Not in Kansas Anymore

One of the biggest lessons that I’m learning is how to balance new experiences with familiar, comfortable ones. Walking straight into an expat community has meant that I have pretty easy access to things that I would find at home. Last weekend, for example, was all about the familiar: bowling, baking chocolate chip cookies, French toast for breakfast, barbecuing, eating Indian cuisine, enduring a high school Battle of the Bands, and Bible study. I actually had to remind myself that I'm not in California anymore.

Because I’m living with an American roommate and meeting the people in her community, I have started living the expat life. But I feel as though I have skipped the step of struggling to adjust to the Ugandan culture and have jumped straight into the part after culture shock where people begin seeking a few familiarities of home to make life in a different place a little more comfortable. This means that I haven’t learned as much Luganda (local language) as I want, I’ve avoided going downtown, and have contented myself in leaving the guesthouse only for work, food, and social gatherings with other Americans. My ability to give into my desire for comfort is frustrating, and this weekend I readdressed my need for some adventure.

While the adventures weren’t huge, they were a start. This weekend I saw more of Kampala than I’ve seen yet. I wish I could share photos, but unfortunately my photos are stubbornly refusing to upload. Anyway, on Saturday Kristen took me on a 2 hour walking tour of Kampala. We walked all downtown where I discovered Uganda’s national theatre, the single post office for all of Kampala (the reason why packages take 3+ months to get to people here), the innumerable cell phone and electronics vendors, the craft markets, the disparity between rich and poor Kampala, and some of the ugliest birds that I’ve ever seen (Jungle Book-like, three-foot tall, vulture-storks). It was so neat to discover that downtown Kampala really isn’t that big and is actually easy to navigate. Kristen and I took a few walks this weekend, and I’ve loved seeing different Kampala neighborhoods. Gaining a sense of direction not only reassures me that I know where I’m going, but also gives me a sense of belonging. By physically orienting myself, I am adopting this place as home for a while. Getting to know the city was one of the most encouraging things I have done yet.

For those of you wondering, I went to church for the first time this weekend. I joined an expat family for the service at their international church. While I enjoyed the service and the close-knit, family feel of the community, this church was mostly “Muzungus” (white people), and I hope to find a church with more Ugandans. I am looking forward to visiting more churches and seeing how other congregations worship. I pray I will feel welcome and will enthusiastically invest my time and service in one of the churches here.

The “flashing” offense has yet to be repeated (I’m determined not to give into such temptation), and I’m sorry to say there have been no major stories of such a humiliating caliber. Most of my embarrassment at this point is experienced while attempting to communicate with Ugandans. The number of times I usually have to ask someone to repeat themselves is awful. Luckily people are pretty patient with me. And what helps is developing my own Ugandan-English accent. So if I’m ever on the phone with any of you and I ask a question that sounds like a statement (i.e. the pitch of my voice goes down at the end of the sentence instead of up in spite of the obvious question mark at the end), now you’ll know why.

All in all, I am becoming more hopeful about my time here over the next year. Because of my few “Kampala” experiences in the past week, my desire to move outside of my comfort zone has intensified. I came here to get to know Uganda, and I can only do that by taking every opportunity to be in the community and interacting with the people and culture. I hope to make Ugandan friends. I’ll soon be moving into a new apartment, and hope to befriend my neighbors. I want to learn more Luganda, and I pray for the courage to ask for help and to use the words I know with my boda driver, the store clerk, or a coworker. I want to find a church where more than just expats worship, and I want to get involved in some sort of community service where I’m able to work with Ugandans. I want to travel outside of the city. I want to visit the orphanages and slums where my new friends work. I hope to love this place. I think I will. I look forward to finding and being able to appreciate a balance of familiar and new experiences. And I look forward to telling you all about my adventures on this side of the rainbow.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers; I am so thankful for you. Lots of love,

Megan