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My African Spider
Adapting to the unfamiliar when I had no idea what to expect.
Spending a year in country was like something out of a childhood adventure. Just 45 minutes outside the city, the jungle was so thick and green you couldn’t see more than an arm’s length in from the road. After stepping down from the jeep and taking two steps into the bush, you were no longer able to see the sky.
That jungle was teeming with forest elephants. Chimpanzees were chatting behind the veil of trees, and pygmies still lived in the northwest of the country.
I was living on a U.S. Embassy compound in Gabon, a small country on the west coast of Africa. It was, to say the least, a unique experience.
Remember the first time you left home to live at college or university? You were probably both nervous and excited, meeting new people and beginning something new. I had those exact same feelings. Except this time, I was traveling to a country I had never heard of before. No one spoke English, and armed military blocked the roads whenever they felt like it.
Seeing something familiar when you travel, like a McDonald’s or Starbucks, provides a feeling of comfort. Even if I don’t eat there, it still reminds me of home. On that first drive from the airport, en route to the Embassy compound, nothing was familiar…
