I'm thinking "BuzzFeed Editor" would be a good fallback career if we run out of public and health in the world, so here is a summary of my summer in listicle form. Also CAN'T WAIT TO REUNITE WITH YOU ALL SO SOON!
2. Peeing in a whole in the ground is something you can get used to. It's not really pleasant, but it gets the job done. I only had to use a latrine on days that we worked in the field, so I can't pretend to have had an authentic village experience. At night, I got a hot shower and a flushing toilet. So really we should all just appreciate indoor plumbing.
3. On long layovers, you can totally leave the airport and get a bonus vacation! We did this in Amsterdam because we had 6 hours between flights so I'm pretty much an expert. We saw the outside of the Ann Frank house, ate frites, walked around the museum quarter, and wished we were as adorable as all the Dutch bikers.
4. Knowing other languages is really cool. So I guess I am not that cool. Everyone I met in Uganda speaks like 5 languages and I could barely remember any words in Runyankore. I did meet a Burundian man, though, and exchanged like 2 sentences of French with him!!
5. Sexism. I just learned about sexism. Obvi I have seen this my whole life but it was different to observe as a foreigner. My first day working in the field, one of the health workers we partner with invited me to spend the night with him and it became pretty regular for men to ask if I was single or tell me they wanted an American wife, which is awkward. But the real sad thing was hearing from women about sexual abuse and domestic violence and just the general experience of being expected to garden, cook, clean, raise babies, make money, etc. sometimes with no help. And then it was sad to hear men talk about how they were expected to pay for everything but if you're poor you just feel disported and become an alcoholic and OK clearly not everyone does this but just for real why can't we all just work together and not force people to live and work and be a certain way just because of their sex??
6. Electricity is dangerous. My laptop charger taught me this lesson when it exploded and nearly took my head with it. Which reminds me that I need to check amazon for a new one...
7. I talk really loud and might be hearing impaired. Or Ugandans are just really soft spoken? I don't know if it's a consequence of having lots of cousins or something but I have discovered that I shout when people don't understand or acknowledge me speaking and it's super annoying and why do I have any friends? But then also I can never hear anything the first time so probably you should be nice to me I might be deaf.
8. I always thought I was kind of low-maintenance, but it turns out I am super spoiled. I really struggled with the unreliable electricity and internet connection in Mbarara. One time I spent a whole work day reading Mockingjay and waiting for the power to come back on so I could use my laptop that can't hold a battery charge, and it was the worst thing ever. Also I'm bad at flies. I just don't like them, especially when I'm eating, and one time I even skipped lunch because I couldn't handle the flies in the village which is super weird for me because I LOVE eating.
9. At airports it really is important to get there early for your flight. And then once you are there, you should probably stay close to your gate so they don't close it while you are on the other side of the terminal being an idiot. I learned this lesson in Miami, but it all turned out OK because I got on a new flight and Marco Rubio was there which is basically a celebrity siting and I made friends by having a tide-to-go in my purse.
10.I really like travelling, but it is so great coming home. I am already planning my future trips: Paris to see Rachael, Poland to see the Pope, Uganda again to see my frands. But I definitely realized that I can never live anywhere but Michigan, at least not long term. I just missed everything too much!
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