Life is full of mixed emotions. On one hand, I am thrilled to be going back to Niger. It is a wish come true, to be able to - for the first time in many years - experience the entire rainy season, which is so immensely beautiful in a country that stands barren and dry for nine months of the year and comes as such a relief after months of 45 degrees (Celcius) heat. The reason I’ve been missing it, is because summer and autumn have always been the best seasons for me to get enough work in Sweden to take me through the rest of the year as a nonsalaried volunteer in Niger, but by the time I’ve had saved up for what I’d need, the rainy season has well been well in the process of withdraw.

This year however will be different. When I head out this year, I have no idea of when I will return. It may be in September, or it may be the year after. I have no idea. To be honest, I don’t mind, because as you may have figured out by now, I enjoy being in Niger. It can be frustrating at times, but there is something in me that is so alive when I am there. A sense of fulfillment, knowing I can contribute to something which will enable a population to live a worthy and sustainable life.

The hard part however - which is what leaves me with a heavy feeling in all of this - is the people you miss out on. I never miss Sweden when I am in Niger, but I do miss the people.

Fortunately, friendship doesn’t fade because of geographical distance and there are so many ways nowadays of communication (Skype Out for one…), which facilitates keeping in touch. But I’ll definitively miss our coffee moments, our sunbathing days on the beach and our long walks in the Swedish woods.

I have to end this post with a comment my friend Hanna left a few days ago:

I will miss you so much this summer! You’re part of the summer experience in Falkenberg! I’m sad, but I know you’re doing the right thing. And I know we’ll continue to keep in touch.

Thanks Hanna! I’ll bear that with me when I leave. And don’t forget that there is room is Anette’s and my house for the whole lot of you to come for some slightly more bitter coffee, delicious healthy solar cooked famine food, amazing rides in the bush and some very uncomfortable sunbathing which may result in heat stroke if you allow yourself to sweat out for two long but which otherwise functions just as well as a Swedish ‘bastu’. Tempted…?