Ugandan English

*Written by my brother Ben*
As I was talking to people about my planned trip to Uganda, a common question arose: “Will you be able to communicate or will that be a challenge?” My response was always something like “in and around cities and towns almost everyone speaks English so communicating should be no trouble at all”. As it turns out, this was not entirely true.

It is true that nearly everyone speaks English; however it is still difficult to understand at times. Allow me to share a few examples: Whenever you meet someone at their home or work place, or really anywhere at all, their first greeting to you is “You’re welcome”. This leads me to wonder to myself “I don’t remember thanking you. Should I have thanked you for something?” What they are really saying is “you are welcome to this place” or even “please come in”. To which the response should be “thank you”. Also, a common phrase is “it’s about”. This is usually a response to a question regarding the status of a meal or project or something like that. For instance, I might say “is dinner ready?” and I’m told “it’s about”. Now I am left pondering “what is it about?” Is there some deeper meaning to this meal that I have somehow overlooked? No, really it just means that it is nearly complete, it’s almost ready. Another question I get is “How do you find this place?” or “How do you find Uganda?”. The first few times I was met with completely bewildered stares and awkward silences when I tried responses like “I used a map” or “I just got on the plane. Really the pilot did all the navigating”. It turns out what they were really asking was “how do you like it here” or “what do you think of it here”. These are just a few of the odd nuances that confuse my conversations with Ugandans.

The reason I share this is because last night, as I lay on my mattress on the floor watching my mosquito net dance in the light breeze, I found myself wondering about another phrase I often hear our Ugandan friends say.

“I am satisfied”

This one means just what it says. This phase itself is not so confusing to me. I think the reason this one gives me pause is simply because it is not often expressed like this at home. At the end of a meal, or if asked if you want more, of if you have had enough of something, or if you need anything, by far the most common response is “I am satisfied”. The incident that was stuck in my mind last night involved a simple exchange at lunch with one of the street boys who live at Alim Home.

We had taken a break from our bench building work to eat lunch. There were many children who needed to eat and only so much posho and beans to go around. Each child got one helping before the pots were empty. After eating, I asked one of the boys if he had gotten enough. With a sheepish smile, he gave me the response I expected. “I am satisfied”. I’m sure he hadn’t eaten two meals a day last week. I would be surprised if he had eaten one meal a day and the outlook for next week isn’t any better. Even still, after a small helping of posho (corn meal and water) and beans, he was able to say he was satisfied.

All of this to say I need to ask myself when am I satisfied? When have I reached that elusive place called enough? Could I be content when all I have is only what I need for this moment I’m living right now? Is it possible for me to live in that kind of blind faith? Maybe it is possible and maybe it is the only way I will ever truly, whole-heartedly be able to say right now, right in this moment I Am Satisfied!