This time last year I was preparing for my second Christmas in
Tanzania searching the market for an elusive chicken willing to be sacrificed
and roasted. I missed the crisp winter nights at home, the festive lights, the parties
and Billy Idol blasting out in shops crammed with food, gifts, clothes and a
billion other material things that seem indispensable on December 25th. But there
was something to be said for the simplicity of being gifted a pile of mangoes and
a packet of cashew nuts. Of not having to cook a meal that covers a dining
table and is left half uneaten. No need to buy bigger better noisier presents or
watch the Queen's speech or play games that end in stony silences over the
evening turkey buffet. Where thanks are given to one God or the other for the
blessings of family, health and income. Mangoes had never tasted so good.
I loved being back in the UK. The supermarkets, dirty late
night take-away's, fancy toiletries, Friends reruns, efficient transport
networks and holidays. Having family and friends who know you and love you despite
that, who you can confide in or conspire with because you speak the same language
and share a history. Having access to an endless supply of entertainment and
distraction. In the last few months I tried bikram yoga, zumba, joined a
running club, dating apps, had painting and guitar lessons and honestly, it's
exhausting. All of the choice we have, decisions we face, and questions we feel
obliged to have the answers to. What's for dinner? What am I doing on Friday? Who
am I seeing at the weekend? Swipe right or left? What are my future plans or
why don't I have any...? I told my Tanzanian colleagues that they were the
lucky ones in some respects. That there are different challenges and obstacles
in life whether you live in Africa or Europe. But who would believe me with my nice
clothes, money, big house and a one-way ticket back to London. I wouldn't and they
didn't.
So, six months of being back home has gone by in a flash.
Full to the brim of family, old friends,
new friends, indulgence and extravagance. My next adventure is here and in 2
weeks I will fly to Sierra Leone with Save the Children to work in the Kerry
town Emergency Treatment Centre. The plan is to stay for 6 months as their lead
in-country pharmacist helping with the current ebola outbreak. Yes dad, if it
makes you feel better I will always wear latex gloves and no mum, I won't go jogging
on my own....
"He knows not where he's going,
For the ocean will decide.
It's the glory of the ride."
