Light Gives Heat

>>dancing.

Im finding myself lost for words. I don’t know how to process all that I am experiencing….maybe im not even processing at all. I don’t know.

I do know that I love seeing God’s face in all of the beautiful people here.

So instead of trying to muster up some profound thoughts, I am going to describe some of my everyday experiences. Here we go.

Transportation- to get anywhere really there are two, maybe three, options. 1. Walking, or here “footing”. 2. Bodas, which are motorcycles. So you wave them down, usually argue about how much money you are going to pay, jump on the back, and then after a breezy (and dirty) ride you arrive at the destination. 3. Matatu. This is their taxi cab-ish. It’s a large white bus that crams as many people into it as possible. These are usually just for going to Kampala or remote locations. I had my first matatu ride the other day…lets just say I was a little scared for my life haha.

Talking- most people speak English, however in town they also usually speak lugandan, and then the women of suubi mostly speak luo. I’m sloooowly catching on to some of the common phrases and words, however most of the time I find myself very very confused. They also switch up some of the English words. For example, “smart” means fashionable, or looking nice. So you would say to someone dressed pretty, “you are looking very smart”. “wise” means smart. Also, “stubborn” means both stubborn and funny.

Lines, restaurants, etc.- everything here is on slow-mo. It takes forever and ever to do anything. There is no such thing as fast food, only an hour wait. Being late, slow, etc is excused by saying “its African time”. I am definitely learning the beauty of patience, and slowing down.

Greetings- while you are slowly walking down the street, everyone greets eachother. Everyone.

Scenery- is beautiful. One of our friends recently took sarah and I up to his families land about 15 min away from town. The plot of land is nestled down a long red dirt road, and right down a hill snakes the Nile river. Everything is green, red, and blue.

Littering- I don’t think there is such a thing. It is totally acceptable to throw trash on the ground anywhere. Piles of trash are found on the corners of streets or piles in villages, and then just burned.

Someone once told me that jinja is like a black hole….one you come, you will always get sucked back in. I am beginning to see the truth in that.