The last big event on our itinerary was to attend the wedding of Jolene (an American) and Herbert (a Ugandan) in northern Uganda. Several years ago, when my dad was working in Lira Uganda, he had the opportunity to meet Jolene and has maintained contact with her ever since. Though he returned to the U.S., Jolene decided to remain in Uganda, marry a Ugandan, and begin a new life here.
On April 2nd, 2011, the couple made it official and married in a small church in Lira. Many of the community members came, several mzungu friends, and a few of Jolene’s family members. All of the groomsmen and half of the bridesmaids were from Lira while the other half was Jolene’s friends from the U.S.
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| Jolene and Herbert saying "I do" |
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| The wedding party |
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| The bridesmaids with Herbert |
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| The couple's gifts included 5 cows, 4 goats, and a chicken |
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| My mom and me at the wedding - I don't know if it is because I hadn't seen her in a while, but it seems like we look alike... |
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| My parents with baby Shaunessy |
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| Paul, my favorite driver, and I drinking Stoney - kind of tastes like ginger ale on crack |
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| My family and Paul |
I’ll admit, the ceremony was very nice, but the whole time I was experiencing a bit of culture shock. Several times, the culture shock was so bad I got goose bumps despite the 90° heat (with no air conditioning or fans, mind you). First of all, the culture in Lira is quite different than the culture in Kampala. Put simply, it seems like northern Uganda is more African and less influenced by the western world than central or western Uganda. There are fewer mzungu hotspots, fewer cars, more bicycles, and a more traditional African mentality. After talking to my Baganda co-workers (the Baganda is the tribe that makes up the majority of Kampala citizens), it became apparent that even a marriage between a muganda (from central Uganda) and a lango (a person from northern Uganda) might be criticized by their respective families.
Secondly, because I had my parents there, I was continually reminded of how different my Ugandan life is from my life in Colorado. The whole day I was thinking about how different Jolene’s upbringing was from Herbert’s. Undoubtedly, their marriage can work, but will most likely experience some additional challenges that may not have been an issue if the two cultures were a little more similar. Maybe it had been the constant questioning of whether I would marry a Ugandan that made me put myself in Jolene’s shoes and made this issue hit home a little harder than it may have otherwise. Regardless, I am happy for Jolene and Herbert, but I don’t know if I could make the same decision and commitment as Jolene to live in Uganda as a Ugandan for the rest of my life. I think come July, I will be ready to return to my semi-normal life.
Apart from the wedding, we took advantage of the journey north and stopped at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Although Uganda used to have over 2,000 rhinos, poachers essentially made the Ugandan rhino population extinct. Now, only 11 rhinos exist in Uganda – 9 at Ziwa and 2 at the zoo.
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| My dad and I at Ziwa - notice the rhinos in the background |
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| We were told to stay near trees so we could climb them in case the rhinos decided to charge. They seemed pretty harmless at the moment...I still stayed near the trees. |
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| Like the rest of Uganda, Ziwa also is somewhat obsessed with Obama. Since one of the rhinos in the sanctuary has a mom from America and a dad from Kenya, he was appropriately named Obama. |
Our trip to Lira marked the end of our whirlwind of a tour through Uganda. Although pictures give an idea of how life is here, there really is no way to understand it apart from actually coming and seeing for yourself. Because of this, I was happy to have my parents come for a while so they might better understand what I do and see every day. I was sad to see them go, but there are only a couple months before I return to them and the rest of my friends and family. I will be happy when I return, but am not quite done living life in Uganda. There is still work to be done, people to meet, and places to go the next couple of months J
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