[A Journey to Benin] Baby Steps

[Andrew Searles]

Today I washed my laundry by hand for the first time by myself. So, for the next week I'll be wearing dirty clothes. I think it will be more advantageous for me to pay someone to do it for me. It's not really that much more expensive and they will get it a lot cleaner. Plus a lot of times the girls use this money to go to school. So that's two birds with one stone.
While I was doing my laundry I was thinking. This is going to be very difficult. The next two years of my life that is. (Of course the laundry is difficult. Its by hand.) I will have to summon up the courage to make every step. Things won't come easy for me like they did in the states. Every problem is compounded by the simple fact that I don't speak their language. Never before in my life have I had so much difficulty going up and talking to someone. I have decided that I will have to take baby steps. If I'm going to live here for two years and eventually be happy, then I'm going to have to take it one step at a time and laugh at my mistakes.
If you know me well, I'm not good at taking baby steps. I never have been. So, this will be my regime for next year. Take baby steps. And if things get difficult take even smaller steps, but never stop moving forward. Thats what I think it takes in live. I just had to come to Africa to learn it.

--
Posted By Andrew Searles to A Journey to Benin at 10/01/2007 05:17:00 AM