Spending 7 days in Uganda for work-related reasons was super exciting days for me. It was not my 1st time traveling to Uganda, it was my 2nd time coming to this country. This second time, I feel like am going back home as a different person.

Everything was new and confusing on the first visit to Uganda. I felt that people and even the food were not friendly and I got sick after eating food I did not know before and I felt very bored with the country. But my second trip was outstanding. I felt like I was at home (Somalia) and confident. The reasons that made me feel Uganda as my second home are the following:

1. Training at K Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda

Having participated in international training offered by an international trainer was a special feeling for me. This kind of unique trainer led us to long hours of training from morning to evening and then we ended up to reading many hours because of the nature of the training and trainer. The trainer was from England and she had over 20yrs of experience in the aviation industry. She was once the station manager of Etihad Airlines at Manchester Airport, UK. She was also based at Heathrow Airport, England. She was a multidimensional station manager with years of experience.

Moreover, she had even written many articles as a reference for young upcoming station managers across the world. She worked in Doha, Qatar for almost 8 years. Her name is Fiona. Fiona is also part of the IATA-(International Air Transport Association) instructors. Now she studies nutrition in college just because she is fit and she also wants to qualify to give people pieces of advice on how she tackled to stay fit at all times. She keeps advising but she said I want to be qualified so that is one of the reasons she went to college to study nutrition. Except for the knowledge, you acquire from the training the personal experiences that Fiona fed and shared were beyond your imagination.

The character, the teaching methodology, and her well-lasting experiences are just one of the reasons why I felt Uganda was just like home. Without her, I could not even craft this small piece. Whenever I remember her, I feel how important experience is for all fields. I will miss Fiona as she went to Madrid, Spain where she was training people recently.

2. Food/Vegetables/Fruits

The first time I arrived in Uganda, food was my first enemy. As I mentioned earlier I got sick when I tried to eat and taste the kind of food they used to cook. Then what happened next? I coped with the food, every morning I was trying different food till then I started enjoying the food and the other different kinds of vegetables and fruits. What amazed me was how the Ugandan people are friendly with eating vegetables and fruits. In the restaurants, you see half-green plates.

They are different kinds of food with different names. For instances, I remember the following:-

Garlic Veg Balls: If I try to describe this kind of food it is like mixed vegetable dumplings tossed with spicy, sweet, and sour sauce.

Hara Bhara Kebab: This is like fried patties made with spinach, mixed with chopped vegetables and cottage cheese.

Kachumbari Salad: This is all about julienne cuts of cucumber, carrot, cabbage, onion and tomato mixed with lemon and roasted peanuts.

Gajar Ka Halwa: A light nutritious dessert combining grated carrots, nuts, milk, and clarified butter.

3. Nature/Green/grassy

Most of the time in Uganda, it is raining. This made the country look very green and grassy everywhere. Having animals especially cows it’s like a normal thing for them every family mostly has some and because of the green environment, you don’t need to stress yourself to find out what the cows will be eating. All these kinds of green environments contributed to staying in Uganda comfortably!

5. People

Although you can see that people are suffering due to the extreme poverty in the whole continent, still you feel that the people themselves are so hospitable in the country. No discrimination you just feel like you are at home.

6. Meeting International Friends

As the training was multidimensional and intended to cover many topics, I had the chance to meet different international friends from different countries in Africa and Europe. I interacted with them, had a conversation with them, and exchanged many ideas on the traditional cultures of our own country of origin. Seating a class with international friends, making presentations, and studying and training with them was one the ever-life transformational experience for me.

Conclusions!

Traveling to a foreign country has its advantage when it is to your plans and it’s much better when your travel objective is just to have fun, transform your life, see how people around the world are living, and experience the diversity of the people, culture, language, and environment. So personally, my travel was on a mission and it was all about personal and career development. What an amazing journey to Uganda. I say that because change begins from you (inside) that is why I was saying I came back when I was seeing myself as a confident and different person!

Till that then, I decided to craft this small piece of writing because I could not keep quiet about this. Kudos to all my friends out there who traveled enough; lived and experienced the life of countries around the world. My suggestion is to travel if we are capable of it financially and physically.