Nancy Reagan Advises to "Just Say No"

When I was in 9th grade I ate an earth worm for extra credit in a science class. Being that it was worth 100 extra credit points and the mounting pressure from my classmates that had already eaten one I chewed it up and swallowed the little guy with little to no hesitation. Peer pressure is often an amazing incentive and eating a grasshopper here in Uganda is of no exception.



I did my research on Uganda before arriving and thought that I was relatively educated on the culture and food; however no where in any of the research were grasshoppers mentioned. In a conversation one evening Daphne asked me if I had ever eaten an insect. I told her my story of the earth worm. She looked at me in disgust and could not believe I would do such a thing even for extra credit! It was beyond her comprehension. Not even a moment later she, nonchalantly mentions that grasshoppers are good and they are eaten in Uganda frequently. I laughed and shrugged it off as a sarcastic attempt to poke fun of my worm eating adventure.

The following day while we were having a drink at a local restaurant/bar a man strolled by with a container filled with crispy looking things resembling the shell of something fried. Daphne motioned the guy over and he gave us a handful of the fried items on a napkin. Daphne was not fibbing; sprawled out before me were fried grasshoppers! Since I am in a new place I decided to be bold and try one. Much to my surprise they were actually pretty good.

Sold by street vendors and eaten as if they are lays baked potato chips, grasshoppers are indeed a commonly eaten snack. With the head and body in tact, legs pulled off, deep fried, smothered in spices; these little guys serve as a decent appetizer. Apart from the black beady eyes staring at you before you pop them in your mouth and the crunchy dilemma of knowing one is eating a grasshopper, they are better than I would have imagined.

Pictures

I haven't taken a lot of photos since being here, mostly because I have been in the city. Below are a few photos however, and I will post more later. I will be taking a few short trips up country in the coming months and should have more to post.



Introductory Ceremony (prior to wedding)



Me in a Gomes (Traditional Ugandan Dress)



Daphne, Mariam, and Derek



Kampala (the view from my office)



My Backyard



Spine Drive (The Road I Live On)

Are you ready for CHOGM?

One of the very first things that I learned after stepping off of the airplane in Uganda is that The CHOGM is coming. Buildings are being repaired, hotels are being built, and police are out in full force making the streets safe for CHOGM. Local DJ’s are announcing it, taxis are advertising, night clubs talk about it, and the local television stations mention it at least every 10 minutes. It remains nearly impossible to go anywhere in the city without hearing about CHOGM. In fact, a week before CHOGM arrives it has been announced that there will be two days of National Holiday It is even said that it is possible the city may shut down when the CHOGM arrive. The question remains then; what is The CHOGM?

CHOGM is the 56 Heads of States and 5000 delegates that are going to be visiting Uganda on November 22 and 23. The Queen of England and Prince Charles will be among those visiting. Uganda was colonized by the British, thus those that are a part of the common wealth will be here. The government is building new hotels for the Heads of State and removing houses and businesses in certain areas to make the city look cleaner. The problem with this is that many people are being displaced with no where to go or no means to make a living due to this “cleanup.” Also, the government is spending a lot of money to build these nice hotels that will likely not be able to sustain after the CHOGM leave.

Ultimately the following weeks should be very interesting in Uganda due to CHOGM. A city of 2 million people shutting down is hard to believe, however since being here I can understand how it will likely happen. I will be staying in my house because of the hassle and potential danger with protests and such. I will update this as soon as The CHOGM arrive and will let everyone know what happens.

Initial Impression

I have been in Kampala about five days now and have been having a wonderful time. The people are so friendly and welcoming and the food is fantastic. As many of you probably already know, I am an individual whom loves different types of food and experiences, thus I am in the perfect place. Doreen’s mother (Florence) and sister(Daphne) picked me up at the airport and have been showing me around since.

The house in which I am staying is very nice, especially for Ugandan standards. I am sharing a room with Daphine until she leaves for the states in January. Also living in the home is Florence, Noreen, and Sumya. Noreen is an adopted daughter of Florence whom helps around the house and goes to school. Sumya works for Florence and does most of the cleaning and cooking. Both have been so welcoming and friendly; I could not have asked for a better place to stay.

Since being here I have been learning how to take minibuses and boda boda’s. Minibuses are the main transportation I will be taking. They are little vans that drive around going to different places. They are usually between 500 and 1000 shillings which end up being between 25 and 50 cents. Generally speaking they are kind of slow; however they will get you anywhere very cheaply. They often pack 15 or more in to one bus. Boda boda’s have been my favorite thus far, although are the most dangerous. They are little motorcycles that will also take you anywhere. Due to the road conditions and the heavy traffic, they are not very safe. Boda boda’s are good to take when you are in a hurry because the driver’s are crazy and will swerve through anything. It is sort of like riding an amusement park ride, however are much more likely to kill you.



Boda Boda



Mini Bus

Roads here are mostly dirt, and those that are not may as well be because of the pot holes. Florence told me that “if you see a car driving straight you know they are drunk.” This is due to the pot holes. Cars are swerving constantly to miss them. I am absolutely stunned that people are able to get around as much as they do, especially in the rainy season. They manage however, and I have a new sense of what types of roads non-four wheel drive cars are able to handle.

The term used for me here by many people, especially kids, is mazoonga (white girl). Although the official language in Uganda is English, many and most people will frequently speak in Luganda. I have no problem communicating because they all know English, but I will often be in a taxi and hear people speaking. When I hear Mazoonga I know they are talking about me. Daphne is currently doing an internship at a newspaper here, thus she has passes to a lot of events. On my second night here she took me to a press party at a club. I had a fantastic time. They had two performers who are like pop stars come and perform (Julliana and Camilla). While I was there however, the press kept following me around taking pictures because I was the only Mazoonga there. It was very entertaining.



Daphne and I



Katanga, Daphne, Florence, and I

Also, when I arrived Florence had a traditional Ugandan dress called a Gomes made for me. I attended what they call an introductory ceremony with Daphne. It is a pre-wedding ceremony in which the parents are introduced. It was several hours long of dancing and random stuff I could not understand. The boy’s family offered the girls family a-lot of gifts; that of which included a half of a cow, chicken, stove, and lots of other random items.

Any how, these are just a few of the things since I have been here. I will update shortly on more interesting events and experiences.

In Route

Most of those reading this blog already know that I have recently moved to Uganda. I arrived in Kampala after a grueling 40 hour transit. I left Salt Lake City on Monday November 5th at 10:00 a.m. and arrived in Uganda on November 7th at 2:30 p.m. Granted, many of those hours were spent in airports during layovers, however the layover’s seemed longer then flying. The entire journey was not horrible however. I was able to spend 9 hours in Dubai which was definitely the most interesting airport that I have ever been in.

Dubai is located in the Middle East near Kuwait. I was a bit nervous flying there due to all of the things going on in the Middle East and it being obvious that I am a white American girl traveling alone. My layover there turned out to be very interesting however, and I have left there with a new prospective. I met several people in the airport that I spent a good amount of time chatting with and having coffee.

One such person was from Iraq but lived in the UK. He had been on holiday visiting his family and was waiting to catch a flight back to the UK. It was intriguing speaking with him because his family still lived in Iraq; however he had been gone for 11 years. He had no desire to return for good and wishes his family would leave, however they are content and love Iraq. He talked about how lucky he was to have been able to leave and wishes more had the same opportunity.

Another individual was also from Iraq and was fleeing to China. I was sitting reading a book when he passed by and abruptly stopped and looked at me. He came and sat next to me and enthusiastically asked me if I was an American. He was an eighteen year old whom had never been on an airplane and was leaving for what he hoped was forever. He spent some time talking about the war and the many dangers that he faces daily. He talked about the many bombs and people that he has seen killed. Unlike many people in Iraq, he loved the Americans and it was his dream to go to America. He told me how he has spent much time researching the facts and feels that most Iraq people are blind to what is really going on. I exchanged e-mails with both of them and will hopefully get updates on their adventures. Over all, the short time that I spent in Dubai was a great learning experience. Almost everyone was very friendly and I did not run in to any problems.