When Things Just Click

The greatest moments in life, especially here, are the ones that you connect with people. One of the biggest lessons we are learning here is what it means to be present. Life here is about community, its not what you get done in a day, how many trophies you have, how you are distinguished or you at all, its about how you relate to those around you. Like the saying you hear around Christmas, “its not about presents but about Jesus’ presence” it rings true here too.
An easy way to communicate your presence here is in greeting people. Greetings in Luganda and very important – there are many greetings and can be quite long. You can spend five minutes talking with someone and all you’ve said is hello! People expect that you can only speak English because you’re a muzungu but if you greet someone here in Luganda their whole demeanor changes and they are very appreciative of your humility to learn their language.
The best example of this happened to me Sunday afternoon as I was walking back home after our rafting trip. There is a woman I have greeted a few times as she has come to fetch water at our house, she is older and doesn’t speak any English so we have never had a conversation. But she was walking the opposite direction on the road I take home, saw me and had a giant grin on her face. Her whole face smiled, with her beautifully aged wrinkles emphasizing her joy. When we got close she stretched out her arms and gave me a giant embrace as I greeted her and then we went our separate ways.
Why would an older Ugandan women take time to acknowledge a young mzungu who could never understand fully her culture? Its all about presence. It has to be or there would be no other reason for me to receive a comforting embrace from an almost stranger on a lonely walk home.