I have 30 full days left in Fianar.
That’s five bucket baths. Four church services. Two rounds of laundry. 720 hours. 43,200 minutes. That doesn’t seem like enough time. I’ll be honest: there have been times this year when I thought I’d never make it to the 30-day mark. There have been times when I’ve counted the days and counted again because I couldn’t believe there were so many left. There have been times when I’ve prayed time would speed up. And now I’m begging time to slow down. It’s difficult to imagine not going on morning walks with my host mom. Not playing Phase 10 every Sunday afternoon with my host siblings. Not haggling over prices at the market. Not listening to the Sunday sermon translated into French. Not enjoying fresh menakely for breakfast. Not walking everywhere. Not cracking up at my host dad’s jokes. Not eating rice on a regular basis. Not hearing pigs snorting and chickens squawking outside my door. Not hearing anyone call me “vazaha.” It’s difficult to imagine shopping in an air-conditioned, fluorescent-lit grocery store. Wearing pants instead of a skirt to church and to school. Seeing an actual toilet in a public bathroom. Understanding snatches of conversations when I pass by people. Going to church for only an hour every week. Brushing my teeth with tap water. Being able to be out after dark. Driving a car. Washing my clothes in a machine. It’s strange to think about going home—because I am home. It’s strange to think about things like freeways and Target and microwaves and parking lots and hot showers. So many things that I took for granted in the U.S. feel foreign now. It’s hard to believe that that “foreign” life is going to be my reality again in a little over a month. I don’t usually make countdowns. I don’t like to think about endings. But I think it’s important to be aware of how many minutes I have left in this amazing place with these incredible people so that I can make every last one count.
1 Comment
Deanine Mann
6/12/2018 08:18:09 am
What a bittersweet post...I had such mixed emotions as I read it. I am so looking forward to your being back in MN yet I am sad as I think of the impending "velomas" (good-byes) for you and your Malagasy family and friends. Having had the pleasure of being in Fianar and meeting your host family and some of your neighbors, colleagues, and students, it is obvious that you have mutually blessed each other. Your pictures show that too. Enjoy every moment of these 30 days!!! Eph 3:14-19. Love you lots! Mom
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May 2018
More MadaCheck out these blogs from my fellow Madagasgals:
Amanda (Toamasina) Amy (Manambaro) Katie (Farafangana) Lauren (Toliara) Megan (Antananarivo) Serena (Vohipeno) |