June 29
So the deviled eggs went over really well. There weren't any left so I suppose that people liked them. The BBQ was much more fun that I expected. Everyone was very social and very nice. We had an eccclectic group of people. Americans, French, British, Dutch, Ethiopian, and then Ugandans of course. Everyone has a completely different story. I loved the food that the Ethiopians brought. It's probably my new favorite ethnic food. Our two friends came, Andrew and Joan. Andrew also brought some of his family members. They weren't shy about helping themselves to all of the food. So we are slowly accumulating more and more friends. The BBQ lasted very late, and then we went out after that, so both Dustin and I were wiped out through most of Sunday.
Today I have already gone to set up my massage for tomorrow. I still don't know what else I want to do. I really want to get sushi in the evening, but I'm a little nervous about eating raw fish while I'm here. I might have to stick with the tempura. I really just want some hot saki. Very exciting. I'll be sure to let ya'll know how it goes.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
June 25
Dustin and I have started moving forward again on our project. We decided that we would try to make contact with some of the other NGO's in the area, especially those that work with children effected by HIV. It will be benedficial to get another perspective on the epidemic in the area. There are some really neat ones out there that we have found so far. My favorite is something like a summer camp put on by the queen Buganda to teach teenagers how to take care of themselves. =) I know some people that could use something like that.
We also went and talked with Joan about our project. She seemed very interested in what we were doing and was glad to tell us about her experiences. I understand now why it is almost impossible to stay impartial. She told us that she was having trouble affording to send her children to school, and was wondering if there is anyone that would like to sponsor them. She is so kind to us and is such a good person, I think that Dustin and I are going to try to find a way to help send her children to school. She invited us to go to meet them, which is also really exciting. She has two and one of them is having a birthday in July. She said that it is a treat for her children to meet white people because we are so different. I said that it would be exciting for us too because it is hard for us to get out of the city.
June 6/26/09
Doing anything is a chore here. All we have done today is go into town, have lunch, change money, try to get pictures on a CD, and stop by one store, and it has taken almost the whole day. We have started to get in touch with other NGO's so keep your fingers crossed that we are successful. We also decided that we would start trying to develop the funding for next summer. We found a grant through the embassy that we are excited about, but if anyone else knows of other options, perhaps you could let us know? It's times like these that I understand the value of marrying well.
June 6/27/09
Last night we went to hear some live music and it was so fun! Joan decided that she was going to join us. The band was a congolese band, and they were fabulous dancers. The men in particular were very good and fun to watch. I think it is something that we will keep doing.
We have a BBQ to attend today at the compound. I told them i was going to make deviled eggs and they gave me a funny look. I hope they go over well, but I think overall it is going to be a good time. They told us we could invite all our friends, but we only have two, Joan and Andrew, so we've invited both of them. It should be an ecclectic group. We live next to some Brits, and some of them are French, One husband is a Swede who has been living in Italy with his wife, but I'm not sure what nationality she is, and there are others. It should be interesting.
Dustin and I have started moving forward again on our project. We decided that we would try to make contact with some of the other NGO's in the area, especially those that work with children effected by HIV. It will be benedficial to get another perspective on the epidemic in the area. There are some really neat ones out there that we have found so far. My favorite is something like a summer camp put on by the queen Buganda to teach teenagers how to take care of themselves. =) I know some people that could use something like that.
We also went and talked with Joan about our project. She seemed very interested in what we were doing and was glad to tell us about her experiences. I understand now why it is almost impossible to stay impartial. She told us that she was having trouble affording to send her children to school, and was wondering if there is anyone that would like to sponsor them. She is so kind to us and is such a good person, I think that Dustin and I are going to try to find a way to help send her children to school. She invited us to go to meet them, which is also really exciting. She has two and one of them is having a birthday in July. She said that it is a treat for her children to meet white people because we are so different. I said that it would be exciting for us too because it is hard for us to get out of the city.
June 6/26/09
Doing anything is a chore here. All we have done today is go into town, have lunch, change money, try to get pictures on a CD, and stop by one store, and it has taken almost the whole day. We have started to get in touch with other NGO's so keep your fingers crossed that we are successful. We also decided that we would start trying to develop the funding for next summer. We found a grant through the embassy that we are excited about, but if anyone else knows of other options, perhaps you could let us know? It's times like these that I understand the value of marrying well.
June 6/27/09
Last night we went to hear some live music and it was so fun! Joan decided that she was going to join us. The band was a congolese band, and they were fabulous dancers. The men in particular were very good and fun to watch. I think it is something that we will keep doing.
We have a BBQ to attend today at the compound. I told them i was going to make deviled eggs and they gave me a funny look. I hope they go over well, but I think overall it is going to be a good time. They told us we could invite all our friends, but we only have two, Joan and Andrew, so we've invited both of them. It should be an ecclectic group. We live next to some Brits, and some of them are French, One husband is a Swede who has been living in Italy with his wife, but I'm not sure what nationality she is, and there are others. It should be interesting.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Reassessment time
June 23
We've had to totally reassess our project because I don't think that we will get approval in time to do direct research. So we've come up with a few things and decided that we would still try to do as much work as we can while we're here. I was upset about it at first, and I was particularly worried about how Dustin was going to react, but I think we're both over it.
June 24
We've made a new friend today! Her name is Joan and she let us interview her, but once we ran out of questions we ended up talking for a long time after. She was actually our tour guide. You might remember her from that. She has two kids, and she said that she was going to take us to see them because they live with their grandmother outside of the city. Anyway, we had a lot of fun hanging out with her, and I think she had fun too.
My birthday is coming up soon but I'm not sure what to plan for myself. I think I might go to the spa or something.
On another note the mouse in our house is still at large. Dustin said he saw it sitting in our living room chair. The gaul right? We also think he's been eating out of the trap but not getting stuck. I think we need to come up with a new plan.
Just so everyone knows, I do get all of the comments. It's really fun for me to sit down and read them.
We've had to totally reassess our project because I don't think that we will get approval in time to do direct research. So we've come up with a few things and decided that we would still try to do as much work as we can while we're here. I was upset about it at first, and I was particularly worried about how Dustin was going to react, but I think we're both over it.
June 24
We've made a new friend today! Her name is Joan and she let us interview her, but once we ran out of questions we ended up talking for a long time after. She was actually our tour guide. You might remember her from that. She has two kids, and she said that she was going to take us to see them because they live with their grandmother outside of the city. Anyway, we had a lot of fun hanging out with her, and I think she had fun too.
My birthday is coming up soon but I'm not sure what to plan for myself. I think I might go to the spa or something.
On another note the mouse in our house is still at large. Dustin said he saw it sitting in our living room chair. The gaul right? We also think he's been eating out of the trap but not getting stuck. I think we need to come up with a new plan.
Just so everyone knows, I do get all of the comments. It's really fun for me to sit down and read them.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Not much to report
There hasn't been much going on since Friday. Just trying to catch up on writing. I have a whole in my mosiquito netting and I put my foot through it in the middle of the night. I was half awake and very confused as to why I couldn't get my foot back.
There is a mouse living somewhere in our kitchen. They didn't have mouse traps at the store, so we had to buy this glue stuff. You put it on a piece of board and then bait it with peanut butter. I can already tell this is going to be a disaster.
We're having some trouble with our research proposal. It's starting to get frustrating because the committee won't hear it soon enough for us to get anything done. I think we are going to have to reassess our long term plan, but I'm not sure how we are going to adjust so that the summer is still productive. We still have some work to occupy us in the mean time. I'll let ya'll know what happens next.
There is a mouse living somewhere in our kitchen. They didn't have mouse traps at the store, so we had to buy this glue stuff. You put it on a piece of board and then bait it with peanut butter. I can already tell this is going to be a disaster.
We're having some trouble with our research proposal. It's starting to get frustrating because the committee won't hear it soon enough for us to get anything done. I think we are going to have to reassess our long term plan, but I'm not sure how we are going to adjust so that the summer is still productive. We still have some work to occupy us in the mean time. I'll let ya'll know what happens next.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monkey Sighting
Happy Father's day to everyone!
June 19
Today was coffee safari day! What a great day we've had. It didn't start out that way. They wanted us to be at the coffee house at 7:00. So we woke up with the man who calls the Islamic prayers at 5:30 in the morning over the loud speaker. At 6:15 we were out the door, and the sun was just coming up. The taxi ride into town was very fast, and so we arrived before the shop was even open.
We started with a breakfast of fresh fruit, museli, yogurt, fresh juice, toast, honey, and coffee. It ended up being just me and Dustin for the tour, and we had a tour guide and a driver. We were very glad to have a driver and ride around in a personal car instead of being crammed into a taxi.
The first place we went to was the Uganda Coffee Authority. Here they taste all of the coffee that gets exported out of the country to ensure the quality and to regulate the price of the coffee. What was so cool is that we were always right in the middle of the work space. It quickly became clear that the tour is more of an impromtu type deal rather than an organized regular thing. Our tour guide, Joan, just always called ahead to let whomever know that we were coming.
Anyway back to the coffee tasting...They were constantly roasting, griding, and tasting coffee. They would taste it with spoons and spit it out to check for defects. They let us taste the coffee right along with them. I felt silly sucking the coffee into my mouth from the spoon and then spitting it out. It was sort of like a wine tasting. All the while Joan was giving us tons of information about the different beans that are grown in Uganda, and what the different varieties look and taste like.
The next place we went was the coffee processing plant. The first thing I noticed was how the potholes were filled with old coffee beans. They had acres of coffee laid out in the sun to dry. They also had a pavilion where women were sorting the coffe and picking our the stuff that wasn't coffee. The chief engineer gave us a tour, and showed us the entire line of production. It wasn't that interesting, just loud and dusty. Mostly just elevators and things shaking. They let us climb on top of the machines and watch the coffee running through. I've never been allowed to stick my hands in the machinery on a tour before. It probably wasn't very safe, but totally worth it.
We learned about the different chemical concentrations in different coffees. The smaller beans actually have a higher concentration of caffeine, but the bigger ones are better quality. There is also natural coffee and washed coffee. natural coffee is dried with the hull still on. Washed coffee is husked, washed, and then dried. The husks are red and coffee is a seed. I never knew any of these things.
The next place was the roaster. The roaster asked us all kinds of questions and I was able to answer them. He was impressed, but it was because Joan was giving us so much information. We stood there and talked while he was doing his roasting. He told us that it releases the carbon in the bean, and the size of the bean almost doubles. He also said that it is best for the coffee to be consumed at least two days after roasting.
Then we went out of the city to the national agricultural research center. There a plant pathologist gave us a tour of the facility. They test the different strains of coffee to test their resistance to different diseases and to help maintain the quality of taste. They had several "experiements" running at the time, but it was really just fields with different plains, and they just waited to see which ones would die from disease. There were mother crops, which were the original strains of plants that could be cut and given to farmers to grow. They were also doing experiments on other crops like coco and palm oil, but we mainly stuck to coffee. I learned that there are several different types of diseases that attack coffee plants, most of them are fungi. It was cool to get a biology lesson, and to actually use the information.
The whole time I was thinking of this one time when my mom was trying to help me learn different scientists. I was having rouble with Gregor Mendel. And mom goes "all he did was cross pea plants, when will you ever have to know this again?" And here it was in action.
The research center was out of the city. I was glad to see some of the country side, and it didn't take us much to get out, but I loved seeing the country. People were making bricks by hand and baking them in large brick ovens. Domestic animals were grazing every where. Children walking home from school. Little babies running around naked. True huts.
We went from the research center to a farm where they grown coffee. This is where we were served lunch. All of the food we ate was grown right there on the farm, and it was all delicious. Potatoes, Matoke and peanut sauce, beef, fish, pumpkin, cassava, sweet potatoes, greens, fresh pineapple juice, local coffee, fruits, and sugar cane. This was the first time that Dustin had ever tried sugar cane, and I was excited for him to try it. He showed us all of his different gardens, and how they graft different plants onto lemon roots so that they produce fruit faster. He showed us a zuchinni he had planted as an experiment, and it had an enormous zuchinni on it. It was funny because he was so knowledgable about so many of the plants, but he asked us if we know when it is supposed to be picked. I told him that it was past due, and showed him the length it should be. I giggled to myself that I would know such information because I'm so bad at growing anything. He said he expected it to change colors. He had so many different crops. He even had vanilla vines, and rice. He also had livestock, and the pigs had just given birth to piglets. He also had guinea hens as an experiment.
The best part was that we walked down to the coffee fields, and he let us plant our own coffee plants. I put a sign next to mine. He said that we could email him and he would let us know how our plant was doing. I drew a sunshine on my sign. The other cool thing was that I saw a monkey in the tree. It was a red tailed monkey. I feel like I have completed one of my major objectives.
I was exhausted by the time we got home, and I went to bed almost immediately.
June 18
Today has been spent writing. Nothing exciting.
June 17
Just work today. We met some new people that work for the program. They were very eager to talk to us and seemed very skilled at what they are doing. It's a little difficult to be working with people that are so much older than I am. The one funny thing, one of the people we were talking to had never seen freckles before. He asked me if there was something wrong with me. It was difficult for me to explain that this was just the way I was, and that as I got older I got more of them. He asked if they itch. He probably thought it was a rash. They also wondered if eventually I would be totally black. =)
June 19
Today was coffee safari day! What a great day we've had. It didn't start out that way. They wanted us to be at the coffee house at 7:00. So we woke up with the man who calls the Islamic prayers at 5:30 in the morning over the loud speaker. At 6:15 we were out the door, and the sun was just coming up. The taxi ride into town was very fast, and so we arrived before the shop was even open.
We started with a breakfast of fresh fruit, museli, yogurt, fresh juice, toast, honey, and coffee. It ended up being just me and Dustin for the tour, and we had a tour guide and a driver. We were very glad to have a driver and ride around in a personal car instead of being crammed into a taxi.
The first place we went to was the Uganda Coffee Authority. Here they taste all of the coffee that gets exported out of the country to ensure the quality and to regulate the price of the coffee. What was so cool is that we were always right in the middle of the work space. It quickly became clear that the tour is more of an impromtu type deal rather than an organized regular thing. Our tour guide, Joan, just always called ahead to let whomever know that we were coming.
Anyway back to the coffee tasting...They were constantly roasting, griding, and tasting coffee. They would taste it with spoons and spit it out to check for defects. They let us taste the coffee right along with them. I felt silly sucking the coffee into my mouth from the spoon and then spitting it out. It was sort of like a wine tasting. All the while Joan was giving us tons of information about the different beans that are grown in Uganda, and what the different varieties look and taste like.
The next place we went was the coffee processing plant. The first thing I noticed was how the potholes were filled with old coffee beans. They had acres of coffee laid out in the sun to dry. They also had a pavilion where women were sorting the coffe and picking our the stuff that wasn't coffee. The chief engineer gave us a tour, and showed us the entire line of production. It wasn't that interesting, just loud and dusty. Mostly just elevators and things shaking. They let us climb on top of the machines and watch the coffee running through. I've never been allowed to stick my hands in the machinery on a tour before. It probably wasn't very safe, but totally worth it.
We learned about the different chemical concentrations in different coffees. The smaller beans actually have a higher concentration of caffeine, but the bigger ones are better quality. There is also natural coffee and washed coffee. natural coffee is dried with the hull still on. Washed coffee is husked, washed, and then dried. The husks are red and coffee is a seed. I never knew any of these things.
The next place was the roaster. The roaster asked us all kinds of questions and I was able to answer them. He was impressed, but it was because Joan was giving us so much information. We stood there and talked while he was doing his roasting. He told us that it releases the carbon in the bean, and the size of the bean almost doubles. He also said that it is best for the coffee to be consumed at least two days after roasting.
Then we went out of the city to the national agricultural research center. There a plant pathologist gave us a tour of the facility. They test the different strains of coffee to test their resistance to different diseases and to help maintain the quality of taste. They had several "experiements" running at the time, but it was really just fields with different plains, and they just waited to see which ones would die from disease. There were mother crops, which were the original strains of plants that could be cut and given to farmers to grow. They were also doing experiments on other crops like coco and palm oil, but we mainly stuck to coffee. I learned that there are several different types of diseases that attack coffee plants, most of them are fungi. It was cool to get a biology lesson, and to actually use the information.
The whole time I was thinking of this one time when my mom was trying to help me learn different scientists. I was having rouble with Gregor Mendel. And mom goes "all he did was cross pea plants, when will you ever have to know this again?" And here it was in action.
The research center was out of the city. I was glad to see some of the country side, and it didn't take us much to get out, but I loved seeing the country. People were making bricks by hand and baking them in large brick ovens. Domestic animals were grazing every where. Children walking home from school. Little babies running around naked. True huts.
We went from the research center to a farm where they grown coffee. This is where we were served lunch. All of the food we ate was grown right there on the farm, and it was all delicious. Potatoes, Matoke and peanut sauce, beef, fish, pumpkin, cassava, sweet potatoes, greens, fresh pineapple juice, local coffee, fruits, and sugar cane. This was the first time that Dustin had ever tried sugar cane, and I was excited for him to try it. He showed us all of his different gardens, and how they graft different plants onto lemon roots so that they produce fruit faster. He showed us a zuchinni he had planted as an experiment, and it had an enormous zuchinni on it. It was funny because he was so knowledgable about so many of the plants, but he asked us if we know when it is supposed to be picked. I told him that it was past due, and showed him the length it should be. I giggled to myself that I would know such information because I'm so bad at growing anything. He said he expected it to change colors. He had so many different crops. He even had vanilla vines, and rice. He also had livestock, and the pigs had just given birth to piglets. He also had guinea hens as an experiment.
The best part was that we walked down to the coffee fields, and he let us plant our own coffee plants. I put a sign next to mine. He said that we could email him and he would let us know how our plant was doing. I drew a sunshine on my sign. The other cool thing was that I saw a monkey in the tree. It was a red tailed monkey. I feel like I have completed one of my major objectives.
I was exhausted by the time we got home, and I went to bed almost immediately.
June 18
Today has been spent writing. Nothing exciting.
June 17
Just work today. We met some new people that work for the program. They were very eager to talk to us and seemed very skilled at what they are doing. It's a little difficult to be working with people that are so much older than I am. The one funny thing, one of the people we were talking to had never seen freckles before. He asked me if there was something wrong with me. It was difficult for me to explain that this was just the way I was, and that as I got older I got more of them. He asked if they itch. He probably thought it was a rash. They also wondered if eventually I would be totally black. =)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
It's been a while since I was able to post last, so sorry about that.
June 15
Today we spent a lot of time walking through the neighborhoods. I always try to give the kids a high five, but they don't know what I mean. They just stare at me funny when I hold my hand up. Today when we passed some small children I got a hand shake instead. But they all yell "bye muzungu" even if they really mean hello.
We also went out to eat for the first time today. We went to the same place where they had karaoke, but we went a little earlier this time. We ordered pork skewers and they bring out these long skewers with pieces of pork on them. They brought us some side items, like tomatoes and avocado. The best part is that you eat everything with your hands. They walk around with pitchers and basins and wash your hands for you. But I still used hand sanitizer even after the hand washing.
This time we met to older men. I think they were curious as to what we were doing and decided to come and talk to us. It is interesting once we start telling people what we are hear to do, they always have an lengthy opinion about it which is good for us as we are trying to collect information. I think we lucked out by coming into a society that likes to socialize and discuss.
I noticed that my ear is getting better for hearing African English. I'm still not very good at speaking in African English. People are funny because they claim that I have an accent, but they don't mean a southern one, they mean an American one.
June 16
Today we walked all the way to the foundation to see how long it would take us. It was only and hour and a half. Today was mostly a working day at the foundation. Going through files and taking notes. It's good work though.
For lunch we went to an Italian place down the road. We have since discovered where all the white people are hanging out. I thought it was pretty funny. I ordered Ravioli and Dustin got a Hawaiian pizza. It was all excellent, and authentic. I think the man who owned it was actually Italian. I broke the parmasian dish and spilled parmesian cheese every where. I was just trying to put some on my ravioli. And then I tried to cover it up with my plate, but it just smooched it into the table cloth. =) Dustin seemed to think it was pretty funny. While we were at lunch it actually rained with thunder. This was the most it has rained since we've been here. I don't think it would be very nice during the rainy season. I like when it rains because it settles all the dust.
We walked back that evening and picked up a watermelon along the way. Dustin almost dropped it when he slipped on the dirt road that leads down into the compound and almost fell into a car. I'm pretty sure it was karma coming back around to him for making fun of me when I slip.
June 17
Today was another day at the foundation. Not really interesting except for that we met some of the mentors and supervisors. Two exciting things happened. One, we got a little modem for our laptop and so now we have internet at our house! It's pretty exciting that we won't have to walk down to the internet cafe anymore. It's still slow, but now I can write and wait for pages to load at the same time! Two, Dustin and I sign up for a coffee safari. It sounds pretty touristy, but I'm excited to finally get to do something touristy. We go to the coffee shop early in the morning. They feed us breakfast and then take us out to a coffee plantation for the day. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, that's more of Dustin's thing, but I'm super excited to just get out of the city for the day.
Another short history lesson. During the dictatorship of Amin in the late seveties and early eighties, the economy in Uganda was collapsing. To make money people on the eastern boarder of Uganda would pack up their coffee beans and drive them into Kenya on bikes, and make tons of money. They would then buy lots of goods and transport them back into Uganda. All of this was highly illegal, but the money was so good, many people dropped what they were doing and picked up the trade. So if you had Kenyan coffee during that time, it is likely that some of it was actually Ugandan.
June 15
Today we spent a lot of time walking through the neighborhoods. I always try to give the kids a high five, but they don't know what I mean. They just stare at me funny when I hold my hand up. Today when we passed some small children I got a hand shake instead. But they all yell "bye muzungu" even if they really mean hello.
We also went out to eat for the first time today. We went to the same place where they had karaoke, but we went a little earlier this time. We ordered pork skewers and they bring out these long skewers with pieces of pork on them. They brought us some side items, like tomatoes and avocado. The best part is that you eat everything with your hands. They walk around with pitchers and basins and wash your hands for you. But I still used hand sanitizer even after the hand washing.
This time we met to older men. I think they were curious as to what we were doing and decided to come and talk to us. It is interesting once we start telling people what we are hear to do, they always have an lengthy opinion about it which is good for us as we are trying to collect information. I think we lucked out by coming into a society that likes to socialize and discuss.
I noticed that my ear is getting better for hearing African English. I'm still not very good at speaking in African English. People are funny because they claim that I have an accent, but they don't mean a southern one, they mean an American one.
June 16
Today we walked all the way to the foundation to see how long it would take us. It was only and hour and a half. Today was mostly a working day at the foundation. Going through files and taking notes. It's good work though.
For lunch we went to an Italian place down the road. We have since discovered where all the white people are hanging out. I thought it was pretty funny. I ordered Ravioli and Dustin got a Hawaiian pizza. It was all excellent, and authentic. I think the man who owned it was actually Italian. I broke the parmasian dish and spilled parmesian cheese every where. I was just trying to put some on my ravioli. And then I tried to cover it up with my plate, but it just smooched it into the table cloth. =) Dustin seemed to think it was pretty funny. While we were at lunch it actually rained with thunder. This was the most it has rained since we've been here. I don't think it would be very nice during the rainy season. I like when it rains because it settles all the dust.
We walked back that evening and picked up a watermelon along the way. Dustin almost dropped it when he slipped on the dirt road that leads down into the compound and almost fell into a car. I'm pretty sure it was karma coming back around to him for making fun of me when I slip.
June 17
Today was another day at the foundation. Not really interesting except for that we met some of the mentors and supervisors. Two exciting things happened. One, we got a little modem for our laptop and so now we have internet at our house! It's pretty exciting that we won't have to walk down to the internet cafe anymore. It's still slow, but now I can write and wait for pages to load at the same time! Two, Dustin and I sign up for a coffee safari. It sounds pretty touristy, but I'm excited to finally get to do something touristy. We go to the coffee shop early in the morning. They feed us breakfast and then take us out to a coffee plantation for the day. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, that's more of Dustin's thing, but I'm super excited to just get out of the city for the day.
Another short history lesson. During the dictatorship of Amin in the late seveties and early eighties, the economy in Uganda was collapsing. To make money people on the eastern boarder of Uganda would pack up their coffee beans and drive them into Kenya on bikes, and make tons of money. They would then buy lots of goods and transport them back into Uganda. All of this was highly illegal, but the money was so good, many people dropped what they were doing and picked up the trade. So if you had Kenyan coffee during that time, it is likely that some of it was actually Ugandan.
Monday, June 15, 2009
A comfortable weekend
Dustin is trying to put on some video, but you might have to view it from his blog. It's only traffic, so it's not that interesting, but we will try to get something better soon.
June 14
Today has been a really relaxing day. I have spent the whole day catching up on writing and reading. We tried to make French toast today, but I hate the frying pan we have. It doesn’t have a handle on it, so you have to hold it with a dish cloth. The stove is a gas stove, and I’m afraid that the dish towel is going to catch on fire. It all tasted fine. I have enjoyed listening to the church crowd today. They were going late.
Somehow the children in our compound hangout under my window. It’s like their hangout spot where they just sit and talk. I can overhear their entire conversation, and they talk. Today they were climbing on it. I went to knock on it, and it scared them away. It wasn’t really my intension to scare them, but they couldn’t see me through the window. And they run around in our yard.
I noticed in the paper that they are banning plastic bags. It’s funny that they are very environmentally conscious, you can’t smoke in restaurants or anything. It’s such an unusual system because they have spent the last 20 yrs. developing from the ground up. And so they have skipped a lot of the stages that other western countries have gone through. They don’t have the infrastructure to really pick up the garbage, so they just skip ahead to eliminating a lot of it. In the same way they don’t have land lines for phones, so everyone has a cell. The electricity is unreliable, so there is a big push for solar energy. I think it’s just interesting.
June 13
Today is the first day that Dustin and I were brave enough to go out at night. We went to a bar that was just down the road from where we lived. They were having a karaoke night, which was interesting. They were all singing in Lugandan so we couldn’t understand what they were saying. Afterwards, we stopped and picked up a pizza with pepperoni with olives. It wasn’t half bad.
June 14
Today has been a really relaxing day. I have spent the whole day catching up on writing and reading. We tried to make French toast today, but I hate the frying pan we have. It doesn’t have a handle on it, so you have to hold it with a dish cloth. The stove is a gas stove, and I’m afraid that the dish towel is going to catch on fire. It all tasted fine. I have enjoyed listening to the church crowd today. They were going late.
Somehow the children in our compound hangout under my window. It’s like their hangout spot where they just sit and talk. I can overhear their entire conversation, and they talk. Today they were climbing on it. I went to knock on it, and it scared them away. It wasn’t really my intension to scare them, but they couldn’t see me through the window. And they run around in our yard.
I noticed in the paper that they are banning plastic bags. It’s funny that they are very environmentally conscious, you can’t smoke in restaurants or anything. It’s such an unusual system because they have spent the last 20 yrs. developing from the ground up. And so they have skipped a lot of the stages that other western countries have gone through. They don’t have the infrastructure to really pick up the garbage, so they just skip ahead to eliminating a lot of it. In the same way they don’t have land lines for phones, so everyone has a cell. The electricity is unreliable, so there is a big push for solar energy. I think it’s just interesting.
June 13
Today is the first day that Dustin and I were brave enough to go out at night. We went to a bar that was just down the road from where we lived. They were having a karaoke night, which was interesting. They were all singing in Lugandan so we couldn’t understand what they were saying. Afterwards, we stopped and picked up a pizza with pepperoni with olives. It wasn’t half bad.
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