Life after Uganda: What USP taught me

One month ago, I stepped off of a plane into the unfamiliar familiar land of America after living in Uganda for three months.  I left Uganda hopelessly heartbroken and incredibly weary as to what to do next.  While I am the biggest work in progress alive, I (slowly but surely) have been finding restoration and have gained a greater sense of who I am as well as who I would like to become.  It can be extremely difficult trying to reintegrate back into “normal” life after living a completely different type of normal for an extended period of time.  Here’s a little update on my life outside of Uganda:

It was only a few days into my reintegration process that I was able to land a part-time job at fast-food restaurant.  Please do not ask me how it happened because I still do not know how I was able to get a job after only a few days back in the states.  I was instantly thrown into a situation that felt like it was way over my head, but remained surprisingly calm about it all.  Do not get me wrong.  There were definitely days that I regretted jumping into a job before finishing up my internship hours because it was a lot of responsibility to handle all at one time, but I was much cooler in the workplace than I believe my pre-Ugandan self would have been.  And I owe this amazing sense of adaptability to my time in USP.

My former supervisor is the cutest!

Over the course of my semester in Uganda, I was dropped off at two “strange” families with no information about the living situation (i.e. – type of house, family members, etc.).  I worked at a practicum site that constantly kept me on my feet - within the first two hours of my very first day at work, I was taken to the home of a mother who wanted to be enrolled into the program and asked to fill out an enrollment form having never seen the enrollment process or speaking Luganda to talk one-one-one with the caregiver.  I have woken up to a swarm of flying insects in my dorm only to wonder if we were experiencing another Exodus.  I had many awkward interactions with Ugandans that required me to think on my feet and be okay staying true to me.  

As a new employee, I have lost count of the number of times I have been told what I was doing wrong.  Instead of taking it personal, I subconsciously approached the situation much like I would when I was in Uganda:  as a learner.  I had a lot to learn about what it means to be a “fast-food employee” and there was nothing wrong with making a few mistakes along the way.  I automatically found myself trying to assess my new work environment and look for the key values that were influential to our work.  This behavior had become so natural to me that it was not until I started questioning myself that I realized how influential my learning in Uganda had been on shaping my behavior. 

I by no means am a cultural expert.  I would not even say that I am a completely different person from the person who entered Uganda four months ago; therefore, I never realized how much of an impact my semester abroad would have on my everyday life until I was back in its context.  It was the small changes that occurred within my heart that subtly transformed my way of being and thinking.  There are so many ways in which my time in the USP has been fundamentally transformative on my life and I will continue to make these discoveries throughout my entire life.  This first month of living in America is only the beginning.  More than anything, I am incredibly thankful that I was chosen to spend my last semester in such a beautiful place that challenged every fiber of my being.  

It has been an honor to share some of my experiences and stories with you along this unexpected journey called life.  Who knows…one day I may invite you to join me, once again, on more “adventures.”

xoxo,

Emilia

My trip was made more financially affordable thanks to the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program)!