African Afternoon

4-10-08



I walked from Matuwa to Magale today. I went to Magale on a boda earlier this week. Magale is far. However, Peter asked me to go visit some of his family and he wanted to show me the market. When I asked him about getting there he said, "I know a short short." Haha! Note to self - short short equals totally ambiguous distance which is likely to be long. And long it was. We headed into the countryside on foot trails early in the morning. Little did I know that I was embarking on an adventurous day filled with hours of hiking, meeting family and friends, motivational speaking, pouring rains, smelling flowers, and cultural exchanges.



Shortly along the way we greeted friends at home where I learned about masonry. Most homes in the country side are mud huts with tin roofs and dirt floors and walls that are smeared with a mixture of manure and dirt. The people of this home were building an upgrade and were happy to explain firing and laying bricks. Fascinating, but I'll save the details for now.



Now, I want you to imagine rolling hillsides checkered with fields of matooke trees and beans and occasional dwellings. The soil is reddish and like clay. No power lines or roads. Listen and hear the occasional bhaaa from a goat and mooo from a cow. The place you're imagining is where we were hiking. OK, it's hard to imagine and I'm really sorry that my camera ran out of batteries.



A little further down the hill, we happened upon a primary school in the middle of nowhere - literally. As we approached the dilapidated buildings (the classroom for P-1 and P-2 was a skeleton of a building with corrogated tin siding that reaches only halfway up with a tin roof), I saw children poking and craning their heads to see their unexpected visitors. I wish I could explain the Ugandan child's smile and facial expressions. They're priceless. Now, whenever a visitor comes to a classroom the students stand up and in unison say, "You are most welcome, our visitor, this is P-two" (or whatever class). Then the visitor is expected to give a speach. So I did. In all seven classes, I told the children how special they are and how wonderful it is that they're going to school. I told them they should go everyday and learn as much as they can so their futures will be bright. Those smiling faces are so appreciative - it humbles me to realize that my presense is such a big deal to them.



Have you ever played the Ipod car game? On your next road trip try this. One person listens to the Ipod and is supposed to sing the song as loud as possible. It's hillarious. On our walk, I let Peter take the Ipod. I cracked up several times as he zoned out and started singing outloud to Frau Frau, Regina Spektor, Snow Patrol, Raindeer Section, Usher, Rianna, Immogen Heap, One Republic, Gnarls Barkley and yes, the Mo Tab Choir! Hahahaha!



The first thing I did in the morning was peak out the window to see the weather. Darn it - the clouds hovered low and promised rain. Peter and I were far from everything that is already far from anything when the rains started. We found shelter in a small mud hut home where three children were in the front room.



We visited Alice and Robert's home also. Peter told me Robert is his dad and Alice is his mayi. However, family relations are always confusing - everyone is everyone else's mayi or papa and everyone is everyone's cousin or brother or sister. Ugandans are given two names. Their first name is usually an African name that is from an ancestor or famous person. Their second name is usually their English name. Last names don't exist so siblings all have different names. As you can see, it's hard to tell who belongs to who. Alice and Robert served us soda and glucose bisquits and we were on our way again towards the Magale market.



Unfortunately the market closed down because of the rains. So we turned around and started walking back. We walked for hours already. Africa has taught me the lesson of going with the flow. I might have a plan but the likelyhood of it not working is extremely high. Flexibility is essential. I wanted to catch a matatu to Bubulo rather than go back to the village - I needed to go to Kampala the next day, but the rains guaruntee muddy roads and difficult options for transport. I quickly learned that communicating and executing this plan simply wasn't going work. Oh well, we headed back - I could leave in the morning.



We returned to Alice and Robert's where we were stuck because of rains once again. Initially I was annoyed and tired; however, I started paying attention to something that I'm so glad I was able to experience. That something is the African art of doing nothing. I saw how people spend their time and how they spend time together. It's hard to explain, but it was fascinating to just observe an afternoon of life in Uganda.



They served chicken and rice for lunch, which we ate alone - families wait in the back room while their guests eat - it's kinda awkward really. Then we spent the afternoon hanging out. Before long a few neighbors came by and we started chatting.



Communication is limited. I wasn't sure what to do or say. So I pulled out my computer. For the next hour and a half we watched slideshows of my photos. They saw my family, NYC, holidays and tons of Uganda shots. A few children were around so I made paper airplane and boy oh boy were they a hit. My Ipod was passed around the room with amazement. I also had a Rolling Stone magazine from March. Ha! I loved listening to two men read about Obama from one of the most liberal arts magazine in America. I wish I had more wholesome reading material to share, but this family and their neighbors were completely mesmorized by the things I shared with them. And I had so much fun sharing it!



We finally started back in the early evening. At one point, I smelled the most pleasant flower and Peter stopped to find it for me! I love that we stopped to smell the flowers! We reached back just in time for a beautiful sunset over the broken clouds in the horizon.

This was a cool day! I love my life!