A funny thing happens when you travel or are living abroad.  Emotions seem heightened, friendships are made quickly, and relationships tend to be  accelerated.  As I prepare to leave tomorrow, it amazes me how sad I am and how much I feel I will miss the friends I have made here while I’m home.  I have been lucky to meet some wonderful people and a welcoming community here at the language school/Morogoro, and in particular, a group of girls that are close to my heart.

On another note, I have found myself really becoming attached to Tanzania.  And if I can make a confession, I wasn’t sure that I would.  My first extended trip abroad was for three months, to Bolivia.  I loved it.  I really truly, deep in my bones, loved it.  I still feel slightly heart-broken when I think about the fact that I haven’t been able to go back since.  The first two times I came to Tanzania, I didn’t feel that way.  Granted, they were short trips and as a cold-weather person, it is not my favorite climate.  Now, I certainly didn’t hate it; the people are just incredibly warm and welcoming and it is a beautiful country, so it’s hard not to see the positives.  But I didn’t feel that deep connection that I had felt in Bolivia.  So it was with some trepidation that I planned to move here for ten months.  However, over the past three months, it has, almost without me realizing it, grown on me so much that I know I will miss not only my friends but the country itself.  As I learn the language, it just becomes a better and better experience.  I leave tomorrow for Dar es Salaam in the morning, and then fly back to the States tomorrow night.  I’m excited to see my family and to have time to figure out what’s going on and recover.  But I can’t wait to come back.

Earlier this week, I had a little going away dinner with my wazungu friends at my favorite Indian restaurant in town.  Stephanie, in an amazing feat, made me a gluten-free chocolate cake (it is truly hard to impress upon you, dear readers, how ambitious this was to attempt here), which was delicious.  It was a great night, and still enough hours away from my departure for it to not seem real.

Tonight, some of the teachers and students at the language school got together because not only me, but two other students were leaving this week.  The teachers had us over to their house for refreshments and we had a great time just sitting around, talking, and listening to music, in the company of Soulja Boy, the Tanzanian puppy.  He belongs to one of my friends, Joseph, a teacher at the school and a big music fan.  Since he was set on naming him after a rapper, Anne and I were hard-core lobbying for Snoop Dogg, but alas, Soulja Boy won out.  I have known Souja Boy since he was just a week old, and am happy to report that he is growing into a fine young pup who can be seen showing off his posing skills in the picture below.  And now, I am off!