Obama!

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I heard on the radio that Obama is making his first visit to Africa as Black American President. Unfortunately, he is going to Ghana, meaning he is not going to be able to enjoy a surprise visit from MAPLE Microdevelopment. And even though he is going to be in West Africa, I figured now is a good time to tell some fun stories about Obamamania here in Uganda.


People are pretty psyched about the whole thing. Even though they are sometimes surprised that we supported him in the election (because we're white? i'm not sure), peeps love to talk about him. Not his politics, necessarily, but definitely about the man, his family, his relationship with God, those types of things. With the exception of a few cranky Kenyans, who said that since he's Luo he's really not even Kenyan, so they can't figure what all the fuss about, people are into it in a big way. To more than one person, we are known affectionately as the Obama Brothers, which was a bit strange at first but has since grown on me. One guy in Lira even informed us matter-of-factly that the reason that he's so popular around the world is because he was chosen by God.


There is also a motley assortment of oddly-dedicated Obama things around. New Obama Hair Salon. Obama Distributors. Some sweet Obama calendars, including one titled "Black Blood Finally Takes Over," that we really wanted to pick up for the house but has disappeared even from the streets of Kampala. The single most awesome Obama branding we've seen? Check it out:

(Obama Dumps. All Rights Reserved)

But every man has his limits. The other day, we were watching the Confederations Cup finals at a bar. For those who missed it, the USA somehow advanced to the finals after barely making it out of group play. Matched up against mighty Brazil, the US came out of the gates strong, and went into halftime with a 2-0 lead. At this point, one of the more vocal guys in the bar, the same guys who jumped around screaming "OBAMABOYS!!" after each American goal, felt obliged to inform us that "I support Obama in 99 percent. But not today. Today I can only support Brazil."

After Brazil scored three uncontested goals in the second half to win the game, the same guy told us, with a bit of pity, that "you Americans were running around on windows 95. But Brazil? Those guys are XP!" Huh. Fair enough. At least we still have a sweet President.

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