Conclusions

Goa, India
Originally uploaded by An Smith

I am at the computer in the den of my sisters new townhouse wearing Jess's clothes, eating a bowl of homemade chili (by request of course) and I'm uploading pictures, doing laundry, shopping on line to buy a new laptop, organizing 'stuff', airing out my backpack, drinking coffee (instant just for the memories of Africafe) and haven't showered since Zanzibar (again, for the memories of being a former dirty backpacker). I keep talking to the dogs in Kiswahili by mistake.

We arrived last night at about 10pm after 22 hours of flying. It was the most luxurious traveling on the entire trip. People complained we smelled (I suspect this is what happened) and we had two seats each for all three flights. I watched 8 movies, ate 12 meals (including all the desserts), slept like a baby and made a stop in Boots to stock up on favorite products followed by a stint of slathering myself with the most expensive eye cream / face cream / anti-wrinkle / anti-aging / uplifting / tightening and toning free samples I could find. I am now 3.2 years younger.

We left Dar at 5.30am and the horizon was a bright red-orange glow as the sun started to rise so that it literally looked like the sky was on fire. Just as we flew over Kili (the same time that the crazies who are climbing it would get to the top) a bright neon pink sun appeared (and we giggled knowing how terrible the people who are watching the same sunrise, but are at the top of Kili, are feeling because they are cold, starving and have altitude sickness. Maybe they even had to take a poop on the top in front of many strangers - it happens). In any case, we had our noses glued to the window so we could take it all in because the view was absolutely breathtaking and a fantastic final image of Africa.

Denise and I were top form delirious for the entire time we weren't asleep (possibly cause of all the desserts) and therefore giggling like kids and doing dumb things like talking with sock puppet hands. "Look!! AN!! British people!" as we boarded our BA flight in Nairobi - yup, just the 'two of us' could not hear the announcement; "Anyone who is currently already using their headphones please refrain from doing so until after takeoff" due to the simple fact that we had our blinkers on our eyes. If you're confused you are supposed to be (I admit I am also).. let's move on.

Flying in to Heathrow in London was completely bizarre because after spending 10 months in the chaos of infrastructure that is the third world the picture perfect Thomas the Tank engine villages and winding roads with colourful cars looked... fake and impossible. I'd never really noticed before. However, and despite appearances, my world suddenly felt really hectic and fast paced and I was kind of overwhelmed by the people who push by in a hurry and then run over Denise with their suitcase, don't take a second to apologize and avoid eye contact cause you might have some sort of communicable disease (actually Denise does have a disease but it doesn't really count).

There are a million things I know now that I didn't know before. About myself, the world, different cultures. For example, I realize that I look really terrible in most shades of green and that the majority of food items begin with the letter "P". (I can almost guarantee that nobody else - but D and I - have laid in our middle of nowhere guest house and named all the foods we can think of going through each and every letter of the alphabet. If you're ever bored try it.. see if you can actually get to P. That's more the challenge right there my friends..). I know that bananas are the most versatile food in the entire world and I now consider myself kind of a connoisseur (the red ones and/or Moshie bananas are the bestest). Here is a list of all the things (I can think of and ate on the trip) that involve banana: banana milk shake, banana pancake/crepe, fried bananas, banana soup, banana split, banana&avocado sandwich, banana fritter with chocolate, banana smoothie, banana pizza, roasted banana, banana with muesli&yogurt, banana chips, banana in coconut sauce. I think that is it. I also know things like high altitudes make people very gas-o-liscious, there is someone in every country that looks like Morgan Freeman, chocolate tastes best first thing in the morning while you are still in bed, sunsets are better in Africa (especially if they involve a beer and a hammock and a box of Pringles) and climbing mountains is dumb. Seriously though, I really am taking a lot with me from this trip (but I will charge for my knowledge - by the hour). My memories right now are a bit foggy due to experience overload and I expect I will keep learning from my trip for a long time to come. It's definitely helped to shape my perspective on the world, including what I want for my life and I saw things that made me smile that I will never forgot and of course things I wish I didn't because they make you sad and you start realizing the world can be terribly cruel.

One of my best memories is sitting on a bus in India with a little girl (she couldn't have been more than four and she was what they would consider an 'untouchable', which basically means she is of the lowest class in Indian society and likely won't have the opportunity to amount to very much). She was sitting behind me with her parents and baby brother, wearing only a t-shirt. She probably hadn't bathed in a week because she was filthy. I decided to share my iPod headphones with her and we rocked out to Western music for a good hour until they got off of the bus. I won't forget her smile or the fact that the family waved goodbye with big grins until I couldn't see them anymore. I do have a million and a half memories like that.. but for some reason that one has always stood out the most in my memory.

Finally, I couldn't have asked for a better travel compadre (as we said many times, our friendship is a low risk business agreement and therefore there was no pressure). I would definitely do it all again in a heartbeat, maybe even the Kili part. We had a hell of a lot of fun, we should have wrote down more of the ridiculous things we giggled about (cause there were so many) and we should have ate more (kidding!). I doubt that is even possible! It was pretty friggin fantastic though, wasn't it ;)