Trying to have fun

A friend introduced me to InterNations, an online expatriate group.  As much as I enjoy Mukono and the UCU community, I thought it would be good to try to make friends outside our little campus bubble.

In general, I’ve not been able to attend their mostly-monthly gatherings.  They tend to be on Thursday evenings, and we have Eucharist on Thursday evenings, and arriving in town at 8:00 just to turn around and leave at 9:30 or so (when I have to work the next day) isn’t really my idea of a good time.  I tried to attend the July function, but that was the night of the terror alert at Entebbe, and it took me an hour to get less than halfway to the event, and the radio was warning about checkpoints to get into the city, so I turned around and went home.

So, here’s proof that I’m trying to have fun.  I’m also trying to get my ThD off the ground, so perhaps the timing isn’t the best.

Of course, the first question that we all asked, after ascertaining names, is “what brings you to Uganda?”  Many are working with NGOs, doing noble work like studying how to prevent malaria in children, or working with refugees.  My answer is that I lecture at a university.  This leads to an inquiry as to whether I lecture at Makerere (the largest school in the country, based in Kampala), and what do I lecture.  When the answer to that question is theology, some people didn’t have a clue how to handle that little tidbit of information. 

I know I live in a Christian bubble:  I work with clergy and ordinands, and generally socialize with Christians who live on campus.  I have a fairly sheltered existence.  It’s one thing to know this, and another to essentially be slapped in the face with it.  Am I so sheltered that I don’t know how to deal or relate with a group of people who are predominantly non-Christian?  I fervently hope not.

I’m glad I attended the event, and will probably attend events in the future, as I’m able.  As an introvert, I rank mixers right up there with waterboarding in terms of things I enjoy doing.  However, I did meet some nice people, and for that, I am grateful.