Tomorrow hits three weeks of living here in Uganda. In these past three weeks I have been able to actually learn about the culture, work on interacting with people here, and pick out more than a few differences between the culture at home and the culture here in Uganda. I am here to tell you, there are a ton of differences!
In the first blog post I posted, I listed a few differences as far as house work. Some of those are hand-washing dishes, clothes, towels, bed sheets and hanging them up to dry. Also, cooking, filtering water, no power almost through out each day, meat spoiling, no air conditioning, and tucking in and sleeping under mosquito nets night after night. I have finally started adjusting to these things. I have finally got somewhat used to no washing machine, dryer, dish washer, air conditioning, electricity or clean water. I have finally have started to somewhat get used to taking cold showers in the morning. Crazy, right?! The other day, Aly and I spent most of the morning and afternoon washing clothes and cleaning. I was standing in the bathroom rinsing out my clothes after washing, and thinking to myself, “I wonder what my friends back at home are doing..” I thought about how they are probably eating Mexican food, Chic-fil-a, or maybe just laying on the couch studying, watching tv or spending time with their families or friends. My arms were tired from washing and my back was killing me from bending over to wash. I started to really think about the differences between the two cultures..
During the past two years of the two week trips here in Uganda, I have never really had the chance to pick out and process differences within the city. All that has really ever stood out to me was the poverty, the dirt roads, no stop lights, and people flooding the streets. However, that is not all the differences within the city of Kampala and the city of Albany. Transportation back home are cars, trucks, and a few motorcycles here and there. Here, boda-bodas (motorcycles) are a way of transportation. Men line up on the side of the street, boda-bodas side by side, waiting to carry people from place to place. Sometimes it seems like there are more of those than cars. People drive however they want, and sometimes you just might get pulled over by the traffic police telling you to give a lift to whomever (yes, that really happened). The steering wheel is on the right side of the car, and you are to drive on the left side of the road. However, more than anything, people walk from place to place. You’ll see women carry their babies wrapped around their backs instead of in a carrier or in a stroller. Women breast feed in public, and always wear dresses or skirts. Men and women walk around balancing things on their heads to have extra hands to carry other things. People walk bare-foot. Kids roam the streets wherever they please. Men or boys pee on the side of the road. People take naps on the side of the road. Stopping on the side of the road at a street market, I have to constantly be aware of my surroundings. Oh, and my favorite, the “ice-cream truck” here is a boy on a bike with a little speaker playing the “ice-cream truck music”..
So, these past three weeks have been quite interesting. My body has been trying to adjust to the differences. It has been difficult trying to interact and keep up with their accents. However, I am finally starting to feel adjusted. I love embracing the different culture. I love going to a church that sings in English but also in Luganda. I love building relationships with other believers, and being a light to those who aren’t. Yeah, people look at us crazy because Aly and I are two young white girls driving around in the Mzungu mobile alone, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. :)
- Kaitlyn
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