Things I Will Miss

 A few nights ago, I finally bought my plane ticket home. I literally went out into my front yard and asked the 11 year-old boy on my compound, Joshua, to dance with me to MGMT’s “Electric Feel”.  It became more like a dance lesson as he started mimicking my every move.  While it was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders, it also brought a tinge of sadness. Now that there is an actual date for my departure, it became much more real.

This past year has been weird.  But weird isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  I’m not going to wax poetic about my experience here.  It has often been frustrating, annoying, and challenging to say the least.  But it’s easy to complain and talk about the things I won’t miss and things I am looking forward to enjoying when I get back to America. 

I will obviously miss the people…my coworkers; fellow PCVs who are now my good friends, Bob, the bicycle repairman, whom when I pass on my way home from work, stands with palms up after hearing my bike bell ring, and says “Bi ai bo?! How are you?” like he genuinely wants to know, and the old woman who sells tomatoes in the main market and always calls me her daughter. I’m going to miss the physical landscape of Uganda; flowers year-round, trees with red, pink, white, and purple blossoms, the electric blue bird that is always sitting alone on electrical wires, palm and pine trees on the same road, and the random volcanic rock outcroppings that pop up on my trips to Mbale.  

And the clouds.  Ugandans think it’s a little strange when I point out how beautiful a sunset is, mostly because of the clouds.  I don’t know if it’s because we’re so close to the equator, and the winds and weather patterns are different, but I have never seen more beautiful clouds anywhere else in the world.  Around sunset, I swear some clouds literally look paintings of heaven that you see in churches.  Some evenings it’s almost like the sun is backlighting the clouds from the east instead of the west, with pink and orange fire coming out from them.  A few weeks ago at Joanna’s, I stood in her yard, and it was incredible views from every direction.  Five minutes later, the clouds looked completely different. 

But, I want to share the random, everyday things I will miss: 

•     Seeing and hearing goats, sheep, turkeys, chickens, pigs, cows, and the occasional duck everywhere

•     Decorative tassels and colorful cushions on bike bodas (taxis)

•     Slogans on the front and back windshields of matatu taxis:

         -Vegas Baby (courtesy of Chelsea Milko, a PCV and Vegas native)

         -Eastern Boyz

         -When God Says Yes, Who Can Say No?

         - Hard Work Pays

         -Yes, We Can

         -Fly Emirates (the sponsors of Arsenal Soccer Team)

         -Bucket Baby

         -Japanes Motors (not a typo)

And on the rear mud flap of busses:

         -Obama

         -Get Back

•   Marveling at women and young girls carrying everything on their heads-20 liter jerry cans of water, bundles of firewood, boxes, buckets, bags, you name it. And babies tied on their back. 

•     Ugandan handshakes-

         1. Regular shake

         2. Grab the thumb

         3. Regular shake

              It’s totally acceptable to hold someone’s hand for a good minute after the initial greeting whether you just met them or are familiar with them, and it’s acceptable for men to hold hands walking down the street, or even for platonic male and female friends to hold hands. If you have just washed your hands, sneezed, or in the middle of an Ebola outbreak (President Museveni actually discouraged handshaking), you can simply offer your wrist or forearm for someone to bump or grab. With PCVs, we’ve also adopted the habit of the lingering handshake with each other.  

 

• Gomesi traditional dresses-Although not flattering or slimming for women in the Western sense, they are regal and command your attention with the pointed shoulders, huge belts and bold, shiny fabrics. 

  

•     Being able to buy a huge, fresh pineapple from a pile on the side of the road for about $1. 

•     Watching people employ different tactics for getting mangoes off trees-children and adults climbing up branches, using a giant pole or stick, or throwing rocks at them. 

•     The stuff that street hawkers sell that I have no interest in buying….wallets, handkerchiefs, sheets, locks, razors, shoes, mirrors, lights, sunglasses, tiny flags, maps, and pirated DVDs.

•     Guys walking around with baskets full of supplies for street pedicures. 

•     Having access to dozens of tailors on the street who can patch my Capri pants. 

•     Finding my favorite iced green tea from China in Soroti, when I never saw it in Europe or America.  

•     Seeing men wear second hand t-shirts from the west that read “Indiana University Grandma” or “Don’t ask me, I’m high as s***”. 

•     The sight of dozens of chickens tied to the roofs of cars, bike handlebars, and the sides of taxis. Although it’s somewhat inhumane (but probably not more than crowding chickens into giant farms in the US), it always tickles me. 

•     Uganglish….but this really deserves it’s own blog 

•     This will sound cheesy and cliché, but I love riding my bike home on clear nights, especially during a full moon because there aren’t any street lights and the stars are super bright.