Boda Boda and City Time

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Today we slept in to some extent this morning. I slept better last night, only hearing the dogs once. Oh, Morris gave us a rooster too, so that was noisy. The mattresses are a sort of memory foam, and apparently my body doesn’t like to move in it, so I half wake up every so often with numb appendages. I took a sort of shower this morning, running the cold water over me as little as possible. My hair got washed and my first few layers of dirt and sunscreen and bug spray and grime got removed.

I made myself a bowl of cereal and decided today that I would try the milk. We have a fridge here at the house, but it is very small and only stores veggies and cut fruit, since the power is so unreliable. The eggs are kept on a shelf, as in the milk, which is apparently packaged to last. But I poured milk on my cereal from a fresh box and it was in fact quite curdled. Large chunks, and it totally smelled like cheese. Needless to say, I gave up on milk for today.

Jordan and Prossy took Sarah, Grace and I into the city today for some errands. Our day got a little backwards because of traffic, so we ended up running around with Jordan and Prossy for a few hours before getting dropped off, as opposed to getting dropped off in the morning and having all day to wander, just the 3 of us. Grace needed to be fitted for her gown for the wedding, which was beautiful, and it took a lot longer than expected. We also picked up some baskets for the introduction on Sunday. A few other random running around spots and then it was time for Sarah and I to get things done. We got some air time for our phone, and finally some shillings, and then we needed to get fitted for our gomezis for the introduction. We picked out our fabric and belts and things, and got measured. She only took 3 measurements, so I’m a little nervous the sleeves and shoulders will be too tight.

Jordan and Prossy left us there, and Grace was our tour guide. She was amazing! Very concerned that we were keeping our money and bags safe, and that we wouldn’t get run over by boda bodas or taxi busses turning closely. Everywhere we went, people stared and called out mzungu! They reached out to us and touched are skin. We walked all around downtown for a few hours. It was crazy! Going up and down hills, trying not to step on people or wares or holes or anything, but still trying to keep an eye on Grace and Sarah. Oh, and making sure my things didn’t get stolen and watching for traffic.

I bought a Mt. Dew, which we were supposed to take a picture of to send to a friend from tour. But the shop where I bought it wouldn’t let me move with the bottles, so she poured it into paraffin bags. It was really weird, and eventually leaked. It tasted good though! I think they wouldn’t let me take the bottles because they get money for turning them in, like in Germany.

Our trip was successful because we found mosquito nets, phone cards, and things for our brothers. Plus nothing got lost or stolen. That sounds like a great trip to me!

When we’d had enough of town, we loaded up in a taxi bus and hit the road. It was quite crowded. They seat 16 or so, but are insured for 14, but usually have more than that. The taxis run the same routes over and over, sort of like busses, so we got out at our stop. There was a small boy in the taxi, about 5 maybe, who just kept staring at me, probably the first mzungu he’d ever seen. Then Grace called us a couple of boda bodas to bring us the rest of the way home. A boda boda is a motorbike that is used as a taxi. They are all over and drive like crazy! We learned never to hold on to the driver’s waist, because they will never stop then. I’ve never even been on a motorcycle in the States, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Grace and Sarah rode on the one driven by Grace’s regular driver, and I was on one by myself. I’m not the epitome of balance, and I was holding on with only one hand, so I was a little nervous at the speed. But both the drivers were great and knew the roads well. It’s amazing how bad the roads are here!

Riding a boda boda is kind of like skydiving. Very fun and exciting, but still a little nerveracking.

When we got back, we found out the a gal here, Carla, tested positive for Malaria. She hasn’t been feeling well for few days. Some of the people we’re with have mixed feelings about malaria medication, so they’re not taking it. Plus they’re not using much bug spray while we’re in town. Sarah and I are both taking antimalarials (I’m taking two, since one is a regular medication), and using bug spray constantly. Irene said she thought people with heightened immune systems just can fight it off better. Let’s hope! I’m not too concerned, and haven’t seen any mosquitoes, but I hear them at night sometimes.

Back at the house, we met with a pastor so he could explain to us the traditional introduction ceremony and what we should expect. Then, we were sitting on the porch and chatting, and saw several kids over the wall. Some of them even climbed the wall and sat on top, looking at us. So, Sarah, Robertta, and I went out to play with them. They thought it was so fun! We played a sort of makeshift soccer game, and then Sarah rolled a tire back and forth with a few. Later, we all sang songs that they learned in school and we knew from our time with the Choir. There were lots of typical things- older kids holding smaller ones, lots of laughter, and very few shoes. One of the older boys, Douglas, was obviously a leader among the 20 or so neighborhood kids we were with. He spoke great English and I showed him how to take pictures with my camera. There was also one, a little younger but still one of the bigger ones, who would NOT smile for the camera. He smiled when I tickled him though.

We came back before it really started getting dark, and then the power went out. We talked in the dark, and cooked in the dark, and ate in the dark, before it came back on. The power here is rationed and gets turned off in different areas on different days. Last night, at the internet café, the power kept dimming causing us to lose connection. We joked that we should ask the neighbors to turn off their lights so we could have enough power. So now Sarah and I are sitting with the lights off, so that others might have internet 😉

Before bed, Sarah and I taught Grace to play Skip-bo, which she picked up quickly and really enjoyed. I offered her chocolate (which we brought) and she sounded surprised and excited to have some!

All in all, it was a good day. It was a lot of fun getting to know Grace and having a chance to talk to her and ask questions. It was certainly an experience seeing the city. So many people, so much pollution, so much noise.

A funny thing about Kampala is the advertising. Most of the buildings are cement and painted brightly with adverts. The most common ones are for phone companies- Orange, Zain, Warid, and MTN- or paint companies. There are also some for something like OxyClean. Also, the phone network Orange has sort of small billboards in the medians in town, with greetings in various languages. Swahili, Luganda, English, Indian and two other dialects of languages in Uganda. One of these includes Jackson’s language. I don’t know what it’s called, but Prossy told me that if I greeted him like that, I would make his day. Many Ugandan men show very little emotion, and Jackson is no exception. But when he opened the gate for us and I said, “agandi!” he got a big smile on his face.

At the market yesterday, we saw a great carving called The African Woman. It showed a woman, walking up a slight incline with a baby around her waist, firewood on her head, a hoe on her shoulder, and something in her hand, which I can’t remember. It was so true, and we’re seeing it more and more as we see more of the city and more people.

CHARACTER PROFILE:
Grace- Grace is a young gal who lives at Prossy and Jordan’s house. She is from a region of Kampala called Makindye (ma chin dee) and met Prossy there. She is probably my age, and is in Senior 5 in secondary school, which is essentially junior year. She used to go to school but then couldn’t afford it anymore. From what I can tell, she lives here and works at the house, while going to school in the evenings, and Prossy pays for her school fees. Grace is an amazing hostess and a very generous person. She took great care of us in the city, and I trusted her completely. A little quiet, but I can tell that if we were together longer, we’d be good friends.

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