We arrived in Fort Portal after a typical Ugandan commute. The bus was supposed to leave Kabale at 6pm but didn’t get going until closer to 7, and after being promised a 3am arrival time we were pleasantly surprised when the bus pulled in at half past midnight. If I’m learning anything about Africa on this trip it’s that you’ll eventually get where you want to go, and things do essentially get done, it’s just not worth setting any time expectations as they’re untilmately fruitless.
The bus ride was unlike anything I’d experienced before, actually, that’s not true, it was similar to a crowded London tube with people pressed against you the whole time mixed with the aroma of poor ventilation and body odor. The seat confisguration was 2 seats / aisle / 3 seats which was weird, and unlike a long haul bus ride in the first world the aisle was jam packed full of standing students and breast feeding mothers. I did a rough count and came up with around 120 men women and children taking the red eye north. Needless to say it was nice to stretch out in the king size bed later that night.
The following day we joined 7 fully grown Ugandan men in a Toyota Corolla (or the African equivalent) and took the 45 minute drive down what would be considered a 4WD track in Australia. 9 people in a midsize car seemed appropriate for an already unconventional country. We settled in to the homestay where we would be based for the next 2 weeks volunteering and got the chatting with Tinka, the guy who would tell us what to do. In accordance with the Ugandan methodology we didn’t arrive to a tightly structured plan, and as we were trying to figure out what the weekend held in store he told of of plans for Sunday afternoon.
“You must to come to an old man wedding with me!” he said enthusiastically. Why the hell not? As a wedding phoptographer I always love seeing the different ways people choose to celebrate their marriage, and when the option is there to join a 65 year old Ugandan and 500 of his closest friends on the biggest day of his life then I’m going to take it!
Obviously things are different in Uganda, the fact people have mobile phones but no electricity in the town we’re staying says a lot. It was says a lot that this “old man” has been with his wife for close to 40 years and their many children and grand children were in attendance at their wedding. How many Australian kids can boast that they were at the wedding of their biological grandparents? Not many I suspect. Of the 500 guests there were less than half a dozen with cameras, there was no official photographer and the videographer was cranking a beautiful retro VHS camera. I had my gear with me, and this guy was good enough to have me as a wedding guest so the least I could do was take a few photos. When I get home I’ll print off a bunch and send them through as a belated wedding gift.
Let the good times roll!
