try walking in someone else's shoes

At the beginning of class on Monday, Ashley told us to try and imagine being in the class room for the very first time, having never seen it or Ashley or the building ever before. Then she said to try that while walking around BYU campus. That was super, super hard for me to do because I have three older siblings who all went to BYU, so I remember coming to visit them here since forever ago, so I feel like I've known what BYU looks like my whole life. When I was like nine I came to drop off my oldest brother for school with my mom. It's practically impossible for me to think back to when I first saw BYU campus and what my first thoughts were. But I can imagine, I probably thought it was so huge and so cool. I probably thought about how old and important college students looked to me as a little 4th grader. Seeing campus for the first time, I would probably wonder why there was a statue of an Indian and notice how different all the buildings are with some being really old and some new, some really tall or big and some small or short. Of course there's tons of other observations and judgments I would make seeing BYU campus for the first time.

This is a skill I need to develop in order to start to understand people I meet, including those I meet in Uganda. I've always been told to step in someone else's shoes and try to see the world as they see it, but I've never really thought about it very much. I'm starting to realize how important that is in so many different ways and forms. I need to try to learn as much as possible about the people I will be meeting in Uganda, in order to try and view their city, their situation, their world the way they see it, instead of always just using my limited perspective in viewing my surroundings and when trying to connect with people. I should probably think about how they will view me as I come into Gulu, a young white girl from America.

I loved our reading "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari" because the story outlined so clearly the differences between the customs in different cultures. I should probably expect to feel humiliated at times, just like the author of the article, because there will be so much that I won't understand when I go to Uganda. It's important that I am aware of that and don't get totally frustrated or blame my lack of knowledge concerning the customs and culture on anyone. It will take time, asking questions, and observing to gradually learn bits and pieces about the ways of the Acholi people.