Why Travel? The People!

Are you one of those people with those "I have this one friend" narratives where you know you will impress people with the coolness of your not only interesting but true accounts? I am. Except I have about 1000 "my one friend" stories. Since coming to Uganda I have managed to pick up a few more and after thinking about it, I thought I would share by devoting a post to these types of people and my usual struggle to comprehend how I have had the fortune to meet them.

Interesting person #1 “Once I had to smuggle a scroll out of Tibet so Amnesty International would be able to document the atrocities committed against the Tibetan monks.” Me: Once I “smuggled” extra Splenda out of a Starbucks because I didn’t have any in my apartment so we’re pretty much the same.” 

Interesting person#2 “Well I never went to college but became a self-made millionaire with my own construction company. Then for retirement I had to choose between racing cars or doing volunteer work.” Me: “I went to college and majored in business only to quit my first job to teach English so we’re pretty much the same.” 

(Photo: Look closely. If you ever meet anyone from this group consider yourself blessed.)

Interesting person #3 “Oh weird, we will be in Dublin at the same time? Hmm I am from Ireland, let me give you an amazing tour of the city and you just tell me what you want to see and we will do it!” Me: “Wow thanks! Well I’m from the ‘burbs of Detroit so if you ever make it that way, I will give you a free walking tour also! Our half-day tour will encompass numerous identical houses and lawns, several fire hydrants, the (historical?!) Beaumont Hospital and Woodward Avenue. Keep your eye out for oversized cars and Hummers built for the overland destinations but driving on paved cement cement instead…It’s pretty much the same.” 

Interesting person #4 “Oh you have a layover in Dubai? Weird, I live there! Why don’t I just pick you up from the airport and show you the city and you can shower and eat at my apartment! Oh, you land at 12:30am and I wake up for work at 4:30? No problem!” Me: “THANKS! Oh, you fly through Detroit? No? Oh ok well enjoy your trip! (Pretty much the same) 

Interesting person #5: "Right after high school I moved to Madrid and now I am fluent in Spanish. Now as a flight attendant, I travel the world as part of my job!” Me: “Hmm after high school I took a semester of French and I know people who speak French sooo....we're pretty much the same."

(Photo: Emma, age 21. Trilingual and now working in Paris in the fashion industry. Paris as in France. France as in a country known for fashion. Poor girl probably cringes on the inside every time she sees my attempts at "new looks")

Ok you get the point. And so do I. I am not really (read: not even close to) the same but that’s not the important part; Not only is traveling amazing for the sights you see and the people you meet at your destinations, but the people you meet along the way! I have cometo believe that if you really think the best of people, it will be easy to find the best!  These are just some of the people I met while traveling and one person I was reacquainted with after about 12 years when she babysat my brothers!

Traveling lets you do that. I have to be honest and say that while I hope my future career involves traveling to reach places where I can help others, I would be lying if I didn’t say one of the best parts is meeting people along the way. Usually, my best stories are really second-hand stories where I never even EXPERIENCED the event! For example, I can only dream of something so exotic and exciting as photographing Bedouin tribes or living in Dubai but I get to hear of other people’s adventures and imagine myself able to do it one day! I could be famous for “my one friend” stories. If only I told them half as well as they did!

 (Photo: Janelle outside of the famous Island Hotel in Dubai...where she lives. It's like an automatic guarantee at being awesome.)

I’m only 25 so I don’t have a lot of advice to impart to others but if I thought I was capable of any type of “wisdom” I have learned it would be this; Never be closed-off to anyone regardless of age, gender or eccentricities on first meeting them. Ask a billion questions or maybe it’s wiser to say ask questions until their face looks like you asked a billion and finally, if at first they come off as rude or impolite, always assume it’s just a bad day. There have definitely been a few instances where after getting to know someone who first seemed awful turned out to be amazing. After looking back at it, I probably just smelled. Seriously.

Here are my favorite quotes (that I remember at this moment) from people I have met while traveling;

“I speak Farsi so it’s fun to watch Ahmadnijad on tv because I understand what he says”

“I am working with 30 Ugandans and then it’s me. I used to work for the U.N and (fill in a million other cool jobs). Now I live as an expat here and love it!”

(Photo: Clare, grew up with the Masai in Kenya, smuggled documents out of Tibet and now runs a Jamaican Villa, the usual.)

“Hmm I think this month I will save baby turtles in Costa Rica. I’ll be back in the U.S for _____(don't remember; it's some race that I find unimportant with cars and motors and stuff) and then I will be hiking Macchu Pichu”

“I was in Ethiopia and took a photo in a dark room where hundreds of people were sleeping on the floor. When I looked at the photo after, I noticed hundreds of eyes staring menacingly at me. I realized we needed to get out of there.”

“Oh this? This is my permit to drink in this area. Since it’s a Muslim country you need a license to drink but it only permits me to do so in this specific area of Dubai.”

“I'd like to visit the U.S but I can't imagine leaving my kids!” (spoken by an 18 year old director of an orphanage and street ministry program)

I may be biased but I think I have possibly met some of the coolest people EVER!

 (Photo: Suzi, a future bilingual executive and Umut, a trilingual Turkish clothing designer)

With nothing I can think of to compare, I have decided that my role can be to be “that friend,” the one who you tell others about and then they are aware of something they might otherwise not be so here is my “that friend” fact; When arriving in Uganda I had to use the bathroom which I knew would be a squat toilet. I was pointed towards the outhouse and had no idea what to expect so while confused, used a bathroom with a plastic floor and drain. Walking back upstairs, I was politely informed I had just used “the shower” and the toilet was next to it. I am that friend.

 (Photo: Eric, Jamie and Jo, 3 fabulous English teachers in Spain. After you talk with them for more than a minute, you will be completely blown away by how interesting they are!)

You should have a boda-boda driver in your "top five" and other things I learned today 8/17/09

There is a point in any new experience where you feel relaxed enough to ease up a little without feeling comfortable. It’s after you pass the point of feeling like you’re not in control or could lose it at any second. Then, before you get to the point of comfort and are acclimated, you hit that stage where you get a little confidence, feeling like you can handle the challenges and you may actually like not knowing what’s coming! THAT is where I am and I love it!

I know enough to be ready for some really sad mornings hearing from concerned HIV positive clients worried about their children when they are gone or getting enough to eat. I know to expect hugs when I walk into the orphanage and to see kids playing with a few bricks, a stick and a mesh cage having as much fun as a little American boy who just got a new remote controlled car. I also know at all times where my flashlight, phone, and keychain light are so when the power goes out or my boda driver makes a wrong turn on the way back, I’m going to be able to see what I am putting into my bowl for dinner and skip over the giant pothole filled with mud walking towards my home.

(Photo: A fruit stand near my home. I learned you don't need a lot of anything besides creativity when it comes to entrepreneurship!)

What I don’t know are things like how to best help all the people I meet so obviously in need or even when I do, how to get the results I want! I still don’t know which store within two miles sells diet coke or where I can buy peanut butter and I also don’t know how in the world I am going to wash the pee out of my jeans from the pantsless twins at the orphanage staging a sneak attack before I could hand them off to someone else!

“Knowledge is Power” but it can also lead to settling. Settling for being comfortable rather than pushing yourself to the next challenge. Since I view myself as slightly lazy or complacent, I try to keep myself in a place where I am forced to learn new things every day!

A few things I learned today:

Wasuze otya means “good morning” when you don’t want to say oli otya which is “how was your night?” This is super useful when you are just passing someone who you don’t want to stop and converse with but you don’t want to ignore either. I learned this from Derrick’s 3 year old daughter. Technically I learned it 3 days ago but I just got what she was finally saying to me every morning.

A charcoal stove that is big enough to make chapatti costs less than the pan that goes on top. I bought a small stove today for the woman I want to help start a chappatti stand for herself. She needs to generate enough income to support caring for her grandsons and hopefully be able to visit her brother in the hospital. Even with bargaining, I only managed to bring down the price of the pan 500USH and it was STILL more than the stove!

I don’t like noodles for dinner. Or lunch. Or really ever. I have had enough noodles to sustain whatever part of my brain would ever crave them for years.

I really like the kids at the orphanage.

I also have favorites; Carlos, the kid who for whatever reason loves Spanish and wants to learn. I teach him a few words every time I come and he knows them the next day. He’s also really smart in general and just an overall great kid. Vic, whose real name is Victoria and whom everyone else calls Victor (because that’s somehow more girly than Vic?!?) or Victoria even though she likes Vic. Vic it is for me! Rebecca because she’s just really smart and I am so impressed with how eager she seems to learn. John Bosco because he’s three and the chillest three year old I have ever met. Plus he played catch with me. And his name is John Bosco. And finally the little Rachel (there are 2) who is the cutest kid ever. So sweet and adorable!

(Photo: Carlos, one of my favorites asked me to take his picture "looking smart")

Apparently you can tie a string around a finger and it will fall off. At least that’s what is happening at Bbiri clinic.

You can use a fork for anything. That includes making eggs, opening cans of instant coffee and later as the utensil to stir the muck up in the bottom of your cup.

And finally- it is good to make nice with at least one boda-boda driver. Geoffrey is now a valued contact saved to my phone. Even though the first time we met, he started asking me if I knew Jesus WHILE driving and WHILE turning around to hear my answers, he gives me a fair mzungu price to the orphanage and back everyday. Now, I no longer have to “compromise” with the others where they look at me straight in the eye and try to charge me 4 times what a local pays. Please.

All of these pieces of knowledge have different shelf-lives for usefulness but I still love knowing that I learned them!

(Photo: Brooke using a tupperware container as her "cup" and a fork as her "teaspoon" makes for some decent morning coffee!)