Zachary’s Ugandan Adventure Part 1

Hey all you crazy cats! You world travelers! You stay at home bamfs! You lovers and friends, and family members. Whichever applies to you, I miss you! I miss you loads and loads. I hope all is excellent. I’m writing you all this ass long email/ note because getting internet is a big dumb bitch here, so I’m trying to lump it all into one big go!

Oli otya mukwano gwange!…Which means, good day to you my friends. As hopefully all of you know, I am spending the summer in Uganda working on a development project with the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD). The FSD has paired me and 10 other interns with local NGO’s and CBO’s in Masaka district, where we will be living and working for the next 2 months. In addition to working with our host organization, we will also be conducting our own needs assessment and development projects as part of the FSD program.
Anyways, formalities aside, let me tell you what I’ve been up to! Tonight will be the seventh night that I have spent in Uganda, and the fifth night in Masaka District. I arrived in Entebbe on the night of Friday the 29th and spent the night in a local hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria. By the next day, most of the interns had arrived and we spent the night in Kampala (the nation’s capital) where we all bought cell phones and tried new and exciting foods like matooke. Kampala is a busting city where the traffic is truly harrowing and the smells are equally intense (both good and bad).
On Sunday we visited the tombs where the Ugandan kings are buried and then took a roller coaster ride on a mutaatu, a small often overcrowded bus, to Masaka town. On the way, we stopped at the equator to eat lunch and I discovered that water does indeed spin in different directions in either hemisphere. It doesn’t spin at all on the equator! I bet that’s how they figure out where the equator is. Then on to Masaka Town where we have spent the past five plus days receiving training from FSD in the ins and outs of development, getting a crash course in Luganda from a really nice woman named Patricia, and diving head first into Uganda culture. There have been times where I think I’m close to drowning in the tumult of it all, but then something little happens – a friendly smile, a several hour afternoon break, or a fascinating conversation – and I realize that I’m having (as clichéd as it may be) the time of my life. True, I’m in way over my head, but I’m drinking in everything so quickly I couldn’t possibly drown! I’ve learned so much already, I cannot even imagine what it will be like in two months.
Masaka is a dusty, spicy, and little but vibrant town. The downtown area is centered around one several kilometer road that splits halfway through. The traffic is mostly boda bodas (motorcycle taxis), small Toyota like cars, insane mutaatus, and trucks loaded to the brim with matooke (a starchy banana that is a staple here) or some other product. Many of the buildings are three or four stories tall. Some are tidy and whitewashed, while others are completely dilapidated. Garbage is burning in heaps all over town which accounts for the town’s spice, and the horn honks begin to take on a language of their own. There’s a great big market where I tried to haggle in Luganda, a mosque that projects prayers five times a day, and an evangelical tent whose leaders have been screaming about the glory of Christ and the dangers of sin for two days straight. And there’s a night club called Ambience that seems to be the talk of the whole town! Very exciting!
Today was a very big day for me. We had our last Luganda lesson at the FSD office and then returned to the hotel to get ready to pack out and go stay with our host families! I got all packed, ate lunch, and bid the hotel staff and my new comrades a loving farewell and struck out for Kimanya Eh, the little community right next to Masaka town where I will be living. When my host mother saw me, she began speaking in Luganda so fast that my head started to spin. I think she delights in it, because she speaks English quite well. Anyways, my room is beautiful and the house has running water and electricity. I’m so spoiled! She even calls me Katarega which is their surname. I’m also now Kaato which means the younger male twin.
We immediately went to visit her mother where I learned that Ugandans definition of family is significantly more flexible than my own. I call my host mother Maami (Mommy), but I was also introduced to several other Maami’s and a slew of brothers and sisters! One of my brothers, Ddo (doe), who isn’t a direct brother then took around Kimanya and grilled me about the way things are in America, while I quizzed him about Uganda and Luganda. He took me to hear an afterschool group of drummers and dancers playing traditional Baganda music. (Baganda is the main tribe/ kingdom / ethnic group in the south and west. I was blown away!
Then I took tea, rescued my friend who lives close to me but was lost, and sat down to watch Second Chance with my host Maaami. Second Chance is a Mexican soap opera dubbed into English. I have honestly never seen a more ridiculous show! Everyone around here thinks I look like Antonio. I’m not convinced, but I guess I don’t mind! Then my Mom called me in for dinner, and I sat down to eat and realized I was eating alone. It’s a form of respect to serve a guest in the dining room or even his own room and let him eat alone. I knew this so I wasn’t surprised, but it was still awfully depressing. After dinner, I gave everyone the gifts that I had brought and they were greatly appreciated. Then my maami sent me to bed and here I am now.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going and more excited about how they will go. There are challenges for sure. I need to figure out the best way to use the latrine. I tried washing my clothes in a basin and kind of failed. I haven’t even attempted washing myself with a basin. The language is a bitch. 10 different noun classes! I’m called Muzungu (foreigner) by every one I see on the street. I’m given Muzungu prices. Everything gets dirty instantly. The list goes on…. But to be honest, I’m barely phased. I guess I’m still in the honey moon phase and I’m sure some things will test me. I know that the matooke will get old pretty quickly. We shall see.
Anyways, if you’ve made it to this point, congratulations! I’ve been long and rambly, but I suppose it’s my style. I love and miss you all in ways you can’t imagine and I can’t describe! Send me an email back. I’d love to know how each and everyone is doing. Shoot me a facebook. Call me if at all possible. Though I can’t remember the country code, my number is 0783719844.
P.S. New Updates! I love my new host family! We hoed a banana farm yesterday, I learned how to peel matooke, we went to church, I learned how to wash my own clothes, and I’ve been eating non-stop! More updates to come.