Why Do Immigrants Struggle With Returning “Home” After Living Abroad?
Visiting Cameroon after 5 Years in America Provided Some Unsettling Perspective.
It was a busy street—busier than I remembered it. The most popular street in the University town was doubly occupied, and I couldn’t understand why the number of cars stuck on the road seemed to have doubled with the number of students.
I wore sunshades intentionally, not just to protect myself from the scalding sun but also to observe the people around me.
My younger sister thought it was a bad idea — that I could get lost. That I hadn’t been on these streets in many years. She didn’t know how badly I wanted to get lost. How much I had looked forward to simply walking up Molyko Street.
The students seemed younger. I couldn’t recognize anyone, though I had somewhat expected that I would. You would probably agree that it was a ridiculous idea.
It had been eight years since I graduated from the university and five years since I traveled out of the country.
It was one year since my sister, Raissa, had died.
The two weeks I spent in Cameroon were nothing like I expected, but they were also everything I expected. Nothing had changed, yet everything…
