A few hours ago, a plane left from Addis Ababa. People packed into the cushioned seats and readied themselves for the seventeen-hour-long flight back to the United States. Someone on that plane sat down next to an empty seat. The seat was reserved for me, back in September. I was not there.
I was five hundred miles away, near my apartment in Harar. I was having a frustrating morning. No one wanted to a give a ride to a unaccompanied woman who had wet hair, no shaw, AND was wearing pants. Eventually though, I was squished into a minivan with about fifteen other people and watching the dust-colored mountains fly past the windows.
"Any Way You Bless Me" by Fred Hammond and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by WHAM! kept playing on my ipod and it made me smile. I've been here for three months but every now and then I get this rush of feeling accompanied by the thought "Holy crud! I'm in Ethi-frickin'-opia! I'm really here!" It made me smile at the strange faces of the other passengers who watched me closely, but not directly, as we rushed towards the town of Alemaya.
As we traveled, I could feel that staying is the right choice, at least for now. If I had left now, I would have always have wondered what would have happened if I had stayed. I miss home, sometimes a lot. But I still have a lot I want to do here, and I'm pretty excited to see what happens next. I hope following God's will and not missing too much of the lives of my friends and family. But hey, it's guava season and Ethiopian Christmas is in ten days. Hopefully, I'm going on a pilgrimage tomorrow. Wish me luck!
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