I would just like to wrap up my trip to Uganda. After three days, I think I've learned a lot. The past few days I haven't been going to too many places, but I've been touring around the town. Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to someone's tribe outside of Kampala and experiencing some of the culture there. The storyteller, named Akiki (I think), told me some brief stories about the urban Uganda history that they viewed from their tribes many years ago.
First of all, I've been getting used to the climate here, so I decided to get some more information on the temperatures. In Uganda, it averages about 16-25 degrees Celsius on the West side, and 30 degrees Celsius or more in the northeastern regions for at least 250 days of the year. Uganda is not as hot as one would expect, mainly due to the scattered high altitude that is causing the rather milder climate, despite its location relative to the Equator. Also, the daytime is significantly hotter than the night, usually around 12 degrees Celsius hotter, or 21.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yesterday, I got up, and I was excited because I was going to someone's tribe to tour some of the culture! Anyway, so when I got there, everyone was greeting me and welcoming me to their tribe. They had some own native language that I could not understand, but thank god they spoke at least some English. I'll tell you now a little bit of what I learned from this tribe:
Apparently, since 1962, 2/3 of the Ugandan population were Bantu-speakers. Bantu-speakers came from various places to settle in Uganda back in 500 BC. In 1862, John Speke was the first European to Enter Uganda. About 30-40 years later, the British took control of Uganda. However, it was independent again in 1962. Sir Edward Mutesa became the president of Uganda, and Milton Obote become the Prime Minister of Uganda.
Several years later, a young army officer named Amin, "helped" Obote become the new President. However, five years later, Amin himself dethroned Obote from his position. Amin became the new president and Obote went into exile. Amin ruled a rather cruel reign which had devastating effects on the tribe I was at the other day. During this time, over 300,000 Ugandan residents were killed under his rule. Sometime during his reign, he proclaimed himself to be the "President for Life." However, two years later, he was chased into exile by Obote and his supporters. About eight years later, a coup was staged by army soldiers against Obote, and a new president (Museveni) was elected in 1986. Museveni was a good president. In fact, he was so good, that he was re-elected in 2001. Under his rule, the economy of the Ugandan people flourished.
Woah. That's a lot to remember, and I'm pretty sure there was a lot more that they told me about the history.
Their food was quite similar to the food I had the first day coming into Uganda at the Ekitoobero Restaurant in Kampala, except it tasted more fresh and perhaps not quite as clean. There was a subtle scent and aftertaste in some of the food here which they covered up at the restaurant, I'm assuming. Here is a picture of what I had:
One of the dishes I had was Matoke (left). Matoke is mashed plantains, similar to mashed potatoes here in the United States. Matoke is usually served with rice on the side, and groundnut sauce on some occasions. Also, I had some goat stew that was slightly better prepared than at the restaurant.
After the dinner that I had, I merely watched as they did their religious celebrations. I watched as they pulled out some drums, when someone explained to me that the Ugandan drum was made from animal skin such as goats, cows, etc. and that it was sometimes used for religious celebrations or music in general. I watched in awe as even the young children seemed as if they knew exactly what was going on and what was to happen next, as if they showed a strong respect for their tradition.
Okay. Well, I'm currently on the plane ride to Ethiopia. I planned to go by vehicle originally, but not before I found out that the car ride was over 2 days. That's a shameful waste of a free safari experience! When I get to Ethiopia I'll touch bases with updating my blog again.
Peace!
Yesterday, I got up, and I was excited because I was going to someone's tribe to tour some of the culture! Anyway, so when I got there, everyone was greeting me and welcoming me to their tribe. They had some own native language that I could not understand, but thank god they spoke at least some English. I'll tell you now a little bit of what I learned from this tribe:
Apparently, since 1962, 2/3 of the Ugandan population were Bantu-speakers. Bantu-speakers came from various places to settle in Uganda back in 500 BC. In 1862, John Speke was the first European to Enter Uganda. About 30-40 years later, the British took control of Uganda. However, it was independent again in 1962. Sir Edward Mutesa became the president of Uganda, and Milton Obote become the Prime Minister of Uganda.
Several years later, a young army officer named Amin, "helped" Obote become the new President. However, five years later, Amin himself dethroned Obote from his position. Amin became the new president and Obote went into exile. Amin ruled a rather cruel reign which had devastating effects on the tribe I was at the other day. During this time, over 300,000 Ugandan residents were killed under his rule. Sometime during his reign, he proclaimed himself to be the "President for Life." However, two years later, he was chased into exile by Obote and his supporters. About eight years later, a coup was staged by army soldiers against Obote, and a new president (Museveni) was elected in 1986. Museveni was a good president. In fact, he was so good, that he was re-elected in 2001. Under his rule, the economy of the Ugandan people flourished.
Woah. That's a lot to remember, and I'm pretty sure there was a lot more that they told me about the history.
Their food was quite similar to the food I had the first day coming into Uganda at the Ekitoobero Restaurant in Kampala, except it tasted more fresh and perhaps not quite as clean. There was a subtle scent and aftertaste in some of the food here which they covered up at the restaurant, I'm assuming. Here is a picture of what I had:
One of the dishes I had was Matoke (left). Matoke is mashed plantains, similar to mashed potatoes here in the United States. Matoke is usually served with rice on the side, and groundnut sauce on some occasions. Also, I had some goat stew that was slightly better prepared than at the restaurant.
After the dinner that I had, I merely watched as they did their religious celebrations. I watched as they pulled out some drums, when someone explained to me that the Ugandan drum was made from animal skin such as goats, cows, etc. and that it was sometimes used for religious celebrations or music in general. I watched in awe as even the young children seemed as if they knew exactly what was going on and what was to happen next, as if they showed a strong respect for their tradition.
Okay. Well, I'm currently on the plane ride to Ethiopia. I planned to go by vehicle originally, but not before I found out that the car ride was over 2 days. That's a shameful waste of a free safari experience! When I get to Ethiopia I'll touch bases with updating my blog again.
Peace!
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