It’s the end of an interesting weekend... I definitely had many lessons on patience, among other things. We
(Joe, Kristi, Efren, and I) planned to go to Mabira Rainforest for a hike, and
also invited Edgar and Lydia (she works with Kristi and Efren). Our driver told
us he would pick us up at 8:30am, but he didn’t show up until 9:15am. We also
had to pick up Lydia, but traffic was awful and communication isn’t very good
here, so we didn’t get her until 10:45am (don’t ask me what happened during
that time). There was more traffic on the way there, and we finally arrived at
1:30pm. I definitely need to be more patient! But also I think time is super
valuable, especially considering that I’m only here for 48 short days.
But Mabira Rainforest was worth the wait! We went on a
guided nature hike, and it’s a super different atmosphere from the daily
Kampala scene Joe and I call our “field.” The rainforest was soothing,
rejuvenating, refreshing,.. It’s nice to get away from the smog, motorcycles,
and crowds of people and be in a place where the air is fragrant and you can
hear birds and insects, walk around in the shade and see monkeys leaping from
tree to tree. We stopped at a resting place where a tree had fallen, and we
climbed on the trunk and branches. It reminded me a lot of climbing on rocks at
the beach (and something my brother would love to do!).
Team Tugende
After our 3 hr hike, we drove to Jinja to eat dinner. We ate
at a deli/sandwich shop very much built for mzungus (foreigners), but it tasted
just like California :) Jinja is a very nice city, much more organized, quiet, and cleaner than
Kampala. As we watched the sunset, Joe and I theorized how our experience would
be different if we had been stationed at Jinja instead. It would be a more
relaxing experience, but we definitely wouldn’t be learning as much.
I Miss Vegetables
GSBFellows
The drive from Jinja to Kampala usually takes 1.5 hrs
somehow took 3.5… I do not understand where everyone is going at 10pm, and Joe
and I were looking up SafeBoda (an app like Uber) to look at boda options. At
this point, I really don’t mind riding on bodas without a helmet or doubling
up. I just need to get places FAST.
Kristi and I visited Edgar’s church this morning! The funny
thing was that I might’ve woken him up with my call when we arrived to the area
(Ugandans don’t keep time very well if you haven’t noticed). We waited 15ish
minutes for him to come only to find out that the church was meeting at the top
floor of the shopping mall we were standing next to the whole time haha. It was
really good! At one point in the service, the pastor started singing and
dancing and the entire congregation followed. What a beautiful way to worship
<3
The sermon was a great reminder of God’s love and
forgiveness. The pastor spoke thoughtfully, and the pauses that are absent in
sermons back home really helped me process what God was speaking to me through
him. There were lots of things that were new and made me think a lot.
While God commanded Adam to till the ground (which Cain did),
Abel was a keeper of sheep (Keeper = one who cares for something/someone). Abel
didn’t raise the animals for meat or profit, but looked after them simply because
he was endeared to them. So for Abel to sacrifice something that he had cared
for and loved… His sacrifice was a part of him, not apart from him. Because of
that, God was pleased and accepted not only Abel’s sacrifice but also Abel
himself (Genesis 4:4). This tied into the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the
cross, and when God sees me, He sees the blood of Jesus in my place. And people
love and accept me only because God first loved and accepted me.
After church, Kristi told Edgar she wanted to shop for cheap
clothes, so we went to a second hand clothes shop, where we met up with Joe and
Efren. We wanted to be tourists in Kampala, but there are a couple problems: 1)
Most nice buildings are surrounded by high fences, so it’s very difficult to
see things just walking on the street. It also makes the nice parts of town
feel closed off and unfriendly. 2) We’re foreigners! That makes us targets for
thieves and hostile Ugandans. Edgar insisted on carrying my bag when we walked
through downtown Kampala. He told us that all the street vendors are drug lords
and gang members pretending to be normal people, but at night they do bad
things. And the police can’t do anything about it, because there’s just too
many of them. They also hang out in the sewage trench, so if they grab your
stuff and jump in the trench, you’re never going to get it back. He said most
Ugandans avoid downtown, and I think he was definitely the most nervous out of
all of us because he knew how dangerous the area is. But downtown was so busy,
so how can most Ugandans avoid it? I
also wasn’t allowed to take pictures because apparently people would just take
my phone, but here’s one Joe managed to sneak in.
"Put away your phone!"
Contrast this with the neighborhood Joe and I walked through
after lunch. It’s called Nakasero, and it’s so peaceful and quiet, almost like
a suburb in Los Altos Hills or something (btw Kampala has a lot of hills and is
quite confusing to navigate). This is where all the rich people stay, and Joe
and I visited the fancy Pearl of Africa hotel at the top of the hill. It’s comparable
to Versace in Gold Coast, Australia. Just look at the swimming pool! It's crazy that chaos and tranquility exist so close to each other, yet so far apart. The difference in standard of living... I don't know what to think.
Fancy
I guess something else that bothers me is all the things I’m
not allowed to do here. To be honest, I’ve walked down bustling alleys with
lots of street food and street vendors, jay-walked across streets with lots of
motorcycles, and explored new neighborhoods by myself, getting lost and finding
my way again. It’s frustrating that the environment is almost the same as
Taipei, yet I can’t just buy sugar cane off the street and eat, or cross the
street without Edgar’s permission, or walk around alone. I know I look
different and I’m a girl, but that doesn’t mean I’m less strong or less brave
or less capable (maybe I am but you get the point)… But this is ironic because at home, I dislike people knowing
me for only my abilities, and here I’m complaining about people underestimating
my abilities. I can climb trees, walk without getting knocked by motorcycles,
turn down boda drivers that want to give me rides… But no, I need to be thankful
for the keepers in my life, who care enough about me to tell me not to eat
street food, to let me walk on the inside of the sidewalk, and to pray that I’m
healthy and safe in this country.
I thank God for all the keepers in my life, including you :)
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