Goodbye

I’ve never been good at saying goodbyes, but somehow this was much easier than I thought. Or maybe I just haven’t fully comprehended it yet.

It was pouring when I woke up Friday morning. I had planned to go to the market to get last-minute gifts and souvenirs, but the rain throws a wrench in any traveling plans. Nobody wants to travel in the rain, especially boda bodas. Kristi joked, “Uganda is crying because we’re leaving.”

Instagram Story

But I cried, too. That morning, I was sent Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me.” It was 10am and the lyrics caught me off guard because part of me wanted to stay. But my family’s constant questioning of “When are you taking us here?” gives me hope that I will be back.

When it finally stopped raining, Kristi and I went to Oasis Mall to use all our Ugandan shillings. I found birthday presents and banana chips for the plane ride.

After stuffing everything in my suitcase and checking out, we had a follow-up team meeting. Earlier in the week, Joe, Edgar, Peace, and I had a conversation about team dynamics after we leave. Don’t get me wrong, Peace and Edgar are both intelligent, hard-working, and kind individuals. Both of them are a joy to work with, but they were never given the time or opportunity to get to know each other before being thrown into a team with me and Joe. I’ve had the blessing of working one-on-one with each person and thus had time to understand each one’s work style and personality quirks, but not everyone on the team has had this privilege. We (Peace and Edgar. Joe and I just sat and listened) talked through a lot of misunderstandings and tension that built up in the past six weeks, and I’m really glad and relieved that we’re leaving them in a much better position to work together for the next few months. I’m really glad Joe and I got to know each other before we headed into the field. But we’re a great team.

Teamwork

We also had our last local food meal for lunch with John Henry. All the past GSBFellows raved about John Henry, but he turned out to be quite a different person than what they said. I guess friends and colleagues are very different things. I wonder if they’re mutually exclusive? Or can one relationship help (or hinder?) the other?

Drive to the airport: this is why you don’t try to drive in Kampala. It took us an hour to drive 1 kilometer. Don’t ask me how this is possible. I don’t know. It wasn’t even funny how awful the traffic was. I guess I never realized this because Joe and I always had the privilege of commuting via boda. I’m glad I didn’t experience the bizarre traffic jam until my last day in Uganda.

I said goodbye to one of my favourite Ugandans at the airport, and I was surprised I didn’t cry. Maybe because there were a lot of other people around. Or maybe I had been preparing myself for this all week.

We laid over in Amsterdam. I sat on the wrong side of the airplane so I missed the sunrise, but as the plane touched down, the organization of the land surprised me. Suburbs were neatly fitted on grids and fields used for agriculture were uniform and rectangular (in its strictest meaning). Yes, I’ve been living in chaos for seven weeks. No street in Kampala is straight, and I still have a hard time figuring out where I am in the city.

And guess what I found at the airport! While we were still in Uganda, Sammi asked us what the first thing we would do when we get home was. I said shower and unpack, but I know that’s not what she meant, so I changed my answer to play piano. There was a baby grand sitting in the middle of one of the lounge areas, and I couldn’t help myself. Yikes I hadn’t played for seven weeks and my fingers are quite out of shape. But at least I didn’t have to wait until getting home to make music again.

#SchipholPiano 

Well I’m home now! It feels like a dream, but maybe because I’m super sleepy. I can’t believe it’s been seven crazy weeks in Uganda; I’ve learned and experienced so much. Field work is officially finished, and now there's analysis and writing up deliverables (and reflection and discernment!). I'm not sure how often I'll be posting from now until November, but I'll keep you posted. Thank you for following my Uganda adventures. It's been an honour.

Until Next Time