In all honesty I must admit that I have had a rocky start to my glorious trip back to Central Africa. After 5 nights without any sleep I began to think the strangest thoughts and was afraid that if I never slept again that I would literally go insane. Kim went down to the Berberati hospital to fetch me some Valium in a last ditch attempt at sleep and I was mentally preparing for an early return home. Amazingly, after a half night’s sleep in the village at Remy’s house, I started to feel a little more like myself and have slept every night since, more or less. After my fifth sleepless night I had Darren, Vicki and our hosts wondering what on earth was going on with me. I was hopelessly missing Darren (and still am) but now feel like I can make it to the end of our time here without leaving early.
Vicki is a great person to travel with. She is very easy going, loves people, and has lived in far more primitive conditions than we have here. She is also very forgiving so in my worst moments she shines and she is an incredible friend.
Monday we were treated to a great goat feast at the home of Remy in honour of my ‘home coming’. All the family from around Berberati came to greet us and they were so overjoyed by our presence it is hard to describe in words. I am sure that over the years many short-termers have come and gone with promises that they would be back to visit soon, that they would one day return to work here, but were never heard or seen from again. It was an honour to be so loved and respected by such a wonderful family.
Yesterday we walked around Berberati with Stephane and Riro, our friends from Gamboula and both terrific musicians. We were paraded around town like the golden monkeys from the zoo which isn’t so unusual when half the kids in town haven’t ever seen a white person before. Last night we had a pizza night with the ICDI folks and a lovely Italian nun from the local hospital in Berberati who has lived here 34 years. She is someone who ought to write a book. We even had 4 kinds of ice cream for dessert. You would hardly believe we were in Central Africa. We will be in for a shock when we get to Gamboula where we will be eating beans for the next 5 weeks. Aside from eating in the village, I will be a fully fledged vegetarian for the next 5 weeks.
As much as I am happy to be here, I am also absolutely, terribly missing Darren. It makes it hard to be objective about certain things, and easier to see other things. I don’t want to write it here because I will likely change my mind over the next few weeks.
Tomorrow we have a very busy day. We will be eating lunch with Elise and then will be attending a concert at the Catholic Cultural Centre, where our friends will be performing. Then we are the invited guests at their house for supper, which we hope will be rather speedy as we will be taking off for Gamboula that evening and I know there will be a welcoming party waiting for us down there. I know there will be lots to do there and I know time will go by quickly but when I see that we have 40 days here left, I am not sure if that is a small amount or a large amount at this point. I‘ll let you know when I’m down to 30.
