Uganda Makes Me Laugh - Part 2

1. They MUST iron their clothing. When Aubrey and I stopped by our friend Sam’s house to pick him up for church, he came out, saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, the power was out last night so I couldn’t iron. You will have to continue without me.”

2. “You are smart today” = “You look nice.”

3. Just because the receptionist said there are rooms in the hotel doesn’t mean they really have available ones.

4. They have wedding introductions AND wedding ceremonies, both of which involve lavish ceremonies, receptions, and dresses. Sometimes the wedding introduction is the day before the wedding. My goodness.

5. They pronounce words very differently. Leopard=lay-o-pard, Giraffe= gea-raf, divorce=die-vorce, Deuteronomy=due-tronomy, wafers= wah-fers

6. They’re blunt when describing people. “That old one over there,” “the fat one here,” etc.
One of the ladies in administration looked at me one day and said, “Oh, you are doing well in Africa! You have gotten fat!” (note to self: start running)

7. There was a patient named Cinderella.

8. Short call= going #1 and Long call=going #2

9. shift=move, pick=pick up (“I’m going to pick you at four.”)

10. If you’re new, expect to introduce yourself to the entire crowd and make a speech.

11. Men can have as many wives as they want.

12. “Happy New Year’s” wishes last at least a month after New Year’s.

13. To fund weddings, they hold weekly wedding meetings to get money from friends and relatives. The concept of the bride’s parents paying for the wedding is quite foreign.

14. Speaking softly is a sign of respect. However, it’s really annoying because I can never hear what they’re saying.