The title for this blog is a line in a U2 song that's been in my head for a while, and I think it pretty much sums up life for me at the moment.
My flight to the missions’ base was uneventful. After a day of debriefing I was on boarding another plane down towards the coast. I stepped aboard and slumped down in my chair. In many ways the town where the missions’ headquarters is based is functional, but any life or soul has been removed surgically. I was pleased not to be going back.
A man appeared at the front of the plane with an envelope. ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ he said ‘It’s time for our prize raffle, madam please pick a number’ he motioned to the envelope, the woman at the front obliged. ‘Ticket number, six seven five’ he bellowed above the roar of the engines, which were staring up. I half choked on my bottle of water ‘that’s me!’ I said. ‘Wonderful! Congratulations!!, you’ve won our top prize!!!’ He said almost exploding with excitement. ‘You’ve won, your return flight here… (He paused for drama) for only forty dollars!!
‘I’ve won a flight back here again?’ I said, trying really hard not to sound like I’d just won a break away holiday to Guantanamo Bay. ‘Yes!!’ He screamed almost convulsing with delight ‘we haven’t had a winner all week, I’m so pleased’ he said. I tried to imitate is joyfulness, but was too tired to muster much of an effort.
I stepped off the plane, still a little befuddled and in need of food and sleep. The only planes I have to fly on now are huge Boeings and Airbuses. There’s things about the planes that have (as one of my friends put it) ‘a touch of the Buddy Hollies about them’, that I’ll miss, bizarre raffles aren’t included.
Now I’m sat in an internet cafe, next to a beach in East Africa. The water is turquoise, the sand is white, a more tranquil scene it is hard to imagine. It’s a world away from where I've been, and a world away from where I’m going, London apparently having swapped spring for autumn.
It’s off season here, so there is no-one around save a whole bunch of worn out NGO workers. It’s really amusing, every aid angency you’ve ever heard of, and some you haven’t, are represented here in the form of horizontal, sleeping aid workers.
Attempting to sum up the last ten months is going to be impossible, so I’m not going to even try. What I’ll do is scribble a final bit when I’m home early next week. Have a great weekend all.
