KAMAPALA, Uganda - I arrived home one night last week to a large group gathered to hear a young Ugandan doctor, fresh from two years in the United States, breathlessly sharing his travel stories.
"They have this day called Thanksgiving to celebrate Columbus finding the Red Indians, and on this day, they just eat and eat and eat. Isn't that right?"
"Um. sure," I replied.
The conversation got me thinking. Thanksgiving undoubtedly will be a bit different in Kampala. I have spent several columns-not to mention countless study hours-contemplating Uganda's problems. But as the season for giving thanks approaches, I realize there is so much to be thankful for here.
I have loved nearly every minute in Winston Churchill's christened, "Pearl of Africa," and here are just a few reasons why:
1) You can buy anything, anywhere, anytime-Perhaps you thought Wal-Mart was convenient? Well, here in Uganda, everything you could ever want is available on the roadside, from furniture to chickens. If that's not enough, hawkers periodically stroll through our resource center peddling fruit and homemade sponges and giant plastic basins, in case someone has the impulse to purchase a huge purple washtub. And a kiosk near my hut features popcorn, toilet paper and individual cigarettes. What more could you want?
2) The scenery is amazing, everywhere-Stunning waterfalls pour from sheer rock cliffs, mountains topped with snow loom in the distance behind huge expanses of scraggy plains and lions and elephants roam in thick forests.
In gritty Kampala, the scene is a bit different, but there is no shortage of the weird and wacky to keep people constantly entertained. A restaurant boasting "decent food and service" sits next to the "God Can Do Everything Dry Cleaner" and the "Look Smart Italian Salon," which is no more Italian than the "Exclusive Luxury Italian Boutique" housed in a modified shipping container. There is the "God Cares High School" and the street sign warning, "Change Priorities Ahead."
3) A uniquely inefficient trash disposal system-The country may not have actual trash collection, but where else can you watch cows, goats and obscenely large Ugandan cranes flap around and munch on the same expansive trash heap?
4) The rocking music-The beats never stop. Tiny stereos blare twenty-four hours a day, distorting grooving rhythms and catchy lyrics that combine English, Swahili and a host of local languages. For extra pleasure, local zero-budget music videos play constantly in tiny, delightfully sleazy drinking rooms. Whenever I crave 1990s flashbacks, "rock night" at any bar boasts middle-school pop music that reminds me of those horribly awkward first school dances.
5) African time-Being on time is not necessarily my strong suit in the United States, but here, it is virtually impossible to be late. Arriving within an hour of the stated meeting time is ahead of the game. Everything is wonderfully relaxed; buses leave when they are full, meetings start when everyone arrives and parties rarely really begin until well after midnight.
6) Heaping mountains of food-At first I thought six starches on a plate might be overdoing it, but it turns out that when rice, potatoes, fries, bread and mashed plantains are piled on a dish for about a dollar, a person can get very full, very quickly-and it tastes great. For the organically conscious, crops grow naturally and "free-range" chickens wander around the yard until about an hour before dinner. Grasshopper season has just started, and the critters are surprisingly delicious. Think prawns, but a bit sweeter and crunchier.
7) Great public transport-Coming from Durham, my expectations were not particularly high, but the transportation system here is amazing. To catch a ride anywhere, people just head to the sprawling taxi parks, where old ramshackle vans sit in a hopeless gridlock. When a taxi is full-really, really, really full-it crawls out of the maze and takes off at breakneck speed, dodging enormous potholes that appear out of nowhere with impressive agility.
8) Finally, the amazingly warm, generous, friendly Ugandans-People never stop giving, and the ubiquitous glowing smiles can fix any bad day. Every stranger is happy to stop and help or just chat, and a friend becomes a brother. One of my best friends here insists that I cannot go home without a cow to seal our relationship; when I try to explain that it just won't fit in my luggage, he refuses to listen.
So for all of you not lucky enough to spend your holiday here with me, you can have your electricity and running water and paved roads. I will stick with Thanksgiving, Ugandan style.
David Fiocco is a Trinity junior studying abroad in Uganda this semester. His column runs every other Tuesday.
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