Frustrations

I would just like to inform everyone who doesn't know me, or much if anything about Africa that yes i do know what i am getting myself into. One thing i HATE about saying that i am going to Africa is that everyone gives me a slightly startled, quizzical look. Most people cannot point out Uganda on a map. Most people still believe Africa to be one homogenous country for petes sake. I did a lot of careful research and planning both in and out of class. I have no more chances of being shot in Uganda than in Chicago.

What makes me the angrist is when people ask me stuff like "do they have TVs there? How will you use the internet?" REALLY?!?! are you JOKING me?? i get so upset, that i dont even want to talk about it here...haha

This does not mean that i think that i will be in glorious heaven everyday and go skipping off doing whatever i want. But i have always been one of those girls who looks behind her whether in a group or alone, day or night. I realize i will have some of the best and worst experiances of my life while i am there, that it will be hard, and that i will learn a lot about myself, Uganda, others and the human spirit while i am there.

I am moving some posts over from my other blog, so that you can see how i have viewed my trip:

Currently i am in the process of typing up a 15-pager on the Congo Free State. If you ever want to get angry at the world, read Adam Hochschild's "King Leopold's Ghost" (haha, as if i needed any more reasons to hate the world...).I just love it when everyone blames shit on "tribal" or "ancient ethnic" tensions...BULLSHIT...why can't anyone say the word COLONIALISM?? I was reading Encarta Encyclopedia today about Patrice Lumumba who was murdered by US CIA agents in the 1960's...and of course they could say NOTHING about how America was involved...Some of my sources for my paper were written in the early 1900's...the racism inherent in them...oh man, it makes me want to be ill. Yes yes, i know it was a "different time" but jesus...
posted by Sharona at 3/15/2006 12:39:00 AM

Afrika
about 5 months till i go to Uganda. Is it bad that i am scared to death?? I have been so excited for so long...i dont have expectations...i dont know what it will be like there, so i dont feel like i have expectations...my fear stems more from...i have literally been in love with Africa since my sophomore year of high school...and trust me, i havent been in any relationship that long haha/ I have loved africa for so long that i am worried i will go there and hate it...and all of my life dreams/ goals/ ambitions will have been for naught. My parents make me feel like a loser for wanting to go in the first place, so if i hate it, i simply prove them correct.Which i simply refuse to do.I just wanna know that all my years of research and study weren't in vain!! oh! please don't have let it have been for nothing!
posted by Sharona at 4/04/2006 03:49:00 AM

What i Am scared of, as i mentioned before...is that i will get there and find that something i had been planning on and loving and longing for will show itself to be something that i should NOT have been excited about...more later!