So we are down to just 3 Americans. I have seen 5 leave already and it's like a family member is leaving. The house is empty at night and I will soon probably have my own room. I don't even have my own room at home. But they did say that this was the slow season, and I am glad I came at this particular time, 1, because God has me here at His perfect time, 2, because it is slow, and they need all the help they can get. Not everyone can take 3 months off with no responsibilities back home. Us mzungu's have almost "celebrity status" here. We are few and far between so when someone see's us they shout MZUNGU!! and wave or come up and talk to us. It's really weird and at first I was uncomfortable with it, but I am getting used to it. I have been told that some Ugandan's think white people are perfect, and have no problems at all, and some don't think we are human at all. But we are human and have just as much sin and shame and problems as anyone else. The thing I love about Uganda are the people her, they are amazing and extremely hard workers. If I had to do what they do on a daily basis, I would I have no money and live on the street.
Culture differences I have experienced:
1. We live in the capital of Uganda, so as you can imagine, it is very city like and extremely hectic. Sometimes you can forget that you are in Africa until you realize that there is HUGE terradactyl birds continually flying over the city.
2. Space is very limited and apparently frowned upon in this city. Cars are literally on top of each other and if you are in line at the grocery store and leave about an inch of room between you and the person in front of you, someone will cut you in line. It's really ridiculous. You are forced to breathe down other peoples necks.
3.Men here hold hands with other men, but it is not what you think, it means they are friends. Which I find extremely fascinating considering in the US. guys can barely handle a 2 second hug or hand shake let alone holding hands on a walk. Also, men can hold hands with other women but that only means they are friends too. When a man holds a woman's wrist, that means that they are "together".
4. No one prays silently here. Everyone prays out loud, which is kind of hard to get used to. I will walk in on my roomate praying out loud and I feel like I am intruding.
5. When cars honk here, it isn't considered a rude gesture, it means that someone is either passing you or close to you so don't hit it. It's probably more polite than to not do it.
6. Uganda has not adapted the 21st century's way of sweeping. They still use twigs tied together and it is a pain, because it does not pick up anything and you have to bend down to do it.
7. Goats, dogs, cats and cattle roam the streets as if they are lizzards in America. I can't think of a better example because stray dogs are usually taken in, in America and cats are always hiding. But these animals are everywhere and sometimes cattle are in the middle of a busy roundabout where there is grass and they're just grazing as if they are in an open field.
8. They don't use trash cans here, they dump their trash wherever and then just burn it. Which I think is the worst thing to do because 1, it's a horrible smell, 2, it just makes it worse I think, and 3, I am going to have the lungs of a smoker by the time I get home.
9. Because traffic is so bad here, people make a living by selling things car to car while we are in back to back traffic. It's actually pretty convenient because you can buy a pair of sunglasses without getting out of your car, and you can try them on etc. I call it African HSN. They do harass you when you are in your car though, and when they see a mzungu, they expect us to have money so they won't leave the window until we yell at them.
That's all that I can think of right now but there is so much.
What I miss the most about the western world, is:
1.washer and dryer (everything is hand washed and hung to dry outside. By the time it is dry is smells of burnt trash.)
2. American food
3. A microwave
4. chocolate that isn't $2 a bar
Also, regarding my dilemma, I changed my flight to Feb 28th as oppose to Jan 31st! I am so excited and only need $300 more. So if you feel led to give, feel free and whatever excess I have I am going to donate to an orphanage we go to. Thanks everybody!
Lauren
A little blog on redemption, through faith, life and creating.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Back to work, The Nile and my dilemma
I realize that I have not posted in some time and I apologize. I feel there is so much to tell that it is impossible for me to start, so I usually put it off. This past week we finally went back to working a regular week. Because of Christmas, we had about 2 weeks off, so this week was really exciting having 1-2 projects a day. I prefer busy days, but it was understandable due to the holiday season. Last week was amazing because I went to 2 projects that I have never been too and I loved them. One was a babies home (were we cannot take pictures) and the other was a children's center for street kids. The babies home is very organized and Christian centered but we cannot hold the babies because no matter how bad they want to because they will end up screaming and crying when we leave and the women who take care of them just cannot handle it. But besides that it is great. We start off by helping the women do chores like mopping, making beds, doing laundry and dishes, and then after that, we can play with the babies. We played with them and sang Christian songs with them. The children's center called Shalom is like I said a place for kids to come if they feel like they are being mistreated at home or have nowhere else to go. You never know how many kids will be there because so many come and go. We did our usual program with them, sang songs, played a relay race and then helped feed them porridge. While we were there I fell in love with this little girl named Nina. I also enjoyed the puppies that were on the property :)
This weekend us 5 American girls went on an adventure to the Nile. 3 of the girls signed up for doing white water rafting for 2 days, so the company provided transportation. We traveled about an hour and a half to Jinja. It worked out great because I did not want to go white water rafting, but horseback riding and it was directly across the Nile from where we were staying. So we got there, they gave us breakfast (even us 2 who weren't rafting) and tea and just explained to the girls about what they would be doing. I was planning on riding at 2, so I found some one to take me on a boda boda (motorcycle) and waited around until it was time to go. In the meantime, me and Kim got breakfast, even though it was around lunch time and ordered a ham and cheese omlet (which was incredible considering I haven't had cheese in forever!) So it was time for me to go and I tell my transportation that I am ready and he tells me that it would take a lot longer and a lot more money to go all the way around the river to the barn, so instead, for about $7 he could take me on a boat across the river. So I said yes because I like to save money and we headed on our journey. I was a little afraid at first because I was getting in to this rickety old canoe that would be taking me across the river which is where they raft. But we made it, they went around the falls and we got to this island in the middle that I had to cross which he said was filled with medicinal plants, on the other side there was another canoe waiting and we went to the other side. I had to climb this huge cliff to the barb, but it was so worth it because the view was breathtaking. There was only one other person who signed up to ride and it was this older man from Oregon. We made good conversation and then got on our horses to go. We have a Ugandan guide in front and one behind us. I absolutely love the feeling of riding, it has been so long and because I live in the city, you have to travel to ride. We walked along the Nile for about 10 minutes and then went deep into a village that was nearby. I signed up for a 2 hour ride, so we go all speeds, not just walking. We trotted for a while, which I was comfortable with and then cantered which I haven't done since I was little, so it was a little terrifying but fun after I got used to it. We went through the village which was fun because the kids would hear us coming and run out waving. Most people however looked as if they have never seen a horse before and were terrified, there was one girl who was on a bike and threw it down and ran, and the animals seemed terrified too, especially the goats which one almost got itself killed trying to run away. After the 2 hours was up they took me on a tour of the barn and all the horses and said that there is only about 100 horses in all of Uganda, and they have 20 of them! No wonder the people were scared. I walked back down the cliff, got in my boat and went back across the river to find the rest of the group waiting for me and telling me that they weren't going rafting the second day because a group that they were supposed to go the rest of the way with wasn't going to come. That night we had a bonfire with some of the Ugandans who took the girls out and we introduced the idea or roasting marshmallows to them, they were skeptical at first, but then couldn't stop, it was so funny to watch. That night we went to our room, which was a small room that consisted of 4 bunks that had 3 beds on each. They were so close together, I was getting claustrophobic and it didn't help that mosquito net was directly on my face, which defeats the purpose. The next day we hung out a bit and then left. All in all it was an amazing experience. I have also never been so sore in my life!
So my dilemma is, that I am wanting to stay another month, I am just not ready to go home yet, and with us having 2 weeks off during December, I want to work as much as possible and experience more. This place is so amazing and I am enthralled by everything I see. I realized a few days ago that I only have about 2 and a half weeks left, and that is just not enough. So, because I am wanting to stay another month, I will need more funds, since I only fund raised for 2 months. My needs are as followed : $250 to change my airline ticket, $500 to stay in this house for another month, and $200 to live off of. It is a lot of money, but if it is in God's will for me to stay, then it will absolutely happen. So I am asking you to pray for me in provision and if you feel led to help contribute, let me know and I will give you all the information you need. Thank you so much!
Also, the girl who took all the pictures went home and won't be able to post the pictures until Thursday, so I will not have them until then, I do have a few though. If you would like to see all the pictures from all us girls so far, our website is www.UgandaMzungus.shutterfly.com
Lauren
This weekend us 5 American girls went on an adventure to the Nile. 3 of the girls signed up for doing white water rafting for 2 days, so the company provided transportation. We traveled about an hour and a half to Jinja. It worked out great because I did not want to go white water rafting, but horseback riding and it was directly across the Nile from where we were staying. So we got there, they gave us breakfast (even us 2 who weren't rafting) and tea and just explained to the girls about what they would be doing. I was planning on riding at 2, so I found some one to take me on a boda boda (motorcycle) and waited around until it was time to go. In the meantime, me and Kim got breakfast, even though it was around lunch time and ordered a ham and cheese omlet (which was incredible considering I haven't had cheese in forever!) So it was time for me to go and I tell my transportation that I am ready and he tells me that it would take a lot longer and a lot more money to go all the way around the river to the barn, so instead, for about $7 he could take me on a boat across the river. So I said yes because I like to save money and we headed on our journey. I was a little afraid at first because I was getting in to this rickety old canoe that would be taking me across the river which is where they raft. But we made it, they went around the falls and we got to this island in the middle that I had to cross which he said was filled with medicinal plants, on the other side there was another canoe waiting and we went to the other side. I had to climb this huge cliff to the barb, but it was so worth it because the view was breathtaking. There was only one other person who signed up to ride and it was this older man from Oregon. We made good conversation and then got on our horses to go. We have a Ugandan guide in front and one behind us. I absolutely love the feeling of riding, it has been so long and because I live in the city, you have to travel to ride. We walked along the Nile for about 10 minutes and then went deep into a village that was nearby. I signed up for a 2 hour ride, so we go all speeds, not just walking. We trotted for a while, which I was comfortable with and then cantered which I haven't done since I was little, so it was a little terrifying but fun after I got used to it. We went through the village which was fun because the kids would hear us coming and run out waving. Most people however looked as if they have never seen a horse before and were terrified, there was one girl who was on a bike and threw it down and ran, and the animals seemed terrified too, especially the goats which one almost got itself killed trying to run away. After the 2 hours was up they took me on a tour of the barn and all the horses and said that there is only about 100 horses in all of Uganda, and they have 20 of them! No wonder the people were scared. I walked back down the cliff, got in my boat and went back across the river to find the rest of the group waiting for me and telling me that they weren't going rafting the second day because a group that they were supposed to go the rest of the way with wasn't going to come. That night we had a bonfire with some of the Ugandans who took the girls out and we introduced the idea or roasting marshmallows to them, they were skeptical at first, but then couldn't stop, it was so funny to watch. That night we went to our room, which was a small room that consisted of 4 bunks that had 3 beds on each. They were so close together, I was getting claustrophobic and it didn't help that mosquito net was directly on my face, which defeats the purpose. The next day we hung out a bit and then left. All in all it was an amazing experience. I have also never been so sore in my life!
So my dilemma is, that I am wanting to stay another month, I am just not ready to go home yet, and with us having 2 weeks off during December, I want to work as much as possible and experience more. This place is so amazing and I am enthralled by everything I see. I realized a few days ago that I only have about 2 and a half weeks left, and that is just not enough. So, because I am wanting to stay another month, I will need more funds, since I only fund raised for 2 months. My needs are as followed : $250 to change my airline ticket, $500 to stay in this house for another month, and $200 to live off of. It is a lot of money, but if it is in God's will for me to stay, then it will absolutely happen. So I am asking you to pray for me in provision and if you feel led to help contribute, let me know and I will give you all the information you need. Thank you so much!
Also, the girl who took all the pictures went home and won't be able to post the pictures until Thursday, so I will not have them until then, I do have a few though. If you would like to see all the pictures from all us girls so far, our website is www.UgandaMzungus.shutterfly.com
Lauren
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