An Unexpected Journey

Over the past three months, I finished my Peace Corps service in Uganda, moved back to America, and shortly after left America to move to Bolivia.  It has been a such a whirlwind; all of these transitions have led me to explore how we understand time.  While I am in the process of writing about my time in Bolivia, please enjoy some of my mind's more creative endeavors to break down the concept of time. When is Life...? Time travel                              is not theoretical. We do it                              every waking moment. Turn around                       ...

Last October, I was going through some of my old documents, photos, and videos from high school.   It was incredibly nostalgic (and extremely embarrassing) to see my world as a teenager.   While reminiscing my teen years, I found a bucket list in which I had started to write out 100 things I would like to do before I die, but I hadn’t quite finished.   My teenage mind had conjured some basic and interesting goals, but I was surprised to see that I had wrote “join the Peace Corps” somewhere amongst them because I don’t ever remember being interested in joining Peace Corps until three years ago after my semester abroad.   But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe it shouldn’t have shocked me…because maybe there are some things in life we find our way back to even when the original idea leave our conscious minds. I don’t think that my teenage self would have ever predicted that I would make it this far.   These last few months in Uganda...

I have a secret: one of my goals during my Peace Corps journey was to become fluent in the local language of my region, Acholi.   Actually…that’s not so much of a secret.   My guess is that this same desire is the hope of many PCVs worldwide.   When we speak in the local language, we connect with our community in a new way.   Community members are both entertained and touched that a foreigner would take the time to learn their language and make an effort to use it.   And we are placed with a host family as we undergo weeks of language torture training to help prepare us for community life.   I really enjoyed my homestay experience.   Once again, I was placed in a family headed only by a woman; I have never had, or met, a Ugandan host father!   It’s crazy to think that all three of my Ugandan host families, all from very different parts of the country, have been similar in this way, but I am grateful because it allowed me to be more comforta...

I have been doing a lot of self-reflection on our emotions.   Instead of trying to coherently dissect all of my thoughts on this topic, I will let my poetry speak for itself.   Before I share, I feel like I need some type of disclaimer.   I don’t actually believe that I’m a poet; rather, I see myself as merely someone in conversation with the voice of creativity and these are the results of our dialogue.   The motivation between writing these two poems came from two different places, but I will let you decide how they speak to you.   Emotions I Why do you tell me, Do not be so sad? Does it make me weak, An apple gone bad? The pain is of me, Which must make me mad. Can I not be both, Happy and, too, sad? Why do you tell me, Do not be afraid? I know that this fear, Can make me a slave. But sometimes it shouts, Till it fades away. Can I not be both, Happy and afraid? Why do you tell me, Do not be angry? Maybe i...

I have had some of the best work partners during my time in Uganda.   While an intern, I worked with an amazing woman who fiercely advocated for her clients and truly cared for her work.   As an administrator at an international school, I worked with a sassy, vivacious woman who was almost always making me laugh.   And, for most of my Peace Corps service, I have been paired with one of the most hardworking, perseverant women in the social services field.   Her name is Akello Lillian and she has, more or less, been vital to my current success as a Peace Corps volunteer.   Although we do not work so closely together anymore, she was my assigned counterpart and has been there for me since I was a Peace Corps baby.   Lillian amazes me.   Life is tough, but she does not let it knock her down without getting back up.   We got along well from the start because she was always inviting me to go into the field with her even though I really didn’t add ...

I would like to invite you to join me in a conversation.   It may not be an easy topic to discuss and it is only one of many problems that we have in society today, but I still would like to invite you to join me.   Your role right now is to listen.   And if you need some guidance as to how to prepare to listen, please first check out my post titled “Shut up and listen (please)”.   For as long as I can remember, I have heard people say that a girl needs her father to show her how a man loves a woman.   When she doesn’t have a fatherly example of love, she will grow up seeking it in other men…men who are similar to her father.   If her father was absent or abusive, then she will likely end up with someone who has those same character traits.   So she becomes stuck in a cycle of moving from bad man to bad man.   It’s an interesting theory and I know that I can’t be the only one who has heard it.   Maybe there is evidence-based research to...