Trying to Ward Off the Homesickness

Today has by far been the worst day of my trip. Nothing so serious happened, but the overall mood of the day really got me down and for a moment, I wished that Maryland was a bit closer so that I could go home for a couple of hours.
This is Uganda’s rainy season and thus far it has been very easy to bear because it doesn’t rain as much as I expected. Cameroon’s rainy season consists of very heavy downpours for about 8-12 hours a day every day. However, here in Uganda, it rains about 3-4 times a week and usually for about an hour or two during the day. It rains very hard when it does, so everyone avoids being caught outside, however, it usually lasts for such a short period that it’s quite soothing and doesn’t cause much disruption to the day.
Today, however, the rain was the longest, hardest, and came at the most inopportune time. I am staying in a house with a bunch of bachelors so there is almost always nothing to eat, ever. Luckily, African society is conducive to very well prepared and low priced street food. While in the states, I am not at all a proponent of street vendors, but I think this is because their food tends to be unhealthy, unsanitary, and usually overpriced. It is the complete opposite here. Great meals are cooked on the side of streets over firewood, make shift stoves (don’t ask me how they do it), and grills. It’s all slow-cooked right in front of you and tastes delicious. For dinner the last couple of nights I’ve had meals that cost less than $1 and consisted of grilled chicken, corn, and some pineapple for dessert. It’s great!
All this is to say that today I was looking forward to sleeping in late and then taking a stroll to the main road to grab some grilled chicken, fish, goat meat…whatever struck my fancy. But then it started raining, which initially didn’t faze me because I figured it would be over in about an hour…but not today. It rained long and hard for most of the day. By the time I was able to leave the house, I was extremely hungry and my stroll to the main road turned into a trudge through a very muddy path, where most of the vendors were not set up because of the weather.
I had to travel to the town center, which is about a 7 min drive.
I got on the taxi bus, which was packed beyond capacity, with four or five people sitting in a row of seats meant for three. This is not at all uncommon, however today, it was extra uncomfortable because people were wet and muddy.
I usually make an effort to have exact change or currency closest to the cost of services because once clerks here my accent, they usually try to cheat me. If I know the price, I usually just scold them for trying to cheat me and I get charged the standard price. But today on the taxi, my nerves were really tested. I had to pay the conductor with a large bill and after hearing my accent he employed a number of stunts to overcharge me, almost all of which were thwarted.
However, it wasn’t negotiating an already set transportation fare with the clerk that bothered me, it was the conversation that ensued between him and the other passengers in Luganda, once I challenged him. He proceeded to, what they call, “back bite” me, or talk about me behind my back with the other passengers. Only this time, it was right in my face and I was left helpless because I did not understand a word of what they were saying. They mimicked my English and thick accent and said a great deal of other things I did not understand, but knew was being said because an older lady on the taxi pleaded that they stop and leave me alone. I have never experienced such a thing before and the encounter was made more frustrating and humiliating by the fact that I did not understand a word of what was being said and could not defend myself. For 10 min I sat in silence while this went on and by the time I reached my destination, I was very upset.
I am trying to learn as much Luganda as possible since it is the vernacular of the region. This incident only made it more clear to me, how necessary it is for me to learn it because people say things to and about me on a daily basis that I do not understand and I am leaving myself entirely too vulnerable to exploitation and humiliation.
I can say, however, that my day wasn’t a total wash out. When I finally made it to the town center, I was happy to have extremely tasty grilled chicken ready and waiting for me!