Anyway, so we decided we wanted to walk there today, and not just back, and on our way Chanel wanted to see if these red converse she saw the other day were still there. While the shoes were not, two guys were who ended up following us for a while before finally talking to us (I didn't even notice them, but Chanel did and was creeped out). It's hard here to figure out who is being nice and who is creepy or making fun. These guys were definitely creepy. I made the mistake of telling them my name, but thankfully we don't even know the name of our street so when they asked where we live, though we said Mbale, when they asked for more specific we could honestly say we don't know (not that we would've told anyway, but it's nicer knowing we didn't have to lie). Anyway the name thing was bad because on the way back we walked by their shop again and they called out. Oops. We just kinda waved and kept walking despite them having said not to act like strangers and to know we were friends. It's also useful not having a phone cuz when people ask for our numbers we have nothing to give (again, honestly, as opposed to having to lie and say we don't have a phone).
Closer to Namatala we got new stalkers, though these were cute school girls who walked behind us and sometimes got closer and giggled if we turned. I much prefer this second kind of stalker.
We accidentally got to the school a half hour early, which is during the kids' recess time, and we were mobbed. They play some cute games that I wanted to photograph, like using the natural hills and grooves in the dirt for marbles and jump rope and swings, but every time I go to take a picture they all come running and get in the photo and then all shove trying to see what I took and point themselves out. They also at points get too close to the camera and are coming close to leaving fingerprints on my filter... not really what I want, though thank goodness I have a filter.
The kids also nearly pummeled Chanel, as they kept tickling her but also trying to steal her bracelets but if she lifted them higher they just jumped on her. It's cute though cuz some of the other kids then always say "Leave Auntie alone". Have I mentioned that they call us auntie (and Jack uncle)? It's cute. I like that and when the adults call us sister.
I'm also not sure if I've mentioned that they sometimes kneel to the ground when they shake our hands which feels so uncomfortable (though it makes me feel a bit better that I've seen them do it with some of the ladies as well, but when the ladies do it to us it's super awkward and is thankfully not happening now that we're getting to know them more).
I also gave the three girls who gave me notes their responses and they were so excited one even showed it to the ladies when they arrived. A bunch also asked for notes but we said we can't give unless they give us first (since it's not fair). Speaking of not fair, this one girl the other day asked me to bring her shoes, and as Chanel puts it, if she was the only girl in the school who needed, we'd be glad to, but knowing that everyone needs there's no way we can. Today she also asked me to bring her a purse. Sorry but I'll have to keep disappointing. It's really sad and a bit uncomfortable as well.
I've been working more on names, but with so many kids in the school it's a struggle. It's also hard since most of them have a Ugandan name and an English name, but the ones who just give us their Ugandan name are impossible to get, it's hard enough when they give their English name and we try to figure it out through the accent barriers.
One boy was cute and did the handshake they do here with me, but then he just kept going and finally I just told him I had to go.
When the ladies showed up it was nice seeing them and though we didn't talk so much with them, they were more talkative amongst themselves, which was nice to see and showed a higher level of comfort. The women really took charge today on cutting the fabric and didn't really want our help, though they were friendly and we all talked a bit. Language barrier is a bigger issue with this group, or at least it seems that way so far, though it could be just nerves like it was with the other group. They are getting excited about the products though which is nice to see. They also taught us the word for fourteen though we can't remember anymore, I'll have to work on that. It's just the numbers 10 and 4 together so maybe I can learn up to 20?
It was nice having such a small group, just Chanel, Rebecca, me, the 6 ladies, and Betty to translate. It'll be a big change tomorrow with all 11 ladies and 8 of us.
On the way home Chanel and I decided to stop by Elizabeth (one of last year's ladies)'s stand at the market in Namatala. We'd tried on our way there but someone else was there. Luckily she was there on the way back and we got to buy from her. She grows all her own produce which she sells which is really exciting. It was funny, when we showed up she was working on her necklaces as she sat at her stand. It was fun to see. She introduced us to her friend, Hellen, who works a few stands over and we all had nice conversations. She also showed Chanel how to wrap head scarves. It was a really great end to the day and she said she'll show us her home tomorrow after work.
This evening we worked on rearranging the rooms to make space for the 3 new fellows. Rebecca, who was with us at first and then moved down to another room had to move again, and we moved one of the three bunk beds out of our room. Turns out we're gonna end up with 4 girls in here and only 4 beds, so we'll have to move all our luggage to the floor instead of on the beds which we've used as shelves so far.
Nina, Saleh (our host)'s daughter, came in and watched a cartoon with us, which was cute, though she got bored so we didn't finish, and then, here's the crazy part, she decided to reorganize our stuff. She refolded all of Chanel's clothes and put our bags in order. She loves cleaning, it's hilarious. We realized later though that we should've payed closer attention, as we can't find everything now. Oops.
Great day overall, I have tons of photos to go through though, so I'll need to do some editing in the morning. Tomorrow I'll have to be more careful not to forget my flash.
Did I mention we hung the ornaments in our room for decoration? It looks nice.
Alright apparently I'm feeling talkative. Sorry for the long post!
Elizabeth putting her scarf on Chanel.
Hopefully when the other fellows come there will actually be some photos with me in them instead of me taking them all.
No comments:
Post a Comment