Cultural Differences

I would really like to think that Ben and I are very cultured - you know, with a wide variety of interesting, ethnic experiences and substantial exposure to cultural diversity.   The reality is that the cultures we are most familiar with are that of the Germans and Swiss (and might I add the “American- Midwestern” versions).  As you can imagine, we are discovering that there are some significant differences between the lifestyles of those in the MN/WI Mississippi River Valley, and the customs of those in the Nile River Valley.

In an effort to educate ourselves and our children, we’ve been researching Ugandan foods and customs and trying to incorporate a little bit into our everyday lives.  A couple weeks ago, we had an “Africa” night.  We played African music on Pandora radio and I made some traditional Ugandan dishes.  M and C were so excited they got dressed up for the occasion.  For dinner we had Chickennat (a chicken dish with a delicious peanut sauce, served over rice), Matoke (or "Matooke" - a plantain dish with a variety of sauteed vegetables) and Sim-Sim cookies (basically just sugar and sesame seeds).  I'm pretty sure what we ate was not a typical meal - I know ugali (or sometimes called posho, made out of maize flour) is pretty standard and we're planning on trying that soon.  But for now, we had a fun time experimenting and everyone enjoyed it.  

In the past several weeks we've had the privilege of attending a few African choir concerts as well.  The first we attended was the Young Africans, a group of young adults that were once a part of the African Children's Choir.  The majority of the choir is from Uganda.  

Just this past week we saw the Watoto Children's choir, also based out of Uganda.  Each of the children in the choir has suffered the loss of their parents through war or disease.  

Here are a few pictures from the Watoto performance:

(We could not keep this little guy still - he absolutely loved the music!  He got so excited that at one of the performances I had to remove him from the auditorium.  I guess he didn't think they were playing the drums quite right and was trying to correct them - and I mean not in a discreet way.)

Though seemingly simple, experiencing these performances has had a profound impact on our children, especially C.  For the most part he has been more hesitant with the concept of adoption.  The fear of the unknown definitely has had its grip on him at times, but seeing people from Uganda, hearing their voices, becoming familiar with what they look like and how they dress, has made an enormous difference.  He is now not only OK with the adoption, but actually excited about it.  

Don't get me wrong.  I know that making a batch of Matoke and attending an African Children's concert does not make me a Ugandan guru.  We have barely scratched the surface and have a LOT to learn.  But we are bit by bit discovering a different culture, learning new things and enjoying it!