5 Down...7 To Go

January finishes up my fifth month of living here in Mbale, Uganda.  Five complete months of living in a third world culture.  While it's beginning to feel normal – somethings here continue to baffle me. 

 

-Body Language – For women, be submissive in everyway; Don’t look men in the eye when you talk; Keep your head bowed and even bend at the waist a little; Talk soft.  If I don’t follow these cultural norms – then I am either very offensive or very provocative. Personally, this one has been really hard to get used to.  

-Family – If we’re related, you can’t say no to me – Broke? Need a place to stay? Hungry?  Simple.  Find your mother’s 2^nd cousin’s nephew and they can’t turn you down if you’re related.  Folks here will go broke and make themselves homeless before turning out lazy free-loading relatives. In the States, I think we'd only go to family as a last resort.  And while we are willing to help out our family when they are down and out, there is a line in the sand for how far we are willing to go.  

-Money – Live for today. The majority of folks are focused on survival and if they come into a sum of money – they don’t save it for next season’s seed or future medical bills or next year’s school fees but spend it now.  They might, however, build a portion of a house as they get money.  You see half built homes all over the place here; Completing a house sometimes takes 15-20 years – but, if you put your money in building materials at least your husband’s nephew won’t crash at your place and borrow all your cash. (Cause you couldn’t say no if he asked for it.) 

-Spirits – In the States, there is this movement to become more spiritual…as in zen and peace and meditation.  But here spiritual is very dark.  Witchdoctors are real.  Children are really kidnapped and their body parts sold for sacrifices.  Folks wear charms to ward off evil spirits.  Even in Christian churches, believers turn to witchdoctors for healings.  These witchdoctors in turn sacrifice chickens, goats or even worse… I have never felt so close to spiritual warfare than I do here in Uganda. 

-Mortality – Death visits often.  I meet so many who are either living with HIV or lost a parent to HIV.  This death comes slowly – for others, it comes very fast at a young age.  Many, many mothers will bear 8 – 12 children, but only 2 -3 will live to be adults.  In fact, most children aren’t even named until they are a year old.  It is such a ridiculous waste.  Our school cook lost her 2 month old son who was receiving treatment at the local hospital and will never know the real cause of his death.  And not even a week later, our day guard lost his 8 month old son to sickness.