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!

Classic African Meal

I am not sure I have ever shown you a true classic African meal.  Those of you who have traveled here with us will recognize the plate of what is essentially all starches.  Starting from my thumb (which looks double-jointed or something) you will see 2 types of potato…a sweet and an “irish”, which is a basic spud to us.  The white thing with a bite taken out of it is cassava….i am not sure how to describe it except it is starchy and not very flavorful…kind of like yucca?  Then there are 2 triangles of some of the sweetest pineapple you’ve ever eaten!  The middle is covered with brown rice, which has some of the pork broth over it.  There is a piece of pork there, along with a little pile of cabbage at the top.  Then there is matoke covered with g-nut sauce.  Matoke is a type of banana which is not sweet.  It is roasted or cooked until soft, then smashed up.  The g-nuts are actually small peanuts, ground up into a sauce and served over the matoke.  This plate was served at Peter and Andrew’s graduation.  Serving pork is  a REALLY big deal here…it is a very nice treat.

Ok, be jealous...

 

 

So, we arrived to the “Hairy Lemon” this morning after an hour-long drive with my personal favorite driver, John, through some new villages we had never seen.  It was really interesting to feel a new vibe…a very laid-back feeling the farther we got from Jinja.  I have gone out to the villages numerous times before, but always in between the major towns of Jinja, Iganga, and Kampala.  This was a smaller road and you could sense the remoteness they had and the way their lives were slower than what we are used to.  I know this is a very unscientific statement, but that is what this blog is for….the personal perspective of things.  You know, this is my 4^th trip here, but it is amazing how much there is to learn and discover here.  New information and experiences about the culture are always revealing themselves in deeper and deeper ways.

Arriving here at the Hairy Lemon was unique and just set the tone for relaxation immediately.  John pulled up to a small area leading down to the water, he took an iron rod and banged on a tire rim hanging from a tree, and within a few minutes a man appeared in a wooden boat to take us back across.  Lori is pictured above as we crossed the river to the island.  We are here now and the pace has dropped dramatically!!  We are right on the Nile River and most of the other guests are kayakers.  It is like being at the beach, with the constant sound of rushing water.  In a word, BEAUTIFUL. And PEACEFUL.  This will definitely be a place of respite.  Once we learned to lock our door, which took us no less than 20minutes, we went for lunch and I took a nap.  Now, Lori is listening to her ipod and the only thing on our schedule is dinner at 7.  I’ll check in eventually, but no promises.   

Don't be jealous...

Because Lori tends to work everyday without taking off, I have been charged by the home office to take her on a vacation. So, we are visiting a place called the “Hairy Lemon” for a long weekend. Yes, that is correct, the “Hairy Lemon”. We had both heard of this place, (which must be reached by wooden boat because it is an island) and are anxious to check it out. A little research online revealed that the name comes from a pub in Ireland, where the owners are from. Although I will be doing some work and trying to get things done before I leave in 2 weeks, Lori will be not allowed. For her, it will be all about reading novels, listening to music, and playing cards.