May
14
May 12, 2011
Posted by: Natasha Chiang | May 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment
May 12, 2011
During lunch we had a discussion about class mobility. People in Uganda belong to so many different tribes, and they have few tourists hanging around on the streets. They have fewer minority groups, so they generalize when addressing the different skin tones. For example, light skinned foreigners are called Mzungus, while Asians are generally referred to simply as ‘China’. People on the streets really notice you as a tourist. One man called out, “Mzungu! Photo me.” I am not sure what he wanted: a picture of him for me to take home on my camera, or a photograph with me? It’s strange since all the people working in the markets appeal to tourists, because they don’t see tourists around usually. It’s not like Vancouver or any other North American city where tourism is an everyday component of city life.
Today we ventured into downtown Kampala. Finding the different streets was difficult because the street signs are sparse. There are so many taxis that honk to try and get passengers, and there are also men who operate bodas. Every half block we were asked if we needed a taxi… it got really repetitive. We had two destinations in mind: the Independence Monument, and the downtown Market. On the way to the Independence Monument, we encountered huge dinosaur birds that flew around downtown. At first we thought it was a rare sighting, and so we took so many pictures. Then we realized that there were tens of the same bird flying around in the air; Ugandans walking the street gave us funny looks. I suppose it’s sort of the same feeling we Vancouverites get when tourists take pictures of squirrels. At the Independence Monument there were groups of guards lying around, so we were hesitant to take pictures. It seems like guards and police are all over the city, which is a good thing but definitely also unnerving too. The downtown market resembled night markets. Again we didn’t see many tourists.
It’s really nice to just lie around and have casual conversations with fellow UBC students about travelling, school, etc. Last night we were talking about school experiences, and today we had several conversations about travelling in general. It’s comforting to have fellow students from Vancouver around.
We tried some local dishes at lunchtime. I am not used to it yet. It looks less appetitizing, but in fact is quite tasty. However, I find that it is either love/hate for me so far.