It has taken a week or so at home to start re-visiting and unfolding the experience I had in both Kenya and South Africa. Because I didn't have internet in South Africa, I was not able to do any blog entries. In short, what I experienced there was a loving, warm family, who despite the common racial divide that is still very present in South Africa, was able to accept me as not only a visitor, but a new addition to their large, beautiful family.
Everyday that I'm home I think about the red clay sidewalks that have been abruptly replaced by snow covered pavement, and miss the brick colored dust that coated my toes for 4 weeks. Everyday that I'm home, I smell something that reminds me of the subtle, sweet scent of the new born babies at Hope House. While I was in Nairobi, I forgot how small my world at home is. How comfortable the brick shops of downtown Amherst and the florescent halls of my high school are. How easy life feels when you're among people you've known and loved for years.
I really feel like the home I left a month ago is so different than the home I returned to a few days ago. Home has not changed... I have. It hasn't changed physically, but to me, things look different, they feel different. I feel lucky that in such a short time, my reality has been altered, due to the things I saw, due to the things I encountered.
What a beautiful journey it's been and how happy I am to have been able to share with you bits and pieces of my travels!
