I realize that I have been writing a lot this week, but bare with me. Power has been out at work for the last 11 days (since July 14) so I have lots of time for thinking and observing.
Noteworthy (in)sights of the week:
Watching one of the Ugandans I work with (the green man guy) dilligently pouring bottled water into a legit and nice wine glass, sipping it ever so slowly. Somehow this sight made me look away rather quickly, trying not to laugh.
I had some very very good fish: Talaipia. It's from both the Nile and Lake Victoria and despite the bones it is delicious. Much better than the endlessly chewy chicken, beef, or goat.
I noticed that when the moon is full I don't step in as much mud and animal feces during my foot home at night (usually i can hardly see Caesar next to me much less the road. And because cows graze along the path every day I'm sure you can guess what I step in...)
I watched my supervisor start a riot to protect the dirt road leading to Skills Plus. The events were the following:
-Hakim (my supervisor) notices a man across the road digging what appear to be large holes in the road.
-He walks over and asks the man what he is doing. He shows Hakim a letter from the Busoga Kingdom that gives him the right to construct a parking lot in the area in front of the nearby stadium . The man has decided to cut the perhaps 20 foot wide dirt road (cars do use it daily) into a 4 foot walking path with his fence.
-Hakim walks a bit away and begins calling members of the Bugembe community
-Over 30 people show up in a matter of 20 minutes. They start yelling angrily at the man and obstructing his work.
-Hakim then calls the local radio station and says there is a large group of people who are very angry, threatening a man nearby the stadium. The radio car shows up 10 minutes later.
Hakim then calls the member of parliament for the area (the energy minister of Uganda) and says that there is a large group of angry people who are threatening a man who is trying to destroy a public road.
tThe MP happens to be in Jinja (he lives in Kampala but there is an Agricultural Show this week in Jinja. I'm going on Saturday so expect notes next week) so he shows up 30 minutes later and ends the situation. He informs the man he cannot build the fence today.
-The crowd leaves, happy.
-Hakim explains to me what in the world I just watched happen. Remember, I don't speak Lusoga. So the entire time I had no idea what was happening except it was highly amusing.
More random facts:
Jonathan in Lusoga is Yona San. "Bitter" in Ugandan English means "spicy". Thursday I had some of the best "bitter" food I have had since London: Masala Fries, Indian style. Utterly Amazing. Also, I was mistaken for being 28 years old. I saw my first Nigerian horror film (it was awful. So bad it almost wasn't funny. At least bollywood films are amusing...).
Finally, someone tried a new style of awkward questioning: asking if I could set them up to marry my brother. It started with a vague question: could I set them up to marry an American from my home state? When this got nowhere (I tried to explain that I can't make someone love someone else) she began asking about my family, learned I had a brother, and then asked if he was single. Then the question. So Matt, any advice? Suggestions? Feedback?
I think I will go try to catch some pool. This week has been very bad (4 losses and no wins). It's time to stop joking around-less I start losing the little respect I earned.
Peace.
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1 comment:
Can't say thats a question I've been asked recently, do you know Ugandan English for "he politely declines?" Don't have any good ideas on exactly how to explain the logic behind marriages in the US though.
And I bet it's the beard that is projecting your 28 year-old image, If you were forced to shave daily (like me since classes are done and I'm working) they'd probably go back to guessing you were 18. Problem solved!
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