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!