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This is a public apology to all those I offended during the year(s) I chose not to wear deodorant. It wasn't even that I was trying to be a hippie. It was just a simple misconception. From the pits of my arms, I deeply apologize.
xx
P.S. To be clear, it was many years back.
We took a trip to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda to track a family of gorillas and visited with 19 of them. The silverback is the leader of the pack and we were told that he consumes as much as 150 kilograms of food per day. To minimize disruption to these creatures' behavior, humans are limited to just one hour per day with them.
In their presence, we couldn't help but feel so feeble. They own the forest and moved about with such ease, watching as we clumsily slipped on wet foliage and tripped over entangled roots. We giggled among ourselves at the imaginary scene of our epically close encounter where we would introduce ourselves, thumping our chests. Me, Pauline. You, Gorilla. But alas, our 60 minutes of gazing from a distance were up and we were urged to slip and slide our way back out again.
In Kampala the other day we met 3 young Americans.
Kelly: a 22-year-old from Washington currently on assignment in East Africa to visit with NGOs and to hold workshops on how they could become donor recipients. In August he will spend one month visiting Southeast Asia before heading to Senegal by way of the PeaceCorps. With experience in agriculture, he will spend 2 years there focusing on subsistence farming. He has a keen interest in food shortages and food deserts, particularly in post-conflict zones, and after the program, he will return home to pursue a Masters.
Marissa: originally from Pennsylvania, but been working as a volunteer coordinator for the past year and a half in a small village in Uganda. She helps secure financial sponsors for school children, create volunteer projects, and works with donors from across the globe. She studied Clinical Psychology and History and after working with war veterans and children, she knew she wanted to focus on child risk prevention in post-conflict zones. In August she will return home to pursue a PhD.
Alec: a photographer from Colorado and recipient of the National Geographic Young Explorers Grant. He spent the past month in a small village in Uganda, researching a story about the overfishing of Lake Victoria and the effects on its people. This topic sparked an interest in him the last time he was in the area, learning about the concentration of AIDS within the community. Aside from writing his story, he will be working with other photographers to form a collective upon returning home.
There are inspired youth doing impactful things out there. It made me realize that, at age 33, I have the clarity of a nincompoop.