Adjustment #1: air conditioning. The temperature in Kampala was pretty consistently around 80 degrees. Houston's weather is a bit more extreme. It was 107 outside earlier this week, but a cool 65 indoors. Going back and forth between such a climate variation has left me perplexed about my wardrobe. I've landed on wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but carrying a sweater around with me for the particularly cold air-conditioned buildings.
Adjustment #2: customer service. Its no longer a pleasant surprise to have my order come out right or in a timely manner. It's just normal. Expected.
Adjustment #3: driving. This has been the best adjustment: reuniting with my car. It's amazing the independence it allows. If I want to go somewhere, I can just drive myself. I don't have to worry about going through the hassle of negotiating with a boda, or worry about an oncoming rainstorm, or think about safety issues like intoxicated boda drivers at night. I can go anywhere, anytime.... and have a new appreciation for how awesome driving is.
Adjustment #4: minority no more. There's not little kids following me around like I'm the pied piper. No one calling "byeeee muzungu!" No special treatment or unwanted attention. I blend in because "Americans" can look like just about anything. And even if I didn't blend in for some reason, no one would say anything. People here seem to keep to themselves.
Adjustment #5: cleanliness and order. America is a clean place. I don't see burning trash on the side of the roads, litter on the streets, or clouds of exhaust coming out of tailpipes. When I shower, there's no brown water circling the drain. And not only is everything impeccably clean, its orderly to boot. People follow traffic laws and stand in lines.
I really do think that #5 is the biggest adjustment.... In America, I haven't had to see or smell anything unpleasant in the past week. {Correction: I did smell something pretty rank when walking down the hallway of my little brother's dorm building..... but that's been the exception to my otherwise well-scented experience} And it got me to thinking about how the whole cleanliness and order thing changes the entire way I would describe a place. Words I would use for the America I'm seeing with post-Uganda eyes: clean, shiny, artificial, tame, orderly, pristine, comfortable, regulated, attentive, creative, and... did I mention clean? Words I would use for Kampala: bustling, overwhelming-the-senses, crowded, chaotic, raw, dirty, lively, resourceful, and gritty. Very different places.
One isn't necessarily better than the other, but they are enjoyable for very different reasons. America for its order and cleanliness and comfort. Uganda for its liveliness and authenticity. I love them both, and its hard not to compare them to each other.
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