Joyful/Discomfort

I refer to my time in Gulu as joyful discomfort. Many things about life in Uganda suck: cold showers, creatures under my bed, bunk beds, and communal living. Also, getting carsick within 15 minutes of a six-hour car ride sucks, the ridiculously slow service and being constantly dirty sucks. And this year will open up a whole new wealth of uneasiness and irritation. During my first week in Gulu I will be living at the main house in the city center, where I will inevitably be spoiled with electricity (for the most part), running water (for the most part), decent food, access to the internet, and well… bars. But after that first week all those beautiful wonderful resources will disappear and I’ll be moving to an IDP camp about two hours outside of the city. The camp offers no electricity (that is right- NO ELECTRICITY), no running water, and no resources of any kind. It will just be myself and two other female teachers. So… let the discomfort begin ☺. With all the potential discomforts I still find traveling to Gulu to be an incredibly joyful experience. I find joy in the small things, things that would be overlooked in the states, big beers on a hot humid African night, impromptu dance parties, the serenity of relaxing under a mango tree, and friendly warm smiles. But most off all having the ability and opportunity to have conversations with like-minded educators (both Acholi and American) is a one of the greatest joys. It takes a certain type of person to give up their summer to work in a developing country. Although many of the people I have met in Uganda (both last year and this year) come from very diverse backgrounds there continues to be one constant- we all genuinely believe in education as a catalyst for change. We believe in what we do. This summer I will cry, get frustrated, annoyed, sick, lonely, bored, sad, and want to go home but all those emotions and feelings combined will pale in comparison to the amount of joy I will find.