As of when I first started writing this blog post, I have exactly 17 days, 1 hour, and 33 minutes until my flight from Uganda to the US takes off. I want to be clear that I don’t have this countdown because I can’t wait to leave Uganda; in fact, it’s almost the opposite. I love Uganda. My semester here has been incredible and I have learned so much through classes, cultural immersion, and research. Time has really flown by here and it is hard to believe that we are about to start wrapping everything up. The next two weeks are going to go by in the blink of an eye.
While I don’t want to leave Uganda, and I wish we had more time here, I am also excited to come home. Right now, in my home town of Corrales, New Mexico, fall is in full swing. Fall is my favorite season in Corrales because all the cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande are bright yellow, Pumpkins and decorations line everyone’s driveways, the air is crisp, everywhere you go the air smells of roasting green chile, and Wagner’s Farm is selling the best caramel apples.
I am also missing Thanksgiving, and while my friends and I are planning to have a Ugandan Friendsgiving, I always miss my family around the holidays. Other than fall things, my friends and I all have lists of foods we miss and are going to eat as soon as we get home. Breakfast burritos, BBQ ribs, and steak and mashed potatoes are at the top of my list. Ugandan food is great, but one can only eat so much rice and matoke.
Two more weeks of matoke, and then I might never be able to have the Ugandan staple again until I revisit this country that I love. We still have a lot of work to do in the next two weeks, but I plan on making the most of what time I have left. This country has provided me with so many adventures and good memories. I am going to miss Uganda and the friends I have made here, but I am also looking forward to coming home to my friends and family in the US.