About Me
My name is Christina, and I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2010 with a degree in Political Science.
The focus of this website are the experiences afforded to me in Uganda through Notre Dame: spending four months studying abroad in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda and spending the next two months serving in rural Western Uganda.
I am eternally grateful for my six months in Uganda, and I only regret that I could not stay longer. I learned so much about Ugandan culture, music, food, languages, fashion, family structures, tribes, geography, history, politics, education, expressions of Catholicism, celebrations, values, and time. I also learned a great deal about race relations, foreign aid, the influence of the United States in Uganda, different kinds of poverty, and human nature. My previous worldview was challenged immensely and reformed through amazing conversations, experiences, observations, and relationships. I miss the food and music of Uganda so very much, but it pales in comparison to how much I miss my friends, family, co-workers, and students in Uganda. Although the world is becoming tighter and more interconnected, it is very difficult for me because they are still so far away when I am in the United States.
The experience in Uganda has humbled my opinion of how much I know about the world. While I traveled and studied quite a bit over the course of my six months, I still know the tiniest fraction about life in Uganda. And then, Uganda is just one country other than my own in the entire world. However little I may know, I do know that I have an unquenchable thirst to travel and learn about the world. Based on my experience in Uganda, though, I want to travel in a productive way that is respectful of other cultures and contributes to authentic intercultural dialogue. Other virtues that I learned in Uganda are independence, patience, and hospitality. Finally, in my personal study of society in Uganda and the United States, I have realized that I should work to serve my own community in the United States as best I can because each of us has unique spheres of influence where we are most able to affect change. Each society has the potential to work with its talent from within to develop itself while engaging in an interconnected world and exchanging ideas with other countries and cultures.
The focus of this website are the experiences afforded to me in Uganda through Notre Dame: spending four months studying abroad in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda and spending the next two months serving in rural Western Uganda.
I am eternally grateful for my six months in Uganda, and I only regret that I could not stay longer. I learned so much about Ugandan culture, music, food, languages, fashion, family structures, tribes, geography, history, politics, education, expressions of Catholicism, celebrations, values, and time. I also learned a great deal about race relations, foreign aid, the influence of the United States in Uganda, different kinds of poverty, and human nature. My previous worldview was challenged immensely and reformed through amazing conversations, experiences, observations, and relationships. I miss the food and music of Uganda so very much, but it pales in comparison to how much I miss my friends, family, co-workers, and students in Uganda. Although the world is becoming tighter and more interconnected, it is very difficult for me because they are still so far away when I am in the United States.
The experience in Uganda has humbled my opinion of how much I know about the world. While I traveled and studied quite a bit over the course of my six months, I still know the tiniest fraction about life in Uganda. And then, Uganda is just one country other than my own in the entire world. However little I may know, I do know that I have an unquenchable thirst to travel and learn about the world. Based on my experience in Uganda, though, I want to travel in a productive way that is respectful of other cultures and contributes to authentic intercultural dialogue. Other virtues that I learned in Uganda are independence, patience, and hospitality. Finally, in my personal study of society in Uganda and the United States, I have realized that I should work to serve my own community in the United States as best I can because each of us has unique spheres of influence where we are most able to affect change. Each society has the potential to work with its talent from within to develop itself while engaging in an interconnected world and exchanging ideas with other countries and cultures.