Forgetting America

Living so far away from our home country can put one in something of a time warp. Literally, we're always eight or nine or ten hours ahead of our families and friends. But it is also easy to forget what is happening in America.

Seasons - It's chilly and rainy here in Uganda, so I've been out of touch with that summer heat most of America experienced. And as your leaves are changing colors, our blossoms continue to burst forth in color year-round. We watched a National Geographic show recently, and when they showed a yellow leaf from somewhere near the Mississippi River, I gasped when I realized how strong of a nostalgic sensation that one image caused. There are NO leaves like that in East Africa. I miss them - their smell, shape, and changing colors. And although I feel sad when I think of the piles of leaves my children are not jumping in, I sure don't miss raking them!

Holidays and important days - Labor Day came and went without recognition on my part. We were in school, and Dusty was at the office while you were probably out water skiing on some lake or watching a football game. On July 4th, we were on the coast of the Indian Ocean and forgot about America completely - no fireworks or BBQ or parades. When Dusty's mother's Fourth of July package with flags for the kids arrived after our return to Uganda, we did not know what to do with them. The eleventh anniversary of 9/11 took us completely by surprise.

Yet we still are not familiar with Ugandan holidays, so they take us off guard as well. The most recent one was August 19th, Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan), and one never knows exactly which date will be chosen as it depends on a sighting of the moon, and clouds can delay things by a day or even two. The next will be October 9th, Independence Day. I'll have to mark it on my calendar this time.

Elections - I confess that forgetting this is not something I feel badly about. I don't mind missing the speeches, marketing, commercials, flyers, signs, billboards, and general broo-ha-ha leading up to November. I still have not figured out how or when to vote from here, but considering that I'm not informed multiple times a day in multiple ways about the positive and negative aspects of each candidate, this might not be a bad thing.

Terminology - At times we struggle to communicate with each other and the kids because we don't know if the other is speaking/hearing our British-influenced East Africa meanings or our American ones. For instance, one of us will say, "Let's play football; go get the ball," but when the kid returns with an American football, we say, "No, I meant soccer!" football/soccer. chips/fries. torch/flashlight. nappy/diaper. holiday/vacation. These are now somewhat ambiguous words to us.

At least I can keep somewhat in touch through Facebook. Friends' posts about presidential candidates, minor holidays, photos of temperatures from dashboards, and sports remind me that things continue to happen back home whether or not I remember them. And even though I never was a football fan, I do know that when you write about football, you surely are not talking about soccer. After all, how many of you are watching soccer? That's just for the rest of the entire world...