Saturday and Sunday were spectacular days full of celebration and wonderful conversations. On Saturday, we attended the graduation celebration of one of EAC’s scholarship students, Teddy. Nick and I walked the street near our residence that morning to find a gift and came with a bouquet of flowers. Going from vendor to vendor was fun and allowed us to soak in the city.

The graduation event was festive. Red and white cloth, the colors of the university Teddy graduated from in San Antonio, draped the home and the tent where the party took place. Rows of chairs were set up. Despite arriving late, the event had yet to start. In fact, the priest who would be conducting a mass as part of the ceremony had yet to arrive. Betty was seated next to me. She giggled and said, “You see nothing ever starts on time!” When the priest arrived, a beautiful service began. I could not understand the words because it was spoken in Luganda; however, the energy and spirituality of the prayer was contagious. I did not have to be the same religion or comprehend the words to be moved by the upbeat prayer music and how thankful everyone in the crowd was for Teddy’s success. For me, the most powerful moment was when Teddy’s mom bestowed a prayer on her daughter. I was reminded of important ceremonies such as my Bar Mitzvah when my proud parents bestowed a prayer upon me. We live halfway around the world from each other, but the vibes sent by parents are the same.

In the second part of the ceremony, several of the important people in Teddy’s life spoke. One particularly humorous moment occurred when Teddy’s sister, Rebecca, was speaking. I did not understand the language so throughout the ceremony I stood up and clapped when others did. During Rebecca’s speech, I clapped and then realized everyone was looking at me. Everyone began to laugh. She was talking about Nick and I!

Soon after, Betty whispered in my ear, “Teddy wants you to come sit at the head table with us.” While I was proud of Teddy and excited to be a guest, I was embarrassed by the notion of sitting at the head table because so many important people in Teddy’s life were in attendance. Agnes explained to me that I should not have these feelings because this was custom to honor guests. Teddy delivered an emotional and touching speech explaining to everyone where she had been during the past few years.

After an impressive dance performance by two boys and a modeling show by two girls including Teddy’s niece, dinner, traditional Ugandan food, was served. Again, I loved the taste of the food; however, there was also something crunchy in the rice. I said to Agnes,

“What is the crunchy ingredient is in the rice? I think it was in the rice I had yesterday too.”

She responded, “Oh. Really? What is the texture?”

I said, “Sort of like a rock.”

She smiled and laughed, “Ya that’s what it is. We don’t have the equipment to purify. You can just take it out.”

I spit it out , showed it to her and she said, “Yep. Rock.” I thought that was very funny.

The night was just beginning. After Teddy received gifts from her friends and family, the cake was cut and dancing began. It was so much fun dancing with the children and the people from EAC. At 10, we departed. We had arrived at 3.

On Sunday, we went with Agnes and Rose to a country club owned by one of their friend's family located outside of Kampala. The area was beautiful and lush. We saw all types of trees including an avocado - one of my favorite things! Everyone we met during are long meal was friendly and important too. One of the men we met was the Prime Minister for the biggest tribe in Uganda. He was so humble, and I feel honored to have been at a table with him. One of the exciting parts of the meal was eating a whole fish for the first time. I was more experiemental than Nick because I tried the gill of the fish, which was very crunchy and had little taste. The day ended with us drinking a nice hot cup of tea with lemon grass at Agnes' home. The lemon grass adds wonderful flavor!

The Bottom Line: Ugandan hospitality far surpasses even “Southern hospitality” when it comes to making guests feel welcome.

- Feldman