Missing home

Posted by Ali

I've lived away from home since 2003 (except for summers and that one year I stayed home to work) and I've never really been too homesick, at least not for people. I mean, I absolutely LOVE my family and friends, but I could easily survive going months with only typed and/or phone communication with them. Plus, before I always knew I'd be back home soon, at least for Christmas, if not earlier. Back then I was always more homesick for my hometown, the Okanagan Valley and my mountains than for people.

But now my feelings have flip-flopped. I'm living in the middle of absolutely gorgeous green jungles. Giant Mt. Meru (the fifth tallest mountain in Africa, I've heard) overlooks our small campus. And there's always Mt. Kilimanjaro to try to spot from within her veil of clouds. But, probably for the first time ever, I miss people more than places. I miss my parents, my siblings, my boyfriend, my friends (both at home and at Southern), my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I miss everyone even though I have a great base of new friends in the other volunteers living on campus with me. And I know that, when I leave, I'll miss them just as much as I miss those currently in North America.

Tonight I was reading some of my friends blogs and someone posted this video. So now, after watching it again for the first time since the Winter Games, I miss everyone and everything. I deeply miss all my  people back home AND I miss beautiful British Columbia. As much as I love living in Africa, how in the world will I survive here for seven more months??