This is My Normal

I’ve lived in Uganda since August 2009 – just over 16 months now. The more time I am away from the United States (and indeed, the more time I’m here), the more normal living here seems and the more at home I feel. The idiosyncrasies of daily life no longer throw me or surprise me, and for the most part I have adapted to this African way of life. When things go wrong, which they commonly do, there is a saying: This is Africa. I’m trying to spread a new one: This is my Normal.

• Being stared at, sticking out like a sore thumb, and constantly being hassled by kids: this is my normal.
• Haggling to purchase just about anything, including posted beer prices: this is my normal.
• Constantly living in fear of being hit by one of the limitless motorcycles: this is my normal.
• Seeing sick people and malnourished kids, and parents generally not caring about their children’s safety (i.e. two-year-olds with razor blades): this is my normal.
• Dodging ditches and random holes in sidewalks at night because there are no streetlights: this is my normal.
• Having to ask “What food do you have,” even when handed a menu: this is my normal.
• Issuing commands to get anything (“You bring me coca-cola.”): this is my normal.
• Speaking the strange Ugandan dialect of English (“I am footing,” or “It is somehow near.”): welcome to my normal.
• Getting sick when you eat Western food and actually craving the local diet: this is my normal.
• Seeing goats run along the main highway as I write this and that not seeming unusual: this is my normal.
• Having only eight people in a Toyota Corolla and feeling like there’s room to spare: this is my normal.

Christmas is in a few days, and as I hear news reports of record-snows in Europe, rain and cold in America, I can’t help but enjoy the 85-degree days here (it’s the beginning of dry season, so no rain either), and am happy to be where I am. That said, the holidays are always a difficult time to be away from friends and family, and this year will be my second in a row and no less difficult. I’ll be spending it with friends here in Uganda, most likely in the mountains on the Rwanda/Congo border, admittingly looking forward to next year when I’ll be reunited with my family and that dreary Pacific Northwest wet season. After all, listening to Bing Crosby sing White Christmas just isn’t the same in Africa.

Maybe another to add to the list:

• Sunburns on Christmas Eve: this is my normal.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!