Adapting

I have now been in Uganda for just over a week but it feels like it’s been months. It’s been easy to make friends; you talk to someone once and then you have a solid conversation every time thereafter. The first step I took onto African soil was quickly followed by tears—because I just couldn’t believe I was here. It was also at that moment my role as a citizen in a country had changed to foreigner, and I was becoming a learner.

Mukono, Uganda on top of Monkey Hill

I sleep under a bed net—Malaria is real. There isn’t toilet paper around, you have to buy your own and carry it with you. Bathrooms are referred to as “the toilet”, and I have very rarely gone to the bathroom in an actually toilet, most are holes in the ground. There is also no air conditioning and showing your knees is extremely immodest.  Hot water is also not around—cold showers all day, every day. Forget throwing your laundry in the washer and doing other things because washers and dryers don’t exist. It’s all hand washing clothes and boy will I have a strong lower back soon! Time is also not a factor in Ugandan culture. It is more important to say hello and spend time with your friends than it is to be on time anywhere.  Americans place value on a person based on how much they can get done in a certain amount of time; I have needed to abandon this mindset.

Road walking home

I have also started my internship working at Compassion International in a rural town called Kisoga. And boy is it rural! It’s a 45 minute drive to where cars are stared at because they are few and far between. I am working in Compassion’s Child Development Sponsorship Program. Every child that is sponsored through Compassion International must attend certain programs and meet certain requirements, all of this happens at this local location. If they do not, for whatever reason, they are at risk of getting kicked out of the program. My case loads consists of those kids who are at risk of being deported from the program. I will be doing lots of home, school, and community visits to talk with the child, figure out what is going on, and figure out a way to keep them sponsored. There are many barriers in this, one being most people in rural Uganda are very poor and don’t speak English. Secondly, I’m white, and let me assure you that some of these people have only seen a handful of whites in their lifetimes.  I am also the only white in the agency.  I have consciously not often thought of my skin color until now. This job is intimidating in some ways but exciting in others because it puts a whole different perspective on social work.

In just a few days I will be moving in with a family for two weeks in Mukono and then commuting to Kisoga every day. I am starting to get used to the stares and assumptions of who I am because of my skin color. I think being a minority is a valuable experience and I will walk away with a different perspective.

First day of internship!

If I could sum up my week here in Uganda, interacting with Ugandans, adapting to the culture, working at Compassion, I have come to the conclusion that at the end of my four months, in a very positive way, I will be a changed person. I couldn't be more excited to see who that person becomes.

Please continue to pray for adaptability and relationships here—for these things are the foundation of being effective in a cross-cultural setting. 

Ali