10 pm Iganga time
Wow...what a first day. So much love was around us from the minute we left the house and began our walk to Musana. Sam described it as feeling like a celebrity, walking to and from the home.
My day began with a breakfast of a piece of toast with peanut butter and a banana. I scooped way too many leaves into my tea and it was grainy but still delicious.
We walked to the home and were greeted by children screaming "MZUNGU!!" and running up to us to give us hugs along the way. "Mzungu" means white person, or ghost. We were amazed and taken aback by the sheer love these children poured out on us. We weren't expecting to be welcomed so warmly by the people of the village. Every new bend of the road brought with it 4-10 children sprinting up to give us "bongas" and to knock our wind out with hugs. [Bongas are fist bumps]. "Mzungubonga" is in my permanent vocabulary now, and I believe it is my name.
On our walk over Sally told us the Ugandans don't have a greeting that is just "Hello". They say a word that is translated as, "Hi, how are you doing?". And the amazing thing is that they are genuinely asking us. In America you say "Hi" in order to pass by more quickly. Saying "how are you?" doesn't even require a response. It's rude to even pass by here without acknowledging every person around you.
The walk set the stage for the rest of the day. After going to Musana and talking with the other
volunteers, Sally took us into town. We went to the cafe owned by Musana and met a guy named Ben who was here to give loans to promising Ugandans.
(I fell asleep accidentally after writing that. Woops.)
[that footnote was actually in my journal] .
No comments:
Post a Comment