What I will/won't miss when we leave Uganda
on Volunteers Abroad (Uganda), 07/Mar/2009 05:53, 34 days ago
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I read/heard from a few people who claim the 18 month mark in a 2 year volunteer placement is significant to many volunteers/partners. We’ll be at that mark in about 3 weeks. At this point I believe one becomes a ‘short-timer’. Volunteers will assess how much they’ve accomplished and have yet to accomplish.For me, being a short-timer makes any wee twinges of homesickness relatively painless. It also makes me look around Uganda more closely and think about what I’ll miss.What I will miss in Uganda:~Many people on the BSPTC campus~A few locals and the former principal~Some fellow volunteers~The Ugandan people in general as they are so very friendly and helpful~The climate!!!!!!!!~The pineapples and avocados~The matoke and posho and kabaragara~Fried goat (and chips) washed down with a cold Club~The delighted reactions of Ugandans when I speak to them in Runyankole~The beaming faces of the young kids shouting and waving at us as we drive/walk past~The national parks and going on safari~The cute geckos~Our 4WD car that can get through ANYTHING~Lush green scenery, lovely landscape, miles and miles of banana treesWhat I won’t miss:~Agonizingly slow internet~The mosquitoes!!!~All the spiders!~The useless task of sweeping dirt off the floors only to be dirty soon after~Unreliable electricity and water~Cold showers– not having hot running water~The inconvenience of having to use a mozzie net on beds~Hand washing the laundry~SG (don’t ask!)~The potholed roads and bad drivers~The lack of variety of food in the grocery stores~All the electrical and other stuff that doesn’t work!!~Having to use boiled/bottled waterWhat I’m looking forward to at home in Scotland:~Seeing friends and Danny’s family~Our house, the location and the view!!!!~Having breakfast in bed in our lovely blue bedroom with the view over the loch~Wholegrain sunflower bread from our breadmaker~My washer and drier!~Big screen tv and Sky satellite~Bacon rolls, scones, haddock and chips~Proper fresh biscuits—Hob Nobs!~Being able to drive~Tesco!~High speed internet!!~Rubbish pickup
