Wednesday, January 15, 2014
2205, Baja Kunda, The Gambia
This
journal entry has been edited for content.
Its been forever since I’ve picked up
this book. Its just been sitting on my desk with some other books. Not sure
what compelled me to pick it up just now, but I suppose I should record some of
the things that stand out in my mind. My last entry was early April. Since then
some of my close friends here have returned home, some very unexpectedly. I can
even recall events from two separate days towards the middle of last year. Both
easily being two of the worst days of my life. It took so much of myself to keep
a level head during those times, but fortunately I was able to.
Not everything was bad though, there
were some highlights. I got to go to two separate yoga retreats. Enjoyed myself
at both of them. I’ve met some amazing people who came into the country. Some
are still here, some have returned to their homes. I still stay in touch with
those that have left. I helped lead Marathon March a few times. Had a blast
doing that and I think the trainees enjoyed it. HIV/AIDS bike trek was awesome.
I had a great teaching partner for that. Some friends even came to see me at my
village.
Lately my time here feels like a
balancing act. I have good days and bad days, wonderful days and just down
right awful days. Some mornings I wake up with a splitting headache and
aggravated with the sound of children crying and donkeys squealing. Days like
that just make me think “forget this place.” Other mornings I wake up with a
great amount of energy and a productive and positive attitude. Again its all a
balancing act.
I’ve been thinking a lot about home
lately. Especially since the holidays were recent. I can’t say that I’m too
upset about not being home for the holidays. Even before I joined the Peace
Corps there have been many times when I didn’t get to see my family, so it’s
not a new thing for me. But I still can’t help but think about them and my
other loved ones back home. Fortunately I was able to get on Facebook on
Christmas day and send messages to people. Christmas here was good too. Spent
it with a small group of volunteers and we had a nice meal and watched a movie.
We didn’t have a tree, or snow, or an assortment of presents, but we were okay.
Sometimes thinking about going home
makes feel both excited and anxious. I can’t stay forever, I have to go home at
some point. And I’m getting closer to that point. Sometimes I wish I could
fast-forward time, and other times I tell myself to settle down and focus on
the here and now. I look forward to seeing people when I get home. As well as
other things like having clean feet and people not calling me toubab. Man I hate that word! But for
now I got to live in the moment. Despite some of the things that I dislike
about being here, this is pretty awesome. I’m doing something amazing! And this
West African adventure is about to get even more awesome in the coming months.
Next stop… Morocco!
