Blog Number The Last: In Love In Uganda I knew my life would change, but I never quite knew how. This is my last blog post, but I still have at least 2 more months here. So now it’s time for nostalgia. All of the nostalgia. I remember the conversations I had during the semester before I left. “Sam, I am scared. Like, really scared.I don’t want to leave you guys. I have seriously been thinking about just staying,” I…
Greetings I bring from Northern Uganda. It has been a while since I posted, and so much has happened that I honestly don’t even know where I would start. So instead, I am going to give you a new playlist. Here in Acholiland, we find any reason to party. Hey, it’s Monday night? Let’s go to BJz. But really, people here know how to have a good time. And the music is amazing. Maybe not for all of you hipsters…
My Excursion: Leaving Home Again and Reculture Shock This past week, we had a group excursion to Kitgum, Uganda. Kitgum is a district in Northern Uganda that was particularly hard hit by the conflict with the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). It was also the site for many IDP (internally displaced person) camps. One reason that it was so affected by the conflict is its very rural setting. The majority of my time is being spent in Gulu town, the second…
Home Away from Home My home stay family calls me Laker (Lah-kay). The first day that I was with them, my mommy sat me down and told me she was going to give me a new name. Most people in Gulu have a name that follows the same pattern: traditional name-Christian name-family name. The traditional names all have meanings. For example, one of my host sister’s names is Aber (Ah-bay), which means beautiful. For me, Laker means “coming from a…
All the Feels of Being Far and Away My first week in Uganda was the biggest roller-coaster ride of my life, both emotionally and physically. I had never left the United States, and for some reason I decided that going to Uganda for my first outing would be a good idea. On January 31st, I left on a plane to meet the other students participating in the SIT Uganda/Rwanda Post-Conflict Transformation program. Pictures and words will do no justice to…