#blogithome

Meet my neighbor, Fiona. And also, go watch my the video I made! "Highlighting Hospitality in Uganda: Ama Wuro Tualu!" captures the heart of Uganda through the words of my friend, Inizu, sharing about hospitality here. Especially now, his words about Uganda can be taken as a message for our world. -- We are all One. "It doesn't matter if you're rich and I'm poor. It doesn't matter if you're white and I'm black. It doesn't matter if you're Christian and I'm a Muslim." It's better to build a sense of community and compassion instead of large fences and walls. We are all together. Ama wuro tualu. -- [This video was submitted for consideration in the 2017 Peace Corps Week Video Contest, 'Highlighting Hospitality'.] 🌻✌🏽🌍 LINK: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_qhyzjLfzTQ #peacecorps #pcthirdgoal #howiseepc #blogithome #vscocam #hospitality #uganda #amawurotualu #canon #peacecorpsweek

The farther and longer I travel, the smaller the world gets. A few days ago a Lugbara man confidently approached me and asked me which state I was from. When I responded, "New York," he asked, "The city part or the upstate part?" I was blown away considering most people I meet around the world (and in the states) assume that New York is only a city, haha. I'm shocked that the ear-to-ear smile on my face immediately didn't scare my new friend away but instead he sat down and told me about his experiences in America. How he was sponsored to attend university in a state called "Nebraska" and he felt at home there because "the maize is so abundant." He explained that his school's symbol was the "cornhuskers" and I couldn't contain my excitement any more so I rudely interrupted him to explain that my father from NY and mother from Iowa/Texas went to The SAME university and met there. That I was born and raised a (sometimes) proud Cornhuskers fan and that I couldn't be more excited to meet him. THEN he shared that he moved to "The Windy City" to be a professor and has recently has become a priest. He was impressed by my Lugbara, I was impressed by his story of determination and resiliency, and we both decided that we can each call ourselves "Lugbara-Amerikanis." He thanked me for loving his country and I thanked him for loving mine, we exchanged emails, and cracked a few jokes together. I love the people I meet around this world, the strangers who become friends, and the little pieces of home I find, oftentimes when I need it the most. Thank you, Godfrey, and GO BIG RED! 🏈🌽🌍 #peacecorps #howiseepc #cornhuskers #blogithome #vscocam #mytinyatlas #gobigred #uganda

Many of you may recognize this face as a young man in my SHAPE Club. But what you aren't familiar with, perhaps, is his story. I first noticed this boy when he peered through the windows of our first SHAPE Club meetings, shy but smiling & laughing along with us. Yet when he was invited in to join us several times, he would politely refuse. Weeks passed & eventually he decided to participate in the first Platform 503 (my secondary project, a hip-hop group) and SHAPE Club partnership about leadership, confidence, & public speaking - taught through poetry, rap, and dance. I slowly saw this P6 boy shed his layers of fear & insecurity as he came after club meetings & on the weekend to ask more questions/practice his English. Year 2 rolls around and in our first name game activity, this guy runs into the center and declares that he goes by, "Young MC" now because he will be a famous tv & radio presenter one day, and maybe even "a rapper in his extra time." From then on, Young MC has attended trainings & camps with me and man, he is quite the businessman. And a creative one at that. It's been an honor to watch him sprout his MC wings from P6 to secondary school and I'm a proud mama to call him a man now. A "man" not because he's 2yrs older now, but because he always advocates for an equal, safe space in our club (and even shouted at a boy who said a girl should sweep, "You think because you have a penis you cannot hold a broom? Are you serious?"🤗). And because he believed Sharon should be president over him because she "deserves it more." And because he made his mom and me beautiful necklaces for Christmas which both she and I love. And because he's a great, honest treasurer who has kept a perfect Cash Book for the club profits. And most of all, because he's saving all of his money so that he can go to school & follow his dreams. This young man makes me not only proud for Uganda but for the youth of this continent and the entire world. Our future lies in your hands (& it's looking bright, my friend)! You go, Young MC. #peacecorps #swag #uganda #howiseepc #blogithome #peacecorpsthirdgoal #vscocam #mytinyatlas #year3

January 15th, 2017: New year, new site, new school, new start Day 1 at my new site! I'm happy to say I got back to Arua a-okay and that all by belongings made it with me. Last night was my first night in my new house, on my new compound, in my new bed and despite the lack of bedsheets, mosquito nets, food, water, and padlocks, I couldn't be any more excited for this new journey. The last two years have treated me well and this year will be even better. School starts on the 6th of Feb and I'll be settling into my new home and somehow-new community until then. I'll miss the heck outta Danny, Edgar, and my nugget neighbors and possibly even the blaring music from the bar across the street but I'm overjoyed at the thought of making another home here in Uganda with the comfort of speaking the language and knowing the town still. My service at site is prettttttty awful but heres a few pics from my first day back. I definitely took my automated coffee machine at home for granted! But when you have to light a fire and wait for water to boil, the coffee tastes a whole lot better. And here are Majid and Geoffrey, two watchmen at my school. They were super stoked about these snaps - and laughed at me everytime I spoke Lugbarati. I love this place.