Tomorrow, I fly from Malawi to the USA for three weeks. My Malawi visa requires that I depart the country every 90 days. Tomorrow is Day 88, so off I go. Over 2 days I will fly 14,929 kilometers (9277 miles) eventually arriving in Alexandria, Virginia. Do I want to go? Nope.
In the past weeks, several people have asked me why I do not want to go Home. To me it is an odd question because now, Malawi is my home. I moved here in January 2022 and will stay, intermittently returning to the USA, until June 2023. The following three years, I will live in Africa from January through June (malaria season) and in the USA the remainder of the year.
To me it is an odd question because now, Malawi is my home.
Like many places on Earth, there are many annoying things about living in Malawi. These mostly have to do with infrastructure. The roads are awful, the electricity can (and does) go out at any time, and the Internet is slow and unstable. But the good things vastly outnumber the bad. I live in a beautiful home with hornbills and mongoose babies in the garden, have wonderful friends, and do fascinating and impactful work. In the USA, my spouse and I rent a tiny apartment at an outrageous price and spend a great deal of our waking hours doing things (cleaning, shopping, cooking) that someone else does for us here in Africa.
And, so, in three days I will arrive in the United States, my country of citizenship and permanent residence. I will be happy to eat Greek yogurt, see our friends, drive on smooth roads, and not have to worry if the electricity will suddenly disappear. But I will not be home. Home will be 9277 miles to the southeast, waiting for my return.
