Full House, Full Heart

29 June 2015

Hello, from homestay!  I’ve arrived in sunny Mityana where I’ll stay for the next 4 weeks learning Luganda.  I was told my homestay family consisted of a mom and dad and their 6 kids.  Imagine my surprise when I found out there are 16 total people in my family, instead!  Ready for this?

There’s…
Pastor Robert
Maama Esther
Amon
Isaac
Saul
Jemimah
Grace
Betty
Florence
Ziatoon
Brenda
Karen
Robert Junior
Peter
Bernadette

Whew.  With me, that makes 16 in one house.  I am so thankful to have all of them call me their sister/daughter for the next month.  I’m living the posh corps life right now; my home is so large to accommodate all of us that we have electricity, running water, toilets, and showers.  I love washing my feet in the tub at the end of the day.  It’s dusty here, and that’s easily my favorite part of the day.  

As soon as I arrived and met Pastor Robert he told me that this is my home not just for the next month, but for as long as I want it to be.  I am always welcome.  I nearly started weeping joy everywhere, but I kept it together and just thanked him profusely.  Weebale nnyo.  I even have my own room (it’s Peace Corps policy).  Privacy is nice, but I love spending time with my new sisters as they braid my hair over and over while we play cards, color, and eat Skittles.  It’s usually one girl on each arm with another on my lap as two are behind me combing my muzungu hair.  My heart is full.

Saturday night, my first night at homestay, I was asked if I liked weddings.  Um.  Yes.  Weddings and I go literally and figuratively hand-in-hand.  So then they asked if I’d like to go to a wedding reception.  My first Ugandan wedding!  I couldn’t believe it.  I put on my best dress to look as smart as I could, but it was nothing compared to the elaborate dresses some of these women wore.  And some were in velvet!  Not what I’d be wanting to wear in this heat.  But the venue was beautiful, I got a plate of food, the bride and groom were up on this platform eating dinner with the wedding party and their names were written in giant cakes which everyone got to eat.  So from what I understood, instead of “You may now kiss the bride,” is actually, “You may now sensually feed each other cake.”  And that seals the deal.  From what I could see, it was pretty funny and there was some water sipping as well.  But people crowded the couple with cameras and iPads, wanting to get a good shot of the digestion, so my vision was partially skewed.

Yesterday morning, we went to Lifehouse Community Church, where Pastor Robert preaches.  I assumed it would be a lengthy service, but I didn’t think it would take as long as it did.  Since they had a visiting pastor, it was especially longer than usual.  He, his wife, and his son all spoke in front of the congregation.  It was a beautiful service, from what I could understand; it was mainly in Luganda, but there was an English translator.  Sometimes, though, the speaker would talk so fast and so loudly that the translator couldn’t keep up.  He looked at me with big eyes, and I gestured to just forget about it, it was too much to work with.  I was good with sitting in confusion. 
At one point, when Pastor Robert was speaking, he had me stand up and introduced me to everyone.  He told them I was from Pennsylvania (where I’m sure not many people have heard of before) and that I was with Peace Corps, staying at his house.  He wanted everyone to greet me afterwards but in Luganda only.  No English.  I’ve only had about a week of class so far, so I can say the basic:

Hi.  How are you?
I’m fine, how are you?
How was your night?
How is your day?
Good night!
My name is…
I’m from…
What did you say?
Thank you for your work!
You’re welcome!
How’s the family?
They are fine!

But besides that…I got next to nothing.  So for introductions, I was limited.  It worked out, though.  Everyone for the most part spoke English and were very happy to meet me.  That’s the thing I love about this country.  Everyone is so welcoming.  I feel so at ease here in almost every situation (I’ll pass on the interactions with the boda drivers) that it’s like I’ve always been here.  And it’s only been 2 days with this new community.

Pastor Robert and Esther - My host parents!

5 hours later, church was over.  The siblings and I headed home, had some lunch, I skyped with Alex (got a wifi modem usb thing!) and then it was time for choir practice, back at the church.  Peter, my one brother, is a teacher at King’s Kids school where there was choir and dance rehearsal.  He’s actually a Brit who’s been here on and off for the past 4 years or so.  He teaches science to the kids, and they just adore him.  There’s some big performance on this week, so they were trying to get as much practice in as possible before we ran out of sunlight.  Boy, can these kids sing.  They write their own songs and even recorded a record to sell across the country.  And the dancing is just as impressive.  I jumped in the back to join in after I watched it; it was fantastic.  I loved being a part of the group. 

When the sun went down and I had given out about 400 high fives and bongas (fist bumps), it was time to head back with the family.  Grace kept falling over from wearing my sunglasses in the dark and Karen held my hand the whole way home.  I can’t wait to spend more time with them.  I’m sure I won’t be saying that when I just want to sleep or study and they want to play, but for now, I’m loving having little brothers and sisters.

Today we had Luganda class.  It’s at a local hotel that has beautiful facilities, a café where I’m hanging out with other trainees now, and wifi.  Posh Corps is rocking my world right now.  I’m sure when I get to my permanent site in Biikira mid-August, I’ll have another culture shock primarily because I’ll be on my own.  But at the moment, I’m enjoying being around familiar faces and quick English speakers. 

Mom keeps reminding me that this service is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  I have to think of these 2 years in increments like fluid stations when I did the Pittsburgh half.  The first water station is the end of PST.  The next is In-Service Training.  Then vacation in London and Dublin with Mom, Dan, Alex, and Lyss.  I’m so looking forward to that even though it’s a good 10 months away.  Two weeks with the people I love most is going to be much needed.

Looks like we’re wrapping up here at the café and are heading back home to our families.  We’re talking about what we’re going to cook for our families on the 4^th of July.  It’s going to be a lesson on American eats for Independence Day.  No Bill Pullman, but still an old fashion burger. 

All is well here.  Thanks for checking in.  When I find the post office, you can all expect postcards within the next few weeks.

Until then,
Kelly