Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Uganda!

Today, Monday, is a national holiday which really just means that there was no traffic jam this morning. Sunday was celebrated across the country with church services and food in colossal proportions.

After a brief but muddy walk to the nearest Catholic Church, Nick and I attracted an audience of approximately 30 children daring one another to run close or say hello to us. The service started abruptly but was simple and familiar. Afterward, we took a walk to see Baha’i Temple whose green dome stood atop the next hill.

Baha’i religion stresses oneness: of humanity, religions, and manifestations of God. It exudes and essence of inclusion, moderation, and calm. The service was silent except for congregants’ readings (taken from multiple faiths) and a choir that took advantage of the great acoustics in the 9-sided room. The simplicity of the quiet rite was reflected in the wood paneling, blue and green stained glass, scattered Persian carpets, and plain pews inside the temple. Just as the Baha’i landscaped grounds were an odd green oasis in Kampala, our visit was an interesting religious encounter on Easter Sunday.

A yellow-gray sky and persistent rain suggested that it would endure all day; the weather kept its promise. I made it home soaked and bundled into a dry skirt and fleece. Lunch was piled onto full size dinner plates: the obligatory matoke, rice, chopped cassava, purple yams, cabbage and beans, two meat dishes I left uninvestigated, greens, diced green beans, and fresh juice. From other SIT students’ reports, 3 o’clock brought similar spreads to their homes as well. I spent the afternoon curled in a chair reading while the family watched Ugandan movies dubbed in Luganda.

The heavy lunch that characterizes Ugandan Easter is a far cry from the sugary start of Easter egg hunts at home. I brought a bag of jelly beans to the resource center today and they disappeared quite quickly (thanks mom!). I’ll be glad to have a basket and a chocolate egg or two next year.

Today I became a millionaire. Too bad it’s Ugandan shillings and has to last me for the six-week practicum. Kimberly and I are taking the 5 hour bus ride tomorrow to Fort Portal where we’ll be staying and I’ll be working with the Kabarole Research and Resource Center. My final paper will be on education in Uganda and work with KRC seems like a great chance to help with research in the field. Fort Portal is a smaller (much smaller) town in Western Uganda with one main street. When I visited last week I was charmed by the hills surrounding my hostel and the blue Rwenzori mountains in the distance (I’ve been surrounded by flat American cornfields for too long). I’m excited to go back a place where the people you pass greet you with a smile and an English “I am fine.”