from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1BMEOSJ
via IFTTT Hotel – Outskirts of Jinja —
How does this image fit in your schema of what a “hotel” is?
Captured on one of our drives on the outskirts of Jinja, it is but one instance of the category-busting sights that was a constant during our time in Uganda. No, surprisingly, I have not attempted to look them up on TripAdvisor.
I wrote at length yesterday about sound. I was trying to convey how and why Uganda was so sensory overwhelming for me. Where even to begin? I was reminded last eve of the David Foster Wallace antidote: Old fish swims by a young fish one day and asks, “how’s the water today?” Young fish replies, “what is water?” When you are so used to your environment you aren’t even aware that it exists. It isn’t until you are taken out of it — a fish out of water — you can appreciate your own perceived reality and the thousands of nuances that give your life context.
Re-reading that post today, my thoughts are evidently and I think justifiably quite scattered. I can see the disconnectedness and searching writ large in my words and jumble of impressions. I hear the same as I talk to family and friends. I essentially said (and am saying repeatedly), “I’m still processing,” but a week after leaving, I’m still trying to make sense of the images and impressions.
This little fish, well traveled as she may be, feels like she is trying to process the Caribbean ocean after all she has ever known is an Icelandic lake.
How do you even begin to compare and isolate differences when everything feels so very different? “Small steps, Sparks.” So today we have a hotel. Covered in the russet dust characteristic of its locale and with a curtain for a front door, I’m sure they can find you space if you want to be a fish very much out of water in Uganda.
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