Oli Otya! Gyendi. (How are you! I am fine.)
This is how almost every conversation here in central Uganda starts. The local language we are studying, Luganda, is beautiful and full of emotional inflection. I have been in Uganda for about a month now and the language is only a part of the amazing experience I've had in my first few weeks here. There are over 50 languages within the country and all of them are accompanied by their own unique culture and history. The one we have been immersed in the most is the Luganda speaking Buganda region, where the capital city, Kampala, is located.
Other than our academic studies of the region, the best way we have experienced the Buganda culture here is through our home-stays. My family is part of the Nvubu (Hippo) clan of the Buganda Kingdom. They welcomed me into their family by giving me the name Nakasoma Jordan Nvubu (Jordan the one who loves to study of the Nvubu clan). From the day I met my family they have been extremely inclusive and supportive. They are always there to answer my questions about culture, politics, food, development, or anything else that comes to my mind.
We have done so much in this first month that it is impossible to fit it all into my first blog. We have had eye opening excursions about development, like visiting Uganda's parliament, AIDs prevention and treatment centers, NGO's helping children in slums, and child malnutrition clinics. Each of these excursions could have an entire blog around them, but for now all I can do is mention them. One of my favorite excursions so far was a boat ride in Jinja to the source of the River Nile. I am a whitewater kayaker and have a deep love for rivers so being on the source of the world's longest river was unbelievable.