change in plans...

Hey everyone!

Things are going really well here. I'm starting to settle in here with the program and feel like I may have a grasp on what's going on... maybe. :) Next week, I'll be in western Uganda and Rwanda and I'm super pumped! It means that I probably won't be able to check my email, but please feel free to send it anyway, just dont' expect a response next week.

When we get back, we continue our Luganda lessons in the morning but have indepth study in the afternoon. For my indepth study I get to choose between public health, gender studies or grassroots development. At this point I am actually torn between gender studies and the grassroots development. Contrary to what I thought coming in, the indepth study is completely separate from our practicum or really any other projects/assignments we have to do.

Our group has been talking a lot about practicum ideas. Practicum is a six week assignment where we get to choose whether we want to do an internship with a organization in Uganda or research some topic and use only primary sources in our research. I definitely am wanting to do an internship type thing and right now I'm looking into either working for the Kids League up north or working at a rehabiliation center up north (probably Lira). I tried to talk to World Vision today, but instead made an appointment to talk to them when I get back from Rwanda. My buddy Laura and I were talking about possibly doing our internships near eachother so that we could live with eachother or at least check in on one another regularly. I'm pumped about that. I'm reading this book, Aboke Girls, right now (it was recommended to me by my program director) and it's about the children who are abducted. It's really good and it's such good motivation for me at the moment so that's cool. I recommend it- it's a pretty easy read- intense topic but quick reading.

So, the change in plans is that I have decided to come home in late December/early January after my parents have come to visit. This means that I will return to UD in the spring and I will not be doing my semester of service over here. I have a lot of things to figure out in terms of school, but let me just tell you a few of the reasons why I will returning early: (these are in no particular order)
1) ANOTHER language barrier: in the north they don't speak Luganda or (to my understanding) much English, so I would have to be learning a new language without formal lessons like I have now.
2) lack of a Ugandan support system: I've really appreciated having the other SIT students here with me so that I can talk to them and be supported by them and even for practicum time I will have them (and my program director) in Uganda- just a cheap phone call away. Second semester I wouldn't have them OR my program director to rely on and that seems a little too out on my own for me right now.
3) If I go home, I can plan better for coming back here in a couple ways: financial- I learned a little too late in the game about scholarships that I could ahve applied for for coming here so if I go home, I can apply for them and come back in the next couple years. Also, I could learn a little of the language I would be using and I could even look into the organization more and take classes that might prepare me better for this experience.
4) I am not sure about how available communication is up there right now and with my limited support system that I'd have here, I am not willing to be cut off completely.
If you'd like more reasons, I'll give them to you, but that's the brief overview for now.

It's hard for me to come back early because in some ways I feel like it could be seen as a failure, but I really don't see it that way since I am coming home in order to plan better a trip back here.

Well, I just tried for the past hour to upload some pictures on here, but it unfortunately did not work :(...so, I will try again this weekend and hopefully I will be more successful...

OH, I forgot to mention, I think I get to see a soccer game between two clans on Saturday- I'm pretty excited! :)

Alright, time to go home... I love getting your emails! Keep 'em coming :)

Love,
Molly :)