Now Now

When it rains here things shut down. Dirt roads become mud roads leaving vehicles spinning their wheels—so people wait. In Kumi, electricity inexplicably shuts off for days at a time. You buy a generator to keep the business going if you can afford it, but some can’t—so people wait. Public buses can’t make enough money unless they are crammed full of people. If a bus is empty, it won’t leave any time soon—so people wait.

'Licensed to carry 14 passengers' reads a taxi carrying 20

In country of unpredictability like Uganda, delays are going to happen, so people have gotten accustom to waiting. It’s no wonder that there is a culture of tardiness; the unexpected is always expected. After living here for a few months, I’ve come to understand this so-called ‘Ugandan time’but that doesn’t make it any easier to operate a small business with a built-in delay. Sometimes we need things done now—or should I say ‘now now’.

These roads get real slick when it rains...

‘Now now’ has to be one of my favorite Uganda-isms. Let me show you what I mean…

Me: “Moses (a popular Ugandan name), could you get a truckload of clay for the filters?”

Moses: “When?”

Me: “I need the clay now.”

Moses: “Now now?”

Me: “Now-nah-now-nah-now-now.” (what I want to reply because I still find the phrase ‘now now’ hilarious)

Me: “Uh huh, now now. Thanks.” (what I actually say because the above reply would be rude haha)

My next favorite Uganda-ism is ‘well done’. This phrase may seem rather ordinary but here it is quite the contrary. In Luganda (the most prominent local language), people greet others with the word ‘jebale’ which literally translates to ‘well done’ in English. Needless to say, I was deeply confused for a couple weeks wondering what exactly I had done worthy of praise, but if you want to improve your self-esteem, Uganda is the place to be—people congratulate you on sight!

Work at the factory has been going well, but big changes are coming soon at SPOUTS. I’ll tell you about it in my next entry! Get excited!

Mountain Man:

Since my dad recently completed hiking the Appalachian Trail for a month, I thought I’d reserve this week’s beard update to the mountain man himself, Steve Raseman. Congrats dad!!!