And then I was again humbled...

Sometimes things happen that just entirely shift my frame of reference while being here. Now my schools were all pretty competitive, and by no means do I think that’s a bad thing. St. Jude is also a pretty competitive school. and I think a fair number of schools in Uganda ARE really competitive. Class rank holds a really high significance for a TON of people, and it can make all the difference for if parents are proud of you or not. So a common conversation with a kid can go like this (after all the introductions):

Me: What class are you in?

Him/Her: Primary __ class.

Me: Ahh, and are you going into this class? You were promoted?

Him/Her: Yes, I was 5^th in my class. (or whatever number)

So it’s a pretty common conversation topic, particularly for highly motivated people, like a fair number of the poeple I interact with.

So anyways, these last two weeks, since school has been out, I’ve been volunteering with an NGO in Jinja called Adolescent Development Support Network (ADSN) (Shameless plug: like us on facebook and/or follow us on twitter!) and particularly working for one of their programs called the Child Headed Household Project. This is made up of kids (aged 12-22) who, for one reason or another, were forced into growing up more quickly than the average person. Sometimes their parents are really sick and they are forced into the parenting role to take care of them. A lot of them come from the northern regions of Uganda (particularly the Acholi and Karamajong regions—both areas which were devastated by the war), and tried to escape the highly dangerous situation by coming down south, either by working their way down as they gained enough money for transport along the way, or by sneaking onto a vehicle or something of the like. Many of these then ended up on the street, picking up metal scraps or charcoal to sell for some little money which could then get them a meal or maybe help pay the rent. Going to school is often WAY too expensive for these adolescents, so they try to exist on just getting by. ADSN then tries to find these kids as they are working on the streets and get them into better situations. So through external sponsors, they have 50 kids in the program who now have places to live with each other, they have rent paid, school fees paid, and they get food delivered to them once a month for the month. They also have the workings for some counseling and some other such help.

This week, they are having a holiday programme (as they spell it here), and I came along to help out. Typical Ugandan style though, things start late and slow. So I showed up and the kids were just watching some Nigerian movie, which was not in English, Luganda or Lusoga, so they weren’t really understanding most of the move. I had brought some colored paper and pens, and we made an “I am” poems. These are the poems that I made in elementary school and then again in Junior year English where the poem starts and ends with the person's name, then includes facts and information about the person in between. One of the questions I asked them to do was to write 3 things that they are proud of. This was a difficult question for them, because humility is a HIGHLY emphasized trait here. So I gave some examples, which included, “Winning such and such football match, being able to jump very high, being 5^th in my class, etc” or something along those lines. And I talked about which position a fair amount--maybe gave 3 examples of it, kind of lowering the number as I went, trying to be sensitive, so that I didn't make those who did not get as high of positions but were still very proud feel left out; "I'm proud I'm 21st in school," etc.

I get all of the poems back, and the majority of them say,

“I’m proud I’m in school.”

Ok, paradigm shifted. I’m humbled, and again blown away by the people I meet here.

Love from Uganda.

How do you say...?

I can’t believe I’ve been here 4 months already! So, I have spent the last 4 months becoming fluent in… Ugandan English. And I thought I would share a couple of these gems with you, that those in our house often laugh about.

The first one which I have to comment on is the use of the mm’s and eh’s that get used. “Mmm” can be used in response to ANYTHING. It can mean yes, no, maybe, somehow (see below), I don’t know, I agree, I’m looking, I’m listening, I can’t believe that!, I’m sorry, and the list goes on. I think it’s funny how many parents try to break their kids of the habit of using grunts/mm’s in America, in relation to the fact that it is the most common sound/word used here.

Another thing about the way of talking is that you HAVE to greet anyone you know on the street, otherwise you are considered really rude. And greeting consists of this conversation (either held in Lusoga or English) But my favorite part of this is the fact that you absolutely do not have to remember almost anything about the other person, other than that you know him or her (even sometimes this is not necessary) because you don’t EVER use specifics. Note the uses of there, here, and they.

“Good morning! How was the night?”

“The night was fair. How was the night?”

“The night was good. How is there?”

“There is somehow. How is here?”

“Here is ok. How are they?”

“They are good. Well done.”

“Thank you. Also well done.”

“Mmm”

“Mmm” 

 And then sometimes

"mmm"

"mmm"

Then you leave.

The lack of specifics can also come in really high usefulness when it comes to conversations with strangers who you don’t really want to know where you live, because a common question to ask is “where do you live?” Luckily, you can respond to this question by “Ah, just that side,” waving vaguely with your hand.

Also, any time a word ends with a hard sound or an s, they will add a “ee” sound to the end of the word. What becomes whatee, bright becomes brightee, beans become beansee, you get the idea.

“Somehow”—this is used so often that I think I have entirely forgotten how to use it appropriately in American English. In Uganda refers to anything pretty much which is neither good nor bad. “How did the test go?” “Somehow” “How are you feeling?” “Somehow”

“By the way” – I still haven’t entirely mastered how this one is used. But it’s definitely not used in the sense that “by the way” is usually used. I think it just means, I’m adding on to what you’re already saying. Most recent example of this: Me: “It’s hot today!” A teacher: “By the way, it IS hot today!” Are you as confused as I am?

Also, in conversation, they LOVE repeating what you’ve just said, particularly in speaking Lusoga. One of my most common phrases is “I’m learning Lusoga slowly by slowly” to which EVERYONE responds, looking at me, “Ah, she’s learning Lusoga, slowly by slowly.” At least I always know I’m heard!

“But” – as far as I can tell, this is kind of used in the same sense that Americans use “by the way”… but in terms of something that the other person wants you to do/ thinks you should do. You will be talking about something entirely different, and then they’ll say, “but should you board this taxi now?” or something along those lines.

“Smart” – well dressed. Has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence.

“Sure” – This does not mean yes. If I said this, people would not think I was agreeing with them. Found this one out the frustrating way. Instead, sure kinda means “really?” and is often used like this. “You are looking smart today!” “Sure!” to which you have to respond “Yes! Absolutely!”

“Sorry!” – used with the same intonation for anything from you dropped your waterbottle to someone in the family passing away.

“Be serious” – means act like an adult. Is a really good phrase to use to get the kids to stop horsing around in class.

“Short call” and “Long call” –they both mean using the bathroom, I’ll let you figure out what means what.

“He/she” – used interchangeably. Doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl, you could get either descriptor. This makes stories incredibly confusing sometimes, but proves very useful in some cases because all the children here shave their heads and sometimes it’s really difficult to tell…

“We are understanding, but we are not hearing” – this one always makes me laugh, because it just doesn’t make sense. It just means they need you to repeat, because they have no idea what I just said.

“Tomorrow” – means tomorrow, but can also mean the day after tomorrow, two days after tomorrow, three days after tomorrow, a year after tomorrow, ten years from now, AND (this is the fun part) yesterday. Guess that explains a lot more about the African concept of time.

And my personal favorite, “what what” which basically means "etc". "We plant beans, casava, matoke bananas, sweet bananas, greens, sweet pepper, what what" In our house, we try to use this one as much as possible.

I know there are more, I just can’t think of them right now, so you can be assured I will add them as time goes on. (Tomorrow haha) But as for right now, I hope you are all enjoying your holiday season! I have to say, it’s very strange, there have been a few advertisements for Christmas, but I’ve only seen them in Kampala. Today in Jinja was the first time I’ve heard Christmas music coming from anywhere but Damian’s room, and I saw fake Christmas trees. This whole commercialization thing you all are dealing with in the US? Not so much here. It’s kinda nice. Also kinda nice because let’s face it, it doesn’t really feel like Christmas time when I’m putting on sunscreen every day and wearing skirts and t-shirts… and still sweating. Ironic song: “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas.”

Hope you all are doing well, and enjoying the Christmas cheer!

Sending love and prayers from Uganda.