America is Amazing Because it Has Free Water

As we walked off of the 14-hour flight into the JFK airport, glancing around the busy, clean, good-smelling terminal, every ounce of my being wanted to scream “TAKE ME BACK!” Since escapism isn’t really a healthy thing, and neither is a bitterness for your own home country (recognizing that it is indeed, my home country, regardless of where I call “home” now), I (Amy) realized I needed to nip that in the bud and change my attitude or else it was going to be a loooong 6 weeks.

Yes, I miss my Zamlife. Yes, it’s only been 36 hours in America. Yes, I have dear friends there who I miss terribly and will stalk on social media aggressively in hopes of still feeling connected to them as life goes on for all of us over the holidays. Yes, our hearts feel at home in Zam. And all of those are good and okay things.

But for this season, we are here. Willingly, excitedly, gratefully, as we get to spend time with the people who allow us to live this Zamlife, who support us with choppy FaceTime calls, emails (that I usually fail to reply to), and the rare surprise of a piece of mail that made it all the way into our ZamMailbox. I am excited to be here to rest, to relax, to take a step back to recharge my batteries, and admittedly, to soak up every American convenience that aren’t so present in Zam.

So with that tug of war from missing out/missing home to being excited to spend the (chilly) holidays with all of our favorite people, we decided we’ll have to tug a bit harder on the home for the holidays side to truly enjoy this season for all it has to offer. Instead of criticizing all of the “wrong,” we’ll choose to look at the right with a clear mind that neither places are “better,” they’re just different.

Thus introducing our “America is amazing because it has _______” first impressions list, compiled over the first 36 hours of being back in this place:

1. Free/clean water

2. Central air/heating units

3. Large washing machines

4. The ability to tackle 6+ errands in one day

5. Good food (and convenient food)

6. Quiet nights

7. Sweet tea

8. Chickfila & Target, per usual

9. Free wifi

10. Water pressure

11. Sales, promotions, discounts

12. Carpet

13. Customer service

14. Raspberries

15. Spotify, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, YouTube

Looking forward to seeing many of y'all over the next few weeks! If you are in Columbia, Cary/Raleigh, Florence or anywhere nearby and still want to meet up, just email or text us (for free!) and we'd love to work something out. We're also hoping to add at least 10 new partners to our supporter base before Jan. 1, and would love for you to be one of them ;) Contact us for more info.

Love,

A&W