look harder

I had a little reality check this morning: I am leaving Uganda in less than 7 weeks. I am done with work in less than 4 weeks. This is coming to an end and I'm not even sure when it started. When did I arrive? In some ways, I think I arrive more and more everyday.

Before I got here my picture of Uganda was extremely vague. I outlined the borders of Uganda in my head and imagined what might be inside. I didn't anticipate the ways that this geography would become a part of me.  Kampala is obnoxious, dirty, foreign, beautiful, diverse, crowded, chaotic, and about 100 other adjectives that will tell you nothing about the true character of this place.  Kampala is a living, breathing organism.  When I map Kampala in my head I see the taxi circuit, going round and round. The streets of Kampala like an artery... clogging and unclogging, jamming and unjamming.  

The people I have gotten to know in Uganda are spectacular, but far more complex and multi-dimensional than could ever be captured in a blog. They are, in all fundamental ways, the same as you and me. People don't think of themselves in terms of what they lack, and if you go to a developing country and only see poverty, than you haven't looked hard enough. 

I implore you: look harder.  I'm glad I did.