Thankyou Mr. Boda Man

Generally speaking taking Taxi's and especially Boda's in Uganda require the skill of bartering. It goes a little like the following:

Boda/Taxi Man: “Hullo Madam, we go?”
Jessica: “ I need to go to….how much?”
Boda/Taxi Man: “4,000”
Jessica “No no, what is your lowest price?”
Boda/Taxi Man “Madam you give 3500.”
Jessica “I’ll give you 2500”
Boda/Taxi Man “3000”
Jessica “I want the non-Mazungu (white) price. I know.”
Boda/Taxi Man “But madam gas prices.”
Jessica “Gas prices haven’t gone up. I can go find another boda.”
Boda/Taxi Man “Ok Madam, we go.”

Bartering is a skill that I use daily. Generally speaking the taxi’s and boda men will stop at nothing to get me to pay higher because I am white. They assume that I have money due to this fact. The prices they quote are generally double! The other day I was taking a taxi from a place that I frequent. The taxi drivers were new to that area and had not seen me before. They quoted me a price almost double the real price. I laughed and said I have been here a while, I know the price. They laughed and said oh, so you know the real price. I guess one can’t blame them. When the average income of a Ugandan is less then $1.00 a day it is not surprising that they try and ring money any where they can. Whites are an easy target because generally we actually do have much more money than any one of these boda drivers will ever begin to imagine.

Secondly, in order to get to your destination safely you must tell the boda man to drive safely and slow down. Frequently I will make a deal on a price and then offer them more if they drive safely. They usually laugh and agree. Bodas can be dangerous due to the mass amounts of traffic and no traffic rules to boot.

Today I approached a boda man and told him where I was going. I expected him to quote me around the 3500 shillings range. I generally end up paying 2500 after bartering. He looks at me and quotes me 1000. One can imagine my shock when he quoted a lower price then what was actually fair for him. I looked at him and said, no I will give you 2000. He laughed. Granted, I believe that he didn’t know the place I was asking him to take me. He said, “Ok, madam” with a smirk on his face. I was especially surprised when I got on. I didn’t even have to ask the boda man to slow down or drive safely. He did it all by himself!!!! I couldn’t believe it; an honest safe boda man. What are the odds in Uganda?

As I descended the boda I thanked the boda man for his honesty and safety. He again laughed thinking that I was a crazy Mazungo. I could easily have accepted his original offer of 1000 shillings for the ride and got away with cheating him. Over all I had to write a blog thanking the Mr. Boda man for my likely one honest experience with a boda man.

Don't Over Speed

While driving down a highway on Sunday I saw a billboard that read, “Don’t Over Speed.” Does the term speed not denote going over a limit already? Why then would anyone throw the term over in if speed is already there? Don't speed should be sufficiant. It sounds a little like “its ok to speed as long as you don’t over do it." What does over speed mean if one is already speeding? Where is the cap?

The sign made me chuckle a little being that I have never really even seen a speed limit sign in Uganda. I wondered to myself whom was the advertising company placing this billboard? I would have taken a picture of it but did not have my camera with me.

I realize this is not a blog of great substance or length, but I had to write it. I’m no grammar guru by any means as evident from this blog. I do know however, that two words placed together signifying the same thing (that of which I’m pretty sure over speed does) is not correct. I would expect an advertising company to realize that before placing the billboard. Just so everyone remembers though, “Don’t Over Speed!”

Do Family Values Equal Intolerance?

I thought that I would write a follow up to my previous blog. Not necessarily on the thievery act but on the term moral. I recently watched an episode of Boston Legal in which one of the characters said something rather profound. In a discussion between himself and a colleague they were talking about things they wish they could rid the world of. He said that he wished he could get rid the world of people who use the term family values as a veil for intolerance. For instance, “I am upholding family values by not allowing homosexuals to marry.” I won’t go off on my diatribe about that; however I think the same concept applies to morality.

Often time’s people use the term moral as a justification or excuse for bad behavior (intolerance, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness). I hate it when people say that (anything) is immoral. Why is it immoral? Most of the time there is not a valid logical argument for it being immoral. Moral is not so easily defined. The term itself is a shroud of ambiguity. One’s views on morality and values stem’s from where they sit in life and there is no set rule of what is moral and what is not. What might be considered immoral in Utah may be perfectly acceptable in New York or some other part of the world.

People should not cower behind terms such as morals and values to justify their belief. If they truly believe it then why do they place a veil on their opinion? Could it be because they know that without such terms their opinions would seem rather petty and illogical? If their opinions and beliefs are not petty then they would not need such terms to prove their arguments. Thus the term morality in my mind should be used with precaution as to not fall into the realms of shadowing justification for ones actions and thoughts. If you believe something to be true then just say it and don't use an excuse!

Excessively Moral?

I took my friend Tabitha downtown to not such a nice area last week. If I were reading this I would be wondering why Jessica would do such a thing. She recently came to Uganda to attend a study abroad program. In route her baggage was lost and she was in need of some cheap items to hold her over until her baggage could be claimed. I took her to an area that is more crowded than a can of sardines!!! This area however, has anything(clothes, shoes, batteries, toys, food, hair supplies)anyone could ever want for a very cheap price. Before going we discussed the importance of carrying your bag very close to you due to the high amounts of petty theft.

While we were walking I saw a man following very close to a random girl of which I had no relation. He seemed very suspicious and jumpy. I, being the curious type, followed them for a bit. I then saw him reach his hand in to her purse. Without thinking and just reacting I slapped his hand as if I was scolding a young child for doing something wrong (not that I would ever really slap a child’s hand)! We looked each other in the eyes for a moment. Both of us were as shocked as the other. My shock was derived from my action where as his shock was derived from the fact that a Muzungo (white) had caught him in the act of theft and then assaulted him! He then said sorry in an attempt to not seem suspicious to others standing around us and ran away.

In Uganda if a thief is caught they perform what is called “mob justice.” I have yet to have witnessed such an event being that most thieves are very skilled in what they do. I have been told however, that if one is caught stealing people here do not wait for the police rather they strip the thief (male of female) of all of their clothes and then beat them. I can only presume that the aforementioned thief that I slapped ran quickly to avoid such an occurrence.

When reading this one might think, “good for you Jessica.” In some ways I agree. I stood up for what I believed to be morally wrong. Thinking about it logically however I realize that this man/thief could have easily had a weapon on him and pulled it on me in retaliation. A saying that I often use/hear is that alcohol is liquid courage or stupidity depending on how one looks at it. This is also true to my act; sober mind you. Was it courage or stupidity??? It wasn’t really courage because I didn’t think about it, however it was stupid being that the results could have been detrimental to my safety.

As for the next time such an occurrence happens, I hope I will think before I act, although it is unlikely being my nature. Cheers to being excessively "moral"

Jinja

Boda Boda ride through Jinja




Guy Jumping in to the falls!

A Day at the Beach!

Hey Everyone,

Below are a few photos from Sunday. I went to the beach with some friends and we played soccer and just hung out. It was a wonderful day barring my knee deciding to move in and out. I learned how to ride a motorcycle (that of which I have had a desire to do for sometime) and generally had a good time!

Lake Victoria at Dusk


Tabitha and Derrick


Derrick and I


Uncle Charles and I


Lake Victoria


I learned how to ride a motorcycle (boda boda) along the boardwalk of Lake Victoria!


Florence (not the woman I'm staying with), Aunt Sarah, Tabitha, Derrick, and I'm not sure :)


Tabitha, JaJa (Grandma), and Me.

The "Smoking Gun"

What began as an election dispute in Kenya has rapidly turned in to a crisis with up to 1,000 dead and on the fast track to if not already a humanitarian catastrophe. Was it really ever an election dispute or was the election rig just the smoking gun to the already mounting pressure of tribal and ethnic clashes reaching hundreds of years back? Just recently there was an article in the leading newspaper in Uganda about the attempts to poison Kenyan refugees whom fled the violence of the riots to Uganda. The refugees were staying in a camp on the Ugandan side of the border. Two people from the opposing side (tribe) snuck in and put poison in the food. Luckily it was caught before the food was distributed to hundreds of people. Before this, a bus was burned of people again trying to flee the violence. The bus was burned by the opposing tribe as a retaliation tactic for people in another tribe having been injured and killed.







Kenyan tribal clashes are not the only clashes however. What about Darfur, Rwanda, Israel, Palestine, Hitler, Stalin, the war on terror? Any of these ring a bell? All of these have something to do with different tribes, ethnicities, and beliefs. What is it about people’s differences that create such havoc in the world? I suppose that it is not the first time this question has been asked nor will it be the last. Nor is there any one answer, otherwise the Middle East would not be such the hot bed it always has been. Everywhere in sight there is visible intolerance, hatred, and ignorance sparking the eruption of violence and planting the seeds to sprout future generations of fighting until we do the inevitable and exterminate ourselves.

One might ask what has sparked such animosity in my thinking. I am a generally overly optimistic person. I still am and believe that the world and people’s hearts can change, however the seemingly approach of the “end of the world” can not be ignored. Maybe it won’t even be the “end of the world” in a literal sense but one of a decreased quality of life. A while back a read a book titled “Stupid White Man” by the infamous Michael Moore.



One of the chapters focused on a future of the world running out of resources and a place once known as the “super power i.e. America” in where people are forced to use candles because there is no electricity left. A world in which vehicles are one of the past because there is no oil left. The chapter was trying to make a point that the world is on a path of decreased quality of living if something does not change.

The aforementioned clashes between people are not just based across the globe apart from the United States however, there is a war engulfing America as well. Democrats vs. Republicans, Atheists vs. Evangelicals, Creationists vs. Evolutionists, Black vs. White, Oil Companies vs. Environmentalists, Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life, and so on. We talk as if we are united as Nationalists of America but there is an inflaming war between Americans that have always existed. United as one is of the past and a divided nation is looming nearer especially here in Uganda.

The thought of Ugandan civil war erupting was a recent contemplation. In a conversation involving Kenya between me and a friend of mine, he brought up the realities of a looming war in Uganda. He told me that he foresaw civil war breaking out in Uganda within the next couple of years. Uganda has 56 different tribes and of those tribes one primarily owns and runs the country. Currently there is a battle between one tribe and another over land. Everywhere I go people ask each other what tribe they are. The Africans and the Indians don’t get along. All in all it seems inevitable that eventually there will be a “smoking gun” like the Kenyan election to incite Uganda in to a catastrophe as well. Having been recovering from the catastrophe of Indi Amin’s rule only twenty years ago it is soon to delve into another one. Whether the smoking Gun is Museveni's attempt at rigging his re-election or land being taken away it is an inevitable truth. Over all however I invite anyone to show me a place that is not at war somehow. I am unable to think of one.