content by Maria
Even in the planning stages of this trip, all things are interesting and new. The exotic names of the places I will see taste like spice on the tongue - Maputo, Xai-Xai, Nelspruit, Nairobi and Kigali (I have plans to leave the group in Johannesburg, bound for Rwanda, after the Habitat build is over).
Some other new words that I've learned include cholera, dengue, malaria and the myriad of drugs to prevent or treat anything and everything I might possibly encounter in Africa – Dukoral, Malarone, Levofloxacin.
When I tell people that I'm on my way to Africa soon, many have asked "Aren’t you scared because of the political climate there?” So far the only thing I’ve found truly scary was sending my passport away to the Mozambique embassy in Washington. It turns out that people do this all the time, and sure enough it was back in my sweaty palms within 10 days.
Those that are curious also ask me if I'll be traveling with folks I know, and some are stunned to find out that for the most part, none of us know each other. Based on my last Habitat for Humanity Global Village experience, that is just a temporary state of affairs. We’ll be a team in no time!
In some ways I feel as though a part of me is already in Africa. After reading "The Price of Stones” by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, which details how he orchestrated the building of a school in rural Uganda for children who are orphans because of slim, (the common name for AIDS in Africa), it’s difficult not be emotionally invested. In addition, looking around me at some of the so-called complaints of Westerners, I feel as though I can't get there soon enough to do what little I can.
Winter is now coming to Canada and along with that the darkness… Plenty of darkness! I'm certain our entire team will welcome the warmth and light of Africa, and from everything I've read or heard, the warmth and light of her people as well.
Maria Beauchamp 2011-11-09
