Then, before I knew it, I traveled to the States. Those 2.5 weeks flew by. I saw my sister, Sarah, graduate at Hofstra on Long Island. Then went to lovely Vermont to see family and friends with a week. Then I traveled out to Elmira to see some 2012s graduate. It was wonderful being home, but very surreal. Here are some observations I noted in my journal while traveling/ being at home:
while waiting in Brussels airport, my thought: people don't talk to each other here, it's too clean, what's the rush anyway?
"i have no service here, it says searching" - an american tourist.....honey i never EVER have service in my village, i wanted to say to her.
on airplane from brussels to jfk:
woman sitting next to me with her newborn baby: i hope you don't mind if i breastfeed
me (chuckling): it's no problem, i live in africa
thoughts while in the states:
-everyone is technology CRAZY, they are all hooked in, not to each other but to their technology
-instantaneousness (is that a word?), craze about the news and what is going on in every corner of the world at every single second
-facebook/twitters is turning our nation into a bunch of narcissists
-EXCESS of food, cards, clothes, materials
I think the hardest part about being home was simply explaining my life here to people. Only my father really knew what questions to ask, because he's been here and experienced it. The majority of my conversations went like this:
Friend: "So, how is Africa?"
Me: "Um, I'm not sure, but I can tell you how my small village in Cameroon is doing."
Friend: "Ya, what are you doing there?"
Me: "My job is health overall, but I'm doing mostly HIV/AIDS education with students from the high school".
Friend: "So, is it really hot?"
Me: "Not right now actually. The rainy season has started, so it's cooled down a bit".
Friend: "Oh ok. So did you hear what happened to (fill in name) last week?"
God love people. I guess it is normal. So much has changed and happened to me, but for the most part, everything is the same back home. I can't be upset with people about not asking about the children, or my peer-educators, or how I'm growing as a person. If they were in my shoes, I wouldn't know what to ask them either.
I was pleasantly surprised, though, at how many people told me they read my blog or loved seeing my photos on facebook. That means that all the trouble and time that it takes to upload a post/photo is worth it. Thanks for reading ya'll!
PHOTOS WITH A FRIEND WHILE IN THE STATES: visiting ithaca, ny with my friend laura
while waiting in Brussels airport, my thought: people don't talk to each other here, it's too clean, what's the rush anyway?
"i have no service here, it says searching" - an american tourist.....honey i never EVER have service in my village, i wanted to say to her.
on airplane from brussels to jfk:
woman sitting next to me with her newborn baby: i hope you don't mind if i breastfeed
me (chuckling): it's no problem, i live in africa
thoughts while in the states:
-everyone is technology CRAZY, they are all hooked in, not to each other but to their technology
-instantaneousness (is that a word?), craze about the news and what is going on in every corner of the world at every single second
-facebook/twitters is turning our nation into a bunch of narcissists
-EXCESS of food, cards, clothes, materials
I think the hardest part about being home was simply explaining my life here to people. Only my father really knew what questions to ask, because he's been here and experienced it. The majority of my conversations went like this:
Friend: "So, how is Africa?"
Me: "Um, I'm not sure, but I can tell you how my small village in Cameroon is doing."
Friend: "Ya, what are you doing there?"
Me: "My job is health overall, but I'm doing mostly HIV/AIDS education with students from the high school".
Friend: "So, is it really hot?"
Me: "Not right now actually. The rainy season has started, so it's cooled down a bit".
Friend: "Oh ok. So did you hear what happened to (fill in name) last week?"
God love people. I guess it is normal. So much has changed and happened to me, but for the most part, everything is the same back home. I can't be upset with people about not asking about the children, or my peer-educators, or how I'm growing as a person. If they were in my shoes, I wouldn't know what to ask them either.
I was pleasantly surprised, though, at how many people told me they read my blog or loved seeing my photos on facebook. That means that all the trouble and time that it takes to upload a post/photo is worth it. Thanks for reading ya'll!
PHOTOS WITH A FRIEND WHILE IN THE STATES: visiting ithaca, ny with my friend laura
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