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.

Recognized By The World For What It Is. Special.

This past weekend we got to go on a little get-away to Jinga, home of the source of the Nile.  We were hosted by Adrift, an awesome rafting and bungee jumping company that really made the weekend.  They came to pick us up on Saturday morning, set us up with our accommodations for the night and then gave us a brief rafting intro, we separated into groups of 9, strapped on helmets and life jackets and hit the water.  I had the best raft, if I do say so myself, with our fearless leader from Canada, Josh.  At the beginning of our rafting trip we learned all of the commands we would need to know for the rest of the day and we practiced falling out, flipping over, and getting back in the raft.  In the calm we also enjoyed swimming and floating in the middle of the NILE. 

So the Nile is something you start learning about in Sunday school when you are like, 5 when you learn about Moses.  Not to mention learning about the amount of life it has provided for people since the beginning of history.  How intricately it supplied life when it would flood and then leave rich and nutritious silt to nourish crops and feed the Egyptians consistently over time (thank you Ms. Daly!).   Therefore, the whole day was basically filled with awe, not just because of the rapids but because of the fact that we were on the Nile. 

Anyways, we enjoyed some nice and big rapids in the morning, experienced our first flip in one of the rapids, which ended up being a little scary because I didn’t even think about the fact that I should probably hold my breath if I’m going into the water and I got a nice mouthful.  We then stopped for lunch at Lunch Island, where Adrift provided all the ingredients for the first, delicious, sandwich I’ve had since being in Uganda.  It was wonderful.  We then continued rafting and had 4 more rapids along with a couple hours of just rowing, floating, swimming, and getting to know each other and Josh a little more in the “down time”. 

The biggest action of the day was the last rapid, a class 5 called “50/50”.  50% chance you will flip, 50% you wont.  We flipped, big time.  The first part of the rapid we all went flying and I was under the water for what seemed like a really long time as the rapid churned me until I was out.  Kaylin, Megan and I were rescued by the safety kayaks and brought to another raft because ours had made it through the second part of the rapid.  That guide was crazy, and with 12 people on his raft he sent us in the perfect position to go out with a bang and the entire raft went flying.  I had hairy polish men in speedos land on me and use me as a ladder to get back to the surface of the water and keep me stuck under the raft for a little longer than I would have liked... but we made it back to our raft and finished the day nice and smoothly.  Overall, rafting on the Nile was ah-mazing and I would definitely recommend adding it to your bucket list!

That night we all spent time together, took nice hot SHOWERS, and had a fun dance party. 

The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and climbed 144 ft to the top of the bungee jump tower!  I was terrified, but I was glad I was going tandem with Megan.  As I watched a couple of other people go first it didn’t seem so bad either.

When it came to our turn, we walked out to the end, sat down while the guys strapped our feet together, clipped us to the rope and gave us a little demo of what would happen.  We then stood up and had to inch together towards the end of the platform.  That was the scariest part of the whole experience because after a certain point we weren’t allowed to look down so we were basically trusting this guy with our life to stop us before we shuffled off the platform.  We wrapped our arms around each other, listened to everyone countdown 3, 2, 1...and leaned forward to fall 144ft!  We both screamed the entire way down and during the whole 6 bounces up and down.  After we stopped they lowered us down to a raft where two Ugandans unstrapped us and towed us to the shore.  That was definitely one of the scariest experiences of my life but also very exhilarating… bridge jumping at home will be nothing now J

Africa is so great and I wish I could share my experience with you in more than just words! 

p.s. Tried to up load the video but internet is obviously not working.... soon! 

Quick Updates before the weekend!

1.  A few weekends ago IMME went to Lira, which is a district up North affected by the war, including one of the IDP camps.  What surprised me the most was now that everyone has been moved back to their homes and the IDP camps are completely are gone is that the war is basically unmentioned now.  There are still visible and deep rooted consequences of the war, like many orphans, etc.  However, we saw 3 awesome ministries that were completely different and talked with peace corps volunteers.  It was awesome and I would love to talk about it more i just havnt had time to blog all my thoughts. 


2.  I LOVE my family.  Especially Alex, we are now in the process of recording our own version of Chasing Cars, by Snow Patrol.  Maybe I'll share it with you all since being here has made me used to not being embarrassed.  


3.  We have started playing volleyball on sundays with our ugandan siblings and its been super fun.  


4.  Today is election day!  It will be really interesting to see how things play out.  This is looking like it will be the first free and fair election Uganda has ever had... but then again, who knows.  Lots of people arnt voting and are fine with Museveni, but in my personal opinion, I think they need a change of leadership or Egypt is going to happen in another 5 years.




I have lots more to say but if you want to know more about these just comment and ask questions! Also, what are people interested in hearing about... let me know so i dont bore you! 

Its Destiny

Part of me feels like I am doomed, I mean destined to be in the food business.  Not only has my American family been involved for basically ever, my host family here does outside catering on the side for some extra income.  


I didnt get to go because the event was far away and my brothers stayed over night, but I got to help wash all of the dishes the next day!  Some neighborhood women and the little boys helped too.  

Its not easy being Mzungu

I really had no idea how white I was.  It doesnt matter if I'm one of the tanner people at home, here I am a mzungu (ma-zune-goo).  Mzungu just means white person, and its not a derogatory thing at all, just a statement, something to call the random white person to their face or just in conversation.  


Its interesting though, all the different reactions you get from people wherever you go.  I think there are three main camps when it comes to opinions on mzungus and then a special category. 


1.  There are the people who think you are funny and something to make fun of when you pass them on the street (usually a group of guys my age or a little older).  Its easy to make fun of you because you obviously have absolutely no idea whats really going on even when you are getting used to things.  So the interaction looks something like this: they you see you coming and start smiling, then when you pass they start laughing and talking, sometimes you catch the word mzungu and you definitely know they are laughing at you.  But really, its normal and nbd. 


2.  Then there are the people who think mzungus are the coolest people in the world.  Their mindset is that if you are white you must have money and connections to visas in the US.  This group includes the boda-boda drivers who shout "mzungu I love you!" "mzungu, marry me!" (decoy rings are great!) to the girls who come up to you and say "Hi, I'm Betty, I've always wanted a mzungu friend, can I have your number?"  Out of all people, this is the most annoying group because its actually great not knowing what people say when they make fun of you. 

3.  Then there is the group of people, mostly children or at least age 16 and under who are just in shock that there is a mzungu in their community that I basically have celebrity status.  Let me tell you, its such a great ego boost walking to school hearing "mzungu bye!" over and over again from all of the cute kids I pass in the morning.  


Then there is the special category of people, mostly older, but this group is only discovered when you start to speak Luganda.  People don't really expect much of you until you greet them in Luganda.  It feels like magic when that happens because their faces instantly light up and are so excited and appreciative that you are willing to learn their language.  Its great.


I now greet two older women (who are friends of my maama's) on my way too and from school everyday as they are sitting out by the road selling their produce and charcoal.  There is also a little girl, probably almost 2 who sits with her dad/grandfather? everyday while he is selling his produce.  She has the cutest voice and its fun to great her in Luganda because she is totally not expecting it.  


So at first, being a mzungu was a little awkward - I had never felt so different in my entire life.  But there is also such a freedom in the fact that I dont have to try and fit in because no matter how hard I try I never will.  


p.s. its the weirdest thing when you are in town and you see another mzungu and your thought process is "what? a mzungu? what are they doing here?"

I'm a Ugandan Woman!

Last week, Alex sat Megan and I down and explained to us that the family had given him the responsibility of giving us our Ugandan names, which is normally reserved for the father.  He explained to us the whole history of our tribe, called Buganda, which is the largest tribe in Uganda.  There are 4 origins of our tribe, which all happened and its a long story.... 


But within our tribe we are a part of a clan (the father's side).   Luganda names dont have meaning but they identify  people with their clan.  Within your clan there is a list of names for boys and girls which can be used (which I'm sure dates back to the original members of the tribe, keeping the ancestors as part of the family is VERY important here!... but there is no ancestor worship, contrary to popular belief).  


So, my Luganda name is: Omumbejja (Princess - yep, I'm royalty!) Ndagire Mawanda.  


To cement this, my mom made us try on the traditional dress, worn to all ceremonies and even church sometimes! 

Please note: these dresses are great on large African women... but not so much any American body

Fun with Alex

Here are some pictures of my brother Alex that I didnt have before, which were taken amidst lots of laughs and fun...

This is also my sister Megan, who is a USE student who joined our family for her two week homestay

And, I also chopped off my hair.... waay nicer in this climate and washing in a basin! 

This is maama "beating" Alex for doing pushups, but her favorite thing to say is: Yakukuba ("Im going to beat you")


He was doing push ups because he asked me out he can be stronger for when he plays soccer, so we all did some