never leaving

trekking through the African jungle.

the air is sweet. wet. rainy season is finally on its way.

sucking on a handful of coffee beans i just picked from the tree.  

mangy goats cross the path ahead. the red dirt tints their remaining fur.

the green is thick. and vibrant.

a canopy of towering trees shield the glittering sun.  

i'm getting comfortable here.  and God knows that's the one thing i fear most.  

comfort. 

but i feel it.  

i'm getting used to sleeping with lizards.  rinsing the ants from my toothbrush.
eating fufu, koliko, aguti, and ablo.  wearing floor length skirts and t-shirts with necklines up to my chin.  bananas, coconuts, mangos, and pineapple on the roadside. 

strange smells.  

bustling markets.  

colorful people.  

this place has changed me. but not much, i don't think.

except maybe my 

eyes.

they're wider. and wiser. 

more open.

to the world. to its people. 

to the will of God.

the presence may not be physical.

but Africa will remain.

i've learned. and laughed. and loved.

and lived here.

it will never leave 

me.