After a six hour drive from Kampala, we arrived in the small village of Busowle, in the district of Butaleja. The ride over was full of scenery that one would imagine when conjuring images of ‘Africa’. It was flat mostly, with majestic clouds and lush greens. Many people walk along the highways, and it was also a common sight to see people sharing a bike as a means of transport. Passing by the strips of villages and cluster of huts really challenged the way I value money and ‘riches’. Many of those people would be ‘rich’ by their own terms: they have food, and they are healthy. They live in a beautiful land, with a rich culture, and tight families. We are brought up to believe that money is the ultimate satisfaction. Here, they value God, family, and self. They are a proud people, engaged in local community building for self development sake, rather than for competition or global power. It’s such a friendly and inviting environment to immerse into.
I realize that my being able to ‘integrate’ into the community is very shallow. In reality, I will not be ‘integrated’ in a mere three month’s time. On the way here, we were often confronted by stares, calls of ‘mzungu’, and beggars, all who were unfamiliar with who we were, where we come from, and why we were here. All they saw was our skin colour, which was ‘white’ to them regardless of our personal backgrounds. They associate white skin colour with money, and that was who we were. We can’t expect locals to see us any other way. What we can expect, and have already felt much of, is respect and guidance from our host families who have gone out of their way to make sure we are settled in and have this opportunity to engage with locals. It will be an experience of sharing of knowledge, and we should focus on that rather than to ‘make our mark’. It is not about ourselves. I believe that will be the greatest affront to our learning experience here, since we’ve been brought up to be so much more self- centered than people are here.
The three girls, Hannali, Stephanie, and myself, reside in a separate house on a homestead property owned by the grandfather of the UBC contact in Uganda. We each have a room to ourselves, and a Western bathroom, as well as access to electricity. This has all been much too generous, and we graciously accept their hospitality with thanks. In my heart I feel like we are cheating this ‘African’ experience, because we have so much luxury compared to those around me. I know when I am back in Vancouver this will have been a major factor to how my perception of wealth and well- being is defined as. Still, it is very comforting to have the privacy and space to reflect as I am now, and to retreat from the constant learning that we are doing in our placement.