Only Drunks Drive Straight on Ugandan Roads

Day 7, May 26

We had trainings inside all morning because it was pouring… language lesson, discussion about religion and culture, a talk on personal health. The interns were responsible for cooking dinner for 40 tonight. We planned the menu, who was going to make what, and decided on the budget. The big event of the day was going to the market to get all of our ingredients. The idea was that we would get our first experience bargaining in Lugandan. I was in the fruit group and we were very successful… 2000 shillings ($1) under budget. Norah, a woman from Masaka, was actually with Lyndsie, G, and I when we were buying the food, so it wasn’t difficult to get good prices. We got started cooking the food relatively late, so a lot of the food was gone by the time I got to eat, but I still was full by the end. Tonight it really hit me how Ugandans have such a strong sense of community. They all know each other and loved taking the time to learn each of our names so that we could be a part of their community too.

Day 8, May 27

We arrived at our host family’s house today. I may be biased, but I think Chelsea and I have the best housing situation. Our host sister, Dinah, is our age and speaks nearly perfect English. She is going to University next year in Kampala. Cynthia, FSD’s international program coordinator, is also living at the house. She’s from Houston and will be here for another 16 months. She will be staying here until her flat in town is ready. It’s really nice having her around… she’s been great during orientation. Our host mom (Mama Allen) is good at English; she seems so excited to have us here. The family has a house boy (Beka), a house girl (Bena), two goats, and about 100 chickens. We live in a gated compound which is a five minute walk from the hospital (where we will be working with TASO) and a 4 minute boda boda (motorcycle) ride from town. I had my last running water shower for 7 weeks last night. Though we have running water in the house, the only way to have a warm shower is to have a bucket shower. It was tough to get used to and the first time I tried it, I took forever. Apparently there is a technique that I have not yet mastered. Hopefully I will make that happen by the end of these 7 weeks. As for meals, we take heavy tea around 7 and dinner around 10. The tv is always on… tonight we watched la tormenta, a Spanish soap opera dubbed in English. It was horrible but hysterical. Apparently it is all the rage here… usually one of the first topics of conversation when families get together. They also love watching music videos (American and Ugandan.)

Day 9, May 28

We had our last day of orientation today. Chelsea and I took our first boda boda to the FSD office in town… actually a much smoother trip than it would have been in a car because the motorcycle can swerve around all the potholes. I can now say that I have straddled an African man on a motorcycle. When we got to the FSD office, all the other interns reported watching la tormenta and music videos the night before just as we had… it really is a big part of their culture. Another intern, Laura, said that her family has two pictures as some type of centerpieces in their house: one is of Jesus Christ and the other is a Titanic movie poster. She asked if they had seen the movie… they hadn’t. Go figure. Luke said his family tried to give him Vaseline because his skin isn’t shiny enough. We crammed into a taxi (a rather large white van) and drove through the rural part of Masaka to visit the traditional healer. I’m not really sure what I think about it. It was quite the ritual, complete with a small dark medicine hut, cleansing, chanting, summoning spirits, etc. I’ve never seen anything like that before. Many people trust the healer more than they trust doctors at the clinic. After two long trainings on how to work with our host organizations at the office, Chelsea and I headed into town on Mission Impossible: the goal was to get more skirts, and we made a pact to not pay over 8000 ($4) shillings. The first place we went to tried to charge us the muzungu price. They were charging 13000 for each, which was disgustingly overpriced. We just walked away. Friday is the biggest market day so we decided to walk straight there. I bargained two skirts down to 5,500 each and another to 4000 ($2). SUCCESS. Tonight was much less awkward with our host family. We watched la tormenta again. Our host dad hasn’t eaten with us yet. He usually takes a nap right after his tea. I haven’t really figured out when he has dinner. We gave Dinah, Mama Allen, Bena and Beka their gifts. They absolutely loved them. It was the best gift receiving I’ve ever witnessed. Phew.

Reflections:

Food: Matoke: it’s served at every single lunch and dinner. It’s one of those dishes that you (better) learn to love. Sweet potato: sweet? Yes. Orange? No. it’s grayish white and extremely unappetizing, but is actually very tasty. Irish potatoes: seasoned with some type of orange sauce. Gnut sauce: still not sure what it is, but it makes the matoke eatable. Rice: white or seasoned, pretty much what we’re used to in the States. Pumpkin: orange on the inside, green on the outside. Go figure. Pork: don’t eat it (possibility of lurking tape worms) so effectively, I’m a vegetarian for 7 weeks. Peas and carrots: spicy, and I’m a wimp, so by vegetarian I really mean all carbs all the time. Fruit: one of my favorite things about Uganda. A pineapple costs about $.50 so it’s also served at almost every meal. It puts the pineapple we get in the states to shame. Mangoes, papayas, watermelon, and passion fruit are also common. Tea: apparently I like it now! Secret ingredient? Ginger.

Weather: 70 to 90, very humid. The temperature hovers around 80/85 on a sunny day and gets cool and breezy at night. Apparently it’s like that basically year round. As you move west into the mountains is gets colder.

Critters: Mosquitoes: you will all be pleased to know that I don’t think I’ve gotten more than 2 bites the whole time I’ve been here. Geckos: all over the walls in our house (that’s for you, Mom and Nanna.) Grasshoppers: also all over the place. They are actually considered a delicacy here, but I haven’t had one yet. Apparently they taste like popcorn?

Music: American hip hop is big here, as is Ugandan artists’ versions of it. We are going to a concert tonight in Masaka. Two hip hop artists, Radio and Weasel will be here. I’m actually really excited. We’ve been watching some of their music videos at the house. I haven’t tried, but maybe they’re on youtube? Some of it’s pretty catchy.

Mosquito no pass: Ugandans’ term for “grinding.” Thought that was pretty funny.

Communication and culture: Luganda isn’t too hard, but it will take time to soak all our lessons in. The people here really appreciate it when I try to speak Luganda to them. They are eager to help us get better too. Two nights ago Chelsea and I brought out my Luganda phrase book and practiced with Beka and Bena. They really got a kick out of it. Jon, a boy our age helping out with FSD for the summer, has been with us during the entire orientation process. He’s fantastic. We played monopoly (a Sanskrit version) together the other day during some down time. He bought all the property and kicked my ass. I was explaining my last name to him today and he was having trouble keeping all the countries straight (USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Austria, Czech Republic, etc) together, so I drew out our family tree. He drew his out after me. It was fascinating comparing families and origins. In Uganda, people don’t understand having fewer than three children. It’s embedded deep within tradition to have large families. They will say, “Your poor father” if you say you only have 1 or 2 siblings. Ugandans also don’t understand having no religion. Most people here are catholic, muslim, or protestant. Other than not having one, they are very tolerant of all religions.

White people: we get called “muzungu” all the time walking down the street. Literally it means “foreigner” but basically it means white person. It’s not offensive at all, they just want an excuse to talk to us. It seems they like trying to use their English in front of us.