Saturday, November 8, 2008

It's 77 degrees, and I'm cold.

Strange how your body will adjust... Speaking of adjustments- I went to bed two nights ago thinking to myself that I had really started to get the hang of it here. I'm managing my money better, I'm cooking healthy meals, and I'm staying in touch with everyone I love. I woke up the next morning to a bunch of giant ants/mosquitos/unidentifiable creatures in my bedroom and my stove still firing away from dinner the night before. Yea... I'm pretty sure I won't have the hang of this for a while... Hopefully, I will learn to turn off things that could burn down my house, though.
I've been thinking about pride a lot since I've gotten to Africa, and I know it has a lot to do with the St. Francis class I took at CUA during my last semester there. Fr. Armstrong taught me so much about Francis and the lengths he would go to to humble himself for God. Francis saw that Jesus suffered so much for us, and in considering God's great humility and God's great mercy, he saw just how prideful and wretched he was. This happens to me a lot here. I consider God's majesty everyday just by seeing the sky or the hills around the school, and I'm overwhelmed. It's so humbling to see what incredible things God has given all of us and done for all of us, and it's a wonderful encouragement to do whatever I can to help his people here in Uganda.
The other volunteers here are making me so happy I chose to do the Peace Corps. The more I get to know all of them, the more I like them. I've always thought of myself as a good judge of character, but I'm learning that there are so many more layers to people than you can know by just looking at a snapshot of who they are. If it weren't for the volunteers here, then I definitely would not have made it through training. I am so grateful to all of them, and I'm so happy to know them because I know that back in the states I would have written many of them off and never have been friends with them or even given them a chance.
On Sunday, I'm going to visit another volunteer in my district after mass. I'm really excited to find some people I can relate to around here. The teachers and my neighbors are absolutely wonderful, and I know I'll become close friends with many of them, but having another volunteer who can sympathize with the daily frustrations would be invaluable.
The daily frustrations are interesting... I'm having trouble figuring out what I need to be direct about and what I need to chalk up to cultural differences. I think what I'm doing is addressing the things that continually make me uncomfortable, but letting a lot of things go, too. I'm laughing at myself way more than I ever have, and that's one of the greatest gifts I can receive from this experience. If I couldn't laugh at myself, then I could never last.
I'm really happy here, and I feel like a lot of my life has led me to this point. I'm seeing many past experiences as steps on a ladder to lead me here. Praise God for giving me this beautiful place.
I love you all and miss you so much.
Prayers & Blessings from Masindi,
Tori