Looking back

Trip Start Jun 09, 2011

Trip End Aug 30, 2011

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Flag of Uganda Kampala, Uganda
Thursday, August 11, 2011

I'm actually enjoying these days in the office putting together my report of the boreholes. It's so much more fun (and easier) than writing an essay! It's just a matter of putting my tables and data into words instead, explaining it all. Clarifying. It's probably so easy since I've been living and breathing boreholes for so long now.

But another reason it is nice is because it is a good way to process it all. To remind myself of where I've been, what I've been doing. I go through my 56 interviews several times a day looking for different things. Just now I went through them all to count how many claimed that they prefer the water from the borehole since it is of good quality and/or free from diseases (all but one mentioned this, so 98%). And as I go through them the stories I've heard come to life in my head. I can see us standing under a mango tree, or in the burning sun by the pump, talking to people. Asking them questions and getting stories in return. It has affected me so much that last night I sat down and wrote pages and pages about my time here. It came to just over ten pages (in Swedish). The story of my adventure, in a different format than here. I wanted to write it down before I forget the little things.

I have two days left here at the office. I'm hoping to get done with the writing part of the report today. And then I can spend tomorrow editing, putting in headings, sorting out the appendix and stuff like that. I feel so incompetent when I'm sitting here writing a report that will actually be given to prospective donors, but at the same time I feel grown-up and important. Like I'm doing my part, and it actually matters. Not like one of the essays I sit down and write at uni where it's more about getting a good grade (I know that's not what it's supposed to be about. It's supposed to be about learning and putting forward a convincing arguement. Shaping your own thoughts and backing it up with information. And so on and so on.). This actually matters to someone more than me. It puts a greater responsibility on me. And now I just have to put in this amazing quote from Grey's Anatomy. You know the episode where a car or van or something full of college seniors on their way to graduation crashes? And the only one that survives gives her valid dictorian speech in the hospital. It was beautiful, and so true. Every word of it. And is summarises so well what I've gone through here, what I've learnt, and what I'm feeling.

Today's the day my life begins. Today I become a citizen of the world.
Today I become a grown up. Today I become accountable to someone other
than myself and my parents. Accountable for more than my grades. Today, I
become accountable to the world. To the future. To all the
possibilities that life has to offer. Starting today, my job is to show
up wide eyed and willing and ready. For what, I don't know. For
anything. For everything. To take on life. To take on love. To take on
the responsibility and possibility. Today, my friends, our lives begin.
And, I for one can't wait.

I know I have another year to go until I leave school. But this summer I've gotten an idea of what it could be like when that day comes. And I think it might be really good.