Blog 5

Missed and Will Miss

When February started it really hit me that I would be leaving my home in 2 short months. My plane ticket was bought and all of a sudden more and more people started to ask how long I have left here. This is when I realized just how much I am going to miss everything and everyone. It has also caused me to reflect on what I have missed from my home in North Carolina. 

  1. The Food

Back home I had so much freedom with my meals, I could eat whatever and whenever I wanted. In Senegal though, my family and I eat all together and we eat whatever is cooked. This may sound like a bad thing, but it surely is not. There is only one dish I can't eat, but everything else is cooked and spiced to perfection. Everyone eating together usually means me getting laughed at or one of my many siblings causing trouble. The other night, dinner was spiced very well (a little too well), so it made me cry. Then I cried even harder when everyone started laughing with me and I couldn't help to think about how much I am going to miss these moments when I leave my family. My little brother proceeded to tell me that I'm not allowed to cry anymore and I have to be happy all the time like I normally am until the day I leave. 

  1. Washing 

The other day I helped my sisters wash the family's clothes. While washing and joking around I realized how much the small things mean to me and how much I am going to miss them, especially washing clothes. Whether I'm washing by myself or with my sisters it's always a good time full of singing and dancing. Back home it's so different. The washer and dryer do all of the work for me so there doesn't need to be more than one person involved. While this is nice sometimes, there is no fun to it. The only song involved is the one at the end of the washing and drying cycle, and it is kind of hard to dance to. 

And last but certainly not least…

  1. My People

This one is pretty obvious, but has been so hard for me to deal with recently. If I'm being honest, it hasn't been about missing people back home in North Carolina. I surely do miss conversations with my family and my best friends and being able to understand everything, but my family and friends here have helped fill this void. My family here gave me a new place to call home and a new family to be apart of. The conversations are hard to get through sometimes but everyone always ends up laughing in the end. Even though they didn't and don't have to, they have taught me so much about language and culture. They push me to my limits and try their best to understand my side of things. This is the best experience I could have asked for. I will never be able to express all my love for my family here and I will never be able to thank them enough for this.