Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa

The ride to my uncle's house was a long bumpy ride. There were potholes like I'd never seen before that were almost the size of a car. Cows and goats were roaming freely in the streets with kids playing around without adult supervision. As we were riding in the cars, I saw people riding in what's called a 'Bachach.' A bachach, which almost looks like a carriage, is common public transportation because not many people have cars. If you have a car then you have a lot of money. I was amazed at everything I was seeing. It was very different. We arrived at the house where all my family members were waiting for our arrival. They prepared us a meal with rice and goat meat, which is very common over there. The meat tasted extra fresh like it was just cut up, but the rice was kind of harder than I expected, definitely not like how my mom makes it back home. With that, I had an Orange Miranda soda. It was marvelous. We finished up our food, and all of a sudden, my cousin Abdishakur came into the room. Everyone swore we looked alike, but I didn't see it one bit. In my eyes, we had no similar features except for our black-brown, curly hair.

Just as I thought things were going well in Somalia, I woke up feeling extremely sick. I was throwing up everything I ate and had bad diarrhea. I was constantly sweating and couldn't eat anything without it coming back out somehow. I was so confused, thinking it was the food that made me this sick. But the food was delicious and fresher than anything I'd eaten back in the U.S. I was also experiencing chills and fever-like symptoms. Vomiting and having the flu were not a good combination. I could barely sleep or enjoy my days comfortably, wondering what this sickness could be... It was malaria. A disease caused by a Plasmodium parasite, transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes. I knew mosquitoes were going to be trouble but not this much. Malaria is usually common when people are first going to Somalia and that's why taking your shots before you go is very important. But sometimes even that doesn't help. I went to the doctor to get help with this, and he knew just what to do. He prescribed me some medicine and advised me to sleep with a net around my bed to block any future mosquitoes from spreading their disease again. A week goes by and I'm feeling better and refreshed. With proper precautions, malaria could be avoided. I went on about my vacation, spent time with my family, and made new friends along the way. I enjoyed playing soccer, eating food, going to the beach, etc. But sadly, my vacation was coming to an end. We first came with a bunch of luggage like we were moving there, but we ended up leaving with just one bag of luggage each. My mom gave a lot of her stuff away to her sisters and cousins while my brother, and I gave it away to our cousins and uncles. Saying goodbye to them after being with them for so long was a hard thing to do. I grew in love for them and Somalia and can hardly wait to go back to see them.

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For my interview, I spoke with my mom about her travels as she is now in Africa herself. She sends me videos and voice messages of her days on ‘WhatsApp'. WhatsApp is the largest messenger app in the world. They use the internet to talk, video chat, and text with anyone across the globe. (androidcentral.com). It's my primary source of communication with my family overseas. It's been 10 years since my mom visited back home before we went last year. I'm jealous that she went without me this time. I was helping my mother pack and buy gifts for our family back home. We bought things like makeup, clothing, shoes, phones, and tablets. My mother ended up taking four big luggages with her packed up and ready to go. The date for her flight came and she was off to Borama, Somaliland. Somaliland is a breakaway, semi-desert territory on the coast of the Gulf of Aden. Somaliland has a working political system, government institutions, a police force, and its currency. (BBC.com). Borama is a beautiful city in the northwest region of Somaliland near the border of Ethiopia.

When she landed three of her brothers greeted her at the airport. She landed in Hargeisa, which is the capital of Somaliland. It's about a two-hour drive from Hargeisa to Borama. They helped her with her bags and went on their road trip. Finally, they arrived, and my mother was reunited with her mom again. It's tough being so far away from her so she makes every second count. She walks through the gates of the home she grew up in with my mom's siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles all gathered outside welcoming her back. She gets hit with the smell of food cooking outside, a smell she'll never forget. My mother shares a nice big meal with her family as they chat about memories and what's been going on since the last time, they have spoken with each other.

Once that was over, she started giving out gifts that she brought back home to the family members that we bought them for. Every luggage that she had belonged to one person and was filled with the necessities they requested before we arrived there. As soon as she gave them their stuff they thanked and showered her with appreciation. After a while, they had to go on about their lives and take care of their homes, so they left. My uncle Hassan stayed, so they just started walking around and then he took her to his house. His house had a gate with barbed wires on top of the fence and the house was made out of bricks. His house was huge like a mansion, the biggest house I've seen in Somalia. My uncle Hassan decided to go to the local market. They went to the market to buy a fan for the house, so she could sleep comfortably. That pretty much sums up my mom's first day back home.

The rest of my mom's days consist of spending time with my grandma and herding the goats. She also spends time with her nieces and nephews who are named after myself and my other siblings. She helps my aunts cook and prepare them for school. Doing so made her feel nostalgic for her childhood and having her mom and aunts help each other raise her and everyone else. A part of her wishes she never left and raised my siblings and me here so we could experience the same childhood she had. It would've been nice to experience my roots more growing up, but I know my mom came here for better opportunities. Every day is a peaceful day with no stress and happy vibes. The longer my mom stays the more she dreads the day she has to leave.

Africa to me resembles a home away from home, going back to Africa keeps me intact to my roots. Whenever I feel like I'm losing myself it shows me to be humble and not to worry about materialistic things, and not to mention I have family who lives there where even though we grew up very differently we are very similar. It's very important to understand where you come from and have that knowledge stick with you to pass it on to your children, and they pass it on to theirs.