Moses and Ronald: From Uganda with Love

Moses: OK… now let just ask… So you are saying all black people are viewed as criminals here?

Me: Yeah, more or less.

Moses: So what you are basically saying is that I am born a crime?

Me: Basically, yes…

Moses: OK now let me just ask…

Repeat questioning 500x and end scene.

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Where does one even start to describe the pleasure of getting to meet and spend time with my Ugandan main men Ronald Asasira and Moses Ntayi? When I received word from my brother-from-another Oscar that two new Ugandan students had recently arrived in Seattle I knew Andi and I were in for a fun month. To be able to share my city, my country (the good and the bad) and my resources is a privilege I embrace wholeheartedly. As has become common place with the UW global health student exchange, there were no student ambassadors to help get these two settled in. Oh well… Their well-intentioned host Mary-Lynne did her best to situate them as she could, but 20-something Ugandans can only attend so many bridge club events before losing their minds. Fortunately, I was scheduled for a clinic month with ample free time. So basically we spent the whole month of July kicking it… like karate guys.

Moses Ntayi is a truly unique individual with equally impressive parts kind, competent, and intellectually curious. His proclivity for question asking is remarkable. I have never met somebody more interested in understanding cross-cultural nuances. Most students are happy to just get through the sheer insanity of how different things are over here but Moses holds such a firm grasp of the inherent nature of humans that he navigated the experience both actively and impressively. By trip’s end he could predict the activity of those around us based on his previous observations and understanding of American culture. I have no doubts Moses will change the world around him as sees fit going forward. His baseball throwing may be a work in progress but these guys are soccer players so we’ll cut them some slack.

Where Moses navigates the world like Neo from the Matrix seeing the binary code underneath everything, Ronald leads with a sincerity of heart so familiar to me from the many Ugandan friends I have made these past few years. The intention with which he offered grace and kindness is so refreshing in a city like this where you are typically served a side of disdain with your latte. Despite our best attempts, Andi and I could not get him to stop himself from spoiling all the results of World Cup matches we had not yet seen. This only because a pure desire to share and celebrate sport superceded all : D Ronald took to cycling and baseball like a champ and was game for anything Andi and I threw at him… except for cheese. Ugandans simply hate cheese. Nobody around here seems to understand that the world outside of the US and Western Europe is simply not as infatuated with the idea of fermenting the milk of mammals as we are. To Ronald and Moses’ credit they did eventually eat their fair share of cheese. Because cheese is delicious haha. At least our cheese…

There are so few opportunities to build your ‘world family’ when you have your nose to the grindstone like so many of us in medicine do. The few fleeting moments of rest we are allowed tend to go to rest and recovery, relationships, or family. I have noticed more and more of those around me withdrawing into their comfortable circles of partners and pets these days. Outside of my weekly ‘family dinner’ group (s/o Alex, JP, and Tyler) I find it extremely difficult to connect with my co-workers and friends. For those with children I understand, as I can’t begin to comprehend how they balance the demands of work and home life. For those without kids I am often left thinking our priorities or personalities must simply be different. This is not a trend I anticipated in life, having found so many active and friendly people in all stages of life prior. Regardless, I enjoy spending time with whoever is open to spending with me. Fortunately Ugandan medical students seem to always fit this bill perfectly. The best part about meeting so many lovely people is that Andi and I (and our future progeny) now have a dozen new family members sprinkled around East Africa.

People always give me crazy looks when I explain to them that I still host medical students even though I’ve graduated from UW. Yet the time and financial investments made always feel like they are paid back several fold in so many other ways. So to Moses and Ronald as well as the rest of my UG family I must offer thanks. Mwebale nnyo nnyo nnyo my friends….

 

When I met you you were drinking Coca Cola, chewing gummies,

Smoking struggle tree, being foolish with your money,

I took you out the projects, hipped you to foreign concepts,

Linked you to all my contacts, showed you off to the commons,

I whipped you up different dishes, fed you fruits and veggie sausage,

I started to shed a tear, for it appears I fell in love then,

Now what’s that? You’ve come too far to take the bus back,

Head to the sky until you touch that,

And even when you’re sun tapped, you beaming like a starlite”

 

Anderson Paak – “Starlite”

 

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