Cassie's Culture Corner

Okay, so I decided maybe I would give a quick culture lesson since I skipped a lot of that stuff these last couple days.  There were so many other things to talk about! A lot of you probably already know this stuff from reading Sam’s blog, but I am going to tell you about it anyway. So, here are some things I have learned:

-Boda bodas: Little motorcycles that can hold about three people which are used as taxis around town.  They are terrifying. But cheap. And kind of fun. I am learning to love them.

-Matoke: A main staple food in Uganda.  Basically a pile of mashed up plantains (bananas) that are cooked together.  It’s really heavy/starchy and doesn’t have a lot of flavor. But not too bad.  Usually we will eat it with chicken or beans to give it some more flavor.

-Cibatti (spelling?): Basically the Ugandan version of a tortilla.  They are super thick and oily and delicious and can be eaten plain or wrapped around something.  My favorite is what’s called a rolex, which is a cibatti wrapped around eggs, formed into an omlette-like thing.  Delicious.

-Mzungu: Me.  Anyone that isn’t African black is called a mzungu.  The distinction of mzungu results in children loving you and business owners ripping you off.

-Machetes: Giant knives that are used by adults and children alike.  I can’t believe how many kids I’ve seen running around with machetes in their hands like it’s a totally normal thing.  And to think we worry about our kids going outside without a coat on!

-Weather: It’s suuuper hot and humid here. It reminds me of why I never wanted to do a summer in Virginia.  My hair hates the humidity (and the fact that I don’t have a straightener).  We also had our first big rain storm today.  It rained really really hard, but not for very long.

-Technology: We have wi-fi in our house, but it’s pretty terrible.  It also doesn’t help that every time the internet in the house is working, everyone grabs their laptops and tries to use it.  Since that’s my only form of communication, don’t expect to hear from me a whole bunch.  Also, the power goes out a lot. Sometimes for a really long time. That also doesn’t help the internet.

I’m sure I have a ton more that I could tell you, but I’m also sure that I still have a lot to learn about.  So that will be all for now.  Plus, two blog posts in one day? Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good about that.