Married with Children?

I know I usually write about what I've done, but today I just have some thoughts/questions:

It seems as though it's not so uncommon to have children but not be married... I'm not sure if maybe some of the people we ask have been married before, and that is why they are single mothers, or not.

I've noticed there are many questions, like this, to which I may never get an answer.  Like why we are often greeted with "Well done", despite having done nothing, or why people apologize if you hurt yourself, when they clearly have nothing to do with it (that one makes a bit more sense to me...)

There are also many discrepancies between years and ages/number of years.  For example, we'll be told people are a certain age and born in a certain year, and the two do not always match up.  I wonder if part of that is a cultural thing, if they possibly count age differently, or if they just don't bother keeping track as carefully as we do... it's unclear.

Another cultural difference is in personal space.  It's not much of a thing.  As Beatrice (a social work student who is our translator this week) said, once you are friends you can be free with each other.  Though on the bus apparently you can be as well, as you squeeze way too many people in and practically end up on top of strangers.

This makes dating interesting, as you can be touchy with any friend, so if you like someone, you apparently visit each other's houses a lot, and meet one another's friends.  Then the boy needs to tell the girl he is interested, and then they are dating.  (Christine told us that boys and girls who like each other will also go on lots of walks together).

It is also illegal to have a homosexual relationship, though we learned that sometimes in single sex boarding schools people end up in a relationship, and get in trouble if they are caught.  When Beatrice asked me what I think about same sex relationships, and I responded that people should be able to do what they want, she was a bit shocked, explaining that God does not want it that way.  I think maybe that is the main factor they think about, and can't get past it.

On the other hand, men here will walk around holding hands with each other, and women the same, without it being an issue.  The only issue is if a married man or married woman holds hands with someone of the opposite sex.  I wonder if that is because it is just assumed that they aren't gay, and so why would it matter if they hold hands, it's clearly just a sign of friendship here.  (I remember once I was in Spain and my sister and I were holding hands and someone told us to stop or people would think we were lesbians... clearly we just didn't care).


I think that's about it for today.  Avaran's grandmother died so I'm trying to figure out a bit about what they do here when it comes to death so I can behave appropriately.

My Birthday in Uganda

Work was as usual yesterday.  The rest of the girls made it back from Martha's and joined us, but left a bit early since they wanted to shower and relax, after an exhausting weekend and crazy travels.

Pelin stayed around a bit to go to Veronica's with us, so we headed over (me, Chanel, Jessica, Pelin and Kaliya) (Betty, one of the translators and social workers from the school and Marjani and Jack joined us).  She had made us fish and meat and matooke (I obviously skipped out on the meat), and then milk tea which was delicious and cake (though I didn't have the cake).  We met more of her kids and nieces and nephews, and her sister, who brought me over to their fathers which is apparently a few houses over.  He owns quite a lot of land and buildings, and a lot of the family lives around there, which is nice.  Veronica is one of the few who actually grew up in Namatala, and not in a village elsewhere.

After everyone left, Veronica took me, Jessica, and Betty to her plot of land where she grows produce to sell.  It was awesome to see and she taught Jessica how to pull up the maize (which she also gave us some of).  It was fun being out with her, and impressive how she walked barefoot through her fields.

Jessica trying to pull out a corn stalk and Veronica helping

When we got back to her house it was getting dark, and she asked us in for sodas but we told her we needed to get back... next time.



Today is my birthday!  I'm not really a huge fan of having all the attention on me, I'm generally more into just getting all my friends together, so it's working out nicely here.  We went out to lunch at the place we first tried yesterday, Chat N Chino.  Turns out it's similar to the Internet cafe but BETTER.  They have so many foods from back home and they all taste great! Yesterday I had a mocha milk shake that tastes exactly like hagen daaz coffee ice cream (reminded me of my Grandma Anne, it used to be her favorite).  Today I treated myself to mushroom soup, praying that it would actually be good, since most other soups we've gotten in Mbale have been disasters.  This one was SO GREAT and it even came with a croissant/roll and butter... yum!!

Then work was pretty normal, though I bought myself a necklace I've been eyeing from Aidha as my birthday gift :)

Chanel and I had a nice walk home, and then Avaran stopped by.  He was mad at me for not telling him it was my birthday or inviting him to dinner... I can't really give much excuse except I hate advertising my birthday, and I felt bad about not inviting him to dinner, but I didn't think he'd go to a restaurant (turns out he would've gotten a drink) and he also hasn't spent time with our group much... I feel badly about it though.  I probably should've invited him.

Once he left we all went out to dinner at Delicious Dishes (the Indian place).  Good thing we went when we did since a bunch of westerners showed up after us, and as is it took at least 45 minutes to get our food.  We discovered they have great veggie pasta, a wonderful birthday meal (that I split with Avery).  It was really nice being out for dinner, which we never do.  Everyone chipped in to pay for my meal, too, which was unexpected and really nice of them (I know back home it's more expected, but here...? I dunno)  They also picked me up a brownie which was really nice.

When we got back to the casa Becca gave me a painting that he and Saleh bought for me in town (it also has a photograph of me attached...) It was so nice and really unexpected and kind.

Overall I'd say it was a successful birthday :)  Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and shoutout to Anna (my cousin), Lainie, and Razie who I share a birthday with!! Love you birthday buddies!

An Evening At Mary's and Climbing Sisiyi Falls

Friday all of the ladies were on African time, aka late and at some point we all doubted if they were even coming.  Mary actually showed up before the ladies who were supposed to come, hoping to make me and Jessica, but we told her we couldn't come until after work.

I played with Kodo Elijah a bit while waiting.  He's the little boy (like 3?) who hangs around.  He's in baby school there, which is only in the morning, and then chills for the rest of the day.   Apparently he was left at baby school one day and so one of the staff adopted him. We became friends because of my camera... but I think deep down he likes me for more ha.  Anyway this time I taught him how to use the camera.  He wasn't so good at it, didn't get to look where he was taking a photo, but he figured out at least which button to press, so that's progress.  And for once he said a few words to me which was fun.  I love that kid.

Kodo Elijah

A picture he shot.... he really needs to learn to look through the viewfinder

The ladies finally showed.  They are starting to bring extra products they make for us to buy, which is fun, and they take some requests, too.  Speaking with Martha, I learned that she apparently was a politician, doing education stuff for 10 years! Apparently, though, they only get an allowance and no salary, so she quit to put her kids through school.  It's amazing hearing all about the women and learning more about them every day.

After work, Jessica, Pelin, and I went to Mary's.  Sadly, Jessica and I hadn't learned from the day before, and still forgot raincoats, so we covered up with some of the scarves, which need to be washed and ironed anyway.  Hopefully I won't forget a raincoat again, because unlike in the beginning when we didn't believe Rebecca that it rained all the time, it has become consistent now.

Max, Mary's husband, was thankfully guarding at the school (have I mentioned he is one of the school security guards?) so he found a girl to take us back to his house so we wouldn't get lost.

Mary wasn't home yet, but her daughters from Child of Hope, who we know well and say hi to at school every day were.  It was fun seeing them out of uniform (Merab even wore pants! I was surprised but I guess she's young enough).  Their eldest sister, Christine, was also there, in from the village, which was fun getting to know her.  A bunch of neighbors also came over to say hi.  Slowly more family members trickled in, getting home from school and work.  We met six of Mary's seven kids, the seventh living in the village.  It was great meeting them all,  and we really got to know 4 of them, while one girl was very shy, and the eldest boy disappeared (we met him briefly, left, and then he was gone when we returned).

Jessica and Mary's youngest, Esazalay

Family and neighbors

Mary was later than we expected, we heard two stories, that she had gone to find us, or that her friend was sick (and possibly died?).  We're not positive what happened...

When she finally showed we went with her, and Esazalay (the youngest daughter who goes to Child of Hope), Merab (the daughter I have come to know best, at Child of Hope), and Christine (and some neighbors) to the market to buy food for dinner.  As we know that it is a strain, dinner was on us for the night, so we let them get some treats they would not usually buy, as well as more quantity than usual.  Whenever Mary asked, we just said it was on us.  It was our fault they had to do such a big dinner, so we would pay.  We got matooke (the green starchy banana things), two kinds of fish (dried that you cook), g-nut paste (to cook the fish in), charcoal to cook with, and pre-made chapati (I think that was a bit weird to them... I'm pretty sure they're used to just buying the ingredients and making it themselves, but since it was already so late we figured we'd prefer not to have one more thing to cook).  On our walk we met Mary's best friend, Anna, and also her oldest sister, coincidentally also called Anna, I believe.

Haggling for matooke (we ended up not buying from this lady cuz she was overcharging)

Sidenote, I have noticed that relation terms are hard here.... kids call many adults "aunt" and "uncle", and friends call one another "brother" and "sister", so it's possible we sometimes are mislead on who the family is... usually we can figure it out and eventually sort things out, but there are many times we can be totally wrong.  I think this was a real sister though, as Mary asked if we think they resemble each other.

Back at the house, Max, Mary's husband, and Justin and Raquel, Mary's other two children, along with many neighbors, were waiting for us, and we began cooking (by that I mean Mary and Christine began cooking... Pelin helped a bit peeling matooke while I joked with Max, and Jessica helped a bit to keep the fire going, but I just watched and documented).

Pelin peeling matooke

Jessica watching Mary salt the fish

The camera was probably the star of the night.  Justin watched me and figured out how to take photos, and asked if he could use my camera and then went around taking and showing photos for all the neighbors, family, and us.  With all the flash needed and reviewing each photo, the battery quickly died, so thank goodness for spares.

Christine (Mary's oldest daughter), Aaron (a neighbor), Justin (Mary's youngest son) and me

A neighbor, Jessica, Merab (Mary's daughter), Christine, and Pelin

Dinner smelled AMAZING and Mary served the three of us, saying the rest of them would eat when we were done (no pressure or anything...).  Literally the entire family and all of their neighbors sat and watched us eat.  We had Mary and her daughters sing a bit for us, too, which was cool.  They sang in English, one religious song, and then a song to welcome visitors which was sweet.  Esazaloy (the youngest girl) knew the words best and sort of lead.  It was the perfect evening, full of great conversation, tons of laughs, and delicious food.

Eating dinner (Jessica holding up her almost finished fish)

Successfully finished

Our feast (probably the worst photo of the evening... taken by me... oops): Fish in g-nut paste, chapati, and millet bread

When we finished, Mary, Christine, and Max escorted us back to the main road (which is only about two minutes from their house).  Because it was so dark, they held our hands to be sure we wouldn't fall (they of course could easily see).  When we got back to the Casa it turns out the British netball coaches had left! Great day :)

On Saturday, we knew there was an arts festival a few blocks away.  We went over around noon to check it out, only to see that they, too, were on Africa time (really puts things into perspective... I thought my family tends to be late to things but by Africa time we're BEYOND early).  After that fail we headed back to the casa and I sat in the hall reading and watching the painter paint murals onto the wall.  It is beautiful now, really adds character to the place.

Painting the wall (straight on, no canvas)

The whole room downstairs (Pelin, Kelsey, Avery and Stephanie) plus Meredith left for Martha's village.  (We were all supposed to go, but realized that even though Martha said it would be nice, it might actually be a real burden, so the rest of us stayed behind, back to the group we had at the beginning before the other girls arrived).  We found out last night that the 2 hour ride Martha had promised was in fact 5 hours (essentially the same as going back to the airport), and by the time they planned to leave last night Martha was worried they wouldn't find a car, so they stayed an extra night.  Knowing Martha, who is not the type to miss things like this, we've got a feeling she'd planned for them to stay two nights and just didn't tell.

Once they left, Freddy, a Ugandan guy we'd met toward the beginning of our trip who is friends with Rebecca (and all of Mbale) and who works for the radio station (he's the guy who tried to set us up with the newspaper) showed up at the casa and told me we should come to the festival around 4, since there would be cultural music and dancing.  I'm not sure why we still haven't learned, but Jessica and I went right at 4.

First of all, the street was now blocked off, and you needed to pay 1000 shillings to get in (about 40 cents so still not bad).  We also couldn't tell if there was a line, and waited for a bit, before we noticed that people seemed to be standing in line but lots of others were just going around them, so we finally went around, too.  It also was maybe a block long, which we'd expected some huge art event, a bit more like the trade show we went to...  We were wrong.

We ended up wandering into the few shops within the area blocked off, and then finally decided to take spots so we'd be able to see once it finally began.  This singer, Sydney I think was her name, was doing a sound check.  She apparently was one of the main events for later in the night.  It was fun being able to see her since we wouldn't be there long.  She was great, though I really didn't like her male backup singer.  We then saw a rap group which was awesome, also doing their sound check.  Finally, around 6, the show began.  Now, we'd been standing in the same spot for at least an hour, and had even sat down on the ground, with people seated in chairs behind us.  Some girls decided we were their friends, and were explaining to us what was going on.  Then, when it was just starting, people came and stood in front of us, so we stood up and the people in chairs behind us got mad, but what do you want? We couldn't see anymore!  Despite the frustration of losing our perfect spots, it was a cool performance.  Cool singing and dancing, awesome instruments and costumes... it was fun to watch (at least the bits I could see between people's heads).  The girls by us explained some of the lyrics (which I now don't remember).  It was pretty short though, and we ended up leaving around 6:30.

Despite the frustrations, it was fun going and worth it.  It's cool seeing the cultural dances and hearing the singing in person.

Sunday morning we got up and after a slow start (we were supposed to leave but then the car was in use so we had to wait...), Marjani, Jack, Kaliya (Marjani's sister), Jessica and I got in the car with Becca and headed out to Sisiyi Falls.  There's a famous waterfall called Sipi, and this is the one on the way, a bit of an easier hike, but still beautiful so we figured we'd try this one first.

Where we started...

Our guide, named Ronald, and his friend Isaac, showed us the way.  First we stopped at a place below the falls, where we could look up at it.  

Jessica, Me, and Becca

There were these awesome trees growing on rocks, with the roots hugging the boulders.  There are also guest houses there which is cool.  We thought we'd begun our hike, but it turns out you can't get to the top that way, so we had to backtrack down and then go back up a different route.  

Not actually the hike... next to the cool trees

There were lots of rocks along the way, but it was an easier hike than Mount Wanale (did I mention that what we thought was Mount Elgon was in fact Mount Wanale, and locals think of all these as just foothills of Mount Elgon, which you apparently have to camp out on since it takes so long getting to the top.  Also it costs money to climb Mount Elgon...)

Once we got to the top, they were making big vats of local brew up there.  The view was beautiful and we could see where the water was falling from.  (This one was not the kind of place where you could swim though).

Jack and Marjani crossing sticks to start the real hike

Local brew

That's where we came from!

Jessica and me

The sky was getting darker and it was clearly prepared to rain.  Ronald told us we should be on the move again, and this time the pace was quick.  There was no way we'd beat the rain.  It started drizzling, sometimes raining, definitely wet, and the way became slippery.  Isaac went in front of me to help me and show me where to step.  There was one part where we had to climb down a vertical rock... that was a fun one.  A few parts I just slid down, and Isaac taught me that the grass was strong, so you could hold a few pieces as you moved to steady yourself if there weren't trees around.  If he held on, I knew I'd have to.  A few parts I even sat down (I didn't fall, I chose to sit, and no, I'm not lying) despite the mud that ended up on the seat of my pants... Didn't think about that at the time.  By the time we reached the bottom, we were all covered in mud, except for Jack.  It looked like he didn't even come with us... not sure how he managed that.  It was well worth the hike, and I didn't come out with any major injuries this time! (Just a small cut on my finger like a papercut from some of the grass)

My new friend Isaac and me (yes, that's mud on my head... oops)

Finger painting or hiking?

Muddyyyyyyyy

I'm glad Marjani and Jack made this plan, since we've been discussing it since the beginning of our trip and nothing had happened yet.  Maybe when some of the other girls do Sisiyi Falls we'll try out Sipi... we'll see.

When we got back the other girls informed us they would have to stay an extra night... now despite their early start, it sounds like they only just got on the bus... not sure what's happening there.

I know I keep talking about potholes, so here's finally a picture:  

 And just a sign:

Happy Fourth of July!!

This was one of the weirder July 4th's I've had.

As Marjani says, so glad we gained independence and didn't end up like the British people staying with us (no offense to my British friends, these guys are just really making a bad name for you all)

This morning Avaran dropped by.  Apparently his grandmother has been in the hospital (which is right by us) with a kidney problem.  If I understood correctly, she was very swollen all over.  After a short chat he took me to see her.  It wasn't visiting hours, but the guards at one of the gates knows him since he has come and go so much recently, so we were allowed in (as were many other people... visiting hours seems to be more of a suggestion than a rule).

The hospital itself was set up interestingly.  It's not like ours, more like each ward is a separate building, and each building about one room, varying in size.  We went in the room where his grandmother was.  The first thing I noticed was it was just a huge room full of beds, no privacy at all.  We went over to her bed, where she was surrounded by women in her family, who were talking to her and massaging her arms and hands, as she was clearly in pain.  It was hard seeing the pained look on her family's faces, as well as the occasional tear run down her cheeks.  I don't think I have seen a Ugandan woman cry before, as they mostly seem so tough and strong.  I felt a bit out of place, having never met her before and coming for a visit, especially since I do not speak the language, so I tried to hang back a bit and just observed, but I'm glad I went to support their family.  We didn't stay too long, which I am glad for, since I felt like a bit of an intruder.

Later on, on our way to Namatala, it looked like it would rain, yet again.  Stephanie and I were sharing a boda, and just as we turned the corner onto the road into Namatala, we saw everyone start running and we could see the rain headed straight toward us (from Namatala).  The driver immediately turned into the first driveway and rushed us (and his boda) under shelter.  It ended up being a guest house, and everyone else ran there for shelter as well, and the owner offered us seats on the covered porch.  As we sat there, we saw the rest of our group on bodas drive past, and wondered if they were going to try to reach Child of Hope, realizing they'd be drenched (aside from the fact that the rain sort of stings when you drive that quickly).  The rain came down HARD, with huge puddles (ponds?) and streams forming everywhere.  At one point there was even hail, the same as I saw in Sydney, Australia, one day, about the size of marbles (talk about unexpected).  Every so often more people would join us under the shelter.  There also seemed to be some sort of boy scout camping trip across the way, which was unfortunate as most of their tents got blown over.

When the rain finally calmed, we continued on, passing Meredith, Avery, Chanel, and Jessica who it turns out had stopped a bit further down.  We drove through numerous puddles and the sides of the roads were huge streams, though it looked like they had some sort of drainage system which was cool.  Even the goats and chickens had taken cover.  We also drove by Lofisa, who had decided not to walk yet, and said she'd meet us soon.  The driver was kind enough to drive us all the way to the school, instead of where we usually walk the last bit.

When we walked in, Jack, Kelsey, and Pelin were there, all drenched, since their drivers had powered through the rain (quite quickly apparently).  Kelsey and Pelin's driver even argued the price with them while they were standing getting drenched.  I felt awful for them, and when Pelin called Marjani to see if she'd bring them dry clothes, Marjani walked in a minute later, having already been close.  Lofisa also slipped on her way, getting all muddy, and everyone (except Mary) was late.

What a day.

The good part about the rain, though, was how much it cooled everything down.  I walked home with Meredith and Chanel, enjoying the weather.

Help International, another group out here (which is what Rebecca and Alexis came with when they decided to then start 1000 Shillings), was throwing a 4th of July party.  They were supposed to have kickball and volleyball, though we planned to miss it, wanting a bit of a break before heading over.  We were in charge of bringing hamburger buns and soda, and ended up struggling pretty hard with both, trying 3 grocery stores before we were satisfied, and not getting quite what we'd wanted, but realizing we'd have to make do.  We then got on bodas, with only Chanel knowing where to go, and she and I promptly lost everyone else, hoping we'd find them so they wouldn't get lost.  Thankfully that was a quick fix, though it did start raining on us again (not as hard but it still wasn't ideal).  Oh, I forgot to mention, we weren't sure if they'd have veggie food, so Chanel was carrying around a pot with guacamole, which turned a lot of heads in case we weren't strange enough, especially walking in the rain.

When we got there, the sports had been cancelled and everyone was sitting inside playing cards.  We played too (though within our own group) and found catchphrase which was fun.  The food was also really good.  Though I didn't have a burger it was nice having chips and bean dip (though I decided to use chapati I'd bought instead of chips) and guacamole and potato salad.  There were also fried bananas which were heavenly.  It was pretty fun and nice to have different food, but I don't know that it was so special.

Then when we went to leave we realized bodas don't really pass by there, and so we started walking in the dark.  Unlike home, where there are street lights, this was ACTUALLY dark.  Beautiful stars, but hard to see the road and a big fear of getting run over by cars who might not notice us.  We ended up 4 of us walking, and every so often a creepy car stopped and asked if we needed a ride, which didn't help.  Finally, we were walking and suddenly a guy came out from in front of us and started us, just because we hadn't seen them.  About a second later another car stopped, and we realized Jack and Marjani were in that one.  We ended up squeezing 7 of us into the back seat, with Marjani and Jessica sticking their heads out either window.  It was like a 4th of July parade!

Ha, so that was the day.  I'm excited for tomorrow, when Jessica and I will be making dinner and dancing with Mary and her family!

Happy July 4th to everyone back home!

Back in Namatala

Monday morning was a scramble to get all our work in, since we didn't do anything over the weekend.

It was good seeing the ladies again, and they were glad we were back and all asked about our trip, which was nice.  We have been planning lots of visits to their houses and villages, which is exciting, too.  We finally have squared away what every woman is working on (we had a few confusions along the way), and some women have even finished their products.  Now they'll be making things for us (obviously we'll still pay them, nothing for free), but at least we can make requests.

After work today, Jessica and I went to Veronica's house, which we apparently pass every day without knowing.  It's CRAZY how much she has done.  She apparently used to not be the friendliest, but has gotten nicer while working with our program and the school.  She is now a land owner and is building shops to rent out, as well as starting a new business.  She had some pretty good questions for us, like asking if she could send us products once we go back home so we could keep buying them.  We explained to her that the idea is that they will become able to support themselves within their own community, without our help, though we will keep coming to visit and work with new women to make them as successful as she is.  She also asked when we might come back, so we will not forget her.  She was so sweet and kept offering us food.  When she heard I could only eat meat that was killed in a certain way, she told me she'd bring the chicken and I could kill it myself... not quite what I meant.  I should have just stuck with saying I'm vegetarian...

When we left it looked like it was about to storm, so we hopped a boda to try to beat it.  It didn't actually end up raining by us, though we saw rain and a storm further off.

Oh, Marjani's sister, Kaliya (I might be spelling that wrong) just came to help do some film which will be fun!

Also, I forgot to mention there's a group of netball players from the UK staying here for the week who are pretty loud and obnoxious.  They smoke near our rooms, play loud music late at night... just not the biggest fan so far...

Today was another quieter day... I organized my pictures a bit since it's a ton and I'd like to be able to look through fewer... It's also raining every day now at different times, so we don't walk to and from work as much, always fearing we'll end up drenched and usually making it to shelter just in time.

I've been looking up things to do at the end of our trip, and it looks like we may do a safari!

Visitng Jinja (Rafting the Nile!): Where the Good Thankfully Outweighed the Bad

The ladies were really late Friday, but it kind of allowed for a fun day.  Elizabeth and Esther showed up and decided to braid all our hair.  We just sat around laughing and having fun.  Kelsey drew stick figure pictures of each of us and Martha and Esther play fought.  Annette was the only one to get any work done, but it was a blast for the rest of us (not a waste though, it's good for us to hang out and get to know each other better).

The caricatures of us drawn by Kelsey: Chanel with a milkshake, Jessica with beads, Jack with a Whole Foods bag and carrot, Marjani with beans and chapati, Me with passion fruit juice, Stephanie with a pineapple, Pelin with a turkey leg (just because she's from Turkey), Meredith with a #1 Runner sign, Avery with California and Texas, and Kelsey in a wedding dress holding wedding bells

Group photo after Elizabeth and Esther braided our hair. From top left: Jessica, Avery, Pelin, Meredith, Me; Bottom left: Marjani, Stephanie, Elizabeth, Chanel, Esther, Kelsey, Martha

Elizabeth and Esther braiding Kelsey and Meredith's hair

Ok, now onto the main event of this post... Jinja.  This weekend all 8 of us fellows decided to go to Jinja together.  While we planned for it to be an adventure, we had no idea what we were in for.  I'm actually going to start with the end, so I don't end on a bad note, because despite it not being the best trip back, it still didn't manage to overshadow how great the weekend was.  I might just write this whole thing out of order.  Here goes:

Issues/Injuries of the weekend:
1.  Boda driver fight
2.  Avery smacked in the face by a boda driver (by mistake but still)
3.  Stephanie tripped over a hammer and got bruised
4.  Kelsey smacked in the face by a banana thrown at the truck
5.  All getting separated and thinking we'd never meet up again since we forgot to set a meeting place and time and have only 1 phone for the group- thankfully we found each other quickly and didn't make that mistake again
6.  Everyone getting injuries from the Nile rafting- mostly bruises but some cuts as well
7.  Stomach issues the night after rafting
8.  Transportation strike so we had to scramble to figure out how to get back to Mbale
9.  Once we were on the bus, rocks were thrown at it

Now I'll explain:

Yesterday (Monday) morning, our plan was to wake up, get on the 8:30 bus back into town (we were staying at a gorgeous campsite near Bujagali Falls with Explorers Backpackers, but it was a bumpy ride away from town, so they had a shuttle in to their office in town).  Anyway so the plan was once we were in town, some of us would go shopping, others would go see another view of the Nile (yeah, Jinja is right at the source of the Nile, part of the appeal).  We were then going to meet around 10:30, get on a matatoo and wait for it to fill (which shouldn't take so long since we were starting with 8 of us) and head to Mbale.
Here's what actually happened: We woke up Monday morning, after half of us had stomach issues through the night and were not feeling 100%.  We were all slightly beaten up, too.  (To add a nice part, Meredith had tried a great chapati stand just outside the campsite the night before, which was basically the same as a crepe place only with chapatis, so we all had awesome sweet crepes at night-- I got nutella, honey, fried banana-- and then again for breakfast-- I got rolex but he added curry powder to the eggs which was heavenly.  He deserved the sign that said #1 chapati).  Anyway we almost missed the bus, but made it.  We took bodas from town into the shopping area, and Meredith found out from her boda driver that there was a transportation strike, so matatoos (like sheruts in Israel... kind of big shared taxis?) and buses weren't running... and there went our plans.  (When we finally got on the bus, the woman next to me, Brenda, explained that the strike was because the government has recently raised taxes on petrol)

Our group was also split at this point, so we had no way to tell our friends about the problem, we just had to wait for them to show up.  In the meantime I spoke with the boda driver I'd taken, and asked how we might get back to Mbale, so he gave me the phone number of a private taxi who might drive us.
Anyway, we had a nice time shopping (they had all gone shopping on Saturday and while I walked around, I didn't buy anything since I don't shop on Shabbat).  The other girls showed up pretty quickly, saying it was a nice view but they just took pictures and left.  Then the planning began.  We couldn't decide if we could trust the taxi driver that a random boda driver had told us about, so we called Saleh, Becca, Marjani, and Jack to help troubleshoot.  They told us we should try the taxi driver, but then it was all this mess with calling them, the driver, and having the driver talk to Becca.  We had to negotiate prices.  Thankfully Pelin took charge of all the calls, which was incredibly nice and helpful.

In the meantime, with it all taking so long, we all kept going back to shop for more... oops.  It ended up working out, though, as I was in a shop buying paintings, when a girl started talking to the shopkeeper, Esther.

I recognized the voice a bit and looked up.  We both stared at each other for a few seconds, recognizing one another but unable to place the faces.  Finally I realized that she was Courtney, one of the Peace Corps workers who often stays at the Casa on weekends, and she recognized me as well.  She told me she was just about to head back to Mbale on an Elgon Flyer bus, which we had thought weren't running. She knew one of the Elgon Flyer workers, and called him to ask if there were 8 more spots.  When he said yes I went back and told the group, where the taxi driver had just arrived.  The bus was significantly cheaper (well I guess not in American money...) so we decided to go for it.  Thank goodness for Courtney.  We took bodas out to the main road to wait for the bus, and other bodas told us about the strike (as if we hadn't known) and that they'd drive us, which was ridiculous.  There's no way we would have boda-ed back.  If anything we would have stayed an extra night, or Becca would've driven to pick us up (oh, it's a 2 to 2 1/2 hour ride from Jinja to Mbale).

Anyway, the bus finally arrived, and we noticed there were some windows missing.  They also did NOT have 8 seats, as they'd told us they would, but they said they'd reduce the price for us if we sat on laps...  Before we even got on, though, a guy started taking pieces of the broken window above the door and dropping them out of the bus.  It made sense so they wouldn't be ON the bus, but we had to move out of the line of fire.  When we got on the bus (Avery sitting on Chanel and Stephanie sitting on me and Pelin sitting on the steps, also most of us sitting on bits of glass) we realized that people have been throwing rocks at the bus, hence the broken windows and glass everywhere.  There were also some rocks inside the bus, making the point even more.  That's when we learned that people were mad at the buses for running, since they thought they should be striking too, since strikes don't work so well if people aren't united.

The window that is shattered by glass, but stayed together

A window that was totally broken by glass.  When the guy got up from his seat we saw there was a pile of glass he'd been sitting on.

Towards the beginning of our ride, there were a few more rocks thrown at the bus.  I'm not sure I have ever felt so unsafe.  At the same time, though, it was comforting how united everyone ON the bus was.  If you heard a noise, everyone covered their heads and ducked together, leaning toward the middle of the bus, away from the windows.  People would pull others toward them to keep them away from windows, and shared different items to try to cover everyone's heads.  Brenda, next to me, told me whenever we were getting close to a more populated area, and told me to duck down.

Brenda protecting herself

Chanel and Avery, a bit worried

As we got further from Jinja, though, we started feeling safer and didn't have to duck anymore.  Brenda was incredibly nervous, though, saying she was just praying, and especially praying that the driver would be safe, as we needed him to be safe for driving.  She kept her head by the window covered with a sweater, trying to protect her face.  A woman a few rows in front of us got some glass in her arm when one of the rocks was thrown.  It was pretty intense, and we were glad to pass all of that.

At one point, Brenda also told me that a truck that had just pulled in front of us was one of the kind that catches fire.  To put this in context, there was recently a truck that fell in Kampala, full of oil.  People gathered around, trying to collect the oil, but then it caught fire and blew up, killing I believe 29 and leaving 29 more injured and in the hospital.  This apparently is not as uncommon as one might hope, despite warnings that they keep putting out, telling people to stay away from accidents that are that flammable.  It was really sad to learn about, and a bit scary to hear that the truck in front of us was one of those.

Once we were through the bad part, it was still a bit nerve wracking as you had no clue if it might happen again, but I started being able to enjoy the ride and see the beautiful country out the window and the interesting people.  I also finally managed to calm enough for a nap.  Oh, and some people got off, allowing everyone from our party to have their own seats.  It was quite the adventure and we made it back to Mbale safely, with everyone at the casa glad to see us and glad we made it back, having all heard that we were stuck in Jinja.  Needless to say, we didn't make it to Namatala, as we would've been an hour late and we were all exhausted.  Apparently the ladies made fun of us for not being there.  I bet they'll give us a bit of hard time for it today.

Ok, so now I'll go through the rest of the weekend, which is why we loved our trip.

We left bright and early Saturday morning.  We were aiming for the 8:30 bus, and got there at 8 as they'd told us, and they quickly shoved us onto an almost full bus and left.  Being that African time is NEVER early, we must've been on the 7:30 bus, but it worked.  It was a very hot and crowded ride.  There were sounds of the seats creaking every time we hit a bump (which was at least twice a second), and people chatting quietly.  This one guy even started selling pharmaceutical products on the bus- from pain relief pills to deworming pills to cough drops (or cold drops as they called them).  I was surprised with how many sales he made.

We got dropped in Jinja, but the bus is the one to Kampala, so they leave you on the main road.  Then it was time to get bodas...  It's supposed to be easy, and there were a lot around, but we never anticipated the next bit.  More than enough bodas showed up.  I got on one with Pelin, and it pulled forward a bit.  Everyone else got on, but then the drivers got mad.  Avery and Stephanie got on a boda, but then all the drivers said he wasn't with them, so they should switch.  They tried to pop his tires and take the keys out, so Avery and Stephanie got off and switched to another.  Their original driver got mad, and grabbed hold of their new driver's jacket, trying to pull him off.  Jessica go off her boda to try and help Avery and Stephanie and make the drivers stop, or at least get them off.  Just as Avery and Stephanie got off the boda, it fell over.  They hopped on a new one and we all told our drivers to just go quickly, since they'd all stayed around watching and yelling.
Thankfully that was the end of that and we got to the office in town to check in.  They let us leave our bags in the office, and the next adventure began.

This time, we didn't like the price the drivers gave us, but we also weren't sure exactly where the center of town was or how long it would take to get there, so we finally decided we should take bodas.  Unfortunately, we were one short, so four people went ahead, but Chanel and Stephanie waited with me and Meredith.  We finally hopped on a boda and told him to follow them, but he quickly lost them.  Being that we didn't know town and we didn't have phones, we had no clue where they might have gone.  All we knew was main street, but no idea which direction.  I thought I'd caught a glimpse of Chanel and Stephanie going one way, so after a little while going the other, we finally had our driver turn around, and kept our eyes peeled.  We found those two, and were relieved to be together (our driver wanted extra money for helping us find them, but since he lost them to begin with we said no way).  We kept walking and thankfully found the other four pretty quickly.  We ended up just outside a cute souvenir shop, and people bought A LOT, but we were sure we'd find others, so everyone tried not to buy TOO much.

Now we all needed money (though it was Shabbat, so not me), but everyone else had trouble with all the banks we found.  We ended up finding a Barclays which worked, but then weren't sure where the market was with all the souvenirs that we'd been hearing about.  We ended up in the wrong market... it was more of a local market with household items, clothes (mostly used I think).  It was cool to walk through, despite it not being what we were looking for, but people kept touching us (not just grazing by, deliberately touching) which was not much appreciated, so it was nice to get out.  We found an American supermarket, which had some exciting foods, though we realized it was a bit more pricey (even the Nutella was more expensive than the one we buy in the non American grocery stores).  Fortunately, we also met an American woman there, who told us where the shops we were searching for were.  Turns out the one we found was at the end of the row of them, we just had to walk down a little ways, but we'd walked the wrong direction.
We found a nice place for lunch, with delicious food.  Amazing Chinese pasta dish, great fried rice, a different kind of beans, good regular noodles with cheese... it was nice.

The shops were fun, lots to look at, and lots of haggling going on.  Mostly the same things in most shops, just a matter of looking for the least expensive, and there were some things a bit nicer or a bit different.  The artwork was also beautiful (though Avery, as an artist, was not impressed, especially since we quickly realized a lot (though not all) of it was made from stencils that everyone shared).

We weren't sure when we needed to get back to shuttle up to the campsite, so we finally decided it'd be a good time, and since we were 8 they just put us all in a car and drove us up.  It was a stickshift, and I was seated in the middle of the front.... basically on the stick.  Jessica was in the middle of the middle row, but there was no actual seat there, so she was on the floor.  Crowded as usual.

It ended up being well worth it.  The campsite had dorms, where we were staying (one for just us, with 6 of us, and Pelin and Chanel went into another with strangers), pretty nice bathrooms, and a restaurant/bar overlooking the Nile.  You could also walk down to the Nile, and on the way there were showers with a view.  Sadly I didn't shower there, but it was awesome.  We also realized once we got all the way down that the view was better from the top.  Whoops.

Did I mention there were monkeys??? (I think vervet).  They were running all in the trees (and on the roof of our dorm at night) and were so cute!!  There were also beautiful birds, including the African Fish Eagle, which looks almost like a Bald Eagle.  There was also a cook bird that was black but halfway through the wing to the tip was red, which was awesome when it flew above.

An African Fish Eagle

Sunset

The Nile River. But really

For dinner we ate at the restaurant, which was surprisingly reasonably priced.  I got a greek salad that actually had lettuce and GOOD feta cheese! Win.  Everyone was happy with what they got, from cheese burgers to B.A.L.T.s.  We then sat around a while longer playing card games.  We tried to play bananagrams but they kept falling through the middle of the table so we nixed that plan.  It was nice just sitting around all playing cards together.  It was the perfect relaxing evening.

We went to bed early, exhausted and knowing we had a long day ahead of us.  Sunday morning we got ready quickly (I finally paid, since the place had been totally understanding about my not using money or signing anything on Shabbat when we checked in).  We hopped on the bus into town, and got coffee and tea at the office in town.  Again we had to wait around a while, until the bus from Kampala got in.  Then we were off (with rolex and fruit on the go).  When we got to the start of the rafting trip, we had to decide how to split up.  The rafts could only take 7 people (plus the guide), and there are 8 of us.  Chanel, Jessica, and Meredith decided they wanted a bit of a more intense trip, so we told them to go find another boat.  We ended up adding in two high school girls, Nike and Laura, who wanted a more intense trip.  The two of them sat in front, with Avery and Stephanie behind them, me and Pelin next, then Kelsey with the instructor, Hassan, in the back.  I forgot to mention, when we originally thought of going rafting, we'd wanted to sign up for Grade 3, family style, after hearing Rebecca's horror story of going extreme and getting a black eye from a rock.  When we got in, however, the guy convinced us to sign up for Grade 5, saying it was safe (no, he didn't lie, it was just kinda scary).

Anyway we told Hassan we weren't interested in flipping so much, though Nike and Laura tried to convince him we should.  Unlike the rafting I did in Australia, here they say not to wear shoes.  When we asked them at the end, they said it was because the rubber had more of a tendency to get stuck in the boat, and wouldn't allow you to fall out, but sometimes it's better to fall out than get stuck and break a leg.  They also said never to tuck your feet under the air balloons inside the raft, which I think we used in Australia.  It was interesting learning the differences.  He made us flip right when we got in, in order to teach us what to do if we were in a rapid.  We learned how to pull people back into the boat, how to breathe under the boat if it was flipped on top of you, and how to get out when he flipped it back upright.  So much for not getting in the water in Uganda... To all those doctors reading this, we know about all the parasites, and took worm pills right when we got home.  (Fun fact about that, prescriptions don't exist here.  You just go into the pharmacy and get the medicine you need, often for pretty cheap.  We've been told which are better or worse, so we know what to get and what to avoid, but I think it's worked).

So the trip itself was 8 rapids, with calm parts between.  We weren't anticipating how much paddling we'd need to do to get to the next rapid, after the 7th, Hassan had the trip leader come into our boat.  He claimed it was just because he wanted to sit with a bunch girls, but we're pretty sure Hassan was tired of essentially doing all the work.

Before each rapid, Hassan told us what we would have to do in case we flipped.  Some areas were deep, and we were supposed to try to swim back to the boat.  If you couldn't, a kayak or another boat would save you.  If it was a kayak, you lay underneath and held on with your face above the front of the kayak.  Other times, it was rocky, so you had to lay on your back going feet first so you could see where you were going and not get beaten up.

The first rapid (Overtime, Grade 5), we went around a waterfall, and ended up going down backwards.  The second, Bubogo, which was a Grade 4, we got caught on the wrong part of a big wave, and flipped over.  To give you an indication, when we later watched the video, most flips you saw everyone pop back up immediately, but when we watched our flip, only one person popped back up in the video...  We were underwater for a while, Kelsey apparently got stuck under the raft, after being pushed around by the current a while, I popped back up, thankfully with the raft right in front of me and Avery right next to me.  We looked at each other and were both coughing, when Nike popped back up by us also.  She did NOT look good.  She was pale and her eyes were bright red.  I'm not sure at what point our guide flipped the raft back over, but the next thing I remember the raft was up against a rock so it would stay still, and I was holding on.  The current was incredibly strong so I kept sliding further along the raft back toward the center of the river, since I did not want my arm broken by trying to hold on too long.  Avery was just beyond me, and I saw her float away.  I was just about ready to give up and let go, too, when Hassan told me to drop my paddle and pulled me into the boat.  We continued downstream, missing about half of the people, and picked them up from other boats.

And we're down

We mostly agreed we'd rather do a bit easier from then on, except Nike and Laura who wanted to keep going hardcore.  It shocked me and Avery, as Nike looked even worse than we did, and Hassan said he saw how terrified we all looked and would try not to do that again.  We sent Nike and Laura to another boat which had space, which we thought would be more their speed, since they wanted crazier and we wanted calmer.

We made it easily over the next Grade 3 (Superhole), which was awesome, then stopped for a snack of pineapple and biscuits (called Glucose) in the middle of the water (they also kept giving us our sunscreen "suncream" to reapply and water to drink).

The fourth rapid was Grade 6, called Itanda Falls, which we can't go over, only kayaks go through there, so we walked around, and then went through the Bad Place at the bottom of the rapid, Grade 5.  The second half was Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 4, Grade 5.  Somehow on the first of these Grade 4 (Vengeance), our boat started to tip, and everyone except me fell out.  The raft was just about vertical, and I was still holding on, when I saw Hassan fall out, and knew I was next.

Then the boat suddenly righted itself, and I was alone, just as another wave was about to hit.  I freaked out, not knowing what I was supposed to do alone in the raft, and not knowing where everyone was.

I found Hassan, Kelsey, and Stephanie right next to the raft, Hassan holding Kelsey while she was screaming.  He came into the boat and pulled her in as I pulled Stephanie in.  I still have no clue how I stayed on and lost everyone.  We made it through all the rest (Hair of the Dog, Kulu Shaker, and Nile Special) a lot more easily, though the last one they clearly took us through the easy side to make sure we wouldn't flip, since it was obvious no one wanted to.

Despite the fear of drowning, injuries, and anxiety the whole time, it was a great time.  Somehow Stephanie ended up with a bruise on her face and most of the left side of her body, I got bruised up and a really sore ankle, which came from hitting a rock while trying to get back into the raft, Meredith got a pretty nasty cut on her foot, and everyone else was bruised up and sore from all the paddling.  We ended in perfect time, as just when we got under the overhang for the BBQ, it started pouring, which would have made it a much scarier rafting trip I think.  It was a delicious BBQ, with hummus and butter and curry.  I've realized most of the food that I mention sounds pretty normal to anyone reading this, but here those are all luxuries.

The busride back is worth mentioning, as I sat next to one of the guys who was in charge of the high school trip.  He was talking to me about religion the whole time, I'm not sure what he assumed, but he kept putting down Orthodox Judaism, until at some point I said I basically practice that way.... He almost went off on Mormons, too, but I stopped him, saying that Chanel who was just in front of him was Mormon (I don't think I've mentioned that before, but she's been teaching us all a lot about it and it's really interesting).  Anyway it was a bit much for me and I was glad when we got off the bus.

We discovered the chapati place then, which was great since dinner was around 4:30 so we were all hungry again.  Some people got more food at the restaurant, too, and we sat around again.  Then we got to watch the video which was fun, and waited around for our photos.  It took too long, though, so we just picked them up in the morning since we were all exhausted and wanted to sleep.  Overall, I'd say a great trip to Jinja (and hopefully all my souvenir and gift shopping complete, I was pretty good at haggling I must say, though I'm sure I still got ripped off).

A Few Mishaps

6/26

Breakfast was a bit lacking this morning, so we were all extra excited for lunch.  We decided to try a place we'd never been that Marjani told us has good pancakes.  Most of us got the pancakes, which tasted pretty good but were really dense and they were out of syrup so we all put sugar on it... and then we all felt sick.  It was NOT a good day for the fellows.

Then we tried going to the Elgon Flyers (bus company) office to buy tickets for Saturday to be sure they wouldn't be out, but they told us we need to call Friday to reserve.... basically the morning was a big fail.

I decided to walk with Stephanie and Jessica, hoping that it would help me digest the pancakes.  I think it worked some.  The walk, though hot, was also just really nice.  We chatted about religion which is always a topic that interests me (in case that wasn't obvious by my being a religion major).

Work itself has been getting quieter, with us having less to do, but Jessica and I had a good talk with Mary, who is finally opening up a bit more.  We ended up going to her house after work and meeting her husband.  (I think I mentioned before that I'm close with her daughter, Merab, and ended up at their house once by mistake, not knowing that Merab was her daughter).  This time, though, Mary invited us in.  We also learned that she and her family were going to a crusade (not what I think of as crusade) it's like a religious thing with singing and dancing.  Unfortunately we had to get back and couldn't join them, which would've been a great photo opportunity.  Hopefully we're meeting all her kids tomorrow, though.

Jessica and Mary

On our way out of Namatala she pointed out men making pots and took us over to show us how.  They take aluminum and mold it and put in on a fire and then we missed a step but then they scratch it or something? I didn't quite understand.  What I did get though, was that they're super expensive at around 30,000 each.

So it was great getting to know Mary a lot better and I think tomorrow we're meeting the rest of her family.  We met her sister today, but then she introduced another sister and she's only supposed to have 1 in Namatala, so I think the second one was actually a cousin, but now I'm not positive about the first...

This was only the second time I walked both to and from Namatala, but it felt pretty good.  We saw some guy smoking, which made me realize how uncommon it is here, we're assuming because it'd be too expensive.

Back home we got to watch how you make chapati.  We were a bit late so I'm not sure I get how to make it different from crepes.... I'll ask the girls who were there earlier.

Medina (I think that's her name) making chapati

We had planned to go take product shots, but then dinner was going to be served early so we stayed in, but then Marjani told them to have dinner later since it's annoying how inconsistent it is, but it ended up messing up our night.  Then at 7 dinner still wasn't out and we were all starving considering our awful luck with food today and it just got bad.  It finally turned around, though, when they brought out the food.  At first it was chapati and beans, aka a delicious meal we all love (and the first night in like 2 weeks without rice and potatoes).  After a bit, they also brought out cabbage, avocado, and pineapple.  Then, to top it all off, they brought out something new and exciting: tomatoes with onions and limes! Wow those tomatoes were awesome.  It was a great meal and we all felt stuffed probably for the first time out here (stuffed in a great way).  Also, Becca taught us that you can eat these limes, they're not as bitter as the ones we have at home.  Thank goodness that saved the day.

We've also started working out on the roof at night, and are hoping to do pilates and/or yoga which should be nice.  We're also watching group movies and shows which is more fun than watching alone.  Oh, and I'm trying not to be on my computer as often since I'm always on to edit photos or blog... so I'm trying to cut down on excess time.  Yay reading!

K I'm tired so off to bed!


6/27

For lunch today we decided to go back to milkshakes and french fries... yay America.  I think the internet cafe has caught on to the fact that we love them, since they seem to always be stocked now.  I decided to walk to Namatala again with Meredith, Stephanie and Pelin, which turned out to be a good plan since it was really hot on the way home.

At work it's a business class day, so we spoke about budgets and the difference between needs and wants.  It was so interesting talking with the ladies about the differences, and they seemed to have that down.  On the other hand, some weren't so good at figuring out that they needed to spend less than they made.  It's something we'll need to work on.  It's also hard, like how Mary has 8 kids, and only her husband works, it's not so easy saving when you need to feed everyone.

Another observation, Hadijjah is DEFINITELY pregnant, but won't admit it to any of us.  I'm wondering if it's because of the high rate of deaths during birth, so maybe they don't talk about it until the baby is born? The only reason that seems weird to me is because in contrast, they always mention children they had even if they died.  Like they'll say "I have 8 children but one died".  So if they're so open about that why wouldn't they talk about a baby before it's born?  Still working on figuring this one out.

Janet and Rachel, two of the girls who always come over to me at Child of Hope

On the way home today Meredith and I stopped at the market and I tried a soda called Krest.  It's described as "bitter lemon" and is basically lemonade soda, made by the Coca-Cola company.  I loved it.
It started raining which was nice since it cooled everything off and we walked home in just a drizzle.

Oh, on the way we saw a fight start on the other side of the street.  Basically I heard a noise and looked and this guy punched this other guy and a guy ran away.  Then everyone over there started talking and laughing and we had no clue what was going on.  Meredith learned from someone that "he was trying to steal a woman" so people started fighting him and scared him off.  We're not exactly sure if they actually meant the woman or the manikin though... we're hoping the latter, or maybe it was something else?

Anyway when we got back Avaran was sitting in the lobby.  It was nice to see him and good he came since I've been having trouble making calls, so I was able to just tell him the weekend I'd like to go back, and maybe one morning next week we'll go to the other Jewish community that's nearer by.  It was nice he stopped by for a bit, and Shirah apparently really appreciated the candles and will have for a while now, since he bought her three packs with the money I gave him.

The last excitement of the day, while we were all waiting for dinner, we suddenly heard popping noises and looked up and saw some sparks and then the power went... so they spent a bit of the evening trying to fix where the sparks were.  It was pretty scary, hoping we wouldn't get electrocuted or anything... but all is well now.  Oh, there's also a netball team coming in from the U.K. this weekend.  There are 15 people, so they're transforming the lobby into a room for the 5 days they're here, which is an interesting project.

Going to Mary's today didn't work out, but we're planning to go next week, instead.