A Year in Thought

I sit here in bewilderment as I write this post.  To think that 2013, my only full year in Uganda, has come and gone is somewhat of a feat.  To think that I have made it this long without everyday modern amenities, my family, and a “normal” 9-5 job is something that I hope has made a positive impact on my life.

When I got on the plane to begin this journey in May 2012, I wouldn’t have imagined my life to be anything like it is today.  In the back of my mind Uganda would always be an unexpected adventure, one including many challenges. 

Like rats. 

While I can call a rat my roommate, it is what I did not expect from Uganda that has shaped my experience. 

I did not expect the month of December to a season of dust and scorching heat.  I never thought that children would be so excited to see me walking through town they would run up to me to simply touch the munu.  I can’t say that rain and water would be one of my main prized possessions.  Before Uganda I am pretty sure that I wouldn’t have preferred a pit latrine and that my aim would be good enough to use one.  I definitely did not expect to kill spiders with my bare hands and call the old village women some of my closest friends. 

I never thought there would be a day that I ever thought I would become comfortable in a culture so different that my own. 

I mean sometimes a bucket bath is all you need to wash the troubles away. 

I did not anticipate for one of my favorite foods to be malaquan, pasted greens, and millet bread.  I no longer question when I see a young girl raising her three younger siblings all while she has to walk a kilometer to get water.  Children with no shoes are something I no longer question.  I feel as if these are the things that the visiting tourist would question yet nowadays these do not even shock me. 

Is this what happens when you start to feel comfortable and integrated?

I am beyond happy in Uganda and i have simply become used to the community in which I now call home.  Such events in my mind are normalized because I see them everyday.  Yet these child run households and children without shoes do not define their life.  It is their joy, living everyday to the fullest, and contagious smiles that do.

I dread the anticipated day when I have to pack my bags and leave Kitgum.  Will I still feel this way?  Will I still view certain things as an everyday occurrence?  Or will I return to America to never look back on Uganda and think of everything I experienced and saw here. 

My Peace Corps service has gone beyond anything I could have imagined.  I can genuinely say that I have attained a new understanding of myself and my place in the world.  I have a newfound respect for a culture and group of people I once knew nothing about. 

Deep down I knew that this experience would not be permanent.  Like most Volunteers I hope that my projects and work remains sustainable, leaving some type of footprint behind.

But what about me? 

How do I take everything I have learned here and continue to incorporate it into my everyday American life? 

Luckily I have the next eight months to achieve the answer to this ever so important question.

Home Life

As a Volunteer you spend an ample amount of time at your organization, then in your community, and finally at home.  Home has a broad definition between PCV’s but we are all given two-bedrooms to make due with.  After that the amenities range but most of us are able to easily acclimate to our new environment.

Here are some pictures to give you a chance to see what I call home.  This is where I spend my days cooking, cleaning, and crafting.  This is the place that my youth and I hang out.  This is the place I have come to love.

The living room where I spend all of my time, mainly because the fan is there but today the power is out, hence the reason it’s at a standstill.  There is a small couch much like the eabra chairs that is sandwiched between the chair in the corner and the dining table, pictured below.  

The dining table that I mainly use during rainy season because during dry season it constantly has a layer of dust, no matter what I do.  Read OCD(ust).. 

I can confidently say that my homes have gotten better with each site but the bed size has gotten smaller with each change.  No complaints though… I am safe from mosquitoes!

I’m lucky to have running water so this resembles pretty much any other traditional bathroom.

Shower tucked in the corner and those drawings help me learn the local language… Body parts and time/numbers.

Kitchen!  You can see that I have made a lot of things with tomato paste and am currently using those as candleholders and vases for when sunflowers are in season.  The compound I stay in had already had this handy stove/oven combo, which runs off of gas.  Three of the four burners work but quite frankly; I rarely use more than one.  

A collection of cards that bring me happiness with each day  :)

Jewelry hanger made from extra mosquito netting!

Bedside decoration

More pictures that bring smiles and memories of what awaits at home!

Who says you can’t make décor out of local materials like string and sticks?!

One of the two guard dogs on the compound.  This one is named Fanny and she loves to hang out on my porch during these hot afternoons.

What I call home.  I share this unit with my neighbors who are expats from Holland.  My place extends to the two windows to the right of the door.