Day 1: Mzungu in Uganda
A huge frog jumped on me in the bathroom first thing when I got here. "Welcome to Uganda!" he seemed to say.
It sounds like our little house is gonna blow over, and i can feel mist coming in from the windows. It smells like rain and jungle and even a little like fertilizer.
The ride from the airport to where I am was great, first on the more developed roads and then on typical Ugandan roads: red dirt with tons of potholes everywhere. Driving on them feels a bit like riding on a jack hammer.
It's morning now and the surrounding land is alive: roosters, many birds. . . All welcoming the new morning.
Am I crazy to say that I love it?!!
The day:
This morning we went for a walk around the village I'm currently staying in. We walked passed this goat/sheep animal with the weirdest looking tail. It almost looked mutant or like it had a developmental issue in the womb, but the man we're staying with said they're pretty typical actually. We walked down the red, muddy roads and saw Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and third largest in the world. We saw a politician's HUGE extravagant home, with towering outside walls and thick barbed wire atop them. Juxtaposed next to it was a small shack in a poor part of this village outside Entebbe. I just can't understand for the life of me how these politicians can live in a mansion next door to a family in a tin hut and govern so corruptly. It's beyond me and really makes me angry. Unfortunately the government is incredibly corrupt but I guess what's new. . .
We also walked passed an army camp where soldiers are housed. Apparently the UK (and US too) have brought in thousands of soldiers because oil was found nearby. So instead of allowing these people to make use of their own natural resources, more corrupt government has to come in to take it away for profit. Greedy and selfish, they do it because oil is money. It makes me ill.
Today we also went to the market in Entebbe. It was jam packed with people selling second-hand high heeled shoes and plastic wellingtons and vegetables and beans and dried sardines piled in silver mounds. The smell of sardines is in the air. Men ride around on their bicycles with stacks of plantains and pineapples that stick out 2-3 feet on both sides. People jammed in cars and on motorcycles and walking all squish up and down the road that runs through the center of the market.
We stopped to buy peas and beans from one of the many ladies squatting and preparing her goods. Old ratted umbrellas create a canopy over their heads and shield them from the sun. We also stopped and bought a cell phone from a vendor on the street. A phrase in Lugandan is loudly repeated over and over and over, I suppose trying to lure us mzungus and natives to buy phones, but instead made Derrik cry. The marketplace was a lot to take in, all of these people crammed onto a 3 block street, squatting with their goods displayed on old tarps. I wonder if anyone actually buys from these people, because I saw no one expect ourselves make a purchase as we walked passed. Usually the things they sell are of little value, but they put all their effort into selling them.
We also stopped at a small grocery store and bought bottled water. It was an interesting store, so much smaller than the ones at home. Everything is more outdoors too, even the established buildings with roofs and walls never make you feel like you're really inside.
It's been interesting to see and experience the difference in lifestyle pace here. People go about their day in a much more leisurely fashion than at home, I suppose because their is so little employment. I enjoy the pace though.
The people we are staying with are rather wealthy and are big supporters of their community and those people trying to make an honest living here. I struggle with the idea of handouts, but this family supports the community by buying vegetables from the market and visiting the community reptile house and botanical gardens and small zoo, among other things.. I really admire the outlook they have and how they go about giving back in a way that doesn't encourage begging. But It's so hard to see children like little Patrick (who we met today) lugging his big yellow containers of water and not want to just give him the shirt off your back. He is the sweetest boy I have ever met in my life, with this feeling of humility and struggle that he just radiates. He stared at us for a long, long time, just looking. I know I'm not very interesting but the way people just stare at us would make you think otherwise. Just walking down the street, every single person stares. As we drive down the village roads children call out, "hiiii mzungu!!" It's cute and funny and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Oh, and I also I love how many of the people speak here. I've noticed that often their word choice is interesting and their accent is beautiful. I feel like I speak so harsh and ugly with my American accent.
On a different note, I tried matoke for the first time today. It's basically cooked and mashed plantains, and is an Ugandan food staple. To me it tastes kind of like potatoes. It's very thick and filling. Everything we eat is very starchy, but I really enjoy eating the native foods. I look forward to trying all the others!
Oh, about food. . . The butcher shops are unreal. Basically, in this village, they're wooden shacks half the size of your bathroom. Inside you'll find slabs of animal hanging upside down with flies everywhere. It's crazy to me that this is where some meat is sold because it's so beyond unsanitary. I don't know if there are other places to buy meat, but I don't think many families can afford it anyways.
Well. . . I could keep writing for hours but I should probably try to sleep since it's 3:24am here. I'm grateful I haven't felt any jet lag but I think my body is still adjusting to sleeping at what would be early afternoon in the US.
I love being here though. I love living among raw reality, and seeing how other people live. It is often heartbreaking, but I'm so so grateful to be here. .
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