Things I Missed in Guinea-Bissau

I've been back home from my research trip to Guinea-Bissau for over a month now. It was interesting to me how I re-adapted to California life basically immediately. I thought I'd have more of an adjustment period but I suppose two months in West Africa isn't long enough to really change how I live or see the world. I went back through the journal I was keeping and found a list of things I missed the most when I was gone. Things I took (still take, probably) for granted living in such a wealthy and privileged part of the world. I thought I'd go through it again as a sort of gratitude exercise, to remind myself how good I have it out here. Can't be reminded of that enough!

In no particular order:

Easy access to clean drinking water. This one isn't lost on me. I still think about it pretty much every time I brush my teeth or take a shower now that I'm home. I don't have to worry about accidentally swallowing some tap water. I can just fill up my water filter from the tap and honestly I don't even need the water filter at all. While it wasn't too difficult to buy clean water in Guinea-Bissau, it was still something I constantly had to think about and monitor. I got salmonella when I was there and when I was at my sickest I was all out of clean drinking water. Never have to worry about that here.
Ice cubes and ice cold drinks. See water. It's ungodly hot here in Central California and it was ungodly hot in Guinea-Bissau. Got that ice water here though.
Consistent plumbing, electricity, internet, and air-conditioning. While I was fortunate enough to have all those things where I was staying, they were constantly failing I never knew if I'd have access to any or all of them when I got back after a long day. These are some of the things I take for granted most and I've barely thought about them or appreciated them since I've been back.
My car. My beautiful Corolla. I missed her so much. Walking everywhere, constantly worrying about sunburns and heat exhaustion, and occasionally fighting for a spot in a taxi in the oppressive humidity was pretty draining. It was the longest I'd gone without driving in over ten years and it felt incredible to be able to hit the road again. This one isn't lost on me. I think about how grateful I am for my car nearly every time I drive it.
Coffee shops and parks. I'm very much a homebody and taking a book and my journal and some headphones to a coffee shop or a park for a couple hours is one of the few activities I have that consistently gets me out of the apartment. There was one cafe in Bissau I went to a few times, but I just never felt that comfortable there. There were no parks, that I was aware of. It's the middle of summer here so I've yet to go to one of my favorite parks but I've been hitting my coffee shops like crazy. Definitely not lost on me.
My apartment. Never been lost on me. I love my place and I'm so grateful for it. I get to live alone and have a cat and it's so much cheaper than comparable apartments in my city. I know how extremely lucky I got. I was grateful for the place I had in Guinea-Bissau but compared to my apartment it was pretty rough. Full of ants and bugs and enormous geckos would get in through the plumbing.
Cooking and grocery stores. Again, I was fortunate enough to have money to buy food and groceries when I was in Bissau but the food there is just so limited. I pretty much only ate bread, cheese, beans, mangoes, rice, and occasionally chicken. Being able to go to a massive grocery store with every ingredient I could ever want or need is definitely something I take for granted here.
English. My Portuguese improved a lot over there, but my Guinea-Bissau Creole is hopeless. I was sort of able to communicate a bit in Portuguese but it was always strained and difficult. It definitely got very isolating very fast. The simplicity and ease of communicating and socializing with people at home is definitely never something I take the time to appreciate.
Hygiene and cleanliness. I smelled so bad the entire time I was there. Showers were irregular and laundry was pretty tough to manage. Even if I had clean clothes I'd be drenched in sweat ten minutes after leaving for the day. The archives I was working in were filled with mold and fungus and dirt and animal droppings. Being clean all the time and smelling nice is for sure something I actively take for granted.

I don't want this to sound like I'm dunking on Guinea-Bissau, because I'm not. It's a beautiful country full of beautiful people and I had a great time there. There's definitely things I'll miss about it that I don't have here:

The diversity. Guinea-Bissau has like eight distinct ethnic groups and the more time I spent there the more I was able to tell them apart. The coexistence of Christians, Muslims, and animists there is fascinating too. It's common to see a Balanta Catholic nun in a habit walking down the street right next to a Fula Muslim woman in a burka. I don't think there's too many places on the planet where that's an unremarkable sight.
The safety and friendliness. Guinea-Bissau has a troubled and violent past, and I definitely have a privilege as a white foreigner. But I was still extremely impressed with how safe I felt there. Even walking through the streets by myself late at night, I never once felt unsafe even for a second. That is definitely not the case where I live in California. I also exchanged hellos and pleasantries with strangers constantly, something I rarely do here.
The sleep. I have a hard time sleeping and staying asleep here. Over there I was so exhausted every night I slept like a hibernating bear.
The birds. I absolutely loved all the new species of birds I met out there. Hooded vultures, black-headed weavers, Sahel sparrows, bulbuls, pied crows. There was a green wood hoopoe that would call outside my window every day that I just adored.
The mangoes. The absolute best mangoes I've ever eaten in my life. These weak California grocery store mangoes can't compete.

There's plenty I'm missing. I just noticed how quickly I returned to taking my comfortable life for granted after I got back, so I figured a little gratitude-reflecting was in order.

← Back to Blog