For example Jean who I spent Friday with told me many things about what she has learnt about Uganda in only the three years they've lived here working for Pioneers International as a support team for full-time missionaries here. Such as:
God seems more tangible here; you think and pray to him constantly and consider him more than you do at home, e.g just driving around here is so dangerous and chaotic, vehicles everywhere and no-one obeys road rules it's so crazy (and I have been to Vietnam so that is saying something! haha) anyway so you arrive at a location and wonder how you survived- how did I get here, and they can sense God's hand at work in everything.
Corruption here that trickles down from high up in authority to doctors in hospitals to people on the street makes it so hard for the Ugadan people to make a life for themselves. Even the people who graduate from the Uni here in Kampala cannot get work because there is just no jobs. It is not what you know but who.
It can also be hard to make good friendships here with the locals because, where we would come from a culture that is to generally trust others until they disappoint you, then you are a bit wary until the prove their trustworthiness. The people here distrust until you prove yourself trustworthy.
As I meet more and more Ugandans I am struck by the way they live, only for today.
There are also many many underlying cultural things that you wouldn't understand unless a Ugandan told you, e.g. if a girl hasn't had a baby by the time she is 20 she is thought to have something wrong with her and so she goes out and seeks this so that she will not be looked down upon.
All in all, I am having a good time for the short while I have been here, the climate is very similar to the Australian summer and I have found the Ugandan people very warm and friendly! It will all be very different i think however when I head north to Karamajong. When I tell Ugandan people here that is where I am going, they say things like why on earth would you want to go there! It's so far away and they don't have anything there! It would be better to stay here in the city! But then I tell them what I am doing and that I think I may even prefer the country and they still look at me like I am an alie, haha well I don't mind I guess I am an alien really ;)
Anyway, things are very vague here in terms of planning, even for the westerners here they can't really plan much beyond the day or the next so I'll update you in that fashion and as things happen.
Oh you may have wondered why I wrote a place of western influence, well in many ways this place is truly African in stereotype but I was surprised when I got here to see how western/american-like everyone is dressed! And they have this mindset that anything western/white is good, down to the tv shows they watch here, a lot of it is actually rubbish!
Cannot wait to be heading to the country on Monday to see the wide open spaces and all the stars in their glory without the city lights to hide them!
Love Mel
Melissa Graham
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