The real world
BY CARLOS "SHAKE SHAKE" ESPINOSA, MESA, AZ, USA - So apparently we traveled 33 hours back to Phoenix. My body is telling me the flights took about 4 days, but my mind is telling me that they only took a couple hours. One minute we were paying our fee to leave Zambia, the next I see Mike having trouble in Johannesburg with his ticket and his camera bag. Another minute later, I am walking the streets of London thinking about the rich history of its country and by then I was listening to the pilot tell us, "we will be landing in Sky Harbor in 20 minutes."
As I was leaving the airport on Monday night, I could remember the day I was getting dropped off to fly to Lusaka, the very beginning of it all. Little did I know how the next 27 days would unfold to be one of the most extraordinary times I have experienced. Flying home had its funny events, like being woken up by an old man kicking me over and over, and M.K. spilling a full cup of water on me and my seat, very early on in the trip. The stories and memories did not stop when we arrived in Phoenix. I hope that they don't and that this is the beginning of great things to come.
Things are out of place at the moment. I drove back from the airport and once I got home, felt like I was missing luggage. I started looking for the Sony bag, but remembered that I relinquished my duties of taking care of my "baby" once we arrived in Phoenix. I did not eat like I had planned; yet, did take a long warm shower and then went to sleep. It was odd waking up to different sounds, different smells and a different place. I woke up looking for the couch that was in our room at Kwazulu Kraal, to see who slept on it (Mike or Shawn) but there was no couch. I opened the door to my room and did not see Heath outside, waiting for everybody to wake up. There was no more pool table or chairs waiting for people to debrief the activities of the day. Even though I am home, I feel out of place and I miss the place we called home for a month. Being here feels good, but this cannot replace the void and sadness of leaving the people I knew as my family….the crew.
During this experience, I got to meet great people and I know everybody worked so hard to get this project accomplished. I know I learned and took something valuable from each crew member. During our stay, we encountered many setbacks and, at times, it felt like there was something that was preventing us from completing the project. However, at the end of the day, the crew came together and we took care of business. My roommates Mike and Shawn made my stay more tolerable. On and off the set we always had fun…thanks guys. I cannot say enough of or to every single person on the crew, other than THANKS for the great memories and I hope we can all work together in the next project. Cyndi, thanks for providing me with this great opportunity and putting your trust in me. I learned a lot during this project and I hope to work by your side in future projects.
DOOM!
