Yoyoing

I was talking to my friend ZC as he was packing to return to the US from South Asia. He told me about the items his family brought to South Asia from the US and were now returning to the US without having used them. Since our family has moved from the US to several parts of the world and back, I was able to share with him the term that we coined for this, “yoyoing.”

When global cross-cultural workers travel overseas, we bring what we expect to need, but sometimes we make mistakes. The first time we went to the Congo we, brought 2 bee hives and assorted beekeeping supplies with us that we never used. The smoker and bee bonnet sat on a shelf in the shed as a reminder of my mistake. Technically it was not yoyoing because we never brought the stuff back to the US. I am thinking of keeping a few hives in our back yard in TN so I wish I had the items.  All over Africa there is beekeeping with appropriate techniques such as bar hives. US hive designs are not appropriate.

For another of my hair brained schemes I brought a beautiful cast iron burr grinder to the Congo as part of a locally grown coffee business.  After Bill Schofield put a fly wheel on it, grinding stuff became fun. I had some oil palms and cocoa trees so I added a section of coffee trees. One day JG, not knowing about my coffee trees, was mowing with the tractor and cut them all down. I yoyoed the 25 lb grinder and now it is at our house in TN ready for the coffee beans I can get when we work at the “Centro de Capacitación Intercultural AB Simpson” near Armenia, Colombia.

I am still learning.   I will not tell you what yoyoed items were in my suitcase when I came back from my last trip to South Asia Sept. 18.