Home sweet home

it did not hit me, until i was in namibia, how much i truly needed a vacation. i slept on the flight to Namibia (and for those of you who know my phobia, you know how tough that is!), then slept the entire 8 hour minibus to the north, and then slept 9-11 hours per night for my first week there. i feel so much better.

the entire trip was fantastic. i was really touched to see everyone, and to know that although it has been some time, they still care alot for me. a few people had been touched by hardship over the past few years, but overall, the news and updates were full of joy. people seemed happy and generally healthy.

and i guess the same could be said for me, at least so everyone said. "oh, nelago, you are soooo fat." "meme, you must be very happy in malawi, because you are soooo fat." "nelly, i know that you are in there somewhere." a whole range of creative ways to tell me that, alas, i am no longer the fit 23 year old, but the "happy" (and healthy!) 30 year old.

seven months into malawi, and i LOVE being here. i love my work. i love my colleagues and friends. i love the weather. ok, the bugs and funky diseases stink. but ignoring that, this place is fantastic. but it is not home. it is confusing and overwhelming and sometimes isolating. i think that it is 40% the amount of time i spend working, 40% the general isolation i have from the "village" experience of peace corps and 40% the fact that i have been here less than a year. (hehe, i like numbers). but it is not home. not yet. not ever(?).


namibia is home. its one of my many homes. concord is home, chapel hill, boston. i even claim asheville and DC, though i have never really lived in the two. so it was great to be home, to be comfortable, to be fat and happy. even though it cost me a bazillion dollars to get there, it was worth every kwatcha.

since many of you don't know meme and tate and martin and linda and natinda and auguste and pastor ihambo and raina and the clown troop and simon and ndalila, i will leave more detailed updates for personal emails. for those of you who do, they are all greeting you too much, as am i.

ondi ku hole unene, unene. kala po nawa.