Kulikayo - Welcome back. Amazing how time changes things. It hasn't even been two weeks but wow...what to even say now.
Some random thoughts from my journal in the past week or so:
"This is people's lives here. No joke. Not for a vacation, not for a few weeks or even months. People live like this. For their entire lives. Birth to death. This is what they know - and usually all that they know. They don't know what washing machines, or pizza places are.
I had this revelation while bathing tonight, missing the convenience of showers, and wondering when - if ever - this will start feeling normal. Hmm. Only time will tell. I'm up for it though. Game on."
"I feel like I am in the beginning stages of a plague. Egypt style for real. There are bugs falling all around me. And I am supposed to be reading Politics homework?? Yeah right."
"We bathe with the amount of water equivalent to maybe 5 or 6 seconds of a shower. Try it sometime. Let me know how it works for you or if you find a good way to do it. :)"
"The director's wife talked to us today about expectations of the trip and of ourselves. She said that if we learn one thing about ourselves this semester it would be a success...which was kindof a relief. I don't know what kind of pressure I have been putting on myself - but it was nice to hear that and begin reflecting on what that's going to look like for me..."
Inspired by Chris Reid here are a few haikus I wrote the other night:
many crickets sing
a soft wind blows by my face
the night is so black
sitting on the porch
anooke saying "motocah"
elijah singing
trying to process
all these things that are different
brothers and sisters
new conversation
they have such joyful laughter
i don't understand
such differences
yet I wonder, how alike?
I am still learning
"I am so thankful and filled with joy to be here. Tonight I was sitting on the mat out on the porch nestled between Rebekah and Deborah with Anooke on my lap just talking and listening to Elijah sing and "call upon the name of the Lord." All as Megan was out bathing with the "night dancers" (people who come get you at night...according to our sisters). What a great family."
"I have been very impressed with how much Ugandans want us to enjoy our time here - they love their country and hope we feel the same way. Charles, on the bus, said "We are so glad you chose Uganda for your studies. How have you found your time here?" Why are we not like this in the US...I feel like we could often care less about the impression people get of the US...?"
"Discovered today that there are squirmy little mosquito larvae in the water we use for cooking, washing clothes, and other stuff. Delicious. :)"
"Last night was wonderful - for the first time I laughed genuinely really hard and felt 100% comfortable. Dance breaks so many barriers. So Krista and Lily (two girls from USP) are on their 2 week homestay now and are staying with our neighbors. The family they live with owns the cow at our house - so they are over every night to milk the cow and such. There are 4 daughters I think, and a brother. They all came over and we had the most marvelous dance party!! They started teaching us African dances...like "The Cleopatra" and "tingisha, tingisha". I wish I could show you now. Anyways, they laughed super hard at our impressions of them. Then we taught them the sprinkler and the chicken dance - it was hilarious!!! They were SO into it. And then we pretended to be super models walking up and down the "runway" or our yard. Oh, it was great. :)"
Some of the "little joys" that we are supposed to be taking time to celebrate amidst any culture stress that might be getting us down...
-getting to help prepare dinner finally (they treat us like guests for the first week and then let us start helping out around the house! yay!)
-rebecca and imme feeling comfortable enough to come hang out in our room at night when we are doing homework before bed - feels like a big sleepover
-devotions with the family after dinner - getting to see an up close picture of what Christianity looks like through African eyes...surprisingly (or not) its so very much the same. At least with our family. I mean after all God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (And in the US, Asia, and Africa)
-being asked to say the nightly prayer after dinner
Ok one more story before we go - this week we have been planning Megan's wedding with our neighbor, Ivan. He's about 20 and from what we hear has various other girlfriends or interests at least...but one night he told Megan that he had 100 cows and 50 goats - and would that be enough for her hand in marriage? So funny. So we sat on the porch (also with his sisters) writing out all the things Megan required before she would marry him. (joking, obviously) The list became pretty intense...involving 500 goats, 300 cows, 10 TVs, 7 airbuses, 10 rooms in the house, 7 workers (myself included...I am the maid), and on and on. Then Deborah took the sheet and said she would take it to their dad to calculate the money and bring it back. And she did! They estimated how many shillings everything would be worth...and oh man, it was alot. Haven't done the final math yet but it was millions and millions of shillings. Ivan's dad said he would be more than willing to pay it all, as long as Megan loved Ivan. haha. Our dad came home towards the end of the negotiations and thought it was hilarious! He said that Megan's dad would kill him for letting this go on! :) It was such a good time - we laughed so hard.
Ok I'm outta here - please take care, God Bless and keep updating me on your lives!
Love and miss you guys!!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
First Pictures!
Here is Mukono, the town nearby...a beautiful sunrise taken from our house...me with Rebek, Imme, and Anooke...and me with Anooke (cutest little boy EVER!)
Life in Uganda
Matoke (mah-toke-eh). “The food of the heaven.” And dinner and lunch every day. Its basically green bananas (unripe kindof but I think they are different somehow) mashed up and cooked for a long time. It’s yellow/brown and mushy. Weird flavor, but I have discovered that it’s WAY more tolerable with some kind of sauce on it. The ground nut sauce is one of the best…its purple and grainy. The food here really is good though, I’m thankful that I haven’t really had any problems finding things I can eat. My family is super good about my wheat allergy which I am so so grateful for. For dinner every night we usually have rice, cabbage, Irish potatoes, matoke, and some kind of meat in stew-like sauce. Thankfully Ugandans like their food cooked well, so we don’t have to worry about health stuff really. We have lots of tea…which can be black or mimick (evaporated milk we think...which I am officially afraid of because sometimes its really clumpy and scary!). This morning for breakfast we had tea, scrambled eggs, and popcorn.
We have lunch at school – which is rice, beans, matoke, and posha (corn flour and water – made into a sponge-like flavorless cake). Its good, but the nutritionist inside me is hurting for some fruits and veggies. Also, breakfast is small, and dinner isn’t until 9 or 10 at night…so somehow they get all their calories from two meals. And yes, I am hungry ALL the time. But adjusting slowly.
Every thing takes more effort here. Thus, I find myself pretty exhausted at the end of each day. Its funny when my sisters notice we are tired. They say, “You look tired. You may rest for some minutes.” So nice.
Everyone walks slowly. Which is nice, actually. Makes you sweat less since it’s so hot here. Oh and they walk on the opposite side...and drive on the opposite side...still do a double take everytime I see a car with noone in the "driver's seat". Haha...I'm such an American.
People are way dressed up for school rather than casual sweatshirts and sweats - which I actually really like. Though I do feel bad for the guys all wearing dress shoes, slacks, and long sleeved dress shirts. Bummer...
Ugandans also seem to be much blunter than we are in
We learned that our mother is at school all week – she is at nursing school in Kamplala and they can’t afford to get her home during the week. She will be back Friday night. Its sad she's gone but nice because the kids are much more open with us when their parents aren't around.
Classes are quite the rude awakening. I’m feeling right now like it’s so unfair to expect us to be able to sit and read and do assignments when we are still trying to figure out the things of daily life like using the squatty potty and bathing. But, alas, we are here for school. Just another thing that will take some adjusting to.
Quote from my daily devotional that just fit so well with what’s been going down here:
“He removes from my life everything that would make me earthbound, self-dependent, or experience-centered.”
I’m looking forward to waking up in the morning looking forward to God’s call and plan for the day rather than dreading the long process of getting ready in the morning. Not dreading really…I don’t know. The sunrise was beautiful this morning...red and magnificent as I was bathing…which was refreshing.
We are making some headway with our family. Some neighborhood girls came over last night and we had fun sitting out on the porch with them playing cards and taking pictures.
Musumba’s one rule for the house is this: you must pray before going to bed. We usually pray as a family after dinner, but he said if we don’t, we need to do it ourselves. So cool. The first night he prayed for us, and for our families back home...I almost cried. So heartfelt and compassionate.
The USP students are really cool – I’m looking forward to getting to know them better. Already had some quality conversations about stuff. Please keep us all in your prayers as we adjust to life in Uganda…
Monday, January 12, 2009
Ahhhhhh!!!
Learning lessons quickly. Just wrote a blog and as I was posting it the internet disconnected and I lost it. Here it goes again.
If only there were words to describe this place. There are words I suppose, words like “webale” (thank you) and “oli otya” (how are you?) and “ente” (cow – like the one in our backyard). I wish I knew them all already.
Ok…where to start. There is too much too say. And no way to say it. The trip out here was good…long…but fun to start to get to know the other students on the program. Very cool cats – it should be good. We spend the first night at the university and the last two at our homestay. I am paired with a girl named Megan, who is super nice and we get along great – I have been SO thankful to have her around. Can’t even say.
Our family greeted us with “You are welcome” “You are so very welcome” – to show they are happy to have us there. As everything here, this greeting is backwards from the States – they say you are welcome and we say thank you.
Our family consists of Reverend Henry Musumba, Mama Irene, and little brother Anooke (2 years old – soo cute!!). But there are always more kids around – some live there we think. There’s Rabek (17), Marie (17), Ima, Steven, Elijah, Rita, Deborah, Sandra, and the list goes on. All but Anooke speak at least some English, which is great – but hard to understand still. They often speak Luganda to each other and then look at us and laugh…we have no idea why. Its like being in a nail salon…but worse.
What I have learned so far…I know nothing. I have never felt so stupid or out of place. I am hoping that changes quickly. Megan and I are constantly asking each other what on earth we are supposed to do. Our family is very kind, but quiet – and it just feels like we are supposed to know what to do. And when we ask – sometimes they don’t understand what we are saying…but kindof pretend like they do…which is funny.
I can't imagine not feeling completely out of place here. But I am hoping it feels more and more like home as time goes on.
Our house is much nicer than I expected. Megan and I have our own room – with two beds and a window (that’s it). The backyard is my favorite – with the cow and its one week old calf – so cute! But its loud…it wakes us up each morning with its mooing…we laugh every time. The toilet is outside in a little shack and consists of a rectangular hole in the ground…complete with cockroaches, spiders, geckos, and bugs galore. We have a bucket in our room for if we have a "night call" (have to go at night) because it isnt safe to go outside after midnight. (Just a precaution mom, dont worry!) The bathroom (bathing room…where they shower) is a little cement area where we bring our basins and water. Its right next to the cow. I literally looked at the cow while I bathed this morning. Hopefully the whole bucket shower thing gets easier…its pretty rough right now. My hair is a frizz ball. But I only know from seeing my reflection this morning in a window – no mirrors at home. Which I love.
Ah there is so much to say! Food is good – and plentiful. Ima and Rebek run the house as far as food is concerned and I am blown away by all they cook! They spend most of their days cooking and cleaning up. And they are probably 13 and 17 years old. Very impressive.
Family is very important to them. Whenever someone introduces themselves they always tell about their family too. Really cool.
We went to church to hear our papa preach yesterday and were 2 of maybe 5 white people. But it was in English and we actually knew some of the songs! Our sisters then took us to the market in Mukono (10 min walk away) which was fascinating. I think I got proposed to at least 30 times…haha. More on that later…
I hate to say that I have wished many times that I had chosen the USE track – the people staying on campus…because it would be SO much easier. But I know I will be thankful to be where I am soon. I am grateful at least that I am still excited about all the things I thought I would be…if that makes sense…all one big adventure!
Ok – that’s it for now – I’m gonna TRY to keep these short for those of you (Nate) that don’t want to read a lot…shoot me an email if you care for more details – goodness knows I have plenty to tell. I don’t have internet on my computer yet – just borrowing someone’s right now.
Hope you are all well, I love and miss you!
If only there were words to describe this place. There are words I suppose, words like “webale” (thank you) and “oli otya” (how are you?) and “ente” (cow – like the one in our backyard). I wish I knew them all already.
Ok…where to start. There is too much too say. And no way to say it. The trip out here was good…long…but fun to start to get to know the other students on the program. Very cool cats – it should be good. We spend the first night at the university and the last two at our homestay. I am paired with a girl named Megan, who is super nice and we get along great – I have been SO thankful to have her around. Can’t even say.
Our family greeted us with “You are welcome” “You are so very welcome” – to show they are happy to have us there. As everything here, this greeting is backwards from the States – they say you are welcome and we say thank you.
Our family consists of Reverend Henry Musumba, Mama Irene, and little brother Anooke (2 years old – soo cute!!). But there are always more kids around – some live there we think. There’s Rabek (17), Marie (17), Ima, Steven, Elijah, Rita, Deborah, Sandra, and the list goes on. All but Anooke speak at least some English, which is great – but hard to understand still. They often speak Luganda to each other and then look at us and laugh…we have no idea why. Its like being in a nail salon…but worse.
What I have learned so far…I know nothing. I have never felt so stupid or out of place. I am hoping that changes quickly. Megan and I are constantly asking each other what on earth we are supposed to do. Our family is very kind, but quiet – and it just feels like we are supposed to know what to do. And when we ask – sometimes they don’t understand what we are saying…but kindof pretend like they do…which is funny.
I can't imagine not feeling completely out of place here. But I am hoping it feels more and more like home as time goes on.
Our house is much nicer than I expected. Megan and I have our own room – with two beds and a window (that’s it). The backyard is my favorite – with the cow and its one week old calf – so cute! But its loud…it wakes us up each morning with its mooing…we laugh every time. The toilet is outside in a little shack and consists of a rectangular hole in the ground…complete with cockroaches, spiders, geckos, and bugs galore. We have a bucket in our room for if we have a "night call" (have to go at night) because it isnt safe to go outside after midnight. (Just a precaution mom, dont worry!) The bathroom (bathing room…where they shower) is a little cement area where we bring our basins and water. Its right next to the cow. I literally looked at the cow while I bathed this morning. Hopefully the whole bucket shower thing gets easier…its pretty rough right now. My hair is a frizz ball. But I only know from seeing my reflection this morning in a window – no mirrors at home. Which I love.
Ah there is so much to say! Food is good – and plentiful. Ima and Rebek run the house as far as food is concerned and I am blown away by all they cook! They spend most of their days cooking and cleaning up. And they are probably 13 and 17 years old. Very impressive.
Family is very important to them. Whenever someone introduces themselves they always tell about their family too. Really cool.
We went to church to hear our papa preach yesterday and were 2 of maybe 5 white people. But it was in English and we actually knew some of the songs! Our sisters then took us to the market in Mukono (10 min walk away) which was fascinating. I think I got proposed to at least 30 times…haha. More on that later…
I hate to say that I have wished many times that I had chosen the USE track – the people staying on campus…because it would be SO much easier. But I know I will be thankful to be where I am soon. I am grateful at least that I am still excited about all the things I thought I would be…if that makes sense…all one big adventure!
Ok – that’s it for now – I’m gonna TRY to keep these short for those of you (Nate) that don’t want to read a lot…shoot me an email if you care for more details – goodness knows I have plenty to tell. I don’t have internet on my computer yet – just borrowing someone’s right now.
Hope you are all well, I love and miss you!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Africa here I come!
Well I am on my way to Uganda here in under a week. As a muzungu (white person) in this new land I will be posting my thoughts, wonderings, confusion, overwhelmed-ness, discoveries, and whatever else I decide needs sharing. I don't expect to have much internet - but will update whenever I can. Enjoy, stay in touch, take care, and God Bless. Love you all!
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