Out of Africa

And it has come - almost 4 years after arriving to Uganda, it's actually, finally and unbelievably time to leave.

And somehow it's hard to know what to say about it! It was just such a long way between arriving to Entebbe for the first time in 2011 and leaving it now - and a tough and intense but enriching ride it was. I'm not sure if I'm coming out of it all a wiser person, but for sure a different person (with shorter patience, probably). I'm also not entirely sure how I'll function in serious Europe now, but I guess I'll figure it out.

All in all, I'm immensely grateful for this experience. And I'm also immensely grateful for my family, and for my friends, whether those whom I "collected" in Uganda or those from my life before, who - in spite of my long absences - are always there for me. And special thanks to Javi, without whom I wouldn't have done it.

And what is it that I think I'll miss about living in Uganda?
    - the simplicity of life. That above all.
   - the perspective on seriousness (or not) of things
   - the colours that people wear
   - that everything is somehow possible, solvable and fixable. Somehow.
   - my house with garden
   - people greeting you on the street (on a good day)
   - the chaotic randomness (on a good day)

And what I think I'll not miss about living in Uganda:
   - the cold showers
   - the power cuts
   - the beans
   - the unreliability of practically everything and everyone, and the no-trust environment
   - being called muzungu
   - people greeting you on the street (on a bad day)
   - the chaotic randomness (on a bad day)

(In reality, this could be just one list. The same things that you love and miss on a good day, you profoundly hate on a bad day. Apart from the power cuts. I'll never miss those. Although, an evening with candles from time to time...)

Ahead of me, pretty cool things actually (apart from finishing the final project reporting). Christmas with family, then backpack and 6 weeks in Argentina... and then - literally anything is possible! Which might be both a very scary and a very exciting perspective. I try to focus on the exciting part. And I'm in no hurry to find out what's next :-)