So, I was reading through my journal from Uganda last night, and I was reminded of a story I wrote down for the sake of blogging....but I didn't have internet access at the time.
Linda, Hayley, and I were in a small village of the southwest region of Uganda. Linda was busy with her sewing students, and Hayley and I were busy, well, socializing.
One of the students at the school pulled a mattress out of the dormitory for us to lounge on in a shady spot on the hill. As we were lying there, chatting away, all of a sudden Hayley said, A cow is eating that sweater! She pointed about 15 feet away where some laundry was drying on small bushes. Sure enough, a young cow had a sweater in her mouth.
The student looked up, then quietly, almost lethargically said, That's mine. No exclamation included. She stood up slowly, and as she walked towards the culprit, she simply added, It was a gift. I'm still not sure why she explained that to us...or maybe it was directed towards the cow, to let her know why eating it was so inappropriate...Anyway, on her way to rescue this sweater, in a very faint, yet annoyed voice, she said to the cow, go away.
I'm not sure the humor of the moment comes through too clearly without actually hearing her sweet, Uganda voice tell the cow not to eat her clothing. I mean, her tone almost sounded disappointed.
Imagine a young child about to take a pacifier away from his baby sister. In anticipation of the screams that will result, you quietly, almost desperately say, please don't do it. That's the tone I heard as she walked towards the cow and said, go away.
Well, I guess it worked. The cow walked away, and the sweater had no evidence of having been an appetizer. Good thing it didn't make a trip through that cow's four stomachs.
Linda, Hayley, and I were in a small village of the southwest region of Uganda. Linda was busy with her sewing students, and Hayley and I were busy, well, socializing.
One of the students at the school pulled a mattress out of the dormitory for us to lounge on in a shady spot on the hill. As we were lying there, chatting away, all of a sudden Hayley said, A cow is eating that sweater! She pointed about 15 feet away where some laundry was drying on small bushes. Sure enough, a young cow had a sweater in her mouth.
The student looked up, then quietly, almost lethargically said, That's mine. No exclamation included. She stood up slowly, and as she walked towards the culprit, she simply added, It was a gift. I'm still not sure why she explained that to us...or maybe it was directed towards the cow, to let her know why eating it was so inappropriate...Anyway, on her way to rescue this sweater, in a very faint, yet annoyed voice, she said to the cow, go away.
I'm not sure the humor of the moment comes through too clearly without actually hearing her sweet, Uganda voice tell the cow not to eat her clothing. I mean, her tone almost sounded disappointed.
Imagine a young child about to take a pacifier away from his baby sister. In anticipation of the screams that will result, you quietly, almost desperately say, please don't do it. That's the tone I heard as she walked towards the cow and said, go away.
Well, I guess it worked. The cow walked away, and the sweater had no evidence of having been an appetizer. Good thing it didn't make a trip through that cow's four stomachs.
This isn't the cow....but you get the idea. I mean, you've seen cows before.
But this one IS Ugandan, and from the same village as the cow in question.
This story is definitely a time to laugh.
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