It's quite strange coming back home after a month in a different country with a completely different culture. I had somewhat of a culture shock already when I landed at Barcelona airport for my connecting flight. Suddenly, I was surrounded by so many white people who were busy catching their planes, lost in their own little worlds on smart phones and computers. Nobody was greeting anyone, nobody smiled at you, it was like being invisible.
Everything was polished, clean and orderly, there were so many stores with anything you might imagine, restaurants and cafes. It was surreal. I started thinking: What's the point of all this? Stores selling unnecessary things costing hundreds of Euros which could feed whole African villages for months on end. Even the change of currency was a bit of a surprise. Everything was suddenly expensive when I wasn't paying with dalasis anymore. Just grabbing a cup of coffee and something to eat after my red-eye flight would get me a nice lunch in Gambia. I also felt cold for the very first time in a month as I was sitting outside at a cafe, getting some fresh air before heading for Venice.
I also started noticing what others were wearing, suddenly finding shorts, miniskirts and spaghetti strap tops somewhat inappropriate. Gambia is a Muslim country and we respected the local dress code so we always stuck to clothing that covered our shoulders and our knees. It was funny, how quickly you get used to it. Even when I was still there, we would wear sleeveless shirts at home but sometimes we got unexpected visitors and I changed my clothes on more than one occasion because I felt uncomfortable, almost naked.
These past few days have been an adjustment. Most of all, I felt very cold, coming back to 20 degrees and grey days, rarely interrupted by sunshine. You start to feel grateful for all the things you took for granted before. The first thing I did the next morning was putting my clothes in the washing machine with great pleasure. I had to wash everything by hand in this month and it was always a challenging, time consuming task by the end of which I was drenched in sweat. There is also something special about having unlimited access to electricity.
Yet, despite all this, when I walk around the streets of my hometown, I don't see many happy faces. People are worried, serious and busy, hurrying past each other while going through their mental checklist in their heads. Going to the supermarket is also overwhelming, too many choices. It seems wasteful. I definitely won't see many things in the same light anymore, but that is precisely why I decided to go to Africa in the first place.
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