Sweet Life

Oh dear, so perhaps I conveyed my emotions too well in my last post. I got one text from a friend of mine in Uganda who wrote, “I just read your blog…are you okay?” in addition to an email from a friend back in New York who was worried about how sad I was. Of course by the time I received these compassionate messages, I was well on my way to feeling better about the how situation and my sanity pendulum has (at least temporarily) recentered. In light of this rather angry recent post (which believe me at the time I felt) I have decided I owe a much happier one, because to be honest, life here is pretty great.

1) As I type this, I'm sitting by a pool at a local country club that is surrounded by palm trees. It’s early November, the sun is shining, it’s about 85 degrees and sunny with low humidity :)

2) Let’s keep in mind I don't have "real" work. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am working hard—perhaps even harder in some ways than when I had a full-time job, but it’s still volunteer work, and Ugandan time like everything else is pretty laid back. I know most of you won’t believe this, but I show up EARLY to most things because “Ugandan time” means basically everything starts 1hour OR SO after it’s stated time. I am getting a taste of my own medicine here, that’s for sure (and sometimes it is enough to drive anyone crazy)! But this also means that the school is very flexible about what projects I choose t to do. My next big project is painting murals in the school and orphanage, and I’ve managed to secure paint donations through a friend of my cousin’s—it’s nice to know people who know people!

3) Even though I don’t really know people, I actually “know” quite a few. This town is REALLY small, at least expat community-wise. And I went to an art gallery opening on my own last night and ran into 4 people I knew--two of whom I went to dinner with at this great little Turkish restaurant after the show. I’m meeting new people all the time, and that’s definitely fun--if inevitably awkward at times, always having to put yourself out there. But I am going to little Ben’s 3rd birthday party in a couple hours, then I have a dinner potluck tonight at an American girl’s house with a bunch of random people they know. Tomorrow I may go to Jinja with Amy for a croquet tournament of sorts being put on my the rafting guides, and next week I may be going out to Western Uganda with Amy again to a opening party that her friend is having for his new lodge. So it’s not like I’m really alone that much.

4) I have some pretty cool plans looming on the horizon. My parents arrive in just one month for a two week visit. We are going to a lodge at a national park, Lake Mburo, then heading to Tanzania for a safaris in the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater, and then going to Jinja for a couple days before having Christmas at my cousin’s. Not to mention it will be so nice to have some one here to just show around Kampala so they can truly understand what my life is like here. Then after New Year’s, I taking off on a solo travel to journey down to Cape Town somehow someway because I have a flight to Sydney, Australia, in early February to meet up and travel with my old roommate Rachel and her brother for a month in Australia and New Zealand. After that I have to figure out what I where I want to go/what to do next. No sob story here!

5) My time here all in all has really been a great experience already, and what makes it so is feeling like what I'm doing here is important and that I might be helping some children who really deserve some help. I have had my eyes opened to what an incredible life I am lucky to have and all the opportunities that have been afforded to me. In light of this, I have decided to sponsor a child from my school. My donation of $350 a year (less than $1 a day) will help him pay the fees for a year at a formal school. (Meeting Point is an informal school and clearly lacking in resources because it takes in all the children it can for free.) It is just one small step in a country, and on a continent, where such an action feels quite useless on one level. But I have seen the uniqueness in the children I work with, and one in particular just stole my heart. I have picked Richard, the young boy from P-3 who wants to be a doctor (although, boy do a lot of the children want to be doctors, and teachers, and nurses, and accountants…), and I really hope that my sponsorship of his school fees will allow him to go to a better school and achieve his dreams. With this in mind, I will be posting some children’s profiles from time to time, and if any of you feel inspired to sponsor a child or just find out more information, I’d be more than happy to share, because it’s certainly easy to forget how lucky you are in the face of day to day stress, or even the occasional no good, very bad day.