Kendall in Africa

Here are some random thoughts about myself and my life here in Uganda. I thought they might interest and amuse you. If not, at least I've gotten a few laughs at myself.

1. I LOVE soda. Can you believe it? Kendall Scheid craves soda and must buy at least one each day as a special treat! My all time favorite is Mirinda Pineapple. The soda here is made with cane sugar, so it is pure and sweet and wonderful. Nothing like sipping an ice cold Mirinda to brighten your mood.Don't worry, I'll try not to bring my addiction home to the US...

2. Walking distance in the US means I can see it from where I am standing. Here, everything is walking distance. You have two legs don't you? The mall is walking distance, forty-five minutes on foot. We walk a mile to school, up hill! Basically, if it is humanly possible to walk somewhere, then it is in walking distance :) A plus said to this is that I am walking off all the sodas I have been drinking.

3. Skirts are an essential part of my new wardrobe here. Pants really would be way too hot. Skirts, at least, let in a nice breeze. I might start wearing them more often at home.

4. It is worth leaving 20 minutes earlier than everyone else to get the seat next to the fan. People might make fun of you for leaving so early, but when they come in and see that the only seats left are the farthest from the fan, they wish they had too.

5. Long legs and a fast stride are both a blessing and a curse. In the morning they are a blessing because I am always the first to enter the classroom and pick my seat. On the other hand, when I am walking with a Ugandan, I tend to go too fast. I have to walk a little behind to keep a slower pace. I feel like I might as well be crawling, because next to my normal walk, the pace here is snail-like.

6. Everyone needs to take the time to RELAX! While in Africa, we have been living a great life! There isn't a stress that comes with a fast paced society to make us feel like everything and everyone is wasting our time. We have almost three hours for lunch and we spend that time eating and relaxing and playing cards. In the US I never played cards because I could think of so many things that I should be doing in that time. Here, I am perfectly happy to spend two hours playing a card game because life is about relationships, and I have made so many great ones! It feels so good to calm down. When I go back to the States I want to make sure that I slow myself down to a healthier pace so that I can take the time to do the things that matter and enjoy everything I have been given.

7. I love living in a room with five other girls, in a house of 16 people. I have always been a relationship oriented person, but I just really enjoy having people around me all the time. My roommates are the sweetest, coolest girls ever! I love our afternoons laying on the tile floor and laughing together. Our group as a whole is pretty fun. Meal times are like eating with a big family. We always have something amusing to talk and joke about. Field trips are fun when we are all in the van listening to the radio turned up and dancing.

8. Living with 16 people causes you to get very comfortable very fast. If your sick and you need help, you need to be comfortable announcing that you have diarrhea, and then being asked what your poop smells like because the various smells indicate different kinds of amoeba that you might have.

9. Here in Uganda, I wont know if I am tan, or if I am just really dirty. I will get home from school and think about how cool my sandal tan line is. Then I will scrub my feet in the tub and dry them off to find that I have washed off a few shades of brown.

10. I am happy for even the shortest contact with my family and friends at home. I may be happily surrounded by people here, but I still have my moments when I really miss talking to someone who actually knows me. Quick conversations over the internet may not seem like much to people at home, but for me they mean the world. It is hard not to feel half a world away from the people I love. At least most of my school friends are also studying abroad, because other people in this group get a little sad when they see how much fun people are having without them. I don't feel like I am missing out on anything, just feeling really far away.

11. Everyone here is very skinny and short. They all look very healthy, and it is hard to tell age because Ugandans all look fairly young. I have to wonder why they look so much better than Americans. I think it has a lot to do with eating pure food in small portion sizes. All I can say is that our preservatives sure aren't doing a very good job of preserving our bodies! They also walk everywhere, keeping them fit. I can't imagine what Ugandans must think when they come to the US and see how HUGE everything is. We truly are a country where everything is super-sized..even our people ;) I don't mean any offense by that comment, it is, however, the truth.

12. We really take for granted that people will understand our language. Here everyone has the language of their clans, and Lugandan, AND English which is the national language. We heard a very passionate radio broadcast of two people arguing over whether they should be speaking English. There are still a lot of negative feelings about anything that is related to colonialism. It makes sense that since Uganda is no longer under the British empire, they feel like they should go back to their own language. On the other hand, it is very useful in the world we live in for an individual to be able to speak English. If I were Ugandan, I would take advantage of a language that has the potential of connecting me to the outside world.

13. This trip will cure me of my nervousness when driving. If I can make it through the whole semester crossing the street and riding around where there are no driving rules, I think I can handle driving in the States.

14. Uganda has turned me into a potty mouth. Every time I cross the street I can hear myself cussing up a storm (without meaning to) because I really do believe that I am going to die with the cars and motorcycles coming within 2 inches and honking their horns. When I get to the other side of the street I realize that I am also holding somebody's hand because I am so scared that without knowing it I grab something to hold onto.

You can expect more ponderings when they come to me ;)