Minerva Fellows spotlight: Monica in Uganda
By Monica Rowett
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Limelight on U
I have learned very well the lesson that things never go as you expect them to. Not in life, and especially not if life is lived in Ddegeya, Uganda.
I had few clues as to what to make of my life after college. Jobs were "hard to come by" and there were few jobs that I had come across that sounded truly appealing. It was during the summer that I found out about the Minerva Fellows from two of my housemates. It was also something I forgot about the very same day.
Not until winter break, when I was starting to feel a bit panicked by the fact that college was soon to be over and jobs, I was told, were quickly going, did I think of the Minerva Fellows again.
And here I am. In Africa, doing the impossible task of trying to sum up six months in a few paragraphs and pictures.
I could tell you about the sense of community here in the village. How children will cry if food is taken from them but never fail to share a small piece of food with those around them. How it is rude to pass by someone without acknowledging their presence. A drastic contrast to our lives in America, where we often pass by people we know without words of greeting for the sake of saving ourselves an awkward moment. How the kids are able to run free. Move fluidly between houses in groups and are looked after and disciplined by all.
Or how families who live off of the food they produce still spare a few of their crops and give them to others.
I could talk about the kids that hang out at the clinic. How they are quick to accept you as their friend and eager to please you. How these very same kids are some of the most stubborn people I have ever met, and can easily make you feel like yelling in frustration or for the creation of an invisibility cloak to get a few moments peace.
How they are ready to help if they see that you are struggling with something. A fact that left me slightly handicapped in terms of making my own charcoal fire without their guidance for a short while.
I had few clues as to what to make of my life after college. Jobs were "hard to come by" and there were few jobs that I had come across that sounded truly appealing. It was during the summer that I found out about the Minerva Fellows from two of my housemates. It was also something I forgot about the very same day.
Not until winter break, when I was starting to feel a bit panicked by the fact that college was soon to be over and jobs, I was told, were quickly going, did I think of the Minerva Fellows again.
And here I am. In Africa, doing the impossible task of trying to sum up six months in a few paragraphs and pictures.
I could tell you about the sense of community here in the village. How children will cry if food is taken from them but never fail to share a small piece of food with those around them. How it is rude to pass by someone without acknowledging their presence. A drastic contrast to our lives in America, where we often pass by people we know without words of greeting for the sake of saving ourselves an awkward moment. How the kids are able to run free. Move fluidly between houses in groups and are looked after and disciplined by all.
Or how families who live off of the food they produce still spare a few of their crops and give them to others.
I could talk about the kids that hang out at the clinic. How they are quick to accept you as their friend and eager to please you. How these very same kids are some of the most stubborn people I have ever met, and can easily make you feel like yelling in frustration or for the creation of an invisibility cloak to get a few moments peace.
How they are ready to help if they see that you are struggling with something. A fact that left me slightly handicapped in terms of making my own charcoal fire without their guidance for a short while.
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