Not many people today know what it is to have “itchy feet.” There are few who understand how painful it is to have “home” be on a different continent, and to not be able to even visit. For approximately 5 years, I have been away from my home, visiting a place that is foreign and bizarre to me. For 5 years I have been called strange and worse, for acting how I had always viewed as normal, because this is not where I belong. In the missionary circle, they refer to people like me as TCK’s, or Third Culture Kids, because we will never really belong in either culture (in my case, Nigerian, or American), but we still feel the need to belong in each place. Most people think we’re cool, but most of them never really accept us, to them we’re a novelty item for a moment, but then we’re just strange.
That is how I feel now, and how I have felt for the last several years. I have a fundamental need to go back to Niamey (Niger), the place that was my home for as long as I can remember, if only to see the place where I grew up. Unless you have felt this need yourself, you can’t fully understand how I feel.
If I went back to Niamey, I would reconnect with what made me who I am today, I would visit the places that I grew up around, climb the trees that entertained me for endless hours as a kid, talk to the nationals, drink Green Tea (a local staple of everyday life), and eat what the nationals eat. I would spend the time reliving my childhood and getting to know the culture that I grew up in and took for granted, but most of all, I would spend my time being where I belong more than anywhere else.
With that in mind, I couldn't help but go looking for pictures of my home in anticipation of my return. I found these sites which hold pictures of what I saw every day growing up. For the past 5 years, I've been learning to stifle the emotions inside, the longing for home, but when I saw these pictures, tears came to my eyes and I longed for it all the more.
follow these links to see the place that I grew up calling home, to see the places and people that I saw everyday.
http://search.pbase.com/search?q=Niamey
http://www.hobotraveler.com/184_46niameyphotos.shtml
Peace guys, enjoy.
Phil
3 comments:
You know, I'm really glad you get to go back to Africa. You've probably talked about that more than anything else, but man, I'm going to miss you... The pictures were interesting, but I guess they don't quite have the effect on me that they would have on you. Maybe one day...
I love you, Sam
Really? I didn't think I was talking about it that much... The pictures didn't have quite the affect on you because you're where you have grown up and belong. (I plan on traveling to as many countries in the world as I can when I grow up, and you had better be coming with me)
I haven't seen the pictures, but I can already picture them in my mind. For me, I understand completely. I'm hoping, praying that I'll be able to go back to Cote d'Ivoire this Easter break... to see, to remember. I know what you're talking about probably better than most.
Post a Comment