I originally called this 'Going home'. But that reminded me of a song that I loved sometime in my teenage years, 'Leaving Home' by Jebediah. And then I thought about it. I'm not really sure whether I am leaving or going home. Maybe a little of both.
Victor Harbor on one hand contains a lifetime of memories, friends, experiences, family. It is the place where my parents built their first house, the house that I grew up in, the house that I go back to. I know people there. I went to school there. There are shops that have been there all my life. There is history. There is love.
Mbarara on the other is new. Unknown. I have made new friends here. But they don't really know me. And we don't always speak the same language. I have 'family' here. I have been welcomed into a home by people with big hearts. Accepted for who I am. But here I am also the odd one out. I stand out. I don't look like I fit in. I am stared at by small (and not so small) children as I walk down the street. And yet, despite the discomfort, I feel at home.
There is something about this place that draws me. And when I say 'this place', I kind of mean Uganda. Or maybe Africa. I'm yet to work that one out.
But whatever, I am excited to be going 'home'. I am excited to see my friends and family face to face, not just over Skype. I am excited to drive without it being an extreme measure of my faith. I am excited to play a real piano. I am excited to eat (here there could be so many things - should I list them? Okay here we go…) pizza from Beach House Café, Indian, my own Caesar salad, prosciutto, peaches from our tree at home, spicy food, a meal that involves almost no carbs, gelati, my gnocchi… okay let me stop there because it could go on forever and you could get the wrong impression. I have not missed those things but I will really appreciate them. I am excited to use a washing machine. I am excited to go to places that are familiar. I am excited that I will not stand out. I am excited that most people I talk to will have English as their first language. I am excited to just pop around to my friends places. I am excited.
In that, I will miss 'home'. I will miss living with so many people, especially kids. I will miss my new friends and building those relationships. I will miss the excitement of driving (seriously - driving over here has been a fun adventure). I will miss the challenge of being around people of different cultures, languages, customs and learning to fit in whether through adjusting my behaviour or attitude, engaging in dialogue about them or picking up a few new words. I will miss whole fried tilapia. I will miss beans and posho, and probably even matooke. I will miss the vibrancy of every celebration, whether church services, weddings or cd launches. I will miss the rain and the constancy of the weather. I will miss the beautiful sunrises.
The fact that I have the privilege of experiencing both of these lives is not lost on me. I can't begin to tell you how blessed I feel that I am part of people's lives here in Uganda and that I can come home to Australia and spend time with family and friends.
During High School when we went through all the career aptitude tests and writing goals and somehow trying to find a vision for your life when you are fifteen, I had no idea where my life was headed. I left Year Twelve with nothing, no plans, no dreams, no thought of what my future might hold. It was awful. I hated this constant fear that I lived with that I would never find what it is that I was 'meant' to do. Never find something that I was passionate about. That my biggest achievement would be the length of time I served as a check-out-chick. But somewhere, somehow, through the years, it seems as though however much I missed it at the time, there was a plan. Maybe not one that I was aware of, but this year I feel like a whole bunch of jigsaw pieces that seemed random up till now have fallen into place and a picture is starting to come into view. One of the reasons (there are plenty) that I love God is his faithfulness to me. There are so many experiences that I had even when I didn't know him and when I wasn't aware that there was a plan forming, that have shaped who I am today and have directly led me to where I am or have been instrumental in my life here in Uganda. And so, I leave with a sense that everything that I have experienced here, whether good or bad, will be formative and purposeful, even if I don't see it now.
My next six months are a bit of a blank slate before me. I'm not sure exactly what they will hold. I have a few things locked in, like going to visit some friends in the US for a month, helping out with various projects that HOPE will be involved with during that time and other stuff like that. But as to the day to day. I don't know what the getting up, going to work stuff will look like. So I guess I'll see how much of the picture is revealed as I go. All I know is that unlike the song says, life has been good to me. I am blessed beyond measure.
Can't really believe I'm saying this but my next blog will be written on Aussie soil. I've decided that I'll keep going with the blog, hopefully once I get 'home' I'll still have something to say.
Till then,
Blessings
bron
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