Bye Mzungu Bye

"Bye Mzungu Bye" is a term we've heard countless times mostly from the mouths of children who usually jump and wave madly while singing the words with huge smiles on their faces eager in anticipation for us to respond.  Mzungu is a swahili word that means white person.  It is not derogatory in nature and is used simply to describe a a white person either male or female.  We can't quite work out why the children say "bye" and not "hi", maybe one day we'll figure that one out!

Today as we made our way across town battling the pre Christmas traffic and the heat of the midday sun, our eyes fell upon some graffiti that made us laugh.

We'd be interested to know what the artist was thinking when he painted this and if he truly thinks this is representative of mzungus in general.  One can hope it depicts only the one's he's met!

An Explosion of Culture

Overcome with a desire to do something different on a Friday night and an imminent power cut looming, we decided that we needed a little culture in our lives.  It was decided that Ndere Centre was the place to be!

The Ndere Centre is home to the Ndere Troupe who performs several times per week in an outdoor amphitheatre housed on 9 acres of well manicured gardens right in the heart of Kampala.  We arrive just as the day's last light is fading and enter the seating area and find a set to the sound of many large drums are beating, the vibrations penetrate our inner beings and we instantly feel welcome.

Ndere means flute and was chosen as the name for the troupe because of it's beautiful sound and for it's universal unity in every culture in the world.  The troupe was formed in 1986 and had very humble beginnings.  In the early part of the new millennium we often took guests to Ndere's weekly show at the Nile Gardens (which is now the Serena Hotel) for a nominal entrance fee of which I was told by Rwangyezi Stephen the troupe's founder was a hotel charge, the troupe was performing at no cost to expose their existence.  Their hard work paid off as they now they have their own cultural centre.

Throughout the performance we are taken to many regions of Uganda.  Every song tells a story of culture, wisdom and history in their traditional form of storytelling, singing, dancing and dress and are accompanied by traditional stringed, percussive and wind instruments.  The show is interactive with the audience which makes for a real explosion of cultures. 

The warmth and enthusiasm of the performers, the beautiful music and expressive traditional dancing which makes up the performance is not to be missed.  We leave with smiles and our faces.  The night has been a strong reminder to us why we enjoy life in Africa not to mention a great way to escape the darkness of a load shedding night.