One Month Update: I'm doing just fine

If we’re being real, study abroad is hard. I’m on the other side of the world, forced to speak a new language, not know where anything is, and battle the price of international calls home. I am constantly dirty and I’ve yet to hear a moment of silence. Of the contacts in my phone, I’ve known none for more than a month. Stores and hospitals and cultural expectations are different, and you can't tell people that they're wrong. And it makes me tired.

But somehow in the midst of everything this is refreshing. As much as I hate the dust that picks up off the buses and attaches itself to my contacts, my face, the surface of my lungs, I love that my walk to school is fifty percent dirt path – untouched by concrete and industrialism. I miss my cities, but I like the way it feels to stand in the center of chaos and remember just where I am on the globe. I like that the power consistently goes out but we continue on with our conversations in the dark. I like that I get to see what a country looks like as it develops.

Other people here think the churches are crazy. But I’ve never felt so at home. And so filled with joy!

And even though my thighs officially touch each other when I walk now, I am so thankful for the measures my family goes through to make sure I have every food I’ve ever wanted. And women here look awesome with their curves.

Even though I miss my mother’s lemon bars and Sunbear’s meatloaf, my family has done everything to make me feel at home. And they’ve most certainly succeeded.

And while I’ve yet to see an African sunset, the trees that block it are covered in flowers in vibrant pink and orange and purple. And I’ve stared at Mt. Meru long enough to feel like we are one.

And while my heart aches for a Daz Bog Chocolate Chip Chiller, I love to explore what else we could call extravagant.

At the end of the day, this is what I’ve learned about my American life:

• We pay too much for everything.
• We don’t sleep enough.
• We stop caring too early in the game.
• We really need Jesus more often.
• We should spend more time outside.

But just like Africans:

• We really love people. And we really love to admire beautiful things.
• We can dance and we deserve to.
• We have a good taste in music and movies and art.
• We can adapt and we can succeed.
• We are smart and we are driven and our futures are beautiful.
• And most importantly, we've all got a sunset worth watching.