The day of my return is approaching. And these past couple of weeks, the thought has been haunting my mind. I am pulled between two worlds. A part of me is ready to go home. Another part is reluctant to leave this place behind. A friend of mine has said that your heart actually grows if you keep leaving pieces of it in different places. A large piece of my heart will stay behind in Africa.

A quote from the film Solaris came to my mind recently. It is a science fiction film, but not of the Star Trek kind. It is from the end of the film. The protagonist has just returned to Earth after some very strange experiences in a space station circling a distant planet. The quote goes:

«Earth. Even the word sounded strange to me now... unfamiliar. How long had I been gone? How long had I been back? Did it matter? I tried to find the rhythm of the world where I used to live. I followed the current. I was silent, attentive, I made a conscious effort to smile, nod, stand, and perform the millions of gestures that constitute life on earth. I studied these gestures until they became reflexes again. But I was haunted by the idea that I remembered her wrong, and somehow I was wrong about everything.»

When I return to Norway, things will not be the same. The world has not stood still in my absence. Things have change. But more importantly: I have changed. I set out for an adventure, and I thought it was coming to an end. But I have realized now that it is only beginning. This world is a strange and wonderful place. The adventure is not in where you choose to spend your life, but how you choose to live it.