Driving & Wedding

So yesterday, Pastor Dongo decided it was time that I drove around in Uganda. So he gave the me keys and pretty much ordered me to drive him to the church. So knowing that I only needed to take left turns, not right turns (remember they're on the opposite side of the road here), I knew that would be a cinch. One thing I didn't account for...the location of the turn indicator. I kept hitting the windshield wipers because the turn indicator was also on the other side. We made it safely to church, but even Dongo knew that would be easy. Knowing that Thanx and I were headed to town, he told me I should drive to town to run our errands. In order to get to town...right turns were involved. For those of you who have never been to Uganda, turning across traffic can be best described as a game of chicken. No one is going to really help you turn. You basically just have to turn in front of oncoming traffic hoping that someone will eventually let you in. So Thanx tried to tell me when to go and it was a pretty successful day of driving. Stay tuned, next week I think I get my car, but I think it's a little bigger than Pastor Dongo's car, although he thinks it's the same length.

Saturday also brought on another surprise. I found out the day before that there was a wedding at the church. I had kind of been warned about introductions and weddings by a missionary friend. I guess it wasn't so much of a warning as a recommendation to not go to any. I was told they last a long time. Pastor invited me, almost insisting that I experience this so lucky for me I brought my suit to Uganda. The wedding was supposed to begin at 12 pm, but in typical Ugandan fashion it began over an hour late. The wedding itself wasn't too bad...typical length for a wedding. The reception on the other hand was long. Lucky for me, I was warned ahead of time that we probably wouldn't eat until after 8pm even though the reception began at 4pm. Wedding receptions are big celebrations for Ugandans. We had all you could drink soda at our disposal from the time we arrived. We tried to arrive late so that they would be starting when we got there. A short time after we arrived, the wedding party arrived. In the US, they announce the wedding party as they enter and then go about the business. In Uganda, they play music and everyone in the wedding party dances into the party in line. So what could take a few minutes instead takes 30-40 minutes. After the wedding party is seated, the speeches begin. There weren't as many as I expected based on what I had been warned, but it took at least another 45 minutes. Little did I know that I was part of the team representing Kabalagala Pentecostal Church when Pastor Dongo went to speak about the bride and groom. So I had to stand with him as he spoke...talk about uncomfortable. Next was the cake cutting ceremony. Now keep in mind, they don't just walk to do anything...they dance very slowly to get somewhere. So they cut the cake then slowly take small pieces for everyone to have. Another interesting thing to note is that there wasn't one cake, but something like 10 cakes...to be explained later. Then after the cake cutting ceremony...the wedding party changes and comes out and the other cakes have been packaged up to give as gifts to the families, friends and others they want to thank. This takes about 45 minutes as remember that they slowly dance to give each person/group their cake...and there are many to give. About 8:30pm and we finally get to eat. The food was good...no posho, but nothing super fancy either. We left after eating so I don't know what happened after that, but I can guess that the party continued for hours after we left. I'm glad I had a big lunch because I think I would have been going crazy to wait that long on an empty stomach.