[Emily] My first trip to
Africa was uniquely amazing. I was visiting Chris, who was finishing his second
two month trip to the town of Gulu, Uganda. During this trip, Chris interviewed
numerous fathers asking about the role of father’s in Acholi families, how
alcohol impacts the role of the father, and how VIVO (the German non-profit
organization Chris is working though) can offer support to fathers. Chris’
ability to seamlessly cross geographical and cultural boundaries with such
grace and compassion continues to amaze me.
Chris was wrapping
up his research in Gulu the first week I was there so I busied myself with
going to the market, cooking meals, cross stitching, and enjoying some
downtime. Another student from Germany was also there working so she and I had
a great time hanging out in the evenings if Chris was still busy. We went
shopping for fabric and gifts and attended a yoga class. Chris (and now I) has
a large group of friends in Gulu and one night a bunch of us went dancing at a
local club and got to watch a world cup semi-final game with a group of happy
Germans.
