I have six days left in the Congo. Which also means six days left of this blog. As much as I’d love to continue it when I get back to the USA, I don’t think my life is quite as interesting there and Photokapi needs to stay what it is. If / when I come back to the DRC I’ll probably start it up again and let everyone I can know. And if I miss blogging too much in the USA maybe I’ll start a different one. But it probbably won’t have geckos or floods or explosions.

Preparing to leave the Congo feels heartbreaking and good, which I think is the way it should be. I’m so sad to be leaving this incredible adventure and yet so ready to be surrounded by the comforts of my old life and to re-gain the freedoms I sorely miss. I’m going to walk EVERYWHERE when I get back! ON MY OWN. Without bodyguards. And I’ll probably have a goofy blissful grin on my face the entire time. And quickly get out of breath from being so out of shape. I don’t think I’ve moved so little in my life as I have in the past three months.

But while I’m here I wanted to make a list of the little things that I’m going to miss enormously, in part so that I can remember them enough to miss them.

1. The children. Half the population of the Congo is under the age of 19, and I love the kids I’ve met like crazy. In fact if I were to return to the Congo it would be with the goal of finding a way to be more involved with them.

2. This ridiculous kitten sitting in the sunshine on my windowsill. Her grey stripes and green eyes and ability to jump 3 feet in the air from a total standstill.

3. The geckos that come out at night, with their transluscent skin and huge black eyes. Similarly, the enoromous orange and blue push-up lizards in the garden.

4. The African Grey Parrots, Kingfishers, and dozens of other garishly brilliant birds that I’ve had the honor of witnessing in my garden. Particularly the shimmery green tiny ones, like the one I saw my first morning here.

5. The crew. Every single one of them.

6. Fresh baguettes every morning.

7. The thunderstorms. I know for a fact that I’ll never see a thunderstorm in my life again like the ones I’ve seen here. Partly because I don’t think it’s scientifically possible for rain to fall more heavily from the sky than it has in the past few months.

8. Being with Owen. This is a whole different story. But I’m so lucky that I was able to have this adventure with him.

9. Tailor-made dresses. I just got a new one! Made by my same tailor who has my measurements, designed in secret by my Cameroonian coworker. It has “Cameroon” written straight across the chest.

10. The adventure! Those of you who have traveled a lot may know the feeling I’m talking about—the addictively giddy moment where you see something you’ve never seen before or find yourself in a situation that is entirely new and slightly uncomfortable, yet thrilling. I’m spending the first two months I’m back in the USA traveling all over the country and I’m so glad. I couldn’t hack jumping straight into a routine after this.

I’m trying to decide if I should eat sushi or Mexican food first when I wake up in Berkeley on June 2nd. I am counting the hours until I get to see the friends I’ve missed like crazy and nuzzle the silly shy black cat I left at home. Reuniting with my roadbike is going to be close to a spiritual experience, and drinking from the tap is sure to take some getting used to. I can’t wait to take showers with water pressure and experience the sunny chilly Berkeley summer, which means pulling out the pairs of jeans I left behind and the light sweaters I’ve missed. I can’t wait to step outside and not feel immediately suffocated by a thousand pounds of humidity and heat.

But despite all the great things about going home I know myself. I’ve never lived anywhere for more than two years, and I barely made it through six months in Berkeley (which was supposed to be my Putting-Down-Roots-Spot) before hightailing it to Equatorial Africa. So yes, I can’t wait to go home. But I know that the minute my feet touch the ground some part of me is also going to be waiting for the next adventure.