Jackie, Evan and I enjoying one of our last days in Kasese!
1. Have Patience
Whether it was waiting all day to see an elephant at a National Park, going over the concept of fractions with my students slower than I ever had before, or waiting, always waiting, for general day-to-day things, my patience was tested and strengthened many times this summer. There is no rush for anything in Uganda, and pace of life is much slower than what I was used to. "Now" doesn't mean "right away," but it means within an hour. In fact, a common phrase among people here is "Now?" or "Now Now?" People don't have schedules, or if they do, there is a general understanding among everyone that it's not set in stone. If it is imperative for someone to be on time, the people here actually refer to it as "American time" (i.e. "The meeting will start at 4:30 American Time"). At first it was difficult to adjust, after living such a fast-paced lifestyle in the States, but eventually I got used to it, and to be honest came to enjoy it. It was nice to relax, take a deep breath, and just let go. Patience sure is a virtue, and I mean it when I say that everything this summer turned out to be worth the wait.
2. Make people come first
Two of the closest friends we made in Kasese taught me this lesson, and ironically they were also two of the busiest people we met. Godfrey, who I have written about before, owns and operates a beautiful hotel near our house. Afan runs an energetic video/music store in Kasese. Despite their busy schedules, whenever we would drop by to say hello they would put their work completely aside to sit and chat with us. Not once did they ask if we could come back another time, or cut the conversation short so they could get back to work. They put friendships and relationships first, work second. They made us feel worth their time, knowing that whatever work was waiting for them would get done, it would just have to wait. Granted, people here do live a slower-paced lifestyle and can usually afford to spare endless amounts of time away from their work without being penalized, but it really is amazing how much people value family and friendship. Make family and friends number one on your priority list.
Pictured above with our good friend Afan
3. You can't control everything/anything
I can't even begin to tell you how many times this summer things didn't go as planned. In fact, there was no "as planned." We quickly learned that when making plans, there was a 90% chance things wouldn't work out like we expected them to. We had many difficulties with our car, the power would randomly go out at our home (for hours, sometimes days, at a time), our time at school was shortened by a week, and we found ourselves waiting around for things quite a bit, either in town or at school. In these situations, it's easy to get frustrated, but becoming frustrated will only make things worse. We've been playing a lot of Scrabble this summer, and to use a Scrabble analogy, you have your seven tiles in front of you, and you can tentatively plan out where you want to place them on the board, but you never know what the person ahead of you will do. They could block you, forcing you to take a different approach that could lead to a better or worse outcome. They could avoid your original plan completely, and you could lay your tiles like you always wanted to. Or, they could lay a word that opens up a better opportunity (maybe a triple-word score) for you. The point is that you can make plans and have ideas, but things change and there's nothing you can do about it (in Scrabble, you're not allowed to move or rearrange other players' tiles). You still have to play the game and make the best of every situation.
4. Take the time to ask, "How are you?"
In this culture, people greet each other. All of the time. You never ask for something directly or begin a conversation without first extending warm welcomes to each other. The greetings all follow a similar, predictable format. A strong handshake, warm smile, and then:
"Hello, how are you?"
"I'm fine, how are you?"
"Fine, how is the day?"
"The day is good, how is yours?"
"Ah, mine is all right, yes."
"Good, good…do you have yellow bananas today?"
And while it might have seemed simple, the point of the greetings is to acknowledge each others' presence and inquire about each others' lives before doing anything else. I thought of all the times when I'm in a rush at home, and hastily tell the man at Starbucks my order before taking five seconds to greet him and ask how he is doing. Or stop an employee at a department store to quickly ask where something is located without even saying hello. Greetings don’t take long, and while not all answers may be genuine (even over here, people say they are "good" when really they might not be), you are at least inquiring about the person first before taking care of business. It's small, but it makes a difference.
5. Live Simply, Live Passionately
People here don't have much, but they have everything that they need. The lifestyle surrounding me every day sometimes made me forget this was a third-world country. People enjoy each others' company, they bring intensity into their singing and dancing, they are expressive when they tell stories, and they are always grateful.
6. Take Risks and Have Faith
Being the pioneers for this program, we took a huge leap of faith when we decided to come this summer. We were the first teachers to come to Rwentutu School from the United States, the first teachers to come and stay for an entire term. There was the chance that the local teachers wouldn't enjoy our presence or our ideas, a chance that being so far from home for such a long time would be too hard for us, a chance that we wouldn’t be able to acclimate to our new surroundings and new culture. But taking risks and having faith go side-by-side for a reason. I’ll admit there were days when I didn’t think I was cut out for this experience, that I questioned my decision and wished I were home. That’s when you have to have faith. Always have faith that everything happens for a reason, everything will work out how it’s supposed to. Relax and enjoy the ride.
6. You don't have to go to Africa to make a difference
I could not have done what I did this summer if it weren't for the support from each and every one of you. Every time I was feeling frustrated or homesick, there was an encouraging email in my Inbox, a comment on my blog, or even a letter in my PO Box. You are the ones who made a difference in this world by your support and encouragement during my time in Uganda.
I was strong in Africa because of you. I approached each day with high hopes and motivation because of you. And I also am excited to come home because of you.
You don't have to go to Uganda to make a difference. We make a difference, no matter who we are or what we do. And you have all made a difference in my life this summer.
As they say in Lugandan, wasingja (wah-seen-ja).
Thank you.
love this one. love you.
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