On Fashion, Bathing, and Vanity

What to Wear...
People in Uganda are generally very smart dressers. In fact, I was lounging around the housing compound one weekend in my usual pair of shorts and t-shirt that I wear solely around the home when I offered to run a quick errand for the family. The errand consisted of walking to a nearby shop (about a 10-15 min. round-trip walk) to pick something up. I figured I could just go as I was. As I was leaving, Mariam exclaimed, "You're going out in THAT?" Well. I wasn't 'going out'. I was running to the store (and yes, I did go in my shorts which DID feel weird). But, the point is that nobody leaves home without looking halfway decent.

Women at a ceremony, dressed in gomezi

When out and about at work or in Town, the majority of women generally wear knee-length (or longer) skirts and blouses or polo shirts, or suits. While trousers aren't as wide-spread in women's wardrobes, women do wear them. Some women, especially older women, often wear a gomezi, the traditional outfit which is custom-made out of a variety of awesome fabrics and consists of a wide belt, kind of vaguely like the Japanese obi, but tied in the front. On a side note: fabric here is awesome and gorgeous and plentiful, which gives me a 'fabric high'. And let us not forget the accessories: bangles, necklaces, earrings ('ear pins') -- the works. Men wear slacks and dress shirts (ties are optional although commonplace) for the most part. Of course, you get your t-shirt and jeans combos from both men and women but everyone is always so tidy. All articles of clothing are usually meticulously pressed and creased (I'm sure clothing would always be pressed, if there was a constant source of power....). And you don't really see anybody wearing shorts unless you're a primary-school-aged little boy or a teenaged male emulating some musician. The no-shorts situation makes Pan a bit sad, but he's been surviving. The way people take such care with their dress gives everything they do that extra formal feeling (most things are conducted quite formally, as well, even greetings).

Hair is a big deal for women as well. Most women are perfectly coiffed and have had their hair done up with braids, weaves, or other hair methods/accessory type things that I have no clue about. Or covered in fancy head scarves. The men generally keep their hair very short. My host brother, Abdu Rashid (17 years old), is currently trying to grow his hair out. It's about an inch thick and his family is hassling him to get it trimmed. It's pretty funny to watch him comb his hair with a pick daily and he's pretty good-natured about the teasing.

Bathtime Fun-time!

My bathroom (sideways)! The blue basin is my 
bath basin.

The typical bathing method didn't actually take that long to get used to. Sometimes I surprise myself! I will say that the family I live with has piped-in, running water and toilets, so it probably wasn't actually a huge adjustment to make.

So, bathing is via a bucket bath here. How it's done: fill a basin with water. Use the water to rinse oneself. Soap/Shampoo up. Rinse. There are cold-water showers, but my host family spoils me and I get a jerrycan of boiling hot water each night for my bath which I pour in the basin and mix with cold water. I'll admit that it's not the same as a shower or a soak in a tub, but it does the job for the most part (although it's a bit more difficult to get ALL the mud off on rainy days).

Mirror, Mirror, Missing from the Wall...

Despite people taking care of their appearance when they go out, there doesn't seem to be many mirrors about like one might be used to in North America. Certainly, offices and hotels have small mirrors in the washrooms, but it seems that many people make use of small table top mirrors to check your face. Now, I bring this up because for the past few months, I have not been making use of any sort of mirror before going out and usually ended up doing a cursory check at some point during the day if I came across a mirror or reflective surface. This was because: 1) I didn't think to bring one; 2) although I thought to get one, I never got around to and then it got so that enough time had passed that it became pointless to get one. I figured I'd been doing alright until one day when a colleague looked at me strangely and pointed out that I had Vaseline all over my face! I thought that was strange since I don't use Vaseline and haven't been using any sort of face cream so I went to the washroom at work and lo! there was toothpaste all over my face. Of course.

Lesson: Mirrors aren't vital to survival and people are more than willing to act as one for you.