I didn’t write on Thursday because not a
whole lot happened.
Thursday morning started
unconventionally for me. I poured myself a cup of coffee (which in and of
itself is new for me) before realizing that we were out of milk, so I tried my
first cup of black coffee! I overcompensated for the lack of milk with excess
sugar, so it was not super enjoyable, but I can now say that I drank a cup of
black coffee.
After a short lecture to wrap up the class,
some of us headed into town to get lunch and access internet for a bit. Natalee
and I were considering going on a safari, so we did a bunch of research.
Unfortunately, it isn’t feasible for the time we have. After the internet café, we headed home and hung out at the Oasis for the remainder of the day. Things
were pretty chill because everyone was finishing up the last of their
assignments for the course. I packed because I’m a keener and also (correctly)
assumed that I wouldn’t want to do it today.
Today started really slowly. I slept in and
lay in bed for awhile since we didn’t have anything to do. Around lunch, some
of us walked into town. I exchanged some money, checked my internet things, and
grabbed some food. Natalee and I separated from the group and ended up deciding
to take an alternate route home. Rather than taking the major roads that our
bus uses, we thought we could find a faster route along the smaller roads. It
involved some guessing, but we managed to find our way home, and we think our
route was faster than our normal one! It was a fun adventure to go on for the
last day.
This afternoon was chill again since a lot
of people were out buying last-minute souvenirs and those at the house were
doing school work. But around 5 we started our last BBQ of the course, and the
Oasis has been quite the party central since then. We have a DJ with sound
equipment, so we’ve been dancing. It’s a lot of fun. Most people are drunk, but
since I hate beer and that’s all we have, I’m 100% sober. I’m quite alright
with that, it just means that I’m writing this as a short break from the noise
and activity. I think I’ll be very pleased by my choice to stay sober at around 5AM, when we’ll all be getting up to get on our shuttle to Lilongwe. That
should be an adventure. It’s after 11 already, so we’re all gonna be pretty
tired. Luckily, Chancey made us scones and banana bread for the trip tomorrow,
so we’ll be well fed.
As is the way with endings, I’ve been
thinking back on my time here. One thing that will be a significant change when
I go home is that I won’t be approached or waved at by strangers. I think I’ll
be okay with that, but also miss it a bit. It’s nice to walk down the street
and have people wave at you and/or say hi; I think it encourages me to smile a
lot more in my daily activities, and that’s never a bad thing.
As I was dancing with my classmates
tonight, I couldn’t help but marvel again at what an amazing group of people
came on this trip. We got through 3 weeks of spending almost all our time
together with virtually no conflict, and many of us came into the class not really knowing anyone. Not seeing my peers will be another big change in my life in
the next few days, and I’m going to miss them a lot more than being waved at.
We will have this shared experience to talk about, but I hope that’s enough to
encourage us to stay in contact. I’ve met so many amazing people here.
With all that said, I’m definitely looking
forward to coming home. I’m very ready to see my family and friends. And sleep
in my own bed…that’ll be really nice. The Oasis has felt like home in its own
way for awhile now, but it’s still not quite the same. Alright, I should
probably go back to dancing now…even though I kinda just want to sleep. I
probably couldn’t because the music is pretty loud. So dancing it is!
-Jen
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