And now it is time to return

And this is it for now. My final blog from abroad. I should probably be having a very deep reflective post that summarizes all of the feelings I have had and the lessons I have learned, and maybe I’ll do that later, but right now I just have to express exactly how I feel about going home. Now don’t get me wrong, I have loved this tri-country excursion; I have said that already-the people, the places, all of those feelings and lessons learned- they have been great. But when I woke up this morning, I felt like a kid waking up on ChristmasEasterFourthofJulyThanksgivingBirthdaySuperBowlLastDayofSchoolStanleyCupfinals morning.

So there, deep thought number one: You realize how incredibly awesome (yes I just used to word awesome in my deep thought) your home and the people who live in it are as soon as you start to see other awesome people and places. Why? Because you meet these cool people and say “Wow, I wish I could introduce you to X who is just as cool as you!” Or you go to a beautiful/intriguing/discussion-worthy place and say “Man, Y would have loved it here.” After doing that everyday for 8 weeks, you cannot wait to be back with X and Y. In my case, I already knew how amazing my people were before I left; I didn’t need a wake up call or an unveiling of an apathetic “I-can’t-wait-to-get-out-of-this-place” mind to know that being gone for 8 weeks was going to be incredible, but also the hardest thing I have done yet in my life. 

Now how about a shallow thought: I am really looking forward to shaving my legs. I lost my razor in Romania right before I came to Benin and was to cheap to purchase another one here. Therefore I went nearly 24 days sans shaving my legs and they were looking pretty...foresty. My roommate Alice actually found an extra single-blade razor in her closet on that 24th day and offered it to me the way you would offer a glass of water to a parched person in the desert. I couldn’t have been happier, but my gnarly legs put up quite the fight against deforestation against that pitiable strength of a single blade razor. 

Which leads to the moderately deeper thought of: Bring 2 razors when you travel. 

And here’s a brain-tickler for you that might be considered deep:

While on this tri-country excursion, 

1) I have gone on my first date

2) Maybe fallen in love a little

                                3) And been proposed to about 1234567 times

...and none of those points really have to do with the same person.

More of an observation and a musing than a deep thought: I have managed to make a hospital visit in both Hungary (for the near amputation of my finger courtesy of moi) and in Benin (for all sorts of issues that I was told not to talk about anymore by my family on a blog). The observation would be that hospital in Benin was ten times nicer than the one in Budapest. There were several neatly labeled buildings, all waiting was done outside in the fresh air...if the labels hadn’t been things like “Radiologie” and “Opération” it could have been mistaken for a little Ouidan resort. As opposed to the hospital in Budapest that looked like it came straight out of Nelly Bly’s undercover reports from one of the insane asylums in New York City. Now the musing...will this trend of hospital 

visits continue for every country I go to? I could start taking better notes and make some sort of traveler’s guide to hospitalization. I am pretty sure they don’t cover such things in Lonely Planet or Fodor’s, so I would have a corner on the market. 

Oh, another observation: You know you have been in Africa for awhile when you step on a cockroach barefoot while making your oatmeal in the morning and instead of screaming or crying or being hysterical, you just sort of continue to make your oatmeal. And then later, when you go to make lunch, and you step on the same stupid cockroach with the same bare feet, you are more annoyed that it didn’t die the first time you stepped on it than annoyed that you are stepping on cockroaches with your bare feet.

And on that note, I think I will come to a close. Possibly I will have some more deep and ponderous thoughts when I post my picture blogs once I get home (which is in less than 36 hours from now) so stay tuned for that. Also, stay tuned for new puppy pictures too because 8-week old Jasper will be enjoying a happy homecoming at the same time I am. And maybe I am dabbling in the deep thoughts too much, but to finish everything up, I realized that somebody already stole my closing words and said them better, so maybe I will just borrow them back for a moment. Thanks Alexander Supertramp and Jack Keruack for being so considerate in lending me your words to summarize this tri-country excursion:

I have lived through much, and now I have found what is needed for happiness.

        A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful for people to whom

         it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done for them;

         then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music,

         love for one's neighbor-such is my idea happiness...

               What more can the heart of man desire?

Now let’s go home.

For the honor and glory.