Week 3- American Attachments

Old habits die hard and maybe that's okay.  It's been over 3 weeks since we arrived here in Uganda yet we're all still very much attached to the people and happenings in the United States.  We're quick to check our email when we find a working internet connection, excited to set our computers up to download a new episode of some (mediocre... alright, probably awful) American television show overnight, and quick to keep up with friends and family via personal blogs, skype, telephone, etc..  We're all guilty of calling a friend before washing clothes or writing out our field notes. Yet, I think it's okay.

We've seen a lot of things here in Uganda that are exciting, new, incredible, and fun along with other things that are upsetting, unpredictable, and confusing.  We've experienced the highs of spending and afternoon playing with a great group of kids and performing in front of a 100+ people to the lows of realizing that we can't change many of the inequalities we see and that many of us are still struggling to find a way to make a difference, even if it's small, while we're here.  While we have a great group that often stays up late to chat or discuss our views over a long dinner at Club 5, we all need separate outlets that I think we're finding.  Our American connections, whether through facebook, email, skype or blogging have given us all outlets to work through what we're seeing and hopefully educating others about Uganda.

In addition, we've found little slices of Americana here in Uganda.  We've ordered "New York style" pizza from a local pizza place, discovered the few places that serve diet coke (coke light here), and had guitar jam sessions in our apartments.  We've definitely embraced much of Ugandan culture and food (daily mandazis before Luganda class) while still keeping our American roots. Initially, I was concerned about not integrating more into Ugandan society but I think we've struck a good balance between comforts from home and embracing new ideas, cultures, and foods.  I'm excited to see what the next 6 weeks bring and how much more we can learn about Ugandan culture. We've had opportunity to be in rural parts of Uganda, play with children from all over Uganda and try new things (African tea has been a great find).  Yet, we're only 1/3 of the way through our trip and I'm sure we're going to explore a lot more. As of now, I'm embracing the American comforts I find but I'm also excited to explore new things  throughout our travels.

Location: MISR, Kampala