Two weeks ago I came back to Europe from my 6 months assignment with WFP in The Gambia. Starting with a debriefing programme at the HQ in Rome, my cultural reintegration process into ´modern´ life is (believe it or not) yet ongoing as I still struggle to digest the tons of emotions and impressions I went through in that period while simultaenously getting used to old habits and lifestyle. Truly, this is sometimes easier said than done given the many soft contradictions between the two ´worlds´ in terms of culture, attitude, expectations, lifestyle, problem perceptions, initiative etc. which I have encountered and which now become dramatically more apparent to me. Yes, it might sound ridiculous but amongst others I do ask myself now more often why are the bananas here in Europe somehow tasteless and strawberries as big as tomatoes and why are we in the west economically so developed and others not? Ironically, it was in The Gambia that I found an adequate coping strategy for these questions, through poetry... Therefore, it is now in two pieces of poetry that I am trying to sum up few of the feelings that often went through my head and heart, and somehow still do. Thank you for reading and enjoy.
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