Coming and Going: Overlap

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving weekend to everyone! I will write more about that, but it has been nice to be in the States for Thanksgiving this year and I hope that everyone in both Uganda and the US had a good weekend.

A few weeks ago I got to see two friends from Uganda which was wonderful. Something I have been thinking about recently is the lack of overlap my life in the States has with my life in Uganda. Both places have good things, great people and things I appreciate and enjoy. But almost none of those things overlap- people, food, scenery, activities, work, etc. Usually when you leave a job it does not also mean leaving your house, friends, all routines and even the country you are living in and starting up all that in a new place. So, I have been trying to figure out how to have more overlap and getting to see people from Uganda definitely helps.

First, I got to see Charity who was a UCU Honours College student and has been living in the States for 3 years. He had some great perspectives on the States and what he misses about Uganda, and we were able to laugh about some differences. I especially enjoyed talking about places and people we both know.

The next day I got to see Brendah, who had been an intern at work earlier this year. She is in the States for a year, and arrived a few months ago. Brendah is still in a big period of adjustment and was so excited to see someone who knew Uganda! We got to catch up on recent happenings in Uganda and on our new lives. Last time I saw her was the day I left Uganda when she came to the airport with me!

On a walk in Wilmington

During debrief with the students we always talked about being an "integrator" between your experience in Uganda and your life in the States. The other options are to be an "assimilator"(someone who just fits right back in with no change in their life because of their experience abroad) or an "alienator" (someone who refuses to accept any part of their home culture and life). But being an integrator is hard and I think will take many other intentional visits with friends from Uganda and my own reflection on my life there and here.

To end this post, here are a few pictures of my family's Thanksgiving. It was a different experience than my past Ugandan Thanksgivings but definitely a good one!