Leaving Uganda was really quite bitter sweet for me. On one hand I was excited to be coming home but on the other hand I was extremely sad to be leaving some of the most amazing people I have ever met (as a whole and individually). My farewell was really a whole week long. Filled with parties, gifts and of course some tears, it started on a Sunday night in one of the villages I worked in. I bought two goats and a whole bunch of soda and threw a party. It was a great time where I got showered with gifts, ate great food, and witnessed some traditional dances. Of course I had to join in...come on do you think I could just sit and watch?
There were even a few people wrote little songs for me which was really touching (eventhough I couldn't understand a few of them). My favourite line in one song (English) said something along the lines of "Thank your mom and dad for teaching you so well." I have it on video so I will be sure to show mom and dad. Also the kids songs and dances were very cute as well.
After the entertainment it was time for "cake" break. Now I was pretty pumped about the cake and tried to peak at it before we ate it but they batted my hands. away Then they revealed such said cake...now in Canada do we call pumpkin roasted with ground beef on the inside cake too? It has been a while but I wasn't aware of it if we do. He he. In their defense it was really good....just a little unexpected!
Then it was time to eat all that goat meat that I had bought. Innocent, Innocent and Phillip had been grilling all afternoon in their newly acquired clothes (I left most of my clothes behind for my friends which they were extremely excited about). I thought it was fitting that my final meal with all my friends was my favourite meal: Muchomo and a whole bunch of coke. There was A LOT of meat but we cleaned it up very well.
At the end of the night it was time for pictures and pictures we took! I had to make rules about lining up for pictures and only getting in on one picture to prevent myself from pulling an all-nighter. I think I took 100 pictures of people on this night (a lot of them I have no idea who they are). Of course I was more than happy to take a few snaps with my favourites!
The rest of the week consisted of eating a lot, trying to get some souvenirs and general goodbyes. I had a few cheesy Canadian souvenirs with me so I also passed those out which went over really well. Amazing how happy someone can be about a pencil or baseball cap.
Obviously the goodbye part was the hardest. You don't really realise how much people have touched your life until you go to say goodbye for your very last time. I mean in all reality I won't see most (if any) of these people again. The realisation of that really hits you hard, these people were and are some of my best friends in the world. The hardest goodbyes for me were saying goodbye to Mushabe Innocent and Hosea. Now crying in Ugandan culture is pretty taboo, you only cry if someone dies. My last day in the field I drove past Hosea and he hopped in the car as usual, what was unusual was that he was crying already. He spent the whole day driving around with me saying goodbyes crying almost the entire time, holding on to my hand and asking about Canada. It was really touching but also really emotional, he kept saying "We go to Canada?". I had told him a lot earlier in my stay that he should come to Canada. He apparently took it quite seriously and really wanted to join me on my journey home. Breaking his heart like that was really hard on me but I think I made it okay when I explained that he had to stay back and take care of his mom for me. Saying goodbye to Mushabe was also really hard. He bought a pineapple and we sat and ate it in his yard reminiscing about my stay and talking of his expecting child. Then he walked to me to my car, I went to hug him and he broke out into tears. The other Innocent was also there and he got almost pannicky like "Oh Oh Oh, no no you can't cry. Oh don't do this. Come on you are a man." Of course I broke out and started bawling which made it that much worse. Innocent was keeled over on the hood of my car blubbering like a baby trying not to look at me. This was one of the hardest things I have had to do. Innocent is truly one of my greatest friends in the world and I have to see him again someday...whether I can get him here or I return there I just can't imagine not seeing him again. But it hit me right then that he looked at me in that same way and we had really impacted one another a lot.
Overall Uganda was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I can't believe looking back that I was so worried about going over to a foreign country which is now completely unforeign to me. Everyone keeps asking me how my outlook on life has changes and I can't really put my finger on it. I guess the biggest thing I learned was that people can be so incredibly happy with nothing and in actuality the more we have the less happy we are. The people who I met that were the happiest and had the most spirit were those who were so deep in the village that all they had was all they knew. The few people who I met that maybe had watched some TV or seen some North American movies, knew there was something else out there (albeit crap) and wanted more making them so much unhappier with their lives. The other thing I have learned is that people are people, and no matter where we go the interactions we have with those people are what make life. People are what make this world go round and it is the relationships that we make with those people that can really change or create the way we feel about life and ourselves. Although I don't think that I will revolutionize the way I live in Canada I think I just be much happier with so much less and try to invest in people more. I thank God everyday for giving me such an amazing experience and I can only pray that I will take what I have learned and apply it everyday.
Thank so much to all those who faithfully read my blog (there were so many of you) you really made writing this so much fun. If anyone wants to look through A TON of pictures let me know and I can bring over my stack. Ha ha ha
