The Breakthrough

So clearly just a few weeks ago I hit the proverbial wall—big time. I was down and out in Kampala, feeling lost most of the time, pretty lonely, and basically walked all over. I couldn’t find my way around, was sick of being stared at, and was beyond frustrated over the theft of my camera and wallet. But everything blows over at some point, and I think I’ve made the cross-over to a very limited kind of “local” existence—I’ve broken through the wall.

I definitely still have (many) frustrations from day to day, but I am definitely starting to feel more at home here. And although it can take months, even years, to become a true resident local, after just a month or six weeks, especially with a daily routine, I’m really starting to feel like I LIVE here. I have my favorite coffee shops and restaurants and bars (okay, really just one bar sadly), I have a predetermined way to and from work (usually!), and I’ve even been lucky enough to bum some friends off my great housemate.

Some days I love smiling at all the little children (and adults) walking by and asking “Muzungu, how are you?” without even really caring for a response. Other days I just want none of it, but is that really so different from my life in New York? I had ups and downs there, too. And I’m finally getting to that point here in Kampala where although there are the pendulum swings from day to day, they are evening out and definitely becoming less volatile.

I love teaching the art classes to the children because the great things about art is that hopefully the children are learning something (motor skills, expanded creativity, independent thought, etc.), even if they’re not they are still having fun. We finished the playdough project for the week, and the children were a very happy mess of sticky flour and salt. Now, I’m brainstorming ways to make the school look more appealing, and spent the whole morning trying to hang some of the over 200 Ugandan flags all over the auditorium. And in the afternoon, I “co-hosted” and hour long trivia game on English grammar for the vocational students (who if I’m lucky look up from behind their sewing machines to contemplate our lesson. But I’m finally feeling comfortable in the rhythm of my day and it feels like a breath of fresh air after the early weeks of confusion and all things overwhelming.