Kampala

January 26, 2009, Monday

I wish you could come to Uganda and see all that I am seeing now. I wish you could experience Ugandan life, Ugandan Christianity, Ugandan hospitality, etc. It is so very different than anything I have ever experienced.

Side note: I GOT MY LUGGAGE!!! My luggage arrived exactly two weeks after I landed in Entebbe. My bag has almost seen more of the world than I have. Here’s a little course my bag has been on. Minneapolis to Atlanta to D.C. to Amsterdam to Ethiopia to New York to Amsterdam to Uganda (whoops, Uganda didn’t tell me it was here) to Amsterdam to New York to Amsterdam and finally back to Uganda (where it was picked up on Friday). I wasn’t able to unpack until this morning since I was with my host family all weekend. We’re not supposed to bring all of our stuff to our families since my luggage could be more than all of their earthly possessions. Thank you to all of you who put secret notes in odd places. It was so fun unpacking and finding little notes of encouragement hidden in my q-tips and glasses case.

This weekend was our first and last full weekend with our host family. Friday, January 30th is our last day. This weekend was completely full with going into Kampala on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Each day was full so I’ll give a synopsis of each day.

Friday, Joy and I had class until 1:00. We quickly ate lunch and then our house brother, Julius, brought us to Kampala. Julius is 29 and is a lawyer. He works for the government (he says to pay the bills), he also owns a travel agency (which doesn’t get much clientele), and he also started up a loan agency which gives small loans to poor women who have their own business. There is only a 3% interest rate so he is barely getting a profit. He says he’s more interested in loaning to women because he finds them to be more reliable. Also, he said that because they are taking the initiative to run their own little business, they will care for their children. He does loan to men, but if a woman comes to him and applies for a loan, she will get priority.

Joy and I went with one of his employees (Rosette) to the market where the majority of their clients work. Now, I have been to many markets around the world, but I have never experienced anything like this before. First of all, we had to walk across town to get to the market. This means crossing streets where cross walks to not exist. Taxis, Boda Boda (motorcycles), and cars do not stop for pedestrians. Also, cars drive on the left side of the road. Anyway, we crossed several roads and Joy almost got slowly rolled over by a taxi. Rosette who was to be our tour guide for the afternoon was walking casually, barely looking where she went. Joy and I were darting here and there to avoid speeding vehicles which were swerving to avoid potholes at the expense of the pedestrians.

Once we finally reached the market, we found several blocks blocked off. I had expected several little shacks along a road or path. Imagine a little shack with pieces of tin as a roof, the roof held down with bricks and tires, and the walls of random pieces of metal and wood, the floor was plywood, and rotten wood, with occasional areas of concrete. Now take that image and multiply it by 100. The market took up about 4-5 square blocks. There was an area for shoes, food, clothing, flour, bananas, meat, etc. There were hundreds of vendors each with a little tiny area to sell their wares. I wish I had pictures to show you, but we were advised not to bring any valuables to the market. I’m glad we didn’t. The “path” between the vendors varied from one foot wide to maybe two feet wide. We were constantly turning sideways to squeeze past shoppers and vendors. Joy and I were the only white people in the entire market so everyone noticed us. We heard so many different sayings, trying to get our attention. The most common was “Mzungu” which means white person. We also heard “Barack Obama”, “Obama”, “Beautiful”, etc. Some funny ones I heard were… “Hey, do you have a phone number… do you have a phone.” and “Marriage? Are you marriage?”

Rosette brought us around to several of the companies clients. She says they do this to build relationships with the clients. I really enjoyed meeting all the clients; they were all very welcoming and sweet. And they didn’t try to sell us any of their products.

One thing you should know is that this place was very crowded. If we weren’t constantly looking at Rosette’s back, we would be lost. The problem is the path is very lopsided, rocky, etc. Occasionally we would have to take a flying leap to avoid a puddle with questionable things floating in it. We were also used to pulling our arms away from overly zealous vendors who wanted to stop us. Once we even lost Rosette for a second. I think she may have grabbed my arm as I passed by her, but I was so used to vendors doing it, I just wrenched it away. It wasn’t until I realized that Joy (who was in front of me) had stopped and was looking around that we were by ourselves. Thankfully I didn’t have much time to dwell on the fact that we were two female mzungus in a labyrinth of vendors, alone, without a guide, a phone, or a friend. But then Rosette came up behind me and we were saved.

We were in the markets for about an hour and a half, I don’t know when my heart would slow down. We walked through the “food court” where they set up little tables and served Matooke (mashed bananas), rice, and beans. The pots they cooked with were right on the path and if you weren’t careful, you could scald your leg as you walked by. Also know that electricity is very expensive, so there were open fires and charcoal throughout the “food court.”

A note on driving in Uganda:
First of all, there seem to be no filters that keep hazardous smoke from entering the atmosphere or people’s lungs. I leave Kampala with my eyes red and my lungs black from the exhaust. Driving is crazy. It’s similar to the Philippines in that, you don’t stop unless you’re about to t-bone another car and occasionally a person. Pot holes are the size of a small pond at home and drivers do all they can to avoid them, including going into the other lane while a ginormous dump truck is barreling at them. I find it easier to close my eyes and embrace the “ignorance is bliss” way of life while being a passenger.

Saturday:

Julius brought us to Kampala again to give us a touristic time. We went to the tombs of the last four kings of Uganda. It was a very good historical and cultural experience, but not really worth the 10,000 shillings ($5) we paid for it. The palace was made of elephant grass and grass for a roof. It was very interesting. One of the kings had about 80 wives and the houses surrounding the court yard were for them. Now the ancestors of his many wives are actually living there. Keep in mind, this king died around 1900, so not very long ago.

Later in the day Joy and I went to a craft market where they sell authentic Ugandan crafts. I bought a Ugandan bag/purse so I wouldn’t have to carry my backpack around anymore. And Joy bought sandals. We were being practical and figuring out prices so we could go around other places and see if the prices are different.

Julius than brought us almost to Entebbe to see the land he has where he’s building a house. It’s a beautiful plot, out in the middle of nowhere but with an incredible view of Lake Victoria. He had gotten the land for cheap from a client of his (when he was working as a lawyer). He intends to build a house, rent it out, and put the proceeds into his lending business.

We got home around 7:30 and were exhausted. Dinner usually isn’t served until 9 or 10.

Sunday:

Joy and I went into Kampala with Mirika (the mother), Frederick (the Reverend father), and Julius. Frederick is an Anglican priest at a church in the slums of Kampala. The slums are located on a swamp so the roads are always wet and the stagnant water is the perfect place for malarial mosquitoes. The houses flood regularly and the area is densely populated, especially with children. World Vision had built the church Frederick serves at 10 years ago. Since then, the building has sunk into the earth, the windows are now ground level and the earth that had been cement at one time was now bare earth. There is a school next door that was also built by World Vision but it has not sunk as deeply.

The service was very interesting. They performed all the rituals of an Anglican church except no communion. I think that’s because it’s too expensive. The sermon was replaced by a traveling group. They were a group whose intent was to inform the public of how to keep from getting HIV/AIDS and to get tested, and offer counseling. I was surprised at the lack of knowledge regarding AIDS. I was taught from middle school about how HIV/AIDS was passed around. They performed a skit and made sure everyone understood it was very important to get a blood test, even if they believed they didn’t have it. The group was very blunt about abstaining before marriage, being faithful while married, and emphatically said to use condoms. The leader even had a shirt that said “Abstain, Be Faithful, and Use a Condom.” So the whole idea of making the public aware is very important. I had always thought, raising awareness was the easy way out. But it is extremely important. There’s been a rumor that if a man with HIV/AIDS has sex with a virgin, than he will be cured. Because of this rumor, more and more young girls are being assaulted and infected with HIV/AIDS. The group is traveling around Kampala and surrounding towns attempting to dispel this lie. They are an incredible group. Some of them are HIV positive and gave their testimony at the end of the service.

So this weekend has been really busy and interesting. There’s so much more to tell, but it takes a lot of energy on my part to convey to you what I’m seeing and experiencing. I hope you can get a glimpse into my life here and experience Uganda through me.


Thank you for your prayers and emails.