September 4th-5th: Friday-Saturday
Friday I went and helped out at the school as usual in the morning. That morning the kids learned colors in English which was really hard. Some of the kids picked it up really quickly but some of them really struggled with it and I’m not sure they ever got it. Break time was a bit hard on Friday. Dave, another volunteer was gone so I had all the kids crawling on me. Also they kept getting into fights which is hard because I can’t understand why because they all speech Swahili.
Saturday there is no school. However Amen and Gloria are going back to school today. They go to a Christian boarding school about a half hour drive from their house outside of Moshi. That afternoon I came along with the rest of the family as we dropped them off and got them registered. They realized they had forgotten toilet paper so Unity and I went back and had to buy some at a little supermarket by the road. While we were there I saw a National Geographic. September 09. I didn’t have enough money to get on me but I’ll track one down somehow. Now that I know they are in country. I only brought two books with me to Tanzania and I have been reading a lot more here sop I have finished one and am about half way through the other. I’m going to need some reading material very soon.
That night at dinner and that evening was a lot different with Amen and Gloria gone. I am really going to miss those guys.
I almost forgot. Saturday morning I went to the internet café and on the way I was offered pot. I think. This guy passed me in the street and he says “Hey brother, want to smoke some (I have no idea what he said but it sounded like) maushi?” I smiled and shook my head and he yelled after me, “Come on man you got to smoke something! you can’t just smoke s—t!” potheads are all the same all over the world.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Of My Life in Tanzania and I Am Reminded What a Horrible Singer I Am
September 1st-3rd: Tuesday- Thursday
My days here have taken on a certain pattern. I generally wake up between 6:00 and 6:30. I do my devotions in the morning and try to keep up on my blog and listen to music. I have breakfast generally with Unity and Amen and Gloria. Breakfast is peanut butter, jam, and blue band (butter) sandwiches and African tea. Also sausages, fruit, fried bananas or g-nuts depending on the day. Then I go to the school which is in the same building as the church. I help Gladness or Ella two of the teachers there. I can count to ten so I can help the kids with math and then at break time (recess) I become the jungle gym for all the little guys. The kids seem to be between ages 4 and 6. After that I have lunch at the house (left overs from, dinner) and then in the afternoon I am free to walk around hang out with whoever is around or go to town to get on the internet. In the late afternoons 4 or 5 there is generally singing at the church or bible study or prayer or something. Dinner is generally rice or noodles with a meat sauce. There are chapattis (sort of like tortillas fried in oil), g-nuts, salad (more like steamed vegetables), chips (French fries), or fruit depending on the meal. In the evening we pray and then watch a really cheesy Spanish soap opera called Terrible in Paradisio (Trouble in Paradise) and you need a degree just to follow what’s going on. I generally go to bed early because I can’t keep a straight face very long. My favorite line so far is “I won’t let those women mess with me in the bathroom!”
Unity’s family consists of his wife Grace, his daughter Winnie who is my age I think, Amen and Gloria. Amen and Gloria are going back to school (boarding school) on Saturday. Then there are several others staying with them. Gladness is a teacher at school and I think she’s around 20. Lightly just graduated from secondary school (middle school and high school combined basically) and is also 20ish and is waiting to go to university. Then there is Mbeni (sp?) who is 18 and in secondary school and Patrick who is a bit older but also in secondary school. Then there are a bunch of other kids and young adults who hang around during the day.
All the Africans here are really good singers. I mean they all can just belt it out. I just sing very softly and hope I don’t mess anyone up. Most of the songs are in Swahili but luckily they are pretty much all repeating one line with one lead singer changing and everyone else staying the same. When we pray in a group everyone prays out loud. It still takes me a minute to start just because it’s so strange to me but I really like it. Maybe I wouldn’t like it as much if everyone was speaking English and I could understand what they were saying.
Mostly I love being here. Living with an African family is opening me to a whole different view of Africa then staying on the mission compound. I do hope though that God will provide me with more ways to help. Unity I think is really making sure I take it slow and get comfortable and settled before I do too much but I hope there is more for me to do than just “help” at the school which isn’t really helping at all.
My days here have taken on a certain pattern. I generally wake up between 6:00 and 6:30. I do my devotions in the morning and try to keep up on my blog and listen to music. I have breakfast generally with Unity and Amen and Gloria. Breakfast is peanut butter, jam, and blue band (butter) sandwiches and African tea. Also sausages, fruit, fried bananas or g-nuts depending on the day. Then I go to the school which is in the same building as the church. I help Gladness or Ella two of the teachers there. I can count to ten so I can help the kids with math and then at break time (recess) I become the jungle gym for all the little guys. The kids seem to be between ages 4 and 6. After that I have lunch at the house (left overs from, dinner) and then in the afternoon I am free to walk around hang out with whoever is around or go to town to get on the internet. In the late afternoons 4 or 5 there is generally singing at the church or bible study or prayer or something. Dinner is generally rice or noodles with a meat sauce. There are chapattis (sort of like tortillas fried in oil), g-nuts, salad (more like steamed vegetables), chips (French fries), or fruit depending on the meal. In the evening we pray and then watch a really cheesy Spanish soap opera called Terrible in Paradisio (Trouble in Paradise) and you need a degree just to follow what’s going on. I generally go to bed early because I can’t keep a straight face very long. My favorite line so far is “I won’t let those women mess with me in the bathroom!”
Unity’s family consists of his wife Grace, his daughter Winnie who is my age I think, Amen and Gloria. Amen and Gloria are going back to school (boarding school) on Saturday. Then there are several others staying with them. Gladness is a teacher at school and I think she’s around 20. Lightly just graduated from secondary school (middle school and high school combined basically) and is also 20ish and is waiting to go to university. Then there is Mbeni (sp?) who is 18 and in secondary school and Patrick who is a bit older but also in secondary school. Then there are a bunch of other kids and young adults who hang around during the day.
All the Africans here are really good singers. I mean they all can just belt it out. I just sing very softly and hope I don’t mess anyone up. Most of the songs are in Swahili but luckily they are pretty much all repeating one line with one lead singer changing and everyone else staying the same. When we pray in a group everyone prays out loud. It still takes me a minute to start just because it’s so strange to me but I really like it. Maybe I wouldn’t like it as much if everyone was speaking English and I could understand what they were saying.
Mostly I love being here. Living with an African family is opening me to a whole different view of Africa then staying on the mission compound. I do hope though that God will provide me with more ways to help. Unity I think is really making sure I take it slow and get comfortable and settled before I do too much but I hope there is more for me to do than just “help” at the school which isn’t really helping at all.
Tanzania: Arriving and Stuff
August 31st: Monday
What a day. Today I left Uganda and Traveled to Tanzania. For those who don’t know I am staying with an African family in Tanzania for about 8 weeks. My Dad will come in the first week of October and we will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro together. I am staying in Moshi a city very near Kili and the Kenyan border.
The Eldeens took me to the airport at 10:00 where I said goodbye. Then I went through security. Africans have an amazing ability to look completely bored and uniterested with what they are doing. They sort of give the impression that what they are doing is far beneath them and they are doing you a favor by not falling asleep out of pure boredom. I had a couple of hours to kill at the airport because my flight didn’t leave tell noon. Walked around some gift shops and then had a beer. It may be my last beer for a while if Unity’s (Rev. Unity Msame) family doesn’t drink.
Bordered my flight. We flew across lake Victoria and touched down on the other side briefly were we changed some passengers and then continued on to Kili. Amazingly beautiful country. Landed in Tanzania shortly before 3:00 didn’t take me long to get through security and I got a three month visa no problem.
Rev. Unity and two of his kids Amen his son (I think he’s about 12 or 13) and Gloria his daughter (9, 10?). it was anout a 40 minute drive to Moshi so we were able to talk the whole way there which was really nice. I’m glad I didn’t even change time zones when I flew. Moshi is a pretty big city. Bigger than Mbale but smaller than Kampala I think. At least that’s my impression. Unity says they get a lot of climbers here for Kili so it has many hotels and its somewhat touristy. The part of town where Unity and his family live is called Enjorro and is south of the main center of town. Its about a 15-20 minute walk from town. His neighborhood is dirt roads but pretty nice buildings. Its dirty but not a slum at all. Unity says its very safe to walk around during the day.
On the way there I say Kilimanjaro. It rose above the clouds encircling its base. Peaked in snow it towered above everything. It is truly vast. It took my breath away and I thought “I’m going to try to climb that.” Talking about it was one thing. Looking at pictures and maps and reading about hits height but to see it there. It draws me. I can’t wait to take a stab at climbing it.
I have own room at Unity’s house and I moved all my stuff in that afternoon. Africans generally have dinner really late. Between 8 and 9. Unity sensitive to me had dinner with me shortly after 6. that night before everyone else ate we gathered together and prayed. Unity’s family does this every night. Everyone gets together and someone shares something from the bible then everyone sings a song and then prays. Everyone prays at once out loud. It is rather strange to me but it saves time and its kinda cool.
What a day. Today I left Uganda and Traveled to Tanzania. For those who don’t know I am staying with an African family in Tanzania for about 8 weeks. My Dad will come in the first week of October and we will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro together. I am staying in Moshi a city very near Kili and the Kenyan border.
The Eldeens took me to the airport at 10:00 where I said goodbye. Then I went through security. Africans have an amazing ability to look completely bored and uniterested with what they are doing. They sort of give the impression that what they are doing is far beneath them and they are doing you a favor by not falling asleep out of pure boredom. I had a couple of hours to kill at the airport because my flight didn’t leave tell noon. Walked around some gift shops and then had a beer. It may be my last beer for a while if Unity’s (Rev. Unity Msame) family doesn’t drink.
Bordered my flight. We flew across lake Victoria and touched down on the other side briefly were we changed some passengers and then continued on to Kili. Amazingly beautiful country. Landed in Tanzania shortly before 3:00 didn’t take me long to get through security and I got a three month visa no problem.
Rev. Unity and two of his kids Amen his son (I think he’s about 12 or 13) and Gloria his daughter (9, 10?). it was anout a 40 minute drive to Moshi so we were able to talk the whole way there which was really nice. I’m glad I didn’t even change time zones when I flew. Moshi is a pretty big city. Bigger than Mbale but smaller than Kampala I think. At least that’s my impression. Unity says they get a lot of climbers here for Kili so it has many hotels and its somewhat touristy. The part of town where Unity and his family live is called Enjorro and is south of the main center of town. Its about a 15-20 minute walk from town. His neighborhood is dirt roads but pretty nice buildings. Its dirty but not a slum at all. Unity says its very safe to walk around during the day.
On the way there I say Kilimanjaro. It rose above the clouds encircling its base. Peaked in snow it towered above everything. It is truly vast. It took my breath away and I thought “I’m going to try to climb that.” Talking about it was one thing. Looking at pictures and maps and reading about hits height but to see it there. It draws me. I can’t wait to take a stab at climbing it.
I have own room at Unity’s house and I moved all my stuff in that afternoon. Africans generally have dinner really late. Between 8 and 9. Unity sensitive to me had dinner with me shortly after 6. that night before everyone else ate we gathered together and prayed. Unity’s family does this every night. Everyone gets together and someone shares something from the bible then everyone sings a song and then prays. Everyone prays at once out loud. It is rather strange to me but it saves time and its kinda cool.
In Which I Experience Time Travel And Eat Ice Cream
in Which I August 28th-30th: Friday-Sunday
Bob Wright has strained his back recently. So keep him in your prayers and me too. Now that Bob shouldn’t lift anything heavy I have had to carry around the mig welder which weighs something like 80 pounds or something equally insane. More than half my weight actually. Friday and Saturday we extended the roof over the workshop which means hauling up the welder so Bob can weld all the support beams in place. It actually hasn’t been that bad I am just complaining.
Saturday afternoon I the Tricaricos got back from their family holiday in Jinja and they brought me two packages that had arrived for me. One from my Family contained some candy and a few miscellaneous things I had forgotten. The other was completely unexpected and came from my cousin, Carrie Jean and her husband Mark. It contained more candy and some flavor packets and two key chain-nerf guns with a dart refill pack with glow in the dark darts. It’s better than Christmas. So thank you guys for thinking of me.
That afternoon and evening I packed. Deciding what I needed to take and what could be left in Karamoja; Jim promised to keep the stuff I’m leaving. Jimbo came out with James to keep me company which was really nice because packing to leave was getting me down quite a bit. I finally finished packing everything at about 9:00 that night after taking a break for dinner. It’s amazing how much stuff it seems like I have when you put it all together but it still is about two big suitcases and a backpack.
Sunday Craig, Kris and I left right after church in order to get to Entebbe before nightfall. Church that morning was really cool because a whole bunch of people showed up. A lot of people from the clinic came which really encouraged me because they as a group hadn’t come in a few weeks. The church was packed and overflowing. A great way to leave.
The drive down to Entebbe takes about 8 hours. We left before noon and arrived shortly before dark so about 7:30. Driving down is kind off like time traveling. You begin in Karamoja a land of bows and arrows and were pants aren’t a necessity and you travel to Mbale were you can see people dressed in western clothing and driving cars. Then on to Jinja where you see some factories and a tourist trade and finally you reach Kampala of skyscrapers and fancy hotels. Or you can see the evolution of the road. From a nasty dirt road full of pot holes then into a really bad paved road still with bad potholes. Shortly after Jinja lines on the road make their first appearance. Then before Jinja the road makes the evolutionary jump to a two lane highway. Finally in Entebbe you see three lane highway and roads. Throughout the entire evolution of the road though the bad driver has remained the same. Oh he may have changed from a beat up jeep to a shiny new sports car but he still has no idea what he’s doing and he’ll cut you off anytime he feels like it. Jerks resist the evolutionary drive.
That evening the Eldeens and I ate dinner at a Chinese Resturaunt. I had sweet and sour chicken with fried noodles and vegetables and eggrolls. It was really good. We stayed at Entebbe flight which is about a 5 minute drive from the airport. I crossed the street after dinner and went to the pearl supermarket and picked up a few things I needed. Razor, fingernail clippers, ice cream. The essentials. That evening I watched international football (soccer) tell very late.
Bob Wright has strained his back recently. So keep him in your prayers and me too. Now that Bob shouldn’t lift anything heavy I have had to carry around the mig welder which weighs something like 80 pounds or something equally insane. More than half my weight actually. Friday and Saturday we extended the roof over the workshop which means hauling up the welder so Bob can weld all the support beams in place. It actually hasn’t been that bad I am just complaining.
Saturday afternoon I the Tricaricos got back from their family holiday in Jinja and they brought me two packages that had arrived for me. One from my Family contained some candy and a few miscellaneous things I had forgotten. The other was completely unexpected and came from my cousin, Carrie Jean and her husband Mark. It contained more candy and some flavor packets and two key chain-nerf guns with a dart refill pack with glow in the dark darts. It’s better than Christmas. So thank you guys for thinking of me.
That afternoon and evening I packed. Deciding what I needed to take and what could be left in Karamoja; Jim promised to keep the stuff I’m leaving. Jimbo came out with James to keep me company which was really nice because packing to leave was getting me down quite a bit. I finally finished packing everything at about 9:00 that night after taking a break for dinner. It’s amazing how much stuff it seems like I have when you put it all together but it still is about two big suitcases and a backpack.
Sunday Craig, Kris and I left right after church in order to get to Entebbe before nightfall. Church that morning was really cool because a whole bunch of people showed up. A lot of people from the clinic came which really encouraged me because they as a group hadn’t come in a few weeks. The church was packed and overflowing. A great way to leave.
The drive down to Entebbe takes about 8 hours. We left before noon and arrived shortly before dark so about 7:30. Driving down is kind off like time traveling. You begin in Karamoja a land of bows and arrows and were pants aren’t a necessity and you travel to Mbale were you can see people dressed in western clothing and driving cars. Then on to Jinja where you see some factories and a tourist trade and finally you reach Kampala of skyscrapers and fancy hotels. Or you can see the evolution of the road. From a nasty dirt road full of pot holes then into a really bad paved road still with bad potholes. Shortly after Jinja lines on the road make their first appearance. Then before Jinja the road makes the evolutionary jump to a two lane highway. Finally in Entebbe you see three lane highway and roads. Throughout the entire evolution of the road though the bad driver has remained the same. Oh he may have changed from a beat up jeep to a shiny new sports car but he still has no idea what he’s doing and he’ll cut you off anytime he feels like it. Jerks resist the evolutionary drive.
That evening the Eldeens and I ate dinner at a Chinese Resturaunt. I had sweet and sour chicken with fried noodles and vegetables and eggrolls. It was really good. We stayed at Entebbe flight which is about a 5 minute drive from the airport. I crossed the street after dinner and went to the pearl supermarket and picked up a few things I needed. Razor, fingernail clippers, ice cream. The essentials. That evening I watched international football (soccer) tell very late.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I Eat Indian Food Twice And Am Attacked By Shoe Ladies
August 26th-27th: Wednesday-Thursday
Jinja is one cool town. Located at the edge of Lake Victoria it boasts the source of the Nile and Nile beer. I think its sort of a center for commerce and trading. A much bigger town than Mbale but smaller than Entebbe. Here in eastern Uganda all the towns seem to get smaller and smaller the farther you go north.
Jim and I got up really early to drive into Jinja and get an early start so we could spend every available minute shopping. Before we entered Jinja the road makes the transformation from single lane highway to a shiny new two lane highway. Wow. Pretty fancy. Jinja is divided in two by the river; I think it’s the Nile, or at least the source river for the Nile, whatever. We are staying at the Kingfisher for the night and boy is it nice. I mean. No dirt floors. Very, very clean. A pool. Everything is repaired and looks nice. I feel a bit out of place actually. I mean in America this would be a middle of the road kind of joint but to me it seems kinda like a palace or something. The Kingfisher Safaris Resort overlooks Lake Victoria (ooh fun fact: Lake Victoria is the second biggest fresh water lake second only to Lake Superior, guess that’s why it’s superior. Please pardon the bad joke.) And is about a ten minute drive from the center of town.
Jimbo and I spent the morning in the Jinja market which is like all the markets you see in movies and stuff. Booths piled high with everything from fish heads, mangos, cloths, shoes, and pretty much everything else. We spent the morning haggling for cloths which was actually pretty fun if you overlook my encounter with the shoe ladies. I bought some jeans, a few shorts, and a shirt for Tanz. All I needed were some shoes since all the shoes I own I am either saving for kili or are more dirt than cloths and rubber and are holier than the Virgin Mary which if your protestant isn’t saying much but they do have more holes than a pound of Swiss cheese and their odor resembles month old cheese left in the sun.
So I needed shoes. Jim and I found the shoes section of the illustrious Jinja Market. A dark shadowy looking corridor between towering piles of shoes. We entered and immediately felt the lurking of evil. Dark figures (I’m not trying to be racist but it was kinda dark and even a Swede would have looked dark) hovered in the shadows watching, waiting. I glanced at some shoes on sail. The owner of the booth pounce moving as swiftly as a drink down an Irishman’s throat (ok that was racist). Scary shoe lady: “you like these?” she says holding a sparkling clean white soccer shoe. Incidentally the only shoes for sale are black dress shoes generally of the ugly Latino style and bright white soccer shoes. Either way you lose. Either color is going to show all the dirt and grim that you step in that day. It’s a catch twenty-two. “You want to buy? You want to try on?” Me: “uh…” Scary shoe lady: “try them on” she cackles as she yanks of my shoes and forces me to try on a sneaker at least four sizes too big using a plastic bag as a sock and making me stand on a piece of cardboard so as not to dirty the bottom of the shoe. The other shoe ladies sensing prey swept in and forced me to try on more shoes than I can count all the wrong sizes and kinds. Jim and I broke our way free gasping for breath and fled into the underwear section. I rally my final reserves as courage turn towards the shoe section. It’s not enough. I rally my final reserves of stupidity and once again enter the abysmal corridor of death.
I try to ignore the shoe ladies who like sharks sensing blood in the water tail me. They can sense fear. They try to drag me of to their own booths and shoe me shoes that neither fit me nor want. The air is full of their war cries “you take these!” “Try these on!” “What size are you?” “Are you going to buy?” A truly harrowing experience. Finally I bought a pair of very white and cheap shoes (I’m not kidding they weigh about two ounces each and the shoe laces feel like those packing peanuts and if I pull on them I think they’ll just snap) from the man at the end of the aisle.
The rest of the day after a very yummy lunch at an incredibly America-like coffee shop and restaurant called Flavors Jim and I wondered around the more touristy part of Jinja and bought Christmas gifts for his family. Ooh, I also had a strawberry milkshake at Flavors which was cold and made from real ice cream. Which is surprising because usually “milkshakes” in Uganda is warm flavored milk, or at least I’m told.
That evening we swam in the very clean pool at the Kingfisher and ate dinner at a restaurant called Two Friends. Very nice food. Really nice bathroom. You could flush the toilet paper! The next morning we woke early and watched the sun rise over Lake Victoria. Beyond words. Then we took a boat ride to see the source of the Nile and see the local wildlife. In case your wondering how we saw the source of the Nile our guide stopped the boat at about the point wear the river leaves Lake Victoria and said “here it is”. I guess there used to be falls and stuff before they built the damn downriver. Must have been a little more exciting back then.
We picked Jenny up from the Tricaricos and then headed up to Mbale for lunch. More Indian food. Yeah. The best Indian food I have ever had. Some pumpkin thing and then this amazing yellow dal with dumplings and yellow rice. Wow. That night after we got back to Karamoja we ate at the Eldeens house. Good trip.
Jinja is one cool town. Located at the edge of Lake Victoria it boasts the source of the Nile and Nile beer. I think its sort of a center for commerce and trading. A much bigger town than Mbale but smaller than Entebbe. Here in eastern Uganda all the towns seem to get smaller and smaller the farther you go north.
Jim and I got up really early to drive into Jinja and get an early start so we could spend every available minute shopping. Before we entered Jinja the road makes the transformation from single lane highway to a shiny new two lane highway. Wow. Pretty fancy. Jinja is divided in two by the river; I think it’s the Nile, or at least the source river for the Nile, whatever. We are staying at the Kingfisher for the night and boy is it nice. I mean. No dirt floors. Very, very clean. A pool. Everything is repaired and looks nice. I feel a bit out of place actually. I mean in America this would be a middle of the road kind of joint but to me it seems kinda like a palace or something. The Kingfisher Safaris Resort overlooks Lake Victoria (ooh fun fact: Lake Victoria is the second biggest fresh water lake second only to Lake Superior, guess that’s why it’s superior. Please pardon the bad joke.) And is about a ten minute drive from the center of town.
Jimbo and I spent the morning in the Jinja market which is like all the markets you see in movies and stuff. Booths piled high with everything from fish heads, mangos, cloths, shoes, and pretty much everything else. We spent the morning haggling for cloths which was actually pretty fun if you overlook my encounter with the shoe ladies. I bought some jeans, a few shorts, and a shirt for Tanz. All I needed were some shoes since all the shoes I own I am either saving for kili or are more dirt than cloths and rubber and are holier than the Virgin Mary which if your protestant isn’t saying much but they do have more holes than a pound of Swiss cheese and their odor resembles month old cheese left in the sun.
So I needed shoes. Jim and I found the shoes section of the illustrious Jinja Market. A dark shadowy looking corridor between towering piles of shoes. We entered and immediately felt the lurking of evil. Dark figures (I’m not trying to be racist but it was kinda dark and even a Swede would have looked dark) hovered in the shadows watching, waiting. I glanced at some shoes on sail. The owner of the booth pounce moving as swiftly as a drink down an Irishman’s throat (ok that was racist). Scary shoe lady: “you like these?” she says holding a sparkling clean white soccer shoe. Incidentally the only shoes for sale are black dress shoes generally of the ugly Latino style and bright white soccer shoes. Either way you lose. Either color is going to show all the dirt and grim that you step in that day. It’s a catch twenty-two. “You want to buy? You want to try on?” Me: “uh…” Scary shoe lady: “try them on” she cackles as she yanks of my shoes and forces me to try on a sneaker at least four sizes too big using a plastic bag as a sock and making me stand on a piece of cardboard so as not to dirty the bottom of the shoe. The other shoe ladies sensing prey swept in and forced me to try on more shoes than I can count all the wrong sizes and kinds. Jim and I broke our way free gasping for breath and fled into the underwear section. I rally my final reserves as courage turn towards the shoe section. It’s not enough. I rally my final reserves of stupidity and once again enter the abysmal corridor of death.
I try to ignore the shoe ladies who like sharks sensing blood in the water tail me. They can sense fear. They try to drag me of to their own booths and shoe me shoes that neither fit me nor want. The air is full of their war cries “you take these!” “Try these on!” “What size are you?” “Are you going to buy?” A truly harrowing experience. Finally I bought a pair of very white and cheap shoes (I’m not kidding they weigh about two ounces each and the shoe laces feel like those packing peanuts and if I pull on them I think they’ll just snap) from the man at the end of the aisle.
The rest of the day after a very yummy lunch at an incredibly America-like coffee shop and restaurant called Flavors Jim and I wondered around the more touristy part of Jinja and bought Christmas gifts for his family. Ooh, I also had a strawberry milkshake at Flavors which was cold and made from real ice cream. Which is surprising because usually “milkshakes” in Uganda is warm flavored milk, or at least I’m told.
That evening we swam in the very clean pool at the Kingfisher and ate dinner at a restaurant called Two Friends. Very nice food. Really nice bathroom. You could flush the toilet paper! The next morning we woke early and watched the sun rise over Lake Victoria. Beyond words. Then we took a boat ride to see the source of the Nile and see the local wildlife. In case your wondering how we saw the source of the Nile our guide stopped the boat at about the point wear the river leaves Lake Victoria and said “here it is”. I guess there used to be falls and stuff before they built the damn downriver. Must have been a little more exciting back then.
We picked Jenny up from the Tricaricos and then headed up to Mbale for lunch. More Indian food. Yeah. The best Indian food I have ever had. Some pumpkin thing and then this amazing yellow dal with dumplings and yellow rice. Wow. That night after we got back to Karamoja we ate at the Eldeens house. Good trip.
On the Road to Jinja
August 24th-25th
Monday there was a mission meeting so all the missionaries from Mbale drove up in the morning and Craig and Bob went to attend. Before they left they sent Tom and a couple of other boys to go get some stones for cement. Moses, Iriama Paul, Lokwii Bon and I dug holes for posts outside the workshop for poles to help support the extended roof. We had to dig three feet down and two ft. by two ft. I dug two holes before the three Africans had finished their one. After the mission meeting ended that afternoon I cut some wire mesh for some partitions at the clinic and then painted the finished pieces.
That afternoon Jim and I went on a really fun run. Then after dinner we watched Bella. Man what a great movie. I love it because of the themes of grief, and regret but also of hope and redemption. It is a very sad movie but it has hope too. Also the soundtrack is great.
Tuesday I worked until 3:00 with a break for lunch and then went and changed and packed for Jim and my trip to Jinja to pick up Jenny. Jenny is a nurse who is coming for about a year. She is fresh out of medical school and she is staying in the Eldeens house while they are in America so she needs to get up here so Craig and Kris can show her around. The Tricarico’s are taking her as far as Jinja and then they are going to have a family vacation there. Jim and I are going down to pick her up and also pick me up a few nicer cloths for Tanzania.
Jim and I left Karamoja around 4:30. The drive was very nice. We followed a rain storm all the way into Mbale so there wasn’t any dust although the roads were a bit slick but only in one or two spots. Jim and I talked all the way down. Pretty much constantly for about two and some hours. Sharing our feelings. Very manly. In the ditches in the side of the road there was water running. It’s amazing how fast water here disappears. It can be gone in hours after an incredibly heavy rain.
For dinner that night we ate at the landmark with Andrew and Derek who administrates the children’s’ hospital, Cure. He also brought two medical students who had been he helping him. Excellent meal. Very nice. Derek is a really cool guy and he reminds me of a PE teacher I had in high school. Tall, lanky, and a really laid back personality.
After dinner we went back to Andrew’s house to crash and I had a hot bath for the first time in heavens knows how long. Absolutely an amazing experience. Almost religious. I found a couple dead cockroaches floating in the water. Presumably living in the drain. Lovely.
Monday there was a mission meeting so all the missionaries from Mbale drove up in the morning and Craig and Bob went to attend. Before they left they sent Tom and a couple of other boys to go get some stones for cement. Moses, Iriama Paul, Lokwii Bon and I dug holes for posts outside the workshop for poles to help support the extended roof. We had to dig three feet down and two ft. by two ft. I dug two holes before the three Africans had finished their one. After the mission meeting ended that afternoon I cut some wire mesh for some partitions at the clinic and then painted the finished pieces.
That afternoon Jim and I went on a really fun run. Then after dinner we watched Bella. Man what a great movie. I love it because of the themes of grief, and regret but also of hope and redemption. It is a very sad movie but it has hope too. Also the soundtrack is great.
Tuesday I worked until 3:00 with a break for lunch and then went and changed and packed for Jim and my trip to Jinja to pick up Jenny. Jenny is a nurse who is coming for about a year. She is fresh out of medical school and she is staying in the Eldeens house while they are in America so she needs to get up here so Craig and Kris can show her around. The Tricarico’s are taking her as far as Jinja and then they are going to have a family vacation there. Jim and I are going down to pick her up and also pick me up a few nicer cloths for Tanzania.
Jim and I left Karamoja around 4:30. The drive was very nice. We followed a rain storm all the way into Mbale so there wasn’t any dust although the roads were a bit slick but only in one or two spots. Jim and I talked all the way down. Pretty much constantly for about two and some hours. Sharing our feelings. Very manly. In the ditches in the side of the road there was water running. It’s amazing how fast water here disappears. It can be gone in hours after an incredibly heavy rain.
For dinner that night we ate at the landmark with Andrew and Derek who administrates the children’s’ hospital, Cure. He also brought two medical students who had been he helping him. Excellent meal. Very nice. Derek is a really cool guy and he reminds me of a PE teacher I had in high school. Tall, lanky, and a really laid back personality.
After dinner we went back to Andrew’s house to crash and I had a hot bath for the first time in heavens knows how long. Absolutely an amazing experience. Almost religious. I found a couple dead cockroaches floating in the water. Presumably living in the drain. Lovely.
I Love Bollywood
August 22nd-23rd: Saturday-Sunday
Wow. The Wrights had Jim and me over to Saturday and Sunday night to watch the Bollywood movie Krrish. It was amazing. An epic combining the movies The Matrix, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, E.T., Sound of Music, Batman, and The West Side Story and a host of other movies. Possibly the best and worst movie I have ever seen. I recommend it to anyone with three hours to kill and an open mind. Don’t take it seriously because you may injure yourself. Instead just enjoy it for the jewel that it is.
Sunday afternoon was really fun. After bibles study and prayers Jim and I walked over behind the clinic and visited J.B. it was really fun. We sat and chatted with him and his two sisters and his wife. Their kids were really shy but were funny. J.B. said some encouraging things. There have been some meetings and bad talk about the clinic headed by two brothers. That Sunday morning there was a meeting to complain about the mission and JB went and he spoke up in our defense and even when we visited him he was still very upset. JB pretty much always has a smile on his face and he is always joking but when we first got there he was really down. J.B.’s wife whose name is Joyce made Jim and I some roast corn which is just corn cooked just over the fire until slightly burnt and it’s delicious. It was really fun to talk and hang out and I hope I can do this more often.
Wow. The Wrights had Jim and me over to Saturday and Sunday night to watch the Bollywood movie Krrish. It was amazing. An epic combining the movies The Matrix, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, E.T., Sound of Music, Batman, and The West Side Story and a host of other movies. Possibly the best and worst movie I have ever seen. I recommend it to anyone with three hours to kill and an open mind. Don’t take it seriously because you may injure yourself. Instead just enjoy it for the jewel that it is.
Sunday afternoon was really fun. After bibles study and prayers Jim and I walked over behind the clinic and visited J.B. it was really fun. We sat and chatted with him and his two sisters and his wife. Their kids were really shy but were funny. J.B. said some encouraging things. There have been some meetings and bad talk about the clinic headed by two brothers. That Sunday morning there was a meeting to complain about the mission and JB went and he spoke up in our defense and even when we visited him he was still very upset. JB pretty much always has a smile on his face and he is always joking but when we first got there he was really down. J.B.’s wife whose name is Joyce made Jim and I some roast corn which is just corn cooked just over the fire until slightly burnt and it’s delicious. It was really fun to talk and hang out and I hope I can do this more often.
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