51 Things

So I follow a lot of my fellow PCV's blogs and I really enjoy reading about their adventures they choose to share with everyone (their blogs are posted on my blog profile if anyone is interested in reading them as well). My friend Chelsea has a blog and I loved one of her posts and decided to borrow her idea: a list of things I have never done before joining the Peace Corps and moving to Uganda.

1. Before working for Peace Corps I had never been to Africa.
2. Before working for Peace Corps I had never called a developing nation my home.
3. Before working for Peace Corps I never had the amazing opportunities that I am presented from working for my in-country work organization (Walter Reed Project).
4. Before moving to Uganda I had never thought I would go days without electricity ever again in my life (thanks ice storm of ’98).
5. Before moving to Uganda I never had to treat my drinking water.
6. Before moving to Uganda I never dreaded doing laundry so much. At home I dreaded folding laundry, but here the whole process is tasking. I do all my laundry myself and by hand: you soak and scrub stains out of your clothes then you wash and rinse them and finally hang them and wait a day for them to dry.
7. Before moving to Uganda I never new how amazing truly fresh pineapple tasted. I have never tasted pineapple back in the United States that even closely compares to the pineapple grown in Kayunga (aside: Kayunga is the pineapple producing hub of Uganda).
8. Before moving to Uganda I never had my own house. Living by yourself is a nice treat though can be lonely here sometimes.
9. Before moving to Uganda I never knew how well I could handle insects (minus cockroaches – yuck).
10. Before moving to Uganda I never had to sleep under a mosquito net every night.
11. Before moving to Uganda I was never special because of my skin color. Here I’m the minority and many things come with that: feelings of feeling like I’m being watched all the time whether due to curiosity or other intentions, been told that my skin can’t be real and that I’m a ghost and never had more of a desire to get a tan. Little children run to touch my skin because they assume it is cold like stone because it is not dark.
12. Before moving to Uganda I have never felt so ashamed of my gross feet. They never stay clean even when I get done washing and I’m just in my house.
13. Before moving to Uganda I do not think I have sweated so much in my life or drank as much water as I do every day.
14. Before moving to Uganda I have never felt so exhausted at the end of everyday not only from a busy day at work, but because every moment there is something new to see, smell, eat or learn.
15. Before moving to Uganda I had never ate a grasshopper. It was pretty good!
16. Before moving to Uganda I have never been called fat or handsome and expected to accept the compliment graciously.
17. Before moving to Uganda I had never bungee jumped, but I will never forget the closest feeling I have had to flying.
18. Before moving to Uganda I never realized the importance I put on my personal hygiene routine. It is quite interesting having to relearn how to brush my teeth and get ready for bed because it is not longer a part of my rote-memory.
19. Before moving to Uganda I never put so much importance on hand sanitizer.
20. Before moving to Uganda I never missed dark beer so much or beer with flavor for that matter.
21. Before moving to Uganda I had never poured liquor into a juice box (mango is my favorite).
22. Before moving to Uganda I had never been 20 feet away from a wild male elephant gracefully walking across the road.
23. Before moving to Uganda I had never peed in a bucket and pooped in a bag.
24. Before moving to Uganda I had never prepared a traditional African meal with a charcoal stove.
25. Before moving to Uganda I have never cut vegetables without using a cutting board. All Ugandan women do not use them and when cooking with them you are expected to cut things while holding the item in your hands.
26. Before moving to Uganda I never knew how much you could do in the kitchen with eggs.
27. Before moving to Uganda I never knew how much I loved dairy and cheese – I go out of my way to order things in restaurants that have cheese now.
28. Before moving to Uganda I never knew how much I really loved strawberries and blueberries. I miss them a lot!
29. Before moving to Uganda I never had taken a bucket bath. I think by the end of two years I will fit into the Peace Corps joke quite well: Q: Does a Peace Corps volunteer see the glass half full or half empty? A: Neither. They are thinking if they can take a bath in that.
30. Before moving to Uganda I have never been so impressed with the resiliency of a collective group of people as I have by the people in my community.
31. Before moving to Uganda I never knew what good Ugandan friends I would make here over these two years. I love my Ugandan family.
32. Before moving to Uganda I never knew how passionate I was about HIV/AIDS counseling and testing issues in developing countries.
33. Before moving to Uganda I had always dreamed of riding the Class V rapid Silverback – and now it is crossed off my bucket list.
34. Before moving to Uganda I had never been called muzungu constantly.
35. Before moving to Uganda I never had any desire to learn a Bantu language, but now I thoroughly enjoy it.
36. Before moving to Uganda I never new how much this experience would change me and force me to learn about myself more so then ever before.
37. Before moving to Uganda I did not realize that I have no idea what I want to do with my life.
38. Since being in Uganda I have yet another reason to appreciate the beauty and power of nature.
39. Before moving to Uganda I never knew the power of rain. Not only how forceful the rainfall can be here, but also how much the water is needed during the dry season and how elated everyone is after the first rainfall.
40. Before moving to Uganda I never have smelt body odor that stung my nostrils. I have joked before that people have smelt so bad it stung, but seriously – here it is true. The smell is like jumping beans in my nose.
41. Before moving to Uganda I did not appreciate the roads in Maine with all their potholes and frost heaves. Now I know that is nothing compared to what I have been traveling on the past six months.
42. Before moving to Uganda I did not know how much more passionate I would become about global sustainability.
43. Before moving to Uganda I did not know how easy of a childhood I was fortunate enough to have.
44. Before moving to Uganda I did not know that I would become more introverted over time.
45. Before moving to Uganda I did not like avocado or ketchup. Now I love them and want to encompass them in most meals.
46. Before moving to Uganda I did not know how to make or cook with a Dutch oven.
47. Before moving to Uganda I never thought I would ride a bus endless hours on an over-crowded, smelly and rundown bus full of people and livestock to see a friend, but I do it every chance I get.
48. Before moving to Uganda I never knew how big of a Foodie I really am.
49. Before moving to Uganda I never really comprehended how much a shower really rocks.
50. Before moving to Uganda I have never been in a community that did not have a word in their language for the color of my hair.
51. Before moving to Uganda I did not know how much I truly loved Maine.