Of Syrup, Bricks, and African Football

July 22^nd-23^rd: Wednesday-Thursday 

I woke at 6:00 the past two days. Wednesday I got up early to talk with Jim. We ended up just making breakfast (pancakes) while we talked. Generally I am really good about not worrying about the future. I can usually just bloke it out and not worry about it all. However prompted by an email from home and several other issues I had been worrying about it a lot the last few days. I am unsure what I want to do with my life and thinking about paying for college and making some sort of life altering descision scare me. Jim and I talked though about trusting in God’s providence. His ability to work everything to his glory and our good. Also how we can’t screw up his plan for our lives. A very encouraging and syrupy talk.

The project to finish the bandas has been postponed because we are out of bricks. Craig ordered more last Saturday but Systo, the driver, is late. Last time he was a week late. In theory the last load should have been enough to finish the project but the second to last load was dumped using a dump truck and the bottom 300 bricks wer crushed and worthless. While we waited for Systo to arrive Wednesday we shoveled dirt from the sides of the road to fill pot holes. It was incredibley hard work and rather unsatisfying. With about two hours to go in the afternoon Emily brought us a cold pitcher of kool-aid/lemonade mix. Rather like a modern day Molly Pitcher. Lodim Paul thought she had brought us ngagwe which is the local alchohal. I told him it was Mzungu ngagwe. 

Thursday morning Systo finally arrived but he got stuck in the mud that had formed when we put dirt in the still water filled potholes. Craig had to pull him out with the Kabotu. After that we unloaded 300 bricks onto the trailer to take to the clinic and then loaded the rest of the load out by  the Wrights were Jim’s house will be built. Then after taking the bricks needed to complete the banda to the clinic we loaded all the broken bricks from the earlier load and dumped them in the huge hole in the road to the clinic. For the rest of the day I layed bricks and we finished the banda by 4:30. initially I was uncomfortable laying bricks because I worried about messing up and ruining the banda and even though I did make some mistakes by the end of the day I had gotten the hang of it and I really enjoyed it. Brick laying is nice because you can see your accomplishment. Its nice to build something by hand. I feel more and more at ease and comfortable with the work crew. To  the extent that I feel more comfortable than with these new visitors. 

Thursday after work Albert who is a clinical officer at the clinic and Mark came over to play football (soccer). I decided to play instead of going for a run. Mark, Peter, and Johan also played and it was really fun. Mark and Albert played in flip flops and the rest of us played barefoot. Mark and Albert are really good. Albert is just incredible. Johan’s also really good. I was definitely outmatched but no one seemed to care and it was fun. I was absolutely drenched in sweat by the time we were done.

That night was also Jame’s birthday party. He turned 13. the team went over to the Tricaricos for dinner and we had spegetti in bacon and red wine sauce and garlic bread. Then we sang James happy birthday and had his birthday cake which was actually brownies. 

Lazy Sundays and Friends

July 19^th-21th: Sunday-Tuesday

I love Sundays here. This Sunday I slept tell I woke at 8:30 and had a relaxing morning reading my bible and listening to music in room 4. I think I am developing relationships with some of the Africans here. Namely Kosmas. Although recently Jim and I have been meeting and praying with a guy from the clinic named Mark. He’s really a cool guy and I have really enjoyed getting to know him. he seems to be a strong Christian and its cool and encouraging to befriend him. 

This new group is very different than the last one. Most of them are younger and the girl to guy ratio has changed a lot. There are four girls in this new group and only two guys. The estrogen levels have really risen dramatically here. Keeping at staying afloat. Monday night the girls had bible study so all the guys went over to the Wrights house and ate dinner there. We had Ti food which was really good. The girls have been helping to teach at the outreach this week. They have been teaching the kids lesson. They have also been helping at the Okkens house with Megan. They also helped pick hibiscus and cut it on Monday. Tuesday the guys and I repainted the top of the benches at the clinic and then in the afternoon they went to the outreach and I helped the Africans cut down a tree in the corner of the compound because we needed room for the thresher. Made eight new blisters in about twenty minutes. I have really weak hands.

Went running Monday and Tuesday. Some guys from the new team wanted to go which was fine. It changes how Jim and I run but I still felt like I got a good workout in and I’m glad they got to go running. Jim and I have gotten into the habit of praying together most nights before I go to bed. It has been really good because it gives me a chance to talk to someone about my thoughts and Jim being older and wiser tends to teach me stuff. He has been the single biggest blessing of my being in Africa. 

Tails of Exploration and Discovery and New People Come

July 17^th-18^th : Friday-Saturday

This Friday there was no work to be done so I had a day off. James and I decided to organize an expedition  to a small hill about 2 kilometers from the compound that has a bunch of little caves. We planned to leave around 11:00. Originally Maria was going to come as well but she woke up really sick that morning. 

I made bread that morning. It took me a couple hours but it turned out looking and tasting really good. While making bread I listened to the Mbale mixes that James and I ordered. I only recognized some James Blunt and one Smashmouth song. I also caught up completely on blogging for the first time ever. James and I packed lunch, 6 peanut butter and plum jelly sandwiches, 3 apples, 3 passion fruits, a roll of crackers, and a bag of g-nuts. We also packed 5½ liters of water. Right on time James, Kosmos, and I left. We got to the top at 11:45 and ate lunch. Then we explored tell 2:05 when we headed back because Kosmos had to get back to translate for bible study. Using the rope we were able to explore several caves and Kosmos says he say python poop in one. Then later he thought he found a python. I thought it was a tree root. The Karamojan are really scared of snakes so while I will take Kosmos’ word on anything else I still think it was a tree root. 

When we arrived back the Eldeens, Jim, Johan, and the new group had arrived back. There are six of them and there names go something like this Peter, Mark, Hannah, Marisa, Jennifer, and Rebecca. I think. They all went to the bible study in Copatatun and Jim and I went on a run. James is really shy around visitors and just avoids them at all costs. 

Saturday morning I woke early to get on Jim’s computer but he was scyping his parents and there wasn’t enough power so I couldn’t get on. Which was fine. That morning after uncovering the hibiscus to dry in the sun we dug up the electrical line from the solar panels to the water pump because it wasn’t working. Friday we ran out of water and had to go get some from the Okkens for dinner. I had filled up my sun shower in the morning and kinda felt bad because none of the visitors could shower but I was all sweaty from hiking and running so I only felt a little bad. I gave half my sun shower to James. As it turns out the problem was that bugs had been burrowing into the wire and ruined one but Craig switched the ground and the hot wires and got the pump going. 

That afternoon we played a game of volleyball even though it started to rain. Craig had Kosmos play and he is really good. Jim and I went for a fun in the rain and it was a blast. I did find a slippery spot and fell though and scrapped my knee. It’s all good though. 

That night we had another community dinner. Tacos. The Wrights were back and they brought Andrew, the New Zealander, from Mbale. The food was really good and I got to hang out with the Wright kids who are pretty cool. I also got Craig to promise me a haircut this week. My hair is just getting really long. I don’t have the time every morning to fix it and its just taking too much time in my schedule. That night I was finally able to get on to Jim’s computer which I did for almost three hours. I was able to get caught up on everything.

Say Hello to My Little Friend

I am dedicating this post to James Tricarico. Eldest son of Pastor Al and Lorrie Tricarico. Some background information, James is twelve, although if you ask him he’ll generally try to make you think he’s 13. He is about 5’6”, thin, with size 11 feet. He runs a business selling airtime to the locals for their cell phones. The thing is though Pastor Dave funds it so James makes 1% of whatever he sells. If he sells 1000 shillings worth of air time he gets to keep ten. That’s less than 5 cents folks. 

James has earned several nicknames since I’ve been here. The second week we were here we called him mud. We were laying bricks for the first banda and every time Craig needed cement he would yell “mud!” and James would come running with a shovel full and fill up his basin. During the third week we were here we started calling him princess because one day at lunch he was wearing the birthday tiara. The birthday tiara is a little, jewel encrusted; tacky plastic crown that looks like it came from the dollar store. Whosever birthday it is has to wear the tiara. I have since hidden the tiara from James so he won’t destroy it before his birthday comes. Last week we called him James Promise Breaker because he left in the morning to go deal with some costumers and didn’t come back to the job site even though he said he would be back.

James has some unique vocabulary. He always calls me a hoser when I make fun of him. Also when I do something he disapproves of or when he is angry with me he calls me a bad cookie. Bobby Wright came up with that phrase. Something about the cookie monster? His favorite insult for me is to call me a person in a really disgusted voice though. He also says “no joke man” very earnestly when he is telling me something. When he talks about something that has been cobbled together he calls it jewhi-collie which I’ve never heard before. He also quotes a song whoch goes “hold on, wait up, put a little love in it”.

Perhaps the funniest thing about James is how jumpy he is. I think this is because when he was little his sisters made him be the princess whenever they played games because he was the shortest. He will jump at anything. The really funny part is that you can scare him again and again over the same thing right in a row. Riding back to the house for lunch one day Dan scared him three times in a row by pretending to throw his water from his bottle on him even though the lid was securely sealed. My favorite time was when we were talking and he caught a glance of the back of the chair he was sitting in and jumped about a foot in the air. 

James is a really great kid though. He’s a lot of fun and despite his young age is very mature and fun to be around. He reminds me of my brother and he has become a good friend.

Of Jello, Sleepovers, And A Lesson On Ordering Things Over The Phone

July 14^th-16^th : Tuesday-Thursday

Jim and Johan left for two days in Mbale this afternoon. They will be gone tell Thursday night. Jim will be working in a hospital down there and Johan will come and help out. This means that I have the banda to myself which means James and I can have a sleepover. We decided to make jello for a snack tonight. At lunch we made a layer of lemon flavored jello which James promptly spilled half of on the floor. Then after work, we painted all day, we added another layer on top. Flavor, mixed berry, bright blue in color. This time I put it in the fridge so James wouldn’t spill it. I ate dinner with the Tricaricos and the Okkens. Grilled meat with mashed potatoes and mushroom sauce. Then James and I stole some music from Emily and put it on his phone. When we went to out to my banda we out it all on my computer and I gave him some music. The jello was delicious although is kinda mixed together into a green color. 

Wednesday we finished painting and cleaned up, got in a mud fight with two little girls who belong to a clinic worker, and blew up the excess petrol we used to clean the brushes. After lunch we did a bunch of odd jobs. We put side bars on the tip top most bunk in my banda because we will have five guys in there at one point soon. We also fixed a door and jewi-collied a pulley system in the Tricarico’s bathroom so they can use their sun shower. I made dinner on my own that night. Toasted cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and an apple. We had bible study at the Okkens and afterward James and I picked out a movie and went to my banda. We took two extra mattresses and made a couch, one on the floor the other upright against my bed and we piled all the pillows on top. We brought out James’ electrical system from his phone shop (a car battery) so we wouldn’t run out of battery power because we were using my computer. We watched Sum of all Fears and at beef jerky and some leftover brownies and pudding. Had a lot of fun. When we finished we sat around and talked tell 11:30. That’s the latest I’ve ever stayed up here. 

Thursday James and I got up at 6:30 and went to room 4 and read our bibles together and James made us coffee. We then picked hibiscus tell 11:30 and spent the entire rest of the day cutting and separating it. James has a friend in Mbale, Alex, who can get anything so Wednesday James ordered some CDs for me and then today he tried to find out if Alex could find any climbing gear. Alex found nylon climbing rope and then he told use that they were making carabineers? James called him and in the back round there were these loud banging sounds and Alex said “oh yes, we are making them now”. The Eldeens had car trouble and won’t be coming up today which means that Jim and Johan won’t either but Mrs. Tricarico and Emily decide to go to Mbale today so they picked up the rope and CDs from Jim. As it turns out the rope it small nylon threads breaded together in 30 foot lengths with a loop braided into one side. The carabineers are “S” shaped half inch metal pipe. I don’t know what we’re going to do with them. We called Craig and asked him what we should do tomorrow because we finished all our work so he says we can have a day off. That night James and I got on the computer and googled rock climbing and learned nothing that could help us. So I showed James some Barat and Bereta. 

A Much Shorter Post

July 13^th : Monday

The RP team left this morning. I hate saying goodbye. I am really going to miss those guys. Craig and Kris are taking them down and then picking up the next group so I am on my own for work. Craig says to finish as much as possible on the banda before we run out of materials. Also to paint the other completed banda and then to pick beans and hibiscus. James and I started painting the banda then today. 

This evening Jim and I finished our cigars we started Saturday night. I know a big “no, no” for cigar smokers. This was my first Cuban cigar and it tasted really good. Jim and I listened to Wilco on my computer and talked late. We talked about how bittersweet goodbyes are because without them you wouldn’t realize how precious people and relationships are. We talked about how uncontent we are in this world. How because of sin and struggles and an imperfect world we can never be really happy or content here. I really look forward to heaven. We also talked about relationships and how cigars taste better on the first night. 

In Which I Tell Of Dreams And Chameleon Wrangling And Prababley Talk Too Much And Miss-Spell Much

July 8^th-10^th: Wednesday-Friday

I left home one month ago. It seems a long time ago. The last three days I have been getting up at five to go to room 4 and listen to music and type my blog. Also Jim has let me get on his computer and do email and facebook. 

I am on an anti-malaria medicine here called Mephaquin which has given me some crazy dreams. At least a half dozen times I have dreamt that I was back in America for whatever reason. Always though it’s just like a quick trip back for something. One time it was a wedding. Another time I ran out of cloths. I have had stranger dreams. One time a few weeks ago I dreamt that I was staying with an esteemed scientist and his family and a worm hole opened in their dining room in order to suck up their little boy. Now my best friend and I knew that the black hole was their to suck up the boy and transport him to where they were destroying the universe so he could help them. The reason being that this boy was holding the universe together. With me so far? So my buddy handed me a shotgun and I jumped through the wormhole in order to stop them. My friend was kinda distracted because he was collecting the black hole goop. “If we ever get out of here alive this will be worth a fortune” he said to me which seemed to be a little mistake in priority to me but he is my best friend so what could I say? So I jumped through to this barren ice planet and find nine extraterrestrial beings and a giant glass and steel structure going about unraveling the universe. I only had two shots and they had just spotted me when I woke up. I have a dream like that every night. It’s pretty cool. 

Jim and I ran to cacamongoli Wednesday. It’s flat. A nice long run though. Friday we ran Doctor’s corner and three minutes into the run we found a chameleon crossing the path. So Jimbo scooped him up and proceeded to carry him for the rest of the run. The little guy kept trying to escape so Jim had to keep rotating his hand and arm so the guy wouldn’t fall off. Eventually the chameleon resigned to his fate and hung on with a sort of grim determination. It’s great because people here already think we’re crazy running for no reason so we can do whatever we want pretty much. Some of the people’s reactions were pretty funny. These two old guys started pointing at us and yelling “Aga! Aga!” which is the Karamojan word for chameleon. Another girl just stared at us, slack jawed, as we ran by and didn’t respond to our greeting. 

Craig planted Hybiscus, which is a plant that you harvest and use to make tea. He will sell it to a company in Jinga (pronounced “gin-ja”). Hibiscus can be picked weekly for about 8 weeks because all the flowers don’t ripen at the same time. We picked Hibiscus first Monday and then again Friday. After we pick it we have to separate it. The outside of the flower has to be cut apart from the seed pod in the middle and then dried. The outside is then sold and made into tea. The seed pod is also dried and then harvested for the seed for replanting. Also we are starting to pick beans. Because of the lack of rains this year none of the crops are doing well but they are producing a little. 

Just a quick food update since I know your all dying to hear what I’ve been eating. Recently we have made BBQ chicken for dinner and pizza. We made two kinds of pizza: one pepperoni and then a BBQ sauce based chicken one with onions and green peppers. Yum. I tried an Australian beer called Fosters when we ate at the Tricaricos on Thursday. 

Why Alice's Adventure In Wonderland Is Really Scares Me And Other Non-Related Thoughts

July 6^th-7^th : Monday and Tuesday

My music works! Monday night Johan figured out how to switch all the files from iTunes to real player. It’s really good to be able to listen to my music although I have only 580 songs which aren’t much at all. Better than none though. 

Today I finished Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. That book really scares me. I don’t like it at all. The other book about Alice though. Through the Looking Glass is one of my favorite books ever. Wonderland is a frightening book because she is lost and can’t get out. Also there aren’t any rules in the book. Things aren’t set and she is alone. However in Looking Glass she enters the world purposefully and she can always return whenever she wants. Also there is a purpose, a mission to become queen. There are a set of rules to follow. Plus Jabberwocky is a wonderful poem. 

Tuesday afternoon all the Tricaricos except James the RP team, Johan, Dave Okken, and I went to an out reach. We traveled past Namalu to a government started settlement were Monday-Friday, excluding Wednesday because of market day, Dave and Al teach about creation and the Gospel. It was very interesting. There was a guy there who was sort off a self proclaimed pastor who had several things to say although he was rather long winded. I was interested to better understand how the Karamojan think. Dave somehow brought up how God used to send dreams to specific people like David and the Africans still believe that he does that; or more specifically that dreams have power. One said they were only from God if the name of Jesus Christ was in your dream. Also the village leader who is elected stood up at the end and basically asked the mission for a bunch of stuff.

 While we were there I started feeling really cold which has never happened in the day in Africa. By the time we got back I was sure I had a fever. I took a nap that afternoon and by the next day it was gone. Jim gave me a Tylenol that I think was a kid’s chewable one because it tasted like cherry when I ate it. 

Our Assault on a Big Pointy Rock and Why We Had To Go Back The Next Day Again

July 4^th-5^th : Saturday and Sunday

Saturday we poured the last concrete slab in the morning and then went for a hike in the afternoon. left around 1:30 headed past the clinic up towards Mt. Kadam. Our goal: climb the rocky peak two miles into the valley. The Team: Dan (Badger), Tim (Panda), Johan (Lizard), Jim(racoon), and I (cobra). We followed a trail back into the valley and up the ridge. We circled around the other side of the peak and approached it from behind. Sneak attack. Never saw us coming. We had to climb up some rocks and we found some caves. I also found a scorpion. Itried to kill him and I lost a scorpion. Little scary. We then hiked towards the peak cutting across a little valley and up the back of the ridge. After some more scrambling and rock climbing we made it to the top around 4:00. An amazing view. After hanging around up top and talking for a bit we decided to walk down the south-west side of the mountain. We beat a path through tall grass and thorns tell we finally reached the bottom and some actual paths. I need to buy a panga, a machete, in Namalu if we keep going on hikes and deciding to off-road it. 

We arrived back around 6:30. that night for dinner we made tacos. Emily made tortillas which were incredibly delicious. We made meat and fried vegetables, onions, peppers, mushrooms. Also we shredded cabbage and graded cheese and cut tomatoes. Jim made some really yummy hot sauce. A really good meal.

The next morning before church Jim comes up to me and tells me of his woe. Yesterday I may have accidentally dropped his backpack about 25 down a rock cliff. Well we retrieved it and his camera worked and all was forgiven but Jim couldn’t find his key ring this morning with all the clinic and house keys. To add insult to injury his toilet handle broke off this morning. So after church Jim and I went on a search and rescue mission looking for his lost keys. Never leave a man behind. It took us 2 ½ hours of hard hiking there and back again but we found them and returned at 2:30. just in time for July fourth dinner. Homemade buns and hotdogs, some incredibley good beans, spicy and flavorful, and watermelon. I also had a Moonberg which might be my favorite beer so far. 

bletch

July 2^nd-3^rd : Thursday – Friday

It’s been a rough last two days. Definitely the lowest point since I’ve been here. Thursday and Friday at work were unfulfilling. I painted and help to weld the roof of another banda. These jobs felt unfulfilling. Mainly though I miss people. I have felt very lonely the last two days. 

The Tricaricos are gone to Kampala so the house is kinda empty and no James at work. That meant though that Jim and the RP team and I went to their house and watched a movie Friday night after dinner. We watched To End All Wars. It fallows the struggle of a group of soldiers imprisoned by the Japanese during WWII. The movie war really interesting. There were two different fractions of the war camp. One led by these two men who survived by starting a “jungle college” were they met and studied with smuggled books. Another group survived by thoughts of revenge and escape. After thinking about it and talking to Jim I guess I agree with either group. The majority sought to work hard on the project. Building a rail way through the jungle to India. They seemed to lose their pride and desire to fight. They were reduced to groveling for books and sought ways to please their captors. They seemed to lose their integrity and become less than human. The rebels however weren’t right either because they survived to exact revenge. They were fueled by hate and rage. 

Dr.'s Corner, Korean Food, and Dr. Seuss

June 29^th-July 1^st: Monday-Wednesday 

Woke up at 4:45 and left Mbale. I slept all the way to Namalu. I felt bad because Jim was all on his own. He couldn’t believe that I slept on the really bumpy roads but I was tired. He said I was bouncing all over the car. 

Monday poured concrete for the footing. Incredibly hard work. Then painted the metal roofs of the bandas Tuesday and Wednesday. The metal structure for the bandas is made by welding8, 12 foot metal tubes together with a 30 degree slope. Then welding rebar spiraling down from the top. The roofs are then covered in grass, which is bought from the locals. Craig has to hire local women to do the work because the men refuse to do it because it’s women’s’ work. Had to knockoff early Tuesday and Wednesday because we had really heavy rains around 3 both days and you can’t weld, paint or pour concrete in the rain. 

After pouring concrete all day went on a really long run with Jim and Johan Monday. About 8 or 9 miles. The first part it was raining heavily but it slacked off towards the end. The longest run I’ve every been on. Ran again Wednesday. Did the Doctor’s corner run, which means we run through the back country tell we intersect the main road at Doctor’s corner, a bend in the road and then follow the road back to the mission, a short half-hour run. Apparently it’s called Doctor’s corner because a doctor rolled a vehicle there 4 0r 5 years ago and killed some locals that were riding with him. Bob Wright had to give the doctor a lift to Mblae that night because the families if the died men would have killed him in revenge. On the way back Jim had us do 4 sets of 20 lunges. I’m going to feel those tomorrow.

Tuesday night we ate at the Tricarico’s. Johan’s mom sent about half the gross annual food export for Korea with him in his suitcase. So Tim used all this stuff to make some crazy Korean meal consisting of really good meat stuff, rice, and cabbage. I think it was called boshagi? You take an ear of cabbage and put the rice and meat inside and then eat. Also had this hot paste. Really good spicy stuff that came out of a tooth paste tube looking deal!? After dinner I just wanted to be on my own, or at least around less people. So James and I collected a half dozen Dr. Seuss books and I read them aloud. We read Hop on Pop, Sneetches and other stories, The Great Butter Battle, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and also Go, Dogs Go! Everyone ended up listening. 

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with constantly being around people here. I enjoy large get togethers but not often. Here a lot of the time I am with a lot of people and I can’t get away from them. I need time alone or at least only with one or two people. I love being able to go out and run or spending time alone in room 4. Also being able to leave the compound and go on runs with Jim keeps me from going insane. 

Since Jim and I bought passion fruit in Mbale I have eaten at least three every morning since then. Wednesday afternoon Emily and I made bread. Actually all I did was knead it. The dough made three loaves and it was delicious. I have been really craving bread here because you can’t really buy the sliced bread. Well you can find it in Mbale but its disgusting and dried out. That night we watched Hoodwinked and ate bread and jam. Hoodwinked is a really good movie. The plot and storytelling are very clever as is the script. The animation is pretty poor quality. It was obviously done on a budget but everything else makes up for it. 

Milk: Why I Went To Mbale And How I Got There: A Cautionary Tale

June 27^th-June 28^th: Saturday and Sunday 

Woke Saturday morning at 5:30 and used Jim’s computer for a bit tell six when he and I went for a short run. Felt so good; I had so much energy. Then ate breakfast and Jim gave me some chocolate banana bread that had to be eaten because he was taking the Pravius to Mbale later that day. Also gave me some frozen bananas which tasted amazing and is the closest thing I’ve tasted to ice cream here. Collected agragrit all morning. The rest of the team and the Tricaricos had gone to Namalu that morning and brought me back some mandazi, which are fried dough balls. I ate about ten and it took at least ten years off my life. All that grease and fat, so good though.

Talked to Jim about picking us up some milk in Mbale and he said if I wanted some I had to come get it myself. So I asked Craig and he said it was fine so I went down to Mbale with Jim and the Pravius that afternoon. We dropped of the Pravius who were leaving for Kampala the next morning and then ran a bunch of errands. We traded in our empty soda and beer bottles and bought new ones. Went to the market and bought chicken feed, which stank up the car for the rest of the weekend, onions, milk, some hot sauce for me, and a kilo (2.2 lbs) of passion fruit. 

That night for dinner Jim and I ate with Andrew, another missionary stationed in Mbale, and some guy named Charlie. Ate atop a rooftop in downtown Mbale. Incredibly cool. Had delicious Indian food, although it was really hot but so good. Tried a Nile (light beer) mixed with a krest (which is a sour lemon drink) 3 to 1 ratio. It tasted really good. Really fun conversation. Andrew and Charlie are really cool guys. It has been really cool here because I’ve gotten to be friends with guys that are a lot older than me, almost my dad’s age. That night we watched the beginning of a movie about the Nuremberg trials and it was really good but I went to bed because I was tired.

Sunday slept in tell 8:30. Ate a couple muffins and apples that we bought a Happy’s Grocery yesterday. Really dry muffins. Supposedly were mixed fruit but they each had like two raisins on top. Bletch. Played with the fridge magnets. I made a face, a camel, a butterfly, and a caterpillar. Walked to church and met a bunch of people. Sat with John Knox who spent all the prayer times watching me and making sure my eyes were closed. That kid is so funny. He was feeling kinda sick so he ran around after church tagging everyone and yelling “now you’re sick!”

Decided to spend the rest of the day in Mbale and drive back early Monday morning. We ate lunch with Andrew and Martin, an employee of the Proctors. Ate at a restaurant in a hotel called the sunrise. Waited an hour and a half for the food and it was pretty iffy tasting. They didn’t even give Jim what he ordered. When he asked about it they said, “Oh, yes we didn’t make what you ordered, we up graded it.” Whatever (eye roll).

That afternoon I read and went with on a walk with Jim. We had a really good talk about a lot of stuff. He’s easy to talk to and is very wise. I’m really glad that we’ve become friends it’s such a blessing. That evening we went to pray and singing with the missionaries. After that Jim and I had Indian food one more time at the Landmark. Had African tea which tasted really good and also had a really weird dessert. These fried little dough things. They were the size of rice krispies and really sweet. When you bit into them they released all this juice and then it was really grainy and chewy. Weird. 

Crikey! Look at the Size of that Sucker!

I would now like change from our regularly scheduled program and talk about some of the wild life that has been in my life. To begin with there are three dogs that live here on the Tricarico and Eldeen compound were I am also staying. These dogs are all Karamojan local dogs and look like mutts and coyotes. Mickey, named after Mickey Mantel is a bowel legged, tattered ear, black mutt looks like he’s been run over five times because he has been run over five times. He has been driven over, backed over, you name it. Foxy then is a reddish brown and fat. She also has the most ticks of the three. Last is Zorro the only good looking dog. He is slim and black with brown feet and a few spots. Zorro though is the most annoying of the three and also the worst behaved. The Wright and Akken compounds also have several dogs and periodically, usually at night and in the pre dawn hours of the morning, all they dogs will start howling. Kind of a ritual neighborhood shout out that is both nerve racking and sanity shaking. 

As for the creepy crawlies we share the kitchen with a large colony of cockroaches. These are just the little guys, about half and inch long or less. Also down at the clinic moving rocks and tearing down the building I have seen a half dozen scorpion’s witch I promptly kill and cut of their tails whenever I see them. Scorpion stings aren’t deadly but incredibly painful. Also I have seen some humongous dragonflies with 3 inch wingspans and wasps that are bright orange, red, and black. Also several centipedes which I understand to be the non venomous, as opposed to millipedes which are. 

Snakes here are very common. They have green and black mambas, hooded cobras, puff adders (which are the most venomous) and a large variety of non venomous snakes. The Karamojan believe that all snakes are venomous and apply the same treatment to all snake bites which is to grind some herbs and tie that to the wound. My second day here, Friday, Tim found a cobra in the clinic. It had curled up inside a folding table (a plastic one that folds in half) in one of the examining rooms. The uproar that followed Tim’s discovery was hilarious. Everyone fled the room but only to the next one so they could see what was going on. Then one of the guards arrived with a bow and arrow and promptly began shooting arrow through the table. The Karamojan next drove the snake out of the table and began trying to hit it with sticks. One lady went a stole a blind man’s walking to stick. The snake had been hit by one of the arrows and was trailing blood everywhere. The Karamojan chased the snake around the room, knocking over dividing curtains and tables, until they had beaten it to death. Then they removed the snake from the building. The Karamojan believe the snake’s venom is in the blood so they all refused to clean it up, so Dr. Jim hade to. Meanwhile a couple of the women who work at the clinic had taken sticks and resumed beating the dead snake for another ten minutes. Eventually calm was restored and the snake was measured at 4 feet. 

I’ve learned an interesting fact here. Roosters don’t just crow in the early morning hours. They crow all day every day. The worksite at the clinic is located around several bandas were people live and their chickens and roosters wander around the area. These damn roosters are driving me crazy. They crow and crow and crow. Every time I see one I throw a rock at it but unfortunately they’re not retarded because they’ve started to avoid me. Hiding in the bushes where I can’t see them and crowing. I will kill them yet. Mark my words. 

Rain, Mud, and Labor Strikes

June 24^th-26^th: Wednesday-Friday

It rained for the first time Wednesday afternoon. It has rained once before since I’ve been here but compared to this rain it wasn’t even wet. Jim and I went out running we had run up and around through some hills and were about two miles from the compound when the first drops fell. Just a few at first, they arrived brought by a string wind. Fortunately the wind came from behind us and propelled us forward. Then the rain really started with thunder and sheets of rain. We were both soaked to the skin in about a minute. The mud here at first turns really sticky and clumps to the bottom of your shoes and weighs you down. However after a few minutes it just gets incredibly slippery. We were sliding all over the road. It started to hail when we were passing the clinic about a quarter mile from the compound. I got hit in the head about 8 times and it really hurt. The wind had been pushing us along but to get to the compound we had to turn and run perpendicular to the rain up the drive and it just about blew us away. Got back just sopping wet and showered in Jim’s room. The girls were all at BS (bible study but they shorten it on the board to BS) so the guys had made chicken and cheese roll sandwiches; cooked in the oven. And Jim whipped up some salad and green beans. Jim also broke open his boxed red wine and we all had some. It was very warming. 

Wednesday we finished the mazungu (white person) trench and the karamojan trench had about another 6 inches but the storm that night had caved in the walls and flooded the trenches. So when Craig showed up that morning all the workers refused to work except Tom, the untitled foreman and Craig’s main man. So Craig sent them home and Tom, Dan and I spent the morning draining the trenches of water. I jumped in the trench and sunk mid calf into mud and knee deep in water. That afternoon we decided to pour concrete and as we drove back to the clinic Craig saw two guys walking that he knew and hired them. So with our new team of six we poured the concrete for the base in about three hours. Craig hoped that by hiring these two guys and working anyway would show the work crew that we didn’t need them. He also said that he can hire a new crew every week and not run out of people. 

We spent the next day and morning collecting enough agragit to pour the other banda base. The Karamojan make the agragit, these stone which are about the size of little eggs, by breaking much larger stones apart with a hammer or another stone. They then pile them up into 2-3 foot tall piles and sell them. We would go around with the tractor and a trailer and buy these piles. On Saturday we were collecting a couple piles by this well and all these little kids were getting water. Well they all came over and started poking us with grass. So Dan and I would chase these little guys around and around. They were really funny; they would come up and touch my leg because I have hair on my legs and the Karamojan don’t have any hair except on their heads and some guys have little wispy beards. They kept looking down my socks like they were trying to figure out exactly how much hair I had.

Had yet another community dinner Friday night. We ate Indian food. It was incredible. Some one even made naan, the fried tortillas like bread, and it was pretty good. I drank a dark beer and south African castle milk thing. It was pretty good. Kris made these amazing brownie and caramel cookie bars. I had seconds of those. 

Of Blisters and Road Kill

June 22^nd-23^rd: Monday and Tuesday 

I have 13 blisters. Some are new. Some are old. Some are red and some are white. Some hurt and, oh they all hurt. We finished laying bricks for the banda on Monday and are now digging the foundation for another two bandas. Most of the Karamojan workers here are very lazy. They have been digging a trench since last Thursday and in one day we have almost caught up with them. 

James Tricarico and I have been trying to make some home made beef jerky. The plan was to buy some dried meat from the market. Apparently the locals say antelope is the best. Of course it is also illegal to kill antelope here. James has been trying to get a hold of some for about a week and on Tuesday he succeeded. Its cow meat thankfully so we won’t have the Ugandan army bursting in and arresting us for illegal activities. James showed me the meat and it looks like road kill. And it smells like African road kill. It also tastes what I would imagine road kill would taste like. I think it’s road kill. We decided to marinate it over night. We concocted a marinade consisting of BBQ sauce (for flavor), liquid smoke, pepper (for kick), salt (to preserve it although I think it already smells rotten but James assures me it’s fresh), and pineapple juice (to tenderize) We’re keeping our fingers crossed. 

I have been eating well this week. We have had too community dinners right in a row which is very unusual but Mark the head honcho for the missionaries was here. He took pictures his entire visit. Tuesday evening he took pictures of us playing Bache ball at the fellowship time before dinner. He had us all hide our beers but he caught James stealing a drink of his Dad’s beer behind his back. I lost several pounds shortly after getting here. It’s weird because I think I eat about twice as much here. Jim says that he always loses weight and not to worry about it. So don’t worry about it mom. Monday Emily Tricarico went on a cooking rampage and made tortillas and pineapple salsa for lunch. It was incredibly delicious. 

Trouble in Paradise

June 20^th-21^st: Saturday and Sunday 

This weekend went on a lovely little holiday to Sipi Falls an area of the country between Karamoja in the north and Mbale farther south. Sipi is located up in the mountains and although it is only a little higher is much cooler and gets far more rain generally than Karamoja. Jim invited the RP team, Dan, Tim, and Emily, two Tricaricos, Emily and Maria, and Johan and me. We also met 4 Canadian medical students there, Mark, Shantil, Kyle, and Rebecca. 

Our day started at 5:00 when we woke up, packed (at least all the guys did), and ate breakfast. We all crammed into the back of the mission’s white land cruiser and tried to sleep. Sipi falls consist of three falls. The highest is about 100 to 120 feet. The second is a little larger and the last is the winner falling 90 meters or about 270 feet. Upon arrival we met the Canadians and then set out on our hike to the three falls starting at the end, the top most waterfall. We hiked through banana and coffee fields to reach the top falls were the spray soaked us thoroughly. We then descended to the second falls and jumped in a swimming hole were we found tadpoles, a crab, and a chameleon. At the last waterfall there was the option of repelling off the top and going down right beside the water. Led by our reluctant leader Jim, Kyle, Tim, Dan, Johan, Rebecca, Johan, and I repelled down the side. After that we hiked to some caves that are along the side of the cliff. We clamored to the back of them even though the ceiling varied between 3 and 7 feet and the ground was covered in guano. We say about 15-20 bats, little guys with maybe 8-10 inch wing spans. 

That afternoon when we got back from the hike I had the most amazing guacamole of my life. It was made fresh and had tomatoes in it. They served it with “chips”, which looked and tasted a lot like fried, home made, puffy tortillas. We ate dinner at another restaurant owned by two brits. They served delicious pumpkin soup, followed by cottage pie and salad and topped off with this incredible round, crunchy brownie thing covered in dried banana pieces and chocolate sauce. After dinner I drank a cold stoney and we played Dutch blitz for about 2 hours.

On the way to dinner we had to pop the clutch in order to get it running because the battery was dead. Little did we know that that was just the beginning of our troubles. After dinner we were unable to start the car again. Because the lights weren’t working anyway and because it was past midnight we decided it would be easier to simply walk mile and a quarter back to the hotel and return the next morning. I’ve never seen so many stars. A pre dawn hike found Tim, Dan, Johan, Jim, and me back at the hotel were we woke the watchmen after several minutes fruitless yelling and banging on the metal gates. We then proceeded to push the unreasonably heavy car up the hill three times trying unsuccessfully trying to pop the clutch. After eight attempts in 20 minutes and much useless exertion in the wee hours of the day we decided to try one more time before giving in to hopeless despair and depression. As it turned out 9^th times the charm and we packed and were on the road again by 7:30. However our tale of woe has not yet reached its end for within two miles of the compound and home the car began to lose speed. With the medal to the floor we coasted to a stop providentially at the beginning of the compound road. We had arrived at 9:50 just in time for the 10 o’clock worship service and the swearing in of a half dozen new members. 

That night upon reaching the conclusion that pancakes would lead to my eternal happiness I set out on a quest to track down the dozen ingredients needed to produce the panned cakes. After scrounging up baking powder, butter, and some other ingredients and procuring syrup by inviting the Tricarico kids to eat with us Emily and I proceeded to concoct the delicacies. We fried them up until they were golden brown and delicious (well they weren’t bad).

Warning: Scientific Content Ahead!

For those viewers wondering what all the car trouble was I will now explain. As it turns out the land cruiser is a diesel and has two tanks. The battery died some time during the day probably because Jim left the lights on. Now, because a diesel engine once started can run without a battery we must conclude that the lights didn’t work that night because we popped the clutch instead of jumping the car. Thus the battery never regained a charge. Also due to some mishap (Jim?) we never switched to the second tank so we drained the front one and coasted pristinely to a stop just shy of our destination.