This has got to be the good life...

This has got to be the good life....

 

Because having tea with your neighbors is absolutely considered work.

Because I walk out my backyard and it looks like Jurassic park.

Because I can justify spending 3 hours sitting outside simply because I have to do laundry.

Because I can plant food and eat it for weeks.

Because I get to spend hours reading books.

Because I never have to shut the windows of my house.

Because everyone has babies and everyone lets me hold them.

Because I am learning something new everyday.

Because I can run with my dog and she doesn’t have to have a leash.

Because internet is a luxury that I get when I go to town.

Because I can eat jackfruit everyday of my life.

Because you can see more stars here at night than anywhere in the world.

Because I get to help people help themselves.

Because people laugh and smile when I speak their language.

Because I go to sleep to the sounds of frogs croaking and bugs buzzing.

Because crested cranes live in my backyard.

Because life is simple.

Because I see my neighbors at least 7 times a day.

Because I can buy avocados the size of my head for about 10 cents.

Because it is appropriate for me to walk in someone’s back door without an invitation.

Because I can lose power for two weeks and not get angry.

Because I can ride my bike or walk to work.

Because I get to play Frisbee everyday.

Because everyone says hello, even if they don’t know me.

Because I live about 30k from the equator.

Because I can spend 75 cents and get a delicious meal of tilapia.

Because the sun shines every day here.

Because I appreciate the little things.

Because I get to teach people English.

Because time goes so slowly here that everyday seems to last for 3, and that’s a good thing.

Because I am learning sign language.

Because I don’t wear makeup.... and I kind of like it.

Because at night this place smells like a Bath & Body works shop.

Because I get to see baby goats doing back flips off of termite mounds.

Because I have met best friends who I can grow old with.

Because my neighbors are my confidants.

Because I shower from a bucket and actually look forward to it.

Because my dog can do tricks and people think she is a genius.

Because I get to see the sun rise every morning.

Because I am growing and changing, and that is the whole point of life.

Because I get to help the future primary teachers of Ugandan improve their teaching skills, and therefore improve the future of Uganda.

Because there is not much in the world that is better than this........

 

This is definitely the good life.

One year in Uganda

I’ve been in Uganda for a year now.  It’s crazy to look back and see just how far I have come. 

Living and working alone in a third world country has been much more difficult than I had ever imagined.  But it also continues to have rewards that exceed my wildest expectations.  It is hard because I am different, and as much as I don’t want to be different I continue to be different.  It is hard because I don’t have anyone who thinks like me to bounce my ideas off of.  Its difficult because I want to be the best I can possibly be and feel incredibly guilty on days when I simply can’t.  It’s a challenge to overcome apathy some days.... no one is really holding you accountable here. It’s hard to feel like you have ever done enough, because really... when have you ever done enough?  There have been days when I was sure I should quit Peace Corps, but luckily those days are outnumbered by the good ones.

Now that I have been here a year, I feel as though I am finally part of the community.  It seems funny to me that I though this would happen simultaneously with my arrival in the community.  Looking back, I wish it wasn’t an expectation that I had, I think it would have made my first year a lot easier.  It takes a long time for people to get to know one another.  It takes months for real trust to be formed.  It takes days of talking to understand what a person believes and why they believe it.  And it takes a year to finally feel like you’re part of a community.

I finally feel like I am part of the community.  You know, everyone said “The first year is so hard, but once you get past a year things are really good.”  For some reason I didn’t believe them.  Could it really take a year to be comfortable with your surroundings?  You need over 300 days to find your true friends and work that you find enlightening and which also helps the community?  It’s going to take 50 weeks just to finally understand why people are doing things the way they are doing them?  The answer is yes.  At the year mark suddenly the clouds parted and life here began to make sense, or maybe I just finally decided that they weren’t becoming anymore like me so maybe I should work harder to become like them.  And now things have become much easier.

I have decided to work with people who want to work with me, as opposed to working with who Peace Corps says I should work with, and it’s working out beautifully.  I spend most days at the deaf school as well as teaching in the community.  I am still teaching computers at the college and for the next 4 weeks am going to be supervising student teachers in the field.  It seems that the pieces of the puzzle have come together and I can’t wait to see what this year brings.