we go

So I may have mentioned this before, but I did not realize that although Ugandans speak English, it is very different from the English that I speak.  This has caused a lot of difficulty in communicating with people here (especially when we need to work with them on research stuff), but I have also been learning a lot about communication.

That being said, a common phrase among Ugandans is, "We go."  Easy enough to get.  We usually say that when it's time to go somewhere.  But that phrase took on new meaning yesterday when we went to a Ugandan Cranes soccer games.  The entire time--to, during, and from--everyone was chanting:

"We go, we go.  Uganda Cranes, we go."

It's been stuck in my head since.  But it was great.  The soccer game was a lot of fun, mainly because of the fans.  The soccer itself was . . . well, like the rest of Kampala, a little chaotic and without many rules.

One of the fans sitting next to us was chatting with our friend Jessica and pointed to me and said, "She is the mother."  Jessica told him that I don't have any children, but then he said, "No, I mean that she is mother material.  You can tell." . . . . So even across the world this happens.

The rest of this week has been fun and productive.  As I was doing my laundry Monday morning, I realized that this was only my second actual week in Kampala.  So it was nice to have a week stationed at home (even though we did travel to Lugazi on Thursday.)  I did some calculations and realized that at the end of this, I will have only spent about 49% of my time in Kampala.  Totally fine with that.

So here's a little rundown of the rest of the week.  We were working on our project all week, but each day had a fun little side activity.  Monday I did laundry . . . which handwashing is a lot more difficult and time-intensive than I thought.  Tuesday we went to the craft market where I found a lovely painting and some gifts for the nephews.  

Wednesday was really cool.  My friend Brent met this guy who runs an orphanage, so he offered to take us there.  Such a nice man.  He lives on the opposite side of the city but came and picked us up near our apartment, then took us to two schools, the bay of Lake Victoria, and then to his orphanage.  And he bought us water and bananas.  And he was just the happiest guy.  It was really interesting to see the schools--the typical classroom has between 60 and 80 students; 1,200 students overall and half of them are sponsored.  We went into one of the classrooms and all of the students just laughed at me . . . kinda awkward.  Everyone we met was very kind and polite though.  And the orphanage is in really good condition.  It's an orphanage for teenage boys, though, so I guess they can be held a little more accountable for keeping things clean.  

A "fine arts" class

These are giant pots used for cooking rice and beans for all of the orphans.

Afterward, this man sent me an e-mail that epitomizes the kindness and generosity of the people here:

"Anna it was nice being with you and Brent. The two of you are awesome friends. You are so nice and good to hang out with I enjoyed your company too. It's just that time is short we would hang out more and more and explore many more things.

I love you guys and thank you for honouring my invitation though at short notice."

Wednesday night we had a little treat.  Stoney is a ginger drink here that many have come to love (and, develop an addiction to . . . Brent drinks about two a day).  So we found some ice cream and had Stoney floats after dinner.

Thursday included our trip to Lugazi.  (If I've learned anything in Uganda, it's how to wait--we sat on the mutatu for over an hour before it actually left.  But I thought ahead and brought a book so that was fine.)  Friday was class, work, and going out for dinner.  Which brings us to the game yesterday.

On a side note . . .

. . . not really.  But maybe.  I got sick last night, and that's the line that has been running through my head all day.  Doing my best to sleep it off.  Also, you need to e-mail me more.  I want to hear about how things are at home.  And you need to reply to my question about souvenirs.  And I just like hearing from you.