a smattering, long overdue

A few more observations:

-Motorcycle (piki-piki) drivers coast downhill to save gas.

-They wash clothes here (by hand) with amazing thoroughness and hang them up inside-out to dry.

-I have seen the same “FROZEN    Adercrombie” shirt in various colors probably a couple dozen times; seems to be a popular choice. 

-Hot Ugandan tea is a very popular beverage here (no matter how hot it is outside). The people here typically like a LOT of sugar in their tea. Sorghum porridge (similar to cream of wheat) is another favorite, especially in one of the districts east of here. Supposedly it is a good source of iron. This is something else which they like very sweet. 

-The word for “no” in Lubwisi is “bah,” which is fun to say.

-Cocoa is the major cash crop in the area. It used to be coffee, until a blight wiped it out. Cocoa drying on the side of road smells horrific and kind of like throw up. 

-Houses are made of sun-baked mud bricks and a supporting bamboo structure. Rooves are usually made of tin or other scrap metal sheets.

-We are very close to the equator here. The sun rises and sets at 7, with approximately a 30-minute window of variation, throughout the year. There are 2 rainy and 2 dry seasons.

-Sizes don’t seem to mean much, or at least are way off from ours. A XXXXL shirt is about a M or L in US sizing. 

-Women (and occasionally men) die their nails with henna.

-There are these tiny gnat-like bugs here called obukakuni, or “no-see-’ems.” They are the worst around dawn and dusk. Their bites look like flat red splotches, about 1/2 to 1 cm in diameter. They LOVE me. I have a ton of them at any given time, regardless of whether I wear long sleeves in the evening or not. They don’t itch until about the next day, and then they sometimes drive me crazy. 

Friday:

-We thought we were attending a lecture on nutrition at the health clinic, but it turned out that we sat in on a “CME” (continuing medical education) session about computers, which was somewhat entertaining. 

-I got to try sorghum porridge afterwards (their CME breakfast) and talk with a kind lab technician.

Task 5: Cook Ugandan Food

-went to the market with Asita (sp?) and her son Alex to do some MAJOR shopping

-brought the food back to her home and began the food preparations for that evening

-sifted and washed beans & rice; cut veggies; Olvie helped cut the goat (thanks, Olvie); prepared and pounded cassava leaves for sombe (they got a good laugh out of us trying to pound them-- “Maybe someday, if you keep at it, you might be as strong as her [the 12 year old girl]”-- haha.)

-had to leave when there was still much to do, but it was a good introduction!

  

The food was for the farewell party that night for Baguma Charles and Pauline, who have been faithfully running the nutrition program the past several years. It was a really nice evening, with lots of yummy food, fun games, and sweet prayers and words.

Saturday, we went to the market with Jess and Anna. Though it was about 90 degrees out, some were still sporting their thick winter jackets. Saturday is the big market day, when the most vendors are out, and Wednesday is the next biggest market day. This week, though, Anna said it was so dead compared with how it usually is on Saturdays. These are hard economic times, and the people are not able to buy much of anything-- probably the reason for the slow market. 

A lot of people have cell phones here, despite the fact that most do not have electricity and get their water from community taps. The phones are pay as you go, though, and you can buy phone airtime in very small increments. Many little shops advertise “phone charging here”-- which is the option that many, if not most, use. 

Overnight in the village:

Saturday afternoon, Olvie and I went with a girl, Jacquelyn, from Christ School (the Christian boarding school in town) to her home to stay the night. It was about a 50 minute walk/ hike up the dirt road and into the jungle, towards the Rwenzori Mountains. The view of the misty mountains, the banana and cocoa trees, the streams, and the lushness in all directions was stunning. As we arrived (around 3:45), the mama came running out to greet us, full of joy and hugs for both of us. There were so many little kids around, all taking turns helping with various tasks, from washing clothes to peeling and cutting onions. They pulled up chairs for us, and each child greeted us with a sweet little curtsey on bended knee and “olaiyo.” Jacquelyn offered us some fresh papaya, the first papaya I have ever actually enjoyed-- it was delicious! We helped mama prepare the cassava leaves and cassava root for cooking. Peeling the cassava was quite a task (and there was so much of it!) Mama was incredibly faster than us but was sure to encourage our pathetic efforts to help. Dinner preparation was definitely a drawn out process. 

We read a bit, looked at photo albums with the kids, and observed mama’s cooking methods until 8, when dinner was ready at last. They set up a mat and lantern in our room and brought us trays of tea and food for us to eat. We had cassava (SO much of it), sombe (the thick “sauce” made of cassava leaves), and a cabbage and palm oil dish. Then it was off to the “cho” (hole-in-the-ground toilet)-- this hole in the ground was even smaller than ours back at the mission. 

We had a twin bed, covered by their only mosquito net, to share. It was a restless night. Olvie, who slept even less that I did, spent the night patching the holes in our mosquito net with tape, staring at the crickets and other critters that were apparently all in our bed, and listening to the hourly beeps of her watch. Earlier than anything should ever be stirring, the rooster began his morning routine of squawking every few minutes-- for hours. I wanted to kill it. 

We had a leisurely morning, a breakfast of tea, fried bread ball things, cassava, and sombe. Then it was off to church around 10:50 (supposedly started at 10). After a few minutes, the pastor asked if we spoke French, I replied yes, and he had our chairs moved to the very front, right by the pulpit. They wanted us to introduce ourselves, so a Congolese girl translated. At one point, Olvie was speaking to me in English, I translated to the girl in French, she spoke to the pastor in French/ Lubwisi, and he relayed the message to the congregation in Lubwisi. It was quite the relay. 

I tried my best to fight the sleepiness during the marathon service, especially since we were right beside the pulpit! It was definitely hard. At one point, I thought I felt a raindrop on my lap, but when I looked down, saw it was a baby gecko-- ew! Thank God I didnn’t scream in the middle of the service. The music was really beautiful. The younger pastor played a hand-held Ugandan harp, someone played a large bass-type harp, one guy played a drum, and several more sang and danced. After 3 offering collections, the service was finally over at 1:40. I really enjoyed talking with the 19-year old girl from the Congo. She recently married a Babwisi man and is now expecting!

Back at Jacquelyn’s house, we had lunch and headed back to Nyahuka with her. I was so thankful for a visit with NO MEAT served! Several people had told me that we, as the guests of honor, would most likely be served meat, regardless of whether the family could afford to eat meat on a regular basis, that I may be offered an entire chicken, that we would likely be served the gizzard, etc, etc. I was really apprehensive about what animal parts I was going to have to choke down. Praise God for not having to even deal with that! 

The mama and aunt “gave us a push” and carried our bags about 10 minutes down the path. That family really showed us genuine hospitality and made us feel so welcome. They served us with joy in their hearts and smiles on their faces. They offered us their best and blessed us richly. 

One of the things that has stood out to me most since our arrival has been the kind, thankful, laughing, and welcoming spirits of the people here. They have been so warm and encouraging, quick to smile, and quick to express appreciation. I have already been so blessed in my interactions with people, just in this first week or so of being here. I hope to learn to adopt their readiness to appreciate and their ability to find things to laugh about.