Debriefing

It is officially the last week of the semester here, students have been taking exams, I have been grading away and certain events, like the big USP farewell dinner, have taken place. Tomorrow we leave for "debrief" with the students- 4 days of discussing their semester and preparing them for returning to the States. There are sessions on what they have seen, learned, and how they will process and communicate all this to family and friends. Usually it is a positive time that allows for good reflection and preparation, along with some fun and the inevitable goodbyes.

I looked through my pictures and realized I have almost no pictures of debrief even though I have been there at the end of every semester. I think it is because it is a lot of sitting around and talking, not usually the most picture-worthy times. (Although there is usually one final group shot.) We are always in Entebbe- near the airport- at a guest house run by some very tolerant nuns. The one picture I found was this:

This photo was taken right before departure last year and we had to clear out the student's rooms (their flight was at midnight or some ridiculous hour). This photo represents the chaos of getting 30ish people to the airport at the same time with a semester's worth of stuff. A few things to notice- a luggage scale laying out, an open brownie container, a wrapped up mosquito net and me in the mirror. My luggage is mixed right in there, with one of my bags open, maybe I was still packing??

One thing I have been thinking about lately is what kind of debrief I will need from life in Uganda. If we give our students four concentrated days for 4 months...should I plan on 9 times that? Or maybe processing with them each semester will help. Recently a speaker was telling our students about his adjustment after living abroad and said it takes double the amount of time you were away to readjust to your own culture. That scared me a little bit- that would mean 9 years for me!

I have been able to be back in the States often while living in Uganda and would like to think that will help with adjustments. However, as we say to our students, visiting is not "reentry". Right now I associate the States with vacation, special treats and seeing people I miss. That is definitely how I am viewing my upcoming Christmas trip next week. I don't think this is a very accurate picture of daily life, so that will be a mental shift for me.

I'll end with a fun photo from last semester's farewell dinner. We all had semi-matching outfits made from curtain fabric (very Sound of Music-esque). This gives a good idea of how I feel at the end of a semester and the fun our staff can have together: