For Better or Worse

***THROWBACK*** JUST FOUND THIS IN MY 'DRAFTS' FROM APRIL. LOOKS LIKE I DIDN'T FINISH IT OR POST IT... ENJOY ANYWAY.

I realize that many of my blog posts deal with creatures, inconveniences and slight annoyances. I take for granted that my dear readers know, although I may post mostly about my misadventures, that- in my heart of hearts- I really do like Uganda. I may even venture to say I love it, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's a tumultuous relationship. Sure, it may be hot, gritty and sometimes downright difficult, there are more than a few perks to living where I do. As with most relationships worth having, Uganda and I have our good days and bad. Seems like I mainly post about the bad... what can I say, I grew up on American news! I'll work on reporting more of the good.

I don't take one day of this crazy place for granted. Well, maybe one day here and there.... but it's not lost on me how lucky I am to experience this place through a lens of semi-reality, instead of just the 'romanticized' version of Uganda I may have had before arriving here. Don't get me wrong, Uganda lives up to a lot of romanticized stereotypes that may flicker through your head when you think of 'Africa.' I have at least one realization a week about how awesome my life is. That's pretty darn good, I think, all things considered. I don't remember having that realization in my cubicle very often. I'm not one to often write about my cheesy realizations, inspirations, aspirations, etc., but they happen. And Uganda is a good place to mull over these things. And I say 'semi-reality' because I know that this is not my real home. I'm not 'born of this place' and will never be truly accepted as a part of it. I shouldn't be; I come from a different reality. I appreciate the community's efforts in accepting me as best as they can, and learning and laughing about what a weirdo I am. I love that they love that I try to speak Acholi, eat the food, dig my garden and do all the local stuff that I can muster. But even on days that I feel like I'm truly a part of the local community, I know that I'm one natural disaster or event of civil unrest away from being flown out of here. I know that if I get sick or hurt, I can get treatment. I know that I can go back to America whenever I want and be supported by my family, friends or government if need be. The luxury of services available in America shouldn't be taken for granted... and even though we have our problems and wrinkles to iron out, I was born under one bright and lucky star. The injustice of this will never make sense to me... but that's partially why I'm here, right? To do what you can with what you're given...

Anyway, back to the awesomeness of Uganda:

A few selected gems about being a PCV in Uganda...

• Fresh fruit and veg are plentiful, delicious and dirt cheap. And guess what...they're locally grown and most likely organic!  And you can probably buy them from a tray on someone's head. AND, if you're in northern Uganda, as an uplifting bonus, your purchase probably helps support orphans or widows or war-affected someone. Seriously. And they almost always throw in an extra tomato or onion as a 'bonus.' Try getting that at Whole Foods!
• You can stay in your pjs the whole day if you want, even on a weekday.
• You get complimented on 'looking smart' even if in said pjs.
• You can wear flip flops year round.
• You can show up to a meeting two hours late, with a chicken in hand, while breastfeeding your child and still be considered on time and completely appropriate.
• You can pick up and squeeze a stranger's child.
• You get celeb status for being white. This can also be a bad thing...
• Got an eye for fashion but can't sew? Come to Uganda! You can bring a rudimentary drawing and some fabric to one of the many skilled tailors in town and have your own custom fit garment made. And it'll be done for less than the price of dry cleaning! SO fun!
• You can get crates of beer delivered to your house via motorcycle for about a dollar, plus the cost of beer of course. BUT, each beer costs a little over a dollar and are 1 liter. Yup. Now Uganda just needs to work on her craft beer market... maybe think about adding some hops to the mix.
• When you're coming home from a long journey and get off the bus with lots of luggage, who wants to carry all those pineapples you picked up along the way AND your bag!? Just flag down your resident boda driver to strap your gear to his bike and you can walk home unladen... while he delivers your junk to your doorstep for less than 50 cents. Don't worry, he'll know where you live even if you think you've never seen him before.
• The weather is pretty great year-round. Yes, it's hot and dusty... or wet and muddy... but who cares! You're in Uganda wearing flip flops, eating organic pineapples and drinking liters of cheap beer on the shores of Lake Victoria.
• The people are diverse, beautiful and eager to help you. That's one thing I'll always remember about Northern Uganda in particular- that the people are resilient, inspiring and hopeful- once you get to know them, of course.