How is it already Christmas?! Wow! We kicked off the season with a trip to the Friday craft market up by the national mosque. This has been by far the best place to get authentic gifts at the best prices because you are working directly with the seller. It was fun to chat it up with the vendors and explore all the beautiful stalls and pieces of art. Let's just say I barely had a hand free enough to hold onto the boda-boda by the time I left there!
EMI breaks for a few weeks around Christmas which was a much needed rest after a very draining past few weeks. Between the final push trying to get a new project design out, saying bye to all the interns, fellows, and staff moving on from EMI-Uganda, and the last minute holiday preparations, it was a lot.
I spent the first week of the break mostly resting and making the most of some much needed quiet time, but also started an online course in GIS and mapping. GIS was my favorite course in college and it just continues to grow in applicability and usefulness. There are so many markets and organizations (like EMI) that could benefit from GIS.
After that I went into town to spend some time with a few of the expat families who welcomed me into their homes with wide open arms. I got to stay with a family originally from Texas and spent time bouncing on the trampoline with their four little ones and making Christmas cookies while dancing around the kitchen. We watched Christmas movies and stayed up late in great conversation once the kids went to bed.
From there I headed over to my mentors house. Two of their kids attend Rift Valley Academy in Kenya so I finally got to meet them for the first time over break after hearing about them all term. We had some intense ping-pong matches, swayed on the slack-line, and had an epic game of capture the flag (boys vs. girls) and on Christmas we went to church, opened presents, shared some great meals and just really enjoyed each others company.
I truly have been blessed by so much wonderful hospitality in my time here and it really made Christmas special to get to spend it with these families.
Christmas was definitely different this year but it felt very genuinely and naturally joyful as we celebrated. It was nice that the in-your-face advertising pressuring you to "get the perfect holiday gift" was nonexistent and that the excitement around the season was not fabricated by over-the-top holiday displays and the commercialization of the holiday that I see in the US. There were very few Christmas lights, only a handful of Christmas trees, and very clear roads in the city (as most Ugandans travel back to their family villages out around the country during the holidays).
コメント