Village Day

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We landed last night with no problems, except getting our bags back from Nairobi. Prossy and Jordan and Jackson picked us up, loaded the car, and we drove the long journey back to Kampala. Everyone else was asleep, so we were as quiet as we could be and fell asleep to the sound of barking dogs. There were 3 other girls in our room, who we met this morning, and then met the rest of the team/family.

This morning, probably around 4 or 5, a dog started barking, and I thought it was some crazy alarm clock belonging to one of my roommates. Then about 16 more dogs joined in and it sounded like they were running somewhere.

After a breakfast of cereal and fruit, we loaded into a taxi, 11 of us and the driver, and headed to the village of a friend of ours, Morris. It was our first glimpse of the city. For the most part, it was kind of how I pictured it, or at least have seen in pictures. It was raining, so the red dirt roads turned to mud. The cars are the same as the ones in the UK, so we were on the wrong side of the road, but passing whenever we felt like it. We saw forests and swamp grass, which is used for making mats, and lots and lots of trees. There were people all over the streets.

At Morris’ village, called Kiyonsa, we met his mother. I don’t know her name since we all called her Mama or Grandma. She gave birth to 12 children, but 2 of them along with her husband were killed in the war of 1984. We could easily tell she was at once incredibly strong, but diabetes has run rampant in her body. She barely can stand, and only with a cane, and is missing a few toes. She is in pain everyday, but her sons and daughters live near by and take good care of her. She has upwards of 20 grandchildren, many of whom we met today. When we arrived, 3 of her daughters were there with their children, and we took them gifts of new clothes, shoes, balloons, and a few balls- including an American football.

Morris showed us around their land, including his brother’s house, the pig barn, and the kitchen. He also showed us lots of various plants which are used for cooking- cinnamon plants, mint, and various types of bananas. We walked into the trading center, joined by his other brother, Godfrey. At the store, we were obviously anomalies. Many of the people in the village had never seen a mzungu before, and especially so many! Godfrey showed us the will and the spring. We waved to school children who were all out to see us.

There was a group of girls at a primary school watching. I greeted them in English, but they just sort of stared and a few of them mumbled. Then I greeted them in Luganda, and in unison, they all responded, and then giggled like crazy. I asked if I could take their picture, and they agreed.

Once we got back to Morris’ house, we played with the kids a little and then all went to find the cows. We made the long journey up the hills joined by Sega, one of the grandsons who is about 10. He knows a little English, but we had fun playing with the football.

On our way to the cows, we passed a mosque, which was also a girls school. Again, they came out in herds. Their English was really good and we asked them questions. None of the girls I talked to had ever seen a mzungu before. They were taking exams today and really enjoyed school.

Morris’ brothers made us lunch which was amazing! Rice with some sort of meat. The meat was in a sauce which could be good on anything. There was also cooked mandazi, which is a sort of banana. Great meal. We played with the kids a little more, 10 of them under 10 years old, and then hit the road.

We loaded back into the taxi and had another long trip to the equator. There were markets and things, and we found a few nice items, and of course, took lots of pictures. I have now been in the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere, and both at the same time!

I’m not sure who is in charge of packing water, but there certainly was not enough today. Sarah and I are both big water drinkers and were quite parched. Tomorrow, we will make sure to bring more bottles for us at least. There are so many other ways to get sick, I would hate for dehydration to be the one to get me.

We went back to the house where we are all staying and are now at an internet café down the road. Hopefully we’ll be able to come every few days to check in. By “internet café” I mean it is a small room with 2 laptops in it on chairs, and a man who stays here so you can pay him. It costs 2000 shillings for 1 hour, which is roughly 95 cents. Unfortunately, my Luganda isn’t improving much, but I came in with more than the others have. Tomorrow, we’re getting fitted for gomezis, which are traditional dresses for the formal introduction. Then we are helping roof a school, I believe. Today was great, but busy. I was also reminded why I don’t travel in groups as much as I can help it. There’re a lot of opinions and ideas going around, but it will be fine.

As far as the weather, today wasn’t too hot, but it was super humid. The rain came down at a pretty good rate, but didn’t last too long.

A fun thing we saw today: a kid in a jerry can being pulled by a rope. Also, Morris and another friend gave Jordan and Prossy a nice goat as a wedding gift. Apparently we’ll be eating it soon.

The power goes off whenever it feels like it. It just went off, so we lost the internet connection and are waiting for it to reset.

I’ll try to post a “cast of characters” so you guys can keep track of who is who.

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Comments

[victor kimera]

wow
hey hope u guys are having fun well i will follow what u do everyday and i hope that the electricity behaves and doesnt just go off as it wishes but thats my country....home sweet home. hope u werent scared landing at entebbe its not as bright like other airports. well may God keep u safe and have fun while u are there! wish i was there with u guys. take care