fairwell. Our goodbyes were exchanged. My tears were withheld. I don't cry in front of people.

Jes and I head to the passport window for the final bon voyage from Moshi. The passport guy wouldn't stamp me. I had my excuse! I couldn't leave!!!! My visa hadn't been properly filled out by the visa gods, which is surely how getting a work visa works. Alas, since Jes and I were traveling together, it was fairly easy to convince him to let me go...darn it.

As we boarded the plane, my imminent departure became even more of a reality. I wasn't ready to be dragged away. My time had only just begun...and yet time had passed and I knew I made an impact, even if only a little one, and a big impact had been made in me. As the plane taxied down the runway, I listened to my farewell song, Africa by Toto. It's trite, but the song rings so true. "It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you..." And it did. The clouds covered Mount Kilimanjaro as if to shield her from the goodbye that was due to her. The plane lifted. It was taking me away from the piece of my heart that Moshi had taken...or had I given it freely? I sat, I think in a bit of shock and disbelief. My only respite was knowing that my heart will one day soon be reunited.

"...I know that I must do what's right
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti..."