The way women dress: legs vs breasts (Sept. 25, 2006)

Dear All,

I know many have been longing for an update and here it is.

A fortnight ago, I was in Rakai - about a three hour drive from Kampala. I visited the orphanage there and also saw my family. Other than the people, there were three great things - the chapatis, the air and no mosquitoes. The mosquito aspect is not so great though because it means the area has not had rain in a while. Being an agricultural district, a few mosquitoes are better than none.

I saw my grandma. She looks good and her arthritis is not so bad, although she refuses to eat everything that is good for her. She will not eat, greens, beans, potatoes or peanut sauce. She only eats (matooke - plantains), beef and fish. The best part about seeing my family was my aunt, Lucy. She, like my sister, Mary, makes me feel like I am the most important person in the whole world. She is one of the happiest people I know. When I got there, she made sure she got me everything I craved to eat in one seating. I guess it's good that I have self-control, otherwise....

I almost had a meeting with World Bank Uganda today. The director got stuck in a meeting with donors and had a video conference to attend by the time she got out. I am rescheduled for Oct. 10th. They were very nice people though and I look forward to the meeting in a little over a week.
I have a contact at USAID and I am waiting to see what happens. I am also waiting for a job description from the International Law Institute. They have a position for which they would like to consider me. If I get and accept it, it will not be in the areas of water and land, but they do have lots of important figures in various areas of local and international law. They also have occasional special projects. So maybe it would be a good start.

So now, the subject of the email. I know my former IAs and anyone who has gone through Dean Nussbaum's (that is Adrienne, mom to some) training on cultural differences will enjoy this. So in Uganda you can wear a shirt that barely covers your chest on a Monday morning and it is perfectly ok, but the moment you wear a skirt above your knees, you will get comments from both women and men. Some people say it's because women breast feed everywhere and I say, there is a huge difference between seeing a feeding mother and an 18-yr old strolling on a Monday morning surrounded by people dressed in business attire. They also do not not appreciate any skin showing between whatever you're wearing on top and bottom. We are not talking belly buttons - it's just any inch of skin. But you can wear a bottom that is 2 sizes too small. By the way, we're talking about women here. So in conclusion, when you come to Uganda, any top will do as long as the stomach is covered. Bottoms? Any size as long as it is knee length and longer. Don't worry about the tightness :-)

Healthwise (if that's a word), I am congested a lot, but I found an ok decongestant. I miss coated day/night cold medicine. I am also drinking a lot of plain hot water (Sarah, I no longer think you're strange). I hear it hydrates really well besides helping you sleep during a sleepless night (works better than milk, Teddy A).

That is all I have for today. I look forward to the replies.

Much love!
Agie