Home is where the heart is...
They opened their hearts and their home to me. Me, this stranger from America who would
spend an entire month living with a Ugandan family in Bushenyi while I studied
Runyankore, the local language of the southwest, with five other Peace Corps
trainees. My homestay family welcomed me, fed me, helped me study, laughed at
my cultural mistakes, always protected me and made me a member of their
family. The day before I left, I was even
given my Runyankore name, “Natukunda”, God loves us.
The month passed quickly and it was time to return to
Kampala to be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. On the day I had
to leave, Mamma Rhoda had a gift for me.
Rhoda is 67 years old and doesn’t speak English and we struggled to
communicate every day. She loved me like a daughter and I longed for a heartfelt
conversation. Her gift on my last morning with her was a song. She sat me down and sang a beautiful hymn in
Runyankore. The lyrics meant God will
protect me and guide me back to them. I’ll remember that moment forever and how
music and tears and love filled that room.
I walked away from the first place I could call home since I
came to Uganda in November and in less than a week I walked into my new home,
the one I’ll live in during my two years of service as a Peace Corps
Volunteer. The cleaning, the shopping
for supplies, and the settling in took days and days and still continues but
I’m slowly turning this modest house into my home and I can FINALLY UNPACK my
suitcases. I’m learning to coexist with the colony of bats in my ceiling,
(actually I want them gone ASAP) the geckos on the walls and the
ever-present spiders. Yes, this is my home and I am grateful for the electricity,
running water, indoor toilet (YAY!) and the welcoming community I am now a part
of.
Yet, now that I am finally in my very own home, ironically homesickness
is hitting hard. I suddenly have free
time again; a blessing and a curse. Too much time to think. So to my family and friends back home...I love you and miss you very much. All
the new memories that fill this home will be shared with you. And ya know, Uganda isn’t really that far
away...hint, hint. Come make some memories with me!
Home is where the heart is...
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| My heart is also right behind these gates for the next two years at my school, Kibingo Primary | . |
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