returning already? I need some serious help

[abrandilyn]

I found an excerpt that is perhaps the most accurate description of what I know will overwhelm me when I return from Chad. The excerpt expresses Adah's reaction to the States after just returning from the Congo.  It is from Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, and is set in Georgia, 1962:

'It is impossible to describe the shock of return.  I

Comments

[colinportnuff]

Thanks for sharing that. It is a good reminder. I experienced a little of that after only a week of Outward Bound a few years ago. I had trouble even having a roof over my head. Not intellectually, but viscerally. I considered sleeping in the back yard, but decided that was nuts and got over it.

And I don't think you're thinking too far ahead at all. I think you're just backing your way into preparing to adjust for what you will experience when you arrive in Chad. And you'll remember that passage as well when you return.

[abrandilyn]

That's a great way to think of it...thanks Colin! Where did you go for Outward Bound? It seems like a great program.

[colinportnuff]

Seamanship course, rowing and sailing in the San Juans. Square rigged dipping mast long boats, one a replica of the boat the captain of the Bounty was put off in, and one a replica of the boat George Vancouver used. A great week, a great program. Haven't thought about that trip in a while, but some unforgettable moments.

One was Day One, rowing all day, then mooring about 25 yards offshore and undergoing the water comfort level assessment exercise. Wade from shore to the boats, tread water, catch a life jacket thrown to you, put it on and get back to shore. Easy, right? Except the water was 47 degrees F. And the lifejacket they threw me was adjusted for a child. So I had to adjust the straps before I could get it on. I learned what it meant to literally freeze one's ass off. Numb and in an altered state, I did get back to shore, which was a prerequisite for continuing. Every successive day began with a swim in that 47 degree water.

[mmmbopthis]

I love how in that quote you can define what Chad (or any African village/country/etc) isn't...and it makes me want to go, altough I know I would miss my family and friends greatly. :)

[abrandilyn]

Yeah, the missing people part is going to suck a lot. But that's just how it is if I want to do what will make me happier in the long run.

I miss Amelia :(