Truths

I have not once seriously considered "ETing" (early terminating) from Peace Corps Uganda.

My 9-months of service in Uganda have only reconfirmed my future desire to live and settle down in an urban environment.

I have yet to learn anything new about myself that I had not previously known.

When it’s all said and done, I believe that I will have better accomplished Peace Corps goals #2 and #3 than Peace Corps goal #1.

Strangely enough, I sometimes feel that I get along better with Ugandans (my host culture) than I do with Americans (my own culture).

I do not support my host culture’s culturally-engrained attitude that women are responsible for the majority, if not all, of the household work (cleaning, cooking, washing, taking care of the children).

It’s been unintentional, and equally impressive, how my weight has fluctuated in-country. Despite losing a ton of weight during PST (first 2 ½ months), I am happy to report that my weight has now leveled off at site to, about, 155 pounds.

I am excited to see if/how my Health Group empowers Ugandan women to start standing up for their rights, and Ugandan men to start endorsing women’s rights (perhaps redefining the division of labor).

If there’s one thing I have yet to embrace in Uganda, it’s the quality of transportation. I never will.

I believe that I will return to the States next year as a more patient, laidback individual.

I still have no idea what I truly want to do with my life. For the last two years of college, Peace Corps service was my primary and fallback options. Once my Peace Corps service concludes, however, I will have nothing to fall back on. At some point, I am going to have to make these life-important decisions. For this reason alone, returning to the States is both equally frightening and exciting.

Nearing almost a year in-country, the biggest moral dilemma I’ve been grappling with is whether or not to give. “Giving” contradicts Peace Corps’ model of empowering and mobilizing community members to generate sustainable, capacity-building development - giving perpetuates dependency on foreign aid/resources - yet when I’m living in a community in which I have so much more than everybody else, my moral conscience often gets the better of me to give back. While, as of now, I view “giving” as situational, it is one in which I will surely continue to struggle with on a daily basis.

I am excited to introduce Movie at the Mission, starting this Sunday after mass. Using Father Okurut’s projecter, a different movie (action, horror, educational/historical, comedy, romance, drama, fantasy) will be shown each week for community members to enjoy. Not only is it a fun (and hopefully educational) activity for youth and other attendees, but also it is a weekly income-generating opportunity for vendors to sell chapattis, cassava, somosas, water, and other goods to members in the community. The only hiccup I foresee is that our ability to show a movie each week is largely dependent on there being power (never a given) and the quality of the weather (certainly never a given).

I am constantly amazed at the human body’s ability to adapt to new, different, and unfamiliar situations and circumstances.

Recent events over the past few weeks have really opened my eyes to my naiveté about Ugandan culture, in particular to events that have happened at my site recently.

Technological luxuries such as the IPad, the IPhone/the ITouch/the Android, Nintendo gaming systems, air conditioning/heating systems, and big-screen televisions all seem incredibly foreign right now.

Thanks to the deliciousness of Narali’s Restaurant in Mbale, I have a newfound appreciation for Indian food.

It is mindboggling that the majority of people in my village live on less than $1 per day. It makes me feel very grateful and fortunate for what I have.

No pressure, but I truly believe that come our COS conference in July 2012, all 45 PCV’s, who boarded planes together from Philadelphia to Johannesburg and
Johannesburg to Entebbe back in August 2010, will still be around to complete our service as an entire group.

I can't even fathom what it will be like to return to the States, after a two-year absence. To put it in perspective, if I live until I'm 80, that's 1/40th of my life away from the family, friends, culture, and life I know best. That's crazy.