I've been back from Uganda for a little more than a week now. After slacking off on my blog for quite a while, I decided to go back and fill you in on some of the major stories and pictures I skipped. Enjoy!
It is great to be back in the US. I celebrated my sisters beautiful wedding this past Saturday and now I'm scrambling to finish up my end-of-semester school work.
I don't know what is next, but I hope to soon find a job I can enjoy and one that will enable me to put down some more permanent roots.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
My People
In no particular order, here is the cast of characters who made my crazy three months in Masindi worthwhile...
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| Me with Amanda (my directors wife and a super supportive friend) and Alex (one of the clinic docs) |
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| My buddy Wilson. He was always super protective and concerned for me. He was a loyal friend from day one. Don't know what I would I have done without him. |
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| Christine, my brainy Quickbooks copilot. She taught me a lot about accounting. |
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| Mustafa my crazy boda driver, ambassador to all white people in Masindi, and more full of personality than any picture can capture. |
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| Gilbert, a clinic nurse, my most eager computer student, and a caring friend. |
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| Brian, a janitor at the clinic, another great student, and an overall sweetheart. |
Forms of Resistance
"Julie, something terrible has happened." Patrick told me. He
showed me his brand new, expensive phone. It had just fallen on the
ground and was looking worse for the wear.
"Do you know who is responsible for this?" He asked me very seriously.
"Museveni?" I asked.
"Yes." he nodded, as a chorus of giggles burst out all around the office.
Uganda has had the same president for decades. Many citizens are quite tired of him and do not believe he is an effective leader for their country anymore.
Some fear to speak out against him, others are just a bit too jaded about politics to complain openly about him. But they still find ways to undermine him.
A popular joke among the clinic staff was to blame him for any absurd thing that went wrong in their lives. Premature balding, a stolen bike, a missed bus, a cough. Who was to blame? Museveni. The explanations for how he arranged for these annoyances were quite creative and varied.
It may not be the most effective form of resistance. But an interesting coping mechanism all the same. And a fun way to let of steam, if nothing else.
"Do you know who is responsible for this?" He asked me very seriously.
"Museveni?" I asked.
"Yes." he nodded, as a chorus of giggles burst out all around the office.
Uganda has had the same president for decades. Many citizens are quite tired of him and do not believe he is an effective leader for their country anymore.
Some fear to speak out against him, others are just a bit too jaded about politics to complain openly about him. But they still find ways to undermine him.
A popular joke among the clinic staff was to blame him for any absurd thing that went wrong in their lives. Premature balding, a stolen bike, a missed bus, a cough. Who was to blame? Museveni. The explanations for how he arranged for these annoyances were quite creative and varied.
It may not be the most effective form of resistance. But an interesting coping mechanism all the same. And a fun way to let of steam, if nothing else.
Basket Making
This is Constance, my neighbor. I had to walk through her families compound every day on my way to and from the clinic so I was up in their business pretty much all the time. They were always kind and friendly to me.
I asked Constance to teach me how to weave a basket out of grass, and she did. I'm holding the completed basket in the top picture. I'll admit, I had a lot of help in finishing it...
Gulu Visit
About six weeks ago, I traveled to Gulu to visit Jocelyn. I forgot to take many pictures of my visit, but I did want to document it here. Better late than never?
My bus journey was complete with the typical set backs and break downs that characterize most of my travel in Africa. This is the "rest stop" in Kafu where I ended up chilling for about an hour and a half trying to transfer buses. Whenever a bus rolls through, the vendors race out to crowd around and hold up their food items for sale through the bus windows. It was fascinating to observe a slice of their life for a time. I met many prospective spouses here.
But it was all worth it to get to Gulu. Gulu is a fun little town with lots of great food and interesting stuff to do. I spent part of the first day helping Jocelyn out at Krochet Kids where she works.
On a quest to make chips and salsa, I went to the market in search of ingredients and got caught in a major downpour. Some of the market women invited me into their stall where I waited out the rain for about a half an hour.
We ate well! Good chips and salsa were had, along with some delicious pizza, omelets, Lebanese, and Ethiopian foods. We also strolled around town, went to church, got sun burned, played banana-grams, met her colleagues, hung out with her kittens, and I got to have an extended Swahili conversation with her guard. It was a splendid visit. :-) Thanks for being a great hostess, JC.
My bus journey was complete with the typical set backs and break downs that characterize most of my travel in Africa. This is the "rest stop" in Kafu where I ended up chilling for about an hour and a half trying to transfer buses. Whenever a bus rolls through, the vendors race out to crowd around and hold up their food items for sale through the bus windows. It was fascinating to observe a slice of their life for a time. I met many prospective spouses here.
But it was all worth it to get to Gulu. Gulu is a fun little town with lots of great food and interesting stuff to do. I spent part of the first day helping Jocelyn out at Krochet Kids where she works.
On a quest to make chips and salsa, I went to the market in search of ingredients and got caught in a major downpour. Some of the market women invited me into their stall where I waited out the rain for about a half an hour.
Traffic Jam
There were definitely some advantages of living in rural Uganda. Such as rarely having to deal with Kampala traffic like this.
Lizards
One of the less horrifying creatures which were part of my life in Masindi were wall lizards like this one, shown eating a cockroach.
Maddy was a big fan of these. She would spot them and draw them to my attention, and I enjoyed obliging her by knocking them down with a broom.
But those lizards mamas didn't raise no fools. As the lizards hit the ground, this crazy thing happened. Their tails fell off! And the tails went crazy, jumping around all over the ground, to Maddy's delight.
Meanwhile, the rest of the lizard would skitter away to safety. However, it was only a matter of time before Maddy spotted the stump-tailed lizards and pleaded with me to knock them down again. After that... the lizards were all out of tricks. Sorry dudes. Adios.
Maddy was a big fan of these. She would spot them and draw them to my attention, and I enjoyed obliging her by knocking them down with a broom.
But those lizards mamas didn't raise no fools. As the lizards hit the ground, this crazy thing happened. Their tails fell off! And the tails went crazy, jumping around all over the ground, to Maddy's delight.
Meanwhile, the rest of the lizard would skitter away to safety. However, it was only a matter of time before Maddy spotted the stump-tailed lizards and pleaded with me to knock them down again. After that... the lizards were all out of tricks. Sorry dudes. Adios.
Ants Part II
A few weeks after this first frightening ant near-miss, my guard woke me up yet again in the middle of the night, asking me to come quickly. There was no electricity that night, but in the darkness I perceived a great commotion coming from the neighbors house.
Their house had just been invaded by red ants. The ants had entered the small one-room house and attacked the family as they slept. My guard advised me that we needed to surround my house with kerosene in order to prevent the ants from visiting me too. So I prepared a basin with water, he stirred in some kerosene, and we used a tree branch to sweep a diluted kerosene trail around the house.
Now, the funny thing about working at a medical clinic is that everyone in the village decides that you are a doctor. Despite my continual insistence that I am not one, nobody ever really quite believed me. Many people approached me with various health problems and became very frustrated that I refused to give a medical opinion. So the neighbor appeared at my house with his young daughter of about six years. She was wearing only a shirt, presumably the rest of her clothes had been removed because they were covered in ants. The girl was whimpering.
Her father pleaded with me, please help her. "What is wrong?" I asked, frightened to even hear the answer. The ants were inside her ear.
Water in the ear ended up doing the trick.
I had a hard time getting back to sleep that night, too. Especially when a pouring rain came a few hours later and washed away all the kerosene.
This is the view of the neighbors house from my window. They live behind the white door on the left.
Their house had just been invaded by red ants. The ants had entered the small one-room house and attacked the family as they slept. My guard advised me that we needed to surround my house with kerosene in order to prevent the ants from visiting me too. So I prepared a basin with water, he stirred in some kerosene, and we used a tree branch to sweep a diluted kerosene trail around the house.
Now, the funny thing about working at a medical clinic is that everyone in the village decides that you are a doctor. Despite my continual insistence that I am not one, nobody ever really quite believed me. Many people approached me with various health problems and became very frustrated that I refused to give a medical opinion. So the neighbor appeared at my house with his young daughter of about six years. She was wearing only a shirt, presumably the rest of her clothes had been removed because they were covered in ants. The girl was whimpering.
Her father pleaded with me, please help her. "What is wrong?" I asked, frightened to even hear the answer. The ants were inside her ear.
Water in the ear ended up doing the trick.
I had a hard time getting back to sleep that night, too. Especially when a pouring rain came a few hours later and washed away all the kerosene.
Ants Part I
Uganda is home to more types of ants than I have ever seen before. They can be found crawling on nearly every possible surface, indoor and outdoor... tiny ones, big ones, red ones, white ones, black ones, multi-colored ones, harmless ones, evil ones.
They are industrious and organized, strategic and completely undaunted by any effort to barricade or contain them.
I hate them.
One night, my guard woke me up, urgently calling from outside my bedroom window. I stumbled outside in a confused haze and he alerted me to a column of fearsome ants which was marching up the wall of my house and pouring into my bathroom. Some of them were safari ants.
Safari ants travel around in large groups. It is best not to interfere with them, but just stay out of their way. Legend has it that they can even consume a goat if it is tied up.
My first interaction with safari ants was in Naivasha, Kenya when we camped with Core Group. The ants gave us no rest... all you need to do is stand in one spot for a few seconds and they skitter up your ankles. They do not bite right away, but they take their time, get in position, and then seem to signal each other. Then they all chomp down at once. And it hurts a lot.
After further inspection, I found that some ants were in fact entering through my shower and circling the periphery of the bedroom. But their little line made it as far as my cats litter box and then all the ants seemed to be turning around to go back where they came from. I called everyone I knew, but nobody answered their phone. What could I do, it was the middle of the night? My guard had no advice. The best I could do was shift my bedding and kitty into the guest room and try to go back to sleep. It is not easy to sleep when you fear an ant invasion. Every itch becomes suspicious and it is hard to talk yourself out of the sensation that things are crawling all over you...
The ant attack never escalated beyond that. A few of them bit my ankles and a few of them bit my kitty in between her toes. But overall, we emerged triumphant.
They are industrious and organized, strategic and completely undaunted by any effort to barricade or contain them.
I hate them.
One night, my guard woke me up, urgently calling from outside my bedroom window. I stumbled outside in a confused haze and he alerted me to a column of fearsome ants which was marching up the wall of my house and pouring into my bathroom. Some of them were safari ants.
Safari ants travel around in large groups. It is best not to interfere with them, but just stay out of their way. Legend has it that they can even consume a goat if it is tied up.
My first interaction with safari ants was in Naivasha, Kenya when we camped with Core Group. The ants gave us no rest... all you need to do is stand in one spot for a few seconds and they skitter up your ankles. They do not bite right away, but they take their time, get in position, and then seem to signal each other. Then they all chomp down at once. And it hurts a lot.
After further inspection, I found that some ants were in fact entering through my shower and circling the periphery of the bedroom. But their little line made it as far as my cats litter box and then all the ants seemed to be turning around to go back where they came from. I called everyone I knew, but nobody answered their phone. What could I do, it was the middle of the night? My guard had no advice. The best I could do was shift my bedding and kitty into the guest room and try to go back to sleep. It is not easy to sleep when you fear an ant invasion. Every itch becomes suspicious and it is hard to talk yourself out of the sensation that things are crawling all over you...
The ant attack never escalated beyond that. A few of them bit my ankles and a few of them bit my kitty in between her toes. But overall, we emerged triumphant.
It was a regular occurrence to come across ant columns crossing foot paths like this. You just have to leap over and hope for the best. Yet, on a few occasions, they still found their way into my shoes, which led to some very ungraceful and frantic dancing on my part.
I hate them.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Kedra's Cooking
This is Kedra.
She came to my house to clean and do laundry once a week.
She has a difficult life. She is a single mother of two young boys and work is scarce. Yet, she is an extremely joyful and fun loving person. She inspires me in many ways.
Each week I asked her to cook dinner and let her choose what to make. One day I came home to find this live chicken inside the house. This startled me.
This is what Maddy thought of the chicken.
But we both came around later that day... it was delicious!
Getting Around
Everyone uses bodas in Masindi... even chickens. This one is being transported live, tied upside down to a handlebar.
Giant Spider
An unwanted house guest who appeared in my kitchen sink.
I think it was probably poisonous.
It was so big I was afraid to smash it so I trapped it in a jar. Wilson killed it for me.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
How to Avoid Death on The Nile
My friend Emily's summary of our rafting adventure...
The Newlin Weds: how to avoid death on The Nile: Somehow we did it...I'm not really sure how...but I can tell you the things not to do in order to stay alive while white water rafting The ...
The Newlin Weds: how to avoid death on The Nile: Somehow we did it...I'm not really sure how...but I can tell you the things not to do in order to stay alive while white water rafting The ...
Souvenir
I busted my face open rafting the Nile on Saturday.
That crease above the bruise is super glued together
I also lost my shorts in the rapids.
I am not making this up.
Bringing Up Maddy
Now that I've been getting to know her for two months, I thought I should give my kitten a more proper introduction to the blogosphere.
Full Name: Madeline "Maddy" Aboli
Nicknames: Ladybug, Monster
Age: About 3 months
Favorite things: shoes, crinkly plastic things, ribbons, talapia, chicken
Favorite activities: Biting, pouncing, running sideways, climbing mosquito nets, jumping straight into the air for no reason, hitting keys on the laptop, sleeping, snuggling on shoulders, keeping her white socks clean, riding on my flip flops like scooters.
Vices: Fearless, stubborn, has been known to chase after frightened children
Hidden Talent: Can burrow underneath a heavy blanket and sleep for hours with no need for oxygen
Greatest struggle: Possible gender confusion. I'm not totally convinced she's a girl!
What she wants to be when she grows up: the fattest cat in Masindi
Full Name: Madeline "Maddy" Aboli
Nicknames: Ladybug, Monster
Age: About 3 months
Favorite things: shoes, crinkly plastic things, ribbons, talapia, chicken
Favorite activities: Biting, pouncing, running sideways, climbing mosquito nets, jumping straight into the air for no reason, hitting keys on the laptop, sleeping, snuggling on shoulders, keeping her white socks clean, riding on my flip flops like scooters.
Vices: Fearless, stubborn, has been known to chase after frightened children
Hidden Talent: Can burrow underneath a heavy blanket and sleep for hours with no need for oxygen
Greatest struggle: Possible gender confusion. I'm not totally convinced she's a girl!
What she wants to be when she grows up: the fattest cat in Masindi
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