Living in Jinja, Uganda is not what you would expect when you think of Africa. It has been westernized to some point and yet it definitely has the African feel in some parts.
For instance, one of the thing that people have a problem with adjusting to is the way Ugandans look at time.
For us, we come from the busyness of the United States and live our lives revolved around clocks. When we come here and they only have clocks for looks and not for time it is a really hard thing to adjust to.
As you head to main street things get a little more busy.
The cars and bodas make sure they do everything in their power to make it impossible to cross the street without you thinking you just might not make it. You also have the store owners trying to get you to at least look at their product because they know that if you even glance their way they have you on a hook. And, to top it all off you have the boda drivers whistling you down even though they know you're going in the opposite direction.
But despite all of this busyness around you the thing that makes it amazing is watching the little African kids light up as you walk past
Another culture shock you can find yourself in is that everything has two prices: one is the white people's price and the other is the African price. When you need to buy things you already have to come to the conclusion that you are always going to pay twice the amount of a Ugandan even if you can haggle down in price.
When you go about 10 minutes outside of Jinja you get a complete change of scenery. You see the poor, the needy, the widows, the fatherless, the hungry, the orphans and all you want to do is love them.
But is that enough? These people have nothing but the clothes on their backs and sometimes the food in their stomachs.
It has been a learning experience for me to know that even with little there is more to life then just the things we have.
For instance, one of the thing that people have a problem with adjusting to is the way Ugandans look at time.
For us, we come from the busyness of the United States and live our lives revolved around clocks. When we come here and they only have clocks for looks and not for time it is a really hard thing to adjust to.
As you head to main street things get a little more busy.
The cars and bodas make sure they do everything in their power to make it impossible to cross the street without you thinking you just might not make it. You also have the store owners trying to get you to at least look at their product because they know that if you even glance their way they have you on a hook. And, to top it all off you have the boda drivers whistling you down even though they know you're going in the opposite direction.
But despite all of this busyness around you the thing that makes it amazing is watching the little African kids light up as you walk past
Another culture shock you can find yourself in is that everything has two prices: one is the white people's price and the other is the African price. When you need to buy things you already have to come to the conclusion that you are always going to pay twice the amount of a Ugandan even if you can haggle down in price.
When you go about 10 minutes outside of Jinja you get a complete change of scenery. You see the poor, the needy, the widows, the fatherless, the hungry, the orphans and all you want to do is love them.
But is that enough? These people have nothing but the clothes on their backs and sometimes the food in their stomachs.
It has been a learning experience for me to know that even with little there is more to life then just the things we have.