Category: Personal

Categories
Personal Self Discovery

safe in London, riots and all

What an amazing day. Started out early, got a delicious house brew coffee from Pre a Manger, walked over the London Bridge, coffee in hand. It was refreshing to walk alongside all the Londoners on their morning commute. Some rode bcycles, many more walked. Caught a bus down to Trafalgar Square. Was a bit lost, so I went into a travel information center where an extremely friendly guy helped me print out the voucher ticket for the bus tour—he kept joking about how I should just work there because I’m so attractive… that was a rather flattering way to start off my day.

Hopped on the Original Bus Tour and went all over the city and Westminister. The bus took us to all the main destinations, describing the history of the city. It was extremely relaxing and enjoyable to just immerse in the history of the city… it was so awesome, to think that people have lived in those very streets for thousands of years. I got off on Oxford street and did some shopping, then met Lisa at Topshop.

Shopping on Oxford street was so nice. I thought that I should’ve kept going with the tour, but I really just wanted time to myself, to be flexible. So I shopped, and it was really fun to walk alongside (extremely fashionable) Londoners and browse through the stores. I got myself a really cute necklace, extremely comfortable and classy summer sandals, and a fun dress. I was seriously debating buying a dress from Topshop because they are such great quality and look so unique… I may do that on the last day. Finally, Lisa and I walked over to the British Museum and browse around for the last 20 minutes they were open. We planned to do a River Thames ride, but we saw headlines on the news, ‘Stay at home, Police recommend’, so we decided not to. Which was a bummer because my Thames ride was included in my Bus tour ticket. Instead, we found a restaurant near the underground station that was in the middle of both of our accommodation stops.

The restaurant was extremely fancy. The whole street was really fancy, actually. All the couture names were there, and we walked up the quiet street in awe of the fashion and sophistication. It was really exciting to see all these famous couture houses, and see how contemporary fashion (i.e. Oxford street) had adapted from it. When we finally found the restaurant, we realized it was a lot fancier than we planned for, but we went for it anyway. The duck I had was delish, and I tried pavlova for the first time… and fell in love with it. It was really luxurious to be served so well, and it was a well- deserved treat for myself.

Lisa and I had an amazing dinner conversation. It was so nice to be able to relate to someone who had been in Africa for the past little bit too. It was really a huge relief to get some of the things I’ve been thinking about, out and discussed.

Booked it home because I didn’t want to get caught in the dark. It was 8pm and it wasn’t even dark, though, so that’s a big difference from Uganda, where it got dark by 6pm. In my bed, reflecting over the day and looking at my new purchases with fondness.

Tomorrow I will be my “culture day”. I plan on visiting the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, and the British Museum.

 

Categories
Personal

Kampala nightlife

Last night Hannali and I were escorted by two guys we knew to the ‘uptown’ club scene. They have similar districts like our Granville St., or our Yaletown area… but with a sketchy twist. It still kind of felt like we were just driving into a cheap parking lot, where the club stood. In the day time it’s probably not that impressive. Anyhow, the music was really good– there was a good mix of music from East Africa, and it was really fun to dance to all the different beats. People just love to dance here, and they do know how to treat the women well. Around midnight, we hopped to another club, which was considered more expensive (the cover was almost as much as those in Vancouver!)… but of course there weren’t any women around, only rich Ugandan men. As soon as H and I hit the dance floor, the whole place was dancing, so that was flattering in some ways.

Around 2am, we took a break from dancing, which was when things started to go sour. The guy that I was with got really clingy and kept professing his love for me, going on about destiny and fate…. I did not take him seriously, told him he was a stranger to me. Which was horrible timing, because then a song came on that sang, “I fell in love with a stranger tonight”. After that I just pushed him away and kept waiting for them to take us home. He made a lot of lofty promises, how he will be there for my graduation, how he will treat me like a lady, etc etc. In my tipsy state, I got really annoyed, and just started to ignore him.

Got home, hit the bed. Men were indignant and upset that they didn’t flatter us. Honestly, Ugandan men think that they are supposed to convince you to like them, as if they are trying to prove something. Flirting with them is impossible; they are so cheesy.

Slept for most of the morning, am back in a coffee shop reflecting on this amusing experience.

Watching Harry Potter tonight, finally!

Categories
Academic Personal

The world turns

YouTube Preview Image

Hold structure,
don’t let life pass,
let yourself be free.
Cause your much more

——–

Last night as I was packing I felt waves of anxiety overcome the bubble of excitement that I’ve been living in for the past few weeks. Suddenly, it really, really, hit me: that I’ll be going away to another country that will have different norms and will be worlds and worlds away from home. Even though I’ll only be away for three months, the anxiety is still there. I’ve never travelled away from home myself. It’s a new experience, something full of personal challenges I may have to face on my own. I wonder, if I am feeling this anxiety, if that means I am learning already. In all our pre-departure sessions we learned to identify confused and uncomfortable moments as opportunities for learning. I know it won’t be easy. With each day drawing closer, I am more and more tentative, but this is normal, and I do know I need to take this step out before I can make any sense of where I am going with my degree.

I don’t know if there are other students who have experienced their education as I have… regarding it as a ‘responsibility’, imposed onto me by parents, cultural norms, or simply something that I pegged for myself since I was 6 years old because that was the expected goal for every good child. I am an avid learner and I love every moment I am a student. But, I can’t help but wonder if my experience as a student has been shallow up until this point. I haven’t felt many ‘aha’ moments in my years as a student. Have I even been following my heart? I don’t know who I am in that respect, yet. I really, sincerely, pray that my experience will be full of learning. About myself, at least.

I crave that discomfort that pushes me out of my comfort zone. I crave wisdom from those who have learned and felt from experience. I look forward to my conversations with students in Africa, because I am so sure they must learn differently from us. Not to create an ‘us versus them’ dichotomy, we are so careful to identify this now, but to really accept that cultures influence how education is delivered and shapes students. Most of all, I look forward to being away from home, and friends, and comfortable spaces… I anticipate the moments when I will be with myself, and the advice I give/take will really be my own, uninfluenced by the ideas and expectations that I may have habituated to.

I am so nervous. I found myself packing enough to last me for months and months on end and it shocks me how little I need. I am so, so, so sheltered. I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. It’s allowed me to comfortably and safely learned the textbook material that has led me to this point where I will step out beyond the boundaries of B.C. which have defined how I’ve lived as a Vancouverite and a student… I want to be a global citizen, and not just on paper. I think I am nervous because I have no idea where this will lead me, so I am tentative. But, I am willing to take on any challenge. I have made a big deal out of this trip. It is a big deal. I will come home and read this and be able to compare. Perhaps I won’t change much. I hope that is not the case.

I want to let go and proclaim to the world, ‘I’m ready! Take me on! I will be your modelglobal citizen!’, but that would be naive, and reckless, and incredibly self centered of me. So I will keep the sentiment in heart and be as confident as I can possibly be, in who I am not what I know, and be respectful to all those I meet and work with in Africa so I can really learn and keep note of where I stand in this world.

——–

Words are words are words

Spam prevention powered by Akismet