We've been getting some pretty amazing questions about America from Ugandans, mostly kids. Aubrey was asked if Americans have flying houses. Caroline's land lady asked her if all Americans leave their will in their pets names. That one is actually fair because it has happened, and we do plenty of other absurd things.
This is my neighbor's daughter Whitney, notice the wig. Also, know most of my friends at this point in my life are under the age of 13. She is pretty cool though, I taught her SET and now she can give me a run for my money because she spreads the cards all over and picks some of them up so its more fair because I cant see them all. This picture is one of roughly 100 that we took the night they found out i have a digital camera. The whole family wanted their pictures taken over and over, adding new props each time, the best being a poster that they felt needed to be in the snap. The grandma cracked me up, she had me take a few of her and then rushed into the other room to change her dress and came back for more. After a while they wanted to start taking the pictures and this progressed into them taking pictures of the pictures on the walls. They had a lot of fun with it, and they asked me for the prints but sorry I'm not going to print out 100 photos, although i probably should do a few once i find a place that can do it. this is a rare smile, ugandans for the most part dont smile for pictures and the majority of them look pretty somber.
The other day Whitney asked me if its true that muzungus are like plants, that is do they breath in CO2 and breath out O2? Of course its true! Why would you think otherwise? Its amazing that the two ideas can exist simultaneously. You know enough science to know how plants work but think that humans can have completely different chemistry when it comes to respiration. It reminds me of how Feynman would talk about how fragile knowledge is for most people. Not that I judge her at all, I'm sure id be asking the same question if I was in her place.
Today at the beginning of class I had everybody write down a question about me, the united states, or anything and put it in a jar with the idea that id answer a few at the beginning of each class. I tried to emphasize the idea of anonymity, hoping to encourage some real questions and I was pleasantly surprised. One question I answered today was about the cost to travel to the united states, they were shocked when I converted the figure into shillings. After class I took a look at some of them. Here's a sampling that will give you more insight into culture here than I ever could.
Who is your wife? is she beautiful? Do you love your wife? Is she Ugandan or American? How many kids do you have? Do you have HIV/AIDS in America? Do you love Uganda or not? Is USA better than Uganda? Do people of the US eat posho and beans? Can you get for us a friend (sponsor) in the US? Which team do you support? Do they play sex like me? How many plates of food do you eat in a day? What is your tribe? One of my favorites: Draw a map of the united states and label the following items 1) the districts 2) the physical features 3) The St. Lawrence Seaway 4) The Great Lakes Region. LOL! No way could I do that, but I'm sure many of them can, and it would be a beautiful map too. I like to think of this one as a challenge from the student which makes me really like whoever wrote it. Do you also posses witch doctors in the united states? Sir do mind when you go with me to USA. Let the answer be secret and I will find the answer at the door. What is the name of your local language? Can you also manage to wash clothes using your hands? Why is it for you you're brown and and me am black? I want to be your friend will you accept? Am poor in maths will you help me become a good mathematician? And my favorite: Please sir, could you be knowing the email for Koko Krunch Manufacturers? And if yes, is it bad to send an email to them? Help me with the email.
That last one is about a cereal, why they want to write them an email I have no idea. I told the class that whoever wrote it can come talk to me after class and we can try to make it happen, but no one has come to me yet.
This is a view of Mbale from the third story of the hotel we stayed in last weekend. Mbale is 25-50 minutes from my site depending on the taxi I catch. This is where I come to get the supplies that I can't get nearby, and to use the Internet cafe. The market here is amazing and I can find most types of fruits and veggies, would love to show you but I feel weird taking pictures of people unless I talk to them first and there are just too many people in the market. I plan on climbing that plateau in the background next weekend. There is a road going up the side you can see but the other side is steeper and you have to climb ladders and carved out rock steps to get up! Guess which route I'll be taking.
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I did manage to snap this shot, but before I asked him he was doing it with no hands!
