Life Away from Hot Dog Land

Mike here! I've gained the keys to the hot dog blog! October has been a big month for us here as it feels like we're finally settling in to our apartment, neighborhood, and the daily routines of life in Entebbe. Ada and Iris's school, like most international schools around here, runs on a quarter system that looks pretty similar to the school schedule in the US. School opens in August (we missed a few weeks) and they had a week-long break in early October which coincided with Ugandan Independence Day. They were truly ready for a break! One of the fundamental theories in international education is the idea of the "culture shock curve." The basic idea is that most people having an extended stay in another culture experience a familiar transition of emotions,  starting with a "honeymoon" phase of joy and excitement during the first couple of days or week. After that, reality starts to settle in and all of the little differences in a culture start to bother ...

"You are welcome" is our new favorite phrase, said by all Ugandans when you enter a store or visit their home. We're loving the different ways that Ugandans use English. English is the national language here, but many people speak Luganda as a first language and English as second. One of the first days we were touring Entebbe with a Ugandan driver, and he was asking us about our cars back home. Mike told him about our electric car that runs without gas, and he exclaimed "Are you sure??" We were like, "yeah, we're sure!" It made us all laugh, but the expression has stuck with us.  We're also loving our little apartment and the simplicity of living with just 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 mugs. This morning Iris said "I like not having so much stuff." We've furnished it with borrowed items from our friends Harriet and Dan who are RIGHT next door, and from adventuring around the city trying to figure out where to buy things like couches and ru...