“I know exactly what you mean, how Africa catches you. In some Asian countries, buddhist Thailand / Laos / Cambodia, I have experienced how the beauty and the warmth of the locals can touch me. But never have I been touched so deep inside like in Africa, that place just feels like the perfect fit, only there have I experienced this profound click with people. Is that a sort of homecoming? Or are these strong emotions solely possible because of the reassuring existence of a real home elsewhere? In other words: is this overwhelming feeling of wanting to stay provoked by the knowledge that we are nothing more than simple passers-by?”
(e-mail to a friend dated 13 April 2006)
A transition from passer-by to resident.
Africa, Kenya, Nairobi is to become my new home.
On Wednesday 12 March I will (finally!) be crossing the Alps, the Mediterranean and then the Nile, following it all the way down south. But does ‘flying southward’ equal ‘flying homeward’? Will I really feel at home there, now that I have committed myself to stay for a while? Do I belong to Africa, and does Kenya belong to me?
A rollercoaster of emotions is causing the sensation of thousands of butterflies flying around in my stomach. Waiting for my departure lasted long enough. But still, saying goodbye, leaving everything in the Netherlands behind, this time for real, makes me feel excited and (to be honest) quite emotional. What really helps, is knowing that a warm welcome is waiting for me in Kenya – by Skillshare, by COPA, and, above all, by my love.
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