MY TWO WORLDS

This world is warm. Long stretches of mountains border the towns in the Northern Province. It’s a place where man and some of God’s most exotic creatures coexist. It’s a place where my college degree is nil. A place where the coins in my purse don’t add up. It’s a place where black and white only mesh on the hide of a zebra. It’s where cows receive more consideration than pedestrians crossing the road. It’s a place where my native tongue sounds foreign and the foreign language feels native like I should speak it easily. For now it is the place where I rest my head each night and wake each morning. It is the place that I call home—at least for the next few months.

On the other side of the world—about fifteen hours away on a plane—is another world. A world I used to know. A world where life still goes on and people that I love are growing and living without me. Birthdays and holidays are still celebrated without my presence. How could they celebrate Easter without me being there to take family photos? Retirements, new homes, promotions, and weddings—I would have attended those events had I been remotely near.

But I am not near. I am in another world, another time zone, and on another continent. I have made new friends--and yes I have found family here. I’d die for the chicks that I room with. Still I search to find a way to merge the two, a way to live in both of my worlds.