June | 2017 | I'm Just Here to Love…

I am back in Malawi after an unforgettable trip home. I spent time in Connecticut and Colorado, and enjoyed every minute with my family and friends. I would not consider myself to be someone who is easily homesick, but a short break from the ups and downs of Malawian life was definitely refreshing. Some days I am quick to forget why I decided to pursue this path, but support and encouragement from home helps put everything into perspective.

After over 24 hours of travel, a stop at Dunkin Donuts was necessary.

I also got to celebrate National Donut Day while I was home!

This was followed by indulging in so many other cravings…

The variety of food we have access to is slightly overwhelming, but also one of the things I miss most about being in the U.S. Of course, experiencing these luxuries again brings guilt. I think this feeling is well summarized by David Oliver Relin in Second Suns: Two Doctors and Their Amazing Quest to Restore Sight and Save Lives.

“Travel frequently enough, dislocate yourself often enough at jet speed, and your culture shock mutates into something else: not the shock of the new or the unknown but the unsettling juxtaposition of the present and the very recent past. Here you are. But there you were. And all too often that contrast points, in my experience, to a gulf between meager resources and material excess too wide to comfortably accept.”

It is difficult to put into words but you feel unsettled surrounded by so many luxuries. There is guilt, sadness, and disbelief that your two worlds are existing simultaneously. You wish you could do more, but recognize there are limits that you must work within. One of my biggest lessons so far has been to not get too entrenched in the apparent sadness of the situation. Luckily, this is pretty easy to move past when you are surrounded by so much joy and laughter every day.