From one home to another...

Ahoy matees! I arrived back on board on Sunday evening after 25 hours of flying, driving, and of course, lots of walking! It is good to be back on the ship. We've swung right into work mode with school starting up on Monday! I will be teaching Grade 4 this year in a brand new (much bigger) classroom! :) I am very excited for this new challenge!

Having been surrounded by close friends and family at home the last few weeks, I really have come away feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another year on board the Africa Mercy. I have been so encouraged by everyone and have realized why exactly I was so excited to come home! One of the questions I was asked a lot when I was home was ‘are you culture shocked?!’ The quick answer to this was ‘yep, definitely’.

There were times where I would stand in shock thinking….”I must have lived the past year of my life in another reality altogether.” It really feels like such a different world. I think the most culture shock I have experienced during my time at home, has been the reality that two VERY different worlds can co-exist on the same earth.

On my first flight, I sat beside a young boy with the newest clothing, fully equipped with an Ipod touch, a gaming system and a brand new VERY NICE cell phone. We looked through a plane magazine that tried to convince us that we needed a self cleaning cat litter box, a small robot, video taping sunglasses and an indoor turf box for the puppy…..duty free!

Did I really just spend a few hours in a metal flying object that placed me back in a world where food is only a mere possibility for someone? A world where the contaminated water someone will drink will contribute to the rapid flesh eating disease they are experiencing? Or the tumour that is increasing in size daily on their face?

Its hard to fathom that these worlds really do exist simultaneously- that our primary concern CAN be ‘how can I get the cat litter box to clean itself?’

Shocking?… yep, definitely.