The other day I went to Myugay to visit Julius and his family. Let me tell you what a day that was. I only had 6,000 shillings in my pocket and Julius told me it takes 3,000 by Mutatu and then boda (motorcycle) fare to his house. I didn’t have enough money to get there and back. So I went to the ATM to get some shillings for my journey and be able to buy a gift for them because that’s the custom here. I had plans to pick up a pineapple or some kind of fruit for them. I went into the ATM room and there is a guard with a rifle at all the ATM’s and she declared to me there was no money in the machine and I would have to go down the street. This is the only machine that works for my debit card though but I went down the street anyway. Of course that ATM didn’t work for me so now I’m stuck. I’m starting to run late. So I call Julius and explain that my ATM is out of money and I don’t think I can make it. He says, No, you just come. Don’t worry. So I trusted they guy. I thought, I’ll have to skip the gift to be able to just make it there. So I wondered over to the taxi park. Taxi parks are always a big cluster cuss. So I just start telling people I’m going to Myugay. One guy finally takes me to a Mutatu and I get in the front. Mutatus are taxi vans that are licensed to hold 14 passengers but they squeeze more in there. I sat and sat and sat there. Waiting for departure. They kept saying 2 more passengers! 2 more passengers! The lady next to me had already been waiting an hour when I got there. She finally said, I’m losing my patience, let me go. So I got out and she followed. She was immediately swarmed by the driver and 2 other guys. They tried to persuade her to stay but she just dodge the arms being put around her shoulder and the silver tongues and walked away. I remained. I too sat there for an hour and then phoned Julius. He said to remain on the taxi and wait. So I waited some more. We finally left after we got 2 more passengers and loaded the taxi with about 10 huge bundles of newspapers. Yes, inside the taxi, not on top, in. We finally started off. Now from here it’s about a 2 hour drive to Myugay… in a private car. Taxis are constantly stopping and letting people off and picking up new people. Julius starts calling about every 15 minutes. Then as I get closer he starts calling every 5 minutes then wants to talk to the driver. The driver talks to him and laughs. I tell Julius, I’m coming, I’m coming! The he wants to talk to the driver a 2nd time. After the driver hangs up he says, “That guys worries much! Haha! I told him I’m coming!” We had a good laugh in the taxi about it as Julius calls again… I finally reach and am greeted by Julius and his little 2 year old boy Andrew. Seriously… cutest African kid I’ve ever seen in my entire life! Andrew instantly greets me and calls me Amanda which is the other white girl who used to be here. The taxi driver asked for my fare so I handed him 5,000 and he doesn’t give me my balance back. (It’s called balance here not change). He says the fare is 5,000. Oh crap… how am I supposed to get back now. I’m left with a 1,000 bill and some coins. We got on a boda and Julius paid my fare for that. Julius’ wife, Ruth, is such a beautiful, gracious, humorous, joyful woman. It’s funny to think that I’m 5 years older than her. Julius is 36 and Ruth is around 21. She doesn’t seem any younger than him in maturity though. They presented me with a mountain dew, a rolex (fried egg in a chapti) and some roasted g-nuts. Such a feast! We ate and laughed and Andrew continued to call me Amanda and Ruth continued to correct him. I felt so bad that I didn’t have a gift and I started thinking of things in my book bag that I could just give them. Then as we were wrapping things up, Ruth presented me with one of her crafts. She even put it in a box and wrapped it. Oh man, do I feel like a pile of dirt now. So I racked my brain and then I remembered I had a torch in my bag. Oh torch here is what they call flashlights. I had planned on keeping it but it’s just a torch, big deal. So I called Andrew to come over to me and I reached in my bag and gave him the torch. He was so excited to have his own torch! Newly bought gifts are nice but they are extra special when it’s something that actually belonged to you. That means so much more to people here. So we said our goodbyes and Andrew was bawling because he didn’t want his daddy to leave. Julius and I traveled back to Jinja together because he had to go back to the island. We jumped in a car and headed down the road. When we reached the next town we got out and I found a 500 shilling coin on the ground. That’s a fortune to find here on the street. We then hopped in a Mutatu and made it back to Jinja. I felt like a sardine packed in the back of the mutatu. We finally reached Jinja and Julius covered all the cost. He even handed me boda fare when we reached Jinja even though I could have walked to the Peterson house. Oh and don’t worry I paid him back and plus some because the ATM was working when we reached! I just was blown away by the giving of his family and of him. He didn’t expect to be paid back. He gave freely and now he will be blessed with a little extra. Cutest family ever. Julius, Ruth, 2 year old Andrew and 4 month old Joseph. I’m so happy I got to finally meet his family and I hope to return and see them again!
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