Wrapping my mind around it

Sitting at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport, I realize that those 11 weeks, or almost 3 months of my stay in Zambia, are now officially over. I looked forward to it so much literally for years, and now it’s done in a snap of a finger. It’s amazing how the time flies when you’re enjoying yourself. I guess that’s why people say that life is short. At this speed, my life is quite the highway!

I’m realizing that it’s very difficult to make sense of what all has happened when it’s still so recent. Maybe for the sake of my friends and family asking me right off the runway “So how was Zambia?!” expecting a concise, one-line answer, I should create a provisionary summary of this trip. “It was awesome!” shouldn’t do it; I would do injustice to my hosts and the host country by summing it up in the most overused word in the English dictionary. But how to phrase it?

It was different. It was challenging (I wouldn’t lie saying this; I just forgot the word for challenging in Slovak). It was a learning experience; I learned a lot about Zambia, its people, my best friend, and most importantly, I learned a ton about myself. A sample of the latter would include: getting reaffirmed that I have a hard time staying idle (at work, in my spare time, even when I’m sick), being wary of making friends with men (sad, not very convenient, and something I have to work on), or the tendency to change my accent depending on the social setting (e.g. work, the immigration office, the plane, in-country travel, chilling with friends). Another interesting one is that I might not be able to see myself working for an NGO long-term in the future. A post about that might come a bit later. I think this thought still needs a lot of intellectual and practical scrutiny, but it seems like I might not be headed in the NGO direction. But as I say, don’t take my word for it yet.

I think figuring out what has happened to me, with me, and maybe even through me during the time I have spent in Zambia will take some weeks, or even months. It might be like peeling back an onion; first I will notice the (teeny weeny) tan when I contrast my arms to my brothers’, then the change in my English when I speak to other international students in Paris, and then things will start surfacing about a change on the inside- my worldview, my reasoning, my understanding of the issues Zambian, Southern African, African and global. And on the deepest level I hope to discover a spiritual change that I’ve experienced. I flew in to Zambia knowing that it wouldn’t be possible without my “Sponsor in the sky”. I also knew that He allowed me to go there for a reason. Reflecting back on these three months over a period of time will help me understand the reasons, and see the results. Results in me, and also in those who I spent time with. Because spreading His sponsorship to others is what it’s all about for me :)

I snapped this one my last day in Mpika. I love the colors. It reminds me of autumn, the transition between two seasons. Right now I am similarly transitioning from a season in Zambia to a new one in France. And it's great to be transitioning through my tiny home town.