Tonight at dinner, the lights went out briefly (as has been the pattern for the last week or so – I’m glad that I’ve been sitting at the table!). This prompted a Q&A about life in America.
– Do the lights go out like this in the US? Generally, only during exceptionally bad weather.
– Is there electricity everywhere? Are there villages that do not have power (apparently in Uganda, only the cities and towns have electricity)? Honestly, this one stumped me. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I couldn’t think of a place (like a town) that didn’t have power available. My answer was something along the lines of I’m not aware of any place, but there are people who may not be able to afford electricity.
– There’s poverty in the US? Yes. There are children who sleep on the street? Yes (much disbelief about these two).
– Are there children who can’t read and write? Yes. Are these American children? Yes, and what do you mean by American? This started a discussion on what it means to be American, with someone telling someone else “you need to read about this (history of US) on the internet.”
-Why do those children not go to school? Small side discussion here – I managed to sidestep answering.
The conversation then steered to politics, which became a little exciting, with one question being “is America still a Christian nation?” While discussing the merits about one of the points, someone said “America is still the superpower – we should be praying for them.” That totally humbled me.
It's very interesting to hear what people from another culture think about things we often take for granted. Please thank the people who are praying for America! Yours in Jesus, Kae