5/30/10
We did so many things today it is hard to know where to begin. We made a point to make coffee this morning with the coffee we bought from the coffee shop. I was excited because I ran of the coffee that I brought back in December, so I hadn’t had any since then. It was as good as I expected it to be, and really cheered me up. Meagan had two cups.
From there we left to go to town. Our friend Richard invited us to a party that was being thrown by some friends of his that run a nonprofit that sponsors children to play soccer. The party was for the team because they had a good season and won all of their tournaments. On the taxi someone starting talking to Meagan. They asked her if she voted for Obama. Lots of people have been asking us about Obama. They like him because of his Kenyan heritage. They always want to know if we voted for him.
Once we got into town we walked to a hotel that I was pretty sure would have a business center. We stopped for the bathroom. I went just fine, but Meagan got suck in the bathroom stall because the door wouldn’t unlock. She kept turning the key, but the lock wouldn’t turn. Finally just as things were starting to get panicky it unlocked. It was a good thing too. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get her out of there if she was truly stuck, and I’m sure that being in that little stall would be horrible. It is like another room, not like the kind that you can just crawl out from underneath the divider.
We walked to the place we were going to meet Richard. From there we went to the old taxi park to take a taxi. You many remember from my description last year what the taxi park looks like. If not you can look at the pictures. It is just an open space where they squeeze as many taxis as possible for people to travel in and out of town from the “suburbs”. Some how everyone has the locations memorized of where each taxi is in the park that is going to be traveling to the different locations. We also passed by a lot of vendors who are trying to sell us all kinds of trinkets and candy. At times it was sort of difficult to keep up with Richard who could weave through the crowd so easily. He often asks about what things are like in America. It is surprisingly difficult to describe. He’ll ask something like, “do you have potholes in America? Do you have dirt roads like this in America?”
And the answer is always yes and no. Yes we have dirt roads and potholes, but not in the middle of the city. Unless maybe you are in New Orleans where the roads are horrible anyway because the water table is so high. There are dirt roads but you have to get out in the rural parts a bit before you see one. I try to explain that we also get bad sink holes like the one at the end of our drive way that Mrs. Freddie drove into, and several family members have stepped in. So the answer is yes, but it is different in situation and extent. Difficult to communicate.
We took a taxi out of the city. It was nice to get out of the city for a while. Once we got to our stop we had to take a boda to the top of one of the hills close by. At the top of the hill they had leveled out part of one side into a soccer field. There the boys team that we were supporting was playing a match. Although in Uganda they call it a pitch. We met some of Richards friends. They were all very nice. One of them was a young German woman. She had to have been around Meagan and I’s age. She had come for three months originally and decided to stay. She had now been there for fourteen months. It was really interesting to meet someone who had really gone native. She lived and worked like most other Ugandans.
While we were watching we had some sugar cane. It was nice to have as a snack although it makes your hands filthy and sticky as the juice runs out of the stalk all over everything. Meagan had a big time with it. I was lucky in that I’ve had sugar cane before, although Ugandans just peel off the bark with their teeth. I definitely had trouble with that, but the men that were standing around were laughing at Meagan when she was trying to bite it. I could only get through two joints of it before I got tired of it. Richard was so efficient - it was amazing. He made short work of his and the rest of Meagan’s. I passed mine off to someone else.
The boys ended up winning the match. They didn’t seem to be surprised about their victory. One even said that he was tired of winning. At this point they were very shy and didn’t want to talk to us very much. From there we walked down the hill to the village. It was a beautiful view to be able to look out over the rolling hills. All along the hill you can see where people have been planting their crops. They were trying to tell us the different kinds of plants, but I could remember some of them. I remembered how they grew their tubers in small mounds that they had built up so that when they went to harvest them, they would be easy to recover. I always thought that was clever. We also saw all of the common garden items closer to the house.
To get to the houses we had to weave through all kinds of houses and gardens along a little dirt foot path. You would have to know exactly where you were going to know how to get there. I like that there are no fences that keep people from walking through. Nobody worries about stealing. Everyone has a garden and so it isn’t necessary to worry about stealing because everyone has the same stuff. The only thing that might cause trouble is if someone’s livestock got into another’s garden. When we got to the house it was a simple small house. The woman, Sonja, and her Ugandan boyfriend, Moses lived there together. It was a two room concrete house. They had electricity but no running water. Minimal material items. A rack for clothes, a set of shelves in the front room for cooking materials, and a bed on the floor with a mosquito net. However, they did have a few things that indicated modernity. They had a satellite TV, a DVD player, and an ipod to listen to music. Although I suppose that none of those things would be useable if the power went out, as it does on occasion.
Along the way we made a new friend named Roger. He was one of the coaches of the boy’s team. He was asking us many of the typical questions. Where were we from, what state, how long had we been in Uganda, etc. They were going to prepare a meal for the boys and he was in charge of the rice and he showed it to us. He had cooked the rice in an enormous pot with onions. He called it “pilawo”. I told him that we had something similar called rice pilaf. We agreed that I would try his cooking and he would try mine and we would decide who’s was better. After trying it, I think it would be a pretty tight race. He also started us on a vocabulary of Luganda words.
Anyway, Ugandans eat enormous meals because they tend to eat only one meal a day. Hopefully we will have some pictures up soon so that you can see. Meagan and I had to share one plate. In addition to rice we had potatoes, and cooked vegetables. Even between the two of us we couldn’t finish it.
I didn’t realize that everyone was going to eat with their hands until Richard happened to offer us a fork. Richard himself used a fork. Either way I was ok. I would have eaten with my fingers. There wasn’t anything that was too messy, although I’m not sure how people would eat matoke with peanut sauce with their fingers. It would be like trying to eat mashed potatoes and gravy with your fingers. Not even any bread to soak up the juice. Anyhow the meal was great, and everyone ate their fill. Afterwards the boys got up and stretched their stomachs because they were so full. Even some of the neighbors came by to get a plate. It was funny because they didn’t ask, they just took, and they brought their plates with them. It seemed like a common occurrence, so no one in the group thought anything about it.
The boys left for the dance party while the adult cleaned up. They wanted us to watch a documentary about Ida Amin. So we sat and watched while they cleaned. I felt sort of bad about it, but the documentary itself was very interesting. It isn’t that different from the movie The Last King of Scotland, but less graphic. The guy who plays him in the movie is just like he was in real life. We didn’t get to watch the whole thing because they wanted to join the boys at the dance party. By this time it was dark so we all walked with a flashlight as our guide.
When we got to the party we danced and danced. All of the people thought that we were so funny. The music was in Luganda, but it had a good rhythm to it. The boys themselves could dance so well. We had so much fun, and I was glad that we went. I was reminded of why I liked coming here so much in the first place. I could write a lot more about the night, but I can’t be spending all of my time blogging. You’ll have to look at the pictures when we get them up to get an idea of what it was like.
P.S. I’m not always sure what to write about so feel free to post questions. Also thanks for all of the posts and keeping me updated on what is happening in the U.S. We now have an Internet modem, so we will be able to communicate a lot more effectively now.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Catching up
Friday 5/28/10
I’m looking forward to having a relaxing weekend of reading and writing and drinking coffee. Today we went to the supermarket (again) and the Foundation. At the supermarket we got a blender, which Grace has been requesting for the second summer now to make juice. I’m hoping that we will be able to make smoothies too.
We went to the Foundation to use their printer, and realized that they had wireless internet as well. So that was a bonus. At the very least we can go there to use the internet until we get something at home. And all of the equipment works properly for the most part. Rev. Obed’s computer is a bit slow. I was trying to educate him about things he can do to speed up the processing, like removing files from his desk top, and it sort of reminded me of being a home. We laughed because he said that he always got his son, Michael, to be close by to help him when he had problems. Sounded familiar.
So although it is frustrating to me to get all of this paper work sorted out, things seem to be looking better and moving forward. Monday will be our next attempt to turn in paper work, and again take up the ongoing feud that I have with secretaries in Uganda.
We walked all the way back to the apartment from the foundation. When we were measuring it out on the map it only said that it was two miles, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t write. The map also says that things are at locations where they aren’t. So I’m approximating between three and four miles. What I like about walking on this particular road, is that there are many schools in the area. The children walk along the side walk to go home in the afternoon. They are very cute in their uniforms walking home. Sometimes there are siblings together and the older with hold the younger’s hand. In fact Meagan got a picture of this type of pair while we were walking behind them. Hopefully soon we will be able to post pictures so that you can see for yourself.
We were pretty hot and sweaty when we got home. It is the type of hot where you just can’t eat until you cool off after a while even though you haven’t eaten very much that whole day. Today we are attempting to make banana bread for the first time. As I’m typing I can smell it in the oven. Hopefully it will be a success…
Saturday 5/29/10
We put out some roach poison today. Hopefully the poison will work. I felt like we were trying to protect ourselves from vampires by putting out lines of this powder that they can’t cross. We picked up a taxi and went to our old haunt, 1000 Cups of Coffee to see Joan, read, and have some coffee. She was very happy to see us when we arrived, and she helped Meagan order a drink so that she wouldn’t end up with another cold curer like she did the last time. We mostly ended up talking with people while we were at the shop rather than doing any reading. First we spoke with one of Joan’s regular customers who was a landscaper. Ugandans are very much entrepreneurs. He was telling me how he wanted to start exporting hides to Italy to be made into leather and then having the leather shipped back to be manufactured into different products to sell on the Ugandan market. We also spoke with two women who were alumni of the College of Charleston. They were leading missions for medical students and nurses in a town in the north western part of the country called Mysinde. They were working for a non-profit out of Charleston, so I asked them if they knew if there were any job openings. =). It will definitely be something that I follow up with eventually. I also took the time to talk with the owner of the coffee shop. I remember him from the last time. He was asking about the book I was reading, and coffee, and the different types of customers that he gets. I think that we will try to do the coffee tour again because it was so much fun when I did it last year.
After we were all hopped up on caffeine from delicious coffee, we walked across the street to the market so that Meagan could see the different crafts and things that they had. I knew that we weren’t going to make it out there without buying something, so I bought a pair of earrings and Meagan also go some paper beads. I also found a store that had fake designer bags. They claim that they are real, but I don’t believe it because they are only selling them for like 30-45 dollars. But… they are nice leather bags, so I think that at some point I’ll get one anyway.
We walked home and stopped along the way to pick up something that we could use for chips. We choose pita bread and we ended up buying some fresh goat cheese in the process. Our plan was to make pita chips for guacamole and use whole pitas for pizza crusts. I made a simple guacamole with just lemon, onion, salt, and tomatoes, and Meagan said that it was the best guacamole that she’d ever had. The avocados were perfect.
All in all today was a really nice day. I knew that I needed a day to relax and unwind after the long week, and do something for fun.
I’m looking forward to having a relaxing weekend of reading and writing and drinking coffee. Today we went to the supermarket (again) and the Foundation. At the supermarket we got a blender, which Grace has been requesting for the second summer now to make juice. I’m hoping that we will be able to make smoothies too.
We went to the Foundation to use their printer, and realized that they had wireless internet as well. So that was a bonus. At the very least we can go there to use the internet until we get something at home. And all of the equipment works properly for the most part. Rev. Obed’s computer is a bit slow. I was trying to educate him about things he can do to speed up the processing, like removing files from his desk top, and it sort of reminded me of being a home. We laughed because he said that he always got his son, Michael, to be close by to help him when he had problems. Sounded familiar.
So although it is frustrating to me to get all of this paper work sorted out, things seem to be looking better and moving forward. Monday will be our next attempt to turn in paper work, and again take up the ongoing feud that I have with secretaries in Uganda.
We walked all the way back to the apartment from the foundation. When we were measuring it out on the map it only said that it was two miles, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t write. The map also says that things are at locations where they aren’t. So I’m approximating between three and four miles. What I like about walking on this particular road, is that there are many schools in the area. The children walk along the side walk to go home in the afternoon. They are very cute in their uniforms walking home. Sometimes there are siblings together and the older with hold the younger’s hand. In fact Meagan got a picture of this type of pair while we were walking behind them. Hopefully soon we will be able to post pictures so that you can see for yourself.
We were pretty hot and sweaty when we got home. It is the type of hot where you just can’t eat until you cool off after a while even though you haven’t eaten very much that whole day. Today we are attempting to make banana bread for the first time. As I’m typing I can smell it in the oven. Hopefully it will be a success…
Saturday 5/29/10
We put out some roach poison today. Hopefully the poison will work. I felt like we were trying to protect ourselves from vampires by putting out lines of this powder that they can’t cross. We picked up a taxi and went to our old haunt, 1000 Cups of Coffee to see Joan, read, and have some coffee. She was very happy to see us when we arrived, and she helped Meagan order a drink so that she wouldn’t end up with another cold curer like she did the last time. We mostly ended up talking with people while we were at the shop rather than doing any reading. First we spoke with one of Joan’s regular customers who was a landscaper. Ugandans are very much entrepreneurs. He was telling me how he wanted to start exporting hides to Italy to be made into leather and then having the leather shipped back to be manufactured into different products to sell on the Ugandan market. We also spoke with two women who were alumni of the College of Charleston. They were leading missions for medical students and nurses in a town in the north western part of the country called Mysinde. They were working for a non-profit out of Charleston, so I asked them if they knew if there were any job openings. =). It will definitely be something that I follow up with eventually. I also took the time to talk with the owner of the coffee shop. I remember him from the last time. He was asking about the book I was reading, and coffee, and the different types of customers that he gets. I think that we will try to do the coffee tour again because it was so much fun when I did it last year.
After we were all hopped up on caffeine from delicious coffee, we walked across the street to the market so that Meagan could see the different crafts and things that they had. I knew that we weren’t going to make it out there without buying something, so I bought a pair of earrings and Meagan also go some paper beads. I also found a store that had fake designer bags. They claim that they are real, but I don’t believe it because they are only selling them for like 30-45 dollars. But… they are nice leather bags, so I think that at some point I’ll get one anyway.
We walked home and stopped along the way to pick up something that we could use for chips. We choose pita bread and we ended up buying some fresh goat cheese in the process. Our plan was to make pita chips for guacamole and use whole pitas for pizza crusts. I made a simple guacamole with just lemon, onion, salt, and tomatoes, and Meagan said that it was the best guacamole that she’d ever had. The avocados were perfect.
All in all today was a really nice day. I knew that I needed a day to relax and unwind after the long week, and do something for fun.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Starting to get the ball rolling
Wednesday 5/26/10
Today has been a busy day. I had to make myself get out of bed because I’m still not adjusted to the time difference. I’ve been waking up in the night about the time of dinner in America, and can’t go back to sleep. Grace came today to cook for us, and she made some traditional Ugandan food: Matoke, which is the green bananas boiled and mashed, peanut sauce, cabbage and greens, pineapple, tomatoes and avocados. It was all delicious and it was fun to watch Meagan experience it for the first time. We also had fresh tangerine juice, which was amazing. The food is so good here. Lastly we stopped by my favorite pizza place today and got a pizza with pineapple and ham. Delicious. Enough about the food, we also worked today.
Most of the time was spent trying to print and send emails, and get all of the correct forms to the appropriate office to get our approval to do research. Of course we had all of the wrong items, and didn’t make enough copies, and I’m supposed to have four copies of my passport photo instead of two. We also got lost trying to find the office. I think deep down I knew that this was going to be a first attempt, but I’m still adjusting to the pace of things, and am anxious to get moving forward.
Our meeting at the Foundation balanced out our filing experience. The people we met last summer welcomed us warmly, and it was enjoyable to talk with them again. Rev wasn’t there but we met with some of the new employees that they have hired. It seems that the program has made a lot of improvements, many of which are based on the recommendations from last summer. That makes me feel very good, and is a compliment to our work.
I was happy to get home after the long day. We took a boda home this time, which is a motorcycle that you can hire to take you around instead of riding a taxi. Meagan was definitely afraid but game for the experience. She has been really good about trying new things. When we got to the house Grace had cooked a big meal for us to last several days. It is nice that we won’t have to cook tomorrow. She cooked some fresh beans for us, which is one of my favorites, for tomorrow. We finally got a really good pineapple.
After dinner Dr. Muhumuza’s brother, Andrew came by for a while. It was nice to catch up with him. Tomorrow we will see another one of the friends that I made last summer. =) Starting to have fun and relax.
Thursday 5/27/10
I thought that I would wake up earlier today, but I had no such luck. It was almost noon when I got out of bed. I think Meagan was also frustrated that she wasn’t able to get out of bed. She is an early bird like me. I finished up my writing from the day before. We ate a quick breakfast/lunch and then headed out.
Today we went to get some more passport photos made. When they took the pictures I felt like they were glamour shots. They had me pose and everything. We went to the post office and the bookstore. The book store had a lot of books about Obama since his father is Kenya. Actually a lot of shops and restaurants are named after him.
I forgot that you really have to demand attention from people if you want any kind of service. People don’t assume that you want something from them even though you are standing there. When we went to the post office the lady was chatting with a friend and only paused briefly to answer our questions. Same thing with the other woman who was selling the maps. People are just very social and are continuously in conversation. It is something that I’m not used to, but maybe it would be nice to have a job where your friend could stop by and chat with you while you weren’t doing your work.
While we were waiting for our friend to get off work, we sat down in the park. A group of young were trying to take pictures of us without us noticing. I think they were embarrassed when we did see, and then took pictures of them. Our friend also spotted us in the park from a distance like a bad Where’s Waldo. There were probably a hundred other people (but no white people). I am constantly reminded of how different I am, but things are slowly becoming more and more comfortable again.
It was dark by the time that we got home. It is difficult to walk on the dirt road at night. There are only a few lights. You sort of have to walk like you might be stepping into a dip so that you are ready when you actually do.
Today has been a busy day. I had to make myself get out of bed because I’m still not adjusted to the time difference. I’ve been waking up in the night about the time of dinner in America, and can’t go back to sleep. Grace came today to cook for us, and she made some traditional Ugandan food: Matoke, which is the green bananas boiled and mashed, peanut sauce, cabbage and greens, pineapple, tomatoes and avocados. It was all delicious and it was fun to watch Meagan experience it for the first time. We also had fresh tangerine juice, which was amazing. The food is so good here. Lastly we stopped by my favorite pizza place today and got a pizza with pineapple and ham. Delicious. Enough about the food, we also worked today.
Most of the time was spent trying to print and send emails, and get all of the correct forms to the appropriate office to get our approval to do research. Of course we had all of the wrong items, and didn’t make enough copies, and I’m supposed to have four copies of my passport photo instead of two. We also got lost trying to find the office. I think deep down I knew that this was going to be a first attempt, but I’m still adjusting to the pace of things, and am anxious to get moving forward.
Our meeting at the Foundation balanced out our filing experience. The people we met last summer welcomed us warmly, and it was enjoyable to talk with them again. Rev wasn’t there but we met with some of the new employees that they have hired. It seems that the program has made a lot of improvements, many of which are based on the recommendations from last summer. That makes me feel very good, and is a compliment to our work.
I was happy to get home after the long day. We took a boda home this time, which is a motorcycle that you can hire to take you around instead of riding a taxi. Meagan was definitely afraid but game for the experience. She has been really good about trying new things. When we got to the house Grace had cooked a big meal for us to last several days. It is nice that we won’t have to cook tomorrow. She cooked some fresh beans for us, which is one of my favorites, for tomorrow. We finally got a really good pineapple.
After dinner Dr. Muhumuza’s brother, Andrew came by for a while. It was nice to catch up with him. Tomorrow we will see another one of the friends that I made last summer. =) Starting to have fun and relax.
Thursday 5/27/10
I thought that I would wake up earlier today, but I had no such luck. It was almost noon when I got out of bed. I think Meagan was also frustrated that she wasn’t able to get out of bed. She is an early bird like me. I finished up my writing from the day before. We ate a quick breakfast/lunch and then headed out.
Today we went to get some more passport photos made. When they took the pictures I felt like they were glamour shots. They had me pose and everything. We went to the post office and the bookstore. The book store had a lot of books about Obama since his father is Kenya. Actually a lot of shops and restaurants are named after him.
I forgot that you really have to demand attention from people if you want any kind of service. People don’t assume that you want something from them even though you are standing there. When we went to the post office the lady was chatting with a friend and only paused briefly to answer our questions. Same thing with the other woman who was selling the maps. People are just very social and are continuously in conversation. It is something that I’m not used to, but maybe it would be nice to have a job where your friend could stop by and chat with you while you weren’t doing your work.
While we were waiting for our friend to get off work, we sat down in the park. A group of young were trying to take pictures of us without us noticing. I think they were embarrassed when we did see, and then took pictures of them. Our friend also spotted us in the park from a distance like a bad Where’s Waldo. There were probably a hundred other people (but no white people). I am constantly reminded of how different I am, but things are slowly becoming more and more comfortable again.
It was dark by the time that we got home. It is difficult to walk on the dirt road at night. There are only a few lights. You sort of have to walk like you might be stepping into a dip so that you are ready when you actually do.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
First Couple of Days
Sunday 5/23
We finally made it to Kampala after a long journey. I spent a lot of the time sleeping. I guess this time around I’m a little more relaxed because I could sleep on the plane. On the plane ride from Detroit to Amsterdam, I requested a glass of wine with dinner and the flight attendant asked me how old I was. Irritating. We arrived in Entebee a little late because we were delayed in Amsterdam, but it didn’t take as long as I thought it would to get our visas and our bags. They weren’t checking us for swine flu this time, and I made sure that I got a stamp on my passport. All of our bags made the trip safely.
It didn’t take us very long to find Rev Obed, who drove us from Entebee to Kampala. Meagan was pretty tired at this point, and so was I. I realized how tired I was when I was standing on the wrong side of the van, trying to figure out how to open the passenger door when there was no door at all. Many things were just how I remembered them. People are still driving just as crazy and the roads are so congested, continuously choked and slowed by people getting in and out of taxis, people trying to peddle small items while you are stopped, cars that are stalled, etc. The temperature outside was very comfortable with a light breeze. By this time it was pretty dark and you could see the different lights across the small towns that we passed.
Rev brought us directly to the compound, and we are staying in exactly the same place as we did last time. Grace, the lady who cooked and cleaned for us two days a week last summer had sent one of her nieces to wait up and prepare a meal for us. I felt much better after having a shower and eating a little something. The niece’s name is Janette, and she didn’t hang around for too long.
I went right to sleep, but had trouble sleeping all the night through. Grace came to check on us early in the morning. She looked really good and she said that her new baby was doing well. I also spoke with the grounds keeper who we had made friends with last summer named Gerald. He was always very kind to us. Since I was awake I began to unpack, but I didn’t get very far before I fell asleep again. It seems like I didn’t have this much trouble adjusting to the time change last time. I didn’t wake up again until 2:30 or so in the afternoon. I woke up Meagan so that we could begin to adjust to the time difference. We were both still groggy when we left the house.
We walked into town, one because we didn’t have any money, and two because I thought it would be a little bit easier for Meagan instead of riding in the taxis. I think walking down the side of the road with the way that people drive was a little unsettling to Meagan. However, it was nice to look at everything with fresh eyes. There were some new buildings that I didn’t remember. My favorite coffee house is gone =( I dumped as much information on Meagan as possible with the hopes that some of it would stick. I know it will take some time for her to learn all of the different areas in the city.
A funny aside, as we were leaving I showed her how we go in and out of the gate, and then close the door behind by reaching through the peep hole to close the latch. She was a little unsure about having to reach through, which was funny because we came back later and she tried to unlock the door. As she was feeling around for the latch, the guard came up from behind the gate to open the door and grabbed her hand. She screamed and jerked her hand out. We all laughed.
Anyway while we were walking the 3-4 miles into town, we stopped in the coffee shop where my friend Joan used to work. She wasn’t working that day, but was supposed to be in the next day. I’m looking forward to getting in touch with her again. We continued to the exchange bureau and got our money. Then we stopped at the internet café. We will be limited for a little while on our internet usage until we get our modem back. It seemed to be faster than how I remember it. Meagan’s wasn’t working at all which was frustrating to her. I think she was anxious to get in touch with her mom, but we got it all worked out.
From there we went to another coffee shop that was closer by. I was starting to get really tired, so we some drinks and some fruit. Meagan ordered this drink that turned out to be terrible. It was ginger tea with a lot of lemon in it, so it was super sour and made your face contort when you drank it. Later the waitress explained that it was supposed to be for people who have colds, which makes sense because it was pretty potent stuff. I took the safe route and ordered a latte, which was delicious, so I shared it with Meagan while they made her another drink. They could tell we didn’t like the tea. The fruit was fantastic. Meagan said it was like she never had a banana before that day. I agreed that they were excellent, and they make you frustrated at what they try to pass off as bananas in the US.
We also had watermelon, pineapple, papaya (which they call pawpaw), apples, mangos, tangerines, lemons, and passion fruit. The pineapple and papaya was really good too. I had never had passion fruit before, and it was pretty weird. It has a hard rind which you crack open. On the inside it is sort of slimy with crunchy seeds. Although it tasted good, the texture was too weird for me to handle. Meagan didn’t really like it either.
I decided that we would take a taxi back toward our part of town. We had to stop along the grocery store along the way. Crossing the street to get to a taxi stop is always a little precarious, and Meagan always waited for me to step out into traffic first. It feels a little funny being the leader, although I know it is necessary for the time being. Most of the time I wait for a Ugandan person to step out first anyway. In the taxi is was packed. There was a little boy and a mom sitting next to Meagan who kept smiling at her. He was really cute.
When we went to the grocery store, we picked up some of the things that we will be needing, and carried them back to the apartment. I can tell that I’m out of shape because I was getting tired carrying the water. Towards the end of last summer I could carry a pretty heavy load without getting tired. We lost two eggs out of twelve in the transport, which I thought was pretty good given that they just put them all in a plastic bag with the rest of the items.
We put everything away and Meagan took a shower. The power went out just as she got out. My lovely headlamp was perfect for the occasion and Meagan got to use her too. I’m sure we looked pretty funny walking around the house. We had to cook dinner without electricity, which was fine since the stove is a gas stove. It took a couple tries to get it lit. We finally ate an avocado, which I have been looking forward to for some time now. It was very good. Then we sat down to write some.
Then we had a roach incident. Meagan went to use the bathroom and there were two big ones in the bathroom. We managed to kill them both with a lot of screaming, and spraying of bug spray. At least I know that when I sleep under my mosquito net it keeps out bigger things too. The power came back on shortly after that which was good so I didn’t have to be afraid of the shadows that my headlamp was casting and thinking that they were roaches. The bats were also out last night, but I actually like the bats because I know they are eating the mosquitoes. There seem to be a lot of them.
Tuesday 5/25
I slept a little better, but I was still having lots of dreams. One of my friends from last summer called at 8:00 in the morning and I could hear the phone ringing in my dreams. He said that he was sorry for calling so early, but he just couldn’t wait. It feels good to know that people are excited that I am back in town, and I think that they are really going to like Meagan too. I also know that I’m going to have to do a lot of explaining as to why Dustin is not here, which I will have to deal with as it comes. I’m trying to be professional.
I woke up a little earlier today, 12:00, so hopefully by tomorrow I will be waking up at a more reasonable hour to begin my day. Meagan got up right away when I got up. I love her enthusiasm. I’ve been making lots of phone calls, trying to catch up with people. I feel like we have so much to do, and it will require everyone’s cooperation to pull it off.
We finally made it to Kampala after a long journey. I spent a lot of the time sleeping. I guess this time around I’m a little more relaxed because I could sleep on the plane. On the plane ride from Detroit to Amsterdam, I requested a glass of wine with dinner and the flight attendant asked me how old I was. Irritating. We arrived in Entebee a little late because we were delayed in Amsterdam, but it didn’t take as long as I thought it would to get our visas and our bags. They weren’t checking us for swine flu this time, and I made sure that I got a stamp on my passport. All of our bags made the trip safely.
It didn’t take us very long to find Rev Obed, who drove us from Entebee to Kampala. Meagan was pretty tired at this point, and so was I. I realized how tired I was when I was standing on the wrong side of the van, trying to figure out how to open the passenger door when there was no door at all. Many things were just how I remembered them. People are still driving just as crazy and the roads are so congested, continuously choked and slowed by people getting in and out of taxis, people trying to peddle small items while you are stopped, cars that are stalled, etc. The temperature outside was very comfortable with a light breeze. By this time it was pretty dark and you could see the different lights across the small towns that we passed.
Rev brought us directly to the compound, and we are staying in exactly the same place as we did last time. Grace, the lady who cooked and cleaned for us two days a week last summer had sent one of her nieces to wait up and prepare a meal for us. I felt much better after having a shower and eating a little something. The niece’s name is Janette, and she didn’t hang around for too long.
I went right to sleep, but had trouble sleeping all the night through. Grace came to check on us early in the morning. She looked really good and she said that her new baby was doing well. I also spoke with the grounds keeper who we had made friends with last summer named Gerald. He was always very kind to us. Since I was awake I began to unpack, but I didn’t get very far before I fell asleep again. It seems like I didn’t have this much trouble adjusting to the time change last time. I didn’t wake up again until 2:30 or so in the afternoon. I woke up Meagan so that we could begin to adjust to the time difference. We were both still groggy when we left the house.
We walked into town, one because we didn’t have any money, and two because I thought it would be a little bit easier for Meagan instead of riding in the taxis. I think walking down the side of the road with the way that people drive was a little unsettling to Meagan. However, it was nice to look at everything with fresh eyes. There were some new buildings that I didn’t remember. My favorite coffee house is gone =( I dumped as much information on Meagan as possible with the hopes that some of it would stick. I know it will take some time for her to learn all of the different areas in the city.
A funny aside, as we were leaving I showed her how we go in and out of the gate, and then close the door behind by reaching through the peep hole to close the latch. She was a little unsure about having to reach through, which was funny because we came back later and she tried to unlock the door. As she was feeling around for the latch, the guard came up from behind the gate to open the door and grabbed her hand. She screamed and jerked her hand out. We all laughed.
Anyway while we were walking the 3-4 miles into town, we stopped in the coffee shop where my friend Joan used to work. She wasn’t working that day, but was supposed to be in the next day. I’m looking forward to getting in touch with her again. We continued to the exchange bureau and got our money. Then we stopped at the internet café. We will be limited for a little while on our internet usage until we get our modem back. It seemed to be faster than how I remember it. Meagan’s wasn’t working at all which was frustrating to her. I think she was anxious to get in touch with her mom, but we got it all worked out.
From there we went to another coffee shop that was closer by. I was starting to get really tired, so we some drinks and some fruit. Meagan ordered this drink that turned out to be terrible. It was ginger tea with a lot of lemon in it, so it was super sour and made your face contort when you drank it. Later the waitress explained that it was supposed to be for people who have colds, which makes sense because it was pretty potent stuff. I took the safe route and ordered a latte, which was delicious, so I shared it with Meagan while they made her another drink. They could tell we didn’t like the tea. The fruit was fantastic. Meagan said it was like she never had a banana before that day. I agreed that they were excellent, and they make you frustrated at what they try to pass off as bananas in the US.
We also had watermelon, pineapple, papaya (which they call pawpaw), apples, mangos, tangerines, lemons, and passion fruit. The pineapple and papaya was really good too. I had never had passion fruit before, and it was pretty weird. It has a hard rind which you crack open. On the inside it is sort of slimy with crunchy seeds. Although it tasted good, the texture was too weird for me to handle. Meagan didn’t really like it either.
I decided that we would take a taxi back toward our part of town. We had to stop along the grocery store along the way. Crossing the street to get to a taxi stop is always a little precarious, and Meagan always waited for me to step out into traffic first. It feels a little funny being the leader, although I know it is necessary for the time being. Most of the time I wait for a Ugandan person to step out first anyway. In the taxi is was packed. There was a little boy and a mom sitting next to Meagan who kept smiling at her. He was really cute.
When we went to the grocery store, we picked up some of the things that we will be needing, and carried them back to the apartment. I can tell that I’m out of shape because I was getting tired carrying the water. Towards the end of last summer I could carry a pretty heavy load without getting tired. We lost two eggs out of twelve in the transport, which I thought was pretty good given that they just put them all in a plastic bag with the rest of the items.
We put everything away and Meagan took a shower. The power went out just as she got out. My lovely headlamp was perfect for the occasion and Meagan got to use her too. I’m sure we looked pretty funny walking around the house. We had to cook dinner without electricity, which was fine since the stove is a gas stove. It took a couple tries to get it lit. We finally ate an avocado, which I have been looking forward to for some time now. It was very good. Then we sat down to write some.
Then we had a roach incident. Meagan went to use the bathroom and there were two big ones in the bathroom. We managed to kill them both with a lot of screaming, and spraying of bug spray. At least I know that when I sleep under my mosquito net it keeps out bigger things too. The power came back on shortly after that which was good so I didn’t have to be afraid of the shadows that my headlamp was casting and thinking that they were roaches. The bats were also out last night, but I actually like the bats because I know they are eating the mosquitoes. There seem to be a lot of them.
Tuesday 5/25
I slept a little better, but I was still having lots of dreams. One of my friends from last summer called at 8:00 in the morning and I could hear the phone ringing in my dreams. He said that he was sorry for calling so early, but he just couldn’t wait. It feels good to know that people are excited that I am back in town, and I think that they are really going to like Meagan too. I also know that I’m going to have to do a lot of explaining as to why Dustin is not here, which I will have to deal with as it comes. I’m trying to be professional.
I woke up a little earlier today, 12:00, so hopefully by tomorrow I will be waking up at a more reasonable hour to begin my day. Meagan got up right away when I got up. I love her enthusiasm. I’ve been making lots of phone calls, trying to catch up with people. I feel like we have so much to do, and it will require everyone’s cooperation to pull it off.
Monday, May 24, 2010
We're Here!
We finally made it to Kampala after much traveling. Many things are exactly the same, and a few things are new in different. We are staying in the same exact place as last time, which is really nice. Meagan is pretty tired, but really positive for the first day. I have posted the link to her blog, but let me know if it isn't working. I wasn't able to test it. We don't have internet at home so not much time to talk. Will post more very soon.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Well, It's been a while...
It's been a while since I last posted a blog, but I wanted to give a little update since we've been State side. We are still duking it out with the IRB board in Uganda. It is exhausting to be dealing with people who argue over the minute details. However, I refuse to let it dampen the success that we've had with the foundation. They seem to be very pleased with the work that we did, and are already starting to implement some of our recommendations. It's weird to have people actually listening to my opinion.
For Dustin and I there is no rest for the weary. We have to start writing up a formal report, search for grants, and facilitate some of the recommendations. I will be teaching a class this semester, so I have to get prepared for that. The most exciting thing is that we have decided to raise some money for the foundation for next summer. For those of you who have been keeping up with the blog, you might remember some of the people that we met along the way. David, the phenomenal young man who had been sneeking into school because he couldn't pay, or the old woman who was caring for eight children, four of whom were abandoned at her home and four who's parents had died of HIV. These people were so generous with their time and knowledge, we feel that we would like to be able to help these people as we meet them next summer.
So.... now the tricky part...We are asking people to donate money to the foundation for this purpose. The great thing is that it doesn't take very much. We managed to pay David's school fees so that he could finish out his high school education, and it only cost $150. He was in tears when we gave him the money. It costs that much for an elementary age child to go to school for a year. We left almost all our clothes with the grandmother for the children because they were dressed in rags. Some of them are not going to school and some of them are. It's also difficult for them just to have enough to eat.
Having said all this I hope you are encouraged. No amount is too small. A dollar goes a long way. You might also remember the time we interviewed a prostitute. Her going rate was a dollar. We gave her ten dollars for her time so that she could go home early that night. We probably gave her as much money as she earns in several days. Let me know if you are interested. You can contact me by email, it's listed in my profile with this blog. Or you can call me. Or you can get in touch with my mom, and she can direct you.
She's actually been a great help in motivating all this.
P.S. and if you donate, it's tax deductible.
For Dustin and I there is no rest for the weary. We have to start writing up a formal report, search for grants, and facilitate some of the recommendations. I will be teaching a class this semester, so I have to get prepared for that. The most exciting thing is that we have decided to raise some money for the foundation for next summer. For those of you who have been keeping up with the blog, you might remember some of the people that we met along the way. David, the phenomenal young man who had been sneeking into school because he couldn't pay, or the old woman who was caring for eight children, four of whom were abandoned at her home and four who's parents had died of HIV. These people were so generous with their time and knowledge, we feel that we would like to be able to help these people as we meet them next summer.
So.... now the tricky part...We are asking people to donate money to the foundation for this purpose. The great thing is that it doesn't take very much. We managed to pay David's school fees so that he could finish out his high school education, and it only cost $150. He was in tears when we gave him the money. It costs that much for an elementary age child to go to school for a year. We left almost all our clothes with the grandmother for the children because they were dressed in rags. Some of them are not going to school and some of them are. It's also difficult for them just to have enough to eat.
Having said all this I hope you are encouraged. No amount is too small. A dollar goes a long way. You might also remember the time we interviewed a prostitute. Her going rate was a dollar. We gave her ten dollars for her time so that she could go home early that night. We probably gave her as much money as she earns in several days. Let me know if you are interested. You can contact me by email, it's listed in my profile with this blog. Or you can call me. Or you can get in touch with my mom, and she can direct you.
She's actually been a great help in motivating all this.
P.S. and if you donate, it's tax deductible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)