Aug 19

Quick post:

While playing soccer, I found out that I was pronouncing "pass the ball" wrong.  I was saying, "I'm satisfied."  That got some laughs.  It was nothing compared to the language mix up I had today though.  Both my dad and I gaining confidence in Luganda, showing off to some friends.  Turns out, we pronounced "amazzi" (water) as "amazze" (feces).  Yep that was possibly the most embarrassing moment in my life. 

Yesterday I went out with the missionaries for five hours.  It was absolutely inspirational.  Not once did they get shut down for an appointment/contact.  The elders would go up to a stranger and mixing English with Luganda they would ask, "do you want to talk about Jesus?"  Within a minute or two, they had appointments and phone numbers. Obviously a lot of that can be traced to the openness of Ugandan culture, but I still felt invincible walking home.  One lady even set up a baptismal date.

There are hardly any fences in Mukono and because roads are few and far between, many times you walk through backyards to get places.  The roads are narrow and riddled with pot holes.  Major highways are about the diameter of Timpview Drive, although when unjammed, people drive in the 50's.

I tried bartering in Luganda today.  It was a failure.  About three sentences in, we had to switch to English.  It is fun watching people light up when they realize you are making an effort to learn their language.  Most whites don't even try.

Ugandan culture is not super open to change (partly due to their lack of seasons-- they don't even have a word for fall/winter/summer!), but their assimilation into Western culture is very prevalent.  Although their culture is slow and people-centered, American/European influence is changing that.  Because there are no land lines and the cell phones are pay-as-you-go, people talk really fast on the phones to save money (counter-culture).  The introduction of cars and motorcycles also has a quickening effect.  It's interesting that almost all advertisements use models with lighter complexions.  People wear "stylin'" jackets because they see Americans doing so, although they definitely don't need them (it's always in the 80's temperature-wise).  I'm a little perturbed by the west's dominant relationship with Uganda.  You can literally see Satan using this change to introduce sin (although the pervasiveness of temptation, specifically in the media, is lagging ours by 15-20 years).

People start grunting when they agree with what you are saying, so mid-sentence you will here chains of grunting.  Hilarious.  I am picking that up.  We also have a guy in my ward who sounds exactly like Julius the lemur king from Madagascar.  He even uses phrases similar to the ones you hear Julius say in movies.  Oh is that funny.

My studies are going well; I am about a third of the way done with my material for BYU.  

We went to the embassy for security training.  One of the things recommended was to be "unpredictable."  In other words, change your schedule so creepers don't figure you out.  Mckay and I have taken that to a whole new level.  When dad asks us why we start spontaneously skipping, we say it is because we are being "unpredictable." 

So that wasn't a short post.  My bad.  The great think about blogging is that if you get sick of hearing about Uganda, you can stop reading!  Well have a good week mi amigos.

Eric