My Host Family

The first couple nights in Masaka, I stayed in a hotel by myself. Which was great. It was nice to be able to retire to my own room at the end of the day and have some solitude to process everything that was going on. But I also wanted to unpack, and really “move in” here, so I was excited to go to my host family’s home. I have my own room, with enough space for a bed, small desk and chair, and my stuff. And that’s about it. Simple, but enough. There’s electricity and running water, but I will still be taking bucket baths and using a hole in the ground to relieve myself (if you’ve ever been to Mexico, think about using a baño for four months).

My host mother is pretty young – I’m guessing she can’t be much older than 30. She is a teacher, she loves music, and she is very relaxed. There are four kids at home: three daughters – 14, 9, and 5 – and one son, who’s almost 2 (his name is Doctor, because they want him to grow up to be a doctor. No joke). The young daughters are cute and like to play, but I need to set some boundaries about when I need my own space in my room. The mom, Rehema, also has 5 brothers, three of which live in the same compound as us. They are 20, 19, and 18, so it will be fun to hang out with them. They all speak English pretty well and are willing to show me around the community, which will be nice. I haven’t met the father yet, because he works in Kampala during the week (he’s an engineer). So all in all, living with this family will be a great way to be immersed in the Ugandan Culture and begin to understand what the day-to-day life is like here.