So Write before I die, “ ‘E liked it all!”

Its like a book, I think, this bloomin’ world,
Which you can read and care for just so long,
But presently you feel that you will die
Unless you get the page you’re readin’ done,
An’ turn another - likely not so good;
But what you’re after is to turn ‘em all.

Gawd bless this world! Whatever she ‘ath done -
Excep’ when awful long - I’ve found it good.
So write, before I die, “ ‘E liked it all!”
-Rudyard Kipling

I’m working on a poetry project with the students we sponsor at the high school right now. I’m having them study some of the great poets of the past and present as well as write their own poetry. We’ll get together and have a poetry reading where they’ll recite a poem that spoke to them and then read their own creation. I’m looking forward to it.

The above poem spoke to me. This is only part of a poem by Rudyard Kilpling, but it outlines what I’ve been thinking over the past few months. Realizing that my time is now drawing to a close here in Zambia, I’ve started thinking about the future. While I’m not yet to the point where presently I feel I will die unless I get the page I’m reading done and turn another, I completely understand that feeling and know its not far off. What I’m after is to turn ‘em all.

In an effort to turn that next page I have decided that I will be going to Cameroon to study French for three months. I won’t head immediately there but rather when my contract expires on August 15 will go to Zimbabwe to visit a couple of friends then fly to South Africa for a week to visit my dad who will be there on business. From South Africa I will head to Cameroon at the beginning of September and will stay until December 7, at which time I will head to Montreal to visit friends and meet my parents in Quebec for some fun in the...snow. This all just recently came together but I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve come to realize that if I want to work in development I need to learn French. As such I found a program called the Humanity Exchange (based in Canada) that has a French course and volunteer opportunity all wrapped into one. I will be staying with a French speaking host family, studying French for two hours a day three times a week and volunteering with a local NGO using my marketing skills and, you guessed it, improving my French. All together I think this sounds like a pretty great experience and I’m excited for the chance to see more of Africa. While I think I’ll be ready for a break by the time I finally make it home to the States, I’m looking forward to working with another organization and having another perspective of development work in Africa.

With only a month left in Zambia it’s hard to believe that its almost over. I’m starting to look back and see how much is behind me, but looking back doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot ahead of me and I’m excited for my next adventure. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to write that I liked it all, but at least I have turned a few pages.