Wow. What an exciting week this has been. Recap of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday evening Kris and I went to bed at 8:00 p.m., planning to wake up in the middle of the night to attend an election results viewing party. I slept fitfully, waking up almost every hour with a mix of emotions (excitement, anxiety, nerves, fear, hope). Finally at 3:00 a.m. I was done sleeping. We got up turned on BBC radio to the news of Pennsylvania going to Obama. This was good news and got us energized to wake up fully, get dressed in our Obama gear, and get on the road to drive into town.

We arrived at La Fontaine restaurant/bar in Kamwokya by 4:20 a.m. There was a crowd gathered there, mostly Americans, a sprinkling of Europeans, and several excited Ugandans and Kenyans. Some had stayed there watching the CNN coverage since the previous night and now were zombies fixated on TV screens. We settled in, got some coffee (I never drink coffee, so the caffeine really got my system buzzing!). Soon, Wisconsin and Minnesota (my home states) were called for Obama. Indiana and Florida were both too close to call. The tension was palpable. Everyone was excited but not yet ready to celebrate. When Virginia was called for Obama, and then seconds later the election was called for Obama, we erupted in cheers. We jumped up out of our seats and celebrated. Guards, boda boda drivers, newspaper salesmen on the streets started popping their heads in to share in the excitement.

I felt like I was dreaming. Was this real, or did I fail to wake up and I was still sleeping in my bed? This was the moment I was waiting for, but it wasn’t sinking in. I cried but even the tears didn’t feel real. All these emotions buzzing through me (along with the caffeine). I spent 600 shillings (30 cents) on a phone call to my mom. I guess to make sure that this was really happening, that the news we saw here on the screen was the same news filtering into TV screens around the world. Seeing McCain speak was still a dream. Is this really happening? But when Obama finally came on and spoke, I don’t think there was a single individual in the room with dry eyes. We all cried.

What do these election results mean to me, personally? I’m afraid to even write about this because I won’t do justice to the feelings that this has unleashed. What I can say is that for the first time in my life, I am proud to be an American. Call me unpatriotic, but my entire life I’ve been somewhat embarrassed to be an American, happy to be mistaken for a Canadian (especially when sporting my McGill backbpack, complete with a Canadain flag, overseas). But on Wednesday, I felt the pride rushing into me. I was so proud of my country!

I wore my Obama shirt all day. As I walked around town Ugandans called out “Obama oyee!” (to which the response is a resounding, “Oyeeeee!”). People gave me the thumbs up, waved, clapped, cheered. I saw Ugandans running around Kampala draped in American flags. They were proud of America. My friends, who know I am a big Obama supporter, kept calling me throughout the day to congratulate me. “Congs [Ugandan English for congratulations] on Obama!” I was bursting with pride. Strangers struck up conversation with me on the street: “You must be so happy about Obama! We are also happy!” What the average American may not realize is that Obama’s election will do wonders for America’s image abroad and for foreign relations. The whole world was watching; now the whole world has renewed respect for our country, hope for the planet’s future. (My only worry is that the whole world now has what are perhaps unrealistically high expectations for Obama.)

“This is your victory,” Obama said on election night. Most Americans probably interpret this to mean that this is every American’s victory. But Ugandans definitely feel that they share in this victory. As do Kenyans, who declared Thursday a public holiday to allow the country to celebrate the achievement of their “Kenyan son.” Africans are already talking about the shining example of democracy that this, are already using Obama’s victory as a call for African leaders to step down when their terms are over and let democracy run its course. Being in Uganda to witness this moment was so special because it made this shared sense of victory so tangible. This is a victory for people worldwide, for humankind.

On a more personal level, this victory is so sweet because in so many ways I feel that my family story is Obama’s family story. Not a mirror image, but the same broad brush strokes. And of course it is extra special that Obama shares the same heritage that my own children will have: half-American, half-East African. This will be a day we tell our children, our grandchildren about. We bought today’s edition of the Monitor, the New Vision, and Bukedde (Ugandan’s three daily newspapers) which we plan on saving, perhaps framing or laminating to preserve this slice of history and the Ugandan perspective from which we witnessed it.