University of Wisconsin–Madison

Uganda: Jenson Aaron (Home Away from Home in Mukono)

Five people sit on steps on the porch of a blue, green, orange and white house.
Five of us sitting on the porch of our guesthouse in Mukono, Uganda during our morning coffee. Pictured (from left to right): Jenson Aaron (me), Shelby Olson, Callie Ziebell, Isabelle Resnick, Michael Kafati.

As college students whose days are filled with rapidly paced and logistically complex schedules, many of us find solace in the development of a routine. When coming to Uganda, we left the familiarity of old routines almost 6,600 miles away and set out on a truly transcendental experience. Waking up on the first morning of the trip after a nearly 32-hour journey to the pearl of Africa, I attempted to find some semblance of home – having a cup of coffee in the morning and talking with my roommates is a routine for me. With jetlagged limbs I walked and got a cup of coffee from our kitchen in Mukono and expected to find myself alone on the porch in the morning. What I found, however, was the beginning of a new routine in Uganda. The early risers in the group would slowly trickle out onto our porch at the guesthouse we would be staying at for the next 17 days, and we began to talk – about lives in Madison, the nuances and subtleties of life in Africa. Our morning coffee chats would become the basis for the beginning of every single day in Mukono, and it began with roughly 6 or 7 of us. Prior to the trip, we had been complete strangers to one another, alike only in the sense we shared the same university and many of us shared similar majors within the sciences at UW. Over the course of those 17 days, I formed lasting friendships over the deliciously bitter taste of Ugandan coffee from a farm we visited during our time in country. As days began to progress, all of us became more comfortable with one another and our conversations ranged from the complexity of our experience to our longings for home, and it all started with the opulent smell of Ugandan coffee. Of all of the beautiful people and places seen, 7:30AM on the porch when the temperature was cool enough for relaxation and eyes laid heavy will certainly be the place I miss the most upon return to Madison.

Jenson wears a suit and smiles in a warmly lit room.

Jenson Aaron

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

Major: Microbiology, Global Health

Program: UW Agriculture, Health & Nutrition in Uganda

I chose this program because of my strong interest in broadening my understanding of health on a global scale. Being a global health major at UW, I have learned much in the classroom regarding the situations in Uganda and surrounding African countries. To be on the ground connecting and engaging in the lessons I learned back in Madison was a way for me to conceptualize my understanding in a practice and more “real” manner.

I look forward to learning the ways that people in Mukono live – to understand the philosophies the citizens carry with them and the ways they view our world. I hope to find myself in uncomfortable situations and adapt to my environment, and realize the inherent beauty in difference.