Our colleagues from the Ministry of Education stopped by yesterday... with the money for our workshop! Whoo hooo! So we're off. Tomorrow. We hope. I haven't seen the plane tickets, but I trust that someone has them in her possession!
We were discussing some of the logistics yesterday with Moses and Elizabeth (who are supposed to be working on the logistics), and Moses kept saying, "We're going on an adventure! It's going to be an adventure!". Now I don't know how YOU feel when Africans tell you you're going on an adventure, but it was making me a little nervous to see Moses' big grin as he continually "assured" me that we're going on an adventure.
So, tomorrow, I'm going on an adventure! I haven't a clue what tomorrow holds... but thankfully, I know that God's got it all under control... but that doesn't mean it's not going to be an adventure in the meantime!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Lest I forget...
Yes, so lest I forget where I live and work, there have been a few incidences in the past 24 hours which have reminded me that I ain't in Kansas anymore:
1. For the second night in a row, we caught a rat on top of our refrigerator in a trap, baited with a peanut butter sandwich (peanut butter hand squished from real peanuts and hand carried by me in a plastic bucket as carry-on on the plane). Rats become the topic of conversation for about 45 minutes during our Arabic lesson.
2. One of the dear old men who have been putzing around and working on our compound for the past 30 years showed me his leg. He had quite the wound on his ankle - sort of a pussy, festering sort of sore. He wanted me to give him some medicine for it. I gave him some antibiotic lotion, but told him to go to the doctor. The doctor will probably prescribe quinine, because that's just what they do here when you go in for anything from actual malaria to a toothache. But I'm not a doctor - I just read my copy of "Where there is no doctor" occasionally, yet somehow, I've become the Community Health Nurse for our little community. I'm just glad I haven't killed anyone yet.
3. One of the young women who works in the guesthouse, Mary, has been visiting the hospital for the past few days. We were told at first she was there to take care of her sister, who had a C-section. Family members here have to bring food for the patients and do most of the basic care for them, such as bathing them, bringing them water, or helping them to use their bed pans etc. When we were told it was her sister that she was caring for, we didn't really think twice - usually, a "sister" is anything from an actual sister to a step-sister to a cousin to a granmother's cousin's sister's daughter. However, I have never heard a "co-wife" referred to as a sister. Turns out this young woman in the hospital, though, is the second wife of Mary's husband. They are co-wives. Mary has only been married for a few years, and has already lost a baby. Now she's caring for her husband's second wife and her new baby in the hospital. This is just a few weeks after Mary lost two of her younger half-brothers in a tragic accident on the Nile. Please pray for Mary. Though we only communicate with her through smatterings of English and whatever Arabic we can dredge up, we really love her. And it's heart-breaking to see her going through such a difficult time in her family. Please pray that we can show her Christ's love somehow in all of this.
4. The money finally came through for the workshop that we're facilitating in a different town. We should be finished the SECOND day of the workshop by now... but we haven't even traveled up to that town yet because it took over three weeks to get all of the appropriate papers stamped and through the right offices and to actually see the money from the bank! When we asked our colleagues from the Ministry of Ed., who are, in fact, responsible for the logistics of all of this, if they had informed the people in that town that we are starting late, they replied, "We couldn't tell them we are starting late; they will be angry!" Apparently they won't be angry that they showed up for a workshop and the facilitation team was AWOL until a week after it was supposed to begin?! Anyways, we're thanking the Lord that our money came through and that we can get this show on the road! We are set to travel now on Thursday morning, and will begin the workshop on Monday, enshallah. Please continue to pray for us - we have no place to stay, and no idea where we will even hold the workshop or where the participants will stay and eat! This could be an interesting few weeks...
5. It's 11:03 pm and I'm sweaty because it's over 30C in my bedroom.
I am certainly well aware today that I am not in Kansas anymore. And yet somehow, I still don't want to click my heels together and go home! At least not yet!
1. For the second night in a row, we caught a rat on top of our refrigerator in a trap, baited with a peanut butter sandwich (peanut butter hand squished from real peanuts and hand carried by me in a plastic bucket as carry-on on the plane). Rats become the topic of conversation for about 45 minutes during our Arabic lesson.
2. One of the dear old men who have been putzing around and working on our compound for the past 30 years showed me his leg. He had quite the wound on his ankle - sort of a pussy, festering sort of sore. He wanted me to give him some medicine for it. I gave him some antibiotic lotion, but told him to go to the doctor. The doctor will probably prescribe quinine, because that's just what they do here when you go in for anything from actual malaria to a toothache. But I'm not a doctor - I just read my copy of "Where there is no doctor" occasionally, yet somehow, I've become the Community Health Nurse for our little community. I'm just glad I haven't killed anyone yet.
3. One of the young women who works in the guesthouse, Mary, has been visiting the hospital for the past few days. We were told at first she was there to take care of her sister, who had a C-section. Family members here have to bring food for the patients and do most of the basic care for them, such as bathing them, bringing them water, or helping them to use their bed pans etc. When we were told it was her sister that she was caring for, we didn't really think twice - usually, a "sister" is anything from an actual sister to a step-sister to a cousin to a granmother's cousin's sister's daughter. However, I have never heard a "co-wife" referred to as a sister. Turns out this young woman in the hospital, though, is the second wife of Mary's husband. They are co-wives. Mary has only been married for a few years, and has already lost a baby. Now she's caring for her husband's second wife and her new baby in the hospital. This is just a few weeks after Mary lost two of her younger half-brothers in a tragic accident on the Nile. Please pray for Mary. Though we only communicate with her through smatterings of English and whatever Arabic we can dredge up, we really love her. And it's heart-breaking to see her going through such a difficult time in her family. Please pray that we can show her Christ's love somehow in all of this.
4. The money finally came through for the workshop that we're facilitating in a different town. We should be finished the SECOND day of the workshop by now... but we haven't even traveled up to that town yet because it took over three weeks to get all of the appropriate papers stamped and through the right offices and to actually see the money from the bank! When we asked our colleagues from the Ministry of Ed., who are, in fact, responsible for the logistics of all of this, if they had informed the people in that town that we are starting late, they replied, "We couldn't tell them we are starting late; they will be angry!" Apparently they won't be angry that they showed up for a workshop and the facilitation team was AWOL until a week after it was supposed to begin?! Anyways, we're thanking the Lord that our money came through and that we can get this show on the road! We are set to travel now on Thursday morning, and will begin the workshop on Monday, enshallah. Please continue to pray for us - we have no place to stay, and no idea where we will even hold the workshop or where the participants will stay and eat! This could be an interesting few weeks...
5. It's 11:03 pm and I'm sweaty because it's over 30C in my bedroom.
I am certainly well aware today that I am not in Kansas anymore. And yet somehow, I still don't want to click my heels together and go home! At least not yet!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thought I'd seen it all...
... then I was witness to my housemate and my cat wrestling over a dead rat.
For the past few nights, there's been a rat gnawing on our potatoes which we have stored on top of our refrigerator. We've kept potatoes there for several months now, with no harm done. But somehow a creature has lately caught wind of them.
So last night, Jackie carefully baited the trap with some bread and peanut butter.
Not 10 minutes after we turned out the lights in the kitchen, we heard the snap of the trap! Jackie and I both came running out in our pajamas to check out the damage. And lo and behold, there he was. Our potato munching rat. I feel a bit of a connection to the little guy, as it reminds me of my own fondness for potatoes. I almost wanted to get a t-shirt for the little guy that says "Powered by Potatoes", just like Steve's! Anyways, the little guy is "late". That is, he's dead. Of course, I jumped off to get my camera. I especially like this shot, as you can see both the gnawed potato and the little dead critter:
The funniest part of the whole episode came when we went to get rid of the rat. Zane smelled fresh meat and came running. We were happy to feed the rat to him, but Jackie wanted to rescue our rat trap before Zane ran off with the rat. Jackie was a bit slow in releasing the rat, though, so while she was wrestling to release the rat, dear Zane already had his teeth firmly sunk into the hindquarters of the rat!
So there they were, my housemate, clad only in her flip flops and pajamas, and my cat, in the dark of night, wrestling over a dead rat. Now I really think I have seen it all.
For the past few nights, there's been a rat gnawing on our potatoes which we have stored on top of our refrigerator. We've kept potatoes there for several months now, with no harm done. But somehow a creature has lately caught wind of them.
So last night, Jackie carefully baited the trap with some bread and peanut butter.
Not 10 minutes after we turned out the lights in the kitchen, we heard the snap of the trap! Jackie and I both came running out in our pajamas to check out the damage. And lo and behold, there he was. Our potato munching rat. I feel a bit of a connection to the little guy, as it reminds me of my own fondness for potatoes. I almost wanted to get a t-shirt for the little guy that says "Powered by Potatoes", just like Steve's! Anyways, the little guy is "late". That is, he's dead. Of course, I jumped off to get my camera. I especially like this shot, as you can see both the gnawed potato and the little dead critter:
The funniest part of the whole episode came when we went to get rid of the rat. Zane smelled fresh meat and came running. We were happy to feed the rat to him, but Jackie wanted to rescue our rat trap before Zane ran off with the rat. Jackie was a bit slow in releasing the rat, though, so while she was wrestling to release the rat, dear Zane already had his teeth firmly sunk into the hindquarters of the rat!So there they were, my housemate, clad only in her flip flops and pajamas, and my cat, in the dark of night, wrestling over a dead rat. Now I really think I have seen it all.
Youthful Skin
So if you notice that my skin looks so pale and young and healthy when I come home, you can attribute it to the 5 or 6 tomatoes that I eat every day. Tomato dishes 'may protect skin', reports BBC.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
52 hours ... and counting!
Can you guess what's been on for 52 consecutive hours (well, ok, it went off for about an hour this evening...)?! Points go to the first person who answered "City Electricity"!
Yup, we've had more electricity this weekend than we've had since last fall! Yes, that's what I said, LAST FALL.
Things really are looking up around here.
Yup, we've had more electricity this weekend than we've had since last fall! Yes, that's what I said, LAST FALL.
Things really are looking up around here.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Ruhoos Fasika!
I celebrated Eritrean Easter today by enjoying ... get this... a cappuccino and pastry at the new cafe in town! There's a new place, rather near by, with a real cappuccino machine and a bakery to make pastries and cakes. And of course, it's owned and operated by Eritreans :)
Jackie and I had a nice cup of coffee this afternoon, and a nice chat with the owner. And of course, I got to use all my Tigrinya and be friendly, as well! The owner also showed us his restaurant which is around the corner. They serve pasta and habesha food (injera, shiro, zigni etc.).
So tonight, since we have people visiting from Nairobi for a workshop that's happening here this week, we decided to take them there. The food was good, and it was about half the price as we pay at our other favorite Ethiopian restaurant. It was a bit comical, though, as their generator kept going on and off! So every once in a while, we'd be plunged into darkness. The funniest part about it, though, was that while the rest of us were laughing and giggling about being plunged into darkness, a certain translation-consultant-in-training kept right on talking about his translation topics without skipping a beat! I think I said three English words all evening - the rest of my words were in Tigrinya to the staff at the restaurant!
After we were stuffed with injera, we walked around the corner to the cafe again where we shoveled some ice cream into all the cracks in the food in our bellies. It was so nice to be sitting around a little table in a real cafe with a display case of pastries, a cappuccino machine spewing out espresso and hot milk, and ice cream, all the while surrounded by Amharic music and people speaking Tigrinya! I wished the all a happy easter (ruhoos fasika) and now have some new friends. I definitely plan on going back there!
Jackie and I had a nice cup of coffee this afternoon, and a nice chat with the owner. And of course, I got to use all my Tigrinya and be friendly, as well! The owner also showed us his restaurant which is around the corner. They serve pasta and habesha food (injera, shiro, zigni etc.).
So tonight, since we have people visiting from Nairobi for a workshop that's happening here this week, we decided to take them there. The food was good, and it was about half the price as we pay at our other favorite Ethiopian restaurant. It was a bit comical, though, as their generator kept going on and off! So every once in a while, we'd be plunged into darkness. The funniest part about it, though, was that while the rest of us were laughing and giggling about being plunged into darkness, a certain translation-consultant-in-training kept right on talking about his translation topics without skipping a beat! I think I said three English words all evening - the rest of my words were in Tigrinya to the staff at the restaurant!
After we were stuffed with injera, we walked around the corner to the cafe again where we shoveled some ice cream into all the cracks in the food in our bellies. It was so nice to be sitting around a little table in a real cafe with a display case of pastries, a cappuccino machine spewing out espresso and hot milk, and ice cream, all the while surrounded by Amharic music and people speaking Tigrinya! I wished the all a happy easter (ruhoos fasika) and now have some new friends. I definitely plan on going back there!
Computer Geek-dom
Since I moved to Africa, I have slowly, ever so slowly, been slipping further and further down the slope into computer geek-dom! And I'm not sure how I feel about it. This is where I spend quite a few hours every week. Though I must admit, it's actually one of the nicest places on the whole compound to work.Another organization which used to rent some space on our compound put up this "pre-fab" building behind the guesthouse. They used it as an office for over a year. It's basically a big tin box. But, it's got A/C and windows that actually close! So it's relatively dust-free and when the electricity is on, it can get almost COLD! Of course, it's a tin box, so when the electricity isn't on, it turns into an oven. It's also quite isolated. Anything could be happening out there, and whoever's in here could be completely oblivious! If one is a deputy guesthouse/site manager, being completely oblivious to what's happening "out there" isn't exactly ideal! So I can't sit in here all the time. Besides, I'd go batty in a room all by myself with just a couple of computers to keep me company! (Maybe that's a good sign that I'm not too far gone down the computer geek slope!).
Anyways, we keep all the kit for our internet connection and routers in here (the Satellite's modem is here), as well as the network server and all the extra bits of computer equipment. And yes, unfortunately, I DO know what all those cat-5 cables connect which routers and modems to what. I even know how the fibre optic Optronix boxes work and how to diagnose any problems with them. This, by the way, is a photo of our VSAT dish. This is my lifeline to the outside world!
So, on this nice sunny Saturday, I have spent the entire morning working with our computer guy in a different city work on 4 different computers here. It's kinda cool to watch him work from there on the computers down here. There are a few things he can't do remotely, though, so we have an ongoing Skype chat and I end up doing all the work while he guides me from there! So as long as the Internet stays up, I can muddle through! And somehow, I don't hate it! In fact, I feel almost a sense of satisfaction when I know that I've helped to keep these little machines continue running so that they can be used for the translation and literacy work that gets done on them!
On that note, though, really, if there are any true computer geeks out there... I need you to come and help! So please, would you come?! I don't want to slide any farther down this slippery slope I've started down!
Still in town
We're only 6 days behind schedule now on this workshop that we're meant to be facilitating in a different city next week. Oops. The money hasn't been released from the gov't yet, so no one has been able to go up to this town to arrange for the accomodation, venue or feeding for us or for the 35 participants that we expect to show up on MONDAY MORNING for the workshop in Multilingual Education!Oh well. Our colleagues from the Ministry of Education don't seem too concerned about it all. Jackie and I were supposed to fly today to get up there to do the "last minute" preps before it all starts on Monday. Now, we might fly on Sunday or Monday to start with the "first minute" preps!
Ah, you gotta love life here. If you're not as flexible as Gumby, you'd snap right in half some days...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Taming of the ... shrew?!
This evening, after Jackie completely creamed me on the squash court, we came home and created quite the feast. I rolled out the tortillas (from scratch!), whilst Jackie mixed up the guacamole (made from avocados I hand carried in from Uganda). Man, it was amazingly delicious! Anyways, there were a few tortillas left, even though we both stuffed ourselves silly because it tasted so good. So I went to get a ziplock bag out of the drawer to keep them in.
I wasn't paying any attention as I opened the drawer, so you can imagine my surprise when this is what I found:
I screamed from the surprise, which brought Jackie running, though this little guy just kinda stood there and sniffed around a bit. Maybe our garlic breath (one of the reasons the guacamole was so good was because of all the garlic in it!) which stunned him. Or maybe he just realized he didn't have anywhere to go. So I ran to get my camera and we took a few photos of the little guy. Jackie's first comment was, "Oh, he's so cute, he looks like something out of Beatrix Potter." And in the same breath, she said, "Let's feed him to Zane!".
He is kinda cute. But I don't really want him living in my drawers. So Jackie took the drawer out to the verandah, and I brought Zane out to the verandah. And Zane and this little rodent are going to stay in the verandah until one of them conquers the other. When we dumped out the drawer, there was a bit of a chase, but then the little thing went behind some boxes underneath the "day bed", and no matter how much I poke and prod with a stick, I can't seem to dislodge him. So my dear little hunting cat has curled up and gone to sleep! Hopefully once I go to bed, though, these two can duke it out...
But does anyone have any idea of what this creature is? I'm thinking it might be a shrew of some sort, but I'm not sure. All I know is it's not a mouse and it's not a rat. Any ideas?
I wasn't paying any attention as I opened the drawer, so you can imagine my surprise when this is what I found:
I screamed from the surprise, which brought Jackie running, though this little guy just kinda stood there and sniffed around a bit. Maybe our garlic breath (one of the reasons the guacamole was so good was because of all the garlic in it!) which stunned him. Or maybe he just realized he didn't have anywhere to go. So I ran to get my camera and we took a few photos of the little guy. Jackie's first comment was, "Oh, he's so cute, he looks like something out of Beatrix Potter." And in the same breath, she said, "Let's feed him to Zane!".
He is kinda cute. But I don't really want him living in my drawers. So Jackie took the drawer out to the verandah, and I brought Zane out to the verandah. And Zane and this little rodent are going to stay in the verandah until one of them conquers the other. When we dumped out the drawer, there was a bit of a chase, but then the little thing went behind some boxes underneath the "day bed", and no matter how much I poke and prod with a stick, I can't seem to dislodge him. So my dear little hunting cat has curled up and gone to sleep! Hopefully once I go to bed, though, these two can duke it out...But does anyone have any idea of what this creature is? I'm thinking it might be a shrew of some sort, but I'm not sure. All I know is it's not a mouse and it's not a rat. Any ideas?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The rain in Spain...
Well, I know I'm not in Spain, but I wouldn't be a linguist if "My Fair Lady" didn't come to mind every time it rained!
I think rainy season is upon us! We had a huge storm yesterday, and a bunch more rain today. This is the view out my front door when it rains:
And here's what my living room turns into when there's rain and electricity all at the same time (the electricity would be the pre-requisite to using the guesthouse's washing machine :) ).
Since it was a holiday today, I took advantage of the fact that there was no one in the guesthouse washing sheets or anything, and I did a few loads of laundry (after cooking lunch for everyone on the compound since there wasn't anyone else to cook...).
And now I'm lounging on my day bed and feeling a bit chilly, enjoying the fact that I don't have to go out at 10:30pm to shut off the generator today! Of course, tomorrow the electricity will be turned off again ... but for now, I'll just enjoy the brief respite :)
I think rainy season is upon us! We had a huge storm yesterday, and a bunch more rain today. This is the view out my front door when it rains:
And here's what my living room turns into when there's rain and electricity all at the same time (the electricity would be the pre-requisite to using the guesthouse's washing machine :) ).
Since it was a holiday today, I took advantage of the fact that there was no one in the guesthouse washing sheets or anything, and I did a few loads of laundry (after cooking lunch for everyone on the compound since there wasn't anyone else to cook...).And now I'm lounging on my day bed and feeling a bit chilly, enjoying the fact that I don't have to go out at 10:30pm to shut off the generator today! Of course, tomorrow the electricity will be turned off again ... but for now, I'll just enjoy the brief respite :)
Monday, April 21, 2008
A rainy census eve
It's 25C, and pouring rain. Our compound has turned into a swamp. I'm thankful for my umbrella and the old gum boots that I found in the guesthouse last year. I'm going to need them to get to the office tomorrow.
However, tomorrow is a holiday! There is a census "lock-down" in the city from midnight tonight until whenever the census is finished tomorrow. The first census since 1983 was supposed to be held last week - people were to be counted in the place where they slept on the night of April 14. On April 12, the census was postponed until the end of this year. A few days ago, we heard that the census was back on - this time, people are to be counted where they sleep tonight. And no one is supposed to move until the census is done. So no one goes to work. No one goes to the market. No one goes to the airport. No one goes anywhere. It should be interesting to see what tomorrow brings...
Anyways, I wouldn't want to go anywhere if it keeps raining like this!
However, tomorrow is a holiday! There is a census "lock-down" in the city from midnight tonight until whenever the census is finished tomorrow. The first census since 1983 was supposed to be held last week - people were to be counted in the place where they slept on the night of April 14. On April 12, the census was postponed until the end of this year. A few days ago, we heard that the census was back on - this time, people are to be counted where they sleep tonight. And no one is supposed to move until the census is done. So no one goes to work. No one goes to the market. No one goes to the airport. No one goes anywhere. It should be interesting to see what tomorrow brings...
Anyways, I wouldn't want to go anywhere if it keeps raining like this!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
And on a more serious note...
This evening, for our fellowship group, we had a visiting vicar (I love that word - ever so Jane Austen!) share the devotions with us. It was truly a word from God for all of us here. I don't want to worry or frighten anyone back home, but there have been some scary robberies and things like that happening around here over the past few weeks. Last Sunday night, some of my good friends were targeted, but God amazingly protected them (and their property) from any harm. A few other NGOs were also targeted this week. So everyone is a little bit on high alert, and we've all been a bit uneasy, and yes, even a bit fearful at times, about the security situation these past few weeks.
But this vicar from the UK gave us his testimony and shared from Psalm 27 tonight. It was one of those evenings when you know that someone is really just sharing the words that God wanted us to hear tonight. There is such comfort in the Word, and I'm really thankful that God has not left us alone, and that he does care for us, and even, sometimes, for our stuff! So I don't write this to worry anyone, but just to say that we CAN trust the Lord, and that He is the one who we depend on, whether it's over here or over there, for our lives every day.
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
But this vicar from the UK gave us his testimony and shared from Psalm 27 tonight. It was one of those evenings when you know that someone is really just sharing the words that God wanted us to hear tonight. There is such comfort in the Word, and I'm really thankful that God has not left us alone, and that he does care for us, and even, sometimes, for our stuff! So I don't write this to worry anyone, but just to say that we CAN trust the Lord, and that He is the one who we depend on, whether it's over here or over there, for our lives every day.
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh, [a]
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
A typical Sunday
Well, a typical Sunday means that nothing typical actually happened... except that that's typical that nothing typical happened...
Anyways, I had a really nice morning. It was cool, so I just layed in my bed, dozing, enjoying the coolness of the day, thinking about the week that's past and the week ahead... it was lovely! I finally got up, had some porridge, which Jackie had made when she got up a few hours earlier, and then listened to a really good John Piper sermon on my MP3 player. I love that guy. This one was about showing hospitality to people, and how our love for the folks around us (whether we like them or not!) flows from the love that we have for God and the love that He has for us.
Nothing deep that I hadn't known before, but a really good encouragement to me, as we have a pretty steady stream of people in and out of our compound on a daily basis... and even just giving someone a cup of water when they come by looking for something is showing them hospitality, which, quite honestly, takes a lot of effort when there are so many other things to do and it's so hot... So I'm feeling encouraged and motivated again to try to treat people as I should, because that honors God, and that's why I'm here. Doesn't matter so much if I single-handedly kick start a country's education system or support the work of Bible Translation... what matters is if I honor and glorify God in the little things of loving the people who stumble into my life every day!
After a refreshing morning, I led another expedition to the river for lunch. This time we went to a different restaurant, where we could sit right on the river bank to eat. It was a BEAUTIFUL day today - over cast, breezy, just spitting a few rain drops now and then. So we were almost cold sitting on the river bank! As we sat waiting for our food, we watched a bit of a drama unfold. The restaurant we were at happened to be just a few meters down from the barge landing. One barge took off from the docks, and was headed downstream. Of course, since the barge sort of backs out of the docks, they have to make a bit of a circle in the middle of the river to turn themselves pointing the right direction downstream.
This barge made a big wide circle... and then kept going into another circle. And then he kept going into another circle. And then he started moving towards the bank a little farther downstream. And he started going closer and closer to the bank, and it didn't seem that anything the captain was doing could control the barge. Remember, this is a huge barge on a huge, very fast flowing River!
And notice on the far left side of the photo is the wreckage of a previous barge crash?! So we were all watching with bated breath, waiting to see what was going to happen with this barge. Sure enough it got hung up on the bank.
Fortunately, we weren't too far from the barge docks, so someone called for help, and another barge swung out and came to tow the first barge back to the docks!
We were all sitting there being very impressed by the skill of the second barge captain. It was amazing how he piloted his own huge barge against the current, while swinging the first barge right where he needed it to be. There was drama on the high seas today!
Anyways, I had a really nice morning. It was cool, so I just layed in my bed, dozing, enjoying the coolness of the day, thinking about the week that's past and the week ahead... it was lovely! I finally got up, had some porridge, which Jackie had made when she got up a few hours earlier, and then listened to a really good John Piper sermon on my MP3 player. I love that guy. This one was about showing hospitality to people, and how our love for the folks around us (whether we like them or not!) flows from the love that we have for God and the love that He has for us.
Nothing deep that I hadn't known before, but a really good encouragement to me, as we have a pretty steady stream of people in and out of our compound on a daily basis... and even just giving someone a cup of water when they come by looking for something is showing them hospitality, which, quite honestly, takes a lot of effort when there are so many other things to do and it's so hot... So I'm feeling encouraged and motivated again to try to treat people as I should, because that honors God, and that's why I'm here. Doesn't matter so much if I single-handedly kick start a country's education system or support the work of Bible Translation... what matters is if I honor and glorify God in the little things of loving the people who stumble into my life every day!
After a refreshing morning, I led another expedition to the river for lunch. This time we went to a different restaurant, where we could sit right on the river bank to eat. It was a BEAUTIFUL day today - over cast, breezy, just spitting a few rain drops now and then. So we were almost cold sitting on the river bank! As we sat waiting for our food, we watched a bit of a drama unfold. The restaurant we were at happened to be just a few meters down from the barge landing. One barge took off from the docks, and was headed downstream. Of course, since the barge sort of backs out of the docks, they have to make a bit of a circle in the middle of the river to turn themselves pointing the right direction downstream.
This barge made a big wide circle... and then kept going into another circle. And then he kept going into another circle. And then he started moving towards the bank a little farther downstream. And he started going closer and closer to the bank, and it didn't seem that anything the captain was doing could control the barge. Remember, this is a huge barge on a huge, very fast flowing River!
And notice on the far left side of the photo is the wreckage of a previous barge crash?! So we were all watching with bated breath, waiting to see what was going to happen with this barge. Sure enough it got hung up on the bank.Fortunately, we weren't too far from the barge docks, so someone called for help, and another barge swung out and came to tow the first barge back to the docks!
We were all sitting there being very impressed by the skill of the second barge captain. It was amazing how he piloted his own huge barge against the current, while swinging the first barge right where he needed it to be. There was drama on the high seas today!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
I think I need a nap...
The electricity came on last evening at our compound at about 6! Whoo hoo! Good thing, too, 'cause it's a sweaty day. Not extremely hot (only 36 or 37C), but humid. I have fled to an air conditioned office this afternoon, just because I'm tired and the heat was starting to make me grumpy! One of the wonderful things about living in this internet age is that I can listen to one of my favorite radio stations from home online! I just heard that it's -10C, and -20C with the wind chill! Man, what I wouldn't do for a little snow around here!
Yesterday was a pretty hot day, too - a three shower day, in fact. I quit working a little early (at 5pm), and took a nice warm shower. By the time the troops were gathered for Elizabeth's birthday dinner, I had worked up a sweat again :( Oh well, everyone else had, too, so it doesn't seem so bad!
We all wanted pizza, so we started out at our usual pizza place... we sat for a while, and finally someone came to take our drink order. After ordering our drinks, we found out that their generator was broken, so they couldn't make any food! So we all piled back into the truck (9 white folks, plus Richard - 5 white faces in the back of the pick up, and 5 in the extended cab!) and drove to a place by the River which I heard had pizza. We were quite the sight driving through town in that truck all together! But it was great fun. Somehow, I had become the expedition leader, so I was glad that I was finally able to find some pizza for everyone!
By the time we got home, it was almost 9 pm, but I wasn't finished sweating - had to do my usual bed-time chores. At least my little cat is starting to come along on all the chores with me these days! I had a nice chat with our night guard as I gave him his tea, because he was telling me all about Zane's nocturnal habits!
Jackie and I watched the final episode of Season 1 of Heroes last night, as well. I'm really enjoying that series, and I'm looking forward to starting Season 2 sometime this week! Someone also brought me some dvds with some episodes of ER, Jeopardy and Oprah that had been recorded off tv in Minnisota a few years ago! Random, I know, but Jackie and I had a great time a few nights ago watching ER, though I think the best part was the commercials :)
Today has also been a crazy day! Started out by bringing Richard to the airport and going to the Immigration desk/office there to register one of the guests who's come to visit (everyone has to register with the central gov't within three days of arriving). It's a process that involves a lot of photocopying, and $65. And I do it a lot for various people, so all of the guys in the immigration office there are getting to know me quite well. My friend that always remembers my name wasn't there, though - he must have been in the arrivals section today! I had to leave Richard there, so I said farewell to him, braved the motorbike taxi drivers in the parking lot who were cheering me on as I backed the truck out, and came home to a house full here.
There is an enthronement of a new bishop in the Anglican church here tomorrow, so people are coming from far and near to take part in that whole thing. So there was a steady stream of people in and out of the guesthouse this morning, coming to visit everyone and anyone! So I've fled the guesthouse to get a bit of space... plus there's some cool air in here! I think I might just bring in a pillow and have a little nap on the floor here... except that I need to do the things that I'm procrastinating doing... photocopying some back-translation, thinking about the schedule for our upcoming workshop, organizing my handouts to print, entering data for mileage charges or generator costs... oh, goodness, I've got a few things to get done yet this afternoon, so I'd better get at it... even though what I really think I need is a nap...
Yesterday was a pretty hot day, too - a three shower day, in fact. I quit working a little early (at 5pm), and took a nice warm shower. By the time the troops were gathered for Elizabeth's birthday dinner, I had worked up a sweat again :( Oh well, everyone else had, too, so it doesn't seem so bad!
We all wanted pizza, so we started out at our usual pizza place... we sat for a while, and finally someone came to take our drink order. After ordering our drinks, we found out that their generator was broken, so they couldn't make any food! So we all piled back into the truck (9 white folks, plus Richard - 5 white faces in the back of the pick up, and 5 in the extended cab!) and drove to a place by the River which I heard had pizza. We were quite the sight driving through town in that truck all together! But it was great fun. Somehow, I had become the expedition leader, so I was glad that I was finally able to find some pizza for everyone!
By the time we got home, it was almost 9 pm, but I wasn't finished sweating - had to do my usual bed-time chores. At least my little cat is starting to come along on all the chores with me these days! I had a nice chat with our night guard as I gave him his tea, because he was telling me all about Zane's nocturnal habits!
Jackie and I watched the final episode of Season 1 of Heroes last night, as well. I'm really enjoying that series, and I'm looking forward to starting Season 2 sometime this week! Someone also brought me some dvds with some episodes of ER, Jeopardy and Oprah that had been recorded off tv in Minnisota a few years ago! Random, I know, but Jackie and I had a great time a few nights ago watching ER, though I think the best part was the commercials :)
Today has also been a crazy day! Started out by bringing Richard to the airport and going to the Immigration desk/office there to register one of the guests who's come to visit (everyone has to register with the central gov't within three days of arriving). It's a process that involves a lot of photocopying, and $65. And I do it a lot for various people, so all of the guys in the immigration office there are getting to know me quite well. My friend that always remembers my name wasn't there, though - he must have been in the arrivals section today! I had to leave Richard there, so I said farewell to him, braved the motorbike taxi drivers in the parking lot who were cheering me on as I backed the truck out, and came home to a house full here.
There is an enthronement of a new bishop in the Anglican church here tomorrow, so people are coming from far and near to take part in that whole thing. So there was a steady stream of people in and out of the guesthouse this morning, coming to visit everyone and anyone! So I've fled the guesthouse to get a bit of space... plus there's some cool air in here! I think I might just bring in a pillow and have a little nap on the floor here... except that I need to do the things that I'm procrastinating doing... photocopying some back-translation, thinking about the schedule for our upcoming workshop, organizing my handouts to print, entering data for mileage charges or generator costs... oh, goodness, I've got a few things to get done yet this afternoon, so I'd better get at it... even though what I really think I need is a nap...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The funeral
So I mentioned that I had been to a funeral yesterday. Just for interests' sake, I'll write a little about what that was like - funerals are always a "cultural" experience.
One of the girls who helps us in the guesthouse, Mary, had lost two of her small brothers in an accident in the river. It's really tragic, especially since both boys were from the same family.
When a member of a family dies, everyone comes from far and near to sit in the family compound. So Jackie and I went with Richard and Vicky (the other girl who helps us in the guesthouse) to sit for a little while. We drove up to the compound, and there were probably 100 people sitting around in the yard, just sitting in chairs that had been brought from all corners of the neighborhood, some lounging, 4 or 5 to a bed, others laying on mats on the ground. Richard had to go over to the "men's" side, and we went over to the "women's" side. Mary greeted us, and almost broke my heart how sad she looked. We all gave her a hug, and then some people were ushered off some chairs to make room for us.
Of course, I don't think there were many white folks who were coming and going in that neighborhood, so we were really the center of attention. All eyes were on us as we walked in! Someone was also sent to get us some bottled water and sodas. Thankfully, they also brought some for Vicky and Richard, and not just us white folks! I guess they were treated as honorary special guests because they came with us.
Perhaps because we were the white folks, and few of the women would be able to speak English to us, a few of the men-folk crossed over to the women's side to say a few words to us. They were very kind, actually, in telling us the situation surrounding the boys' deaths, and thanking us for coming to sit with the family.
After a little while, the food started coming out. Everyone was sitting in little groups, and someone came around with a pitcher of water, which they poured over everyone's hands to wash them. Then out came the food on big platters. Though we had just eaten lunch a little while earlier, the food tasted really good, and I ended up eating quite a lot! We had typical food - a flat bread, which is sort of like injera, and made with sorghum, as well as a sort of a porridge, sort of the consistency of dry mashed potatoes, like Kenyan ugali made from maize flour, along with a sauce made from greens and okra. Ok, so the okra sauce was a little slimy, and it was pretty hard to eat with just a few bits of flat bread and mashed potatoes! Plus, we were being watched while we tried to manage this all!
After the food was taken away and cleaned up, I started making faces at all the babies that were gathered around on the women's side. So someone found a baby for me to hold. Of course, this poor child had never seen a white girl before, so she took one look at me and started screaming. So I gave her back to her mommy right away! But she was so cute! Now all the people who were watching us probably think that white girls don't know nothing about holding babies!
As soon as I gave the baby back, I heard Richard give a little whistle. It was time to go. So we all piled back into the car, and compared notes about who we had talked to, and what we had found out. This poor family has seen a lot of death in the past few years - much too much.
Please pray for this family as they mourn the loss of two more children.
One of the girls who helps us in the guesthouse, Mary, had lost two of her small brothers in an accident in the river. It's really tragic, especially since both boys were from the same family.
When a member of a family dies, everyone comes from far and near to sit in the family compound. So Jackie and I went with Richard and Vicky (the other girl who helps us in the guesthouse) to sit for a little while. We drove up to the compound, and there were probably 100 people sitting around in the yard, just sitting in chairs that had been brought from all corners of the neighborhood, some lounging, 4 or 5 to a bed, others laying on mats on the ground. Richard had to go over to the "men's" side, and we went over to the "women's" side. Mary greeted us, and almost broke my heart how sad she looked. We all gave her a hug, and then some people were ushered off some chairs to make room for us.
Of course, I don't think there were many white folks who were coming and going in that neighborhood, so we were really the center of attention. All eyes were on us as we walked in! Someone was also sent to get us some bottled water and sodas. Thankfully, they also brought some for Vicky and Richard, and not just us white folks! I guess they were treated as honorary special guests because they came with us.
Perhaps because we were the white folks, and few of the women would be able to speak English to us, a few of the men-folk crossed over to the women's side to say a few words to us. They were very kind, actually, in telling us the situation surrounding the boys' deaths, and thanking us for coming to sit with the family.
After a little while, the food started coming out. Everyone was sitting in little groups, and someone came around with a pitcher of water, which they poured over everyone's hands to wash them. Then out came the food on big platters. Though we had just eaten lunch a little while earlier, the food tasted really good, and I ended up eating quite a lot! We had typical food - a flat bread, which is sort of like injera, and made with sorghum, as well as a sort of a porridge, sort of the consistency of dry mashed potatoes, like Kenyan ugali made from maize flour, along with a sauce made from greens and okra. Ok, so the okra sauce was a little slimy, and it was pretty hard to eat with just a few bits of flat bread and mashed potatoes! Plus, we were being watched while we tried to manage this all!
After the food was taken away and cleaned up, I started making faces at all the babies that were gathered around on the women's side. So someone found a baby for me to hold. Of course, this poor child had never seen a white girl before, so she took one look at me and started screaming. So I gave her back to her mommy right away! But she was so cute! Now all the people who were watching us probably think that white girls don't know nothing about holding babies!
As soon as I gave the baby back, I heard Richard give a little whistle. It was time to go. So we all piled back into the car, and compared notes about who we had talked to, and what we had found out. This poor family has seen a lot of death in the past few years - much too much.
Please pray for this family as they mourn the loss of two more children.
Pumpkins and husbands
What do these two things have in common, you might ask... Well the great linguistic discovery of the day happens to involve these things items.
In one of the languages here, the following sentences:
"She married a bad man"
and
"She bought a bad pumpkin"
differ only in the tone on one of the vowels.
There's a euphemism in there somewhere, I'm sure!
In one of the languages here, the following sentences:
"She married a bad man"
and
"She bought a bad pumpkin"
differ only in the tone on one of the vowels.
There's a euphemism in there somewhere, I'm sure!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Time flies when you're having... fun?
Oh man, I can't believe I haven't blogged since Sunday! Time flies, man.
And now I gotta go turn off the generator. It's been raining (wow!), so there are too many mosquitoes flying around to be able to sit for too long outside of my mossie net after the generator goes off :( And I already had a shower tonight, so I don't want to slime myself in mosquito repellent. Man, life is tough.
Will write more tomorrow. I went to a funeral yesterday, which is noteworthy, so remind me to blog about that tomorrow.
But for now, good night.
And now I gotta go turn off the generator. It's been raining (wow!), so there are too many mosquitoes flying around to be able to sit for too long outside of my mossie net after the generator goes off :( And I already had a shower tonight, so I don't want to slime myself in mosquito repellent. Man, life is tough.
Will write more tomorrow. I went to a funeral yesterday, which is noteworthy, so remind me to blog about that tomorrow.
But for now, good night.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Me, I had a holiday!
Yup, I took a long weekend holiday! I just returned this afternoon from a most relaxing weekend away! It was SO nice to go away for three days and not have ANYTHING to do but enjoy being with my friends!
One of my good friends from home, Shannon, came through Entebbe on the weekend, so I flew down on Thursday afternoon to visit with her. Actually, it worked out really well, since one of my colleagues here also had to fly down there this weekend to get her computer fixed, and she really doesn't like travelling by herself, so we went together. It also helped in that I could use all of her luggage allowance (25 whole kilos!) to bring back stuff for the guesthouse - milk powder, tea bags, laundry soap... things which the guesthouse goes through like water, but are a fraction of the cost down in Uganda!
Anyways, I went down on Thursday, was picked up at the airport by some friends, and taken to Grace's house in Entebbe. When we drove up, her whole family was waiting on the porch for me - Grace, Bridger and Sanyu (the dogs) and Ella (the girl!). Grace has adopted a little three year old girl, and boy, is she ever a sweetie pie! It was so nice on Thursday afternoon, just sitting on Grace's porch, drinking fruit juice, enjoying the beautiful flowers, the green grass, the cool, fresh air, and catching up on the last several months since we'd seen each other. When Grace was up here with me for those months last year, we were completely inseparable, and it's been about 9 months now since I've seen her... so we had a lot of talking to do!
On Thursday evening, one of our Ugandan friends invited us to her house for dinner, which was also great fun, and so nice to see this friend again. She's a Ugandan girl who's doing mother tongue literacy work there, so we have a lot in common and can talk "literacy" together :)
On Friday morning, my friend Shannon arrived from Canada! Whoo hoo! It was SO awesome to see her again. And wow, what a trooper Shannon is. Grace and I were on a "keep Shannon awake" campaign through the entire day, and she did amazingly well (it was for her own good - the longer you stay awake, the less jet lag you get!). We let her have a shower, then we dragged her into Kampala to go shopping and to have lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant with some other friends. Grace's neighbor, Katharine, came along with us in the car, too, which was great! I just love getting to know people!
Again, Shannon did great at staying awake, even walked down to the Lake a back with me. It was a beautiful walk, and we had fun swatting the lake flies, watching the beautiful colorful birds in the bright flowers, and admiring the monkeys. We even got to watch a dvd and an episode of Smallville before she completely crashed!
The next day, we all jumped in the car, dropped Katharine's husband, Gift (I just LOVE that name!) off in Kampala, and continued on our merry way through Kampala traffic. Here's a picture of Grace navigating that traffic.
Me and Ella sat entertaining each other in the back seat of the car for a few hours. Here's a picture of the cute little thing in her car seat BEFORE she wiped her nose with her hankie. That kid loves her hankie!
After a few hours in the car - a few hours on smooth, paved roads, I might add, we made it to our final destination. Mexican food! Poor Shannon thought she was coming to Africa, but really, me and Grace were taking her to all the "westernized" restaurants and shops, 'cause we were on holiday, too!
After we were thoroughly stuffed with yummy Mexican food, we did manage to waddle down to the Source of the Nile!
Several years ago, my dad helped to get me hooked on books about all these old colonial explorers like Speke and Baker and their adventures as they journeyed through jungles and swamps to be the first Europeans to "discover" the source of the great Nile River. And of course, I've lived in cities on the Nile for a few years now, too, and have quite a soft spot in my heart for this amazing river. 
So to actually see the place where it all begins was really quite amazing, and something I didn't really think I'd ever see!
But there I was. Reading the plaques like an everyday tourist and the very beginning of the Nile. So cool.
For a reasonable amount of money, we were able to hire a boat to take us up stream a little ways to the edge of Lake Victoria, and wander around a little island for a little while. It was so cool. It was Ella's first ever boat ride. It was Shannon's first ever boat ride in Africa. 
And it was my first journey to discover the source of the Nile for myself. Really, really cool. I think the boat guys liked us, too, because they first told us they would take us out for 15 minutes... but it turned into more like a 30 minute boat ride :)
Of course, we also had to sit and have a drink by the Nile. Cokes are SO cheap in Uganda. And between us, we had to split a "Nile Special", brewed at the source of the Nile.
It was still quite a long drive home, though, so we had to get going before it got too late. Ella was amazing the entire day. She's the quietest little three year old I know! I was amazed at how well she just sat in the car seat and kept herself pretty well entertained without much work on our part - of course, she did quite a bit of entertaining of us all weekend... somehow, it just seems like things are so much more fun when you've got a cute little kid around!
We stopped to buy some bananas on the way home - one of the best parts of road tripping in Uganda is that you don't even have to get out of your car to get snacks! As soon as you pull off onto the side of the highway at the little "rest stops", your car is surrounded by people selling stuff - everything from cold bottled water to chicken on a stick. Yup, really, you can get a quarter of a chicken on a stick, bbq-ed on a little grill by the side of the road! I sampled a stick full of bbq-ed chunks of beef on a stick (thought the meat chunks would be safer than the chicken, as it's harder to tell if chicken is well cooked or not...). It's seriously a stick taken off of a tree somewhere, with cubes of beef skewered onto it, then roasted over the coals. And man, was it ever tasty! I wish I could have gotten a picture of the whole scene... but when your car is surrounded by 15 guys with their hands in your car, trying to sell you something, it's not exactly the opportune time to get out the camera :)
We did make it home safe and sound, which, considering the way people drive around there, is not something to take for granted! But we had a great time all together on our little road trip. And again, Shannon was amazing at staying awake and getting over her jet lag! I guess me and Grace are just such riveting company and brilliant conversationalists...
Early this morning, we took Shannon to the airport, then a few hours later, Grace and Ella dropped me off at the airport, and now I'm back home, after my whirlwind tour of Uganda! Man, it was good to be away for a while. But it's also good to be home.
It's now 11pm, and I didn't realize what time it is, since we're on CITY POWER back here again! That's 4 days of power in the last week! And it's raining. So I've got cold toes. I wasn't paying attention to the time because I didn't have to go turn off the generator tonight! Instead, I've got to go around the house and actually turn the lights off tonight. Mmmm, I'm SO looking forward to sleeping under a sheet tonight to keep my tootsies warm!
One of my good friends from home, Shannon, came through Entebbe on the weekend, so I flew down on Thursday afternoon to visit with her. Actually, it worked out really well, since one of my colleagues here also had to fly down there this weekend to get her computer fixed, and she really doesn't like travelling by herself, so we went together. It also helped in that I could use all of her luggage allowance (25 whole kilos!) to bring back stuff for the guesthouse - milk powder, tea bags, laundry soap... things which the guesthouse goes through like water, but are a fraction of the cost down in Uganda!
Anyways, I went down on Thursday, was picked up at the airport by some friends, and taken to Grace's house in Entebbe. When we drove up, her whole family was waiting on the porch for me - Grace, Bridger and Sanyu (the dogs) and Ella (the girl!). Grace has adopted a little three year old girl, and boy, is she ever a sweetie pie! It was so nice on Thursday afternoon, just sitting on Grace's porch, drinking fruit juice, enjoying the beautiful flowers, the green grass, the cool, fresh air, and catching up on the last several months since we'd seen each other. When Grace was up here with me for those months last year, we were completely inseparable, and it's been about 9 months now since I've seen her... so we had a lot of talking to do!
On Thursday evening, one of our Ugandan friends invited us to her house for dinner, which was also great fun, and so nice to see this friend again. She's a Ugandan girl who's doing mother tongue literacy work there, so we have a lot in common and can talk "literacy" together :)
On Friday morning, my friend Shannon arrived from Canada! Whoo hoo! It was SO awesome to see her again. And wow, what a trooper Shannon is. Grace and I were on a "keep Shannon awake" campaign through the entire day, and she did amazingly well (it was for her own good - the longer you stay awake, the less jet lag you get!). We let her have a shower, then we dragged her into Kampala to go shopping and to have lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant with some other friends. Grace's neighbor, Katharine, came along with us in the car, too, which was great! I just love getting to know people!
Again, Shannon did great at staying awake, even walked down to the Lake a back with me. It was a beautiful walk, and we had fun swatting the lake flies, watching the beautiful colorful birds in the bright flowers, and admiring the monkeys. We even got to watch a dvd and an episode of Smallville before she completely crashed!The next day, we all jumped in the car, dropped Katharine's husband, Gift (I just LOVE that name!) off in Kampala, and continued on our merry way through Kampala traffic. Here's a picture of Grace navigating that traffic.
Me and Ella sat entertaining each other in the back seat of the car for a few hours. Here's a picture of the cute little thing in her car seat BEFORE she wiped her nose with her hankie. That kid loves her hankie!
After a few hours in the car - a few hours on smooth, paved roads, I might add, we made it to our final destination. Mexican food! Poor Shannon thought she was coming to Africa, but really, me and Grace were taking her to all the "westernized" restaurants and shops, 'cause we were on holiday, too!After we were thoroughly stuffed with yummy Mexican food, we did manage to waddle down to the Source of the Nile!
Several years ago, my dad helped to get me hooked on books about all these old colonial explorers like Speke and Baker and their adventures as they journeyed through jungles and swamps to be the first Europeans to "discover" the source of the great Nile River. And of course, I've lived in cities on the Nile for a few years now, too, and have quite a soft spot in my heart for this amazing river. 
So to actually see the place where it all begins was really quite amazing, and something I didn't really think I'd ever see!
But there I was. Reading the plaques like an everyday tourist and the very beginning of the Nile. So cool.
For a reasonable amount of money, we were able to hire a boat to take us up stream a little ways to the edge of Lake Victoria, and wander around a little island for a little while. It was so cool. It was Ella's first ever boat ride. It was Shannon's first ever boat ride in Africa. 
And it was my first journey to discover the source of the Nile for myself. Really, really cool. I think the boat guys liked us, too, because they first told us they would take us out for 15 minutes... but it turned into more like a 30 minute boat ride :)Of course, we also had to sit and have a drink by the Nile. Cokes are SO cheap in Uganda. And between us, we had to split a "Nile Special", brewed at the source of the Nile.
It was still quite a long drive home, though, so we had to get going before it got too late. Ella was amazing the entire day. She's the quietest little three year old I know! I was amazed at how well she just sat in the car seat and kept herself pretty well entertained without much work on our part - of course, she did quite a bit of entertaining of us all weekend... somehow, it just seems like things are so much more fun when you've got a cute little kid around!
We stopped to buy some bananas on the way home - one of the best parts of road tripping in Uganda is that you don't even have to get out of your car to get snacks! As soon as you pull off onto the side of the highway at the little "rest stops", your car is surrounded by people selling stuff - everything from cold bottled water to chicken on a stick. Yup, really, you can get a quarter of a chicken on a stick, bbq-ed on a little grill by the side of the road! I sampled a stick full of bbq-ed chunks of beef on a stick (thought the meat chunks would be safer than the chicken, as it's harder to tell if chicken is well cooked or not...). It's seriously a stick taken off of a tree somewhere, with cubes of beef skewered onto it, then roasted over the coals. And man, was it ever tasty! I wish I could have gotten a picture of the whole scene... but when your car is surrounded by 15 guys with their hands in your car, trying to sell you something, it's not exactly the opportune time to get out the camera :)We did make it home safe and sound, which, considering the way people drive around there, is not something to take for granted! But we had a great time all together on our little road trip. And again, Shannon was amazing at staying awake and getting over her jet lag! I guess me and Grace are just such riveting company and brilliant conversationalists...
Early this morning, we took Shannon to the airport, then a few hours later, Grace and Ella dropped me off at the airport, and now I'm back home, after my whirlwind tour of Uganda! Man, it was good to be away for a while. But it's also good to be home.
It's now 11pm, and I didn't realize what time it is, since we're on CITY POWER back here again! That's 4 days of power in the last week! And it's raining. So I've got cold toes. I wasn't paying attention to the time because I didn't have to go turn off the generator tonight! Instead, I've got to go around the house and actually turn the lights off tonight. Mmmm, I'm SO looking forward to sleeping under a sheet tonight to keep my tootsies warm!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Just about as good as it gets...
Yup, this afternoon was just about as good as it gets. Just after lunch, me, Jackie, and Janet (someone who used to work here many moons ago and is visiting us this week) bundled ourselves into Jackie's little Suzuki off to the Ministry of Education. Of course, the roads to the Ministry change every time we go, so it's always a bit of a maze to get into that area! Someone important must have been around, too, since there were lots of pick up trucks with big guns mounted on the back sitting around in what must have been "strategic" locations.
Anyways, we managed to find our way into the Ministry, right at the appointed hour. And then we sat. And sat. And sat some more. After a little while, the office manager brought us into the Minister's office, where we sat some more. But at least we were sitting in these giant leather chairs, freezing in the A/C, sipping bottled water and watching Animal Planet on the TV in the corner of the office! Don't quite understand why, but anyone who is anyone around these parts has a tv in the corner of their office. Always on, of course. At least this one was tuned to Animal Planet and not horrible hip hop music videos as they often are!
Anyways, after waiting for nearly an hour and half, the Minister showed up and we had a really nice visit with him. He's a nice guy, and it was great to sit and listen to him pontificate about the value of mother tongue education for a while :) He's so behind what we're doing, which is great, but he also has some very high expectations of our organization and what we can do for them. So we're really working with him to help him understand this whole thing about bringing in other partners to play a part, as well. These visits are all a part of my job here - just schmoozing with people in high places to make sure they're on our side :)
As we were meeting with the Minister, the clouds were rolling in. The breeze was whipping through the trees, and it was rapidly cooling off. Then, when we rolled into the parking lot here at our compound, I realized that I didn't hear the rumble of the generator. At first, my stomach lurched, as I thought it must have broken down or run out of deisel or something. But then one of my favorite translator's came sauntering by, with a grin on his toothless face - we were enjoying city electricity!
So, really, this is just about as good as it gets. It was so cool and breezy that we didn't even NEED a fan on, and if we did, indeed, want a fan on, we just had to flip a switch and voila! Electricity!
I also went out and ate some chicken for dinner tonight at the Sacred Sister's restaurant. Yum yum. It was even better because I was almost cold while we sat there munching on our chicken. By the time we got home this evening, the electricity was STILL on. And it's cold. I might even turn off the fan in my bedroom to sleep tonight. So really, this is about as good as it gets here! I almost don't want to go to Uganda to visit my friend tomorrow!
But don't worry, Shannon! I'll be there to fetch you from the airport on Friday morning! I'm SO excited because one of my dear friends is going to be in Uganda this weekend. So I'm going to see her! Seems almost a shame to go while there's city electricity, though :)
Anyways, we managed to find our way into the Ministry, right at the appointed hour. And then we sat. And sat. And sat some more. After a little while, the office manager brought us into the Minister's office, where we sat some more. But at least we were sitting in these giant leather chairs, freezing in the A/C, sipping bottled water and watching Animal Planet on the TV in the corner of the office! Don't quite understand why, but anyone who is anyone around these parts has a tv in the corner of their office. Always on, of course. At least this one was tuned to Animal Planet and not horrible hip hop music videos as they often are!
Anyways, after waiting for nearly an hour and half, the Minister showed up and we had a really nice visit with him. He's a nice guy, and it was great to sit and listen to him pontificate about the value of mother tongue education for a while :) He's so behind what we're doing, which is great, but he also has some very high expectations of our organization and what we can do for them. So we're really working with him to help him understand this whole thing about bringing in other partners to play a part, as well. These visits are all a part of my job here - just schmoozing with people in high places to make sure they're on our side :)
As we were meeting with the Minister, the clouds were rolling in. The breeze was whipping through the trees, and it was rapidly cooling off. Then, when we rolled into the parking lot here at our compound, I realized that I didn't hear the rumble of the generator. At first, my stomach lurched, as I thought it must have broken down or run out of deisel or something. But then one of my favorite translator's came sauntering by, with a grin on his toothless face - we were enjoying city electricity!
So, really, this is just about as good as it gets. It was so cool and breezy that we didn't even NEED a fan on, and if we did, indeed, want a fan on, we just had to flip a switch and voila! Electricity!
I also went out and ate some chicken for dinner tonight at the Sacred Sister's restaurant. Yum yum. It was even better because I was almost cold while we sat there munching on our chicken. By the time we got home this evening, the electricity was STILL on. And it's cold. I might even turn off the fan in my bedroom to sleep tonight. So really, this is about as good as it gets here! I almost don't want to go to Uganda to visit my friend tomorrow!
But don't worry, Shannon! I'll be there to fetch you from the airport on Friday morning! I'm SO excited because one of my dear friends is going to be in Uganda this weekend. So I'm going to see her! Seems almost a shame to go while there's city electricity, though :)
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
New and Improved!
So I drove with my friend Kathy down the newly opened paved road (never mind that it already has two huge gaping potholes in it) down to the newly uncovered roundabout (the little monument in the middle hearkens back to when the early explorers like Baker were roaming about these parts), took a left onto the second newly opened paved road, and went past the ruins of an old hotel (yet to be improved) to the old squash court, which, to our delight, has been repainted a pristine black and white!
I think I blogged about this squash court before, but I think someone in the expat community must have taken it on themselves to paint the court! It's amazing, as you can actually see where your ball is going now, rather than having the dust colored ball blend into the sort of dust colored old cement walls.
It's really quite amazing to see how things change and usually improve around here in such a short time. Of course, something just get more run down, since this place just tends to break things, but when something new comes up, it's usually really nice for a week or two!
So Kathy and I truly enjoyed our hour of squash this evening. I think my face was still red and sweaty for an hour after we finished playing (we were, after all, stuck in a concrete room which had been baking in the 40C sun all day, and the temperature outside was still in the high 30s!). But it's really refreshing to get out and play and swack the ball around a bit! I did swack it too hard once, though, and it got stuck up in the brickwork on the upper wall... since I didn't carry my step ladder with me, I had to abandon it. So now I owe the Joint Donor Office 1 squash ball. Hopefully I can get that replaced next week, since I have a bit of a supply train coming this way this weekend! Whoo hoo!
And that's all I have to say today.
I think I blogged about this squash court before, but I think someone in the expat community must have taken it on themselves to paint the court! It's amazing, as you can actually see where your ball is going now, rather than having the dust colored ball blend into the sort of dust colored old cement walls.
It's really quite amazing to see how things change and usually improve around here in such a short time. Of course, something just get more run down, since this place just tends to break things, but when something new comes up, it's usually really nice for a week or two!
So Kathy and I truly enjoyed our hour of squash this evening. I think my face was still red and sweaty for an hour after we finished playing (we were, after all, stuck in a concrete room which had been baking in the 40C sun all day, and the temperature outside was still in the high 30s!). But it's really refreshing to get out and play and swack the ball around a bit! I did swack it too hard once, though, and it got stuck up in the brickwork on the upper wall... since I didn't carry my step ladder with me, I had to abandon it. So now I owe the Joint Donor Office 1 squash ball. Hopefully I can get that replaced next week, since I have a bit of a supply train coming this way this weekend! Whoo hoo!
And that's all I have to say today.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Back home
So we managed to make it back from "the city" yesterday. There were a few tense moments when we thought that we were going to need to have a certain piece of paper to give us permission to travel back to our place, but we had the back-up of Richard, who can talk his way out of (or into!) pretty much anything, as well as people praying for us. So when we got escorted into the police office where they asked us for this little non-existent piece of paper, we told them we didn't have it, and they just wrote down our names on a scrap of paper and told us we could continue on our way. I'm rather thankful about that!
Anyways, after getting Richard to help us negotiate our way through the mad-house that was the airport, we arrived home almost on time. Our friend was even waiting for us to fetch us from the airport, so everything really went as smoothly as it possibly could be! Considering where we are, that's quite a miracle in and of itself, so thanks for praying!
I have to admit, though, it was tough to leave that city and get on the plane to come back here. I really loved every minute of my time in that place. Because it's the first city I ever lived in here in Africa, it really has a special place in my little heart. This was the first time I had been back in about 7 years, so it was interesting to see all the changes there.
There are wonderfully huge paved roads, electricity, running water, tall skyscrapers, shopping malls, coffee shops, internet cafes, an amazing public transportation system... everything you could ever want in a city. I'm such a city girl at heart, so it was with mixed feelings that I came back to my overgrown village down here! Things up there have improved since I left several years ago, too. You can really tell that there has been money coming into the city - lots of new buildings, new roads, lots of nice cars driving around, lots of local people spending a lot of money in restaurants and fancy shops, living in huge mansions. It was so nice to be able to go around on the busses and in little taxis and go where we wanted to go - and all the while, not getting much attention paid to me. Down here, you get shouted at everywhere you go, just because my skin is a different color! Up there, people are a bit more reserved and it's not such a big deal to see white folks, so no one pays any attention to you. I didn't get a single marriage proposal in two whole weeks! I loved it.
I tried to post a bunch of photos on facebook, but for some reason, Firefox freezes everytime I try to upload :( So I'll try to put a few here. I don't have that many photos of anything on the streets, since they're pretty strict up there with making sure you have photo permits, and not taking photos of anything "sensitive". So it was hard to get photos of anything out and about on the streets. I also don't want to post any photos of some of my colleagues who are working up there, just 'cause you never know who's going to be reading this blog!!
Here's a photo of a neighborhood where some of my friends up there live. It's very similar to the neighborhood where the guesthouse that I was staying in was located:
And here's a photo of a new coffee shop that's in the same nieghborhood that I used to live in. I went there a few times with different friends in the evening. It's a beautiful outdoor seating area. They have these fans which blow out mists of cool water, so you feel nice and refreshed and cool as you sit and eat your ice cream or sip your latte! Amazing.
There was NOTHING like this in that city when I lived there before! It was quite a treat - which is why I took a photo of it :) 
It was wonderful to be able to just walk out to the main road from where we were staying, flag down a little taxi and go where we wanted to go for a couple of dollars. You could fit 7 people in each little taxi, as they're sort of like a little mini-mini van. So if you fill it up, it's only about 50 cents to go quite a distance! Too bad I don't have any photos of us all packed in one of those little vehicles!
During each day, we were all busy with meetings from about 8:30 am - 5 pm. But after that, we were free to do what we wanted. And anyways, it's much nicer to go out in the evenings. The weather there makes going out in the evening hours so much more pleasant than going out in the heat of the day. The daytime highs were about 44 - 45C each day. But it was a nice dry heat, so it actually just felt really nice. Even though you're constantly sweating, it evaporates as soon as it pops out of your pores. So unlike here, it actually feels like your sweat cools your body, which, I guess, is what it's supposed to do! And instead of being all wet and gross, you just feel dry and cool-ish! Amazing. I like that so much better than the sticky humidity here (by the way, the temp here today is about 39C, but much more humid, yuck).
Anyways, the meetings were really quite good. I was acting as the secretary for those meetings, so I had to be paying attention the whole time - which really helped me stay awake and alert all day. But man, I was tired at the end of each day! I think the meetings went really well, and people are united in our purpose and are happy to do what we need to do to get the job that we're doing done!
One of the highlights up there was the fact that there are some younger families who were at our conference. It was SO nice to have a little baby to hold a few times (let me tell you, that little guy got passed around to all his aunties and grannies, so we were all fighting for a little time to snuggle with him!), and there were some other children that I got to play with and read stories to during the tea and lunch breaks.
One of the real highlights of the week for me was the opportunities I had to meet with a few friends from where I used to live, as well! They have left their homes and families in that country, and are now living in that city. What a gift it was to get together with them again and share with them a bit. It was SO good to see them happy and thriving in their new home. They were all so amazed at the freedom they have to worship and to say what they want, to whom they want, in this country. It was rather funny to hear them speak about the freedom they have in this country - I guess "freedom" is all quite relative!! Here's a picture of us all together:
I also had a little reunion with some of the guys that I worked with SO long ago, and that was very sweet, as well. They are still working on their translation, and are so faithful and committed to the task that they've been called to do. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to see all these wonderful friends and colleagues.
Anyways, after getting Richard to help us negotiate our way through the mad-house that was the airport, we arrived home almost on time. Our friend was even waiting for us to fetch us from the airport, so everything really went as smoothly as it possibly could be! Considering where we are, that's quite a miracle in and of itself, so thanks for praying!
I have to admit, though, it was tough to leave that city and get on the plane to come back here. I really loved every minute of my time in that place. Because it's the first city I ever lived in here in Africa, it really has a special place in my little heart. This was the first time I had been back in about 7 years, so it was interesting to see all the changes there.
There are wonderfully huge paved roads, electricity, running water, tall skyscrapers, shopping malls, coffee shops, internet cafes, an amazing public transportation system... everything you could ever want in a city. I'm such a city girl at heart, so it was with mixed feelings that I came back to my overgrown village down here! Things up there have improved since I left several years ago, too. You can really tell that there has been money coming into the city - lots of new buildings, new roads, lots of nice cars driving around, lots of local people spending a lot of money in restaurants and fancy shops, living in huge mansions. It was so nice to be able to go around on the busses and in little taxis and go where we wanted to go - and all the while, not getting much attention paid to me. Down here, you get shouted at everywhere you go, just because my skin is a different color! Up there, people are a bit more reserved and it's not such a big deal to see white folks, so no one pays any attention to you. I didn't get a single marriage proposal in two whole weeks! I loved it.
I tried to post a bunch of photos on facebook, but for some reason, Firefox freezes everytime I try to upload :( So I'll try to put a few here. I don't have that many photos of anything on the streets, since they're pretty strict up there with making sure you have photo permits, and not taking photos of anything "sensitive". So it was hard to get photos of anything out and about on the streets. I also don't want to post any photos of some of my colleagues who are working up there, just 'cause you never know who's going to be reading this blog!!
Here's a photo of a neighborhood where some of my friends up there live. It's very similar to the neighborhood where the guesthouse that I was staying in was located:
And here's a photo of a new coffee shop that's in the same nieghborhood that I used to live in. I went there a few times with different friends in the evening. It's a beautiful outdoor seating area. They have these fans which blow out mists of cool water, so you feel nice and refreshed and cool as you sit and eat your ice cream or sip your latte! Amazing.
There was NOTHING like this in that city when I lived there before! It was quite a treat - which is why I took a photo of it :) 
It was wonderful to be able to just walk out to the main road from where we were staying, flag down a little taxi and go where we wanted to go for a couple of dollars. You could fit 7 people in each little taxi, as they're sort of like a little mini-mini van. So if you fill it up, it's only about 50 cents to go quite a distance! Too bad I don't have any photos of us all packed in one of those little vehicles!During each day, we were all busy with meetings from about 8:30 am - 5 pm. But after that, we were free to do what we wanted. And anyways, it's much nicer to go out in the evenings. The weather there makes going out in the evening hours so much more pleasant than going out in the heat of the day. The daytime highs were about 44 - 45C each day. But it was a nice dry heat, so it actually just felt really nice. Even though you're constantly sweating, it evaporates as soon as it pops out of your pores. So unlike here, it actually feels like your sweat cools your body, which, I guess, is what it's supposed to do! And instead of being all wet and gross, you just feel dry and cool-ish! Amazing. I like that so much better than the sticky humidity here (by the way, the temp here today is about 39C, but much more humid, yuck).
Anyways, the meetings were really quite good. I was acting as the secretary for those meetings, so I had to be paying attention the whole time - which really helped me stay awake and alert all day. But man, I was tired at the end of each day! I think the meetings went really well, and people are united in our purpose and are happy to do what we need to do to get the job that we're doing done!
One of the highlights up there was the fact that there are some younger families who were at our conference. It was SO nice to have a little baby to hold a few times (let me tell you, that little guy got passed around to all his aunties and grannies, so we were all fighting for a little time to snuggle with him!), and there were some other children that I got to play with and read stories to during the tea and lunch breaks.
One of the real highlights of the week for me was the opportunities I had to meet with a few friends from where I used to live, as well! They have left their homes and families in that country, and are now living in that city. What a gift it was to get together with them again and share with them a bit. It was SO good to see them happy and thriving in their new home. They were all so amazed at the freedom they have to worship and to say what they want, to whom they want, in this country. It was rather funny to hear them speak about the freedom they have in this country - I guess "freedom" is all quite relative!! Here's a picture of us all together:
I also had a little reunion with some of the guys that I worked with SO long ago, and that was very sweet, as well. They are still working on their translation, and are so faithful and committed to the task that they've been called to do. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to see all these wonderful friends and colleagues.
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