I've been home for a little over a week now and it's been a whirlwind. I attended Libby and Chad's wedding on Saturday, visited my sister for a few days, caught up with a bunch of friends in the area, caught a cold, and even had a job interview. The first four or five days was complete bliss. All I kept thinking was how beautiful America is. Landing in Rochester I was looking over the perfect suburbs from the plane. The pretty schools, someone making a splash in their backyard pool, and sidewalks! Remember those? What a wonderful concept!
My house is so beautiful! My sister is so beautiful! These trees are so beautiful! This cheese is so beautiful. I felt like this world was immaculate and I wasn't worthy to touch anything. A fear perhaps justified, considering even after two showers my sister exclaimed, "You smell like Africa!"
And then it started to hit me. Not all at once, but gradually. That job interview. Boy, was I unprepared. The real world is going to be tough. I don't think I can do the office thing. Going through boxes of old clothes, I heard Shaka's voice in my head. "Why do white people need so many clothes?" And these stupid sidewalks. What a waste! Do you know how many wells we could build with this amount of cement?
I went to the public market with my mom today. Saturday morning market! It was fun. In a way it reminded me of back in village, but in a way, not so much. No bargaining. No greeting for heaven's sake. My mom just goes up to the guy and yells, "How much are the onions?" How rude! She could have at least said good morning and asked how his wife and children were doing, and given even just one blessing! And nobody in this country has figured out how much easier it is to carry heavy items on your head. (It is a LITTLE bit harder without a head wrap. Maybe next week). We also stopped at the Pittsford Wegmans, and I put on my horse blinders so as not to freak out too much. I've heard about many returned Peace Corps Volunteers having emotional breakdowns in the cereal aisle.
Donni Donni, I still need to remember.
Tomorrow is a thank you picnic. Everyone is invited. It's a chance for me and my family to thank you and give you thanks on behalf of the people of Dombila, for all the support you have given in the past two years. Whether you donated, sent me a letter, or even just clicked on this blog every once in a while, you are part of this. So please join us at 3:30 on.
I'll write one more entry after the picnic, and that'll be it.
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2 comments:
Hi Em! My name is Jon and I am a student at CU Boulder. I am currently in a Reporting 2 class and I am writing a story about what future peace corps volunteers can expect to see if they leave for a West African country. The story has to have a science or environmental theme to it.
After reading your blog, it's obvious that some of the stuff you write about has a lot to do with my story and I was hoping you could answer some of the following questions if you have the time: What vaccines did you have to get before and while volunteering? What diseases and/or general illnesses were common in your country while you were volunteering? Were you been sick at all? What different creatures, animals, insects, etc. did you encounter (or not want to encounter) during your volunteering? Also, if there is anything else you could share about the environment you live in, that would be great. For instance, is it stifling hot? Or too rainy?
Thank you so much and I (as a hopeful future peace corps volunteer) look forward to reading more of your blog.
p.s. this story won't be printed, it is just for my class
whoops, forgot to give you my contact info. in case you are interested. My email is jonathan.tattum@colorado.edu
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