hahaha....so....im discovering cross cultural experiences can be challenging and even sometimes stressful, and....therefore....it is necessary to sometimes just laugh. chapel last thursday was an opportunity to do so. it was a celebration service....we had it in the new dining hall in order to dedicate it to the Lord and thank him for his faithfulness. at the end we sang a song called, "Jesus is the winner!" but w/ the ugandan accent it sounded like, "Jesus is the Weiner!" good times.....
so yeah....im pretty much country shock at this point. im used to cold showers, and dust, and power going out, and not having my computer and cell phone and friends, and not always knowing what people are talking about, etc. NOW....im starting to get into culture shock. where im starting to really understand differences between ugandans and myself as an American.
one of the hardest things ive been struggling through is understanding ugandan faith. something that completely took me by surprise is that polygamy and ancestor worship are not just things of the past that missionaries and colonists whiped out....they are important parts of the culture. anyway....we're reading a book called
The Primal Vision its super confusing and honestly, i wouldn't recommend reading it if you're not in africa or if you dont have someone to work throuogh it with. butt anyway.....it talks a lot about african vs. western views of man, God, and religion.
lemme see if i can explain.....
westerners see man as an individual....i think therefore i am and all that jazz.
africans see man as participating in humanity....living and dead....there's no real distinction. "i participate therefore i am"
westerners see God as the omni-everything that he is. we can pretty much accept an all-loving, all-present, all-knowing God (w/ some exceptions and struggles, i know)....
africans who see their children starve and die have a little more trouble with this view. they see God in two ways.....there's a creator out there somewhere, but he's not really active or part of everyday life.....then there's the "God" who shows himself to them everyday....through their food, water, nature, etc.
westerners see Jesus as Savior....we can grasp to his humanness....we trust hebrews that he was tempted in every way we are and so we look to him for support and intercession.
africans haven't quite gotten this for some reason....this is where the ancestors come in. they go to their ancestors for help and guidance because their ancestors went through everything they're going through (family struggles, planting crops, seeing crops fail, children dying, etc)....it only makes sense for them to go there. and why shouldn't they? this is where im coming into conflict. hebrews also says where surrounded by a great cloud of witness and there are a ton of places in the Bible that say that Jesus revealed himself to those who came before and that all men are living....so is an african "praying" for intercession from an ancestor equivalent to a catholic praying to a saint? and are they both ok or not? i guess i draw the distinction between whether they are praying to an ancestor for healing, etc. and between asking for intercession....butt im not sure all african Christians would agree. im trying to figure that out in my african theology class....so im sure you'll hear more on that later.
the whole polygamy thing is also an issue....
see....westerns see purity one way. i dont think i need to really spell it out for you.
africans haven't (all) had the same rigid rules. a relationship was built on love and concern for others. if a man and woman had a child they took care of it together because that what was best for everyone involved (especially the child). when the missionaries came they told the africans polygamy was wrong (possibly rightfully so), but they didnt understand that they were breaking up families who cared about each other and forcing a man to choose to care for one family and not another. [polygamy also has political implications i won't get into]. so....i feel for this tradition and even praise its concern for others....butt here's the problem. like a good middleton student i look to the creation narrative. God created adam and eve....NOT....adam and eve and erin and evelyn and eunice. right? hmmm....i dunno.
here's something i do love about african relationships....it's about presence (its soooooooo buber for you comm losers).
one thing that scares me is the way africans view God as so far off. taylor writes that if they don't start to understand the incarnate God soon their ancestors worship might eventually turn into materialism (which may be worse)....and materialism is probably one of the worst things the west has seemingly brought to africa. its crazy that families here have tvs, cell phones, and even computers, butt not running water. the status symbol is more important that what they would even claim as necessities.
now....it can (and probably should) also be argued that westerners didnt bring materialism to africa....it stemmed out of greed which is just a result of the fall like it is everywhere else. and i give a whole lot of credence to this perspective (thank you worldview), butt i also have to look at the influence of american media and shake my head a whole heck of a lot.
alright....if you're still reading good for you. if you skimmed all that.....i completely understand. the rest should be more light hearted and fun. so if you wanted to kill me for the first half.....sorry.....and enjoy the rest!!!
last friday was the end of my homestay. it was a good time. lemme give some highlights:
--i had a ton of brothers and sisters....SOOOOOOOO much fun. we had some serious dance parties in which i learned how to traditional dance and i got a bit depressed because my 11 year old sister is sexier than me.
--my brother came home from boarding school. yeah....did i mention that? pretty much everyone goes to boarding school here. anyway....he showed me his books. i noted, "wow you learn about farming." he replied, "yeah, i learn about you too" and proceeded to show me his notes on missionaries and colonialism. it was cute at first....then i was mad that he didn't know i was american....then i got guilty when i realized that neocolonialism has probably negatively effected him way worse than colonialism alone did.
--i got up @ 4 a.m. on a saturday to weed a cassava "garden" and when they say garden they mean field. it was quality....i got several decent blisters and throughly delighted my mother when she tried to make me rest and i replied, "i can rest when im dead." hahaha....it was good to make my family proud for my efforts (certainly not my skill) and i felt like i was doing my mom at home some pride too since she was a hardcore farmer at my age too.
--i ate some yummy food (bbq chicken was definitely a highlight) and some nastiness too....including nasty lil whole dried fish. "mmmm, good, mom." (no, really....i said that after eating all of the ones heaped on my plate)
--i took a shortcut my sister showed me home for about a week, until i found out that prof from UCU had called our directors and told them i shouldnt be on that at dusk by myself with my books when he wouldnt even walk it alone during the day. grrrrrrrrrrreat. hahaha....im fine though.....dont worry mom and dad.
--most of the time i felt loved and like part of the family, butt occasionally i got frustrated. thank the Lord that the power went out. i could escape outside and sit silently w/ my sisters as they cooked. internally though i was having a serious switchfoot moment screaming "When i look at the staaaaaa--ah-ah-ars i feel like myself. duh duh dun duh dun crash!" complete w/ air drums (oh dear too much time w/ a certain rockstar)
when homestays ended i was sad, but happy as well. i missed my friends on campus and it was getting kinda hard to get school work done, etc. im sure my family will keep in touch with my though (they've already visited once). im sure theyll write me when i get home too (dad wants me to get him a camera in the US and they want the girls to come visit).....haha
the weekend was awesome. friday night i watched a movie with some friends and ate yogurt! woot! saturday we went to jinja and went white water rafting on the nile! HOLY FREAKING COW!!! it was soooooooooooo much fun! it brought back some quality senior trip memories. our guide just also happened to be a tatooed italian who was a crazy mix between ant and my brother. how awesome. love you guys! i survived through some serious rapids and swam with the crocs....i only feel out once in "the bad place." it was awesome....im such an adrenaline junky. it was way fun to just relax and feel like i could be american and a tourist. i took pictures and ate a lot and relaxed. it was also amazing spiritually. i was just so in awe of God's creation. i just sat there staring for so long. it was beautful. it was also amazing to see the people who lived along the nile. people were bathing and doing laundry on the shore. it was freakin nuts to see the nile and imagine it filled with frogs or blood!
hmmm....so now im back on campus. its way fun and busy. classes are great and im starting to get really into them. i have awesome ugandan and american friends here but i miss everyone at home so much. you are awesome. i have to run, but know you're in my prayers and i love you immensely!!!
jess
