We're pretty sure they're twins (they are not very good at answering our questions clearly). Their birthday was last week. They say they're 4 . . . I'm pretty sure they're older than that. Anyway, aside from miscommunications, they are darling. And really fun to be with. Their favorite activity is to jump on my back and have me run around. Or to tickle. Or ambush us as we're trying to exercise. I finally bribed Lance into learning my name by giving him some soda. Still working on Lucky though.
So I may have mentioned this before, but I did not realize that although Ugandans speak English, it is very different from the English that I speak. This has caused a lot of difficulty in communicating with people here (especially when we need to work with them on research stuff), but I have also been learning a lot about communication.
That being said, a common phrase among Ugandans is, "We go." Easy enough to get. We usually say that when it's time to go somewhere. But that phrase took on new meaning yesterday when we went to a Ugandan Cranes soccer games. The entire time--to, during, and from--everyone was chanting:
"We go, we go. Uganda Cranes, we go."
It's been stuck in my head since. But it was great. The soccer game was a lot of fun, mainly because of the fans. The soccer itself was . . . well, like the rest of Kampala, a little chaotic and without many rules.
One of the fans sitting next to us was chatting with our friend Jessica and pointed to me and said, "She is the mother." Jessica told him that I don't have any children, but then he said, "No, I mean that she is mother material. You can tell." . . . . So even across the world this happens.
The rest of this week has been fun and productive. As I was doing my laundry Monday morning, I realized that this was only my second actual week in Kampala. So it was nice to have a week stationed at home (even though we did travel to Lugazi on Thursday.) I did some calculations and realized that at the end of this, I will have only spent about 49% of my time in Kampala. Totally fine with that.
So here's a little rundown of the rest of the week. We were working on our project all week, but each day had a fun little side activity. Monday I did laundry . . . which handwashing is a lot more difficult and time-intensive than I thought. Tuesday we went to the craft market where I found a lovely painting and some gifts for the nephews.
Wednesday was really cool. My friend Brent met this guy who runs an orphanage, so he offered to take us there. Such a nice man. He lives on the opposite side of the city but came and picked us up near our apartment, then took us to two schools, the bay of Lake Victoria, and then to his orphanage. And he bought us water and bananas. And he was just the happiest guy. It was really interesting to see the schools--the typical classroom has between 60 and 80 students; 1,200 students overall and half of them are sponsored. We went into one of the classrooms and all of the students just laughed at me . . . kinda awkward. Everyone we met was very kind and polite though. And the orphanage is in really good condition. It's an orphanage for teenage boys, though, so I guess they can be held a little more accountable for keeping things clean.
A "fine arts" class
These are giant pots used for cooking rice and beans for all of the orphans.
Afterward, this man sent me an e-mail that epitomizes the kindness and generosity of the people here:
"Anna it was nice being with you and Brent. The two of you are awesome friends. You are so nice and good to hang out with I enjoyed your company too. It's just that time is short we would hang out more and more and explore many more things.
I love you guys and thank you for honouring my invitation though at short notice."
Wednesday night we had a little treat. Stoney is a ginger drink here that many have come to love (and, develop an addiction to . . . Brent drinks about two a day). So we found some ice cream and had Stoney floats after dinner.
Thursday included our trip to Lugazi. (If I've learned anything in Uganda, it's how to wait--we sat on the mutatu for over an hour before it actually left. But I thought ahead and brought a book so that was fine.) Friday was class, work, and going out for dinner. Which brings us to the game yesterday.
On a side note . . .
. . . not really. But maybe. I got sick last night, and that's the line that has been running through my head all day. Doing my best to sleep it off. Also, you need to e-mail me more. I want to hear about how things are at home. And you need to reply to my question about souvenirs. And I just like hearing from you.
This came on and I thought of you. Remember when I went off to my first Girl Scout camp and you wrote me a letter and hid it in my bag? And remember how you said in the letter to look for the brightest star at night and you would too? Well . . . that's kind of hard when we're 9 hours apart, so you can just listen to this instead.
(Also, don't forget that the ticket lottery starts this week!)
So, as if I didn't have enough hours on a bus under my belt, we decided to take another long ride to a town called Mbale for the weekend. (On the Elgon Flyer. Wonderful bus--they gave us napkins and toothpicks.) Right after class on Friday, we took a mutatu downtown and then a nice long & sweaty ride to Mbale. We met up with a man named Simple Freddie (yes, Simple Freddie) who took us to our hostel . . .
Immediately after we got inside, it started raining. But we were also very, very hungry. So the owner of the hostel drove us to a restaurant, ate with us, and took us back. I was really impressed with him--he is the principal of a school and started the hostel to raise money for the school. And he's getting a master's degree right now. Really cool. I have met a lot of people here just trying to the best they can with what they have. It has made me realize that I could (and should) be working a lot harder than I do. Anyway, the evening finished with Coke and listening to the rainstorm by an open window.
The next morning we went out to breakfast before heading out on a long, steep, magnificent hike. Dad, you would have died--it was that beautiful. (You also would have died because it was ridiculously steep. Like the end of Olympus, but the entire way . . . so coming back down would have been very hard on your knees.) These pictures do not even begin to do justice the depth, color, atmosphere, etc. It smelled like October. Felt like a little bit of home, that beautiful mountain of Wanle Falls.
Okay, a 70+ year-old woman climbed up this ladder.
Barefoot.
Carrying that giant load of firewood on her head.
A sweet little boy led us the entire way. However, once we got to the top his friends joined . . . and then some scouts . . . which meant entertainment through pictures. One of the little boys kept hugging me and whispering things to me that I couldn't understand, so that was a little weird. Also, when I told the scouts am 21, they said, "No, no, that's not right. You are 15 or 16."
Great.
We also tried to get a picture of just our little group of 5 but that proved to be impossible. As soon as the camera came out, they swarmed.
After the hike we went to the slums for a few hours. So many children. They all just came and held our hands as we walked, and one girl fell asleep in my arms. We had a lot of fun playing with them. Once dark came, though, we headed out and got some dessert (brownies and ice cream for me, naturally . . . anywhere I can find it is heaven) before going back to the hostel. The next day we went to church and then made the long journey back home.
So that was my fun little weekend adventure. I am excited to be in Kampala this week though because I can finally sit down and focus on everything that needs to get done. (e.g., did my laundry today . . . took about 2 hours just to wash.) It is strange, because just yesterday it felt like three weeks is a long time to still be here, but after looking at everything I have to do before we go, it suddenly doesn't seem long enough.
We went up to Gulu again this week, this time to do the training/workshops for our research project. We didn't get to stay for very long, but it was so much fun to be up there again. I really love Gulu. So, so much. (So much that I don't even mind the 5-6 hour bumpy/sweaty bus ride.) Here is why:
Just look at that--quiet, smooth, nearly-empty streets. Tall green trees. Simple. Did I mention quiet?
We truly had a great time at Tribe. We loved getting to know the women (they taught us how to roll beads) and working with them. I was very sad when we left.
......I'll probably -- most likely -- go up one more time before I head home. Ray (the manager, picture above) said they want us to come back up, so we'll do our best to make it happen.
The week took a bit of a heavier turn once we headed down to Rwanda. With a focus on such a sad history, and a 17-hour drive down and back, it was difficult not to have a lot of thoughts and questions and discussions about human nature, agency, morality, forgiveness, etc. The heaviest day was the first in Rwanda--we went to a genocide museum, to a church where 5,000 people were killed, and then to 'Hotel Rwanda' for dinner. Dinner was beautiful, but it felt a little strange to be eating at a place where hundreds of refugees tried to hide.
Friday was much more uplifting. It was wonderful, actually. We went to this place called Azizi Village and broke up into small groups to spend the day with villagers. We hoed a garden, cut grass (and carried it on our heads), fetched water, ate a really good meal, weaved, and played with children. Everyone had a great time. So much love.
Some of us also went to a fancy Indian restaurant and...I decided I probably just should not eat Indian food anymore. Maybe. I will probably end up doing it again because it's so good...but maybe just when I'm back in the states and have full control of making sure no nuts are used at all anywhere near the food. The rest of our time was spent traveling. Probably spent 60+ hours on a bus this week . . . but that's alright with me.
