America?....oh, you mean OBAMA

Another phenomenon I have had a few times is having difficulty explaining where I am from.

I was asked, again at the taxi park, where I am from.

I answer, “The US, United States…of America”.

Blank look.

“Canada?”, he asked.

“No, America…”.

“Obama?!”

“Yes, Obama.”.

“Oh, Obama, yes, Obama”

Ha!!

Liberty in Louisiana?!

I took this picture last summer, but after my camera broke, I forgot about it. We were walking near the taxi park in Kampala. I looked up and saw this sign for an internet café. At first glance it is fine, but then when you stop and notice and think, it is really funny, isn’t it? The “Louisiana” café with a picture of the Statue of Liberty. Ha! It’s like us naming a coffee shop in the US the “Kampala” café and then putting a picture of the Egyptian pyramids…technically in Africa, but not anywhere close to Kampala.

How is there?

One of the most often-asked questions I have gotten this trip is, “How is there?”. It takes me a second every time to respond, as it is phrased so strangely. But, what is being asked is, “How is the place from where you came?”, or “How is New York?”. The best conversation starter is to say, “Very cold.”, and then to attempt to describe how cold to someone who considers a 70 degree day cold. Seriously. When we are here in July and August, the temperature averages between 70-80 degrees max. On the days when it is close to 70 rather than 80, you will see the boda men in parkas and down-coats. Peter and Andrew wear sweaters. Women have cardigans and jackets on. And we Americans are loving what we consider “perfect spring weather”.

Because I still have not learned how to convert Fahrenheit into Celsius, I cannot truly say how cold New York is except to say that it is below 0 degrees Celsius…which blows their minds. I was talking to a young guy yesterday at the taxi park and he asked what makes it snow….is it the weather? And I said yes, it is like rain, but frozen. Again, how do you truly explain?

Valentines Musings

Those of you who know me personally may be hoping I will reveal some great revelation about what love means here in Africa. But, I won’t be. It is complicated. When I wrote last week about each trip bringing me a little deeper into Ugandan culture, this is one area I was talking about…although this area has been a little side research project for me, love here still remains a mystery to me. The dynamics between men and women here are not simple. There are so many traditional beliefs colliding with modern ones…not to mention, cultural aspects that I will never understand completely. But, they do know about Valentines Day, which I was surprised by, mainly because I consider this an American "Halmark" holiday. But, anyway, happy valentines day from Uganda!