| | Yes, its true! I arrived home on Saturday November 17th!
The plane was on time, and I rushed to the front of the lines in customs (thinking I could beat the crowd and get to Christina sooner) and I got through to get my bags, and then waited until all of the bags had circled around the carousel until finally resigning to the fact that one of my bags was not there. That was a bit of a killjoy. So instead of having that moment of pure bliss and harmony with choirs of angels singing as I ran to Christina, I had to wave to her from plated glass doors, stupidly pointing at bags and signalling one finger and pointing off to a counter she couldn't see. After finally describing my bag and its contents, I was given a number to call and a code for my lost bag. Darn. It wasn't one of my major clothes and stuff bags, it just happened to be the bag with something completely irreplaceable inside - all of the at least one hundred letters that christina wrote to me in the course of two years. I'm not going to be upset about it because I'm still going to believe that it will be found and returned to me. This whole thing sucks, I know, no need to remind me. You can cross your fingers along with me.
Finally, oh so finally, the world stopped turning for a full minute and I had found Christina. That was . . . pretty unexplainable.
Life back has been good, mostly because I'm spending alot of time with Christina. She makes the world go away, and the time i've been gone, I've had to deal with the world on full volume, which has made it hard to concentrate and focus. I'm home now, seeing her everyday feeds my happiness, and getting back to normal seems incredibly simple. We spent the first night on our own, and then a few nights at Kevin's house near to my old town. I was able to go through some of my old stuff and figure out what might be useful in the next month, and marvel over my rather large stack of comic books there. We also had a welcome back dinner, and managed to gather my friends, many of whom had come to my going away, and it was at the same place, so it seemed that everything was returning to the place it had started.
We spent time with my brother, and some time with both her family and mine in a sort of travel tour that crossed from the north side of chicago to the south. I've been enjoying the welcome and warmth of everyone we've been visiting and catching up with. Somewhere in the first two days I also got a stomach ache that wouldn't quit. I figure it was due to my change in diets of all natural to all preserved and flavored. I took it easy and set my focus on researching my next laptop. I bought one that is hovering around the top of the line and with so many cool features, it almost made me forget my stomach ached. Now, my stomach has adjusted and the laptop is on its way. Next stop: Champaign/Urbana - now I'll be the sort of weird old grad, come back for glory and honor. Oh yes.
Top Questions Asked:
What was the best part of your two years?
When Christina visited, she stayed at my house for 3 weeks. That was great, to share everything day-to-day, and not just do the touristy/safari thing with her.
What was the worst part of your two years?
Tough to say. I did get robbed, but that really wasn't so bad. And everywhere I went, if there were hard times, mostly there was someone who understood, and helped either to assuage my anxiety or alleviate some of the stressors. I really can't think of too much that was quantifiably 'the worst'. I had bad days at school, where I lost faith in what I was doing, and I had a few days where I had a sort of breakdown in communications with Christina, so I think that was the worst. Overall, missing Christina was the worst. I feel like I could work any job, so long as I can come home to see Christina's smile. Cheesy, I'm sure, but that was what the last two years lacked.
What did Tanzanians think of you?
This is hard to answer too. Mostly, those who knew me: the teachers, workers and friends, knew I was a volunteer and that I worked really really hard. They respected me and were quite friendly. Those who didn't know me, who saw me as a tourist or stereotypical rich white person, usually treated me with less respect, but that sometimes changed after I spoke to them in swahili.
Do you know Swahili well? Did you always speak it?
I didn't speak it all of the time, and I taught in English. By the end of the training in the first few months, I was given an 'advanced low' grade, I might have improved a little, but I certainly wasn't fluent. It always helped my everyday interactions to use swahili, but I was a hardcase to my students and fellow teachers about always speaking english - to the point where most of them didn't believe I actually knew any Swahili.
What was the first food you ate after arriving in the states?
Christina and I went to Chili's. She got some ribs and I got fajitas. Then we had a chocolatey dessert, which was spectacular. I also enjoyed circus peanuts, brought to me by christina along with root beer and gummy bears. My girlfriend is awesome.
Have you been readjusting alright to american life?
I think my readjustment has been pretty smooth, mostly because I can relate everything to Christina, and she knows almost exactly where I've been (she still has the 100 letters I wrote her, so no worries on that regard). What has stressed me out a little is trying to make a decision quickly, especially when there are so many choices to choose from. And when you thought you chose one, there are subchoices to make too. Its a bit overwhelming sometimes. Case in point, I spent at least ten hours researching laptops just to be sure I got exactly what I wanted. There are so many choices here. Wow.
Those were just some of the conversations I've been finding myself in with friends and family, in case you were interested.
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| | Posted 11/23/2007 11:11 AM - 54 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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