Aubrey and I made a list of things about Uganda that don't quite fit with our own culture. It was really long, so I'll post it in segments.
1. Guys hold hands in public. It’s normal. However, guys and girls cannot hold hands. In fact, the bride and groom do not even kiss at their wedding. They just hug. “We would never kiss in church!”
2. Some of the appliances are European and therefore have European plugs, which are two thin, round prongs instead of the three large, rectangular prongs on the African appliances. To plug in these European appliances, I have to switch off the outlet and stick something into the extra hole so I can plug in the appliance. It cracks me up every time.
3. "That's okay" means "yes."
4. They all carry handkerchiefs.
5. We eat bugs in our food all the time and we just don’t care anymore. This is our closed butter dish. (Don't worry, we don't eat them in excess. haha.) They like to eat food in our fridge, too. Jerks.
6. “You are lost” means “You haven’t been around in awhile.”
7. They complain about it being hot all the time but put on sweaters, scarves, hats, and winter coats when it gets below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. (It is hot in this picture!!!)
8. “You are welcome” means “I’m glad you’ve come. Welcome.”
9. Ugandans speak really, really proper English.
10. To communicate, I have to slow down and enunciate every word, emphasizing the t’s and d’s.
11. To say yes, they often just raise their eyebrows.
12. Anything and everything can fit on the back of a bicycle: mattresses, bedframes, chairs, several chickens, several people…. this goes for cars, too.
13. The same rule applies to their heads. I’ve seen a man carrying at least 10 foam mattresses on his head.
14. Out in the village, the local bar is a pot of local brew surrounded by men with 6-foot-long straws.
15. Circumcision is a really big deal here. They have public ceremonies for them. When we went out to Sipi and walked around the villages, a friend of our guide actually had a whole roll of pictures of circumcision ceremonies and tried to sell them to us. I am glad to say that all three of us girls were able to pretend that this was normal. A few days ago, one of the two national newspapers featured a cover photo of circumcision. Wonderful.
(this guy is really whacking that meat ... you should have seen him. can you see the splatters on the wall? mmm....)
1. Guys hold hands in public. It’s normal. However, guys and girls cannot hold hands. In fact, the bride and groom do not even kiss at their wedding. They just hug. “We would never kiss in church!”
2. Some of the appliances are European and therefore have European plugs, which are two thin, round prongs instead of the three large, rectangular prongs on the African appliances. To plug in these European appliances, I have to switch off the outlet and stick something into the extra hole so I can plug in the appliance. It cracks me up every time.
3. "That's okay" means "yes."
4. They all carry handkerchiefs.
5. We eat bugs in our food all the time and we just don’t care anymore. This is our closed butter dish. (Don't worry, we don't eat them in excess. haha.) They like to eat food in our fridge, too. Jerks.
6. “You are lost” means “You haven’t been around in awhile.”
7. They complain about it being hot all the time but put on sweaters, scarves, hats, and winter coats when it gets below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. (It is hot in this picture!!!)
8. “You are welcome” means “I’m glad you’ve come. Welcome.”
9. Ugandans speak really, really proper English.
10. To communicate, I have to slow down and enunciate every word, emphasizing the t’s and d’s.
11. To say yes, they often just raise their eyebrows.
12. Anything and everything can fit on the back of a bicycle: mattresses, bedframes, chairs, several chickens, several people…. this goes for cars, too.
13. The same rule applies to their heads. I’ve seen a man carrying at least 10 foam mattresses on his head.14. Out in the village, the local bar is a pot of local brew surrounded by men with 6-foot-long straws.
15. Circumcision is a really big deal here. They have public ceremonies for them. When we went out to Sipi and walked around the villages, a friend of our guide actually had a whole roll of pictures of circumcision ceremonies and tried to sell them to us. I am glad to say that all three of us girls were able to pretend that this was normal. A few days ago, one of the two national newspapers featured a cover photo of circumcision. Wonderful.
16. Meat (think entire skinned animals) just hangs out in the market and wherever else a butcher decides to open up shop. When you buy a piece, they just whack off a chunk with a big knife. Check out this very nice goat below. At least he still has his tail. I think the other one is a cow.
(this guy is really whacking that meat ... you should have seen him. can you see the splatters on the wall? mmm....)
3 comments:
hello, dear sarah, from an old friend.
sorry i never made it back up to boston, but i can see youve moved on :)
thanks for the updates - ive enjoyed reading about your time in uganda, as i am anticipating a life of foreign mission myself (but my wife will be the doctor).
found this article (hope it pastes correctly):
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006270.html
you thoughts?
love from the clean pretty USofA,
christolles!
thanks for posting this, you definitely made me laugh.
I'm looking forward to hanging out with you when you are home.
i miss you and read everything. keep keeping us up to date:)
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