Life in Africa

 

 



Reading Psalms, drinking tea and chatting on the roof
with Alyssa one last time

A feeling of change is coming over the flow of life here. With the end of the Bible School semester came the end of some key elements in the routine of my African life: things like sitting in world religions class, walking to morning prayer at the church, and going on adventures with the Albertan students.

They left for Canada a few days ago--but not before getting in a few last experiences such as riding a boda to Quality or eating jackfruit on the roof at sunrise! Before they left we had one last dinner together with them and some of our Ugandan friends. We had great fun introducing them to such activities as making s'mores with candles, eating Canadian food - like meatballs and cheese, and generally consuming large amounts of sugar.





Edith teaching me how to prepare a jackfruit
I bought on the way home from Bugono on Sunday



The little yellow things that look like
 suction cups on an octopus's tentacles
(or at least they look like that to ME) are
 what you eat, after removing a seed inside.













Now the Ugandan students are beginning to go home to their villages for the holidays one by one as well, but I'm enjoying spending as much time as possible with them in the meantime! One of the ways I've found to spend time with friends from the school is by making friendship bracelets around the lunch table after posho. (At least back before lunch stopped being served yesterday. That's one more thing missing from the way of life I've grown to love!)

I always have to grin at the fun on people's faces as they start weaving, and their triumph as they master a new pattern! They can use the bracelets as a way to remember their Canadian friend, as a skill to teach to others, or even as a source of extra income. Meanwhile, I enjoy hanging out with and learning from them as I'm able to sit there and ask all sorts of questions about Ugandan culture. It's a great set-up!

One of my best bracelet-making friends, Adella, let me in on a grand excursion into Kampala with another friend, Charity, on Friday. When we stepped off the taxi and onto the street, that same wonderful feeling of entering the living, breathing, urban cacophony sent a spark of adrenaline through my veins. Here I was again, squeezing between bumpers, ducking under taxi mirrors, side-stepping bodas...I don't think I'll ever get bored of navigating the maze with moving walls that makes up a Kampala street!



A slice of the view overlooking
the taxi park we walked through

Clothes shopping in Kampala: still an adventure!

We ducked into the upper room of a restaurant, where we waited, weaving bracelets until Adella's family came to meet us. They bought us all lunch, prayed together with us, and exhibited such warmth that by the time we stepped back out onto the street my heart felt full and blessed for their friendship.

 

After saying goodbye to them, we continued walking through a beautiful part of town among huge new hotels, high-rises and government buildings. Adela showed me all the best little cafes to eat at, which made me wish I had a whole day to spend just restaurant hopping among all the tiny hidden gems in town. Continuing back towards the taxi park, we came into the busier part of the city to search for some clothing items. As we turned a corner and stepped onto the downtown street, the scene I saw spread before me just about knocked the wind out of me! There, stretching into the distance ahead of us, the road sloped down into an incredible sea of people. It filled the entire valley--just this pulsating mass of traffic and humanity and merchandise all tangled up together on the street; a billion different heads bobbing in a haze of dust, exhaust and light from the lowering sun. It was a breathtaking sight, and I was walking into it!