Going Away Party

This weekend I had a going away party on Saturday night. I printed off copies of the Ugandan flag, wrote a fact on the back about Uganda, and hung them all up. My mum and I decorated the house with Ugandan flag colors. We ordered delicious Ethiopian curries and injera bread from a local restaurant. Ethiopia is close enough to Uganda, and way more delicious in a culinary way. I tried to dress Beppo up like a lion. My friends cut out pieces of yellow crepe paper, but naturally, he was terrified of them (like most other objects that you can find in the world). He was our cowardly lion.

It was a great turnout! I had friends from middle school, high school, college, and beyond, and family. Al Franken even stopped by for a late-party cameo, and told me not to "fuck it up" and to practice safe sex in Uganda. Awesome.

It made me so thankful for everyone I know in Minnesota and elsewhere and couldn't have come at a better time for me. I think that these last few weeks before I leave (one week now!) are filled with anxiety-spurned self doubt and second-guessing. They have left me clutching to my dwindling confidence and questioning my choice. It means a lot that so many people came out to bid me farewell on Saturday, especially my friends who drove up from Madison and Chicago for the weekend. It was an emotional weekend for many reasons, as I received a letter that solidified something that I already knew in my heart; the end of a long-distance relationship that had been tenuous at best for the last 4 months. Although this was difficult, the friends and family around me softened the blow and reminded me of people who care about me and who I will never lose as connections and friends.