Thank you God, or Mr. Obama, or the other Powers that Be in the U.S. of A.

Before coming here, I prepared myself for a life without running water, electricity, and the internet. I knew I'd miss those things, learn how to live without them, and come to appreciate them more than ever. But I did not realize which other small goodies that I have back at home would be lacking in this country. So I've compiled a list - one that I'm sure will continue to grow - of all of the things I take for granted back home, things that keep life in America comfortable, easy, and smelling like roses.

1. GARBAGE CANS, garbage cans, garbage cans, and garbage trucks. This tops my list for a reason. In the busy areas here, the amount of trash that litters the streets is astounding. People litter because there is nowhere else to put trash. There is nowhere to put trash because there is no trash pick-up service - at least that I've ever seen. Ugandans burn their "rubbish piles" instead. Considering how lush and green the Ugandan landscape is, the garbage situation really makes a mess of something beautiful underneath. (Since being here, I've learned how to litter also (it's the only way), and let me tell you, it is STRANGE to disregard one of the greatest cultural taboos I grew up with. Oh well, as we've been saying while here, "When In Africa...").

2. Smooth roads. I threw up last night from car-sickness on the way back from Kampala. Sorry if that is TMI [For the adults in the crowd, TMI = Too Much Information].

2A. Traffic lights. I think I've mentioned this one before. I've maybe seen one traffic light since being here? And it was ignored. So, to add to that:

2B. Traffic laws. Enforced ones.

3. On that note, policemen that don't regularly accept bribes. I was on a boda-boda (motorcycle-taxi) the other day with another volunteer, and apparently, by law, boda-bodas are only supposed to take one passenger at a time (though you would never know it, since two passengers are so common). A policeman stopped us, and our driver slipped him something under his sleeve. And that was that.
Also - policemen who don't tear-gas citizens. But that one's obvious.

4. Lines! (Lines of people, that is, or "queues" if you will). I thought that Israel had already made me appreciate these. But nothing - really, NOTHING - in Israel or in America or anywhere, has ever come close to the crowd of people I experienced while walking into the Uganda "Cranes" soccer stadium last Saturday. When we neared the gate we literally could not move in any direction without being moved by the crowd. It was like an especially squishy mosh-pit - but one that was trying to move a hundred yards forward. At the gate, people were climbing over and around to get inside. It was somewhat thrilling at moments, but mostly very, very dangerous. I'm a bit surprised that my 5'1 frame made it out in one piece. As Alex, our Ugandan friend, house-mate, and co-teacher, warned us while we were making our way through: "If you fall, you die." Thanks for the comforting words, Alex.
---Sidenote: the game itself was super fun. More noise and excitement than any U.S. sports event I've ever been to. And we won! Go Ugandan Cranes!

5. Good umbilical cord scissors, and skilled belly-button-sculptors. Oh, and upper-body clothing for toddlers. 'Nuff said.

6. Rooms that are quiet. A couple days ago, Kirstin and I spent an unfortunate night with Emma at the clinic while she recovered from a stomach bug, and even THERE we could not find quiet. Music blasting through the windows, people shuffling in and out, cars whizzing by too fast, etc. etc.

7. Napkins, paper-towels, and of course, beloved toilet paper.

8. Which leads me to... public toilets. I don't care if it's a pristine, porcelain toilet seat or a 5 x 4 in. hole in the ground of an outhouse, just gimme SOMETHING to work with, please! I've got a small bladder.

9. Cash registers, bar-code scanners, and receipt printers. We spent three hours buying textbooks the other day because the lady at the counter had to add up the prices on her calculator three times, and then write out our extra-long receipt by hand.


10. Wheelchairs. Disabled people walk around Kampala with flip-flops on their hands.

11. Clean chalkboards, paper, red pens for teachers, books with firm bindings, desks with flat surfaces, private office space, shelves for books, books to fill them.... I could add a whole 'nother list especially for schools.

12. And of course, the mother of them all - money. money, money. The poverty is EVERYWHERE, but it hit me especially hard the other day when a young girl came up to me in Namayumba, noticed my white skin, and politely, quietly, asked me to pay her school fees. In America, children hate school. Here, many don't even have the privilege to go.

The list goes on and on and on, but I'm trying not to leave you with a novel.

Importantly, though, these are things that I notice. Everyone, I'm learning, is a product of where they grow up, and because of where I'm from, all of the above items feel noticeably absent - to me. Ugandans, on the other hand, do not seem "in need." Those that I've met - at Allen's house, at the school, in the village - live comfortably, peacefully, without complaint. It is rare, in fact, to hear a Ugandan cry - and that includes babies and little children. People learn to live with what they have, and find ways to compensate for things they don't. So while I'm pretty sure I'll always want toilet paper when I go to the bathroom, I'm finding that there are ways to live without some small conveniences I'm used to. And while there are a couple things I can certainly bring to this country (a child's school fees, for example), my way of life isn't objectively "better," and life here is by no means objectively "lacking." Instead, it's a difference of perspective, a difference of habit, a difference of culture - and as a result, each day here is a challenge, for sure, but also an incredible learning experience. And when switching cultural norms feels like a bit too much, we've just learned to shrug, follow along, and accept that life is different "When in Africa...."