Accepting Uganda

I think I may have finally started to develop the Ugandan mentality of "It's just life". I suppose I have felt slightly uninspired to write lately because that's just it, it's my life. The novelty of the obscure incidences that occur here have just become the norm and yes, finally I am accepting it. Every book ever written about living abroad and every person with living abroad experience says the same thing. Adjustment is a simple, yet enduring and sometimes difficult process that consists of the following: novelty, frustration, acceptance. Although, I still sometimes find myself getting frustrated, mostly, when I am in a hurry, for the most part I have accepted my life here in Uganda.

The bodas were for sure a novelty when I first arrived, it was exciting and exhilarating. Then I came to realize the danger of this mode of transportation and I just found myself scared and frustrated with the drivers who are so often nonchalant about oncoming traffic. Now I have accepted it as really the only way to get around this congested city. While I am still terrified of bodas, I use them because they make sense even though the experience means speeding in and out of traffic, ass hanging off the back of the bike, all the while dust flying in and out of your face. The soles of almost every single pair of shoes I own are melted from the exhaust pipe of these death traps and I think I have left finger nail marks in the backs of half of Kampala's boda drivers. However, there is one good thing about bodas and that is they work better than any hairdryer I have used in California.

Now onto accepting the creatures that cohabit with me. It took one day of three different encounters for me to accept my "roomates". It started as I opened the curtains and a gecko fell on my head. It was not but a few hours later when I headed to the toilet and a toad was attempting to save itself from drowning. I carefully scooped it into the dust pan and ran for my life out the front door to release it. Then to top everything off, as I was putting on makeup for a night out on the town a spider started crawling down the exact center of my forehead. It was that moment when I didn't scream that I realized I had accepted our coexistence. I have adjusted my way of life to help our shared space in that I don't walk through my house, I stomp to scare them off and avoid any future encounters. As well as, the whole mosquito net drama. Because for a mosquito net to properly function it needs to be securely tucked into every inch and corner of the bed, getting up in the middle of the night and then returning to bed can be quite an ordeal. So as I tuck in for the night I make sure to bring with me into the net and into the bed everything I think I may need: water, phone, tissue, book, etc. It can get crowded but it beats the alternative which would be spending half the night tucking and untucking the mosquito net.

Now that I have almost fully adjusted, I can almost fully enjoy Africa and everything it has to offer. Teaching at an International school means, celebrating International holidays, which ultimately, translates into many, many days off. As Ramadan recently came to an end, we all learned about EID. Among being a celebration at the end of Ramadan, it also meant a day off; however, was not to be determined until late the nigth before as the holiday is dependent on the status of the moon. At 10pm the night before, I received a text via the school phone tree that read: "Happy EID, Enjoy!" So at 8am the next morning my friends and I headed off to the beach in the neighboring town of Entebbe. We arrived rather early and found ourselves to be the only ones sitting on a picnic table, literally on the shoreline, indulging in cheeseburgers and savoring the taste of a cold beer on a rather hot and peaceful day. As the day progressed, we continued to bask and indulge. Slowly people, very happy people, very happy people celebrating the end of Ramadan and a month long fast, started flooding the beach. People watching became our number one priority and we watched nearly everyone dressed in their traditional Islamic clothing get into the water and dance as though they were at a disco, waist deep in Lake Victoria. It was amazing. However, we were restricted from taking photos as Muslims are not allowed to have their photos taken. There must have been 500 people in the water ranging in age from 2 yrs-80 yrs. We payed a midget the Muzungu price of 3000 shillings to have our photo take and then printed out on the spot. But despite the fact that we were cheated or as we concluded did not get the "EID Special" price of 1500 shillings the memory was so worth it.

So that's my life and despite it's inconveniences I've accepted it!