We had been doing good at keeping our emotions under wraps….until today.
Simply put, today was a hard day and the next two days will only get more difficult. Today the Ndejje faculty held a send off ceremony for us. A lot of the people we have met, students from our field work groups, and also some of our friends were there. People spoke about how valuable this experience and partnership between our two universities has been. We thanked the students and staff for being so kind, accepting, and accommodating to us. We shared lessons learned and hopes for the future trips with other students. It was so nice to have everyone together there to see us off and wish us well.
I never thought I would see the day that Dr. Cathorall cried, but there’s a first time for everything and this trip has been filled with many firsts. I’ll tell you, when it happened, we were not prepared for it! It’s like she set off a chain reaction, once people saw her crying the flood gates opened up. I myself am usually an emotional wreck when it comes to theses kinds of things, but for whatever reason, even though I was sad that our time at the university was nearing its end, my body would not allow me to cry, not yet at least. I felt that my happiness for having had this experience, meeting all the people I met, seeing all the things that I saw, sharing good times, smiles and laughter, having unforgettable conversations and spending time with one another, all outweighed any sadness I was feeling. I knew the rest of my day would be spent well with all of them and I couldn’t break down just yet! Things lightened up again once Dr. Brady and Dr. Cathorall were presented with the traditional dress. They even got to try it on (don’t worry we took pictures). We shared some food an conversation to conclude the ceremony.
After the ceremony concluded, and tears were all dried, we had lunch and then headed to the pool (we had been really trying to go to the pool for at least a week by this point). It couldn’t have been a better day for the pool too, not a cloud in the sky, nice and warm, literally perfect. I tried and failed to learn how to float, but the water felt nice and it was a great way to relax and kick back with our friends.
A Whole New World 