El Fin

I'm not sure why I waited so long to write this final post, closing up my summer travels. I think it's because so much happened in such a short time and I've just been in processing mode.

I posted my last post only moments before leaving Kibaha and have been unable to get the place out of my mind since! I stayed in Dar for two nights, had my last round of mishkaki, nundu, and chips (reasons enough to move to the country - that is only paaartially a joke), took my last trip to Oyster Bay (Ostabay), and saw the last slew of family that I could squeeze in. Flying Egypt Air again was, as always, glorious. My connection in Cairo was with BMI (a British airline) that took me into London. It was SO weird to order orange juice and have them hand me a glass of orange water (ha) and for there not to be a default halal menu. That's when I knew I was heading back to "The West."

Stopping over in England was amazing. My mum's uncle (Nana Jaffer) was the most pleasant host for my first night and first day in the country. We did the whole rural nine yards from eating fish and chips at Warwick Castle to wandering around (and getting lost) in Stratford Upon Avon to watching the sun come up over the hills in Stroud. We also checked out Oxford, and I think he has me sold on applying to law schools in the UK! It's funny how accustomed I have become to remote, quiet Northampton; all other "college towns" seem like they have way too much bustle. Silly, silly Smith. I spent the next night at another uncle of my mum's (Nana Akber). Just about all of my mum's family came over for dinner. I was so honored that they had all made the effort, especially considering it was a weeknight! It was a night full of laughs, great food, and (once everyone had left) plenty of brain waves. Nana Akber's wife is awesome. It was my first time meeting her, and I sure hope it won't be my last. We discussed my mum's other uncle's (Nana Muhsin) educational endeavors in Bhavnagar, India. I'm going to see if I can get Smith to financially back me up to spend time with him in India in January .. *crosses fingers*

I left for New Jersey the next morning (August 4th) and met my mum and Lina in Newark that night, which is where I will stop narrating the chain of events as that marks my return back into the United States. We were in Newark for 5 days for my second cousin's wedding. I arrived into Houston late at night on the 9th of August. Ramadhan started roughly two days later.

It's weird to be back here in The States. I miss being abroad, especially in Tanzania which felt like home. The West was boggling to return to. I remember walking into my first Western store. I was trying to buy a calling card so I could call Tanzania. The store had an entire wall of headphones, as in 85 kinds of headphones! Eighty five!!!! All I could think was, "Whyyyy?!" I also now see that everything in this part of the world is really, really bright. All the lights, action, movement. We always feel this need to be doing something. There's always an itch that needs scratching. I feel like I am constantly undergoing sensory overload. I'm sure that has more to do with Kibaha than being abroad in general ..

And, oh my God, do we have an endless amount of rules or what?! During the wedding in Jersey, we (my cousins, second cousins, basically anyone attending the wedding between the ages of 15 and 30) would stay awake through the night talking, laughing, and playing games. After the first night, we got in trouble with hotel management for utilizing the lounge space late at night. We irritated them so much that, on the third night, they put up a sign saying "Closed after 4 AM" followed by a sign reading "Closed after 3 AM" on our final night in Newark! We relocated to outside by the pool area (take that, management!), but I don't think we would have had this problem in either Spain or Tanzania. People just don't care enough and are way too laid back. It was very strange.

I also find myself removed from my surroundings and in my head for large portions of the day, which I don't actually mind. I also find that I am hesitant in sharing my trip with anyone. I think these are both "give it time" things.

So, final thoughts? This trip was amazing. I can't wait to go back to Tanzania and can honestly see myself living there for a longer period of time. I love the people, the food, the atmosphere, the lifestyle, the attitude, and, most of all, I love how I felt in the country. There was no ache for something more, no desire for anything other than what I had. I felt very complete. I felt similarly in Spain (though not as much as I did in Tanzania). It feels wonderful to understand both languages slightly more than I did before leaving. I can't wait to go back to Spain, too. There's so much left to explore that I had no time to get around to!

I don't want this to be long so I'm going to cut it off right here. Thanks so much for those of you who followed intermittently / through out / whenever. I hope we all get to take trips like this more often in our lives :)