How Traveling Made Me a Better Librarian

My library 'career' started over fifteen years ago, with a job at my local public library at age 16. Since then I've held a variety of positions in a number of different libraries. And I've enjoyed the opportunity to understand libraries from multiple positions and levels. I believe that those positions  make me a good librarian because I understand comprehensive library workflow and understand how all the positions in a library work together to provide access to patrons.

But as I'm reflecting on this past summer in Uganda, I believe it's my time in Africa that has really made me the librarian I am at this point. Not because I gained important library skills [which I did!] but because by it's nature, travel changes us. Traveling to new countries and cultures allows us to see the world in news ways and to get outside ourselves and our own experiences. And those are the ways that have had the greatest impact on me, and ultimately on my career.

For example, I am more compassionate toward students since living in Uganda. I've always had great empathy for others. Recently I even found my Preschool Report Card that said "Rachel is very sensitive to the other students." Apparently I've always cared about other people. :) But spending time with my students in Uganda gave my heart even more compassion for them and others. I often say that I am not a particularly great librarian. That is, I don't always ask the perfect questions when I'm helping someone and I may not be the best teacher in the classroom. But I show students compassion and empathy so that they felt heard and understood in the midst of their research frustrations. Which ultimately, I hope, does make me a great librarian.

I've also learned to slow down. In East African culture, life moves at a slower pace than here in the US. In Uganda that meant stopping to talk with neighbors when walking home or taking the time to fully greet people as they walk into the library. But when helping students in the US, it can be easy to rush through their question, give them some resources, and go back to 'my other work'. Multitasking and busy-ness are buzzwords here. And I'm learning [and re-learning] to slow down and listen. Sometimes slowing down creates moments that have a lasting impact. Not because I answered a student's question in the most amazing way but because they trust me and share a piece of their story with me. I've had students tell me about how hard it is to be a single parent and a full-time student or the difficulties of returning to school after serving in the military. It's such a privilege when students share those things with me and they only do that when I slow down enough to really listen.

Most importantly, though, my time in Uganda has given me a bigger perspective on life and also librarianship. One of the best things about traveling and living in another country, is the chance to get outside yourself and your own experiences. Living in Uganda gave me the chance to not only see life in and through another culture but to also see librarianship in a different context. Now when I am tempted to think that something at work is 'the end of the world', I try to remember that librarians in other parts of the world are dealing with many of the same things. There are men and women around the world, working to provide access to information with few resources or personnel. They are the heros of the library world. My random issues with a problem patron or furniture placement in the library are nothing compared to what others deal with every day.

This past summer, someone gave us some advice to make the most of our time in Uganda. We were told that in order to have an impact we should: slow down, listen more, talk less, and focus on people. Without those things it wouldn't matter what 'did' in the library. I'm realizing that those aren't just lessons I needed while I was in Uganda. Those are things I need to do here, in the US, everyday. Because those are the things that will ultimately make a difference in someone's life. Finding someone the perfect book is great but what they will remember is how they were treated while they found the book. So, that's my new focus. As the new school year begins I want to come to work every day with a mindset to slow down, listen, and focus on people. Because really, helping people is what being a librarian is all about.

Saying Goodbye

Two months.

Two months goes by so fast. It's hard to believe that tomorrow I will be back in the US. These two months have been so....actually there are no words. My heart is full. Thankful. Sad. Blessed. I have a lot to reflect on and process. The library, the land, the people...they have all touched my heart.

I've re-discovered a Ugandan tradition this trip. Whenever there is a big thing happening -- a birthday, a goodbye, a party, etc. -- and friends are together, they will all make a small speech, give encouraging words, and/or say something nice to the person of honor. Admittedly, at first I found this awkward. But after a couple times of participating (as a speech maker) I realized these words of affirmation are such a blessing. It's a beautiful way to honor someone as they embark on a milestone. And on Wednesday, as I sat with my friends at KEST to say goodbye, I wanted to freeze time. As the guest of honor this time, I wanted to remember every word spoken to me and capture every smile. It was such an amazingly meaningful way to say goodbye. And after everyone said something kind to me, I had the opportunity to share my own thoughts. To say thank you to my friends and tell them how much I will miss them.

Two days later, I'm sitting at the airport shocked at how fast this day came. I am surrounded by people from different cultures and languages, thinking of my friends. I love flying internationally and seeing the cultures and hearing the languages. Except today, knowing I am leaving a place I love.

But I am trusting and hoping this is not goodbye forever. Just for now.

And I will soak in my last moments of African sun.

Taking It All In

I wish I could bottle up the sights, sounds, and smells of Uganda for all of you reading this blog in the US. I would share the perpetual smell of dust and cooking fires and the blue sky above red roads, green grass, and traffic jams. I would share the sounds of babies crying, kids shouting, horns blasting, motors back firing, birds singing, and African music. I wish I could capture this place for you.

This place.

This place I love so much.

This country that became home.

These people -- FRIENDS -- I love so much.

We take boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) to work each morning and since I wear skirts, I ride like a lady, aka side saddle. Sitting sideways and wizzing and bumping by people, traffic, shops, markets, chaos, and beauty makes me contemplative. I love watching the world on a boda...seeing snatches of life here and there. I catch glimpses of friends talking, women cooking, men washing cars and buses, children walking to school, and babies toddling. There is so much beauty in these moments amidst the chaos that is Kampala.

The other day we had a boda driver tell us that everyone here dreams of going to America. And I told him how I dreamed of coming here, to Uganda. He said, "But I don't know why. There is nothing here." And I wanted to wave my arms and say, because of all of THIS!

I guess I'm trying to take everything in and hold it all in my heart. And I guess, these words, from my heart, are my bottle home, capturing this place for all of you.

Uganda, Part 2

May 30th. That's our departure date. Or 'wheels up' as Brian says in military lingo. :)

It's coming FAST. At this point there is plenty to do. But we are getting things crossed off our list one by one: paperwork, immunizations, etc.

And, my excitement is growing. I look at pictures and realize: I am going to see some of these faces again! The people, the places, and all that I miss, I can and will see again. I often say that my heart feels torn: part of it here in Minneapolis with my husband and community and part of it is waiting for me in Uganda.

I think what is most powerful about this upcoming experience is that I really feel like going back to Uganda is such a natural 'part 2'. What I mean is that one of the most important things when I lived in Uganda from 2011-2012 was building relationships. And it is because of those relationships we have the opportunity to go back. Friends reached out to us, asking us to come back. It's such a privilege to be going back and to enter into the lives of students at KEST. We have the opportunity to continue to build relationships with Ugandan friends and colleagues and it's not something we take lightly.

I've also been thinking a lot about the timing of this trip. It's so fortuitous in so many ways. I've told many people: the door just keeps opening! Here are just a few examples of the things that make this trip possible:

• My job has amazing summer flexibility
• Brian's (new!) job is allowing him to take extra time off beyond his vacation days
• The invitation to go came right after our own conversations about returning to Africa 'someday'
• We only really started discussing this at the beginning of the year...basically, the whole trip has been planned in 4 months
• A friend is able and willing to house sit for us and take care of our kitties

Going back, to support students, is such a privilege.We don't take this opportunity lightly. But rather we see this trip as a way to partner with Ugandan educators and librarians, to listen to them and learn from them, to share ideas, to hear stories, and to empower. Our story will be better because of this trip. Our story will change because of the people we meet. Just like last time, we want 'Uganda, Part 2' to be about something bigger than us.

Making America Home Again

I have now been back in the US for almost three weeks. My heart's a mess, to say the least. I have a lot of reflecting to do...and am trying to just roll with the emotions. I want to transition well and am trying to let myself think things are weird, cool, hard, exciting, etc. Someone told me it can take a year to really transition back, which was freeing to me...I don't have to feel completely adjusted yet! Which is good, because I'm not. :)

I wrote a post similar to this in December when I was visiting the US with some similar observations and I'm finding many of the same things overwhelming. But I'm also finding the cultural adjustments a bit harder this time. Like I'm a stranger in my own country. In December, if I thought something was weird here in the US I just told myself "It's ok, you're just visiting...you'll be back in Uganda soon". This time I don't have that luxury [another issue in and of itself to sort through]. I'm trying to make America home and finding it a harder process than I expected.

So, for now and for what it's worth...here are the American things I am still getting used to:

• PAVED roads [everywhere!] and orderly driving.
• Advertisements everywhere.
• Tap water for brushing teeth or drinking [I almost always think I need to bring water into the bathroom with me to brush].
• Clean feet.
• Eggs with yellow yolks...they look so fake! [before you ask: most eggs I saw in Uganda had white yolks].
• Not seeing my Ugandan friends everyday.
• Planning...the pace of life in the US is so different than in Uganda. I feel like I'm having trouble keeping up with everything.
• Air conditioning. Mostly only banks and other 'official' buildings have air conditioning in Uganda.
• Stuff...not sure how else to say it but there's just stuff everywhere. Stores are full of all kinds of things. And full of lots of one thing. I had a breakdown in a particularly large thrift store, of all places...I just couldn't get over how much excess people had to donate.
• Bazungu (white people) everywhere. I got so used to being a minority, it's weird to be living in a community where there is little diversity.
• No boda bodas...I really miss riding motorcycles. And being able to just call 'my' boda drivers to come pick me up.
• Credit cards...swiping a card makes spending money feel a bit fake. 
• Being able to call my fiance every day. :)
• Shorts...after living in a culture where people dress conservatively I am often distracted by people (men and women) wearing shorts. It's weird to see so much skin! And the first time I wore shorts, I felt so naked.
• American accents. I miss Ugandan English. And find myself saying 'Sorry' to everything.
• Texting with a full keyboard. My American phone has a full keyboard...my phone in Uganda was just a basic phone with a number pad. I got so used to texting the 'old fashioned' way it's great to have a QWERTY keyboard again for texting again. (Hey, it's the little things, right? :))
• Long days. Daylight on the equator is 7am-7pm...I still can't get over the fact that it stays light until after 9pm!

Anyway, those are just some of my little reflections. I'm trying to just let myself react to things as I react and feel what I feel (without analyzing why, etc.) and I figure these things are all part of the process. The process of making more than one culture home.

This World is a Crazy Place

I'll be honest. Sometimes it's hard to know how to describe life here in Uganda. Hard to know how to share my experience with you, my readers...many of whom are back in the United States. And, the longer I stay here in Kampala, the more and more I am struck by the contrasts between 'here' and 'there', or rather the contrasts between the US and Uganda. [I won't say between the West and the developing world because I have limited experience in both and those terms are too broad.]  When I was in the US for the holidays, I kept asking myself and whoever I was with, "How does this [excess, money, over-indulging, everything American] exist?! How do the things in the US exist at the same time as my life in Uganda?" I couldn't put it together. I can't put it together now that I'm back in Uganda. And in some ways it's hard to describe.

But there's something about being a part of two different cultures that makes your brain go crazy. Seeing the excess, the shiny buildings, the ever moving traffic, the clean roads in the US and comparing those to the trash lined, congested traffic, dirt roads, and the brick buildings here in Uganda is and was mind boggling. It made me ask: How is this fair? What kind of world do we live in? And seeing beautiful, big, new libraries in the US and thinking of my tiny, dusty library made me want to run up to every librarian I saw and say, "Do you know how lucky you are??"

The statistics we hear in the US [X number of people around the world live on less that $1 a day, etc.] are not statistics...they're people. They have faces and names. And on the other side of the world, I have friends in the US who so flippantly say they're 'broke' but have jobs that pay them the equivalent of millions of shillings. How do you reconcile that? And really, those friends aren't a statistic either...they're people too.


How do these two worlds exist at the same time?

And yet.

I'm learning over and over again that life is life. People are people. Pain is pain and joy is joy. I can't discount the pain and hard things I see here, just as I can't discount the pain my friends and family go through in the US. It's easy for me to compare and want say to people in the US, "Things are so different in Uganda...deal with it. You have it SO good!" But if you haven't experienced the differences, how is that a fair thing to say? [Although, to be honest, sometimes I still want to shout that in response to some Facebook statuses.]

Just the other day, as I got hard news from home, I found out that one of the students' sons died. Another student's wife just had a baby last Thursday. And I realized the contrast isn't just with the US and Uganda, but with life itself. How can we ever understand the differences? The way life and death go hand-in-hand?

I don't know if we can ever understand. Can you ever live in or travel to a new place and not be touched and changed by what you see around you? How do we take what we see and learn about the world in order to put our own lives into perspective? Can we ever understand life and death?

I guess we can trust. And learn. And ultimately we can use the pain we've experienced in our own lives to become more compassionate people...loving those around us and working for change. And we can use the joys in our own lives to learn to celebrate. We can celebrate and find the beauty in both cultures.

Thoughts on Life in America

Sorry for such a long pause in posts. I've been in the US for four weeks and will return to Uganda in another two or so. It's been a whirlwind for sure...visiting friends, hanging out with family. My mom is currently in the hospital, which partially explains why I have no thought-provoking posts as of late. But let's face it, sitting around a hospital does give some time for reflection, although maybe not the in-depth, library and information science centered reflections I was planning for these weeks. So, instead, I'm giving you my simple reflections on American life...the things I've observed in the past four weeks. Life here is so different than my life in Uganda. I definitely believe that reverse culture shock is a real thing!

• Food. In Uganda it's fairly taboo to carry food and drinks and walk while eating or drinking. It feels weird to stop at Starbucks and then walk out with my drink.
• Pace of life. Everything happens so much faster here. It took me a good week or two to catch up to how quickly everything moves.
• Planning. My friends and family can attest to the fact that I am no longer a very good planner. This is a big change for me. Somehow I made the change from having an agenda for every day to living on African time where things happen when they happen. I see this as a good thing.
• Conversation. No offense to the Americans I've spent time with but conversation feels so shallow. I miss talking about international events, religion, social justice issues, etc.
• Things. Things everywhere! After spending a year in a developing country, the amount of stuff available here is overwhelming. I am particularly overwhelmed by the bread aisle at the supermarket. In Uganda I have about three choices at the shops near me: small loaf, large loaf, rolls. When I went to buy French bread for Christmas French toast, there was a whole section of French bread alone!
• Washer and dryer. After hand washing all my clothes for a year these machines are amazing! But I feel like everything I wear is too tight after I put it in the dryer. :) 
• Assumptions. I find people's comments and assumptions about Africa rather amusing. My favorite was someone who asked me if I see giraffes everyday. I shouldn't laugh at people's ignorance...but sometimes it's just so funny.
• Cost. Everything is so expensive! I'm trying not to convert into Uganda shillings.
• The Weather. It's cold! And the Sun feels so far away! Just today I heard a woman say to someone on the phone: "It's a beautiful, sunny day here". Um, it's  less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit and hazy. I guess it's all relative. This is Buffalo, afterall.
• Driving. Cars move in such orderly paths! Everyone stays in their own lanes (more or less)!
• Paper towels. In public restrooms.

I suppose by the time all these things become 'normal' again, it will be time to go back to Uganda. :)

And, stay tuned. More posts coming again soon.

Heathrow Reflections

I'm sitting at Heathrow Airport. Paying an arm and a leg to use internet for a few hours. But how else are you supposed to pass a 6 hour layover when you don't have the money to shop in the expensive stores?

Anyway, I had an overnight flight from Entebbe, Uganda to Heathrow, London, England. I generally don't like overnight flights. They're cold and they feed you food at weird times. But I actually slept some this time, which helps a lot. I'm also currently drinking a cup of coffee which does wonders for my outlook on life. (Although not my typing skills...I just wrote my outlook online. :))

At any rate, I find myself in London. Freezing with just one sweatshirt and jacket. Although, my feet are hot because I'm actually wearing socks and shoes for the first time in almost a year. And my brain is confused as I look around and see shiny designer stores and fancy cafes all in crammed one place and crawling with trendy looking bazungu (white people). I wandered through the airport bleary eyed and dazed for about 45 minutes before I could choose a place to sit. And I tried to buy a bagel at one of said cafes but could barely choose between the 5 different kinds. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or the mixed emotions in leaving Uganda, but right now I am overwhelmed.

I am so, so thankful that I will return to Uganda in January, but saying goodbye was hard. There are a number of people I have gotten to know this year that won't be there when I return. I will miss them dearly. I don't like change and while I can't wait to go back in a few short weeks, I am sad knowing things will be different.

I also can't help but think where I was a year ago...at orientation with Africa Inland Mission. Getting my plane ticket to leave for Uganda, hearing more details about what I would be doing and where I would be living. How has a year passed? All those unknowns, those questions I had a year ago have been answered a million times over. An unknown place has become home in so many ways. The unknown people have become friends, neighbors, and coworkers. The unknown work has become a daily act of service and (usually) joy.

I am thankful. I am sad. I am overwhelmed. I am tired. I am full of joy. I am so many things I can't put it into words yet. A year ago I planned to go to Uganda and 'computerize a library'.

A year later my heart is changed. I am changed.

*More to come I'm sure as I continue to process everything in Uganda and the library from this past year.

She and He Super Designers...and Other African Moments

I decided it was time for a light-hearted post. Mostly because I am leaving Uganda in about 3 days and have way too many things to do to really write the reflective/library/what-I've-learned-this-year post that's been floating around my head. But don't worry, it's coming soon. Probably when I'm sitting for 6 hours at Heathrow Airport next week, feeling sad that I've just left Uganda.

Anyway, one of the things I've enjoyed about living in Uganda are the moments that make you smile and just say 'Oh, Africa'. :) These moments are hard to explain but the title of this blog is a good example. It's a sign I pass regularly...I think it's for a tailor but I love that it's Super Designers...like a superhero. :) Other signs that I enjoy: Saloon (for salon), Obama Restaurant, Shine Around Preschool, Trust in God Butchery (this is particularly funny to me because the butchers here literally leave meat hanging out all day, often covered in flies...you have to trust God to eat that meat!) and countless others that have become part of my everyday life.

Sometimes the 'Oh, Africa' moments happen when you're trying to accomplish something. For example, I was recently at a shopping center that has both a bank and a Forex Bureau. I wanted to exchange some Tanzanian shillings from my trip to Tanzania in September and change them to dollars. I was already in the bank so I asked if they would take them. At first the teller said yes and kept asking what they were and how much they were worth. (The denominations were written on the bills but I guess it was confusing.) After a minute, though, he said no, they can't take them because the branch is too small, which seems a bit funny to me considering that Tanzania is a neighboring country. So, I decided to check the Forex. I went in and asked if it would be possible to exchange Tsh for USD. The guy said of course, it was no problem. To which I, of course, started pulling out my money. But then he followed up with words that no longer surprise me: But it is finished today. (i.e. they don't have dollars today) It's not unusual to ask if something is available (at a restaurant or store) and be told yes, followed by: not today. Flexibility is key!

Another favorite moments, though, happened in said trip to Tanzania. My friends and I were determined to try "Chips-My-Eye", basically an omelet with french fries in it. My sister had told me how good it was and I really wanted to try it. We were staying in a small village on the beach and wandered around to ask where we might get some. We were told where we could go followed by: "But there is a funeral today in the village so there is no one to make the chips". Again, flexibility is key. You seriously never know what is available, when.

So, there you have it. Just some random things about living in Africa. I've learned a lot about flexibility and patience this year.

And we did eventually get our Chips-My-Eye.

Connecting on African Time

So, it has been a month since my last post. I know I keep saying this to everyone, but: where is this year going??!!

To be honest, I've prided myself on the fact that generally (up until the past month) I post fairly regularly. But here in Uganda, things often go more by 'African time' than by 'mzungu time'. That is to say, things here rarely happen 'on time' or exactly when or how I think they should. I like to joke that I can never be late because the sense of being 'on time' is so different. Generally people focus on the event happening in that moment, not necessarily what time it is on the clock. And it means there is no set schedule for when I should blog about my latest library adventures...I am learning to focus on the events at hand. :)

The events at hand? Holiday (what many of you call summer vacation) and visits from my sister and good friend from college. During the past month I still worked at the library as much as possible but we also found time to travel to Western Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. It was a great combination of seeing other cultures, visiting friends, and sightseeing.

And for my always-thinking mind (you can ask my sister how hard it was for me to sit still by the pool in Mombasa for more than 20 min), these travels also gave me a lot of time to think...because, yes, a 12 hour bus ride to Kigali, Rwanda and hours waiting in the Nairobi airport give one plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming semester. Which starts in one week, by the way. So amidst all the travel, I spent a lot of time thinking about things I want to do this semester: continue cataloging, create more orientation sessions, research and gather online research tools (i.e. free websites/databases), meet with instructors, etc. But one of the main things I want to focus on is reaching out and connecting with students. I find this to be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of my job.

Many students here are new to the concept of libraries and especially of librarians. Often they will enter the library, pause for a minute by my desk, and quietly say, 'I'm sorry to interrupt you...'. To which I respond that that is why I am here! And, really, librarians seem to intimidate students everywhere...even when I worked in the U.S. students seem hesitant to ask for help. A college student thing? A human thing? A scary librarian thing? Probably a topic to be explored at another time.

At any rate, despite most students being gone the past two months, I was able to connect with several students. My trip to Western Uganda was at the invitation of a student to come, meet his wife and kids, and visit his church. It was another small village, where few people had ever seen a 'mzungu' (white person) before. It was humbling to see the way people live and be reminded how much I have that I really don't need. Mostly I was reminded how much we (in the West) often take education for granted...this student has a family to support and is pastor at a church and still manages to come to Kampala and study. How often do I take my two degrees for granted?

Last weekend I went with my sister and friends to Kigali, Rwanda. Rwanda is a beautiful country and we had a great time exploring and learning about the culture and history. We visited the Kigali Memorial Centre...it was good to go and learn more about the history of the genocide in Rwanda but it was also awful. The kind of museum that makes you sick to your stomach when you're reminded of the terrible things human beings do to each other. Many of our students come from Rwanda and by visiting the memorial I was reminded of and overwhelmed by the background many of them come from. Like the student in Western Uganda, it helps me to see contexts from which the RTC students come from because they are so different than my own background. Understanding where they come from helps me begin to understand how to reach out to them.

In Kigali I also was able to see three RTC students. One afternoon my sister and friend decided to go visit Nyamata Memorial, another memorial near Kigali...a church where many people were killed and which has now been turned into a memorial. I wondered if I should also go but met with students instead. I was so glad I did! Being able to meet with students in their own country was such a privilege. And I was reminded again that that's what it's all about...connecting with people, meeting them, learning their stories, and building relationships. And if building relationships means traveling, I'll do it.

Bridget, a beautiful student from Rwanda. After we met for
sodas/coffee she didn't want me to go back alone so she
went with me to find the taxi back and rode it with me. We
mostly communicate with short sentences but I loved
spending time with her!

Emile, a Congolese student living in Rwanda. I helped him
a lot on his research project last semester...he was so
shocked to find out we're the same age. :)

A Non-Library Story

Well, I suppose this is tangentially a library story since it takes place with Joshua, my colleague at RTC. But other than that it really has nothing to do with libraries. But I decided that every now and then it doesn't hurt to include a non-library story, right? Because, really, it's ALL part of my story here in Uganda.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to Buvuma Island in Lake Victoria. Joshua and his fiance, Joy, invited me to visit her family on the island. Her mother works for an NGO on the island and helps promote health, education, sanitation, clean water practices, etc. It was by far one of the best things I have done during my time so far. Was it easy? Not necessarily. Being the only white person within miles and having no electricity or running water and being woken up by bats and rats is not necessarily 'easy'. But it's not hard either...is eye opening and an amazing learning experience.

Buvuma Island is the second largest in Lake Victoria. Everything that is not grown on the island is brought over by boat. After taking a two hour taxi ride to Jinja we then had to take a 2-3 hour boat ride to the island. They pile the boats high with everything: people, sodas, bicycles, chickens, flour, petrol, cooking oil, etc. As soon as we got on the boat I realized I was in for an adventure. The woman sitting next to me started touching and petting my hair. I don't think she had ever seen a white person before, at least not up close. She asked Joshua and Joy various questions about what I eat, whether or not I cut my hair, etc. It's an uncomfortable feeling to know someone is watching you and talking about you but to not know what they are saying. I felt like I was in a petting zoo. Especially when the other people started talking about me and petting my hair as well.

I found out later that occasionally other 'mzungus' go to the island but rarely do they take the public boats. They have there own. (These are not tourists, they are other NGO workers or missionaries.) This stuck with me all weekend. And reminded me...as uncomfortable as it is sometimes, I want to be the one on public boats and taxis and doing things they way normal people do. If I am here to be a part of a community, that's what I want to do...be a part of the community. I don't want to set my self apart. Yes, it's incredibly awkward sometimes but it's worth it.

The island itself is beautiful. So green and surrounded by water, I couldn't get enough of the beauty of it all. And Joy's family was wonderfully hospitable. They let me help sort beans and pick tomatoes. They took me for walks around the village. We celebrated Easter simply and honestly, with no sign of the Easter Bunny.

But within the beauty there were pockets of sadness. I was told that girls there often marry by the time they are 13 or 14. Children aren't encouraged to go to school because the family can get more money if they start fishing at a young age. Families often have 8-12 kids and live in tiny mud houses. It was a small culture shock for me...the island is so different than where I live in Kampala. But the reality is, not everyone in Uganda lives like those in my neighborhood (which is still 'poor' compared to US standards but nice by local standards). To see the contrasts between poverty and beauty on the island was hard. Watching kids carry heavy water jugs or run away from me because they were scared of my white skin was hard. Seeing how people live was hard. Visiting a family with 10 children living in a tiny house was hard. Hearing the stories was hard.

And, yet, I am challenged again to think about the bigger picture. To look past the dirt and mud and see the beauty in Creation and in a child's eyes as she comes to curiously look at me. I am challenged to think about the variety of ways people live in Uganda and to think about how one country can have many beautiful cultures. I am reminded that it is an amazing privilege to be here. And I am reminded how much I am spoiled by non-essentials: hot showers, technology, and electricity. And mostly I am challenged to take off the blinders that focus only on myself...and instead live like other people and  experience life with them.

Yes, it's hard to see poverty. The needs of Buvuma Island are heavy on my heart. But I also don't want to paint a picture that Uganda is full of poverty and sadness and brokenness. Because amidst everything there is still beauty. And prayers for hope, peace, and Love.

*To see more pictures of my time check out my Facebook album.

5 Countries in 5 Days

So, tomorrow will mark two weeks since I arrived in Africa. I now live basically on the equator where the sun rises and sets at almost the same time every day. Where my electricity and water supplies are somewhat sporadic. Where the green landscape, punctuated by red roads, is beautiful and breathtaking. Where the people have been so welcoming.

So much has happened I don’t know how to begin or what to share first. I guess the beginning. :)

I can guess what you’re thinking: “Five countries? I thought you were going to Uganda”. Well, I AM in Uganda. But it was a process to get here. On January 1^st (Happy New Year!) my family drove me from Western New York to the Toronto International Airport. Although I didn’t spend long in Canada, to me, it still counts as country #2. It was unusually warm and rainy for a new year in New York and Canada. Sort of dreary weather to match my mood. But a rainbow came out and I felt like that was a sign that this year would be blessed. And my aunt called me en route to wish me well and pray with me. It was so encouraging to know so many people were thinking of me as I began this adventure!

After lots of tears and hugs with my family, I made myself walk through security toward my gate and to country #3: London, England. Long, overnight flights are never fun for me but at least on British Airways the food is good and there are lots of movies to watch. Plus, they give you socks, an eye mask, blanket and toothbrush. Yes, I used them all. :) There was also an adorable girl in the seat in front of my who started shouting “We’re flying, we’re flying” as we taxied away from the gate.

I arrived in London super early and tried to figure out what to do with myself while I waited the four hours for my next flight. Thankfully, I managed to find the other person traveling to Uganda for Africa Inland Mission. At orientation I found out he would be my travel buddy and I didn’t even know I wanted a buddy until they told me I would have someone to travel with. It was great to have someone to talk with while we waited for our flight to country #4: Uganda!

The flight to Uganda was also long but I was able to sleep and that helped a lot. And when we arrived my friend, Fred (from graduate school) and his wife met me at the airport. It was so nice to see a familiar face right away!

After a two days at a guest house in Uganda I headed to country #5: Rwanda. Twenty of us with AIM headed to Kigali on an overnight bus for a conference where we met with about 100 of the people working with AIM in Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, CAR, and Congo. It was great, albeit a bit overwhelming, to meet so many people right after arriving in Africa. And I LOVED Rwanda. The country was so beautiful!

And, after a few days of a great conference, some of us took another overnight bus back to Kampala, Uganda. And I was so thankful to just be settled for a while. To unpack my suitcases a bit and feel like I could get myself organized. There is, of course, so much more to share. Things about my first few days at work. Things about my awesome roommate. Things about how much I love Africa and how much enjoy taking motorcycle taxis (yes, I love them! :)). But for now, I will leave with you for a few pictures. I promise to update again soon!

Me with all my belongings for the year: two suitcases, one backpack, one purse

Airplane that brought me to Africa!

At the Guest House...my hair is messy because I just got off a motorcycle taxi!

At the conference, on Lake Kivu in Rwanda

Beautiful scenery in Rwanda