In a few hours I will be taking off, heading south towards Johannesburg, and then, soon enough, back to where I came from.Even on the final approach into Dulles International Airport I will have already begun to re-adjust – the landscape, the neatly structured neighborhoods, the strip malls and network of highways will appear familiar to me. Billboards and signs and recognizable company logos in front of buildings will stir dormant, but very alive, reflexes. I may begin to yearn for a gourmet coffee or burger or licorice or maybe all of the above. And quite easily, I will be able to have it all.
I have seen the likes of Eric and many others work in very challenging and daunting conditions with the concerted goal of saving and improving the lives of AIDS-afflicted children in Malawi.
I have talked to so many adorable kids and seen an art-gallery-worthy sunset on Lake Malawi and so much more.
I have learned that buying my flight to Malawi was the most difficult step to getting involved.
How will the time I spent in Malawi affect me?
Has it changed me?
Did my interpretations of what I observed get influenced by the knowledge that I would only be here for a few weeks?
Would I have acted/felt differently had I committed to a longer stint in Malawi?
Will I be inspired to tackle something else? Where would I go? What would I do? What will I do? Is it a beginning or an end?
Only time will tell.
