That's all she wrote

Nearly 8 months to the day after leaving the US, I touched down early yesterday morning in Washington DC. It's been an indescribable adventure full of incredible experiences, a few challenges and truly wonderful people. 

Surprisingly, I didn't find this last week to be too emotional. There was a logical order to packing, printing tickets, gathering final mementos, saying goodbyes. It was time to go; the steps felt almost rote. I suspect the weight of what I've learned and what I still don't know will make itself felt in the next few weeks. I believe how I've changed will be highlighted by this familiar environment. Or not. This process is new to me.

What I do know is that looking out the window of a jumbo jet at a pastoral view of the Eastern seaboard, glowing as the light of a full moon exchanged places with the first fuchsia rays of sunrise, I was glad to be home. 

Hello Goodbye

      Greetings are important here. You greet everyone: vendors, family, people on the bus, friends, your boss, the cleaning lady, people who are praying, eating, talking, sleeping. For good measure I even throw a "Ça va?" towards the neighborhood mutt.

Back in the Lab

     Walking onto the campus of the Institut de recherche pour le développement felt like teleporting out of Dakar. The concrete walls dampened the sounds of traffic and bird calls emanated from the many trees. I was nervous to start my internship here, to once again be in the middle of a whole lot of "new", but I needn't have worried.