flyin' away

We leave! So soon! I am SO EXCITED, you guys. So excited.

And I'm not excited because Uganda was terrible. Lots of times it was the opposite of terrible. It was wonderful at the top of a mountain pass in the Rwenzori. Going to sleep 3 people to a 2-person tent on a hillside with the sounds of village life drifting up to us. Running rapids on the Nile in a totally sunk boat. Getting to hear about village life by asking survey questions I'd never ask myself. Torrential downpours in thunderstorms that light up the night more than it's left dark. Meeting a whole slew of Ugandans who actually wanted to talk to us. And discovering that the stereotype that Ugandans are "really, really nice," is, in the large majority of cases, very true (at least to us mzungu - our experience is, as always, colored by the lens through which we perceive it).

So I'm not excited to escape, really. I'm excited to go back to many, many things that I love in 'merica'. Driving wherever, whenever I want. Cold rivers to jump in. Rejoining a time zone near my friends and family. Leaves changing in the fall. Moosilauke. Running. Swimming. Biking! Hiking, for free, whenever and wherever I want. Understanding what's going on around me. Puppies. And and and.

Before I came here I wasn't drawn to Africa, but I thought I should come when given the chance. And I was worried - about being bored, about being stuck in the city, about lack of freedom to do what I want. And I did struggle with these things - I know myself well enough. But none of these colored my entire experience here. As always, though I forget every time, the experience was about the people - about the people I met here, spent time with, worked with. About people whose jobs and lives I came to understand a little better. And I have come to understand this place a little better - or at least become able to navigate it better. It doesn't stress me out, anymore, to walk around busy Kampala by myself, to take a boda ride, or to ask where a taxi is going. No, it's not the ideal place for me, but I am comfortable in my (very white) skin here, now.

So thank you, Uganda. Webale. Webale nyo. I don't have any plans to come back, but if I end up back here at any point, that'd be just fine.