And the journey continues

“To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took with him when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more.”  As you are probably more than aware, I love The Hobbit because it is a story so reflective of life.  In fact, much like Bilbo (my hobbit counterpart), I do not think that I will ever be able to comprehend what has happened in my life in 2015.

Let’s do a quick recap of the past eight months, shall we?  In January, I boarded a plane to take me to a random town in Uganda to live, study, and intern for four months.  It was one of the biggest risks I had taken in my life up to that point.  My biggest struggle was trying to answer the question:  Would I be able to do it?  One birthday, two home-stays, multiple pit latrines, one safari weekend, 360 practicum hours, one white ant plague, three trips to Kampala, a handful of embarrassing stories, several amazing friendships, and one terrorist threat later...and I can say that the quest was successful.  My time in Uganda had been cut short (see “Unfinished Endings”) and my heart was broken because I had to say goodbye to a place that had captured my heart, but I had answered the question that no longer seemed like such a challenging inquiry.

My re-entry process was quite rough; I was a complete hot mess.  How does one even begin to comprehend being forcibly removed from a place she loves for the sake of maintaining “safety”?  This question, unlike my previous query, is one that does not have a clear cut answer.  Six days after returning home, I had my first day at a new job in a fast food restaurant.  At the time, it felt like the stupidest decision because I still had to finish up coursework necessary for graduation and was trying to process all that had happened in the last three months, but this job proved to be the key in helping me reintegrate back into my “American” life.  Although it was by no means my favorite place to be, I am continually grateful for the opportunity given to me to work in such an environment that stretched and tested me.  It was through this seemingly small job that I was able to find healing and guidance for the future.

Though I was still sad about leaving Uganda (as I would have been regardless of the situation), I began looking more towards my future instead of dwelling on the could-have-been past.  I met with a recruiter and decided that my next step in life was to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Uganda left me with many questions and I was not yet ready to settle down into my field of work.  It seemed like the perfect path – I would get benefits towards paying back school debt, while gaining invaluable experience in working with a community.  Applying to be a volunteer in the Peace Corps is quite the process and can take months before actually knowing whether or not you have made the competitive cut of a simple interview.  I was up for the challenge, though, because it was exciting and would provide me with more opportunities to continue exploring all that I had learned in Uganda.

But something else happened.  Something, as you could say, unexpected.  I had finished my Peace Corps application and was anxiously waiting to hear their response when I instead received a completely different offer.  Someone I had met while in Uganda had a job open at her school that was a great match for me based on my background and asked me if I would be interested in filling it.  It seemed like a dream come true, but I had let go of the hope of returning to Uganda in this context and to have it back into reality so suddenly was unreal.  Now that the opportunity was right in front of me, did I really want it?  My mind was racked with questions, fears, excitements, and thanksgiving.  I debated with myself for days before fully committing to accepting the position as the administrator of an early childhood development center and questioned my decision to make such a bold move for the next month.  What had I gotten myself into?  Only time would tell. 

My first month in Uganda has definitely been an adventure, but probably not the same “African” adventure you may think it to be.  In fact, I have led quite an uninteresting life.  But it is through the mundane, everyday experiences in which I have found an adventure and within this adventure that I have discovered more about myself than I could have anticipated.  I know, I know.  I am being a bit vague about what has been going on in Uganda and maybe one day I will share it with you.  As for now, the sole purpose for resurrecting this blog is to reveal that beginnings can be found in the endings.  I had only ever originally traveled to Uganda as a student for one semester, but I am back as an administrator for the next two years.  If this is only the beginning, I cannot begin to fathom all of the steps I will take along the way. 

As Bilbo would say, “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

xoxo,

Emilia

I was able to spend a semester in Uganda last spring thanks to the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program)!