Goodbye, Cameroon.
Once in a while or more often than we can admit, are scared of saying goodbye. Parting ways with what was can often seem so dauting and heartbreaking. Saying goodbye to old friendships, lovers and maybe your favorite coffee place can flood you with emotions you did not know you carried. Nonetheless, goodbyes are a reminder that change is inevitable in life. There comes a time when we must give our last goodbyes to one experience and say hello to the next.
Goodbyes are a reminder that change is inevitable in life.
When the clock turned 2023, I knew it was time to say goodbye to Cameroon. A place I had called home for two years. Scenarios of what this all meant for me crowded in my mind. I would be leaving friends I learnt with and shared ideas about different topics in a governance classroom. Leaving Cameroon also meant saying goodbye to my favorite coffee place along the Avenue Kennedy streets. Don’t get me wrong, this coffee place was bliss from all the classroom workload stress. Leaving this bliss behind would mean letting go of all the beautiful faces and amazing conversations I had with random strangers. Meeting cheerful and polite strangers was definitely a blessing after you meet rude mouths. I would also definitely miss drinking the freshly brewed Arabica Coffee and the joy these moments embodied for me.
Undoubtedly though, I will miss the warm atmosphere that every stranger in this coffee place carried. Cheerful, reserved, shy or sad, they all played a great part in curating an unforgeable atmosphere. However, leaving Cameroon also meant growth for career development. It also meant another chance to experience new challenges and opportunities to grow and learn as a human being in all aspects. I felt hopeful, excited but also scared a bit
Sad and overwhelming as it seemed, saying goodbye should not leave you feeling conflicted in your soul. Leaving behind what was should also fill you with feelings of joy and hope of what is to come. There is nothing wrong with having mixed feelings. You are allowed to feel sad for what you left behind whilst feeling excited and hopeful for the future. That is the human paradox to life. You are allowed to feel, all of it at once.
There is nothing wrong with having mixed feelings.
Processing every emotion will not be easy but it will surely leave you feeling human in whatever form and shape your emotions lean towards everyday. I for one, am grateful that I met friends from all over Africa. The Eastern Kenya gifted me with Wambui’s nurturing heart and the honest humor from Sierra Leone brought me down with endless laughter. The charming calm glances of Lesotho queen; down to Eswantinis child like soul and the adventurous spirits of the Namibian and Rwandaan were great reminders of life blessings. Sibale the multitalented, was my home away from home. I may forget everything I was taught in class, (I hope not), but I surely will not forget how having these souls around felt like.
They say we kiss goodbye to say hello again; so I hope I will be saying my hellos soon. Until then, goodbye Cameroon. Thank you for the memories, the laughter and the lessons.
All my love.
Naomie's trails of hope. 