Enjoying sneakers and malls
Maite Uranga
Life in Africa
A lot has happened since the last time I wrote a column. Four more months in Africa definitely provided lots of excitement. Much of my work involves working with girls throughout the school year, so when the school year ended I devised work that would take me to other parts of Mauritania. Peace Corps is a two-year commitment and I have passed the half-way point. Thirty-five new volunteers arrived in the country and 22 old volunteers left so now I am one of the people who is supposed to know that is going on in the country.
And strangely, among all of this, I realized that I have forgotten how strange and beautiful living in Africa is. It is now simply my life. But by far the most exciting event of the summer is that I am currently sitting at my parents' house in the United States. I have been here for two weeks and relished every second of it. After living in an African village for 14 months I expected to have major culture shock upon reentry. I had heard stories about people coming back and being horrified by the mass consumption, wealth and waste of America and Western cultures.
On my layover in Paris, I wandered through the airport looking at the stores and also coming to terms with seeing so many white people. On the plane ride to Washington, D.C., I watched three Hollywood movies. This helped me catch up on American culture and reacquaint my ears to English. The in-flight music program provided a glimpse into the pop culture I had been missing. And the technology of the video games amazed me. After the discoveries on the plane, I marched with the other passengers towards the bagggage claim area and customs. I appreciated the efficiency, attentiveness and order of it all.
In the luxury of the airport I called my parents, went to McDonald's, bought some magazines, ate ice cream and finally understood most of what was going on around me. Every store had posted prices so I did not need to worry about bargaining. Everything felt so normal and seemed so easy. Within minutes the months in Africa seemed like a far off dream or nightmare depending on the day. An unknown weight lifted off my shoulders.
This ease of life continued for the entire trip. There were times when my life in Africa would resurface at unexpected times. The first day I wore tennis shoes and went to the mall. For some reason I felt clumsy and was very confused as to why. After about an hour of this I laughed and realized I had not walked in anything but sandals and sand for the past year so my body was not used to the cement expanses of the mall. These reminders appeared throughout the week and provided much amusement for my friends and family.
Now it is two weeks later and my plane leaves in five hours. It will be good to go back to Africa after a few days in Washington and Paris. I do miss the people and my work. The next 10 months will provide much more excitement. In spite of all this, these last two weeks have made me realize that I live in Africa, but America is my home.
Maite Uranga graduated from Notre Dame in 2000 as an anthropology and government major. She is currently a Peace Corps volunteer in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, September 2, 2002
