I miss...

Africa. I miss Africa so much. I don't miss it for the scenery, which, I won't lie, WAS beautiful. I don't miss it for the food, which was good too. I miss it for the people. I miss it for the way they live their lives. All of the people I encountered in The Gambia, they knew how to live. They really did. In America, we are on a constant mission to get from A to B to C, then back to A. We rarely have time to stop and enjoy things. We never stop to help each other. We just never stop. Last summer, when I spent time in The Gambia, I don't think I met a person who wasn't trying to help me in some way or genuinely get to know me. How many times a day do we stop and genuinely try to help someone, or genuinely get to know someone? And, I urge you to ask yourself another question... how many times do we try to help a stranger? Or even get to know them? Because, to all the people I met in The Gambia, I was a stranger, I was an outsider. That didn't stop them. A woman stopped working her job to help me and two other students who were trying to find something on a scavenger hunt our professor sent us on. She took us to find a few things, which took about 45 minutes. We tried to pay her for her time and generosity, but she refused our offers and simply told us to "pass it on to someone else." She said we are all one family, and everyone should be treated that way. I will remember this all my life and that simple act taught me so much about life. It is so important to be a team and work with one another, than against one another or in competition with one another. You get so much more out of life that way. Before we went on our trip, my professors warned that the Gambian concept of time was much different than in America. People weren't in a hurry. Anywhere.. or anytime. Before getting there, I thought "how do they get anything done without being on a schedule?" When I got there, I realized, their priorities are different than ours. Instead of being chained to a clock, they take time to enjoy things. Enjoy each other. It seems that their lives are more relaxed than ours. They have much less stress. I've been thinking about this as school is approaching, and life will be even more hectic for me. I can already feel the stress building. I will definitely try harder to channel my inner Gambian this year, cause they know a thing or two on how to live your life.