Climbing a Second Mountain

Coming to Africa, I prepared myself for many things. I packed my bags. I obtained the necessary documentation. I was ready to leave home, to leave all the people, culture, language, and surroundings I have come to know. I was ready to try new things and meet new people. I was ready to do something, and possibly the first thing, completely on my own. I was ready to climb a mountain. Yet, there is one thing I completely forgot to prepare myself for, and without a doubt it has been the hardest thing I have had to do in the past two and a half months: saying goodbye.

I don’t mean saying goodbye to the things I have grown accustom to back home, but as in goodbye to the people that have become my family here. Because everyone here is out of their element, living in a world completely alien to what would be considered normal in our lives, we are quickly unified. The volunteers share many of the same desires, life goals, philosophies, and of course, water bottles. Within the first couple days here, boundaries are broken and relationships are formed. Even though we may have met only weeks ago, bonds are formed in an uncommon way. These are the people you live with, eat with, talk with, cry with, laugh with, and miss home with. One could describe the relationship here as friendship, but, truly, family is a better adjective.

The sad thing about building such familial relationships is that, unlike your family at home, this family is short lived. There are a few people I will likely see at some point in the future, after we go our separate ways here, yet, there are many who I will likely never see again.

Many volunteers have come and gone since my arrival. I’ve said goodbye to my two mamas, and to several others who I will always remember. Yet, thus far, the goodbyes have been spaced out - two one weekend, one the next ect. However sad it may have been, it was manageable. This weekend was the hardest goodbye I have ever had to deal with. 10 members of the CCS family went home, including those I have become the closest with. I know that there are those I will see again, some even this summer, but it is different here now. The dynamic of CCS has changed. There is an emptiness felt at the meal table. We are few now. And although we will continue to build these relationships with the new volunteers who have arrived, the relationships made previously will not be forgotten.

Goodbyes are hard, yet there is something you can draw from all of them. As one of us here was told in comfort, “There are those who are in your life for a long time, and there are those who are in your life for a short time, but it is the impact they make on you that is significant.” Even though some of the people I have met here were only in my life for three weeks, they have made an enormous impact me, and for that I am thankful.