got my stuff back from Africa

About an hour ago, I heard a knock at the door and I opened it to find a huge box sitting on the doorstep and a FedEx lady walking away. I knew immediately what it was: my long-awaited box of stuff I left in Guinea when I was evacuated in October of last year.
I opened it eagerly, feeling like it was Christmas. I was excited to get certain things back-- like my good shoes and my Camelbak water backpack, and I was also anticipating seeing the other things I had forgotten about. I opened it and the smell of West Africa came wafting out to meet my nostrils. I tore open my suitcase inside to see the colorful fabrics of my African clothes and some slightly moldy books I had left there, like the Tao Te Ching and some Peace Corps language books. My French press was inside as well, along with an unopened pound of Starbucks coffee that Joy had sent me in a care package.
As I dug through my things, the feeling of Christmas faded and I was flooded with memories, like my last day in Timbo when I was frantically packing my things and wondering if/when I'd come back to get them. Like locking my door when the Peace Corps bus came the next morning to drive me to Mali. Like saying goodbye to my host brother, and all the "petits" in my compound, telling them that I'd most likely be back in two weeks to start teaching.
I have been back in Arizona now for over four months and the feeling of living in Africa has faded into a story of the past that has very little to do with my everyday reality. Opening this box has made my Guinea memories come back into the present with a realness that reminds me that this part of my life is real and tangible. For some reason this hit me with a wave of sadness for my village in Guinea and my students that may or may not have a math teacher now and for my own Peace Corps experience that was cut so short by the unexpected violence in Conakry on September 28th. It also reminded me that Guinea is still over there, still struggling for survival and democracy and peace.
I am sending a silent prayer to Guinea and to all the people I met in my short Peace Corps Guinea experience. I love and miss you all.
On est ensemble!

but hey...

I got my letter in the mail confirming my dental clearance! And I didn't even have to do anything this time...

As for medical clearance, I guess it's processing now that a huge error in communication has been corrected. I won't even go into it because the past is past and the future is now!