First Post from Uganda

Including time zone changes, we traveled more than an entire day to get to Uganda. On one plane, the flight attendant woke me up and called me Clint Eastwood, which made me pretty happy, because out of all things that have the potential to reverse my sexual orientation, I would have to say Clint Eastwood is number one (relax, I'm trying to be funny).

We drove through the night two hours from the airport to campus. Driving through Kampala was intense, as we saw mattresses laid out along the street, markets alive and well at 11 PM, and bigger vehicles cutting off smaller ones. At one point, young girls were sleeping on the barrier between the roads. When our bus rolled up, they hopped up with begging hands and voices. Without any Ugandan currency, I reached out the window and handed them a bag of dried pineapple. This brought up a pretty intense conversation about giving. Jesus tells us, without reservations, to give to he who asks of you. Moreover, noted Drew, we are to give the correct thing (Jesus says, who of you will give a stone if one asks for a fish). Some of my peers also brought up the point that we do not know what beggars would do with the money we give to them. I argued that Jesus was more concerned with loving rather than the exploitation of his love. There may be no return benefit to us when we give. In fact, Keith Giles argues that even Jesus was not a good steward of his resources according to the standards of some. He healed the blind, knowing they would lust with their eyes. He healed the withered hand, knowing that may enable a thief.

When we arrived, we stayed overnight on campus with small rooms and cold showers. The following day, we met our host families. Dean, another USP student, also resides in the same home as me for the semester. When we rolled up in the van, we were greeted by a joyful man named Bernard, who hugged us with a huge smile. His wife Elizabeth (toto = mother) shook our hands, along with his daughters Sara and Kevine, and sons Sam and Joshua. Toto showed us around the house. The first room is the sitting room where we have hour-long conversations about anything that comes to mind and meals. The back rooms are the room that Dean, Sam, and I sleep in (Sam will be attending UCU for his first semester when we start school with him). There is a room for kitchen materials and utensils, Joshua has a small room, and our sisters have a room with many materials stored in it as well. Papa and Toto live in an attached room. Outside is a stone "kitchen" where smoke constantly envelopes the eyes of our very hard-working mother. There is also a toilet and a bathroom (meaning "shower room") outside. The toilet is a hole in the ground with a toilet without a lid. To shower, we use a water basin. Sometimes we boil water over a fire to not use completely chilly water. You are to squat and manually cup your hands to splash water on yourself. Ugandans are very clean, showering at least once each day, dressing quite nicely, and ironing clothes often (with charcoal irons burning inside of them). Meals have been relatively the same. At every meal we have had cabbage, rice, a corn-based food that looks like mashed potatoes, and a soup that goes over everything after all of the food has been put in a bowl. Ugandans prefer their meat very cooked, so no matter what meat they have, it tastes relatively similar to the last. Our family has a few chickens walking around in the neighborhood which provide for us eggs to make omelets in the mornings. One of my favorite foods thus far is matoke, which is unripe bananas boiled and then mashed up. Tea time comes randomly, and Dean and I sit with Papa. The tea is local, and with sugar, tastes like some of the best tea I've ever had.

I did throw up once already from my malaria pill. The label says to take on an empty stomach, which I was later informed was the worst idea possible. It is to be taken on a full stomach says all of the USP staff.

The cell phone the program gave me is now not turning on. I'm not sad about that because I was looking forward to not having a cell phone this semester. But I guess in some cases it is a safety precaution.

We spent one day in Kampala. Everything is so cheap. We also visited Kasubi which is the palace and tomb-site of Ugandan kings.

At nights, it is unsafe to use the toilet between 12 and 4, so we must wake up Sam (or when he wakes up to go, he wakes us up as well) to relieve ourselves. He checks the yard and takes every precaution of thieves and aggressors.

Yesterday we returned from Kampala to find only the girls at home making supper. They said our brothers were in the fields, and Kevine led us to that location. Halfway up the hill, we saw Toto working among the trees. Her wise face taught us how to germinate these plants and pick out the roots for eating. Sam and Joshua had been working since 6 AM (it was 6 PM at this time) at tilling the land to plant corn. Papa says the school has allowed them to cultivate this land because they have had good relations. Schools in the states would not do this. I feel our society is based more on tearing down others to benefit the self rather than love of neighbor. Papa and I talked about this outside during the night, right before supper (which is usually around 9 PM, after which we go to sleep and wake up any time between 5 and 7:30). We ate guavas on this hill and collecting passion fruit. The view is incomparable, as we can see many distant mountains and even Lake Victoria. The winds cool us down and there are monkeys making noise in the forest.

Weather has been wonderful. Rain is light and occasional, not lasting too long (locals wish there was more during this rain season). I can wear a sweater when the sun is down.

Our neighborhood, like many others, is loud. A cinema plays movies from 1 PM to 10 PM. Most people are self-employed, trying to sell whatever they can for family income. Calling cards are a popular item. Papa and I talked about how it would be beneficial for Ugandans not to copy the methods they see working, but rather bring new products to the market, which in the long run would largely benefit the economy.

I signed up for classes today: Faith and Action, Missions Practicum, African Traditional Religions, Old Testament Survey, and New Testament Survey - the last two will be in classes with many Ugandan students.

Life here is not yet difficult, it is beautiful and pure. Family, neighbor, and community are valued so much. It's overwhelming as someone used to privacy at my expense, but I like that. I'm tired of dressing up though haha. Everything is so raw, and that is exactly what I wanted. The meat comes from town. Fruit, eggs, and plants are harvested and gathered by hand. There are no showerheads wasting water. If something needs to be done, you do it. Sam makes bricks, the girls cook and clean, Papa talks with us, Toto is constantly at work. I want to start helping out more, but I think they are trying to be very hospitable to us these first few days. Papa said he thanks God that he got this plot of land so he can meet people like Dean and me. They have housed USP students before.

This is a snippet of my first days' experience in Mukono.

Tomorrow we leave for a 15 hour trip to Rwanda at 5 AM. We will make a stop at the Equator. I will be taking my first pictures of the trip, but will not have internet access for at least a week. I may be invited to preach in a church service Sunday morning, so I am preparing. It is easier to speak on faith in America, because I understand the culture and see so many things that are out of place. It will be hard to bring something new and encouraging to a country that has done so much great work rebuilding and reconciling. Anyway, we have all been told in many ways that Rwanda will be an intense experience.

I am now going to watch the sunset and breath fresh air. Although internet on campus is very slow and randomly inaccessible, I will attempt to update as frequently as possible.