o My family and friends
o Being able to cross the street without witnessing my life flash before my eyes
o Having a mirror
o Flush-toilets
o Driving
o Traffic laws
o Eating a well-balanced meal
o Waking up 15 minutes before class
o Walking to class
o EPA-regulated air quality
o Reliable electricity
o A sink
o Showering
o Flex Points
o Understanding the language
o Blending in
o Not being overcharged because I am a Mzungu
o Not living out of a suitcase
o Not sweating constantly
Things I’m grateful for:
o A wonderful host family and awesome new friends
o Being independent and getting (way) out of my comfort zone
o Having no idea what I look and laughing about it later
o Learning what it’s like to live without the comforts I take for granted
o Beginning to understand the root causes of particular problems in the world, and acquiring insight from their complexities
o Learning to be more patient and understanding
o A homey SIT resource center with incredibly friendly and helpful staff
o Learning how to budget wisely
o Learning a spoken language that very few foreigners know and using it to my advantage
o Bargaining, haggling, and standing firm when arguing a price
o Hand sanitizer
o Appreciating the significance of precious water (“Water is life”)
o Having a sense of humor
o Wet wipes
o No socks
o Every day is at 75 and sunny
o Being able to (almost) fully cope with my roommates: the ants, cockroaches, and lizards
o Fresh mangoes and pineapples and bananas prepared daily
o A sweet green mosquito net
Odd things that are becoming normal:
o Watching herds of cattle with huge horns walking down the side of the road
o 3-foot tall birds flying and walking around the city
o Daily marriage proposals (“Marry me mzungu!”)
o Little kids following me around and trying to hold my hand or touch my skin
o Dodging boda bodas while making my way on the sidewalk
o Giant open manholes in the sidewalk
o Barbed wire on the sidewalk and medium
o Car-sized crators in the middle of the road
o Driving on the wrong side of the road to “maneuver” around traffic
o Eating basically the same thing every meal
o Evangelicals yelling Bible passages in Luganda to the people of my stalled taxi
o Piles of burning trash everywhere
o Four people riding a boda boda
o Carrying my backpack on my front so nothing gets stolen
o Taking a nightly shower with a flashlight in the dark
o Never understanding what people are saying
o Having a family that speaks Luganda to one another and English to me
o Knowing that people are talking about me, but not understanding the language
o Constantly being stared at wherever I go
o Waiting 2 hours to get a meal at a restaurant after ordering
o Chickens everywhere
o Hearing people yell something like, “Hello mzungu how are you?” at least 35 times a day
o Waiting to use the bathroom until I get to school in the morning
o Brushing my teeth at school
o No trash cans
o Constant misunderstanding
o Law enforcement officials that carry AK-47s
o Thousands of people selling things EVERYWHERE
o Eating dinner at 10:00pm
o Watching Mexican soap operas dubbed dually in English and Luganda on a nightly basis
o Being called by a completely different name by my host family
til next time
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