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
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The adventure begins
I've arrived. I arrived safely on Saturday morning after 18 hours of flying, 8 hours sitting around Heathrow airport, and an hour waiting for my bags (which all arrived as well!). I was greeted at the airport by IJM's driver; Julia, the girl whose position I will be filling as of Monday; and Kristen, my new roommate. The ride back to Kampala was really cool--although I'm surprised I remember any of it, I was so delirious--huge banana trees, rolling green hills, and markets lining the roads made for a wonderful introduction to the country.
Despite my delirium on Saturday, Julia and Kristen thought it only fitting that I be immediately initiated into Kampala culture, which meant a ride on a boda-boda, or motorcycle taxi. I was not surprised by the reality of how dangerous they are, but I WAS surprised by how fun they are! And, to add to the joy of riding around town on a warm, sunny afternoon, Julia and Kristen taught me how they like to sing songs from The Sound of Music to one another as their bodas zip past each another on the road. Having grown up in a Sound of Music-loving family and having a semi-musical childhood, I eagerly joined in.
The past 7 days have truly been fun. I am constantly laughing at myself as I learn cultural "no-no's" (explanation to come) and try new foods. The food has been good, and I look forward to acquiring the tastes native to the area. Starches and carbs overwhelm their diet, so I've limited myself to eating Ugandan cuisine about once a day. But I love the fruit--there seem to be endless amounts of pineapple, bananas, and Jack-fruit (something that I've never seen before and honestly kind of tastes like Starburst). There is a remaining British presence in Uganda (they drive on the left side of the road here) and to my relief and comfort, British foods are easy to come by so I'm able to eat foods I am used to.
Work has been great. I love all 13 of my new colleagues, from the guard (such a sweet man!) to my boss, Ally. Everyone has been very warm in welcoming me, and all are eager to introduce me to their culture. I work with lawyers, social workers, community-relations staff, investigators, and accountants. I have been training all week for my role as Executive Assistant to the Director of the office, and am so glad that Julia, the Exec. Assistant that I am replacing (her internship ends today), has been here to show me the ropes and provide me with all her wisdom. I think this will be a really exciting time as I get to know my colleagues and actually be a part of the work IJM does here in the field.
And now for a "cultural no-no" story: Two days ago, Julia and I managed to offend hundreds of people in Kampala. Generally in Kampala women ride on the boda's side-saddle, not straddling the seat. And when they do straddle (when riding two passengers to a boda), it's generally in pants or a long skirt that still covers all of their thighs and knees. But Wednesday I was not feeling well and asked Julia to ride the boda with me. The trouble was, she and I were both wearing suit skirts--skirts that do not stretch much and can only "hike up" to make straddling possible. So here we are, sitting on the boda one behind the other, skirts pulled way high (I'm talking MINI skirt style), exposing all of our thighs. We're all settled in, albeit a little uncomfortable, and as we start to drive down the street, Julia finally decides to inform me that the uncomfortably bare status of our legs was not only weird for us, but was so taboo in Uganda that we were essentially riding the boda topless. To my dismay we were committed to riding the boda and continued to drive the 5 minutes home, "flashing" everyone around us. I'm sure there are many stories to come.
The ex-patriot community here seems pretty close-knit and I'm enjoying meeting other westerners who have a similar passion for humanitarian, development, and/or human rights work. I'm also amazed at the number of ex-pats who are Christians. I am thrilled to continue getting to know people from this community, and I am hopeful that I'll be able to develop strong friendships here.
Well, I'm off. I promise to put some pictures up soon. Most of the afternoons here have been stormy, so I haven't taken many photos. And as for the intense rain, we keep getting these intense downpours that can last hours, complete with thunder and lightning. I'm told this is the dry season.
Love you all!
Despite my delirium on Saturday, Julia and Kristen thought it only fitting that I be immediately initiated into Kampala culture, which meant a ride on a boda-boda, or motorcycle taxi. I was not surprised by the reality of how dangerous they are, but I WAS surprised by how fun they are! And, to add to the joy of riding around town on a warm, sunny afternoon, Julia and Kristen taught me how they like to sing songs from The Sound of Music to one another as their bodas zip past each another on the road. Having grown up in a Sound of Music-loving family and having a semi-musical childhood, I eagerly joined in.
The past 7 days have truly been fun. I am constantly laughing at myself as I learn cultural "no-no's" (explanation to come) and try new foods. The food has been good, and I look forward to acquiring the tastes native to the area. Starches and carbs overwhelm their diet, so I've limited myself to eating Ugandan cuisine about once a day. But I love the fruit--there seem to be endless amounts of pineapple, bananas, and Jack-fruit (something that I've never seen before and honestly kind of tastes like Starburst). There is a remaining British presence in Uganda (they drive on the left side of the road here) and to my relief and comfort, British foods are easy to come by so I'm able to eat foods I am used to.
Work has been great. I love all 13 of my new colleagues, from the guard (such a sweet man!) to my boss, Ally. Everyone has been very warm in welcoming me, and all are eager to introduce me to their culture. I work with lawyers, social workers, community-relations staff, investigators, and accountants. I have been training all week for my role as Executive Assistant to the Director of the office, and am so glad that Julia, the Exec. Assistant that I am replacing (her internship ends today), has been here to show me the ropes and provide me with all her wisdom. I think this will be a really exciting time as I get to know my colleagues and actually be a part of the work IJM does here in the field.
And now for a "cultural no-no" story: Two days ago, Julia and I managed to offend hundreds of people in Kampala. Generally in Kampala women ride on the boda's side-saddle, not straddling the seat. And when they do straddle (when riding two passengers to a boda), it's generally in pants or a long skirt that still covers all of their thighs and knees. But Wednesday I was not feeling well and asked Julia to ride the boda with me. The trouble was, she and I were both wearing suit skirts--skirts that do not stretch much and can only "hike up" to make straddling possible. So here we are, sitting on the boda one behind the other, skirts pulled way high (I'm talking MINI skirt style), exposing all of our thighs. We're all settled in, albeit a little uncomfortable, and as we start to drive down the street, Julia finally decides to inform me that the uncomfortably bare status of our legs was not only weird for us, but was so taboo in Uganda that we were essentially riding the boda topless. To my dismay we were committed to riding the boda and continued to drive the 5 minutes home, "flashing" everyone around us. I'm sure there are many stories to come.
The ex-patriot community here seems pretty close-knit and I'm enjoying meeting other westerners who have a similar passion for humanitarian, development, and/or human rights work. I'm also amazed at the number of ex-pats who are Christians. I am thrilled to continue getting to know people from this community, and I am hopeful that I'll be able to develop strong friendships here.
Well, I'm off. I promise to put some pictures up soon. Most of the afternoons here have been stormy, so I haven't taken many photos. And as for the intense rain, we keep getting these intense downpours that can last hours, complete with thunder and lightning. I'm told this is the dry season.
Love you all!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Welcome!
Hello! This is my new blog where I will do my best to post photos, thoughts, and stories from Uganda. I want to keep you all updated on life in Kampala, and I hope that this blog will not only be a place for you to hear from me, but for me to hear from you. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers--I could not do this without you.
Love, Megan
Love, Megan
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