As I am winding down my stay in Cape Verde I find myself facing a familiar feeling of leaving a natural but significant part of me behind. The connection to the people, music, the land, the sky is very deep. Waking up each morning here always brings a sense of renewal for me. I must confess that I also feel this in way in Senegal. I am looking forward to going into the villages and seeing the people when we deploy our rain gauge network next week. The transition between the dry season and the wet season can be felt in through my senses like the anticipation of the farmers. No matter what knowledge I have gained from reading journal articles, books and the like, I am always in awe of what actually happens. It is like a place of no other from the weather to the people that I meet. The spiritual journey is often much closer than one can imagine. Taking measurements in West Africa is like nothing you can imagine when you give yourself to the process. If you resist what she is trying to show you, you miss it (completely) but if you remain open and patient you have found your master teacher. The knowledge that you learn will be deep and connected. It is in this environment that I have learned the most, found the connections and remain open to learning.
As for home in the US, I can get into grooves of learning, but often they are for only short periods and truncated because new processes continue to spawn leading to me putting on the absent minded professor costume. I just need to find a way to preserve what I learn in Africa so that I can remain grounded in the US. Is it possible? Yes because the Earth is one, but the noise level is so high and concrete so thick in some environments that you miss your connection…. you just overlook it- maybe every day, every week and every year.
Well even with the sadness, I am heading to Senegal and remained attached to Mother Africa for another 20 days. Just have to cherish one day at a time.
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