My last day in Gulu I spent the afternoon and night at the office hanging out with the staff and the kids. I already miss them. It was so much fun. We taught the kids the "slapping game" and how to play "thumb wars." Dave and I also taught them how to throw a frisbee. They caught on fast! It was amazing!
It was really sad and hard to say goodbye to everyone. Not really sure if the kids got that I was leaving permanently. Everyone I met was just amazing and so incredibly nice. Despite their poverty and all the hardships the Ugandans have had to endure they are the most hospitable and generous people I have ever met. At the IDP camps many people have no source of income and rely on the World Food Program for food. When we visited Sharon's grandmother (Sharon is one of the children we are sponsoring, both her parents are dead and she is being raised by her grandmother) she offered us drinks. For the average Ugandan, pop is usually only bought for special occasions and celebrations; it really isn't consumed as regularly as it is here. It was very very touching that the grandmother had gone out and bought us pop and so willingly opened up her home to us, complete strangers.
Thursday night Collins, Moses, Stephen, Dave, Monica, and Lauren took me out to dinner. It was really fun.
Friday we woke up early and Monica, Grace's daughter, stopped by with a gift for me and my family - peanut sauce, yum!! The four of us then got on the bus to Kampala complete with live chickens.
5 hours later when we got to Kampala I went souvenir shopping for my family and for myself. We had time to stop at the hotel and I had a chance to take a real shower, it was so nice to have clean hair!!!
It was really hard to say goodbye to Dave, Monica, and Lauren. Lauren and I were saying it'll be so strange to not sleep in the same bed - I've gotten so used to sharing a bed with at least one other person!
My plane rides were a bit long but other than a delay in Brussels it was pretty uneventful. It was strange to eat with utensils again as well as to have food like butter!
One thing I did notice, while I was waiting for the planes, was that African kids are extremely well behaved and American kids wine, a lot! African kids also rarely, if ever, cry. They are a lot more mature for their ages and very independent. African babies are tough as well - majority of the time they are just lugged around on their mother's backs.
It is good to be home, I missed my family, friends, and pets. But it's strange as well. It's strange, and nice, to have my laptop, electricity, running water, not having to sleep underneath a mosquito net, mirrors (we rarely saw mirrors in Uganda!), and safe water - oh, and a refrigerator!!! Still adjusting to the time change though.
I really truly hope to go back soon, maybe after college I can go and teach. I would love to see how the kids are doing and how far the program has come. I truly hope that the peace talks continue and "our kids" stay safe and healthy; many of our kids are war and AIDs orphans and live in the IDP camps which have horrible conditions; many NGO's have been calling for the Government of Uganda to be held accountable for crimes against humanity because of the conditions in the camps.
After spending time in Africa I feel truly blessed by all the opportunities that are so accessible to me; many of our volunteers are awaiting their exam results to see if they qualify for Government sponsorship to attend the university. Kevin, who is extremely smart, had to drop out of college because he couldn't afford the fees; Paul hopes to be a doctor but can't attend the university just yet because it is too expensive; and Lucy works full time in her Uncle's shop as well as volunteers and nights and on the weekends in hopes of saving enough money for college.
Well, that's it. I will be uploading pictures soon online so everyone can see. For more updates check out Lauren's blog at: http://loyolachicago.typepad
or Dave's blog: http://dayinthelifeuganda.blogspot.com/
Love,
Amy
1 comment:
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Webcam, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://webcam-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.
Post a Comment