Another Perspective

"So I walk up on high
And I step to the edge
To see my world below.
And I laugh at myself
While the tears roll down.
'Cause it's the world I know.
It's the world I know."

This is a view of the world at night from above. You stare at it long enough and you can't help but come away speechless. At least I do. Satellite images seem to have a much more awe-inspiring effect than maps ever can. I think this one really helps capture the magnitude of what Michele and I are about to do to ourselves.

The green circle is where we come from. Southeastern USA. Enough bright lights to the point where you can see the shape of the country in the dark. I have also lived in France and Japan, two countries that differ enormously from the US, yet can also clearly be seen from the sky at night. Mali is in the region circled by pink. There are a few tiny specks of light where most African capital cities are, but other than that, you can only see the shine of the moon off the desert ground. No man made lights. Or at least not many.

Early on while still applying to the Peace Corps, I figured that Africa would just be another region I would like to travel. I figured that Africa would be another notch on my belt like the US, France, and Japan - all of equal importance, all on the same playing field.

This image reinforces just how wrong I was. Africa is going to be in a league of its own. Africa is its own planet, a whole new belt and not just another notch. Africa is going to be a challenge, but in being such, will also have the greatest rewards imaginable. Michele and I won't have all the lights of the modern world around us, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Adventures only take place when going into the unknown. And with all of the dark continent around us, our one individual light will be much easier to see from space at night.