we are nowhere and it's now (bright eyes)

I begin my departure journey for East Africa this Wednesday morning. First to Phoenix for an orientation with the organization Food for the Hungry. My 10 fellow students from across the country and I will then fly to LAX in order to catch a few international flights over to the Entebbe airport in Uganda. I don't know much about the travel details except that the days will be long, the flights possibly daunting… the sleep awkward, especially when your flight neighbor is a mystery. Will it be the middle-aged woman heading for a personal spiritual journey like the author of “Eat, Pray, Love”? The child traveling alone? The spontaneous college student? Always a surprise, and one to be excited for. This past week I flew next to a man of early thirties who, despite my efforts, must have chosen deep inside that he would not communicate with the strange girl to the right of him. I wore strange bracelets and a hat of sorts, had something shiny on my nose, and read a book labeled "Walking With the Poor." I'll even mention that as I blacked out in a deep sleep before the plane blasted off my head was doing that "I'm not sleeping but can't hide it because I am dramatically falling from side to side." Any decent human would for certain fear this girl. Right? Right. Having said the latter, I choose not to look at my itinerary in order to be (pleasantly?) shocked by every miniscule or grand occurrence.

If confused as to what exactly I am doing, I like to explain it (thanks to the beautiful Aunt Sandra for helping me find words) as a sort of Peace Corps with college credit. I'll be taking classes on religion and culture, immersing myself with the people, living, loving, learning, helping, being helped, and so on.

I'm ready. At least as ready as I can be.

WE ARE NOWHERE AND IT’S NOW.
sometimes I get the feeling that I’m nowhere. I am drifting in a world of this person and that person and another. everyone going this way or that and everyone concerned with mostly himself or herself. so why do I go to Africa? To embrace this feeling of being “nowhere and now” but with that, discovering the beauty. I can't define why. maybe to seek a purpose. For me. or them. or no-one, but to go because hearts cry. And I am thoroughly eager, anxious, and wild about this idea.

I ask for your thoughts… for the people I am heading toward, for myself and peers, for peace.
Adios, or, well, I don’t yet know the African word for “goodbye” but it shall soon be embedded in this mind.

(image by Jon Sargent)