Summertime is here

Well, I'm spending even more time away from home now that I got back from Uganda. After a short 10 days or so at home, I had some medical tests and some chill time. Surprisingly, Uganda didn't leave any parasites in my system so I guess I'm good to go. I have to keep taking the malaria pills for a few more weeks though to make sure all those parasites are gone. Hopefully I won't come down with a high fever and chills in the coming weeks and months. Supposedly malaria can hide for quite awhile without any symptoms showing up. Anyway, I'm surprised how healthy I stayed and continue to stay.

Now I'm in DC until August. I have an internship here with the Organization of American States, which has been pretty great so far. I really like the people I'm working with and I'm keeping busy which is what I needed after my adventures this year. If I was stuck in Ohio, I'm sure I would have gone crazy and probably just ended up driving somewhere random. It's weird to be working/interning. I dress nicely everyday-keeping up the ironing is one thing I wish I didn't have to continue from Uganda. My supervisor took me for lunch at the World Bank headquarters the first day I was there which was slightly overwhelming. You need a connection to get into the building in the first place so he had his friend get us through security. The building is really nice and has technological displays everywhere talking about WB projects. There was a choir singing in the lobby which was a little strange. I guess it was for all of the people wandering around. With such high security, there sure were a lot of kids running around. I guess their parents must work there. Anyway, I walked into the main cafeteria there, which was really nice, and was immediately overwhelmed with the choices. This on top of the fact that I only had $5, as well as nostalgia for Uganda, led me to get African style rice and beans. Overall, I continue to be a little critical of the WB's work. I mean, they're supposed to be aiding development throughout the world and yet they spend tons of money to maintain this building, as well as at least five others, in DC. They could definitely put the money to better use, though it's probably okay that they aren't using this money to implement potentially harmful projects.

At work, I mainly do whatever they need me to do. I did a lot of research on G4 visas so that I can give a presentation on them to the interns when they arrive next week. About half of the interns are here on these visas and an additional 20 or so are students from abroad. I think a little less than a third of us are US citizens, so it will be cool to meet more people from around the world. The people I'm working with already represent a wide array of nationalities: Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Mexico. I feel slightly out of place there being an American, but I'm used to that by now. It's also a little strange to hear Spanish being spoken by almost everyone, especially when I hear English everywhere outside of work.

On the weekends I go out exploring and just walk around. Last weekend was my first full weekend here and I walked to Georgetown after getting lost on the way to Trader Joe's for some groceries. Then I walked to the Washington Harbor and watched a bit of a dragon boat race that was going on there. It was a nice day so I didn't mind walking everywhere and it's good for me to be getting exercise. I walked so much in Ecuador and then not that much in Uganda so I'm pretty out of shape. On Sunday, I walked to the National Gallery of Art and just spent several hours walking through the exhibits in both buildings. There was an Afghanistan art exhibit that just opened a week or so ago. It was really crowded though so I just got frustrated and quickly went through it. It also isn't as fun making fun of modern art and annoying people by myself. I guess I'm just a little lonely after being around people I knew every so often in Uganda. Hopefully once the other OAS interns get here next week I will meet some people living near me and we can hang out or something. I am kind of a homebody though-I don't mind spending time by myself in my room. I'm keeping busy reading up on the news and reading other books as well as listening to lots of music and watching my favorite telenovela again.

This weekend, I'm hoping to go see Hilary Clinton speak tomorrow at one of the Smithsonian museums. I think she'll probably officially concede from the presidential race and officially endorse Obama. Then maybe I'll take in a few more museums before heading back to my room. Sunday I plan on taking the metro to a shopping center in Virginia. One legacy of Uganda is the gross state of most of my shirts. I made the mistake of bringing a lot of white clothing to Uganda and this clothing is not very white anymore. I don't really feel that the shirts are work appropriate becuase they don't look very professional so I'm going to search for a few new shirts that will match the skirts and pants I brought with me.

Well, I should probably get to bed soon so I can get up early and walk into the city to see Hilary's speech. It should be interesting if I make it down there. I'm getting better at getting around now without getting lost though so it shouldn't be too hard. It's just a bit of a walk and I was exhausted after walking all that way and back last weekend. I hope everyone's doing well wherever they are. Enjoy your summer!

Homesick again

Yup. I miss Uganda more than I thought I would. I was ready to leave but the last week was great, only making me miss Uganda more. Sure, Kampala was miserable most of the time. But I loved the rest of the country that I got to see. I especially miss all of the great people that I was there with. We had some fantastic times together. Especially memorable was the sloshball game and matooke ball on our last night on the island. Now there is no one to complain to about my transportation issues or to understand how crazy it is that I have so many choices for meals. I walked into Kroger the other day and was slightly overwhelmed, just like the time I walked into Kohl's and into Target. I just feel like things here are too easy. I don't know. I'm just a little lost trying to fit back into the life I lived here for so long.

I feel slightly disgusted with myself looking in my closet and seeing all of the clothes I have that I only wear once a month or so after seeing people who wear one set of clothing over and over again though it is clearly worn out. I know I learned a lot and changed a lot in Uganda and it will be interesting to see how this will manifest itself in my everyday life. I think of Uganda all the time now. I saw a commercial on the internet that had a reference to jackfruit in it, a fruit that I have only seen in Uganda. I really don't like the fruit itself but hearing about it on this Thai commercial made my day. Then later that day I saw the video for Keep Bleeding, a song that is now popular here but that I became familiar with in Uganda, hearing a great rendition by Dylan and Maribel during the matooke ball. And then my sister's concert band played highlights from The Lion King for their concert yesterday. I think these signs all point to the fact that I should have stayed a little while longer. But I am moving away from home yet again next weekend to start an internship in Washington D.C. that will take most of the summer. Hopefully once I'm busy again I won't feel this melancholy and nostalgia for times just a few weeks ago. This feeling of being overwhelmed that I get everywhere will likely go away sooner or later, as will the strange urge to drive on the left side of the road. Meanwhile, hopefully the jetlag will end and I won't feel sleepy all of the time anymore. Perhaps I just have sleeping sickness.

Mvudeyo

I am sitting in a hotel room near JFK and it's so weird. I really miss Uganda now as well as the great group of people I got to know there. And tomorrow evening I head home. I am really looking forward to seeing my family again. I think the culture shock from this semester will be much worse than coming home from Ecuador. It's just so different here. Just sitting in Heathrow was overwhelming. We were surrounded by muzungus, for one thing. Everyone was nicely dressed and was carrying fancy electronics. In New York, it's amazing how efficient the airtram system is-the tranpsortation at the airport here is much better than the transportation system in all of Kampala. There are no bodas weaving in and out of traffic, people complain about everything and move much more quickly and I blend in so easily in the crowd. I miss hearing muzungu and walking slowly once in a while. I should probably get some sleep because I'm heading over to the airport early tomorrow to spend some time shopping for books and eating Wendy's junior bacon chesseburgers. Mvudeyo-I have returned.

Almost there

I am so over this place. This is probably my stressed-out self talking, but I am very ready to go home. This week has been slightly crazy. Other than finishing up my research paper, and not really having much to go from with it, I have had some interviews and tomorrow promises to be a hectic day, running around town trying to return materials from where I borrowed them. Everyone is slowly trickling back into the city and it's good to see everyone again. We will all be together starting Saturday night so it will be nice to hear everyone's stories.

A few interesting things have happened so far this week. On Sunday, there was a rabid dog running around and since then, it's been lying dead on our street. It's right by a school and no one has moved it yet. It's getting pretty gross. This just adds to my desire to leave, as does my experience two days ago. I was crossing the road and a boda driver was nice and stopped for me to cross because I had been standing there for a while. However, another boda driver wasn't so nice and drove around the stopped boda and ran over my left foot. Luckily, he stopped to yell at me so only one of the wheels went over my foot. No damage done-just a little bruising. It just added to my general feelings of misery regarding Kampala. Boy has this semester been long. There are so many things I am looking forward to, the first of which is finishing this dumb paper and the second of which is boarding that plane on Monday morning (May 12, not May 5-I wish). I'm kind of past the point caring how well I do on this project because I really don't think it will turn out well, but everyone seems to be in the same boat. Now we all know why the practicums we read at the beginning of the year were so bad-and ours will be comparable. Oh well. It was nice to get on the internet and do a bit of procrastination, but I should probably go back to work now. I am really looking forward to May 12-it couldn't come soon enough!

Finally

We finally had a night without rain, I think the first in a week and a half. It was fantastic walking to the main road this morning without having to shake my feet around to get the clumps of mud off of them. I also managed to catch taxis fairly quickly and got to work within 45 minutes or so. Things just move more efficiently when it isn't raining.

I have a few more days of work (hopefully with some interviews) and then I write my paper next week and then the last week we just have presentations and preparations for going back to the U.S. I have a lot of work to do before then. Other than working from 8:30 to 5:00, not much else is going on.