International Bright Young Thing

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.”  

- Wendell Berry

Olivia Muwereza is a determined and independent adventurer.  She has a charming smile and a true gift for poetry and kindness.  In person, she is so quiet and so still her fearlessness and her intellectual intensity are easy to overlook.  But Olivia is, in the words of her high school biology teacher, “single-minded” in her pursuit of knowledge.

Raised in an SOS Village in Uganda, Olivia attended high school in Ghana and is now a first year student at Kalamazoo College in Michigan.  Amazingly, she’s already learning Chinese in preparation for her next undertaking.

What thoughts, hopes, or fears did you have about leaving Africa for your university studies?

I am usually a resilient person when it comes to moving away from home but I still had a few concerns about moving to the USA. I was basically worried about the social aspect of College Life in America. I thought I wouldn’t have people to hang out with since I am very introverted and I am also not used to partying or going out. When you are in high school you think this is what students do in college especially in the USA. However I was glad to find people of various races who related to me. Besides I have a roommate who enjoys going out but she still respects my decision not to go out with her and she has never considered it ‘uncool’ or anything of that sort.

What were your first thoughts/impressions upon your arrival in Michigan?

I might be wrong but I thought people here like meeting foreigners. Every time I told them where I am from, they would be like, “You are from Uganda? That’s so cool!” As far as I am concerned almost everyone I met was nice to me so I felt very comfortable in Kalamazoo.

Thus far, what has been the most difficult challenge in adapting to life in North America? (Food? Language? Culture? Etc)

At first I thought the food was fine but after one week I just couldn’t eat anything in the Cafeteria. The fruits and vegetables tasted different and I was tired of having fries for every meal. I am slowly adapting to the food since I am going to be here for four years. Another thing is that I feel like Americans speak really fast so I sometimes feel bad when I ask my friends to repeat themselves over and over.  Michigan is also very cold! What makes it worse is that people here are like “oh it’s going to get worse.”

What (so far) seems to be the biggest difference between life in Uganda (or Ghana) and life in the United States? 

I will say the weather because it gets so cold here unlike in Uganda and Ghana. The time difference is also quite huge so most of the time I have to wait until 2:00 am in the morning or wake very early to call home.

Do you think the experience of living and studying in Ghana has helped you adapt to living outside of your own country? 

Yes, I believe going to Ghana was good preparation for me. In Ghana I learnt how to deal with homesickness so even though I miss home, it’s not that bad. The fact that I met new people in Ghana also taught me to relate to people from various parts of the world. I was very shy before I went to Ghana so I am glad I can easily pick conversations with anyone I happen to find myself with. In addition, the academic program in Ghana has also enabled me to stay on top of my assignments in college. I feel like I do not struggle much to meet my deadlines relative to some of my peers.

What do you miss most about Uganda/Ghana?

The food and the music!

What do you (or would you) tell Americans about Uganda that they don’t seem to understand?

I think some Americans have what I would call a ‘stereotypical’ view of Africa which I would blame the media for. My roommate for instance thought that back home there are wild animals such as zebra’s monkeys etc moving around everywhere! So I explained that yes we do have those but they are not found everywhere. So what I always emphasize to my peers is that there is more to Uganda than what the media says. I would like them understand how a normal day is like for certain people in Uganda and why it is like that.

Why did you choose to come to the US for your university studies?

I chose to come to the US for university because there are not so many liberal arts schools in Africa. It’s like you have to know what you want to do before you go to university at home. I think I have a lot of things I am academically interested in and I simply couldn’t imagine myself combining all of them in one area of study. So I thought the system in the USA best suited the kind of student I am.

Were you always motivated to succeed as a student?  If not, who/what inspired you? 

I was not motivated as such until I joined junior high school. I was not a weak student but I cared only about the subjects that I liked and I succeeded at them very well. I did not like math and I never made an effort to perform better at it so in my national exams, I got distinctions in all the three subjects I liked and I got a pass in math. This affected my final points in the end. So in junior high school I decided to do my best in every subject including math. I think this new attitude contributed to my acceptance into SOS HGIC in Ghana as well as my excellence there.

You were the only student from Uganda in your HGIC class, and now you are the only SOS girl in your class to travel to the US for university studies. Do you consider yourself brave?  What gives you the strength to accept such big challenges and adventures?

Brave!! Wow to be honest I also ask myself the same questions. I am like “how come its only me?” But I would say that I am not afraid of being different as long as I am doing something that is good for me and it also makes me happy. I understand that this is all part of the learning process and it’s also part of growing up. I am also a Christian so I think God also has a role to play in all this.

You are a religious person; have you found a Christian community in Kalamazoo?  Are there any differences in the way people worship in America and the way people worship in Uganda or Ghana?

Yeah there is Christian fellowship every Wednesday on campus so I get to meet other Christian’s students and it’s nice to know people from different countries who share your faith. I would say the manner of worship is similar though the songs differ.

Do you have a class or a professor that really excites you?

I like my chemistry professor. His name is Dr. Bartz. He is very understanding and he has introduced me to various people who can help me in the subject. One time he said to me “It’s not as easy as you think, Olivia, you came across the ocean to learn from me and you have to get it right.”

What are your goals as a student?

I want to make my time away from home very meaningful. I intend to take advantage of the opportunities here. I am learning Chinese and I want to study abroad in China. I also intend to challenge myself by taking courses that I like not only those that I can easily excel in.     

“International bright young thing

Now you know for sure that you make the world swing

International bright young thing

Make it swing” 

– Jesus Jones

    

"They have left home, they are going"

Sometimes standing still is a challenge.  To stay home when everyone else seems to be scampering away can make us feel a little bereft.  In my life, I’ve often been the first to dash off on a new adventure.  Maybe that sense of mobility is my way of trying to outrun loneliness.

The following submission was written by one of my former students from Accra, Ghana.  Phoebe is a 2012 graduate of the Herman Gmeiner International College (HGIC) who has decided to take a gap year to stay home and work.  She is an outstanding student who took top honors in History at a school that prides itself on excellence in academics.  She’s also a voracious reader and an ambitious writer. 

Never afraid to speak her mind or share her feelings, she is an undeniable force of nature.  One day during our 11^th grade English class, she dropped and broke her laptop.   I don’t think the machine had even hit the ground before poor Phoebe went apoplectic.  Were it not for the immediate intervention of almost everyone in the room, the computer and the girl would have been down for the count. 

Phoebe sent me this poem after reading my blog’s introductory remarks about seeking new adventures.  By offering this differing point of view, she provides an important perspective on our increasingly mobile society . 

In her desire to see her classmates someday return to their homeland, she echoes the motto of HGIC – “Knowledge in the Service of Africa”.  It takes great faith to educate people who will take their learning elsewhere, but maybe that faith is a hopeful element of our global culture.

12^th August, 2012:

“Wore fe fie, worekoo”

(~They have left home, they are going)

One day they will leave the land of their birth,

Then, the sun will grieve; she will refuse to set,

She will scatter her sons all about the earth,

And she will know not of their return; not just yet.

The sower will sow seeds as the parable tells,

On paths, in good soil, in rocks and in thorns,

They will find themselves in a world so new,

And so different from where they were born,

Can these seeds so accustomed to our warm red earth,

Thrive and bear fruit in this strange, foreign man’s land?

Can they, through the perilous journey to their peaks

and biting cold and cruel winters stand?

Yet they will be thrust into the thrills of orientation, and college greek life,

House parties, stimulating lectures, and freshmen events,

Most importantly they’ll take on ambassadorial roles,

Their countries, and the entire African continent to defend

These are seeds of no ordinary kind,

They are a rare breed of genius, straight from the Master’s mind,

Planted in fertile soils, in the milk and honey land,

They will sprout, and bear fruit to the pride of their homeland,

Maybe Christmas, summer, or four years later they shall return,

ushered back by the rhythms of Osibisa’s “Welcome home”

the motherland awaits our service, seedlings

let us come back and unravel our manifold of blessings.

Mebrahtu Waits for Snow

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to move from northern Ethiopia to midwestern America - well, the following entry will provide a few answers.

The subject of this interview is one of my former students from the SOS-Herman Gmeiner International College (HGIC) in Tema, Ghana.

Mebrahtu studied at HGIC during his 11th and 12th grade years of high school.  He and five other students arrived in Ghana two weeks into the academic year and they hurridly tried to adapt to the culture, the language, and the West African heat.

One of my lasting memories of Mebrahtu is that he often forgot to bring his school supplies to class, and when I would ask the group to write in their journals he would fake it...with an invisible pencil.  Sometimes I actually thought he was writing.

Mebrahtu grew up in an SOS Children's Village in Mekelle, Ethiopia.  Mekelle is one of the northernmost villages in Ethiopia and it is an area known for beautiful terrain and equally beautiful people.

Now studying at Ripon College in Wisconsin, Mebrahtu has some fascinating things to say about his new life:

What thoughts, hopes, or fears did you have about leaving Africa for your university studies?

I was actually afraid to leave home for the first time because I have never had life experience with white people. I had also fear about my language, from what I heard about the US people, I thought people wouldn’t have time to ask me to repeat what I have said if they didn’t get it. From the information I had about American people, like they are always busy, they don’t want to waste their time talking to people and so on. They don’t even have time to seat and eat their meals; they just buy foods and eat walking to their business. I had a fear if I would make friends with such kind of people. So the wrong information I had made me to fear the situation in US.

What were your first thoughts/impressions upon your arrival in Wisconsin?

I first arrived in Chicago and I was really surprised by the airport especially by the security agents. I was surprised how Americans pay attention for the security of their country and their people. I understood not far from the airport that American people are friendly and ready to help. Since I came from a developing country I was almost impressed by everything I saw. When I first arrived at Ripon College, my heart was pumping, I was really scared.

What (so far) seems to be the biggest difference between life in Ethiopia and life in the United States?

Oh, hmmmm there is a very big difference if we look at the quality of life. I can start from the basic needs, water; most people do not drink clean water in Ethiopia. When I came here I realized the water I have been drinking for many years was somehow not clean.7000 people live at Ripon, but everything is full for the 7000 people, like roads, water, super markets, trains, etc.. I bet if it was in Ethiopia the government would have known them.

What do you miss most about Ethiopia?

I miss a lot of things, my family, my brother and my little sister and my lovely friends. I also miss “enjera” (Ethiopian food).

What do you (or would you) tell Americans about Ethiopia that they don’t seem to understand? 

I am really surprised that a lot of people in my college do not know Ethiopia. Some of them only know that Ethiopia is one of the few poorest countries in the world. Moreover, most people think Ethiopia is in the same situation right now as it had been in the past 20-30 years. Almost most of my friends here do not know about our culture and languages. They were really surprised when I told them that we have a different calendar, and we celebrate Christmas one week after them. I really enjoy telling my friends different things about Ethiopia like our foods and cultures, the bads and the beautiful ones. Some of my friends had the chance to eat enjera and I am very glad they really liked it.

Why did you choose to come to the US for your university studies?

As far as I know US is one of the best countries in the world which have very good educational system. Moreover, it is also good to explore different country especially the developed countries like USA; as you would be able to see and understand how they become developed countries and the value they give to any job.

You have one classmate from HGIC with you in Wisconsin. Is it nice to have someone from home with whom you can commiserate?

Yeah, sometimes you miss home to the maximum and you really want to remember your friends and the crazy things you did together. So if you have someone you know very well, it will be easier for you to chat with about those things. Moreover, once a while it is inevitable to feel lonely, so it is really important to have someone from home with whom you can sympathize.

Do you have a class or a professor that really excites you?

Yeah, my history professor excites me. She knows I am from different country and English is my third language; so she calls me to her office once a week and helps me with my difficulties; and I like when she asks me every week “in what language are you thinking now?, Have you started thinking in English?”

What are your goals as a student?

My goal is to be a chemical engineer, now I am in liberal art college, to enjoy education from every direction, science, social sciences, religion, music etc.
I have a plan to finfish my education in US; I want to finish my first degree at Ripon College, and move to another university for masters. But before masters I will work in Ethiopia for one year, just for free to help my people. After finishing my masters, I will go back home and help my country with everything I can.