Alone?

Cutting up a little jackfruit

Do you ever wish for alone time? In the African cultures I've encountered, being alone seems not to be a value in the slightest.

I've been in Uganda to renew my passport at the American embassy there. Due to my passport not arriving before my return flight date, I ended up rearranging schedules and being in Uganda longer than I'd told my islander friends here. So we'd already said goodbyes, but I was still in country.

I got a message from one of them who'd heard from someone back in the islands that I was still in Uganda. He wanted to know-- why didn't you tell me you're still around??? Well, we'd already said goodbye, but he
 wanted to meet up again. So we agreed to meet up on my last day, when I would be in his city before my midnight flight. We arranged for him to come find me around noon. Since he and his roommate had cooked last time, I figured I should buy them a meal this time.

Taking pictures everywhere

Eight AM rolled around and I get a message from him "how are you? So, when can I come?" Not wanting to complicate his life (and kind of wanting a chill day before red-eye travels), I said it was up to him. He said "ok, I'll shower and then come."  I responded: "No hurry."

Well, he saw it and understood, "No. Hurry!" So an hour later he showed up, minus his roommate who was still in another town and arriving later in the day.

Since it was just after 9 AM, I bought him breakfast instead of lunch. And then he asked about my plans for the day. "Well, I was going to read a book and maybe watch a TV show." 

Dropping me at the airport

"Oh! Well, why don't you come back to my place? My roommate will want to see you and we can get some of your movies from you!"

Not having a good way to decline... and actually knowing that I'd enjoy their company... I accepted.

Well, I never read a book. And we watched one episode of a TV show. The rest of the day was taken up with walking a good 7 miles, taking pictures in every beautiful spot, eating ice cream, answering English questions, and generally just hanging out until they personally delivered me to the airport at 7PM.

Because really, why would you ever want to be alone?