Ruth's Giveaway Ceremony

Two weekends back I made the 3 hour bus ride to Mbarara to visit my friends Jen and Kyle and also to go back to my homestay in Kinoni for my host sister, Ruth’s, giveaway ceremony (the last ceremony before the big wedding day!).  3 hours on a bus probably doesn’t sound terrible to you…but in Uganda the concept of “personal space” does NOT exist….so I basically “shared” half my seat with the man next to me, who was very nice, but had no qualms about butting into my space.   So Saturday afternoon, Jen and I patiently waited out on the main road for a taxi to take us back to Kinoni. Of course, when we really needed one most, there seemed to be none around and I sure wasn’t in the mood to cram into a small Toyota where they pack at least 9 people in a car designed for 5.  So we waited, waited some more and then finally found an empty taxi and hopped in.  This probably wasn’t the smartest idea i've had, as an empty taxi drives around town until it is completely full and then makes the journey.  We drove around Mbarara for a good hour as the conductor shouted trying to get people to get in.  Finally we were full and headed toward Kinoni.  Each row in a taxi is only supposed to seat 3 people, however, this rarely ever happens.  For me, I was squished between two men and an old woman who was 100% SURE I was only 15 years old and kept saying in the local language “are you sure you are 23?!”.  Umm….yes nyabo, I am quite sure of my age! Poor Jen was squished between 3 others and a child.  So we made the 40 min bumpy and dusty journey on one of the worst roads in Uganda.  This gave us some time to decompress and not show up to the ceremony pissed off and frustrated with Ugandan transportation! And then of course, right as the taxi drops us at the side of the road, it begins pouring rain! We both ran through muddy grass in our long dresses and sandals to take cover at the police station until the rain stopped.  We arrived at my host family’s house with muddy feet and wet hair (safe to say it was pointless to have blow dried our hair that morning!).  As frustrating as this all sounds, it was all well worth it when we arrived and I was warmly welcomed by my host family and the workers who id spent a month getting to know and truly feel like they are my family in Uganda. So, instead of writing more, I have made a video of the day!

Death

Death. It happens everyday, in every part of the world and in every culture. We don't think much about it until a family member or a friend is injured or ill, or we lose a loved one or someone we know, even if only an acquaintance.  There are SO many differences between Ugandan culture and American culture, however one thing remains universal - the feeling of sadness and grief after losing a loved one. Today, these feelings were very apparent throughout my community as people are saddened by the death of a community member, Julius. I felt this sadness throughout, from my counterpart greeting me in the morning saying "last night we lost one of ours" to the grief in my supervisors' face when talking about the accident and the future burial, to the parish cook telling me she has been feeling so sad all day. 

I met Julius last week when sister called me up to come meet the man who would be my tutor for the next few months in the Rukiga language. My first thought of him was, ah this man is so friendly and nice and seems as though he really wants to teach me the language! He planned to get me all the books on vernacular from the teacher who taught that class at the school in order to help me. We exchanged numbers and agreed to begin sometime during the next week. He was a teacher at the government primary school just down the road and as we walked from the health centre, he asked me to come see the school. As we walked down the road, he expressed his frustrations to me about working at a public school and how limited they are financially and in resources for the kids and school. When I got there I could see what he meant - no fence around the school to keep animals and squatters out, broken windows in classrooms, no bars on the windows and very tiny classrooms; all of which differed significantly from the nice catholic private schools surrounding. He introduced me to some of the students remaining at the school (most had left for break back to their homes, but they allowed these ones to stay because they had no where to go). So anyway, we said our goodbyes and agreed to meet again the following week to begin language class. Fast forward to Monday...I returned from a fun weekend away in Mbarara visiting friends and my host family, and I come to find out Julius had been in a very bad accident and was at Kiziizi hospital in a coma. I could not believe this! He was riding his motorcycle and was hit by a truck. 

Although I did not know Julius well, he was a person I had planned to get to know well over the next few months and someone I was very eager to work with on health education in the school. In just the short time I met with him, he seemed to have such a passion for what he did and I feel Uganda needs more people like him. This made me realize that over the course of the next two years I will meet many different people whom I may develop close friendships with and who I could lose at anytime. Nothing is permanent in life and we must cherish those important to us and never forget this. Sorry for the downer posting, next post will be much happier! :)