So I am back in the states. I cried as the wheels lifted from the tarmac in Entebbe. Uganda is a home and I'm not sure when I will return. However, I will tell you that I will return someday.
The people at the airport in Entebbe refused to check my bags all the way through. Which meant that I ensured their safe arrival by checking my bags in every time I got to an airport. This lead me to have to go through the London customs to retrieve my bags which lead me to miss my flight! Not to worry, I was put on the next flight and I was fine. Besides that, my flights were normal and somehow went very quickly.
Re-entry is a bit different this time.
I made dinner last night and you know what I made? Beans and rice. As I was chopping the onion and garlic I realized that everything going into my meal I could get in Uganda. It was at this point that I realized I might be missing my life there a bit more than I knew. Did I really just sub-consciously make a meal that I could and did eat on a regular basis in Uganda? Uhm, yup- I did.
Besides that- the normal re-entry of being a bit overwhelmed with the amount of choice Americans have (I mean- how many types of cereal do you need!?) and the gluttony of my culture. Yet I am enjoying it too! Real cheese, clean roads, a car (!), fast internet- all things that I didn't get in Uganda.
I've decided to keep up the blog. So keep following if you wish. The next three months will be full of a few domestic trips (Florida and Boston) while I also work hard on my paper. Should be an interesting season of life but I am looking forward to it.
19 February 2011
06 February 2011
Mental Pictures
Every time I am about to move or enter a new season of life, I often find myself taking as many mental pictures as I possibly can. Usually through this mental photography a few will last through the years. This time is not the same. I thought, perhaps I can give a glimpse into my mental images I am storing up.
1. Walking through the village, passing the endless gardens of food. The sugar can stalks are tall, green, and when mature have feathers on top. The are so close together that if you walk into the field a few feet no one could see you and you could not see them. Walking next to them reminds me of walking next to corn on a hot summer day. The coffee trees are full of berries, green, red, and bunch together. The knowledge that this coffee could end up in my cup of joe in the states amazes me. Walking through these fields, I come across women carrying firewood, bananas, beans, water on their heads as they bow to greet me. The children wearing just a t-shirt, often hold my hand as I make way to home to home.
2. Riding on the back of a motorcycle, at 30 MPH, without a helmet in town traffic. The breeze whips through my hair, I close my eyes and smile as I zoom past traffic. My favorite time to ride a boda is at night, when I can gaze at the stars going by as my driver safely brings me to my destination.
3. My office is behind a tourist craft shop. I often find myself sitting on the front step of the shop, facing main street with my friends and Ugandan family. We watch customers pass by, politicians, parades, and the normal flow of traffic. We huddle in whatever shady corner, talking about the days events. Eventually 3-month old baby Maggie is passed to me and I am caught up in baby talk and mesmerized by her chubby cheeks.
4. Sitting on the front step of my house, scratching the guard dogs ears as their tails wag back and forth. Meanwhile, Muffin, my dog is practically attacking the guard dogs in a fit of jealousy.
5. Laughing with my friends and co-workers around the long table with green table-cloth. Usually eating amazing home-cooked dinner such as lemon-peppered fish and potatoes. The conversation lasts for hours and then turns into a game of scrabble where I usually loose.
There are just a few of my mental pictures I am capturing as I go through my final days in Uganda. They will be stored in a special place in my head and heart, retrieved in the future when I need to remember and feel as if I am in Uganda. Every place I live or work, I have these mental pictures- and you know what? It helps. It helps when I move so much to remember the good times, and know that where I am at the moment I will soon have to capture new mental pictures for the future.
1. Walking through the village, passing the endless gardens of food. The sugar can stalks are tall, green, and when mature have feathers on top. The are so close together that if you walk into the field a few feet no one could see you and you could not see them. Walking next to them reminds me of walking next to corn on a hot summer day. The coffee trees are full of berries, green, red, and bunch together. The knowledge that this coffee could end up in my cup of joe in the states amazes me. Walking through these fields, I come across women carrying firewood, bananas, beans, water on their heads as they bow to greet me. The children wearing just a t-shirt, often hold my hand as I make way to home to home.
2. Riding on the back of a motorcycle, at 30 MPH, without a helmet in town traffic. The breeze whips through my hair, I close my eyes and smile as I zoom past traffic. My favorite time to ride a boda is at night, when I can gaze at the stars going by as my driver safely brings me to my destination.
3. My office is behind a tourist craft shop. I often find myself sitting on the front step of the shop, facing main street with my friends and Ugandan family. We watch customers pass by, politicians, parades, and the normal flow of traffic. We huddle in whatever shady corner, talking about the days events. Eventually 3-month old baby Maggie is passed to me and I am caught up in baby talk and mesmerized by her chubby cheeks.
4. Sitting on the front step of my house, scratching the guard dogs ears as their tails wag back and forth. Meanwhile, Muffin, my dog is practically attacking the guard dogs in a fit of jealousy.
5. Laughing with my friends and co-workers around the long table with green table-cloth. Usually eating amazing home-cooked dinner such as lemon-peppered fish and potatoes. The conversation lasts for hours and then turns into a game of scrabble where I usually loose.
There are just a few of my mental pictures I am capturing as I go through my final days in Uganda. They will be stored in a special place in my head and heart, retrieved in the future when I need to remember and feel as if I am in Uganda. Every place I live or work, I have these mental pictures- and you know what? It helps. It helps when I move so much to remember the good times, and know that where I am at the moment I will soon have to capture new mental pictures for the future.
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