Quick update from Zanzibar

I haven’t updated this in ages. Yikes! So much to share. Right now I’m on the beach in Zanzibar. Heading back to Uganda (Bushenyi) in a few days. More to come!

Some common Ugandan Phrases:

“Ok, please”: used interchangeably used for yes and no
“I am on my way coming”: estimated time of arrival anywhere from 5 min to 2 hrs to never.
Up/down instead of left/right when giving directions
”Very fine”: if you’re more than fine, aren’t you good?
Pick and drop: not pick up and drop off
“Excuse”, not excuse me
”Push off”: to get a ride somewhere
”You are lost!”: not to be confused with actually being lost, but meant to ask “where have you been all this time?”

“Do you want to be more than friendly?” LOVE THIS ONE.

Some English words have a peculiar meaning widely understood within Uganda but mystifying to foreigners. The origin of these usages may be obscure. The best known example is probably to extend which in Uganda means move over on a seat to make room for someone else. Other words used include "pop" and is used to replace words like bring and come, for example Dan, pop that bottle here or Bobby, pop to my house.

How boda-boda got its name: The term “boda boda” originated at the Uganda–Kenya border crossing at Busia, where a kilometer separates the downtown area and the border post on the Ugandan side. Travelers dropped off at the bus/taxi station by buses or taxis or those coming to Uganda from the Kenya side were ferried over this distance by enterprising cyclists, who would attract business by calling border, border."

Cell phones in Uganda: A person finding himself with inadequate prepaid time to make a call will ring up the intended recipient of the call and hang up immediately. This has happened to me numerous times. The receiver of the call, hearing the phone ring once and seeing the number, understands himself to have been beeped. The understood message is, I wish to talk to you at your expense. HAHA!

The Vagina Monologues had a brief but notorious appearance on the Ugandan stage before being banned by government censors. The brouhaha led to the entry of the word monologue into Ugandan English as a euphemism for vagina. The newspaper Red Pepper popularized the use of the word kandahar for vagina, and whopper for penis.