Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

If you’ve ever traveled overseas, especially to a 3rd world country, and spent time close to real life there, the feelings I’m about to describe may be a little familiar.

I went to town this afternoon and on the 15-minute ride there, I had a little time to just ride and think about what I was seeing. Sometimes life here (and even on short term mission trips) feels like a show that I’m sitting there watching. The ways of life all around me are so different than from what my home is like. It feels as though I ride through a movie each and every day and that all the people I see are actors. It is hard for me picture in my head the fact that what they’re doing has carried on before I arrived and will continue after I’m gone. Just growing up and living so far away from this culture makes it feel like it doesn’t even exist except for the moments I happen to be passing through.

Tanzania will keep on keepin’ on even after we hop on the plane Saturday night, just like everyone back home has been since we left there. I’m finding this to be a hard feeling to put into words but if I could sum in a sentence or two, it would be this:
It is impossible to truly know what life is like in a place far far away unless you are there in person or have been there for a considerable amount of time living with the people. No matter if you live in the USA, Tanzania, or Timbuktu (where is that, anyway?) this is true.

My point in all of this? Well, after spending 4 1/2 months preparing for life here immediately followed by us leaving the country… well, I want to remember as much of what I’ve learned as possible about the people and place of Tanzania. I want to easily remember what life is like here… not for Wazungu (white foreigners) but what life is like for Tanzanians. How they think, interact, react, talk, and so on. I’ve soaked up a lot in our short time here and part of me is a little sad knowing I’ll leave some of it behind on Saturday.

I’m really going to miss Africa while we’re gone.