Cincinnati: One More Time

Hey everybody! I know it's been a long time since my last post. This is actually the last post pertaining to Uganda, so this blog will lie silent for quite a while after this.

After I got back to the US, I had a few days of classes in Chicago to wrap up the study abroad program that I was technically a part of. It was an exhausting three days of pointless "what did you learn?" and "you were so brave!" BS. No offense, GESI staff, if you're reading this. Take it as constructive criticism.

I don't know what I learned from living in Kakira, Uganda for two months. It is not an experience that you can sum up in a journal or a lecture. There seems to be a fallacy that travelers have "an experience" when they go abroad. Can you call living a cohesive experience? It's fragments of sensation, conversations and meetings, frustrations and disappointments, brief contact with others before they disappear into the hazy limbo of "we'll meet again". The same thing happens anywhere; it's still human life.

Not to sound like a jaded hipster or anything, but that's how I see it. People have been asking me "How was Africa?" since I got back. I have summed it up as, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." And it was. There were the amazing moments, like in Murchison Falls, and the terrible moments, like in Crescent Medical Center. It was a blur of time across a small stretch of a giant, diverse, and largely misunderstood continent. But if you want concrete lessons, here's what I've figured out from the trip so far.

1. There are saints and jerks everywhere. There are people like Mama Fina and Ali, who are genuinely caring and open to new people/ideas, and there are people who look out for only their own interests. This is a lesson everyone should learn at some point. I think we would have fewer wars.

2. The foreign aid machine has serious, systemic problems. I can't catalogue exactly what all of them are, and I don't know how to fix them. But admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. The fact is, trillions of dollars are pouring into Africa every year, and people still can't find water to drink on a daily basis. We need to analyze what channels that money travels through and how it is directed to certain causes rather than others. The world has the resources--the West and Africa both--to develop and move forward to a better life. We just need to find the right way and the right people to utilize them.

3. Missionaries are annoying. Okay, cheap shot, sorry, but they really are. I know these people mean well, but for all its problems, Uganda does not lack faith by any standards. But these people still go over there and preach the gospel to kids in schools for a week and hand out soccer balls and go home and pat themselves on the back. Stay in America and work in a soup kitchen, please. You'll do more good.

4. The world is not safe, but common sense goes a long way to keeping you out of trouble. If you're worried about going abroad, the best advice I can give you is not to be an idiot. Always be aware of your surroundings, be aware of how you look, what you're carrying, where you're going. Try not to be alone, but if you are, just focus on getting from Point A to Point B. Also, you don't have a responsibility to be polite to people. If someone is bothering you, get away. It doesn't matter if you hurt their feelings--your instincts were probably right. Just follow your instincts and the rules of common sense that you usually would use.

5. Go forth and seek what intrigues you. It's important to go out and, like...do stuff. So if you want to go somewhere, it's probably possible. Make it happen. You'll only get stronger and smarter by going out of your comfort zone. Nobody ever experienced life-changing personal growth just sitting on his/her couch.

But yeah, so...that's Uganda. If you've been reading and following this blog, thank you. Really. I appreciate all the encouragement and advice, and am touched that so many people were worried about me. Whether you sent me emails, Facebook messages, or commented on the blog itself, thanks for taking the time and sticking with me.

There's a big chance I'll be spending my Spring Quarter 2012 in South Africa as a reporter/writer for the Cape Times. So hey, if I do...come back to Kasepiki, and I'll be here again. Thanks again everybody!