Etikoit Family Vacation

Though I have had the opportunity to travel overseas before, I have never had the freedom that accompanies a study abroad program. Though there are rules and regulations in place for my time in Uganda, I also have a great deal of independence. If I feel like walking into Mukono by myself during the afternoon, I can do so. If I’m interested in watching a movie at the cinema, all I’d have to do is catch a passing matatua (African taxi) and head into Kampala for a couple hours. It’s amazing how free a person can feel surrounded by an unfamiliar culture with a history of occasional violence.

Not only is Kampala a common place to find me, I also like to spend my free weekends with my family. At the beginning of the year, these times were always a little tense. Cyndi and I were never sure what to do to fill our time or how to engage our family without feeling like an awkward by-stander. This was made even more difficult by the language barrier than exists between us. But with time, my Ugandan home-life has become exactly what I’d always dreamed it would be. I have grown completely at ease with my family, and they have become at ease with me. We enjoy each others company immensely and it’s been wonderful facing each school day with the longing to go ‘home’ rather than remain on campus.

So, with this newfound ease and love for my family, I was beyond excited for March 7th…the day for Cyndi and me to experience yet another ‘normal’ family activity…a family trip. As I might have mentioned before, my sister Sarah left Bugujju in early February after only a few weeks with us to attend her final year of senior school (high school) at a Christian boarding school in Jinja. After weeks apart we really began to miss her, so when we learned her school was having an official family visitation day, we joyfully made plans to attend.

The day began early, as we all bustled around at home, preparing our picnic lunch, pressing our good clothes, and double checking that we weren’t forgetting anything. For some reason, my brothers chose not to go, opting to work in our family fields instead. So after saying a quick goodbye to Sam and Joshua, us girls all hopped into our private hire and sped off.

Quick note: In Uganda, the majority of people don’t have the wealth to afford a car. Instead, people use many different forms of public transportation to travel throughout the country. Within a town, bicycles and boda-boda’s are very common. Boda-boda’s are dirt bikes with an extra seat on the back, which you can rent to be taken pretty much anywhere. They aren’t very expensive and have the potential of being fun, but they are also very sketchy. I’ve been told they are the most dangerous form of transportation on the African continent and account for at least 70% of the patients in Kampala hospitals. Because of this, USP students aren’t allowed to ride on them. After almost being run over by more than one boda-boda, though, I’ve decided I wouldn’t want to ride one anyway. Matatu’s are also very popular and I’ve ridden on them numerous times. I’ve explained that it’s an African taxi, but to be more clear they’re basically 14 passenger vans that pick up as many people as possible alone a set path…almost like a city bus. Just above, I mentioned the term ‘private hire.’ This is probably the safest and most reliable form of transportation in Uganda. Basically, you find someone with a car and ask them to drive you around for a day/weekend. Sounded a little odd when I first heard of it, but usually when people have cars they start a private hire business and are extremely dependable for it becomes their livelihood.

So, after speeding off (not kidding…we actually sped off, for driving in Africa is vastly different that driving in the US), we found ourselves headed miles away from familiar surroundings and another mzungu other than ourselves. The experience was amazingly liberating, for it showed me just how comfortable I am in Africa. Like the majority of Americans, the thought of getting into a random car with an unknown driver, with a group of Africans in an African nation with a violent history would have made me more than a little uncertain three months ago. But on that Saturday morning as we zipped around matatus and zoomed ahead of petrol trucks, there wasn’t an ounce of apprehension within me. I felt completely at ease, completely safe, and so at home.

Having Sarah envelope me in a colossal embrace upon reaching Lord’s Mead Secondary School was so amazing and made me realize just how much I had been missing her at home. Sarah is an extremely welcoming person who loves to smile and laugh. She has high aspirations for life and has a dream to obtain her master’s degree in education somewhere in Massachusetts. It was so fun to sit beneath a tiny tree on her school campus, sharing stories about our time apart while attempting to keep the scurrying ants away from our delectable food.

Something that really warmed my heart while visiting was a very simple statement made by Sarah. She probably didn’t realize how much it touched me at the time, which makes the memory it all that much more valuable. While at school, Sarah has many things she would not have while at home. Electricity, television, and her closest friends are just a few of the perks. Not only that, but education is extremely valuable in a nation where the majority of its citizens struggle every day to provide the necessary school fees for their children. Knowing all that, when Sarah told me she wanted to go home with us so she could spend more time with Cyndi and me, I felt an amazing amount of love pour out on this precious Ugandan sister of mine. I wish she could have come home with us too…though I’m so glad she’s getting the opportunity to complete her education.

Leaving her in Jinja was hard, but I was able to leave with hope for a future meeting. Because Easter is just around the corner, I did not have to say a final goodbye to Sarah just yet. That four day weekend is going to be an amazing time to spend with my Ugandan family I adore so much.