Hello all! It’s
Monday night, presumably the eve of Eid (more on that below), and I’m writing
by the light of a kerosene lantern, as the power is out. It seems I have a lot to report—it was a busy
weekend—but I will try not to post too much at once!
RUNNING IN UGANDA:
I started Saturday with a nice run.
I have enjoyed running here because it’s a great way to get to know the
surrounding neighborhoods, and I rarely run the same route twice. It’s an interesting experience to run,
because I really stand out—both as a mzungu (wealthy white foreigner), and as a
runner. Responses are varied. A lot of people (mostly men) call out in
English or Lugandan (it’s probably best that I don’t know what they’re saying),
some laugh and comment to one another, but most look amused or slightly
incredulous. A nice woman said to me
this week, “Aren’t you going to faint?”
Most people around here work so hard, and eat so simply that they don’t
exercise to maintain their weight (that’s more of a wealthy person’s
luxury/necessity), and most (at least the ones I see on the street) walk quite
long distances, so running isn’t really something that’s done a lot here. There will be a 10K/half-marathon/marathon
here in Kampala in November, so I plan to run the half. Apparently elite runners come from all over
Africa to participate, so I’m excited for that part of it. Kampala is a very hilly city; I estimated
this morning that I run about 30 percent of the time on flat ground, and the
rest is either uphill or downhill.
OWINO:
The real
adventure was Saturday afternoon, though, when my roommates and I made a trip
to Owino, which is the big market in the heart of the city. Owino is not for
the faint of heart or for those requiring personal space. Especially on the way in and in the main aisles, people
pushed and pulled and crowded–there was not personal space. But it was fun and
interesting and kind of exhilarating. There was a big clothing area, where
women sat in little stalls sewing beautiful traditional outfits in beautiful
vibrant colors and prints, and I saw some really cute fabric with a guinea fowl
motif. There is also a big area of used clothing, where you can find just about
anything if you have time (and inclination) to rifle through the piles. There’s
a shoe area, a dry foods (mostly rice and beans) area, a produce area, a
“food court” where people are preparing food, an area of home furnishings
(bed linens and rugs), a housewares area, and an office products area, and
that’s just what I’m aware of. I bought a nice cotton rug for 7000 UGX, and
found when I got it home that it’s from IKEA! There’s also an area selling
meat–any part of the animal is available and visible. Not for the faint of
stomach! We didn’t see any other mzungus there, and I saw a lot of women in
headscarves. Apparently the locals do a lot of their shopping there, so it’s an
authentic place, not a tourist market. There’s definitely a mzungu price and
local price, but it’s still cheap, and will be fun to return to again.
CHURCH: I
attended a local church on Sunday. My
co-worker and friend Sue was there and we were the only non-Ugandans in the
crowd. It was fun and interesting—very active
and vibrant. Sometimes the announcements
were in English and translated into Lugandan, and sometimes the other way
around. Most songs were in Lugandan, but
some were in English. It lasted a long time—I
finally slipped out after 2 ½ hours with no end in sight. The preacher was, ah, fiery—he delivered his
entire sermon by shouting into the mike—and was quite reminiscent of a
televangelist. I probably won’t make it
my home church, but it was fun to visit!
The past two weeks I’ve attended Kampala International Church, which is
comprised mainly of expatriates, and which actually uses the Heritage facilities
to meet.
CULTURAL NOTES: The
power is back on (woohoo!), and we’re happy—no school tomorrow! We’ve been waiting to know if tomorrow really
is Eid—the Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the holy month of
fasting from sunup to sundown. As I
understand, the exact day of Eid is dependent of the visibility of the moon at
a certain stage (the Muslim calendar is lunar), and so no one knows for sure
until the moon is seen and the holiday proclaimed by a sheik. We got the word, though—holiday tomorrow! We hear the calls to worship here at the
house, and really throughout the city; they normally start around 5:30, but
have been starting at 4:20 or so during Ramadan. A reliable, though not welcome, alarm clock!
Thanks for reading and your notes. I like to hear from you!
~Lee Erin
…..loving the updates! You are on a great adventure (as you well know) so enjoy it! Thanks for sharing it all. The Longs
Hello, Lee Erin! What an amazing cultural and ecological learning curve for you! I love hearing your adventures and will be interested to hear more about the kiddos and challenges with the diversity you have to work with.