Today, I was not a kid left out at summer camp! The package mom had sent me a few weeks ago made it to my hands! Many people got packages today and it was literally Christmas in July. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much utter excitement permeating throughout one room. The highlight of my package was all those Chinese ramen that mom had sent! That will keep my tummy filled for quite some time. I also was quite excited over the Snickers bars! It’s rather amazing how excited we all get over little things here.
The greatest thing about my package though, was the smell of “America”. Now, this may sound weird, but when I was still living in Taiwan, every time my uncle visits on business, he’d bring with him loads of goodies from the US of A. And in his luggage, along with the goodies, were the smell of America.
Today, I was caught by that familiar smell when I found bars of Snickers and Crest toothpaste in my box. Needless to say, the day was full of warm and nostalgic feelings. As strange as it seems, I feel far more in touched with my Taiwanese past now that I am in Cameroon then I ever did in the US. While there are so many drastic differences between Taiwan and Cameroon, I also have found and felt many subtle similarities that brought me back to a place of familiarity. I quite like it.
