Bye Musungu, you are most welcome!
First of all, a warning in advance that I’m still trying to figure out how to manage technology here, between power and internet outages (about 60% of the time), and the physical distance to the nearest internet café (30 minutes)! I’ll try to get into a regular rhythm once my routine is more set.
So, I touched down in Uganda a little over a week ago. It was pretty surreal that first morning, to wake up from underneath my mosquito net and blink my way out into the equatorial sun. I kind of felt a mix of ‘what in the world did I do?!’ and ‘yay! It’s finally started!’
That first day I went into Kampala with some medical students from New Zealand that I met in the hotel. I was glad they invited me along, because I’m not sure I would have had the nerve to brave the minibus taxis by myself, and they were also able to pass on lots of tips for me as a newcomer (they had been here about 5 weeks already)! While there, we walked around the city, watched a Hindi movie and ate Chinese food! Not bad for the first day in Uganda!
The next day, I met up with the rest of my group. The other interns are Karen, a businesswoman from Colorado interested in microfinance who is also 29, Cornelia who is 45 and visiting all the FSD Africa sites, Hagar, a recent BU grad originally from Israel, and Brock, a Canadian biology major. The FSD staff who greeted us were: Anita the Ugandan program director, Sarah, the in-country program coordinator, and Ned, the international program coordinator. They took us into Kampala, and one of the first things we did was to buy a cell phone so we would blend in with just about every other person in this country!
After a couple days of briefing and site-seeing in Kampala, including a visit to the Buganda tombs (more to follow on the Buganda), we loaded into a ‘private hire’ taxi for the two hour drive to Masaka. On the way, we crossed over the equator (see pic). Once in Masaka, our first home was the Hotel Zebra, where the staff is friendly and the matooke is plentiful (the staple food- more to follow on that.) It was a quick walk down the green/rust- colored hills to the FSD office, where for the next week we got our introduction to community development how-to’s, Ugandan culture, and the Luganda language. Then, on Friday the immersion began as we were dropped off at our host families. Lots more to follow on that very fascinating experience!
So a note on the post title- Musungu is the word for foreigner here, and anywhere you go, kids especially will shout at you ‘Bye Musungu!’ There is no negative connotation- they are simply really interested to see you! So as a ‘hello’ to Uganda, I have received many ‘bye’s! Also, one thing that we were told, and which I have found to be very true is that Ugandans overall are extremely welcoming and friendly people. Whenever you enter their home or shop, they often say, ‘you are most welcome’, and you get the feeling that they really mean it!
Much love, Tammie
First of all, a warning in advance that I’m still trying to figure out how to manage technology here, between power and internet outages (about 60% of the time), and the physical distance to the nearest internet café (30 minutes)! I’ll try to get into a regular rhythm once my routine is more set.
So, I touched down in Uganda a little over a week ago. It was pretty surreal that first morning, to wake up from underneath my mosquito net and blink my way out into the equatorial sun. I kind of felt a mix of ‘what in the world did I do?!’ and ‘yay! It’s finally started!’
That first day I went into Kampala with some medical students from New Zealand that I met in the hotel. I was glad they invited me along, because I’m not sure I would have had the nerve to brave the minibus taxis by myself, and they were also able to pass on lots of tips for me as a newcomer (they had been here about 5 weeks already)! While there, we walked around the city, watched a Hindi movie and ate Chinese food! Not bad for the first day in Uganda!
The next day, I met up with the rest of my group. The other interns are Karen, a businesswoman from Colorado interested in microfinance who is also 29, Cornelia who is 45 and visiting all the FSD Africa sites, Hagar, a recent BU grad originally from Israel, and Brock, a Canadian biology major. The FSD staff who greeted us were: Anita the Ugandan program director, Sarah, the in-country program coordinator, and Ned, the international program coordinator. They took us into Kampala, and one of the first things we did was to buy a cell phone so we would blend in with just about every other person in this country!
After a couple days of briefing and site-seeing in Kampala, including a visit to the Buganda tombs (more to follow on the Buganda), we loaded into a ‘private hire’ taxi for the two hour drive to Masaka. On the way, we crossed over the equator (see pic). Once in Masaka, our first home was the Hotel Zebra, where the staff is friendly and the matooke is plentiful (the staple food- more to follow on that.) It was a quick walk down the green/rust- colored hills to the FSD office, where for the next week we got our introduction to community development how-to’s, Ugandan culture, and the Luganda language. Then, on Friday the immersion began as we were dropped off at our host families. Lots more to follow on that very fascinating experience!
So a note on the post title- Musungu is the word for foreigner here, and anywhere you go, kids especially will shout at you ‘Bye Musungu!’ There is no negative connotation- they are simply really interested to see you! So as a ‘hello’ to Uganda, I have received many ‘bye’s! Also, one thing that we were told, and which I have found to be very true is that Ugandans overall are extremely welcoming and friendly people. Whenever you enter their home or shop, they often say, ‘you are most welcome’, and you get the feeling that they really mean it!
Much love, Tammie
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3 comments:
Tam! Its so good to hear from you via blog! Sounds like you're already on an adventure of a lifetime. You're so brave!
Can't wait to hear more about all that you're learning and seeing.
love you, friend!
Yay, glad to hear from you -- and hear of your fun adventures! The bye, musungu reminds me of madagascar, where our greeting was Salut, Vazzah!
Very cool, Tammie! Love the picture - you look right at home, even though you may feel like a stranger in a strange land. I'm so glad to hear they're so welcoming.
Blessings
-H
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