This weekend I survived the longest walk of my life. Mainess (one of my students) and I left Sawala at 5:45AM and somehow managed to miss EVERY daladala/taxi/bus (all of two or three) to take us to her home town of Kasanga. So we walked and hitched rides and took breaks (mostly because I was tired) and finally arrived at her home 10 HOURS later.
During our trip whenever vehicles drove by I unashamedly flaunted my white skin like nobody’s business. Whether out of pity, curiosity, a chance to practice English, intrigue of a mzungu (white person) hitch-hiking, or genuine African hospitality, it worked a few times. We got partial rides along the way, for which I was incredibly grateful. Side note: I must say, I have a newfound appreciation for shocks. The worst dirt roads in BFE (I’m throwing that expression in there just for you, Ryan) NH in the springtime can’t top some of the road conditions I’ve experienced here in Africa!
Somewhere along our way to Kasanga, I realized Mainess was simply enjoying the journey while I was concentrated on arriving at our destination and getting quite grumpy about our transportation sheda (problem). Actually, I’m realizing this paradigm is indicative of more than just physical journeys in my life. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I am so prone to live with the next best thing in mind. In some ways this is a good quality - it keeps one from growing stagnant. But in other ways it can be a real weakness. There’s a point, I think, where one needs to learn to enjoy the journey, embrace the process and see “the glory in the gray” (as one poet put it). I’m not so sure “enjoying the journey” and “keeping the next best thing in mind” are polar opposite, mutually exclusive concepts, but I seem to have a hard time living simultaneously in both realms.
We finally arrived at Mainess’ house. Her family was beyond thrilled that I came to visit. They rolled out the red carpet for me - killed a chicken for dinner and everything. (Eating meat is a luxury I have come to greatly appreciate since being here. Even still, I politely but firmly refused the chicken kidney Mainess very nearly plopped on my plate, due to the fact that I was “already so full”.) To top it all off, her family sent me home with blessings and a gift of cabbage, mboga (greens), corn and beans. I walked away with a full stomach, full hands and a full heart.
I’m glad I went to Kasanga with Mainess. I was also very glad to return home to Sawala (by bus, thank God). And maybe somewhere along the way I slowly started to learn to simply enjoy the journey.
July 15th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
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