Ugandans are famous for their amazing hospitality and kindness world over. Being born or raised in Uganda therefore leaves you with the Ugandan DNA coursing through your body.

28 signs you are an urban Ugandan at heart:

1. You have used the phrase ‘African time’ one way or another at least once in your life time to explain delay or late arrival. In fact, you do know and enjoy the fact that Ugandans have a decreased sense of urgency just about everything.

 

2. You understand the significance of Afrigo band and can sing along to many of their hits.

 

3. ‘Rolex’ does not conjure up images of a fancy watch.

 

4. You almost know what days to expect the traffic jam and you still hate it with a passion.

 

5. You have probably owned 2 or more phones at one time. Phrases like ‘two phone tycoon’ are normal.

 

6. You know that the boda boda is the quickest and yet most dangerous way to get there!

   

7. Easter time, christmas and new year’s days are spent out of town. ‘Going to the village’ is the common lingua for this.

 

8. You’ve wondered if UMEME (then UEB) is an electricity distributor or a darkness distributor.

 

9. You spent a lot of time in school cramming what things like i.e and e.g are in full and what they mean.

 

10. You probably kept jerrycans full of water somewhere in the house for that doomed day when Muyenga tank-hill would fail to pump water into your taps.

 

11. A ‘sigiri‘ (charcoal stove) is a must have. ‘How will the matooke (banana plantains) get cooked?’

    

 

12. All private guards are called ‘askari‘, all ladies that cook are called ‘hajati‘, chapati vendors are ‘musoga‘ and all policemen are ‘afande‘.

 

13. You have heard that the taxi tout (conductor) is related to everyone. Passengers and passers-by are his ‘mama’, sister, brother or uncle. ‘sister ogenda?’ (sister are you boarding?)

 

14. You don’t understand tea without milk and ginger plus ‘tea escort’ [gnuts or cassava or ‘kabalagala‘ (ugandan pancakes) or gonja (sweet plantains) or ‘nsenene‘(grasshoppers)].

    

 

15. Before ‘ki-nigeria’ (Nigerian movies), fun TV once upon a time included, Clown Fedinard, Pingu, Didi, Different strokes, The Jeffersons, Good times, Mind your Language, Club 227, Another life, Police Academy, Inspector Derrick, Old Fox, Riviera, Punky Bwester,Wild rose and That’s Life Mwattu…

    

     

16. You are used to ethnically diverse communities.

 

17. You wonder why people ‘beep‘ even after you have given them credit for their airtime.

 

18. You have used the word ‘sorry‘ even if you were not apologising to someone.

 

19. You know the difference between New vision and Daily monitor.

    

 

20. You have probably heard the elders talk about or even experienced the ‘saba saba‘ era.

 

21. Giving accurate non-confusing directions is almost non-existent.

 

22. No matter how weird people might think about your food choices, when you see grasshoppers being sold as a snack on the street, you know you are home.

 

23. You speak two or more languages.

 

24. You have seen many landmarks and streets named after the royal family of England in Uganda and have secretly wondered if there are streets in Britain with names Like Muteesa, Kyabazinga, Nansikombi or Obote.

 

25. You know that Kiswahili was born in Kenya, grew up in Tanzania and died in Uganda.

 

26. You have wondered if Idi Amin really kept heads of dead people in his fridge.

 

27. Mulago means that one thing you are thinking right now.

 

28. Mobile money is the new bank.

(P.S: Feel free to add more ‘signs’ in the comments box.)