So, today was such a great day for me!! I got the opportunity to lead worship with some of my fellow USP students for our community worship(chapel). I haven't lead worship with singing and playing guitar since I was in high school, so I was a bit nervous.
We were told that USP was given an opportunity every semester to lead worship, so my roommate and I took this task on to organize. We got a band together and had only 2 practices before today. I have to admit, I was a little scared we were gonna suck because practices were a little sketchy, but I trusted that God would move through us. Today rolled around and I was getting extremely nervous, but knew that it would be great no matter what. I was leading on guitar/vocals, my roommate Jen was on piano/vocals, Alli was on piano/vocals, Lindsay was on violin/vocals, Tony on bass, and Loren and Ned on jembe drums. Then, the rest of our students were in the choir. We did about 5 worships songs as a whole group and then just the band did a special song by ourselves. Overall, it went really well and I forgot how amazing it is to see others worship God. I love to see how into worship other people get, because it makes me so on fire! I will admit, I did tear up a little bit, to see thousands of Ugandan students with some random Americans thrown in there worshiping together as one. It is such a beautiful thing to witness. I was highly sweaty from playing and being in African heat, but it was so much fun! :)
To end my perfect moment in life of worship, after we got done I had to leave to go to my last day of my internship. While I was trying to get off stage without making a scene while they prayed, I ran straight into one of the speakers hanging from the ceiling. It was one of the most painful things I've ever done, but I just kept walking because that was embarrassing! haha. Luckily someone was praying so most people didn't see, but I heard a lot of people go "ohhhhh," so I know some saw! Oh my goodness....I walked away real quick and when I was gone, I put my head up and blood was running down my face. It's not a very big cut, but it's pretty deep and took awhile to stop bleeding. I now have a real pretty bump/cut right in the middle of my forehead! You know me, keeping it classy and clumsy even in Africa! All in all, it was an awesome time today and I am so thankful to God for allowing me this opportunity and talents to be able to participate in things like this.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Being in Africa...
Being white in Africa is like having my own personal T.V. show. No matter what I do or say, people will watch me and listen to me. It's like "Muzungu Variety Show" all day, ever day. I could be getting a drink and all of a sudden it's the most exciting thing to happen in anyone's life. Or, my favorite is when I am just sitting or laying somewhere and people find it fun to watch. I am amazed at how I can keep people occupied for hours at a time and all I have to do is stop what I'm doing and be still. People are always waiting to see what will happen next, like maybe I'll do a trick or something.
When I first got here, I was so overwhelmed with all the stares that I thought I wanted to scream! As time goes on, I have tried to be more comfortable with the looks and just understand that's how life goes. But, as I'm ending my time here and people are STILL staring, I am getting frustrated. It's so hard to walk around and see people stop what they are doing to look at you. I don't know why it bothers me so much but it does. It's not the worst thing in the world, but definitely one of those things that is a challenge for me daily. But, on the bright side, it really does a number on you're self esteem to have so many people look at you on a daily basis =)
So, when I come home I expect you all to watch me just so I can feel at ease! haha.
When I first got here, I was so overwhelmed with all the stares that I thought I wanted to scream! As time goes on, I have tried to be more comfortable with the looks and just understand that's how life goes. But, as I'm ending my time here and people are STILL staring, I am getting frustrated. It's so hard to walk around and see people stop what they are doing to look at you. I don't know why it bothers me so much but it does. It's not the worst thing in the world, but definitely one of those things that is a challenge for me daily. But, on the bright side, it really does a number on you're self esteem to have so many people look at you on a daily basis =)
So, when I come home I expect you all to watch me just so I can feel at ease! haha.
Thanks what?
Well, this is a late post of course, but times are busy. So, Thanksgiving in Africa is quite an experience. Since they Africans don't even acknowledge this holiday except for when we mention it, it was really weird. It was funny to hear Ugandans say "Happy Thanksgiving" to me because secretly I know they a. don't really know anything about it or b. don't really care but just say it anyways.
So, I still had to attend class on Thanksgiving......saddest day ever! But, we convinced 1 of my teachers to only let us have class for an hour instead of 2. I still had to have another class for 2 hours though. So, while all of you in college for you're little breaks and fun times at home, I rotted in a classroom. Our program did plan to have a Thanksgiving supper for us that evening so it didn't feel like a total fail of a holiday. We (the USP students) were in charge of making desserts for this little function. Me and 3 friends decided to make cheesecakes, which turned out to be quite a chore since cream cheese is basically invisible here. However, we got real creative and made 4 different cheesecakes using ingredients like: cream cheese, strawberry and toffee yogurt, ricotta cheese, some type of whipping cream(later turned out to be expired), butter, sugar, and biscuits crushed up because graham crackers don't exist here either. It was a very interesting process, but they all turned out delicious in the end.
At 3:30, a bunch of us students got together and played American football. This was super fun, even though I suck and have no idea how to play really. However, my team ended up winning by a lot and I made 2 touchdowns and some interceptions. What up! haha. It was a nice game, but it was probably one of the hottest days we've had so far. It is strange to be dying of heat on Thanksgiving, but a neat change. After football, we all got ready and headed to the Bartel's house, which are the leaders of our program. We had a HUGEEEE feast and I did in fact have 2nds and 3rdish. Then, we had a glorious buffet of desserts, which is course I had about 2 rounds of. I had the biggest food belly I've ever seen and I thought I could die a happy person right now. Then, we watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and called it a night. It was such a twist on Thanksgiving, but I enjoyed my day to the fullest! I am happy to have experienced such a different way of doing things.
Birthday Showers
So, it has been about forever since I've posted, but nothing too blog worthy seems to have come up recently. I decided to write about my African birthday experience, because it's definitely one to remember!
To start off my birthday, when I went to bed on Saturday night, my roomie had put a sign on my door for me that said "Happy Birthday Taui." Also, on my bed she left me a note and a pair of earrings as a gift! It was the cutest thing ever!! :)
One tradition started here by Honors College is the showering of the birthday people. Basically, they lock the birthday person/persons in their rooms until the group can fill buckets with water and soap enough to "shower" someone in. This year, it so happened that not only did I have a birthday on the 21st, but 2 other guys from Honors College. So, Ambrose who was target #1 got locked in his room while the water was collected. I came down to partake in the showering of Ambrose thinking they would just not shower me. However, while Ambrose was getting showered, a few guys ran behind me and got me too. I was not expecting it at all, but it was funny when all was said and done. There was a 3rd person named Charles who didn't mention it was his birthday so a huge group of us took him down to the fountain in the middle of campus and threw him in! After this, about 15 of us just had a massive water fight for about an hour. It was a great way to spend the morning of my birthday :)
When I came in from my birthday shower, I found in my room waiting for me 2 huge vases of flowers and a note with my name on it. It turns out my wonderful boyfriend (Reuben Gay) worked out to send me flowers all the way in Africa!! Talk about commitment! It seriously made my whole day and I am soo grateful to have such a great guy in my life.
After that fun little surprise, a group of friends and I went to a nearby hotel to go swimming. It was a great afternoon spent swimming, eating, and chatting with friends. Since I love sun and water this was a fantastic way to spend my afternoon.
One of my Ugandan friends named Brendah decided to take me out for dinner as a gift to me. I was super pumped because of course I love food! We went to a fancy little hotel place and had a gorgeous meal. The power went out in the middle of our meal though and we got to eat by candlelight. How romantic-haha. It was a great evening with her!
Overall, it was a pretty chill day, but I got to spend it with friends and participate in some crazy traditions. I was greeted that day with all sorts of gifts from friends and it just felt so nice to be cared for like that here :)
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Roomie Love
Taxi ride to a fun day in Kampala
Fatties @ heart. Eating ice cream like it's our job.
Twinks @ a basketball game. :)This is my blog dedicated to my lovely roommate: Jen Moffit.
I am still trying to figure out how they paired roommates here in Africa, because it seems so random. A lot of us were paired with people who seem quite different from us, but we all manage to get along so well. Jen and I are different in so many ways, but we are super close. She is very quiet and introverted. If you know me, I am the exact opposite of this. She loves meeting new people, but has a hard time doing that. She is a music major, specifically voice and piano. She also plays the guitar a little. This is a major bond for us since I love music, specifically singing. We play and sing together a lot, which creates great quality time together! Since we are so different, we balance each other out and get to experience some amazing things together. I am so thankful for such a great friend in my life. It is fun to meet new people and living with someone creates a whole new dynamic to a friendship. We get to lead worship together for various events on campus and for different USP programs. We will be leading worship together on November 30th for our community worship! I am super pumped about this experience and even more excited that I get to share it with my roomie. We have a blast everyday and both loveeeeeee to eat, so you know that makes for a great connection! haha. It is nice to have someone to go to and talk with about any of lives problems or joys. We have gotten extremely close and I enjoy being able to have a good friend away from home.
Well, that is a little bit about me and my roomie, I hope you have enjoyed it! :)
A week in the life...
I realized I have talked a lot about the fun experiences I am having here in Uganda, but I've never really talked about what a normal week looks like for me. I think most people think I am off running wild with lions and zebras and doing all sorts of crazy African things, but it's just not true. In fact, I haven't even seen any lions!! But, I did manage to see a few zebras one day when we were driving somewhere. College life here looks surprisingly similar to college life in America. So, while this may not be that exciting to read about, read it anyways!! :)
Monday: I have a class called Faith and Action, which looks a lot at the differences between African Christianity and American Christianity. We also explore different aspects of life and have read some really awesome books about Christianity. This class is required of all the students in my program. It doesn't start until 10:45 though so I get to sleep in, even in Africa. After class, we go for lunch which is chaos because there are soooo many people here. Also, we are the only white students so of course everyone stares-per usual. Then, I have a break until my African Literature class at 4. I usually nap or do homework or just hang with people around campus. In my African Literature class, we read poems or short stories and discuss themes and characters. It's very similar to the Literature class I took at Greenville already, but it is fun to see how different African authors write in comparison to American ones. Classes are pretty simple here and if you just show up and speak a lot, you will get an A. Not to mention life is graded on a 20 point scale here so 80-100 is an A!! Monday nights I don't do much of anything, like my normal life in America. I do homework or get online or hang with friends. We have a curfew of 8pm, so I can't go off campus after that point. It really puts a damper on life, haha.
Tuesday: I don't have class until 11 am, so yet again I get to sleep in! However, life here starts at about 6 am, so sleeping in can be quite a challenge sometimes. I have a class called African Traditional Religion(ATR) and this is probably my least favorite class. We just learn about African religions and what they consist of-sound impressive?! After this class, we have community worship which is chapel. It goes for about an hour and is actually pretty fun. However the messages are not my favorite and usually seem to attack America/Americans a lot or homosexuals(I won't even get into that). The music is really fun and interactive though. Then, I got to lunch at 1 and at 1:30 I head to my internship. It takes almost an hour to get to Salama and by the time we get there, the kids are super pumped to see us. I stay at Salama till about 5:30 or 5:45pm. My day there is basically filled with playing with the kids, reading books to them, and doing laundry. When I get back, I usually am ready for a shower because I most likely got peed on or worse-ha. I go to supper after that and then at 7:30 I have choir practice until 9:30ish. Then, I attempt to do homework or get online.
Wednesday: This is my day off-kind of. I don't have any classes on Wednesdays, but I do go to my internship. I leave for that around 12:15 and leave at like 5:15ish. My day there is similar to Tuesdays and sometimes I go out to the garden as well. When I get back, I usually don't do much either and just hang around. Nights here are pretty similar to my nights in America. I will watch a movie or hang around with friends.
Thursday: I have class on Thursday at 8:30am and it's my ATR class again. This class goes for 2 hours and is probably the longest 2 hours of my life! When it's over, I like to nap because waking up that early is too much for me-haha. I don't have class again until 2, so I try and get homework done in between there. I usually have lunch and then go to Literature class. After this class, I go to tea time which occurs 2 different times in the day. There is break tea which is 10-11 every morning and then 4-5 is the afternoon tea. Thursday nights I usually go get rolexes from a canteen off campus. Rolexes are chapati with eggs in them. It's like a tortilla filled with an omelet. :) So greasy, but so delicious! I have choir from 7:30-9:30ish again also. Choir here is so interesting because it involves us writing down the words and then they sing it for us and we just have to get it. It is quite a different experience than America. Also, when they teach us songs in Luganda, that is an exciting time.
Friday: I only have 1 class on Friday which is my Faith and Action class again. It is from 8:30-10:30, which I love because then I have the rest of the day free. We usually head to Kampala after class and shop around and go to different markets there. It takes about an hour to get there and only cost 1,000 shillings which equals about 50 cents. :) Lately, we have been going to our school basketball games which happen in Kampala too. This is hectic and probably some of the most awkward moments in my life here. Me and my few friends who go are the only white people in a huge stadium of black men. Basically, we are watched like pieces of meat-so fun....NOT! However, it is fun to see how involved people are here with sporting events.
Saturday: I usually just hang around and don't do much. If I stay with my host family, we go to church in Kampala on Saturdays. This usually turns into an all day event and I don't get back until like 8 pm. We go to church which is about 4 hours and then we have lunch at church. Then, we usually shop around or get whatever we might need for the next week. Downtown Kampala is probably one of the scariest places I've ever been in my life. Between traffic, boda bodas, people, and creepy men, it's enough to make anyone cry, haha. However, it is fun to see all the stores and shops and people.
Sunday: This is my sleep day/homework day/skype day. I sleep in as late as possible, which is usually only till about 9 or 9:30am. Then, I basically do homework most of the day and at night skype with people. The internet is the best, because most people are off campus. I spend a lot of time hanging with friends here and am really developing some close bonds. This makes it all the harder to leave when the time arrives, but I am soooo thankful for all of my amazing friends.
Well, that is a week of my life in a nutshell. Of course all of these days are subject to change and the weekends have been filled with some pretty crazy/random adventures. I am having the time of my life here and will be sad to go. I am blessed to even be able to come here and have such great experiences. :)
Monday: I have a class called Faith and Action, which looks a lot at the differences between African Christianity and American Christianity. We also explore different aspects of life and have read some really awesome books about Christianity. This class is required of all the students in my program. It doesn't start until 10:45 though so I get to sleep in, even in Africa. After class, we go for lunch which is chaos because there are soooo many people here. Also, we are the only white students so of course everyone stares-per usual. Then, I have a break until my African Literature class at 4. I usually nap or do homework or just hang with people around campus. In my African Literature class, we read poems or short stories and discuss themes and characters. It's very similar to the Literature class I took at Greenville already, but it is fun to see how different African authors write in comparison to American ones. Classes are pretty simple here and if you just show up and speak a lot, you will get an A. Not to mention life is graded on a 20 point scale here so 80-100 is an A!! Monday nights I don't do much of anything, like my normal life in America. I do homework or get online or hang with friends. We have a curfew of 8pm, so I can't go off campus after that point. It really puts a damper on life, haha.
Tuesday: I don't have class until 11 am, so yet again I get to sleep in! However, life here starts at about 6 am, so sleeping in can be quite a challenge sometimes. I have a class called African Traditional Religion(ATR) and this is probably my least favorite class. We just learn about African religions and what they consist of-sound impressive?! After this class, we have community worship which is chapel. It goes for about an hour and is actually pretty fun. However the messages are not my favorite and usually seem to attack America/Americans a lot or homosexuals(I won't even get into that). The music is really fun and interactive though. Then, I got to lunch at 1 and at 1:30 I head to my internship. It takes almost an hour to get to Salama and by the time we get there, the kids are super pumped to see us. I stay at Salama till about 5:30 or 5:45pm. My day there is basically filled with playing with the kids, reading books to them, and doing laundry. When I get back, I usually am ready for a shower because I most likely got peed on or worse-ha. I go to supper after that and then at 7:30 I have choir practice until 9:30ish. Then, I attempt to do homework or get online.
Wednesday: This is my day off-kind of. I don't have any classes on Wednesdays, but I do go to my internship. I leave for that around 12:15 and leave at like 5:15ish. My day there is similar to Tuesdays and sometimes I go out to the garden as well. When I get back, I usually don't do much either and just hang around. Nights here are pretty similar to my nights in America. I will watch a movie or hang around with friends.
Thursday: I have class on Thursday at 8:30am and it's my ATR class again. This class goes for 2 hours and is probably the longest 2 hours of my life! When it's over, I like to nap because waking up that early is too much for me-haha. I don't have class again until 2, so I try and get homework done in between there. I usually have lunch and then go to Literature class. After this class, I go to tea time which occurs 2 different times in the day. There is break tea which is 10-11 every morning and then 4-5 is the afternoon tea. Thursday nights I usually go get rolexes from a canteen off campus. Rolexes are chapati with eggs in them. It's like a tortilla filled with an omelet. :) So greasy, but so delicious! I have choir from 7:30-9:30ish again also. Choir here is so interesting because it involves us writing down the words and then they sing it for us and we just have to get it. It is quite a different experience than America. Also, when they teach us songs in Luganda, that is an exciting time.
Friday: I only have 1 class on Friday which is my Faith and Action class again. It is from 8:30-10:30, which I love because then I have the rest of the day free. We usually head to Kampala after class and shop around and go to different markets there. It takes about an hour to get there and only cost 1,000 shillings which equals about 50 cents. :) Lately, we have been going to our school basketball games which happen in Kampala too. This is hectic and probably some of the most awkward moments in my life here. Me and my few friends who go are the only white people in a huge stadium of black men. Basically, we are watched like pieces of meat-so fun....NOT! However, it is fun to see how involved people are here with sporting events.
Saturday: I usually just hang around and don't do much. If I stay with my host family, we go to church in Kampala on Saturdays. This usually turns into an all day event and I don't get back until like 8 pm. We go to church which is about 4 hours and then we have lunch at church. Then, we usually shop around or get whatever we might need for the next week. Downtown Kampala is probably one of the scariest places I've ever been in my life. Between traffic, boda bodas, people, and creepy men, it's enough to make anyone cry, haha. However, it is fun to see all the stores and shops and people.
Sunday: This is my sleep day/homework day/skype day. I sleep in as late as possible, which is usually only till about 9 or 9:30am. Then, I basically do homework most of the day and at night skype with people. The internet is the best, because most people are off campus. I spend a lot of time hanging with friends here and am really developing some close bonds. This makes it all the harder to leave when the time arrives, but I am soooo thankful for all of my amazing friends.
Well, that is a week of my life in a nutshell. Of course all of these days are subject to change and the weekends have been filled with some pretty crazy/random adventures. I am having the time of my life here and will be sad to go. I am blessed to even be able to come here and have such great experiences. :)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Bush Life
Top: Papa, Me, Alayna
Right: Gilbert-uncle/brother
Alayna-my sister :)
Bridget-my great niece
So, this post is way late, but life always busy here. As some of you know and others don't, I went for a week to live in the bush of Africa. Now, when I say bush I don't just mean some random area in Africa, I mean a literal home surrounded by bush and grass taller than me. I felt like I was in The Lion King on most occasions-(yes I did sing songs from the movie too). Half of our group went to a place in the mountains called Kapchorwa and the rest of us went to Soroti. I got place in Soroti with one of the coordinators of the program. His name is Stephen and was great to have for a papa. I was super nervous about going and honestly trying to find a way out of it, but in the end I am glad I had such an experience. Now, before I get into all the fun/crazy details, I'd like to say although I did not particularly like this rural home stay, I am thankful for my family and the different life I was able to experience.
Overview of Rural Life:
Life in the bush is quite quite different than life in other parts of Africa and definitely America. I was honestly scared out of my mind to go, because I thought people were gonna be running around naked or something and cutting chicken's heads off! Well, it was not that extreme once I actually got there, but there was a whole list of new struggles that I encountered. Ironically I did end up killing a rooster! And let me tell you, this was the biggest rooster I have ever seen. It was the saddest/most disgusting/most exciting thing of my life!! For dinner that night I didn't eat it though because I felt too bad and I did apologize to the rooster and Jesus.haha.
So, they didn't tell us until the morning of our home stays that we would need to learn another language, because theses people don't speak Luganda; they speak Ateso. GREAT! Just what I want to hear as I already don't want to go on this little excursion. Well, I got my cheat sheet and actually picked up Ateso quite fast. My papa taught me some phrases the first night that I would need to know to greet my elders, people at church, children, etc. He also told me that after tonight, (Saturday Oct. 23rd), that I was no longer a guest but a member of the family. Little did I know what that actually meant, but not to worry I found out real quick the next day! Sunday morning I had to iron some man's clothes for him as he was a guest at our house and apparently has no hands of his own(sarcasm). That was an interesting experience because I used what they call a box iron, which is a metal box shaped like an iron with hot coals in it that iron out your clothes. At church I had to kneel to every person who is significantly older than me, which turned out to be almost the entire congregation. The proper greeting is to say kneel while shaking their hand and saying "Yoga papa" or "Yoga toto." It means "Hi, father or Hi, mother." I felt so awkward doing this and wished I could just go home. I know it's not the worst thing in the world and that I need to respect their culture, but this was seriously a challenge for me. The best news I received all week was that I was going to get a "sister" from the program. One of the girls in our group was placed with a family, but there was a death at her host family the first night so she got to come live with us for the whole week. I have to say, thank Jesus for Alayna-my little 'sister' or I would not have survived my week! haha.
For the rest of the week, Alayna and I knelt our way through life while serving everyone we came into contact with. At some points I felt a little like a slave, except obviously not on a huge scale. I already have a hard time responding well to male authority figures and this just made it worse. Surprisingly Alayna has similar feelings, so we both felt annoyed by this experience. Our compound consisted of 4 huts which were inhabited by my 3 uncles and my papa. The house we had was for me, Alayna, my aunt/mama, niece, and great niece. Also, tata or grandma lived in a hut nearby. We had one last hut that was the kitchen hut and always filled with smoke so I tried never to enter it-we called it our charcoal hell. haha!
The rest of my week was a routine of waking up at the butt crack of dawn-literally. We would go to bed sweaty so most nights we had to sleep naked under 2 different mosquito nets, which was a task in itself, lol. Also, we got to go braless for the whole week!! Showing off your knees is more risque than showing your boobs-fun times. We also tried to go shoeless, but they didn't like that very much. Apparently American feet can't handle the earth-ha. If we weren't out of bed by 7 or 7:30am, they didn't like it. We would spend 3+ hours in the garden most days in the blazing heat before breakfast and showers. This was horrible, sweaty, and simply not fun. Breakfast was never at the same time, if it even happened at all. We always had milk tea, but food was random. We were required to take 2 baths a day and for those of you who know me know that even 1 a day is a bit too much for me, haha! So, sometimes we would lie and just go in the "shower" and take our shirts off or something and splash water around. Can't say it's one of my proudest moments, but it happened :) Afternoons we could rest for a bit, but it was too hot in the house to sleep, so we would just lay and sweat. If we layed outside, they would just stare at us or make us do something. Plus, we had cows, goats, turkeys, dogs, and every other animal running rampid on a daily basis. I did however get to milk some cows, which is a lot freaking harder than it looks(still fun). Evenings we had tea, supper, another bath, and helped with whatever chores there were. One of the fun parts of my stay was meeting my uncle/brother named Gilbert. He is only 19 and is technically my uncle but it's weird since he's younger than me so I call him my brother. He kept Alayna and I pretty occupied and turned out to be a lot of fun! When the end of the week came, I was sad to leave him and my niece Carro and her daughter Bridget, but I was a little happy to leave. It was an intense week of culture shock, but I am glad I got the opportunity. I realize this is not as detailed as it could be, but to recap the week would take way too long. This was my overall experience and it was a whole mix of emotions! I was definitely happy to be back to campus after all that.
For Saturday and Sunday (10-30 and 10-31), our program took us to Sipi Falls. We stayed at a resort there and got to hike into the mountains and see waterfalls. These waterfalls were amazing and I got to take a natural shower in one because we went to the base of it. I have to say this was one of the best experiences in Africa so far! There is nothing like standing under a waterfall and seeing a rainbow in the distance to really feel God. It was the perfect end to a not so perfect week.
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