Dearest friends. It’s been too long since my last update. In fact, I really should be doing other things than writing this right now…but it’s high time I let you know what’s going on in my life. I’ve had recent internet troubles with crazy African computer viruses. Viruses here are more frequent and potent then they are in the US. Lucky for me I have an amazing computer engineer dad who helped me fix my computer over the phone/through email from another continent. How cool is that? I now have internet access and my computer seems to be virus free. That means I can at last update my blog. So here goes.
I went on a safari this past weekend. It was a bit disappointing, but I still had a decent time. The coolest part was seeing some elephants really close up and risking my life riding on top of the jeep. Yep, I climbed out of the window and on top of the vehicle…while it was moving at a fairly high speed on African dirt (and bumpy) roads. After about twenty or thirty minutes on top of the shaky luggage rack, I decided I had tested my guardian angel’s patience enough for the day and resigned myself to just sitting on the window sill with half of my body in the car and half out. The whole experience reminded me of when I was a kid and my dad used to threaten to tie me to the roof of the car if I didn’t shut up…after the safari, I think that could be kind of cool.
School is SUPER STRESSFUL right now. It’s kind of funny. The entire Ugandan culture seems to be against stress—everything here is so relaxed and chill and there is no strict schedule…but then all of a sudden it’s finals week and I have due dates that I have to keep and everything is happening at once. I have four papers due between Monday and Wednesday this coming week. I have begun three of the papers, but not the one that is actually due on Monday. So I need to think about doing that. The papers are for African Literature, Missions, African Traditional Religions/Christianity/Islam in Uganda, and Reading the New Testament in Africa. On Friday I have a slideshow presentation/speech. Then the following week I have a final exam and paper due in our class called Faith and Action. So this week had been one long paper-writing experience. I have never had four papers going simultaneously, so this is a new balancing act. We are still attending lectures this week, so time is limited and I am still trying to spend time with my family. I’ve given up sleeping and have begun to wake up at 5 am to have time to myself to write. It’s quiet and I’m more awake early in the morning than late at night. I am drinking coke and eating chocolate like crazy right now. It’s not healthy. But I’ve already gained a bit of fat in my tummy (since we have dinner at 10 every night) so I figure what the heck, I’ll just lose all of the weight when I get home. I can’t wait to hit the gym and the swimming pool again.
Today is Good Friday. So Happy Easter to everyone. I have one lecture and then will probably attend a worship service with my mom. It will all be in Luganda and probably kind of boring, but I’ll just read my Bible or something and try to follow along. After service, it’s back to the books. I really want to have my papers finished by the end of today or at least mostly finished so I can have a relaxing weekend with my family. I only have two weeks left at home which is super sad! This weekend I am cooking a meal for my family. It’s something we’re required to do. I’m supposed to cook an American meal. I think I am going to attempt spaghetti. It could be interesting. Spaghetti, garlic bread, maybe eggs? (don’t exactly go with spaghetti, but this is Africa right?). If dinner is a complete failure, I am going to fry bananas for desert, so maybe that will at least be a hit. We’ll see how it all goes.
Ok. I am officially out of things to say for the time being. I need to write papers so I can enjoy my last weeks with my beautiful family. Oh. Wait. I’ll share a poem with you. This is a poem I wrote for my African Lit class. I really like it. It’s untitled at the moment.
Bye Mizungu, Bye Mizungu, Hello Madame
Bye Mizungu, Bye Mizungu, I love you
I walk the streets to the chorus of small children
And grown men, equally immature and
Enthralled with my white skin
The children are innocent products of misguided upbringing
I say “bye” back to them and marvel that
Goodbye has become the most common greeting I receive in the village
The men are unfortunate products of Hollywood stereotypes and African dreams
I ignore their comments as I feel my face flushing with embarrassment
Bye Mizungu, Bye Mizungu, Hello Madame
Bye Mizungu, Bye Mizungu, I love you
It’s an anthem to my whiteness as
I swim through a sea of blackness
Wishing for just one moment I could have the relief of blending
I treasure moments when I hear someone in the village calling my name
I never realized what a gift it is to have a name and to be called by it
For it is recognition of shared humanity to call another by name
It makes me more than a mizungu in the street
More than white skin and an American woman
I am careful to call people by their names
For Africa has taught me to love my name
Bye Mizungu, Bye Mizungu, Hello Madame
Bye Mizungu, Bye Mizungu, I love you
Superficial greetings I will rise above
By sharing my name and learning yours
By recognizing the human in you more than the color
I will overcome upbringing and Hollywood
And though I may never blend on the streets
In Africa I will discover an identity far beyond white American woman because
I will make myself at home and you will be my family
Misguided children and unfortunate brothers
And you will know my name
And I will smile when you say it
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
