stream of consciousness

The best way to sum up the past few days is just a stream of rambling… embrace it.

My friend's mother passed away on September 9th and I was asked to attend the burial in Eddie's village of Palisa on Saturday. I joined some other Honours College and mass communication students (his major) for the long ride to Palisa to go support our brother in the burying of our mother, Oketcho Jen. It was nothing like attending an American funeral at all. The women closest to the late mother were in traditional Buganda dress with bright colours and just mass amounts of fabric arranged in such an intricate, voluptuous way around their bodies. There were people there asked to speak on behalf of full groups of people that came to support the living family members- that was something very moving to see, the support for those that were in mourning. I was the only mzungu there and someone even formally directed the entire crowd's attention and gaze to me specifically at one point in his speech. It was an honour to be there and I felt so welcomed into the HC family (though I wish my induction could have been under lighter circumstances).
Classes are in full force. I'm trying to learn Luganda…but the professor is going at lightening speed. Grammar lessons that took three years of Spanish classes to build up to in Luganda are only taking three days. Anyone ever heard of suffix infixes? Blowing my mind.
I was dropped off at my family's house on Sunday. For the next two weeks all of us USP students are staying with host families at night and over the weekend to get a real African-family-living experience…or something like it. I feel right at home :) I was driven there in a Jeep (making me miss ol' Campy…) and introduced to my mom and dad who are (go figure) a teacher and pastor. I have a younger sister Phoebe who is ten, Irene is about 17 or 18 and hysterical, and Racheal is about 20. My sister Tabitha lives out of town with her husband, but her son Emma (Emmanuel) lives with us- he is 2 years old and terrified of me and Jen (the other USP student at my house). Emma screams when we're in the room. Hopefully he'll get over that in the next couple weeks… between him and the roosters screaming at 4am I'm not sure how in the world I'm going to survive these next couple weeks. My family is beautiful though; Racheal is so sweet and Irene taught Jen and I a beautiful song in Luganda which we sang around the kitchen table by candlelight as we were playing cards (power outage).
Went into town with Eddie yesterday afternoon for cold pineapple drinks and ice cream. It's the simple things around here that keep my grounded, remind me to just slow down and enjoy Africa. Three months from today I leave Uganda. :( already SO not looking forward to that. I can't believe it's already been a month since I've been here. Fahad and Eddie walked me home last night from campus through all the twisty dirt paths littered with banana peels and cows, and Fahad pulled his mocking voice out to bid me well at leaving me on my doorstep- saying how oh! So proud he was to see me growing up, leaving on my own! And I thought of Daddy saying goodbye at the airport and didn't realize just how long ago that actually was.
I miss snow. If anyone can find a way to mail me some snow… that would be lovely. I had a vision the other night…of getting home to Boston, driving up to Maine and just laying down in a snow bank in my driveway in mid January when I get back.
HC truly does feel like home. It's wonderful to walk back to campus these past couple mornings to come to class and hear someone yelling "Spartacus!" or one of my many other names as I walk down the path toward HC dorms. Cards and rolexes and walks into town with my brothers, sharing bananas and small-campus gossip with my sister Brenda across the hall… running into familiar faces in canteens and on the hill to town--- infinite moments (hannah).
From "The Primal Vision": 'The African reading the Bible is glad to find a civilization which marches to the same rhythm as his own. No obsession with efficiency, , but life as it unfolds is qutie simple in its tragedy, its hopes, its slow rhythm, its cruelties, too. Christ walking through the dust from one village to the next, drinking water from the same wells, delighting in the movements of the sower, the radiance of the setting sun, the flowers of the field, talking at great length to crowds- in this we find reflected the black innocence, the irresponsibility of Africa, her timeless existence, her freedom.' <-- this is for Mallory. your email was perfect, and in response to it's subject "You belong to Africa now." i can only say that this is the wonder i feel in thinking of my east africa and this is how i quietly agree with your title. thank you, mal.

emirembe. peace.