Goodbyes As A PCV

This past weekend as a friend left to go back to head back home, I got thinking about friendships, relationships, and goodbyes.

Goodbyes are not always fun and most of the time they just plain outright suck but they tend to suck more when you are a long term volunteer serving in a foreign country. After roughly about ten months here in Uganda, I can say that because I have seen a lot of short-term volunteers come and go in a matter just ten months and I guess you could say it is a challenging aspect of being a Peace Corps Volunteer. Most volunteers come and go here in Fort Portal every three, six, or 12 months, they come to Uganda from all over the world for various reasons: touring, internships, research, working, filling a gap year, serving as a doctor or nurse, being invited by a friend, getting over a divorce or life issue, or just volunteering their time. There are so many different reasons and so many interesting people with so many different backgrounds, skills, and identities.

Ex-pats (people who are not Ugandan by birth) tend to stick together, we build relationships or friendships, we hang out together, host dinners or BBQs, we play Frisbee, or just chill drinking a milkshake. We become friends. It is very difficult to be an outsider or Ex-pat in an African country and no doubt other countries as well that you need these relationships to help keep you stable as the months go on.  We have good laughs, deep conversations, and a lot of joy is exchange but all most come to an end and they return to their lives...everyone but me. I am here for 27 months maybe even more as I am currently thinking of staying longer in Uganda and I am starting to realize how it might feel to be a Ugandan seeing so many people come and go over the years and most Ex-pats will never return to Uganda after they finish their time here. Most Ugandans will never have the chance like I do to see many of these volunteers again in the near future. What it must be like year after year to see people come and go while you stay put?... What a world volunteerism is…. This weekend also made me realize for the first time in my service here how hard it might/could/possibly be to say goodbye in 17 months (I am tearing up right now even thinking about that day when I leave and everyone I will have to say goodbye to). When you think a goodbye is going to be easy it ends up being one of the hardest thing you ever do.

But there is a bright side to all these depressing thoughts… There is Facebook and email!!! Many of the younger Ugandans are starting to get the hang of the technology world and are starting to keep more and more in touch with Ex-pats (I will say they have not mastered web etiquette yet but we will let that slide for now). This is such a beautiful thing, which I am very grateful for because I am not sure what it would be like if I was not able to call home, email a friend, or stay in contact with people I know.

I am so grateful to have met so many wonderful people from across Asia, America, Europe, and especially here in Uganda. No matter how hard it will be over the next months to say goodbye and greet the new group of Ex-pat volunteers and say goodbye to them and repeat it all over and over again until I leave, I will continue to make friends no matter how short they are here for because you never know who might impact your life.

A Ride Into Fort Portal Town From Kasiisi Village

Before Will left Uganda, he wanted to film going from Kasiisi Village where we stay to Fort Portal town. Sooooo Will and I hopped on a motorcycle* with one of our boda guys Friday and headed into Fort Portal. The day was a little windy, partly cloudy, and cool. We do take a back way into Fort and not through the main part of Fort because we were doing a little shopping at the top of Kasese Road that heads south out of Fort to Kasese. I will work on getting a video of downtown Fort on a motorcycle soon.

It takes us just under 30 minutes so sit back and relax enjoy the world we travel here in Uganda! The road is a lot better than it used to be since they have been working to get it ready to be paved. You can also hear random commentary from Will and myself at different parts of the journey. ENJOY!

*Peace Corps has given me clearance to ride motorcycles in Uganda.

My Week Last Week

Curious what I do during the week?! Well here is a look into my week from last week. It was a very busy, wild, but a very good week.

March 2^nd – Ran around getting permission and books for D.E.A.R from Kasiisi Staff. Worked on budgets for the Girls Peer Education program and planned GPE/BPE schedules with Pat. Went to Fort for their Kampala Fair, shopping, and dinner with the boys. 

March 3^rd –Staff Meeting and meeting at Kigarama with Barbara about the KFSP libraries. Called Heather on her 25^th Birthday.   

March 4^th – Max went to Jinja for a staff retreat with Princeton in Africa Fellows from around Africa. Will and I went to MUBFS for a Chimp Photographers Empako dinner (naming ceremony). It had rained in the afternoon but cleared up to be a gorgeous evening. We had dinner out on the lawn surrounded by very large baboons and the forest. 

March 5^th – KFSP Schools participated in Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R). Went to Kiko Primary School with Will to help out with D.E.A.R. Had all pupils reading for 30 plus minutes. Had a massive storm with straight-line winds which took off the roof of a staff members home and took down some large trees. My friend Crystal welcomed a baby boy in America. Purchased my ticket home this summer for a visit to the homeland.

March 6^th – Our organization celebrated becoming a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with an all day party filled with amazingly (sometimes extremely boring) speeches that would go on and on forever (Ugandans like to talk). I went and helped in the kitchens. 

March 7^th – Will and I went Chimp Trekking in the Kibale Forest which was awesome! After months and months of training, Team Clarke started the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska – 1049 miles through Alaska. Check them out on Facebook – Team Clarke Iditarod 2015. GO TEAM! 

March 8^th – Made pancakes, did some laundry and cleaning. Then went to town by myself for some shopping and lunch got back had an afternoon nap. Made Butter Chicken curry with Will – YUMMY! Watched House of Card episode and then bed. A relaxing day for me. Much needed after a major lack of sleep this past week.  

There is a lot of other small little things I do during the week. Theses are the bigger and more exciting parts of my week. Usually it consist of getting up around 5:30AM reading, working, maybe some yoga, breakfast then off to the office by 9AM then office stuff until 1PM lunch then back to the office or off to different places for events or just working from home. Dinner around 7PM, watch a TV show or movie with the roommates, shower, read, then bed around 10PM and repeat.