Counting down

I'm finally at the end of my stint. Tomorrow morning I leave for Bangui to debrief, and on Thursday I'm on a plane. As always, I will leave behind me a thousand things undone, but such is life. Working in Africa can be a slog, so much slower and more tiring than it needs to be. Still, I'm reasonably proud of what I was able to accomplish here.

I'll miss the people too. Last night was my going away dinner, which was a lot of fun. It was full of very, very long speeches, but again... T.I.A. I was given a pagne, which is a generic term for traditional central African clothing (and here I refer to the region, not the country). It's huge and bright and very... animal-y... but it's the thought that counts. And as a bonus, it comes with a matching shirt for my husband (which is even huger). I'll miss all my toys, and my driver and my guards. Is that superficial of me? Possibly, but have you ever been soluted? It's nice.

I have no idea when I'll be back in Africa -- but of course I always say that, and something always seems to come up. One thing is for sure: I need a rest. I'm mentally exhausted. Nor will going back to NYC cure that right away; on the contrary I'm likely to feel uncomfortable and alien for a time. But at least I will be anonymous, unremarkable, and back with my loved ones. For all that, I'm counting down the hours.