Welcome to Uganda!

Hello again, friends! TAKE TWO!! I apologize for the inconvenience of having to redirect you to this new blog, but I so appreciate you making the trip! I have been in Uganda for almost a week now, so I think it's time that I show you around a little! :) This post will take you through the top 10 things about my daily life here by which I am currently mEsMeRiZeD!! I'm guessing that by the end of this trip, I'll be desensitized to them all. But that's a good thing, because that means I will have graduated from #touriststatus. ;) So, without further ado...welcome to Uganda!

1) CHIPATI

"Give us this day our daily bread" has never been answered so tastily as right here in Uganda! Little street vendor stands line the roads here, and nearly every other one sells chipati bread. For all you Bloomington-Normal readers, it reminds me of the roti bread from Flat Top, only thicker, better, and Ugandan-er. :) It is dangerously delicious!! Lucky for me, I have a 30-minute round trip walk to school each day, so there is plenty of time to work off all those calories. ;) In addition to chipati, the staple foods here are rice and beans, potatoes (which are called "Irish"), chicken, various fruits (especially THE WORLD'S BEST BANANAS!!), and "posho," which is a spongy, corn-based concoction that looks just like Funfetti cake...minus the fun. I eat lunch at the school cafeteria, but breakfast and dinner are with my host family - which happens to include a couple of really good cooks!! My host mom, Annett, has already lectured me twice about the way that Africans eat: "You people, you always snack-snack! Here in Africa, we PACK. IT. IN. Africans were made to eat!" By "packing it in," she means 3 BIG, square meals a day, with a couple of tea breaks in between. Thankfully, there is no pressure to clear my plate every time, because I have an older brother here who will eat whatever I don't, LIKE A CHAMP!

2) PEACE

Allow me to introduce you to my pet goat, Peace! We haven't talked much yet, but I'm sure he'll warm up to me eventually. ;) In addition to Peace, my family consists of my mom, 7 siblings (2 older, 3 younger, and 2 around my age), 2 pigs, and a coop-full of chickens! I absolutely love them all!! (Well...at least the humans.) I get to spend the most time with my family after school and on weekends. We kind of just hang out and do whatever in the evenings. For example, the other night I watched African stand-up comedy with one of my older brothers, last night I went fruit-picking with some of my younger siblings, and every night I talk about God and faith with my mom. She never misses an opportunity for that. :)

3) BUCKET SHOWER

I am telling you right now, showering has never been such an ADVENTURE!! :D My house has no running water or indoor plumbing, but that's what I wanted to experience so I am a happy camper! We do have electricity, though. It's off and on, but it's usually enough to iron my clothes for school (which is necessary for staying within the strict, professional dress code), cook dinner, and heat up water for my showers - none of which I have actually done myself yet, because my family, in true, hospitable African spirit, keeps insisting that they do everything for me. I'm hoping that will change soon, because I want to contribute! Anyway, for those of you who are wondering, here is your guide to bucket showering 101:

1. Dump the small jerrycan of hot water into the green bucket.
2. Mix it with room temperature water from the yellow bucket.
3. Cup your hands, scoop, and splash!
4. Scrub, scrub, scrub.
5. Repeat step 3 until suds-free. :)

Cleanliness is truly next to godliness here, so I am expected to shower both at night and in the morning. It's kind of tricky with my long hair, but I'll probably get some nice African braids soon and then I'll be a free woman!!

4) MONKEY MONEY

The currency in Uganda is called "shillings." The current exchange rate is about 2500 Ugandan shillings for 1 U.S. dollar, which makes everything here very affordable! This is one of the larger bills, and as you can see, THERE IS A GORILLA ON IT. Whaaaaat?! I don't know about you, but that qualifies as EPIC, in my book!! Also, it brings one crucial question to mind: Why are there not beavers on the American dollar...??!!!?? P.S. On the subject of wildlife, there are real live monkeys on campus here. :) I saw 3 of them together in a tree the other day, and for a split second, I thought I had just run into my youth group... :P

5) RED EARTH 

I have never seen such beautiful dirt in all my life! This stuff is EVERYWHERE. In Mukono, the city in which my school is located, there are no fully paved roads. They are all dirt, and much of it is very uneven. On my walk to school, dust goes flyingggggg whenever vehicles pass, but I don't mind...this is Africa!! Call me crazy, but there is something sacred about FINALLY having this dirt under my feet...

6) BODA-BODAS

On the subject on dirt roads, I could not give you an adequate feel for Uganda without mentioning the boda-bodas! Also known as motorcycles, boda-bodas are the primary form of transportation around these parts. Taking a boda is a quick and easy way to get around. People just pay the driver, hop on the back, and go! Unfortunately, it is also very dangerous (no helmets, inexperienced drivers, lack of road laws, etc.) For this reason, USP (Uganda Studies Program) students are forbidden from riding the bodas (which is fine by me, because I won't even ride a motorcycle in the States!). So we do a lotttt of walking. We can also take taxis to go into Kampala, the capital city, which I'll probably do at least once while I'm here!

7) THIS KID

Meet my little brother, Robert. :) He's not my only little brother, and you'll meet the rest of my fam as time goes by! But the reason I'm including him in this post is because of his name. It's not an uncommon name, and it's not even an African name. BUT! Whenever other members of my family call for him in their Ugandan accents, it sounds like they are saying...ROBOT. :o I get a kick out of it every time!

8) JUICY JUICE

Ugandan juice is HYPE, yo!!! My oldest brother, Rodgers, makes amazinggg 100% fruit juice from scratch! His room is like a zoo of exotic fruits, and it's always a treat when he emerges with some colorful glass of something!! Tea is the most popular drink here though, especially milk tea. I'm trying to get used to the milk tea, but it's suuuuuuper sweet, and I don't drink milk. -_- So I much prefer the herbal tea, which is just called straight-up "African tea." Also, clean drinking water is in plentiful supply here, both on campus and at home.

9) CHURCH

This is a side view of my new "church away from church!" :) It is called Blessed Christian Church, and it is literally across the street from my house. I went to my first service there with my mom this past Sunday, and I was warmly welcomed. The service was surprisingly Western, in terms of the flow of things. But of course the music was lively and gospel-y! The congregation seems very open with one another. During every service, there is a time for people to get up and share testimonies of things that God is doing in their lives, which I really enjoyed! Plus, the preaching was super solid. The church's theme for 2014 is "A Year of Building," meaning a building up of unity and fellowship within the church, an increase of the influence of the church in the community, and individual, personal growth with the Lord. The New Year seems to be a really big deal here. While I'm sure that most of us Americans have long since finished our bottles of sparkling grape juice and have already fallen behind on our resolutions, Ugandans are still greeting each other "Happy New Year!" everywhere they go. This church is open 7 days a week, with different things going on in the morning, afternoon, and evening! Since my house is so close, I can often hear music bursting out of the church windows, which is a mysterious comfort to my soul.

10) YOLO LOUNGE

And for the grand finale, I present to you...THE YOLO LOUNGE!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I see this place every day on my walk to school. I have no idea what's inside, but I just had to share!! Next to English, the main language spoken here is Luganda, which I'm taking at school. But I haven't learned the term "yolo" yet, so I'm pretty sure that this building was named after the actual American slang term! (For those of you non-Millenial Generation readers, YOLO stands for "you only live once.") At any rate, this place is useful for a good chuckle during my walks. I guess there isn't anywhere that you can fully escape from American pop culture! 0_o

Welp, that's all for now, folks! So far, things are off to a great start here in Uganda. I look forward to sharing with you again soon! :) Until next time, be good to yourself, and be good to everybody else!

Thanks for caring,

Kelsey Jo