Today was really the beginning of the essence of why we are here. We got up early in the morning, I showered quickly because that’s what I do, had a bite to eat, and then hopped in the van with Alocious and headed up to Hope Children’s Home.
Our plans for the day were to build an Adobe or Lorena Stove for the home and to begin the construction of a pig pen. I was involved with the pig pen at first but didn’t do much in the long run. I did however dedicate my time to the adobe stove that we made for Christine. She told us to knock down the old one to make room for the new larger one. I was surprised she wanted to do this, but happy that she had the confidence in us to make a newer better one! The process was slow but sure. We began by making frames out of some planks that the worker guys rounded up for us. They weren’t perfect, but they worked. We nailed them together and had our layout ready. This was our very first time with the stoves so we were sort of doing things only by what we had been taught or thought would be best for the design. It was pretty intricate as far as finding material to form the vents and the holes in the top. We ended up using banana truck to form the vents as well as the upper/smaller vents of the stove. We put grass in the middle to help support the weight of the adobe from crushing in.
We used about 3-4 loads of clay that was gathered somewhere down the hillside. It was pretty good clay, except for the last load which was pretty clumpy and hard to work with, we made it work with. We used 6 parts clay, 3 parts sand, 1 part water (instead of 3 parts because the clay was so moist), and 1 part cellulose. It actually turned out to be quite good stuff, it should dry very strong. I had been pushing to put a cement surface on top to have a nice finish. I went down to those working on the chicken coop and saw that they had an entire wheel barrow FULL of unused cement!! I was extactic! I asked them if we could use it, they concurred. I told Jeff and Dan and we brought it up and laid it down. I went to get a trowel and when I got back, Jeff reached out as if to take it. I gladly but unhappily gave it to him, I was eager to do the finish work myself. I figured I wouldn’t make a seen and that I just be OK with it, and I was. They did a great job, I’m sure it will look amazing.
We were there ALL day. We had lunch with the kids and workers. We had posho (a maize flour/water mixture), beans, rice, cabbage, and pepsi to drink. It wasn’t half bad. I won’t lie, I was a little nervous about the whole thing before hand, but when I was there and observing it all, I was so happy to be there and the food was quite good. Some kids stacked there bowls higher than mine to which I was surprised, but then realized that what we were eating was a treat for them, as they don’t normally get cabbage and rice to go along with the usual posho and beans.
The day came to a close and we were all so beat. To make it worse, we decided to go to African Paradise and dance our little brains out. It only cost 1000 USH to get in, which is the equivalent of 60 cents. When we got in there, there weren’t to many people but we began to dance anyway. About 30 minutes passed and we had been dancing hard, but it wasn’t until this time that more people began to file in and dance. We ended up dancing with the Ugandans and it was great. People were drinking so they were out of it, but it was still way fun. We would take little breaks here and there and sit around a table. I had 2 Pepsi’s, they were unbelievably good... mmmm. We stayed for about 2 hours before we finally took off and went home. We were tired out of our minds. We had worked up at Hope for around 7-8 hours and then danced for another 2. I know I’m going to be hurting tomorrow, I can already feel the pain creeping in.
The kids at Hope are amazing. They are happy, full of love, have a will to live, and I love them so much. They are so disciplined and helpful its amazing. I took many pictures of the kids, they turned out very well, I’m excited to get them posted. The lives of these kids are so simple that even rolling a tube down a hill gets them happy and excited. Well, I’m excited to see how the stove works out, we’ll go back Monday and check it out as well as finish the chicken coop and start the pig pen. Until tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Day 13 - New Arrivals
Today was great fun. I’m very tired at this point and don’t know how much is going to come out the end of my fingers and if it’s going to be good grammar or what have you. I should have written in it earlier, it’s going to be much harder to keep a journal with all sorts of people around all the time.
I room now with 5 guys. Initially I was in the big room, on the bottom bunk on one of two bunks. I had my new little home for the next 10 weeks and I was so excited about it. I felt at home, I felt like I had my own little place, I could even get a good nights sleep because I felt comfortable! When the volunteers arrived, I got jerked from my wonderful place and moved to the room that housed 5, just perfect for the 5 guys. While I was willing to do whatever, I was upset about having to make the move. Jen said that we could NOT have co-ed rooms, I was bummed. It would have been so much fun to mingle with the ladies, laugh all night, and just have a good time. Although, I do understand that it’s much more convenient for both sides to have their own gender rooms. Now I’m sitting in my new bed, again on the bottom bunk. I'm back at home, I’ve made it MY place again, so all is well.
We got up early this morning, at least, earlier than I have been getting up. We had a nice breakfast composed of pineapple, mango, bananas, and toast with ghetto margarine and orange marmalade stuff. It was all great, I loved it all. I began to prepare but then a spot opened up for me in the bathroom to take a nice warm shower, or rather spray off. I had to cease the opportunity, so Natalie and someone else took over for me. We began the day with breakfast followed by a quick orientation meeting in the front room. Many were tired, but also very anxious to get out and see the town. Today was all about going out and seeing the town, getting to know where things are, and just getting comfortable. Jackie, Ashley, and I each took a small group and went to certain locations from a list that Jackie made. It was fun to show them around, take them on boda bodas, and just have a good time. We met all together for lunch at Patron Hotel, I had matooke and beans, it was OK. The waitress was a bit slow, missing my order entirely, part of another, and not giving all of our change back, I was flustered.
The rest of the day was used to gather supplies for our project tomorrow, check e-mail, get unpacked and a little more organized, as well as taking a nap which was very well received. After my nap Tori, Natalie, Rylee and I all went out to get some nails and chicken wire for the projects tomorrow. We stopped and checked our e-mail, I had one from Andi, Mom, and Millie. It was so good to hear from them. They didn’t mention anything about my pictures, I hope they got to see them. I want to hear their reactions etc.
The highlight of the night however was the initiation into the tribe of Muzungi. Jackie and Ashley had been planning something and were really excited about it. I was so curious to know what they had in store for us. I was nervous they were going to have us eat some cockroaches or something, luckily, that was not the case. It began inside of the house in the living area. The lights were shut off. Jackie stood in front of us and explained what we were to do. We were each given a candle to be lit by them both of them as we walked outside and down the front steps. After the candles were lit, we were instructed to go and sit down in the circle of chairs that had been created. After all had sat down in the circle, candles lit, Jackie and Ashley came over and began so speak. They first instructed us on how we were to be introduced into the tribe Muzungi which was by reading and filling in the blanks of a script they had written on a large poster size piece of paper. My turn came, at this point everybody was busting up because the whole thing felt like some big cult movement and I new there were people outside the walls of our home that were thinking, “Who are these people!?” As soon as everyone had been partly iniciated, they told us the final part of the initiation; I was fully taken by surprise.
The whole thing was caught on tape and I plan to add the video to this journal entry, that way all that I have said can be seen.
Edith brought out two chickens, everybody started freaking out, literally. The girls were screaming, they couldn’t even handle it. I was a bit on the edge of my seat because here I am thinking “initiation” and seeing that we were about to slaughter and eat some chickens. I wasn’t quite sure what to think at first, it was weird! But then I realized, “this is perfect.” We are only doing exactly what the locals do, and everybody other rural country in the world. If they want chicken, they grow it and then slaughter it! So we proceeded. Jeff and Dan, the two Canadian guys, each took knives an beheaded the chickens. Unfortunately for the chickens, the knives were anything but sharp. That was the only part of the whole thing that freaked me out. After they were beheaded, I got in there and helped pluck one of the chickens. A trick they use to loosen up the feathers is soaking the whole thing in hot water. It took about 10-15 minutes to pluck the chicken thoroughly and get it ready for gutting. I helped a little with cutting up the chicken into different pieces. Part of the deal with slaughtering the chickens was that we had to eat them. So the Achalam, the older one, brought out the charcoal stove from behind. They proceeded to marinade the chicken in salt and lemon and through it on the cooker. It took quite a long time to cook, I was surprised. The meat was rather chewy and there wasn’t much of it, these pour chickens here are pretty skinny, as they don’t get much to eat. I’m not sure what they normally eat though, there is so much vegetation they shouldn’t be as skinny as they are.
The whole experience was good, even though at first I was like, “what the freak is going on.” It sort of broke us all in a little bit and prepared us for the weirdness that goes on here in Africa. It was great to hang out and be friends with everybody. Until tomorrow.
I room now with 5 guys. Initially I was in the big room, on the bottom bunk on one of two bunks. I had my new little home for the next 10 weeks and I was so excited about it. I felt at home, I felt like I had my own little place, I could even get a good nights sleep because I felt comfortable! When the volunteers arrived, I got jerked from my wonderful place and moved to the room that housed 5, just perfect for the 5 guys. While I was willing to do whatever, I was upset about having to make the move. Jen said that we could NOT have co-ed rooms, I was bummed. It would have been so much fun to mingle with the ladies, laugh all night, and just have a good time. Although, I do understand that it’s much more convenient for both sides to have their own gender rooms. Now I’m sitting in my new bed, again on the bottom bunk. I'm back at home, I’ve made it MY place again, so all is well.
We got up early this morning, at least, earlier than I have been getting up. We had a nice breakfast composed of pineapple, mango, bananas, and toast with ghetto margarine and orange marmalade stuff. It was all great, I loved it all. I began to prepare but then a spot opened up for me in the bathroom to take a nice warm shower, or rather spray off. I had to cease the opportunity, so Natalie and someone else took over for me. We began the day with breakfast followed by a quick orientation meeting in the front room. Many were tired, but also very anxious to get out and see the town. Today was all about going out and seeing the town, getting to know where things are, and just getting comfortable. Jackie, Ashley, and I each took a small group and went to certain locations from a list that Jackie made. It was fun to show them around, take them on boda bodas, and just have a good time. We met all together for lunch at Patron Hotel, I had matooke and beans, it was OK. The waitress was a bit slow, missing my order entirely, part of another, and not giving all of our change back, I was flustered.
The rest of the day was used to gather supplies for our project tomorrow, check e-mail, get unpacked and a little more organized, as well as taking a nap which was very well received. After my nap Tori, Natalie, Rylee and I all went out to get some nails and chicken wire for the projects tomorrow. We stopped and checked our e-mail, I had one from Andi, Mom, and Millie. It was so good to hear from them. They didn’t mention anything about my pictures, I hope they got to see them. I want to hear their reactions etc.
The highlight of the night however was the initiation into the tribe of Muzungi. Jackie and Ashley had been planning something and were really excited about it. I was so curious to know what they had in store for us. I was nervous they were going to have us eat some cockroaches or something, luckily, that was not the case. It began inside of the house in the living area. The lights were shut off. Jackie stood in front of us and explained what we were to do. We were each given a candle to be lit by them both of them as we walked outside and down the front steps. After the candles were lit, we were instructed to go and sit down in the circle of chairs that had been created. After all had sat down in the circle, candles lit, Jackie and Ashley came over and began so speak. They first instructed us on how we were to be introduced into the tribe Muzungi which was by reading and filling in the blanks of a script they had written on a large poster size piece of paper. My turn came, at this point everybody was busting up because the whole thing felt like some big cult movement and I new there were people outside the walls of our home that were thinking, “Who are these people!?” As soon as everyone had been partly iniciated, they told us the final part of the initiation; I was fully taken by surprise.
The whole thing was caught on tape and I plan to add the video to this journal entry, that way all that I have said can be seen.
Edith brought out two chickens, everybody started freaking out, literally. The girls were screaming, they couldn’t even handle it. I was a bit on the edge of my seat because here I am thinking “initiation” and seeing that we were about to slaughter and eat some chickens. I wasn’t quite sure what to think at first, it was weird! But then I realized, “this is perfect.” We are only doing exactly what the locals do, and everybody other rural country in the world. If they want chicken, they grow it and then slaughter it! So we proceeded. Jeff and Dan, the two Canadian guys, each took knives an beheaded the chickens. Unfortunately for the chickens, the knives were anything but sharp. That was the only part of the whole thing that freaked me out. After they were beheaded, I got in there and helped pluck one of the chickens. A trick they use to loosen up the feathers is soaking the whole thing in hot water. It took about 10-15 minutes to pluck the chicken thoroughly and get it ready for gutting. I helped a little with cutting up the chicken into different pieces. Part of the deal with slaughtering the chickens was that we had to eat them. So the Achalam, the older one, brought out the charcoal stove from behind. They proceeded to marinade the chicken in salt and lemon and through it on the cooker. It took quite a long time to cook, I was surprised. The meat was rather chewy and there wasn’t much of it, these pour chickens here are pretty skinny, as they don’t get much to eat. I’m not sure what they normally eat though, there is so much vegetation they shouldn’t be as skinny as they are.
The whole experience was good, even though at first I was like, “what the freak is going on.” It sort of broke us all in a little bit and prepared us for the weirdness that goes on here in Africa. It was great to hang out and be friends with everybody. Until tomorrow.
Day 12 - Kampala
I’m so very tired right now, I barely have the energy to write in my journal. But today as I was writing a letter to my family and updating my blog with everything I have written so far, I realized as I read my journal entries how much they help me remember exactly what happened that day! When you come to a country and do this type of work, or go on a mission, or any other similar monotonous work, the days seem to blend together and you forget the important things that happen while you are in the service of others because there are just to many to remember!! I have proven to myself how important it is to write in a journal, after the prophets have counseled for years. I understand the purpose and I really am grateful that I do it, I will be so happy later when I go back. Also, it’s important that others hear what I’m doing. Ok, even I can tell when my writing is bad, it’s bad right now, I’m tired.
We got up this morning and hopped right on a taxi. No, we didn’t even get to shower, the water was off. I was not too happy about it because I’m used to showering every day, especially in this type of weather and conditions, you get dirty so fast and you collect tons of dirt. I feel nasty right now, the water IS back on, but I don’t quite have the energy to shower. I will definitely be wiping my face and neck down for sure, as well as brushing my teeth. Anyway... the taxi ride was one hour and cost us 2500 shillings, which equates to $1.52 to get to the capitol which is about 50 km or 30 miles. The ride is normally supposed to take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but I guess with our crazy taxi drivers they shorten that time pretty well. When we got there Ashley went to Parliament and visited with a man name Mr. Hamis. Jackie and I wondered to about 3 banks, back and forth, trying to get money out to pay rent. The catch is that we needed US dollars, not shillings. The problem with drawing shillings and changing it to USD is that is costs you, so we were trying our very best to get USD directly from the card. We finally got to where we needed to be and you know what? We didn’t have our frickin’ passports. It was actually just Jackie that needed it because I didn’t need USD for any reason. We weren’t too happy that we had come all the way to Kampala to have forgotten what we needed. But we figured we could do it tomorrow since we are going to Entebbe to pick up the rest of the volunteers. After the bank runaround, we went and had lunch at Nado’s. Jackie made it sounds like it was good, although I wasn’t too impressed. I ended up having a pepperoni and pineapple (my favorite combo pizza) and it was interesting to say the least. I ate the whole thing of course because I was starving but it was weird. Jackie had a chicken salad that looked pretty good, but wasn’t so great when she had it. It was fine, okay, but not fabulous. We left satisfied in our stomach but not in our minds. We made our way to Click - Internet Place and proceeded to use the internet for about 3 1 /2 hours. It was SUCH a good session, though we were under the impression that we would have broadband internet, we did not. It was a little faster than here in Lugazi, but not much, I was disappointed. I had a bunch of pics to send, an e-mail to write, facebook to check, blogs to update, and information to research. It ended up being OK though and I got it all done. I was so excited to finally get my blog and pics updated on my blog, I really hope they liked the pictures.
We actually met Ashley before internet and met Mr. Hamis. He was a nice man, well dressed, and happy to meet us. It was a quite aquaintance and then we were off to the Internet. Ashley went and grabbed a bite before she met us there.
After we finished with the Internet, we made our way by boda boda to Garden City. I don’t think I’ve ever feared for my life as much as I did then. This driver was absolutely insane. Weaving in and out of cars and people, riding the painted middle line between traffic to get ahead. Cutting people off, on the sidewalk, etc. I was very scarred and wasn’t sure I could continue the ride. I prayed my life be spared (once again), and it was, thankfully. I arrived a minute earlier than JackAsh and the ride was only 3-4 minutes, that gives you an idea of how fast the ride was. We went in to the grocery store there hoping to find permethrin, but to no avail. I checked with the pharmacy before leaving the store and they set they were out of it and that it would be back in stock in 2 days, we were not happy. Yet another thing that we came to Kampala for and were unable to obtain.
We grabbed an ice cream cone, bought a bottle of water at the airtime shacks on the road where we caught a taxi and made our way home. The ride this time was about 1 hour 15 minutes, not too bad. But it was closer to night and a little more scary. I listed to my iPod some of the way as Jackie and Ashley conversed. It’s hard to sit 3 next to each other and have a conversation, it gets pretty loud. We stopped by the market and grabbed some bananas. I bought 15 bananas on the stock for 1500 shillings! That’s only .90 cents!
-I just grabbed a banana, trail mix, and glass of water... I’m starving!!-
It’s crazy what you can get here for so cheap, but then again bananas grow like weeds over here, and when I say that I don’t mean fast, I mean in quantity. Jackie then decided she wanted to stop by one of the guys making chipati. I told her to be careful and advised her not to do it. She decided however that she would take one for the team and determine whether or not they were safe to eat by waiting to see if she got sick. The man cracked and egg, threw some chopped cabbage in and through it on the grill. This was comforting, as I knew it was being COOKED and that anything living would die. It wasn’t until he threw the chipati on top of the egg, flipped it over, threw another chipati on top and then placed his entire hand over the thing and pushed down as if to force it together, that I got grossed out and decided, “No.” But of course, I had to have a bite once it was done, do I did. It was wonderful, really, I would have bought one if I couldn’t have talked him into being a little more sanitary. We shall see what happens, I hope that she doesn’t get sick, I wish we could ALWAYS trust that it would be sanitary, it was only .36 cents and two of them would have filled you up.
On our way back to our house we found Zahara and Uda coming out of their store. We said hello, exchanged hugs, and made our way to Zahara’s house. It was beautiful, a very nice house that was well kept, I appreciated their cleanliness very much. We were brought juice and biscuits (crackers), it was all very good and so hospitable. They are again some of the nicest people I have ever met and I’m so excited to have a relationship with them, somebody we can trust and enjoy time with. Uda told us that she would be over tomorrow with chipati for us, I’m beyond excited. We said goodnight and headed home.
JackAsh has been doing a bunch of administrative work tonight. I have been been organizing my things and putting up hooks for mosquito nets. We are all pretty tired. Jackie is on the phone with her dad, I’m excited for her to talk to her family, she hasn’t spoken to them since she left SLC! Well, it is time, I must sleep as I will wake tomorrow at 8am. I hope I can get a good 7 hours again, that would be prefect. Until tomorrow.
We got up this morning and hopped right on a taxi. No, we didn’t even get to shower, the water was off. I was not too happy about it because I’m used to showering every day, especially in this type of weather and conditions, you get dirty so fast and you collect tons of dirt. I feel nasty right now, the water IS back on, but I don’t quite have the energy to shower. I will definitely be wiping my face and neck down for sure, as well as brushing my teeth. Anyway... the taxi ride was one hour and cost us 2500 shillings, which equates to $1.52 to get to the capitol which is about 50 km or 30 miles. The ride is normally supposed to take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but I guess with our crazy taxi drivers they shorten that time pretty well. When we got there Ashley went to Parliament and visited with a man name Mr. Hamis. Jackie and I wondered to about 3 banks, back and forth, trying to get money out to pay rent. The catch is that we needed US dollars, not shillings. The problem with drawing shillings and changing it to USD is that is costs you, so we were trying our very best to get USD directly from the card. We finally got to where we needed to be and you know what? We didn’t have our frickin’ passports. It was actually just Jackie that needed it because I didn’t need USD for any reason. We weren’t too happy that we had come all the way to Kampala to have forgotten what we needed. But we figured we could do it tomorrow since we are going to Entebbe to pick up the rest of the volunteers. After the bank runaround, we went and had lunch at Nado’s. Jackie made it sounds like it was good, although I wasn’t too impressed. I ended up having a pepperoni and pineapple (my favorite combo pizza) and it was interesting to say the least. I ate the whole thing of course because I was starving but it was weird. Jackie had a chicken salad that looked pretty good, but wasn’t so great when she had it. It was fine, okay, but not fabulous. We left satisfied in our stomach but not in our minds. We made our way to Click - Internet Place and proceeded to use the internet for about 3 1 /2 hours. It was SUCH a good session, though we were under the impression that we would have broadband internet, we did not. It was a little faster than here in Lugazi, but not much, I was disappointed. I had a bunch of pics to send, an e-mail to write, facebook to check, blogs to update, and information to research. It ended up being OK though and I got it all done. I was so excited to finally get my blog and pics updated on my blog, I really hope they liked the pictures.
We actually met Ashley before internet and met Mr. Hamis. He was a nice man, well dressed, and happy to meet us. It was a quite aquaintance and then we were off to the Internet. Ashley went and grabbed a bite before she met us there.
After we finished with the Internet, we made our way by boda boda to Garden City. I don’t think I’ve ever feared for my life as much as I did then. This driver was absolutely insane. Weaving in and out of cars and people, riding the painted middle line between traffic to get ahead. Cutting people off, on the sidewalk, etc. I was very scarred and wasn’t sure I could continue the ride. I prayed my life be spared (once again), and it was, thankfully. I arrived a minute earlier than JackAsh and the ride was only 3-4 minutes, that gives you an idea of how fast the ride was. We went in to the grocery store there hoping to find permethrin, but to no avail. I checked with the pharmacy before leaving the store and they set they were out of it and that it would be back in stock in 2 days, we were not happy. Yet another thing that we came to Kampala for and were unable to obtain.
We grabbed an ice cream cone, bought a bottle of water at the airtime shacks on the road where we caught a taxi and made our way home. The ride this time was about 1 hour 15 minutes, not too bad. But it was closer to night and a little more scary. I listed to my iPod some of the way as Jackie and Ashley conversed. It’s hard to sit 3 next to each other and have a conversation, it gets pretty loud. We stopped by the market and grabbed some bananas. I bought 15 bananas on the stock for 1500 shillings! That’s only .90 cents!
-I just grabbed a banana, trail mix, and glass of water... I’m starving!!-
It’s crazy what you can get here for so cheap, but then again bananas grow like weeds over here, and when I say that I don’t mean fast, I mean in quantity. Jackie then decided she wanted to stop by one of the guys making chipati. I told her to be careful and advised her not to do it. She decided however that she would take one for the team and determine whether or not they were safe to eat by waiting to see if she got sick. The man cracked and egg, threw some chopped cabbage in and through it on the grill. This was comforting, as I knew it was being COOKED and that anything living would die. It wasn’t until he threw the chipati on top of the egg, flipped it over, threw another chipati on top and then placed his entire hand over the thing and pushed down as if to force it together, that I got grossed out and decided, “No.” But of course, I had to have a bite once it was done, do I did. It was wonderful, really, I would have bought one if I couldn’t have talked him into being a little more sanitary. We shall see what happens, I hope that she doesn’t get sick, I wish we could ALWAYS trust that it would be sanitary, it was only .36 cents and two of them would have filled you up.
On our way back to our house we found Zahara and Uda coming out of their store. We said hello, exchanged hugs, and made our way to Zahara’s house. It was beautiful, a very nice house that was well kept, I appreciated their cleanliness very much. We were brought juice and biscuits (crackers), it was all very good and so hospitable. They are again some of the nicest people I have ever met and I’m so excited to have a relationship with them, somebody we can trust and enjoy time with. Uda told us that she would be over tomorrow with chipati for us, I’m beyond excited. We said goodnight and headed home.
JackAsh has been doing a bunch of administrative work tonight. I have been been organizing my things and putting up hooks for mosquito nets. We are all pretty tired. Jackie is on the phone with her dad, I’m excited for her to talk to her family, she hasn’t spoken to them since she left SLC! Well, it is time, I must sleep as I will wake tomorrow at 8am. I hope I can get a good 7 hours again, that would be prefect. Until tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Pictures... FINALLY!
I have been waiting forever to get some pictures up. I meant to get some up before I left Amsterdam while I had a broadband connection but failed to do so, a mistake I later realized. The internet here is about as good or worse than dial-up... yeah.
Go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/CLAllred
Here you will find picture I took in Amsterdam as well as ones I have taken while here in Uganda. They are amazing, I won't lie. Let me know what you think. Thank you for all of your support!
Go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/CLAllred
Here you will find picture I took in Amsterdam as well as ones I have taken while here in Uganda. They are amazing, I won't lie. Let me know what you think. Thank you for all of your support!
Day 8 - Lugazi... for real.
We are absolutely, positively in our house, FINALLY!! I’m sitting right now in the front room on one of the couch chairs, Jackie and Ashley are, as always, discussing plans about the next couple of days, but mostly for tomorrow. Our day was extremely productive, we got a ton done and we are all very tired. The deal went through on the house. We got it for $500/month with electricity and water. It will end up costing just barely over a dollar a day for everybody to live here the first wave, and under a dollar a day for the second wave. We made three trips from MTA today with bunk-beds, supplies from last year, and all of our luggage. The people that were living in this house have turned out to be some amazing people, so kind and generous and very helpful. Jackie and I planned on cleaning the place when we got here so we got up pretty early to make that happen. When we got here they were ALL over it, cleaning everything, under everything, the sinks, the works. We were so grateful. We offered to help, but we didn’t really get involved with the cleaning. Instead, I began setting up the bunk beds and rearranging all of the rooms to make the beds work the best way possible. I also helped at MTA load a bunch of beds, then I drove to Lugazi with two men that were helping, we were great to talk to. The one I was sitting next to told me that he would love to visit or move to America but that is was only a dream, that was very humbling. The driver was nuts, but a good one. We were swerving, dodging, speeding, etc. I was sort of scared for my life, in which case I prayed my life be spared. We got there pretty quick though, which was nice. When we got there we unloaded the bunks and then my work began. I spent many hours arranging and setting up the beds, it was tiring and by the end I was wiped. Again, the arab family that moved to the boy’s quarters behind the house were so unbelievably helpful to us and made the whole thing happen much quicker. I met some new friends, one of which I really really love already. There names are Edith (18), Achalam (18 & another 13), Achmed (20), Salim (19 son), Laula (12 year old daughter), Wudá (mom), Salina (grandmother), and Zahará (sister of grandma). Edith is my new friend, so sweet, so helpful, and I just love her! She’s 18 and has her head on straight. I asked her who could do a load of my laundry, she mentioned she could do it, I asked her how much and she told me “nothing, for free.” I was absolutely blown away. I couldn’t even handle it. I immediately told her that I couldn’t do it for free because I “needed” to pay her. She asked why I needed to pay her, I told her because I felt like she deserved to work for money. I told her I wanted to hire her for the 11 weeks that I will be here, she agreed. The I said that since she had agreed that I would need to pay her for her work over the next 11 weeks, again, she told me “for free.”
Before all of this had happened with the laundry, I had Edith, and both Achalams (the 2 girls have the same name) in my room. They were just watching me unpack and observing everything. I could tell they thought I had a lot of stuff, which I do, I felt kinda embarrassed because I’m so dang high maintenance. I got the big candy bag out and and handed them some candy to try. They liked it and even kind of laughed because of the difference from their own candy, it was so great. We conversed in there for at least 30 minutes, the last of which was a mini lesson in Luganda. I asked about some key phrases and got them written down. I was told by Deo the other day that I have the best Luganda accent he has EVER heard from a Muzungu (white person), I was pretty happy about that and I’m sure my face was glowing. Quite an accomplishment for only 3 days in the country. I plan on leanring as much as I can so that I can feel like I’m a part of the people.
I’m so happy to be in a house, I can’t even express how good it feels. It’s the closest westernized thing available to us and it just makes me feel less away, less in a 3rd world country, etc. The standards of this house in Lugazi are spectacularly high, probably a good 9.0 out of 10. As far as utah standards, it would be about a 3 out of 10, not too good. But, having lived in New York for 2 years, I know what this type of housing is all about and it’s 100% OK, I’m beyond grateful to be here. I can now unpack my suitcase, hang up some clothes and just have a space for ME!
Later on in the evening while Ashley was gone with Peggy getting light-bulbs and keys made for all of the volunteers, Jackie and I went out and got something to eat. She wasn’t hungry but she came along anyway to give me some company, I really appreciated it. I had matooke (plantain), chipati (tortillas), and an Irish potato with some broth from the meet they prepare, it was pretty good. I liked the chipati that Bill’s niabo (madam) fixed us, it was tortilla style and much better. When I ordered, I guess the waitress understood that we wanted two plates of food, so Jackie accidentally got one, I felt bad, I still need to give her some money for that. On our way back, the most ridiculous things happened to us. It was dark, we had just gotten on the main road, Jackie was talking on the phone. All of the sudden I see Jackie drop like a rock and I freaked! She had fallen in the ditches that line the streets here in Lugazi. Her foot landed in some nasty mud soup that was probably highly contaminated. She scraped up her knee, leg, and arm. When we got a little further, we came to a hill of dirt; I decided I would walk it at an angle, not a good idea. I totally fell on my butt and scraped up my arm as well as getting dirty the nice white shirt I had just put on. I jacked up my wrist too! It has been hurting for the last day or so and I totally landed on it, I hope it’s not bruised and out for the count, I sort of need it.
We sat in the house for about 3 hours tonight just relaxing and planning (that part was mostly JackAsh; Jackie and Ashley…hehe..that’s what I call them when I’m angry at them, it’s so perfect). It felt so nice to just relax and settle in. Now I’m in my new bunk, on the bottom, next to the window, my new place for the next 11 weeks. I hope I sleep well, I need to solidify the contact I made... with myself... ok, I’m tired. I’m so excited to be here, until tomorrow.
Before all of this had happened with the laundry, I had Edith, and both Achalams (the 2 girls have the same name) in my room. They were just watching me unpack and observing everything. I could tell they thought I had a lot of stuff, which I do, I felt kinda embarrassed because I’m so dang high maintenance. I got the big candy bag out and and handed them some candy to try. They liked it and even kind of laughed because of the difference from their own candy, it was so great. We conversed in there for at least 30 minutes, the last of which was a mini lesson in Luganda. I asked about some key phrases and got them written down. I was told by Deo the other day that I have the best Luganda accent he has EVER heard from a Muzungu (white person), I was pretty happy about that and I’m sure my face was glowing. Quite an accomplishment for only 3 days in the country. I plan on leanring as much as I can so that I can feel like I’m a part of the people.
I’m so happy to be in a house, I can’t even express how good it feels. It’s the closest westernized thing available to us and it just makes me feel less away, less in a 3rd world country, etc. The standards of this house in Lugazi are spectacularly high, probably a good 9.0 out of 10. As far as utah standards, it would be about a 3 out of 10, not too good. But, having lived in New York for 2 years, I know what this type of housing is all about and it’s 100% OK, I’m beyond grateful to be here. I can now unpack my suitcase, hang up some clothes and just have a space for ME!
Later on in the evening while Ashley was gone with Peggy getting light-bulbs and keys made for all of the volunteers, Jackie and I went out and got something to eat. She wasn’t hungry but she came along anyway to give me some company, I really appreciated it. I had matooke (plantain), chipati (tortillas), and an Irish potato with some broth from the meet they prepare, it was pretty good. I liked the chipati that Bill’s niabo (madam) fixed us, it was tortilla style and much better. When I ordered, I guess the waitress understood that we wanted two plates of food, so Jackie accidentally got one, I felt bad, I still need to give her some money for that. On our way back, the most ridiculous things happened to us. It was dark, we had just gotten on the main road, Jackie was talking on the phone. All of the sudden I see Jackie drop like a rock and I freaked! She had fallen in the ditches that line the streets here in Lugazi. Her foot landed in some nasty mud soup that was probably highly contaminated. She scraped up her knee, leg, and arm. When we got a little further, we came to a hill of dirt; I decided I would walk it at an angle, not a good idea. I totally fell on my butt and scraped up my arm as well as getting dirty the nice white shirt I had just put on. I jacked up my wrist too! It has been hurting for the last day or so and I totally landed on it, I hope it’s not bruised and out for the count, I sort of need it.
We sat in the house for about 3 hours tonight just relaxing and planning (that part was mostly JackAsh; Jackie and Ashley…hehe..that’s what I call them when I’m angry at them, it’s so perfect). It felt so nice to just relax and settle in. Now I’m in my new bunk, on the bottom, next to the window, my new place for the next 11 weeks. I hope I sleep well, I need to solidify the contact I made... with myself... ok, I’m tired. I’m so excited to be here, until tomorrow.
Day 7 - Lugazi
As we set out today, we had new plan in mind to make sure that we’d be able to survive in Lugazi as far as language is concerned. The last couple of days we have been supplemented with the mayor and the town council to help translate for us and communicate our ideas in a way they’d understand. We soon realized that we needed to be able to communicate with them on our own or all of our volunteer service would be wasted because with without communication, how in the world is ANYTHING supposed to get done!? It won’t! So we made some contacts today and discovered that we really can communicate enough with the people in order to help them the most. Mission accomplished.
We set out today early in the morning for Mukono Town Academy, a primary school, to get all of our things out of storage and cleaned up. It was by far one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do as far as cleaning and heebie-jeebies. There were spiders and their webs absolutely everywhere, the beds covered with droppings, dust, a dead smelling putrified rat, a dehydrated yet living gecko, and this list goes on. We had to ditch the mattress that the rat had died on, it was saturate with dead rat guts and a smell that nearly killed us. We also had to get rid of a mosquito net or two, what a shame. I took the responsibility of taking the wooden bunks out one by one and cleaning them up, scrubbing them down with water and a brush to get rid of all the webs, spiders, and cockroach droppings. I got 5 1/2 beds done before we had to leave. Jackie cleaned the plastic chairs while Ashley worked on taking all the sheets off the the mattresses to be washed. There were a lot of supplies that will be very useful to us so we were happy about that.
After finishing at MTA, we went and caught a taxi to Lugazi. We had a small meeting with Bill, a guy that we met a couple days ago who has lived on and off in Lugazi for 5 years now, about 6 months out of the year. He was so great to us, I really enjoyed talking to him and I have a good feeling about him. Unfortunately, he’s leaving in the middle of the month so we only have him for a short time. He returns at the end of July which sucks because I will have left town. We asked him many questions and got a lot of extremely good information about the town, it’s people, and what to expect. I feel like we got information that will be beneficial to us as we work with the people here. We had mentioned that we wanted to go to lunch and when we got there we realized that he had his house lady fixing us some food, it ended up being so delicious. We had squash, chicken soup, chapati, watermelon, amazing pineapple, irish potatoes, and an orange Fanta. The meal was great and so was the talk. From there he took us up to Hope Children’s Home where he is supporting many many children, a total of 90 kids, not all in this school however; they had 38. The grounds was great, the kids were so warm and nice. When we got out of the car, Bill initiated a string of hugs, I got a hug from every kid that was there, it was heart melting. They were so sweet and all I wanted to do was help them. We got a tour of their living quarters and they were well kept and pretty nice (as far as things Ugandan). We were then showed the gardens which covered immense ground, it was stunning. So lush and green and full of great food. They grow bananas (both matooke and sweet), passion fruit, mango, papaya, pineapple, beans, tomatoes, and cabbage. I learned some things about the different fruits that’s pretty interesting. It takes a full year to get bananas from a tree as well as a pineapple. We made our way from the kid’s quarters to where the school/church is located. We watched as people worshiped in this church that was open, no walls, except on one side and it was made of bamboo. There were benches inside and a type of podium up from. After observing, we were invited to watch what they do when they worship. The are two drummers and a person that gives the “sermon.” There was singing, dancing, and clapping of hands all involved. It was unbelievable experience to be a part of a group of Christians half way across the world basically in the middle of the jungle worshipping God. Again, it was very surreal, and experience I will never forget. We later introduced ourselves and I introduced myself in Lugandan, they got a pretty big kick out of it.
After having been dropped off by Bill’s driver back in Lugazi, I returned my pepsi bottle and then we made our way to the bank. We had to check out the bank to make sure that it accepted all types of cards so that we wouldn’t have a problem getting money out while we are there. We were a little bit nervous being a couple of muzungus walking in a bank to get money. The people here know and expect that we have money, so it can be scarry. We then went to an internet café that ended up being pretty ghetto, the internet crapped out on us so we got out of there and got on a taxi for Mukono. I was super drowsy in the taxi and did a bit of drifting off. We finally got back to Mukono after a TON of stops on the freaking taxi. We went to another internet café because we didn’t get finished in Lugazi. I didn’t get any e-mails from the family, kinda sad. Oh well, not to worry, they have lives too. After internet we went home and Jackie and Ashley went up and talked with Deo.
WE GOT THE HOUSE!!! We have been negotiating with these Indians to get a decent price and we think we have so we are extremely happy about it! The house is REALLY nice for Uganda and will help us feel a bit more westernized which is important because we need a resort after a long day’s work. Deo and the town council have offered to get us a guard as well as 6 dorms if we were to need them during the second wave. We have seriously been hooked up in Lugazi and we are very excited to be working there. I’m going to do some research to see if I can get us some internet for the house. We were told it is $60/month which is definitely doable with all of us pitching in. It would be beyond nice to have internet at home. I and others would be able to have much more communication with family and we’d be able to contact HELP via e-mail and do research if needed. Deo has given us a truck to use tomorrow and it will be here at 9:00am to pick up all of our things. We are planning on getting up around 8am to get ready and have breakfast before we load it up! It’s going to be so nice to be in a house and settle in, it’s not fun to live out of an unorganized suitcase and deal with all of that. We are going to clean the crap out of it and make it all nice... pardon my French.
We set out today early in the morning for Mukono Town Academy, a primary school, to get all of our things out of storage and cleaned up. It was by far one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do as far as cleaning and heebie-jeebies. There were spiders and their webs absolutely everywhere, the beds covered with droppings, dust, a dead smelling putrified rat, a dehydrated yet living gecko, and this list goes on. We had to ditch the mattress that the rat had died on, it was saturate with dead rat guts and a smell that nearly killed us. We also had to get rid of a mosquito net or two, what a shame. I took the responsibility of taking the wooden bunks out one by one and cleaning them up, scrubbing them down with water and a brush to get rid of all the webs, spiders, and cockroach droppings. I got 5 1/2 beds done before we had to leave. Jackie cleaned the plastic chairs while Ashley worked on taking all the sheets off the the mattresses to be washed. There were a lot of supplies that will be very useful to us so we were happy about that.
After finishing at MTA, we went and caught a taxi to Lugazi. We had a small meeting with Bill, a guy that we met a couple days ago who has lived on and off in Lugazi for 5 years now, about 6 months out of the year. He was so great to us, I really enjoyed talking to him and I have a good feeling about him. Unfortunately, he’s leaving in the middle of the month so we only have him for a short time. He returns at the end of July which sucks because I will have left town. We asked him many questions and got a lot of extremely good information about the town, it’s people, and what to expect. I feel like we got information that will be beneficial to us as we work with the people here. We had mentioned that we wanted to go to lunch and when we got there we realized that he had his house lady fixing us some food, it ended up being so delicious. We had squash, chicken soup, chapati, watermelon, amazing pineapple, irish potatoes, and an orange Fanta. The meal was great and so was the talk. From there he took us up to Hope Children’s Home where he is supporting many many children, a total of 90 kids, not all in this school however; they had 38. The grounds was great, the kids were so warm and nice. When we got out of the car, Bill initiated a string of hugs, I got a hug from every kid that was there, it was heart melting. They were so sweet and all I wanted to do was help them. We got a tour of their living quarters and they were well kept and pretty nice (as far as things Ugandan). We were then showed the gardens which covered immense ground, it was stunning. So lush and green and full of great food. They grow bananas (both matooke and sweet), passion fruit, mango, papaya, pineapple, beans, tomatoes, and cabbage. I learned some things about the different fruits that’s pretty interesting. It takes a full year to get bananas from a tree as well as a pineapple. We made our way from the kid’s quarters to where the school/church is located. We watched as people worshiped in this church that was open, no walls, except on one side and it was made of bamboo. There were benches inside and a type of podium up from. After observing, we were invited to watch what they do when they worship. The are two drummers and a person that gives the “sermon.” There was singing, dancing, and clapping of hands all involved. It was unbelievable experience to be a part of a group of Christians half way across the world basically in the middle of the jungle worshipping God. Again, it was very surreal, and experience I will never forget. We later introduced ourselves and I introduced myself in Lugandan, they got a pretty big kick out of it.
After having been dropped off by Bill’s driver back in Lugazi, I returned my pepsi bottle and then we made our way to the bank. We had to check out the bank to make sure that it accepted all types of cards so that we wouldn’t have a problem getting money out while we are there. We were a little bit nervous being a couple of muzungus walking in a bank to get money. The people here know and expect that we have money, so it can be scarry. We then went to an internet café that ended up being pretty ghetto, the internet crapped out on us so we got out of there and got on a taxi for Mukono. I was super drowsy in the taxi and did a bit of drifting off. We finally got back to Mukono after a TON of stops on the freaking taxi. We went to another internet café because we didn’t get finished in Lugazi. I didn’t get any e-mails from the family, kinda sad. Oh well, not to worry, they have lives too. After internet we went home and Jackie and Ashley went up and talked with Deo.
WE GOT THE HOUSE!!! We have been negotiating with these Indians to get a decent price and we think we have so we are extremely happy about it! The house is REALLY nice for Uganda and will help us feel a bit more westernized which is important because we need a resort after a long day’s work. Deo and the town council have offered to get us a guard as well as 6 dorms if we were to need them during the second wave. We have seriously been hooked up in Lugazi and we are very excited to be working there. I’m going to do some research to see if I can get us some internet for the house. We were told it is $60/month which is definitely doable with all of us pitching in. It would be beyond nice to have internet at home. I and others would be able to have much more communication with family and we’d be able to contact HELP via e-mail and do research if needed. Deo has given us a truck to use tomorrow and it will be here at 9:00am to pick up all of our things. We are planning on getting up around 8am to get ready and have breakfast before we load it up! It’s going to be so nice to be in a house and settle in, it’s not fun to live out of an unorganized suitcase and deal with all of that. We are going to clean the crap out of it and make it all nice... pardon my French.
Day 6 - Lugazi
As often happens in life, we get built up one day and ripped down the next. We went to Lugazi yesterday for the first time and found out a lot of information and made really good contacts. The town counsels members to acting mayor Deo have been incredibly helpful and I have fallen in love with each of them, they are so kind and willing to do whatever we need.
We started our day out at the the Mukono Town Academy, a school located nearby us. I took my first boda boda ride today and it was great. His boda wasn’t that nice however, the springs were bottoming out and it was a bit rickety, but oh well. We got to the school and found the room where our bunks and other equipment is being held. EVERYTHING was covered in spider webs and rodent droppings. There is going to be some serious washing going on when we finally get to it. Christopher Mugimu, the headmaster of the school, has been holding it for us for free. He told us that he would have a couple of his guys help us get everything cleaned up, so nice of him. It’s going to take a good half a day to get everything ready to move in. The first thing however will be getting a house. We are in the middle of negotiating a price for rent for a house in Lugazi. They are giving us crap and I hope it doesn’t last long, we really need the house. It’s a GREAT house, furnished, and very nice for Uganda. There is a lot of room and even a front room to just chill with a TV and a couch or two.
We spoke to 3 different groups of people today. Two women’s groups and a room full of politicians, it was pretty amazing to say the least. I even spoke some Lugandan, they got a kick out of it. I introduced myself and told them what I doing in Uganda, where I was from, and that I was glad to be there. I honestly feel like this is National Geographic and that I’m doing something HUGE, and I am!!! That’s what’s so great about it. How many people can say that they’ve been to Uganda, Africa, even Mukono or Lugazi for that matter and say that they worked amongst the people for 2 1/2 months. I have the experience of a lifetime and I HAVE to make the most of it.
Second, we went to the internet café sending off some e-mails. Ashley and Jackie did personal e-mailing and then e-mailing to HELP and its volunteers. I got an e-mail from my mom today that she sent two days ago. It was great to hear from here. I haven’t had access to the internet since I got to Uganda and its been a little tough. Internet sort of makes me feel better, more connect with home, I guess I will have to learn to live without it. I type a really long e-mail to mom and got out some feelings that I’ve had, it felt good to vent and know that she cares. The internet experience here in Mukono wasn’t all that however. The power went out 2 times and the internet was pitifully slow. Even to load google took a long time, it was slower than dial-up for sure. I got to my e-mail eventually however and it was nice to get and send mail. I sipped on a Pepsi while I did so, it was great, out of glass.
After e-mail, we made our way to the taxi yard and caught a taxi to Lugazi, 1500 shillings, not bad. The ride was rickety, as always, and a bit scary with them driving crazy on the roads. We finally got there however and met up with Deo at the Patron Hotel to discuss what we were going to do. That’s when we made out way into some villages and introduced ourselves. In one village, we played games (Jackie and Ashley actually, I did the recording) with the kids, it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. For as little as these kids have, it was as amazing how happy they were. Seeing the muzungus for them was like going to a freak show, and they love it. They smile, wave, want to shake your hand and interact with you. They played games for about 20 minutes while we waited for Deo to get back from his political discussions with the village people. While we waited for Deo after the last discussion, Barbara took us to two clinics and the hospital in Lugazi, I wasn’t too impressed. I was even a bit scared about the whole situation and I’m not sure I want to work there. The conditions just weren’t suitable for me. The electricity wasn’t even on and this was a national hospital. I didn’t have a great feeling about it and wonder now whether or not I’ll be doing any medical help at all. We did however visit with a Doctor who works in Kampala and as far as we know the hospital there is quite nice. I had the idea that I could go to town with him when he goes and save a taxi ride, and then maybe even be his assistant. I’m going to discuss that more with the CDs and the doctor to see if that is a possibility.
We sat around a table outside of the Parton Hotel discussing many details about the housing situation and the concerns that Jen has for us in Lugazi. I got mosquito bites which makes me a little nervous. But, I’m on the doxy and I have to trust that will protect me. I will inevitably get bit while I’m here so I’m just going to have to relax about that. I had a Fanta orange soda while we talked. The discussion got pretty heated and the town council really showed that they wanted us there and that they are willing to do whatever it takes for us to be in Lugazi. Deo has even offered us a guard for free while we are there for 4 months and even 6 rooms in a boys quarters for free if we absolutely needed the room.
Now I’m sitting in the meeting area of our nice guest room aside from the house. Jackie and Ashley are over at the table talking about plans for tomorrow while we are by ourselves in Lugazi. There is so much to do, plan, and actuate before the volunteers get here. It’s a bit overwhelming to be honest. I hope we get through it quick and I can’t wait for the other volunteers to get here. It’s not very fun to watch 2 country directors sit back and do all of this planning and not really be apart of the whole thing. I think that is part of the reason that I have been having the feelings that I do about being nervous to be here and getting all those irrational thoughts. I will be doing my best to stay positive. Until tomorrow.
We started our day out at the the Mukono Town Academy, a school located nearby us. I took my first boda boda ride today and it was great. His boda wasn’t that nice however, the springs were bottoming out and it was a bit rickety, but oh well. We got to the school and found the room where our bunks and other equipment is being held. EVERYTHING was covered in spider webs and rodent droppings. There is going to be some serious washing going on when we finally get to it. Christopher Mugimu, the headmaster of the school, has been holding it for us for free. He told us that he would have a couple of his guys help us get everything cleaned up, so nice of him. It’s going to take a good half a day to get everything ready to move in. The first thing however will be getting a house. We are in the middle of negotiating a price for rent for a house in Lugazi. They are giving us crap and I hope it doesn’t last long, we really need the house. It’s a GREAT house, furnished, and very nice for Uganda. There is a lot of room and even a front room to just chill with a TV and a couch or two.
We spoke to 3 different groups of people today. Two women’s groups and a room full of politicians, it was pretty amazing to say the least. I even spoke some Lugandan, they got a kick out of it. I introduced myself and told them what I doing in Uganda, where I was from, and that I was glad to be there. I honestly feel like this is National Geographic and that I’m doing something HUGE, and I am!!! That’s what’s so great about it. How many people can say that they’ve been to Uganda, Africa, even Mukono or Lugazi for that matter and say that they worked amongst the people for 2 1/2 months. I have the experience of a lifetime and I HAVE to make the most of it.
Second, we went to the internet café sending off some e-mails. Ashley and Jackie did personal e-mailing and then e-mailing to HELP and its volunteers. I got an e-mail from my mom today that she sent two days ago. It was great to hear from here. I haven’t had access to the internet since I got to Uganda and its been a little tough. Internet sort of makes me feel better, more connect with home, I guess I will have to learn to live without it. I type a really long e-mail to mom and got out some feelings that I’ve had, it felt good to vent and know that she cares. The internet experience here in Mukono wasn’t all that however. The power went out 2 times and the internet was pitifully slow. Even to load google took a long time, it was slower than dial-up for sure. I got to my e-mail eventually however and it was nice to get and send mail. I sipped on a Pepsi while I did so, it was great, out of glass.
After e-mail, we made our way to the taxi yard and caught a taxi to Lugazi, 1500 shillings, not bad. The ride was rickety, as always, and a bit scary with them driving crazy on the roads. We finally got there however and met up with Deo at the Patron Hotel to discuss what we were going to do. That’s when we made out way into some villages and introduced ourselves. In one village, we played games (Jackie and Ashley actually, I did the recording) with the kids, it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. For as little as these kids have, it was as amazing how happy they were. Seeing the muzungus for them was like going to a freak show, and they love it. They smile, wave, want to shake your hand and interact with you. They played games for about 20 minutes while we waited for Deo to get back from his political discussions with the village people. While we waited for Deo after the last discussion, Barbara took us to two clinics and the hospital in Lugazi, I wasn’t too impressed. I was even a bit scared about the whole situation and I’m not sure I want to work there. The conditions just weren’t suitable for me. The electricity wasn’t even on and this was a national hospital. I didn’t have a great feeling about it and wonder now whether or not I’ll be doing any medical help at all. We did however visit with a Doctor who works in Kampala and as far as we know the hospital there is quite nice. I had the idea that I could go to town with him when he goes and save a taxi ride, and then maybe even be his assistant. I’m going to discuss that more with the CDs and the doctor to see if that is a possibility.
We sat around a table outside of the Parton Hotel discussing many details about the housing situation and the concerns that Jen has for us in Lugazi. I got mosquito bites which makes me a little nervous. But, I’m on the doxy and I have to trust that will protect me. I will inevitably get bit while I’m here so I’m just going to have to relax about that. I had a Fanta orange soda while we talked. The discussion got pretty heated and the town council really showed that they wanted us there and that they are willing to do whatever it takes for us to be in Lugazi. Deo has even offered us a guard for free while we are there for 4 months and even 6 rooms in a boys quarters for free if we absolutely needed the room.
Now I’m sitting in the meeting area of our nice guest room aside from the house. Jackie and Ashley are over at the table talking about plans for tomorrow while we are by ourselves in Lugazi. There is so much to do, plan, and actuate before the volunteers get here. It’s a bit overwhelming to be honest. I hope we get through it quick and I can’t wait for the other volunteers to get here. It’s not very fun to watch 2 country directors sit back and do all of this planning and not really be apart of the whole thing. I think that is part of the reason that I have been having the feelings that I do about being nervous to be here and getting all those irrational thoughts. I will be doing my best to stay positive. Until tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
