This Is Africa: Some highlights & insights into life in Mbarara, Uganda:
*Electricity is non-existent. And it's much easier to live without than one might think….minus all the times you might run into something because your headlamp is always missing.
*Showers: Grab a bucket of frigid water, step behind the not-quite-tall-enough tarp wall, and see how clean you can get/how much of the shampoo you can wash out of your hair. Baby wipes are always a good secondary option.
*El baño: Squatty potty outhouse…conveniently overlooking the shower area. Though by the third month in Africa, I had already come to the conclusion that squatties really make more sense than western-style toilets.
*Food: Breakfast – 2 slices of white bread. Lunch: huge portion of rice & ground nut sauce. Supper: huge portion of rice & ground nut sauce or beans and chapati. Snacks: bananas. Fortunately, I thoroughly enjoyed that selection, which is good because there was little to no variation over the course of the month.
*Sleep: We each had a bed with a pillow, which was amazing after 3 months of sharing a bed & using a heap of clothes as a pillow. However, due to roosters, crying children, creaking doors, snoring, and a variety of other sounds, there were many late nights & early mornings!
*Laundry: All done by hand in a tub of water, over the course of a whole day. I'm so thankful for Ruth, the lady who blessed us by assisting in that area. I tried to help a few times, but she kept telling me I didn't have enough power & she insisted on re-washing pretty much everything I did. Clothes are dried by laying them on bushes or on the ground around the house. You just have to watch out for herds of goats or cows that decide to roam through the yard & eat/trample on your clothes.
*Football: Our main ministry was playing (or watching Logan play) football (aka soccer) and using it as a means to build relationships with some of the local men, as well as those who would come to watch the games. I mainly chose to run around with the neighborhood kids, who I instantly fell in love with.
*American football: One of the highlights of my month was going to the local hangout hall at 11pm where everyone watches soccer, and waiting there until 2:30am to watch the Super Bowl. I have never been more excited to watch 2 of my least favorite teams play!
*Schools: We had the opportunity to go to several different schools throughout the month, including an all-night prayer meeting at the university where students were dedicating the new semester to God. Quite the way to start off on a good note! I also learned that Uganda does not have free education, and many parents can't afford to send their children to school…worst part: it only costs the equivalent of $30.
*What God taught me: SO much. But mainly this: to have my heart and my feet in the same place. For the first time I finally felt fully present right where I was. I wasn't always thinking of what could've been happening had I made different choices in the past, or constantly worrying about what to do after the race, or wishing I was anywhere else in the world…instead, I simply got up each day being so thankful for being right where God wanted me & decided to live accordingly: when I played soccer & ran around with the kids, I focused my attention on them. When I saw a child I knew running toward me shouting "Ana, Ana!" or "Mzungu!", I ran toward them with a big smile & open arms, shouting their name too. When I prayed to God, I prayed for the needs my eyes were opened to around me, I prayed for my friends & family back home, I prayed for God's will – I didn't just selfishly pray for myself & my future. Because I was finally living in the present, not in the past or the future. That's a lesson I hope to continue to carry with me & actively practice.
*Mzungu: one more month of being known as "mzungu!" Consequently, a flock of children would gather simply because they see you sitting outside. I had my hair pulled, braided, and petted quite frequently. When my hair was wet, the different color & texture were a complete mystery to the people. I also got to explain that snow comes from the sky, just as rain does, not from the ground as some had thought.
*Conclusion: Africa is just a special place. I don't know what it is exactly, but it's awesome. People are just so sweet and genuine, never in a rush to the point where they don't have time to sit down and talk or have a cup of tea. We were told to learn to tell time with our heads, not our watches…I'm still not exactly sure what that means, but I love the idea behind it. In American society, we so easily get so wrapped up in doing 12 things at once & are always in a rush…but to what end? No matter what, there somehow always seems to be 12 more things to do & never enough time to do them in…and in the meantime stress levels increase, relationships get tense, and life becomes more of a chore than a joy. That just isn't how it's meant to be. I love the simplicity of life in Africa, and the joy and freedom that comes with it. Turns out it's actually possible to live without Internet connection, to live without TV and movies, to live without a cell phone, to live without electricity and running water, to live without a watch. It's not possible to live without the people around us though. God created us to live in community and relationship not only with Him, but with each other. So people ought to be the priority. Not the to-do lists.
