Some final quotes from Uganda

I love the way my friends and colleagues here express things. There is both beauty and humor to how they say what they say that I will miss hearing on a day to day basis.  Below are a few favorites I've heard over the past couple of months. I really should have kept a pad of paper with me to capture everything. 

Plump Like Oranges! When driving to the field one day, we had a full car and four of my female coworkers were squeezed into the back seat of the vehicle. At one point, one of the men with us said, "Ah, these women!  They are all under 30, and they are plump like oranges!"  The ladies did not seem so amused. Though being plump here can be seen as a sign of good health and prosperity. 

Sunburned. On another journey to the field, I unwittingly offering my Ugandan coworkers sunscreen after applying my own.  Their response" "We were burned by the sun a long time ago."  Not surprisingly, there were no takers for the sunblock.

Denying salt. East Africans typically prefer more salt in their food than I tend to cook with. When a coworker tried my cooking during work one day, he said "It is good.  You have just denied it salt."  Then he, and everyone else who ate what I prepared, proceeded to add a generous portion of salt to their dishes. 

Portable women. While walking to town one time, one male colleague asked another, "Is she portable?" which I learned meant, is she thin?  I asked if that was meaning that she was light enough that you could throw her over your shoulder? They laughed and said "Yes!"  Though I wasn't quite sure what to think about that...

Shedding tears. While driving to the field on a particularly hot day, one of my coworkers said to the other, "Your water bottle is shedding tears."  Meaning, your water bottle is leaking. 

I too will be shedding tears as I say goodbye to all of the friends I have made here.  It's hard to believe that today is my last day of volunteering in Africa.  

Tomorrow I depart to meet my family for a safari, and then we'll be returning to the US on February 24th. 

I want to thank everyone for all of their support while I have been here, and for taking the time to read this blog and share in this experience with me! 

Eyalama noi, wevale muno and asante sana!!   Which means "thank you very much" in Ateso (for Soroti), Runyoro (for Hoima), and Swahili (for Kenya).