post-Uganda (finally)

A month - technically five weeks - yields quite a bit of time for pondering and reflection; yet, as I've recently learned, I don't spend enough time doing these important activities. But could five weeks of reflection have granted me much more insight into the two weeks spent in Mukono? As I described to a few friends, I strangely felt little emotion during the trip - each day I simply woke, ate, lived through the day, recorded its events in the evenings, and retired relatively early. Will time spent reflecting evoke emotions that were conspicuously absent a month ago?

Yet I write, hoping that in writing I - and perhaps you - will at the very least gain a better understanding of the events in Uganda five and six weeks ago.

I'm not sure if you'd call it culture shock, but my entire time in Uganda was spent in a strange fog. I observed others in our group reacting – sometimes very strongly – to the events around them and wondered why I was not moved by compassion or anger or wonder. I can only assume that the incredible amount of new experiences overwhelmed me and my mind naturally assumed a defensive, protective position. Hopefully in future travels my mind will emerge out of this state more quickly.

Despite the cloud over my mind, I retained my five senses and my ability to write. As each day passed, I would take in as much as possible for recording later: vibrantly green jungles; the earthy but sharp taste of matooke; odors of sewage and trash in the streets; cool sanitizer on my hands after a visit to the latrine; staccato car horns in Kampala that created a strange music with their variation in pitch and frequency. Every sight, sound, smell, noise, touch was unfamiliar – and thus brought with it a new adventure that augmented my learning experience.

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to be continued… for now, enjoy a few of my favorite photos from my time in Uganda. You can see the rest at http://picasaweb.google.com/alaynair/Uganda.

Bujuugali Falls near Lake Victoria

at the top of Monkey Hill looking over Mukono

pretty flowers

I think this little one's name was Joy

bean stew curry and chapati at the Crane Paradise Hotel