Goodbye to a Fabulous Year

So, I know it has been some time since my last blog entry. The truth is, I really haven’t had any travels to speak of as of lately. Hopefully, that will be changing soon—very soon. Well, having rung in the New Year just a few days ago, it is always nice to reflect and look back on everything that has happened the last year. So without further ado, here is a quick recap and some thoughts on my 2008:

I started out 2008 in Torino, Italy, staying with my good amico Andrea. Despite being sick, I enjoyed a relaxing time with my Italian friend. After a few more days in Italy, I flew back to Poland for a few weeks, to say goodbye to my colleagues down in Twardorzeczka, my wolves in the Silesian Beskidy and the Zywiecki Beskidy Mountains, and my friends in Krakow. It was incredibly hard saying goodbye to all this, knowing how much I had changed and how many significant and memorable moments these places and these people had provided me with.

After traveling up to Warsaw for a few days, I entered Germany for the first time, stopping in Berlin and staying with another friend there. My time in Berlin was short, particularly since I was preparing to leave for a 3-month trip to Africa. I flew to Egypt next, landing in Cairo at midnight, to the sound of the whole city praying. I remember how excited I was to be in a place totally unfamiliar to anywhere I had ever been before. There was no English written anywhere, just Arabic. Most of the women and girls I saw were wearing hijabs, hiding their faces, but allowing glances into their mysterious eyes. After having an ATM machine eat my debit card my first day in Cairo, I had to wander around the all-night bazaars only looking. I was able to go to the Egyptian Museum, where I saw King Tut’s coffin. That was an awesome experience. I had always wanted to see that after reading books about it when I was very young. It is pretty incredible to see it with your own eyes—3000 years old! I also got to ride a camel for the first time, while touring around the Pyramids of Giza, the only remaining structures of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The scale and size of the pyramids is impossible to describe, but the memories I have of these will last me a lifetime.

After my first taste of Turkish coffee (next time, I might as well just drink some mud with my water), several days of dodging speeding cars in Cairo traffic, and about fifty falafels, I was ready to depart Cairo for something a little more relaxed. I had a quick trip to Dubai, where I was spoiled with a stay in a penthouse on the top floor of a building overlooking the harbor, where the most expensive and luxurious hotel in the world is located. That didn’t exactly prepare me for my return to Africa, where I arrived in Kampala, Uganda a few days later. Africa definitely beats within my blood, and I was extremely excited to get back to the real Africa. I stayed with a very loving and generous family in Kampala, and then traveled to western Uganda, where I ended up staying for several weeks, teaching in a community orphanage school. I was adopted into an entire community there, becoming the talk of the town, being invited to a different family’s dwelling for dinner each night, and provided with an endless supply of fresh fruit, vegetables, and eggs from my students and their families. If I had to be away from my family back home, I was glad I was able to share those special times with the people I did. I hope one day to be able to return to that town, where I will see the people pursuing opportunities they did not have when I was there. My heart will always beat partly because of the special people I met during my time at Lake Lyantonde. I know you probably will never read this, but THANK YOU!

I made a quick trip down to the Uganda/Rwanda border region, where I managed to climb two volcanoes in monsoonal winds and rain, and actually jump in the crater lake at the top of one of them (I don’t recommend doing that, since I almost suffered from hypothermia on the trek back down from the summit; but, that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t do it again:). I then traveled across the border into Rwanda, a country made famous by the 1994 genocide depicted in the movie “Hotel Rwanda.” Visiting sites where such atrocities and death occurred was also an experience that will be permanently etched into my mind. The fact that this horrible tragedy occurred during my generation made this all the more real for me. Another moment that I will never forget is walking out of the National Genocide Memorial Museum, meeting an old man entering the compound holding several bouquets of flowers. After speaking to him for a few moments, I found that he was going to pay his respects to the 11 family members he lost during those two deadly months. He was the only survivor of his family, and now he felt lonely, coming to the mass grave to reconnect with his loved ones. I won’t ever be able to imagine the feelings this man must have been experiencing, and I need to remember to be thankful for that.

While in Rwanda, I was also lucky enough to have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—to see the mountain gorillas (only found in the Uganda/Rwanda/Congo border region, and nowhere else on earth). After a three-hour trek into the bamboo forest, my group came across a gorilla family composed of 26 gorillas, including 3 silverbacks. Being so close to the gorillas gave me an appreciation for these magnificent animals, and their struggle to survive in an environment filled with poaching, forest-clearing, and civil war. I know that if we lost these animals from this world, we would also be losing part of ourselves.

When it came time to leave Africa, I was filled with the excitement of being able to return home to see my family, but also the uneasy feeling of uncertainty, of when I would be able to return to this amazing place and reunite with my Ugandan family.

I returned home, where I enjoyed catching up with all my family and friends, and also resumed my job working at Holy Cross Ministries as a summer school counselor. It was great being home and seeing the children I had taught a year before. Seeing how my students had developed over the past year and how they had grown was something special. I immediately fell back in love with my job and the wonderful people that I am lucky enough to work with. The summer program went really well and I actually was fortunate to obtain a full-time position for the rest of year, as both an administrative assistant and an afterschool program counselor. These positions have also taught me a lot over the past few months and my life has been enriched through being able to get to know my coworkers even more. We have enjoyed some fun times together and I can honestly say that I don’t know if I will ever work in such a friendly and close-knit community of people again in my life.

So, as a quick look back at 2008, I must say that it was another incredible year for me and one in which I was blessed to have the chance to do so much and see so many new places. My pulse was strengthened and quickened with my return to Africa, where I was also reminded of the hardships people endure, but also of their kindness and warmth in the face of these hardships. My friends and students in Uganda showed me the strength of the human spirit and the vastness of the human heart. Their excitement for life and appreciation for each and every day will be a lesson for me throughout the remainder of my life. I was also reminded of the importance of family and friends. Both helped me through some very difficult times during the past year and I thank each and every one of you. When times are tough, we really find out who are friends really are, and I am very grateful to say that I have some great people around me.

Looking forward to 2009, I am really unsure what to expect. I am getting very restless to get back out there and explore a little, challenging my perceptions of the world, experiencing new hardships and difficulties, and coming away a stronger and better person. I keep reminding myself what is really important in life, and looking for ways to show the people I love that they mean so much to me. So, to end this blog entry, I would like to conclude with one of my favorite quotes. This quote comes from N.H. Kleinbaum, in “Dead Poets Society,” and I urge you to just think about it for a few moments: “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Goodbye 2008, and I wish everyone a 2009 filled with happiness and meaning.