Week 3 1/2

Okay I know i just updated this...but I have some extra time today, and thought of a few more things I want to write about. First is a story. This morning I hiked up monkey hill to find a place for my quiet time. After about 15 minutes of hiking and looking for  monkeys without any luck, I found a tiny tiny trail off the road and it led to a little place surrounded by trees, with a little spot to sit where I was sure no one would pass by. About 10 minutes after I sat down I heard a splash splash (nice use of onomatopoeia ehh?) and looked up to see a monkey! He saw that he missed and was repositioning to pee on me, but I got up just in time! By bag was still in his danger zone, so I was trying to figure out a way to get to it, when a Ugandan walks by and looks at me like I'm crazy (first because I'm white, because I'm standing in the middle of the forest with my bag about ten feet away from me, and because I'm bent over strategizing how to best get to my bag!) My response: Oh hi...I'm just watching the monkeys! He definitely thought I had lost my mind! Anyway...my quiet time today was definitely not a success today.

I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures of my host family on here, but technology has never been one of my strong points, so they are on facebook.

I've really been noticing the sounds of Uganda lately...so this is what I hear throughout the day: In the mornings I wake up to roosters crowing (not just once like they do in movies...but continually from 5 to 9ish), the neighbor's goats, and the kids doing their morning chores. At school I hear my name pronounced many different ways, but the best description of it is, "Hello Tar-een". The kids still run after me when I walk home yelling by Mzungu, and the brave ones grab my hand, but most run away and hide when I turn around to wave. Other frequently asked questions are, "are you saved?" (usually asked within the first 5 minutes of a conversation with someone new); or at meals, "will you add more to yourself? (meaning would you like more to eat?); or when you are dressed nicely they say, "you look smart!" Then at bed time I fall asleep to dogs barking and fighting in the streets, the neighbor's baby crying, and the TVs blaring.

Every night my family does devotions together before supper, around 8 o' clock. We sing 4 or 5 hymns (the kids know more old hymns than I do) and then do a scripture reading which the kids make comments about and ask questions, then we all pray together. When we were reading out of 2nd Samuel 6: 7, the kids were discussing how God's punishment towards Uzzah was a little harsh, and Festo added, "I think God was hungry, that is why he ate Uzzah!" We all tried to hold back our laughs...he had gotten the words hunger and anger mixed up, because they are pronounced pretty much the same in their accents.

Since I have gotten here, I am finding my views of what it means to be a missionary changing. I'm not sure I can really articulate how I'm feeling about it, but the Ugandans and other Africans are so self sufficient. They don't need white people coming in and planting churches...the church is more alive here than ours is at home! For my internship, we went to Kampala to a Juvy center to talk to them. We went with the German lady who began the ministry and some other German volunteers who were our age. What ended up happening was, she preached, all of us Westerners stood up front and introduced ourselves, they raised their hands to be saved (probably for the 3rd or 4th time), and we left without any interaction. I'm not a fan of this preach and run business. Although I know there is value in this sort of ministry, discipleship is what's needed! We can't just tell people that Jesus died for them and then run...and why are we the ones doing it? Is the message any more valuable because we are white? These are just some of the thoughts I have been struggling with lately. I'm sure these questions and thoughts will develop more the more time I spend here. My only conclusions I have come up with, is that I am here to learn. I don't really have anything new to offer them, but they have a lot to teach me. It's so important to know their culture before telling them their ways are wrong, or of less value. Anyway, those are my deep thoughts of the day.

Things are still going great! The starchy food, may or may not be making me obese, but oh well! The sun is still scorching hot, and the breeze is still perfect. The monkeys are no longer as cute as they used to be, and the exotic birds are getting more and more obnoxious...but hey, it's Africa!

Week 3

Hello once again,

This week has been the most challenging by far. On Friday I moved in with the family who I will be staying with for the next 2 weeks. Monica is the mom, who has two adopted children who were abandoned as babies. Her children are Festo (10) and Priscilla (8). Prossy, who is 20, but still in high school, also lives with them. Monica says at any given time they may have two to five other children living with them, and when I first arrived her ‘nephews’ Martin (16) and Jovan (12) were both living there as well, but today Martin left for boarding school and Jovan leaves next week. Monica is a librarian at the university I attend here, so she is able to give me a ride most days, but later in the week I may have to walk the two miles to school by myself. The home consists of 4 separate buildings: one with the living and dining room and indoor kitchen, one with two bedrooms, one is the garage, and one is the latrine (a hole in the ground on one side, and a curtained bathing area). I have my own room, but there is no indoor plumbing, so bathing is done out of a bucket, and most cooking is done outside on a small charcoal stove. Meals are eaten when they’re ready, which means lunch is usually around 1pm, but supper can be anywhere from 7pm to 11pm. Luckily Monica is one of the time-conscious Ugandans, and usually keeps supper around 8 or 9.

Anyone who knows me well knows that my biggest fear in the whole world is bats. Well, on Friday night, Martin and I were sitting in the living room watching a soap (Ugandans LOVE their soap operas, but they are awful!! Usually they are Spanish or Asian soaps with a voice over in either English or Luganda), and a bat flies out of no where, and is frantically flying around our heads trying to find a way out!! Prossy said it is the first bat they have ever had, and I was lucky enough to get to experience it with them! Thankfully, I haven’t seen any since.

Yesterday I went to my internship at Off Tu again. The children living there have been on Christmas break with their extended families, and I got to go with to pick them up yesterday. The roads everywhere here are nearly undrivable, but especially in the part where we were picking them up, so we parked and had to walk through a slum to get to them. There was trash everywhere, naked babies crawling around with their brothers and sisters watching them (who couldn’t be older than 8), and houses thrown together with tin and old pieces of wood. It was pretty much what you would imagine a slum to look like; but the children were so happy to see us, and couldn’t wait to hug all their ‘aunties and uncles,’ which is what they call the staff there. So my new name: Auntie Taryn.

So this is Africa. With lizards crawling on the walls like they were nothing but spiders, with sun so hot you could melt, where there is always time for tea, and where people always take a couple minutes to talk and ask each other about their families. At times it is rough, and there are definitely times I miss home, but it’s feeling more like home here, everyday.  

Week 2

Hello friends!

My first week and a half in Africa was incredible! Last weekend we took a trip to Jinja where we stayed on Lake Victoria right where the Nile begins. On Sunday we woke up early to see the sun rise over the lake and it was absolutely gorgeous! I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am to have this opportunity.

I spent two hours doing laundry today. Hand washing is harder than it looks, and the Ugandan women find our efforts pretty amusing...but it makes me so thankful for washing machines! I am making more Ugandan friends and it is so interesting to learn about their lives. Just yesterday I was talking to a student from Northern Uganda and told us about how his older brother was taken by the LRA (the rebel army that kidnapped and forced thousands of children to be soldiers in Northern Uganda) ten years ago. They each have so many stories.

I started my internship at an organization called Off Tu yesterday. It is a program that houses and cares for 14 street kids. We also go to Kampala each week to hang out with the children living in a slum. These kids are either orphans, or completely rejected by their parents and are forced to beg in the streets. The organization tries to find extended families to care for them, but it often is unsuccessful so the children will come to live at Off Tu. Communication with the children is somewhat difficult because they are still working on their English, but nonetheless, it’s a sweet organization and I’m excited to learn from their staff and kids.

Yesterday I went to Kampala with my friend Brenda to go to the fruit market and the malls. So we packed in a taxi (which is really just a small van with seats drilled into the floor) with 16 other people and drove to downtown Kampala, where I found there are absolutely no rules for driving! It’s chaos! Brenda had to hold my hand when we crossed the street so I wouldn’t get hit (which also isn’t strange at all, even men hold hands all the time as a sign of friendship), and we made it to the market. While there, everyone kept asking, “Mzungu mzungu, how are you mzungu? Which country mzungu? Mzungu I love you!” But my favorite of the day said by a man who barely reached my shoulders, “Mzungu, you are just my size!” But things calmed down after that and I was able to get some ice cream and a delicious American meal, along with some mangos, pineapple, and avacados.YUM!

On Saturday we leave our dorm rooms to go live with a family in Mukono for two weeks. Some families are a 5 minute walk from campus, some are 45 minutes. So for those living farther, we really get a chance to see the community, even if we are just passing by. I am slightly anxious for this, since it seems like we just got settled here, but I know it will be a crazy good experience. 

I have so much I want to tell you all, but I can never remember what it is when I start to type. Some things coming to mind are the giant bugs...ants have stingers and crickets can fly. Oh, and my stomach has been awesome so far...PTL! =) Meals are entirely rice and beans with pineapple once a week and some sort of meat once a week as well. I'll try and post my address as soon as I remember to ask what it is! Your thoughts and prayers are still very much appreciated...seriously!! Miss you all!