8/11/2010
A few people and things I would like to address:
Dear Children Everywhere in Uganda,
It breaks my heart when, the second after I say hello to you, you demand “GIVE ME MONEY!” I have no money for you, and even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you; I would use it to help build something sustainable for you. I know that you are young and you don’t understand what “sustainability” means, but someday I hope you will know it, and I hope you will appreciate it. I hope you will teach your children not to frantically beg any white person who comes their way for money. Teach them to be hungry for knowledge about someone else’s culture, not for their material things. Teach them to work hard and persevere and see beyond their immediate surroundings. Begging is never the answer, and even the tourists who do give you money aren’t doing you any favors. You need to lift yourselves up, and I know you can, because your parents are some of the strongest people I’ve ever met.
Dear Ugandan Pineapples,
I don’t think I’ve ever really TASTED what a pineapple actually tastes like until I tasted it here. You are fabulous. Tart, juicy, citrus party in my mouth. Same goes for bananas. Everything is just so sweet. Keep up the good work, fruits. *High five.*
Dear Rainy Season,
I think you’re here a month early, and it’s making me sad. I can’t keep going to bed at 7:30 every night due to the lack of solar power (true story). Come on, now.
(A dear friend named CHRISSAY CAMPBELL sent me an article entitled “Cincinnati is just OK” and it inspired me to write this:)
Dear Cincinnati,
Oh, Cincinnati. I feel like I owe you an apology. Although you’re sketchy and humid and not as hip as a lot of other cities, I feel like I’ve wronged you more than you deserve. I thought that coming to Africa would provide me with an escape from you. I thought being in Africa would remind me of just how pitiful you are; it would confirm my longstanding disgust of you. Au contraire! Being in Africa has actually put you in a more rosy light for me. Sure, you may be dirty and I may have had a homeless person break into my apartment building once, but Cincinnati, you have so many things going for you. You have a farmer’s market and a pretty nice downtown area and that gorgeous park that’s built on a cliff near my old (dearly, dearly missed) apartment. You contain my university where I have met so many people I love, and who have impacted my life. You have Ambar, home of the best Indian food that has ever passed my lips. And, most importantly, you have really, really good margaritas. (Kidding about the ‘most importantly’ part. Maybe.)
But seriously Cincinnati, you have so many little nooks and crannies where things have happened to me, big and small. You have my memories. And I am a sucker for memories. You never did me wrong; I just refused to make the best of you. And now that it looks like I might not be around you for much longer, I’m a little bit… sad. Now, don’t get the wrong idea. This doesn’t mean that I want to be with you forever. It just means that I’ll miss your little quirks… sometimes. And, okay, I’ll admit that you’re sort of cute, in a roundabout kind of way. Like a pug dog, or Renee Zellweger. But really, most of all, you’re home. I guess it took spending a summer on a different continent for me to admit that.
Stay real, Queen City. I’ll see you in 18 days.
❤ Melinda
the ceiling in a volunteer's house who we visited today. Christmas cards. Beach balls. Baby doll heads. You know, normal things to be hanging from a ceiling.
the mzungu chronicles. 
Wow! Great thoughts.