Been Away Too Long


21 years, yes 21 years, after leaving Malawi, I returned. I returned to a land that was so familiar, and yet so foreign. As we drove through the city of Lilongwe, I tried to sift through my memories and dust off the cobwebs to help my eyes drink in the familiar; but a lot was also registering as something completely strange. Despite having spent one-third of my life (the beginning one-third) of my life in Malawi, the first few days did not feel like home to me. And I was distressed. But still I looked, staring at the sights that greeted me, looking for the signs of the familiar. And when I did, I felt like I had met an old and dear friend.

But among those familiar - the banana trees....those sweet, yummy bananas: nothing like Dole or Chiquita bananas you get in the States....







the papaya trees....and boy did those papayas taste soooooooooo absolutely goooooooood!!!






And of course, one of my most beloved sights:



Lake Malawi - oh so beautiful. Here are those familiar rocks at Salima.... I have been away too long indeed....just too long.

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