Imbalance

Hi friends! Wish my mom a happy birthday if you haven’t already. She shares it with Kim Jong Il and Mark Bates.

Some general info: I’m doing my rural Ugandan homestay starting Saturday, 18 Feb and finishing Friday, 24 Feb, followed by a 2-day debrief (with some hiking! YES.). So I won’t have internet or phone access starting NOW until Monday, 27 Feb.

So what I’m trying to say is that you may want to ease up on your fan mail, or I’ll never get back to you all.

Also, I’d appreciate prayers! Please let’s stay connected in spirit since we can’t verbally communicate.

And now for today’s lecture:

As you may have gathered, I killed a chicken last weekend. And as I clamped its mouth shut with my hand, my feet planted on its legs and wings, I saw its eyes wrinkled in pitiful defeat and I have to admit I felt bad for the thing.

I'm not about to condemn the killing and eating of animals. The ethics of the American meat industry are a different question, but I can't (yet) say I believe humans shouldn't eat chickens and their eggs.

Rather, I bring up this anecdote to make a point: there are serious power disparities in the world. Certain animals have higher brain functioning than others, one gender has generally greater physical strength than the other (as far as I know), and certain people groups have historically had access to certain resources that have enabled them to dominate others.

In the case of Africa, the physical strength of the male historically divided the genders into very specific roles. This in turn brought the men into the leadership positions, and to this day men are largely viewed as the "head" of the family (at least within Uganda). This leads to the obvious problems of domestic abuse in all forms, but also leads to a host of subtler issues even among the peaceful families. Women feel they are "not made" for leadership, they find their life's purpose within their prescribed chores of cooking and cleaning, and generally lose out on a sense of individual and corporate creativity and capability. And the issues go deeper than that, particularly in cultures (like the modern-day USA) where gender distinctions are less concrete and tangible.

I should probably apologize for preaching to the choir, and acknowledge to the rest of you that I lean towards egalitarianism (or heterarchy, a la Dr. Hodges) within romantic relationships.

But I guess I’m struggling to understand why this has happened. I think the explanation I’m coming to is that men and women are biologically different for good reason. I just don’t know what it is. I think the common answer that “it wouldn’t be any fun if everyone was the same.”

Furthermore, people will usually note that men and women were made differently for good reason and this difference has been corrupted and abused as a result of the Fall.

But why? Why does it seem that the Fall affected certain people groups more than others? How could it be that the Fall’s effects are unevenly dispersed?

You can make the argument that until all things are made right, everyone is equally broken: men are trapped in destructive “god-complexes,” Americans languish as captives of materialism, and so on. But frankly, I’m having a hard time buying that the Fall was fair.

I’m also open to discussion.

Be well, friends! I’ll talk to you soon.

Squawk!

Cultural Sentiments

Let me preface this post by saying that I acknowledge the largeness and diversity of “Africa” and thus the virtual impossibility (and possible immorality) of generalizing an “African” mindset. Yet the professors and Ugandans with whom I’ve interacted have had no qualms with discussing “the African worldview,” so I’m adopting their line of thought.

 (Peter being a stud)

The other day my host brother Peter told me he thinks that “maybe America has been blessed by God because the people there are so generous.”

I was taken aback. If anything, my tendency is to condemn Americans for their unapologetic materialism and greediness.

I think his comment is representative of a lot of the modern African mindset- that the old, traditional ways of living and thinking are “primitive” and in some cases “devil-worship” while the Western, scientific, Christian worldview is more “modern” and “sensible.” Formal attire in Uganda is a shirt and tie. Forks and knives are increasingly supplanting eating with one’s (washed) hands. Electric guitars and drum kits have replaced uniquely African instruments as the weapons of choice for much of modern African music. 

(The cobbler came to visit last Sunday- note his church clothes. He also had some shiny black shoes he removed because it was hot)

Yes, the Western world has done a lot for Africa- particularly in the way of modern medicine for treatable diseases. And much of its impact has carried a good and bad too intertwined to make hard-and-fast judgments. But the West has undeniably done a whole lot to hurt and exploit the African way of life: draining the continent’s material resources for its own profits, forcing them out of tribal territories into ineffective governances, splitting tribes by drawing arbitrary national borders, and so on and so forth.

So when I see the extent to which Ugandans have embraced western culture, I feel anger: toward the colonists who imposed their values on the African people, but also toward the Africans I know who are not upset about their loss of culture. I expected to encounter a culture of resentment toward the West similar to the resentment I’ve begun to develop. Instead I’m more frequently finding people who love and even admire the West… and I’m not sure what to do with that. Resentment fit my worldview much better.

(The walk home from the University- Gabe (Houghton College) pictured)

Ugandan Yums

Hello dear ones,

I am so grateful to all of those of you who have been emailing- old apartmentmates, siblings, friends' moms... I've loved to hear from each of you. Please continue to stay in touch!
There's so much I'd like to tell you with regard to what I'm learning, so stay tuned. Hopefully I'll get you some substance very soon. For now, let's have some cooking lessons with Peter (my host brother):

Kalo (pronounced Kah-low with the emphasis on the latter syllable)

1) Mingle (mix) as much cassava and millet flour (do they sell these in the US?) as you want to use (if you're just making it for you, maybe 1 cup total).

2) Boil an equivalent amount of water (if you use 1 cup flour, use 1 cup water).

3) When it boils, gradually stir in the flour. It should become one doughy (but cohesive) lump.

4) Serve on one plate and take turns grabbing sticky handfuls and using it to absorb your soup (preferably Talapia with beef broth, served in individual bowls)

It's essentially flavorless and doesn't really absorb the broth, so basically you're just eating your tablemates' germs with an interesting texture. Yum!

It does have a nice smell, though. And I think it gives you a taste of communal living.

Some new sounds for you:
1) "Yes, yes! How are you?"- the taxi drivers' typical call to get your attention.
2) Dad sucking the remaining meat off the fishbones.
3) The fuzz sounds of the Ugandan radio. Peter leaves it on most nights, but it's very quiet and a nice "white noise" for someone who doesn't know very much Luganda.

More thoughts to follow soon! I love and miss you all.