Home and Back Again

I had no idea what to expect when I returned home. I had spent three months in the middle of nowhere. Anywhere I had gone I stood out like a sore thumb, as a foreigner; everyone just stopped and watched. In Tanzania the electricity was on when it felt like it, and the rest of the modern conveniences that existed followed a similar trend. Considering all of this, I am surprised to reflect and see that I had little to no culture shock.

There were a few physical things that took me back. I was always surprised to get hot water out of the tap. Whenever I saw wet plates or silverware my first thought was to dry them off, before remembering that the water from the tap is clean. Other than that, being home was normal, and a really great break.

Coming back to Africa was quite a bit harder this time because I knew already the pain I would feel from missing people. In addition to missing people, I miss the understanding that surrounds me at home between everyone I interact with, both verbally and culturally. As much as I try to be culturally open, its hard to have people here, in Tanzania, curious, almost skeptical, of all the things that I do and believe, especially when they are things that are so fundamentally me that I never even thought about them. I suppose the rigidness of the culture here plays a role in the level of comfort I feel as an outsider. I have to mention that if this sounds miserable, I have given the wrong tone. It is definitely difficult, and after returning to my comfort zone for two weeks I would even call it a struggle for the moment, but it's good. I'm gaining a lot personally, and making a difference for the people around me. I also have come to the conclusion that by accepting the fact of not really fitting in with the people here, I can then be an influence to others. I can be an example of gender equality and other more subtle things.

At the moment, I'm sitting outside the local motel waiting to eat. Lunch was supposed to be at one, but its now one thirty, and still no sign of food. So I guess I will move on to the actual return and the past two weeks.

We returned just three days after the Kenyan elections with a group of about ten teachers. It was nice to travel with such a variety of people and personalities that still shared similar interests to mine. At first I could only think about missing people, but when we landed, the air and the weather, and everything about Nairobi reminded me that it was all worth it, and that this was what I wanted to be doing. After spending two weeks in Midwest winter, I felt that 'beginning of summer' feel the first few days that I was here. It was unlike my previous arrival, as I had come straight from a Cincinnati summer.

The journey to Shirati was a bonding experience with the new group. In addition to the experience of traveling through a political situation with a six year old - even if she is the world's best behaved six year old (Maya, Dr. Oerther's daughter, travelled with the group - NS) - it was New Years Eve, and we had temporary trouble on the underside of the car. We got stuck so bad that we tied the two cars together to pull the other out, then we punctured the oil pan of one van which put it totally out of use. This was while driving through safari (but not to look at the animals, only to take a less traveled road) which meant we were as in-the-middle-of-nowhere as possible. We once again tied the two vans together, stuffed all the luggage into one van, all the people into another (which made 12 in a nine person van), and pulled the second van to a small intersection. Amazingly the luggage van made it to our destination later that night, only a few hours after us; a miracle worked by our driver.

The two weeks with the group here were productive, and a change of pace of work for me. With the group gone, I'm still getting back into the life I was used to here for two months. There are several things that are different this time, but the changes seem to be adding a dynamic that keeps things interesting and challenging.

It's 2:15 and still no lunch!!!