This was different. Keep in mind that I've wanted to join the Peace Corps since I was in 7th grade, and have been seriously working toward it as a goal for the past 6 years. But this past week, I was questioning everything about my decision to be here, so far from home.
It was nothing about Uganda or my site (my future home!) that brought this on. I love this country, many things are different here but I love getting to know the myriad of cultures and people here. I think my crippling homesickness was brought on by suddenly having time to be alone, with a great deal fewer things to keep me busy. At my future site, I had time to rest, to read, to think. And, as it is holiday break, there were few people to get to know. Just the sheer unfamiliarity of everything was also a bit overwhelming, as well.
After my future site visit, I traveled to language training, which is in a town about 30 minutes from my site. I got to meet up with the three other Volunteers who are also learning Ateso, but I still could not shake this incredibly homesick feeling.
Believe me, I was trying everything. I truly had to spend time every waking minute reminding myself of my reasons for being here:
I want to live in Africa, to learn from the people here.
I have committed two years of my life to the people at my future site. They sincerely want someone to help teach the children there to read and write, and Peace Corps has given me the skills I need to be able to do my best at that task.
I get to study language here, and use the languages I'm learning every single day! And studying language is one of my absolute favorite things to do.
It sounds silly, but another reason I am here is to answer the call that Kennedy made in 1960, while he was still campaigning to become President. At 2am in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he greeted the crowd of 10,000 people who had waited up to see him—people he'd thought would have long gone to bed, as he was late arriving. Inspired, he veered from his usual speech, and instead said "How many of you who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete." (source: https://www.peacecorps.gov/about/history/founding-moment/)
Even with all of these things running through my mind, and the determination within me from years of hard work... I missed home. I couldn't convince myself to snap out of it. It wasn't even the comforts of home that I missed, the Peppermint White Mochas or the hot baths... I just wanted to hug my mom and dad.
But don't worry, I'm alright now! Because what finally made this all better for me was coming here and finding a beautiful, incredibly loving homestay family waiting for me. They call me their daughter or sister, I call them my mother or aunt or siblings, respectively. They have welcomed me into their home and have already spent hours teaching me about the language and culture here. It's so nice to have a familiar place to come home to after a day at school for language training, and to have people to spend my time with who really care about me.
I facetimed my parents at home to introduce them to my family here, and everyone loved meeting each other. My parents showed them our Christmas tree, and my host family spontaneously burst into singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" which was amazing because, if you know my family, you know that that's our song. I feel like I belong here, and I have a renewed strength in my commitment to spend 2 years of my life here. And I know that my family is supporting me from far away, with their loving arms open for me when I return.
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Wow, you should have warned us about this one. We love you so much! We all can do this, together, and apart!
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