My Final Post (From Uganda)

I have officially moved out of my house in Budaka, and today is my last day in Uganda! Last week was crazy and a little surreal as I started to pack up. I took my photos off of my walls - most went down the latrine, but I gave some away to my neighbors - which made my house feel so empty. I also gave away a lot of my stuff like pots, pans, silverware, bowls, cloths, suitcase, spare sheets, etc. My house felt like it did when I first moved in - bare and creepy.

On my last day in Budaka, Sauya made me a huge feast for my lunch. I got chicken, rice, potatoes, greens, beans and fried cassava. She kept saying, "This is the last time you will eat Irish (potatoes). This is the last time you will eat greens." I kept telling her that we actually have these foods in the US, but I don't think she believed me. I could only eat a 1/4 of all the food because there was so much. Eva kept demanding that I finish my food because I was leaving the next day - as if I wouldn't be getting fed in Kampala. After lunch, I met Ryan and Caroline at Wilta. Wilta was our spot these past two years. It's where we stayed when we had Language Immersion during training, and it became our lunch spot on Wednesdays - dubbed Wilta Wednesday or WW. Since I was stuffed from my feast, I didn't get to order one last plate of rice and beans, but we all enjoyed one last cold beer together.

Leaving Budaka was harder than I thought it would be. I actually cried. If you know me, then you know I am stone wall and hardly ever cry. I was caught a little off guard when I started. Sauya and Eva came over my last night to pick up more things from my house (they went a little crazy!). Eva left to go take some of the stuff back to their house, and Sauya stayed behind. She started to cry and tell me how much she was going to miss me. She said that I had done so much for the school and for her family, and she didn't know how to thank me. So, I started crying too.

At 5:45 the morning I left, Eva came to my house and pounded on my door. Obviously, I was still sleeping. I groggily opened the door to see what she wanted. She asked me, "Were you sleeping?"

"Uh yeah, it's not even 6 yet."

"But you are leaving at 8, you need to get ready!"

"It doesn't take me two hours to get ready! I was going to wake up at 7."

"Ah! No. You need to eat, take tea, bathe and get dressed."

"Eva, I'm not Ugandan - I can do that quickly."

"Eh! Ok. Mom has sent me to pick the fan. She doesn't want people to see us take it, so I have come."

Oh Uganda! I will enjoy not being woken up early in the morning or late at night. I don't understand why she wanted to take the fan in the early morning because people will obviously see it in her house even if they didn't see her take it. Oh well.

As I was leaving, the teachers all stood outside of my house to say goodbye to me. We took some photos, and then I went down the line to hug everyone goodbye. I said bye to Eva last and she started crying and saying, "Promise me you will come back." Of course I then started tearing up. Thankfully I wore sunglasses so no one would see. (Ugandans rarely cry, so I didn't want to make them all uncomfortable!). I got in the car and we started to drive away, but then we just drove to Sister Goretti's office (like 100 meters away). All the teachers joined together once again, and Sister Goretti told me to get out of the car because the teachers had "prepared something." I got out of the car, and all the teachers proceeded to give a little speech. Then they presented me with a goodbye gift - which was this wooden carving of Uganda and it had all the districts carved into it. Really sweet.

Sister Goretti arranged the convent car to take me to Kampala, which was awesome. Brother Prosper (headmaster at Namengo boys) drove, Sister Goretti escorted us and we picked up Maggie along the way. Amazing how much faster it is to travel to Kampala in a private car. Not to mention, more comfortable. I thought that I was going to have to pay for fuel, but it turned out that Sister Goretti covered the whole cost. I felt bad, so Maggie and I gave her and Brother Prosper money so they could go to lunch.

Maggie and I have been in Kampala for the last few days doing paperwork and checking out with medical. The dentist was the worst experience of my life, and that seems to be the consensus among volunteers. It should have been a red flag when the dental hygienist told me to raise my hand if I felt pain. I wanted to hold my hand up the whole time!! She made me bleed, but she said that's because I need to floss more. Uh ok. I think everyone would bleed if they got a sharp object jammed into their gums. I'm so glad I'll never have to return to that dentist office. Today we officially signed out and became RPCVs (returned peace corps volunteers). Woo! We did it :). (On the way back to our hotel Maggie said, "Hey, this means we can change our status on Facebook" - oh the important things.)

My phone has been ringing like crazy because I think my number was given out to someone. There is no such thing as phone etiquette in Uganda, and Ugandans will call non-stop at all hours of the day. If you don't pick up, then they will keep calling at least two more times, sometimes up to 10 more times. Last week, a random number called me 8 times in a row (clearly not getting the hint that I didn't want to talk). I finally got a text message, "I wanna b yo fren'. Am Eric a 16 yr aged boy staying in budaka." Ya, ok Eric. Let's be best friends! A few days later, I kept getting a phone call from a new number. I finally picked up. This time, it was Michael, another 16 year old boy who wanted to be my friend. Great! Only one more day of endless phone calls.

I got blessed with a stalker my last week in Uganda, which was great. I decided to go to the Sheraton on Sunday to use the gym. While I was walking there a guy started to walk beside me and strike up a conversation with me. He said, "Hi there! Are you with British Airways? Are you a flight attendant?"

"Uh, no."

"Where are you going? How long have you been with us here in Uganda."

"The gym. Been here two years."

"Ehhhhh! Two years? Can I have your contact?"

"No, I'm leaving."

"Ok. Then you're Facebook? Just give me your first and last name."

"No."

"Ok, nice time."

After the gym, as I was walking back to my hotel, I saw him again. He tried talking to me, but I turned into a super market. I went back to my hotel, and guess who was eating in the restaurant downstairs. Same guy. Seriously? Two hours later, Maggie and I went to go get food and he was just standing on the road. He said, "Ah! Four times we have seen each other. This must mean something."

Maggie said, "Oh jeez."

I just responded, "Mmm."

He asked, "Where are you going."

"To get food."

"Where, I will meet you and we just have a chat."

"Around."

"Give me your contact and we can go out tonight."

"No, thanks! I leave tomorrow." (A lie, but I wanted him to go away).

"Ok. We will meet again. Every time I see you, you just get hotter."

Such a creeper. Thankfully, I haven't seen him again. If I did, then I had plans to inform someone. Maybe one day I will miss all of these requests from people wanting to be my friend. Probably not though...

I will be spending the next 9 days in Cape Town, and then it's home sweet home. Maggie and I have plans to hike Table Mountain, go on a wine tour, cage dive with the great whites, relax on the beach and eat ourselves sick. I'll be sure to write one last blog post with our adventures.

Below is a picture of the gift I got from the teachers at Namengo Girls: