And I definitely was not disappointed as Asaph was a great host! I met his mother and stepmother, his two brothers and their families, his many nieces and nephews, and of course, his own wife and son. Asaph’s only twenty four, but it is quite normal, expected almost, for men in Uganda to get married quite young (and even younger for the Ugandan women). So Asaph’s already been married for two years and he has a son, Owen, who’s one and a half years old. Before I met his family, it was kind of difficult for me and Mike to picture Asaph, being so young, with a family back at his home; when I arrived at his place though, it was almost like he was a new man. Owen was pretty much glued to Asaph the entire time I was there, and it was like a game, a losing battle really, to see if anyone could pry Owen from his dad. Asaph just finished his house a couple of months ago so it’s still quite basic and bare. It is customary here to build the basic house first, and add to it as you save up more money. There are designated spaces for windows included in the original construction, and once Asaph saves up enough money, he’ll just cut out that portion of the wall and replace it with a window frame. The floors are also dirt, for now, with the goal of eventually pouring cement floors. Nevertheless, I already really liked the house, it has a very open concept and the roof is supported by cross beams and A-frames, similar to the design of some cottages or cabins. It had a high ceiling, probably twenty feet high at the peak, which Asaph explained would keep the hot air higher up and thus, the house cooler. And while Asaph was apologetic that he didn’t yet have any couches or other furniture aside from beds in his house, I assured him that it really wasn’t a big deal. Instead, I explained to him that in Canada, it is not often that for a twenty four year old to already have his/her own house, not to mention a wife and son as well. He found that strange, even though we’ve also already explained that the majority of people in Canada don’t get married until they’re in their late twenties. haha… I often refer to Mike, for instance, who is thirty one and isn’t married yet. Most Ugandans find that quite strange but it’s just one of the many little things that make Africa, well, Africa.
So Asaph lives in a relatively rural area; in fact, the only transportation to and from the tiny trading centre nearest his house is via boda (motorbike), as there are no other forms of public transport that will venture up that road. And I’ve found that the more rural the area, the more types of fruits, vegetables and other plants you’ll come across. Some of the ones that come to mind right now that I saw in my one day at Asaph’s are lemons, oranges, ginger, sugar cane, yams, and beans. These are, of course, in addition to the more commonly found coffee, mango, banana, matooke, passionfruit, and pineapple plants. I know there were more that I can’t remember at the moment, but I think you get the picture! =p Anyway, I had a really great time at Asaph’s; it was really cool just to sit down with his family to share a meal in a completely Ugandan environment. I also ended up staying the night at his place and had to get up uber early the next morning to get back to Mbarara in time for church. But that’s another story…
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