The title of this blog comes from the letter my friend Jill Church wrote to me to read on the plane ride over to Uganda. She basically reminded me that just because people in a different part of the world do things in a way that you are not used to, it is not wrong. It seems to be this week's theme as I have experienced things are unusual or foreign to me while being here so far and with this week's classes on culture. Here are a few cultural differences I have had to learn.
Public
Restroom Etiquette: So naturally
wherever you go, there is ALWAYS a line up in the women’s washroom. In Canada, we line up single-file and wait
our turn for the few stalls. Here in
Uganda, I have come to realize that instead of making a line and waiting your
turn for the next available stall, you must stand directly in front of the stall
you will go to next. The first time I
encountered this, I was waiting in what I thought was a line and a woman cut in
front of me. I thought to myself how
rude that was. Then soon after that,
another woman grabs the next stall, followed by the other. I humbly came to the conclusion that they don't follow the same rules.
African
Tea: One of our teachers this week shared with us her experience of when her
husband, who is African, asked her to make him some tea (she is British). When she served him tea from a kettle with
boiled water, he was not impressed.
African tea is half water, half milk (or sometimes all milk) mixed
together with tea. It’s really good :)
Food: There is something about food from your own culture
that can be so tantalizingly comforting.
For my Ugandan friend Rosemary, her favorite dish is posho (a
mashed type of corn meal with zero nutritional value) and beans. Matoke, a mashed fried bland type of banana, and rice are staple side dishes in Ugandan
cuisine. For my Australian friend Jack,
he couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into a good ol’ western burger. See some of the internationals devouring
their burgers below.
Music: For me personally, when I get even a remotely
bit homesick, I have to listen to my music.
Artists that remind me of home include Mike Edel, Hey Rosetta!, Dan Mangan, and
in desperate times, the Rankin Family or Great Big Sea. Click on the artist names to hear some of my
go-to songs.
If you know
me, then you know my eclectic taste in music and passion for folk music. As far as international music that comes to Africa, it is mostly the top 40 pop music. My taste in music is painfully foreign! Yesterday, I was sharing music with two of my
Ugandan friends. I showed these guys
Mumford and Sons’ The Cave and I kid you not, they laughed! One expressed that “this slow country music,
is what you would listen to at a funeral.”
THAT’S SOOOOOO WRONG, IT’S A CRIME…. Just kidding, again it’s not wrong,
just different. That genre of music with
its banjo and driving folk beat is nowhere near the cultural music of Africa or
the standard international pop music that is played here in Uganda. I secretly think that one day they will learn
to love Mumford and Sons. I will make it
my secret mission…
Adopted behaviors/Phrases of Ugandans
1) “You
look smart” : means that you are dressed well, fancy, or fashionable.
2) “Sorry”:
So say I accidentally spill my glass everywhere or I trip over my feet. The immediate response is for someone else to
say “sorry”. My impulse is to always say
‘Oh that’s okay, really’. I’m getting
used to that one.
3) “You are
most welcome”: You are not just greeted
with a handshake and a ‘welcome’
4) Holding
hands: Everyone holds hands and by
everyone, I mean everyone. All ages,
couples, friends, heterosexual guy and guy.
Sorry guys but I am bringing this one back to Canada!
5) Raising
eyebrows: Instead of answering ‘yes’, all you need to do is raise both eyebrows
6) “Wow”: response to pretty much anything…
7) Auntie and Uncle: Anyone who would be your elder, you call them
your auntie or uncle. I was chatting with
some of the choir children and they were calling me Auntie Emily
Strange,
awkward, or funny experiences aside, I love living in Uganda. It has almost been a complete month since I
set foot on the red dirt of Kampala. The
“honeymoon period” or “vacation mode” has come to a close and I feel quite at
home here thanks to the help of all my amazing new friends. Kingdom culture trumps all minor differences
with the major similarity of wanting to follow Jesus with our entire hearts.
Peace and
love
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