With all of the craziness surrounding heading to Africa for
10 days in a few short weeks, it is easy to let the small things slide. One of
the benefits of blogging about all of this, is that not only are we forced to
blog about everything making errors likely. Furthermore, with those who love
and care about us the most following our blog….there is an expectation that you
all will keep us in line. If we are overwhelmed by shots and gorillas, you will
remind us to pack enough underwear. With
that being said, I would like to discuss the culture of fashion with you. As
many of you know, I like to pride myself as somewhat of a fashionista. I may
have worn mom jeans when I was 12 but not anymore! I will not dress like a
street walker to get the attention of my peers, BUT I will stay true to my love
of color, my draw to patterns, and my desire to push the envelope just enough
to be fashion forward. For the truly fashion forward, however an understanding
of fashion in a worldly sense is more important than the knowledge that unless
you are 75 you can in fact wear white post labor day. So with that being said, lets talk fashion!
In the US, as both I and Lindsay’s sisters proudly posts in
multiple albums on their facebook pages, the style (super short denim shorts, leggings
a just a smidge more opaque than tights and ugg boots) one I would shudder to
let my daughter wear is all the rage. Much to my dismay the 80s have made a
prolific return and unfortunately it is not the result of “kids these days”
embracing the brat pack classics. In Uganda, approximately 12% of the
population is Muslim and a much higher percentage of the population is
culturally conservative. In this vein, it is uncommon to see scantily dressed
women. The risk of malaria and sleeping sickness (spread by mosquitos) aside,
women are expected to wear skirts or dresses which fall below the knee and
should have their shoulders covered at all times. While it is rare to see women
wearing pants in rural communities, women, particularly tourists, can wear
pants in urban areas. Culottes, pants similar to gauchos can be worn in both
urban and rural areas. Shorts are
frowned upon and should not be worn by women at any time. The climate of Uganda
can be both hot and humid. The temperature of the region dictates that tourists
avoid synthetic fabrics and choose cotton and linen skirts and dresses.
Here are some pictures of what I will be sporting on our
trip!
Over the weekend Pastor Dalton held our first & only Uganda Mission Trip meeting, I was fortunate to attend & was able to meet the other 11 people on our Uganda trip! The group is very diverse & I am so excited to get to know each & every one of our team members along our memorable journey! Judi & I are definitely the youngest in the group with a close second going to the pastor & his wife. In our group there's a few that have traveled internationally for work, some that have been on many mission trips & those of us that are new to mission trips in Africa. There is even one gentleman- probably in his 50 or 60s that has NEVER even been on a plane & has never traveled out of the country before!! 
