Yesterday was a rough one, sorry for the late post.
I can’t believe that just 24 hours ago I was sitting in the Shinyanga office. I have since arrived safely in Arusha, back to Lucas and his family, and it feels like I never left!
The day was like any other up until 9:00pm. I woke up after a good night of rest—which was a little different I guess. In the morning I had to finish packing my bags, but it was one of those stuff jobs that takes no more than 10 minutes.
Work was kinda weird because I knew it would be my last day in Shinyanga, so potentially the last day I would see any of those coworkers. I was able to use work to distract myself a little bit from all the emotions of leaving. I said my goodbyes (normally something I dread and am really bad at).
I went for my afternoon run like usual, and I’m happy I did. It was a good way to close out my time in Shinyanga and gave me some time to reflect.
I will miss the sunsets in Shinyanga. One of my favorite parts of my days was arriving at the hotel after running right as the sun was going down.
I don’t know why I look petrified in this photo, but it was my last one from in Shinyanga. Everything right now is seeming to be a nice full circle moment: that man, Gacha, was the first to meet me by picking me up at the airport and was the last I saw by dropping me off. Also, coming back to Arusha has rounded everything out nicely as well.
The bus ride was absolutely terrible. Ten hours of bumping driving, a bright interior with constant music playing, and a fairly stiff seat weren’t my favorite combo. I didn’t sleep a wink and I arrived earlier today in Arusha at 7:00am. I don’t want to muddle my posts too much, so I’ll stop here (even though my day never really came to an end). I will say, though, that I am so happy to be back with my family here in Arusha!