Ticking Clocks

…are not so relevant in Uganda as in America.

“Children in our homestead

Do not sleep at fixed times:

When sleep comes into their head

They sleep,

When sleep leaves their head

They wake up.

When a child is dirty

Give him a wash,

You do not first look at the sun!

When there is no water

In the house

You cannot wash the child

Even if it is time

For his bath! Listen

My husband,

In the wisdom of the Acoli

Time is not stupidly split up

Into seconds and minutes,

It does not flow

Like beer in a pot

That is sucked

Until it is finished.

It does not resemble

A loaf of millet bread

Surrounded by hungry youths

From a hunt;

It does not get finished

Like vegetables in the dish.

(Anyango making Millet bread as Mama looks on)

A lazy youth is rebuked,

A lazy girl is slapped,

A lazy wife is beaten,

A lazy man is laughed at

Not because they wasted time

But because they only destroy

And do not produce” (A snippet from ‘Song for Awino,’ by the aforementioned Okot p’ Bitek).

I especially appreciate that last stanza…

One of the best ways to get a taste of this "time concept" is in the daily meal schedule at the Wandera home:

11am: Morning tea and some bread (they feed me earlier since I’m used to "breakfast")

1, 2, or 3pm: Lunch

6pm: Evening tea and some more bread

?pm: Dinner. We’ve been averaging 10:30pm although I think even they would prefer to eat earlier. But if the water hasn’t boiled or the chicken isn’t de-feathered (yum), there’s not much you can do.

 (My brother Richard de-feathering)

So far I’ve experienced less “Africa Time” than I’d anticipated. People have generally been pretty respectful of showing up to places on time and getting meals prepared at a reasonable hour. I’m guessing that’s partly come with Uganda’s urbanization and Westernization… but I think some of my classmates have gotten a taste of the “old way” (one friend spent 10 hours in church. 10.). I'm probably still in the calm before the "Africa time" storm- I've still got several months to go in Uganda!

Again, thank you all for your emails and blog comments! I’ve been so glad to hear from each of you and I hope the communication can continue (both ways, of course).

Here are a few personalized notes- I can’t resist. Some of these are directed at certain people (you know who you are) but I figured anyone could benefit…

1)   1) There’s an American student here named “Rhiannon.” Apparently her parents really liked Fleetwood Mac.

2)  2)  There are no Cassowaries here, but plenty of Marabou Storks. They hang out in trash piles and have huge gular sacs that jiggle as they fly. Equally disgusting.

3)   3) I played “The Chariot” for my Ugandan brother Peter and he just laughed at it. So maybe I’ve discovered a human constant across cultures: you either love music with screaming or you hate it.

I love, miss, and pray for you all!

(Onion-cutting)