"Through the eyes of a mzungo"

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"Mzungo" is what Africans call white people. It comes from a Kiswahili word which means "to move around in circles". I believe they coined it when there were a lot of Christian missionaries moving around in Kenyan, traveling from here to there. It is generally a positive term, and most places you go, the children will holler some sort of cheerful greeting, like "Jambo mzungo!" or " Mzungo bye-ie!"

The last few weeks here have been full of different activities and learning opportunities. I want to recall a particular Sunday evening, which will remain burned in my memory forever. After arriving home from being gone during the day, Martha, who is not related to, but lives with Edith and David, informed us that there had been a bad accident just nearby where they live. Apparently a taxi bus (a mini-van which is commonly used for taxi by the locals) was driving and tried to avoid a person walking or something and ended up losing control and ran into a motorcycle (another common form of taxi transport) that was carrying 2 people. 2 of the people were killed. The next day at work they were saying the taxi bus was still by the roadside, tipped over on its side because one of the people from the motorcycle got stuck up underneath. These sorts of accidents are very common here, and are due to careless driving, tired drivers, horrible roads full of potholes, and sometimes just pure accident. Tragic, yet part of daily news stories. After supper, David and Martha began singing some children's worship songs with actions. Martha, Edith, and I all danced around the room, doing the actions. We all laughed and it helped lighten the mood. David has always been big into music, playing his guitar and singing Christian worship songs. After the children's songs, he began asking me if I ever learned about Negro spirituals, and telling me that these were what the negro slaves sang in America during that time. Him and Edith went on to sing some for me, including one called "Gimme that old time religion " and " Swing low, sweet chariot". It gave me goosebumps to listen to them. It has touched me very deeply to live with these Ugandans, and to hear their stories of life, with all it's struggles and obstacles. David (and Edith) are living history, and he often tells me stories of things that he remembers during the time of Ida Amin. He has seen a lot during his 60+ years living in Uganda, just like any person who has lived that long (and not lived under a rock, so to speak). After days like this one, I can see why music and songs are so much a thread in this culture. It is a simple way to express all the human emotions and experiences. Listening to their music has been one of my favorite experiences here. In church, at weddings, in the home, on the radio, and as part of their daily life.

A couple other activities of recent were a wedding yesterday (which are always a joyful celebration full of people), and some of the work I've been helping with in the office. I have been entering the answers (data) to a survey they carried out in the local villages regarding people's perceptions of HIV/AIDS. The questionnaire asked everything to "have you ever had sex?" and " how old were you?" to "Would you buy produce from a person you knew to be HIV/AIDS positive?" and " Which of the following reasons is it acceptable to beat your wife-1 because she goes out without telling you, 2 she neglects the children,3 she burns the food, 4 she refuses to have sex with you, 5 she argues with you." There were several volunteers that came to help with this survey (which is one way much of the work is carried out at the UWCM), and it was a great chance for me to discuss with some of them their thoughts and perceptions of the survey and about people's responses. Regarding the question of beating your wife, one guy explained to me that some women think that being beaten by your husband is a sign that he cares about her, and if he doesn't beat her, than that means he doesn't care about her. So sometimes she will deliberately do something in order to get beaten, because then she feels loved. That one was hard for me to wrap my mind around. Next week I will get to participate in a workshop the UWCM is conducting. They are hosting speakers on the topic of HIV/AIDS and are working with leaders in the local churches to learn what the current perception and struggles are when dealing with people living with HIV/AIDS. I am eager to get to be apart and learn more.

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