True patriot love
Back in Canada for a couple of days at this point and upon reflection of our time in the UK, Sarah and I both regretted not doing our graduate work there. The sights are wonderful and one cannot help but be caught up in the history that permeates everything. It’s an incredible contrast considering that most Canadian institutions are less than 200 years old.
After leaving Beccles, we headed down to London to stay with Sarah’s aunt’s sister at her beautiful home in Winchmore Hill, just north of central London. After a feast of Chinese food on Friday night (there are definitely a lot more ethnic casual dining options in London than in Hamilton) we headed to central London to do the usual touristy things on Saturday. This included the picture in front of the Houses of Parliament, staring through the gates of Buckingham Palace, getting coffee in St. James Parks, commenting on how young and pasty the Royal Guards are, shopping in Covent Garden and getting crammed into the smallest subway cars in the world. It was a whirlwind tour of just two sections of the UK, but I loved it.
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Upon landing back in Canada, I couldn’t help but reflect on our experiences in Uganda. Our time in the UK was definitely a great transitory period to get us acclimated back to global north culture, but I found myself missing both the warmth and caring nature of northern Ugandans and actually having something to do that felt worthwhile. Being a twenty-something in Canada waiting for more education holds similarities to the modernized pop culture idea of purgatory - you simply just float around. Instead of waving and smiling to everyone on the street in Gulu and making a small difference in the lives of the disenfranchised and overlooked, I now just go from point A to point B flipping through my phone. I’ve read before that travelling a lot while you’re young makes you an insufferable asshole to your friends because all you’ll talk about is travelling and how you don’t want to be back home. I haven’t fallen into that trap (yet) but there’s definitely truth behind those words. Seeing my family, knowing I’ll see my friends in a few days and seeing snow has helped with not turning into a pretentious traveller.
As for now, Uganda will remain as the most fun and challenging three months I’ve had in my life. I’ll be back - eventually.
However, for now, O Canada.
Casey
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