Notes On the Karamojan Culture and Hot Showers

June 17^th-19^th :Wednesday-Friday

Went to the Namalu market on Wednesday which is the traditional market day. Namalu is the largest town nearby and a twenty minute drive. The market runs through the middle of the main, and I think only street, and consists of stalls and little stores. Besides food and supplies they sell blankets, jewelry, clothing, and food. I bought a red, orange, and purple blanket for cold days. Almost everyone in Karamoja has a blanket. The women just drape them over their shoulders generally and the men wrap them around themselves sort of like a toga. The warriors however wrap the blankets around their waists and then roll them around their waists until they are an appropriate mini-skirt length. Then they wear these little crotcheted top hats that generally match their blankets, and wear tank-tops, earrings, and bracelets. Also at the market I had some fried dough balls that were very yummy but artery clogging. 

Trucks arrived on Friday to give away free relief food. All the Karamojan have to do to get any food is to sign up and they get bags of rice and beans and cans of cooking oil. Stealing is very common. The young warriors will wait and mug the old ladies on their way home with their fifty pound bag of rice on their heads. Everyone at the mission is very displeased with the relief food mainly because it reinforces the lazy attitude of the Karamojan. That if they ever get in trouble someone will swoop in and save them. Also because there isn’t a drought here now so much of the food is taken and then sold in the market. The Karamojan culture values the opposite of the ten commandments. The more you cheat ,steal, covet, lust, and lie the better you are. 

Work these last few days has ment laying bricks for the new banda we are building for the clinic staff. The banda’s are 16 in diameter round buildings made from bricks and covered in a grass roof on a steel frame. By Friday we had layed six layers on the concrete base. 

Put out my sunshower for the first time on Thursday. That afternoon I had a hot shower. The water was so hot in fact that I had to add some cold water from the shower to cool it off enough to use. So far this has been the best investment of my trip.

In Which I Do Some Cleaning Up and Sort My Possesions

June 15^th-16^th :Monday-Tuesday

Finally sorted all my stuff today. I unloaded all my stuff from my trunk and put what I needed on my shelf in my banda. I then took all the extra medicine, food, sun shower, my jackets and computer, and the rest of my unused possessions back in my plastic container. I have all my medicine, sun screen, and deodorant and stuff on the left side of my shelf. On the right is all my books, my walle,t money, and headlamp. I keep my shoes on the very bottom shelf so things won’t crawl in them at night and my backpack, belt, gloves and hat hang from some nail in the wall. 

Monday Craig had us shovel all the dirt from the house into a field nearby  then on Tuesday morning Craig bought a bunch of rocks for the foundation for the banda that is being built at the clinic for staff quarters. In the afternoon I went with Craig to the workshop which is on the Wrights’ compound to make the window frames and and the door frames for the banda. 

It rained for the first time on Monday night. It began around 5:30 and only lasted about 45 minutes. It rained pretty hard but apparently was a less than average rainfall for this time of year. Tuesday night the team went to the Eldeens’ home for dinner and they made us hamburgers and french fries and it was delicious. 

My hand is seriously infected and Dr. Jim has given me antibiotic pills to take three times daily. Hopefully my hand will heal without making me sick. I have been sick a couple at times at night since I’ve been here. I’ve thrown up once and been up late at night feeling pretty bad. I figure it’s the food and all the new bugs that my body isn’t used to yet. 

A Nice Slow Kind of Sunday

June 14^th: Sunday

I slept in to 8:45. Caught up on my psalm reading and mosied on over to the kitchen to make breakfast a little after 9. the rest of the team got back a couple minutes later from the 7 o’clock service at a nearby village. Went to church which is in on a concrete slab with a metal roof on it and open to the air. We sang songs in Karamojan and it was really hard to pronounce but very beautiful. Pastor Dave preached through a translator. There were about 20 or 25 people sitting on the benches and as the service progressed more people came and sat in the back. 

There are two services here. One at Copataun (sp?) at 7 that takes place under a big tree just outside the village. Either Pastor Al or Dave will preach there and at the 10 o’clock service just outside of the compound. Whoever doesn’t preach will teach Sunday school which takes place from 11 to noon right after church. They switch off each month. 

I stepped on a nail on Saturday and it is a nice clean incision and doesn’t look infected at all. My hand however looks infected. I cut myself on the roof Friday and now it has swelled up and is pussy and disgusting. 

The team went to the Tricaricos after dinner to watch Jeeves and Wooster a British comedy TV series based off of the books by Woodhouse. I love Jeeves and Wooster and am very excited to learn that the Tricaricos watch them too.  

Work, Dirt, and What I Had For Lunch

June 12^th-13^th :Friday and Saturday 

Work here for me means from 8-12  and 1-5 Monday through Friday. We also work a half day on Saturday morning. Friday we began tearing down a mud and cow dung house. Friday morning we got up on the roof and tore the tin slates off the top. In the afternoon we began to knock down the mud on the walls. The structure is built by sinking posts vertically and connecting them with bamboo like wood horizontally. The entire structure is about 20 feet by 8 feet and 10 feet tall at the center of the roof line. Saturday morning we continued to tear at the walls. Tim, Dan, Johan, and I worked with about 7 0r 8 Karamojan workers. 

Friday for lunch we ate beans and rice. The beans are unlike anything we have in the states but resemble kidney beans and the rice is plain white rice. Also there was groundnut or g-nut sauce and guacamole. I loved the guacamole; it was fresh and delicious. They way meals work here is Monday-Friday lunch is provided, beans and rice. Breakfast is always on our own and we generally eat cereal or oatmeal. We have community dinners about once a week and at least twice a week the short term people will eat at one of the missionary families. 

After work Saturday afternoon Jim took Tim, Dan, Johan, Joshua Tricarico, and me on a hike into the hills. We met several people on the road and then struck out cross country to climb a hill so we could see around. About 15 to 20 kids between ages 6 and about 10. All these little kids would scamper around us and run circles around us. They were mostly barefoot and hilarious. At the top of this hill we could see for miles into western Uganda. It is such a beautiful country. 

I love how in Africa you can go all day without showering and you get dirty and sweaty and wear the same cloths day after day and no one cares. Everything and everyone is just dirty here and it is very nice not to have to worry about whether you are sweaty and grimy. 

My Arrival and What Happened Afterward

June 10^th-11^th: Wednesday and Thursday

Arrived in Entebbe early in the morning. Going through customs and collecting luggage went fine. Johan Folta and I arrived on the same flight and we found Bob Wright one of the missionaries from  the Karamojan station and his son Bobby. Met the RP team that arrived the morning before Dan, Tim, and Emily. Bob drove us through Entebbe and Kampala to where we changed drivers to Alex a native Ugandan. 

We left for Mbale and arrived around noon. Ate at the Proctars’ house, another missionary family stationed in Mbale. Met Pastor Al Tricarico and Jim Knox the doctor at the Karamojan clinic. Left for Karamoja. Should have been about a four hour drive but after three flat tires the caravan of our two cars turned back for Mbale to spend the night. That night we ate at an Indian restruant called Landmark and learned of cricket from the Indian proprietor. I love Indian food. Had my first Stoney tonight. It is a ginger soda. Spent the night at an empty missionaries house. 

First night under a misquioto net. I really need to shave. I also need to find some finger nail clippers. The next day we spent  in town while the cars were repaired at City Tyres. Emily was proposed  to by a man today named Abdula who wanted her to take him to America. Had another Stoney while we waited for the cars. Finally left Mbale around two and arrived at the Karamojan station before six.

 Met the rest of the Tricaricos Lorrie, Al’s wife, their kids, Emily 17, Maria 15, James 12, and Joshua 9. Also met the Akens Dave and Sunshine and their kids Kaleb, Megan, and Jacob. Kris and Craig were their to meet us as well. There are two other short term missionaries here as well. Leah, a college student from Canada. Also Kale from South Carolina. Amazed at how tired I am. Went to bed very early at about 9:00 which is known as the missionary midnight.