Ugandans love to dance!

You may already know this, nevertheless I will repeat it here -Ugandans and perhaps Africans in general love to dance! Ugandans, young and old people hear the sound of an African music note and their body language reflexively lines up in concurrence with the rhythm. I am sharing some videos that show popular African dance moves you might see or even want to learn in preparation for the opportunities to dance that will inevitably arise. This one is a music video of French Montana shot in Uganda, the other one found here shows young people dancing to one of Africa's favorite dance music songs.

Ban on Selling Secondhand Clothes

Before reading this post and answering the questions, please watch the video found HERE.
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Given the conversation we had last class about Superbowl t-shirts ending up being sold in Sub-Saharan Africa, I thought a recent ban on secondhand clothes being sold in Uganda would be a great topic of discussion. I have always thought about how these clothes (sometimes donated form the US or UK) hurt local textile factories, but I did not think about two other important factors that are brought up in the video: cheap alternatives to donated goods (imports from China) and the people trying to make a living selling the now banned goods.

Have you ever considered these factors (the disadvantage to local businesses, imports from China, and the needs of those selling secondhand clothes from the US and UK)?

What similarities do you see between this economic situation in Uganda and those in the US?

Do you think these similarities allow for a better connection to and understanding of Uganda? Why?

Ugandan Cuisine

Last summer I volunteered in Thailand for three weeks. I learned many things about Thai culture that I didn't expect and often found myself surprised by what I was experiencing. Something I unexpectedly loved was Thai food- which I've continued to eat fairly often after returning to America.

With so many cultural shocks coming my way when I travel to Uganda, I continue to be extremely intrigued and excited to eat Ugandan food. I've done a bit of research and found that fish is fairly popular, along with meat or chicken stews! Unfortunately, I don't consume meat or dairy but I love being challenged to find meals that I can eat. In my past experiences abroad, I have found that non meat dishes are spiced better than typical meat dishes (I really enjoy spices and spicy foods). Is anyone excited to experience African cuisine, or any certain dish specially? Obviously food isn't a focus on the trip but I believe it's extremely important when experiencing a new culture and environment.

Safari Excitement

About eight years ago I went to South Africa to visit my Uncle and Cousin. One of the many things we did was go on a safari to see all of the different animals Africa has to offer. I remember right at the beginning of the self guided tour there was an Elephant. He was so beautiful and elegant and was standing about 20 feet from our car. That was the moment I realized I loved Africa. That was not the only time I felt a love for Africa while on the safari. I saw many giraffes running in the distance, rhino babies feeding with their mothers, lions way off in the distance during a evening jeep tour and around 75 elephants in a watering hole. I cannot explain my excitement to see these animals and new ones.

My favorite animal is a Cheetah. I have loved them since I was little. One year for my birthday, my Uncle sent me a stuffed animal cheetah that I still have today. It was one of my most favorite stuffed animals and I still have not seen one in the wild. If I had to choose one animal to see on this trip it would be a cheetah. I was wondering what animals everyone is most excited to see during our trip and why?

Pre-travel Monologues of Far Away Places

Preparing to travel to countries that are drastically different from our home country may trigger both emotions of excitement and anxiety. Everything you know prior to travel is based on what you have heard from peers/your instructors, or read about or seen via some video footage. But even then, that knowledge does not quash all your curiosities. I remember going through a similar experience when I was preparing to come the US for my graduate studies from Uganda almost two decades ago. I was excited about the opportunity to obtain the highly sought after American MBA degree, making American and  'international' friends, the potential opportunity to finally vastly travel within the US to all the cities I had head so much about i.e. LA, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Orlando, etc. For a kid who had spent a large part of my life in rural Uganda, what awaited me was unfathomable.

At the same time, I worried about being able to adjust and manage life in this very sophisticated world I had only garnered from films (movies). I had watched films such as Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America" or the Richard Gere and Julia Roberts "Pretty Woman" (some of you are way too young to even recognize these titles!). I had watched and re-watched many of these films and the anxiety of very simple things like being able to use lifts (elevators), or walk on escalators on the right (not left) side with traffic really scared me. Moreover, even though I had spoken English (American) most of my life, I wondered if I would be able to either be understood or to understand others when they spoke. Since I frequently needed to rewind the video cassette whenever I did not quite understand the dialogue in a film, I figured that not having the opportunity to 'rewind' pieces of a conversation would be stressful. I also had now found out that Americans sometimes had peculiar usages of the English language that I was totally unaccustomed to. In the situation I just referred to, saying 'I beg your pardon' was typical English speak I was accustomed. Later, I would find out that Americans sometimes said 'come again' which made no sense to me. I was worried about being understood obviously because I spoke English differently from most I would encounter (I had always assumed that everyone had an English accent depending on where one learned and used the language during their early years of life. So every time someone remarked "you have an accent, where are you from?" My short answer was always Uganda but I was left wondering if I should have added "you too have an accent" in my response). I also worried about being able to talk in terms of pounds, or miles and gallons since I had used the metric system all my previous life. And then there were American sports, a topic I do not even know where to start since to this day this is an area that I have totally failed to fully comprehend. Football (soccer) was going to be a different game for me, and one that was no longer as important as I had known it to be. The teams, their histories, stats, rules of the game, and the amount of information one had to know seemed overwhelming.

These emotions I think are nothing unusual and are simply a mental process that allows us to embrace as best we can the differences we are about to experience in a travel situation. What are those points of excitement or anxiety about this upcoming trip that you can share here? Are there any that you would be curious about what others think or those that need clarification?