Re-entry

On Thursday afternoon, after approximately one whole day of flights, layovers and airport waiting, I arrived back in Seattle and began the process of conquering jet-lag and becoming reacquainted with day-to-day life. It is both wonderful and strangely disorienting to be home again. No longer do I have to count up a group of 10, 11 or 12 to make sure that no one has been hit by fast-moving bicycles or scooters in Amsterdam or left behind in Tanzania. After weeks of being part of a group, I'm now responsible for only myself - no more reminders to take those malaria meds at breakfast or that, yes, you really do need to take your passport with you. (Actually, with so many of my friends on vacation and Trent off racing today and at work yesterday, the solitude that I so craved has become a bit lonely.)

I've spent quite a bit of time wandering the streets, glad to finally be active after weeks of large meals and few opportunities to exercise. Buildings here are much larger and in a better state of repair, with paved streets and sidewalks, but there seem to be so few people out on our roads and shoulders in comparison with Usa River, which is so much smaller in population. When I do see people, there are certainly folks that acknowledge me with a nod or a ¨hello¨, but not with the frequency of the ¨karibus¨, ¨jambos¨, ¨hello, how are yous¨ or ¨habaris¨ witnessed in Tanzania. Children are much fewer and farther between and the three little boys that I saw leaving QFC, doughnuts in hand, did not yell out ¨mzungu, mzungu, mzungu¨ or grab my hands to walk home with me (granted, I didn't have any teenagers with me, but I doubt the situation would have been any different in any case).

I'm still not quite ready to let go of the trip or the different way I look at my home city now that I've returned. So look forward to some more detailed posts of my time away. And as much as possible, I want to be as welcoming as the Tanzanians - to extend the sense of community that I believe so strongly in. I have fallen a bit in love with Tanzanian culture, my own life at home and the group of crazy young people that I traveled with - that boundless energy, followed by exhaustion before the second wind, the possibilities in life so tantalizing and unknown (yes, I know that is an idealization, as probably each of them individually drove me crazy during the trip itself).