Well I've been back in the U.S. for almost 2 weeks now, back at work, back into normal life things. My biggest culture shock can be summed up in one word: COMFORT! Sitting outside the house on a beautiful spring day I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. Compared to Kampala, the air is so clean, everything is so orderly and flows and works, and I can drink water from the tap!! Driving around in my own car is a luxury. The power doesn't go out for hours every couple of days, and I don't have to soak fruit & veggies in water with bleach before eating them. I can eat salads at restaurants (not recommended in Uganda). Fast internet connections! Uganda toughened me up - even my feet. I'm going to go soft again! "The Projects" - the government housing here in Huntsville are luxurious compared to the places so many people in Uganda live: running water, plumbing, electricity, heating, air-conditioning - roofs that don't leak, insect screens on the windows... And it's nice to not see poverty like in Uganda - but I know it's still there.
On the downside though, #1: I miss Aggie heaps! She is an amazing woman. We are back to 3 x 1/2hr phone calls a week, but it's so much better now that we know eachother well. She is doing well & sends her greetings. I'm missing the joyous Ugandan atmosphere (I'm listening to some Ugandan music online as I write this - http://www.ugandaonline.net/mp3 - from the list, choose "Nkuweeki - Iryn" - my favorite!). I miss the friends I've made there, the boda-boda motorbike taxi rides - even being packed in a taxi van with heaps of Ugandans I think! I'm back to Muzungu food too, which is good in some ways (breakfast cereals are way cheaper here), but I miss the Ugandan food - and Aggie's cooking!
Ok, down to business! It looks like it will be longer until I return to Uganda than planned. Aggie and I won't be getting married in early June. Before I left, I went to the Ugandan Immigration Service and it appears that staying in the country for an extended period of time is more difficult than I'd though. Marrying a Ugandan doesn't grant you that, strangely enough. The bottom line is that it looks like I'll need to go back to Uganda under a missionary organization, and get a work permit/visa through them. The organization that I went to Uganda with on my church mission trip back in July, and the one I worked with this time, is looking into this - which would be ideal, since it's the one Aggie works with, and the one her & I want to continue to work with. My best guess at the moment is that it will be about 6 months or so until I go back. That has actually relieved a lot of pressure on us - it will give Aggie & I time to raise financial support back here in the USA, and we will only begin to plan our wedding after I return, instead of trying to plan it now, along with everything else that we would have needed to get organized. So I'm thankful for this!
I've already seen God begin to provide for Aggie & I - I have some amazing stories - some of you know them! Maybe I'll share them in future blog entries - that would give me something to talk about actually, *grin*.
Alrighty then, until next time! I'll leave you with today's feature blog photo: me in Uganda after the typical "woman-braids-man-with-long-hairs'-hair" photo.
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