My Laundry Fiasco

STORY OF THE WEEK: So today I learned the art of washing my clothes by hand! It took me two hours and a great deal of scrubbing and rinsing, at the end of which my hands were thoroughly raw. I had almost completed hanging all of my clothes on the rope to dry when the rope broke and my clothes fell in a heap to the dirty ground. I wanted to cry. After all of my hard work, I was going to have to do the stupid wash again! However, somehow my frustration came out in the form of laughter and a bit of swearing instead of tears. Fortunately, not all of my clothes were ruined (I only had to rewash about half of them). The best part of the whole ordeal though, was that my kind neighbor, Kakinda, noticed what had happened and started to help me pick up my clothes off the ground and rewash and hang them with me! He can't speak or understand very much English, but his act of kindness really resonated with me and it totally turned my mood around. So, my first experience doing my laundry had its ups and downs, but was accomplished eventually, and definitely made for a story that I can look back on and laugh about.

...So, after somewhat of a rough start, I am finally starting to settle in and get used to the idea of being here for ten months. While I thought I understood what I was getting into from the beginning, I don't think one can ever really grasp the longevity of a ten month commitment in a totally foreign atmosphere until they actually find themselves there. I was really homesick at first, and uncomfortable serving as a spectacle for all of the locals every time I left my house, but those feelings are starting to slip away. I am sure that there are still times to come where I will feel lonely and will miss home a lot, but I am trying to stay positive and look at the next ten months as a learning experience, one that pushes me outside of my comfort zone and forces me to grow. Despite all of the emotions and doubts I may be feeling during this initial adjustment period, I do still believe in Soccer Without Borders mission and am very excited to be playing a part in the long-term goals of the organization.

By far, the time I look forward to the most every day is the time I get to spend with the kids at "training" (their terminology for practice). Everyone here loooooves playing football, the other day the boys program scrimmaged a rival team in town and the match got so heated that players from each team started throwing punches! It is a good thing that Adam (the other intern) is an imposing figure at 6'4" and was refereeing the game, he was able to put a stop to the brawl rather quickly.

I have made friends with some smaller girls too who hang around the field, and they have started to come back consistently, sometimes to play soccer, other times just to hang out. Yesterday I was coaching the girls and the younger kids and Deo (the coach from Ndejje who we work and live with) wanted them to do some fitness. At that age, they still think fitness is fun...except for Lillian the goalkeeper, who told us that she chose to play keeper because it is the one position where you don't have to run. Fair enough. Anyways, the older girls were doing their sprints up the hill, and the younger kids wanted to join in. I stood at the top of the hill and told them when to go, and somehow it turned into a race that was only completed once they were able to hug me. So I had about ten little four year olds racing up the hill and mobbing me, a bit overwhelming, but soooo cute! There are already about seven kids who I want to bring back to the states with me when my time here ends. Oh, and the only English they are taught in school when they are young is, "How are you?" and the response, "I am fine." Adam, Heather and I often wonder who decided that those were the phrases that should be taught. How often do English-speaking people even respond, "I am fine?" Not very. Most of the kids don't even understand what they are saying, it is simply a phrase that has been engrained in them. If you say, "Hi" as you pass one on the street, they respond, "I am fine."

On a whole different note, the guys here that are around my age, plus maybe ten years, are ridiculous. First they ask for your name, quickly followed by the second question of whether or not you are married. When I tell them no, they ask why not, and I tell them that I am too young and don't want to get married yet. When they discover that I am only 22, they tell me that I am getting old and that I should get married soon. No proposals yet, but still somewhat uncomfortable, especially when they start chatting with each other in Luganda following the conversation we just had and they look at me and laugh.

Another cultural difference concerns Ugandans' view on exercising. First of all, they call running "road work," and it is only done by people who are sick. Adam and I have been running every other morning and they must either think we are crazy or that we have some deadly disease. Deo won't accompany us because he only runs during the early morning hours when it is still dark out so that no one thinks there is something wrong with him. And the hills here, yikes, they are killers! Worse than running at home on Bainbridge! I was also doing push-ups and body weight exercises in our yard the other day and there were a few of Deo's friends who thought I looked hilarious and had fun mocking me. But, now they have started to join in and Adam, Heather, and I have fun trying to teach them how to do the exercises properly.

We are starting some of projects this week since the kids are still on a break from school. There is a sign for the community center that needs to be painted, programs to be scheduled, and mostly we are just meeting with different people who are involved here to organize and plan, etc. So, not too much has happened yet other than planning and meeting and then back to planning and more meeting. I have to adjust to the pace here, as meetings that could be completed in ten minutes take an hour or more. It has been very difficult for me to slow down and get used to Ugandan time...I like for everything to be fast!

Well, that's all for now! I will post again when something else exciting/funny happens...or when I have internet.