174 speed bumps on the road to Kampala

This is going ot be a short blog, but we're basically killing some time in Kampala right now, so I thought i'd let you know how our day is going.

So far we left Masindi at 9 this morning on a tax, which managed to fit our luggage-thank goodness. We travelled to Kampala and reached our final destination around 1:30. Its the moving around in Kampala that is the hard part, but getting here wasn't so bad. We both took some wonderful showers-although mine was cold :(- and also took a nap. We've been trying to meet up with our friend Oscar, but we're having some trouble communicating with ihim so we decided to go explore for some food and found italian pizza and gelato...yum...chocolate and coffee flavored...yeah...food is much more exciting when you haven't had anything wonderfully tasty in a long time...

oh yeah..and the title-there were 174 speed bumps from the time we left masindi to the time we reached Kampala...i counted...i needed something to do for 4.5 hours...haha....lets just say i don't really recommend the journey

thats all for now...
ttyl
Tash

Anyone want to buy a cow?

This is the very last blog I will be writing in Masindi....and today is our very last day here.

The last few days have been filled with goodbyes, and lots of food. Yesterday we ate dinner twice and today we have already had breakfast twice, but its been really nice to close off the trip being able to say goodbye to everyone.

Saturday was a day for relaxing and recovering from our very busy week. Then on Sunday we went for prayers at the Baptist church in town-they have an english service there- and then we went to our mom's house for some juice and chipatees, then we got Julius- a driver we've come to know and love- to drive us to our house to pick up some items for donation and then to the fund raiser at the school. The fund raiser that was supposed to start at 2 started around 4 or 430 (after speeches, naturally) and went until 630 and was very successful. The guest of honor was a local politician with a great sense of humor and he ran the show- it was set up like an auction. We had a lot of fun and were able to also support the cause, even walking away with some baskets and jewelery...and a pineapple haha. We also bought all the sugar cane there and gave it to the children and proceeded to get some wonderful snaps with them. Someone was generous enough to donate a cow to be bought, and they were trying to convince Jessica and I to be the ones to buy it-however we managed to convince them that we can not eat an entire cow in the two days we had left here.

We got home with some confusion on the program for the evening-we were told about 2 dinners and thought we had the dates wrong, so we arrived home having told Lillian our cook that we did not need dinner, and decided to make our own. Nothing too outrageous, but french toast is a lot harder to make on a charcoal stove. However, we managed and it was wonderful. Then our phone rang and the Director from the school informed us him and headmistress were coming to have dinner with us at Amote's house- the woman who's lives across from us and also where Robin stayed when she was here. So dinner number two came, and it was wonderful. The food was good and the company was great-also many more great snaps there.

Monday we met some of our kids at the school in the morning to play football with them until lunch. As much as we both love to play, I think we need to admit that they dodge us very well. Dodging is what they call it when the can basically outplay you. However, we still have a lot of fun with them. We spent the afternoon packing and then dressed up for our dinner at the school with the teachers. At the dinner was also Reverend Mike-the man who helped organize this trip for us- and many of the influential women from UMOJA women's group, many of whom helped us a lot in our visits to the field. After speeches, goodbyes, and snaps, we left with Rev. Mike and went to the Kopling Hotel-where we came to eat our first night in Masindi- and met with mom there as well as the Treasurer of UMOJA, who's daughter's introduction we went to way back. We had a debrief meeting with them about the trip and talked about future plans and our recommendations for the school and field work. The meeting went late into the night, so we crashed when we got home.

This morning we met our friend Alex at the Masindi Hotel in town-what a beautiful place!! It's like this oasis in Masindi where you actually forget that you are even near the town. We had breakfast there, which included a yellow banana- very exciting. Now we are at Traveller's and in town for a few hours before our next football match at 3. Then we finish packing and spend our last night in Masindi.

We leave for Kampala in the morning very early and have much to do while we are there. We are going to stay at the Marantha house again, which is very exciting -the people there are wonderful- and many of our friends from Masindi have already arrived in Kampala earlier this week so we are going to visit them as well as the owner of the house where we've been staying. We are also going to spend some time visiting and infant's orphanage. So the next few days are going to be both very exciting and very sad. As our friend Vickie says- "leaving hurts, but memories heal"

I don't know if i'll get another chance to blog while in Uganda, but I'd just like to thank everyone for supporting us on this journey and for keeping in touch, too-it has really meant a lot to us. We are looking forward to coming home, changed by this experience and excited to share all of our stories.

see you soon!
Tash

Most Ugandans don't know how to swim...

The last week in Masindi….

This week I spent a day in the field by myself while Jessica stayed at the school because she wasn’t really feeling that well and walking around in the scorching heat for sure can take a lot out of you. We started the day on Thursday by having about 14 families come and meet us at the school first because we didn’t have enough time to go to all of their houses and interview them there. Its harder to get an idea of what their situations really are like, though, when they come in a large group and we interview them. Firstly, we can’t see their living conditions-house, fields, etc., and secondly they are much less likely to answer any questions you have for them when there are 13 other families sitting there listening. It is already very difficult to persuade the families to be open and honest-not the culture here- about what their situations are really like. For example, the hardest question for them to answer is “how many meals a day are you able to provide these children with?”, however if we don’t know how many times a day and how much the children are eating, its hard to assess their needs and their health.

Then I left with the director from the school and went and visited about 17 homes from 11 to 5. This particular day I saw some of the most needy homes and families I have seen yet. Another one of the questions I ask is what their orphan status is- 1 or 0 parents- and the amount of times I heard either 0 parents or abandoned by one or both parents was heartbreaking. These children’s eyes just loose their joy when their guardians answer that question. There were several families that stood out to me that day as well, including one boy who’s father left when his mother was pregnant, and then his mother ‘got tired’ and dropped him off at his aunt’s house and left. Another family was a man who had 4 children and his wife abandoned them, but he’s partially blind and has no job, so he’s struggling to feed the children and pay for their school fees.

After the field, ending with lunch at someone’s house, naturally, I went back to the school to collect Jessica and go to town. We were supposed to be meeting another friend there- Vickie- and she was going to show us around some other parts of Masindi. This, however did not end up happening. Unfortunately, Vickie was in an accident on her motorcycle and was hurt fairly badly. Thankfully both her and her colleague are doing better now, but the injuries are pretty bad. Jessica and I ended up spending the evening in town running some errands, having dinner and visiting momma Christine.

On Friday we got to spend the day at school with our kids. J They are officially done classes and spent the day at the school playing with us and waiting for their reports. Jessica and I were able to bring 2 soccer balls to school with us that were sent to us from my parents, and the kids burst out into celebration. We got a massive game going and played for hours, until the rain made us stop and then picked it up again after the rain had stopped. They were so excited to finally have some ‘footballs’ to play with, and they are so good at it. Jessica and I played, but we were defiantly not the stars of the game.

Friday was also our goodbye/thank you celebration dinner with the people who have been very influential in making our stay here wonderful. We had some trouble getting the tax that we had rented to come on time, but we’re getting very used to that. After we finally got everyone picked up and were on our way, we went to Kinyara Compound-where Vickie lives- and where we had reservations for our party. There we enjoyed spending some time together, playing pool, swimming (well; the boys attempting to swim, like i said, most Ugandans don't know how to swim), dancing and eating and taking ‘snaps’ of course. It was so nice to be able to spend some time altogether and to be able to thank our friends for all they have done for us in the last 2 months.

Today- Saturday- has been our down day; the first one in a very long time, and it was very much needed. We got home very late last night and crashed, but were awake at 7 in the morning to say goodbye to Brian, who left for Kampala today to start school on Monday.

The many animals of Africa....

This week has been a week full of animals....

allow me to elaborate....
Everyday there are bugs in our house....big nasty huge bugs that look like they could sting you but really just make a lot of noise and never actually sting....mosquitoes show up once in a while and some moths here and there....

When we first came we had a bird fly into our house...yes....and into our room...so Jessica and I handled it like pros...we ran and screamed and followed it until it flew out :) problem solved.

Then on Monday we had our first snake sighting..in the house....I was in the room...Jessica in the hall and she goes
"Uh Tash, there's a snake in our house"
I freak out and go "What?!?!? WHAT?!?!?"
Then the snake comes under the door in our room
I proceed to curl up in a ball on our bed and scream my head off...which scared the snake away.
We now have a big stick in our room for such creaturely visits
Oh..and the snake was found later that day by one of the guys living with us. :)

Today (Wednesday) we went to Murchison falls and the game park there...we saw many many animals...like elephants and lions and giraffes...those you'll have to see pictures of later

Not too much else except crazy busy, but wonderful...we've had a few more days in the field already and have some great stuff planned for the rest of the week...so looking forward to seeing you all and talking to you and sharing stories because i have many many to tell!!!!
Thats all for now...
Tash

12 days left :(

Time here has been flying...and we've been sooo busy. Everyone has wonderful plans for us, but 12 days just isn't enough time to do it all-especially when your 10 o'clock meetings start at 12:30 haha

Yesterday we had another field visit day and this time we took with us donations from Feed the Children out to about 15 homes-homes of orphans and their guardians-homes of children who sleep on a mat made out of papyrus. Even though the day was tiring- the sun was beaming its heat down on us, and we walked from house to house because not even bodas can make it through to the house-it was wonderful to know that our carrying the boxes of toothbrushes, clothes, school supplies and seeds could help these families, even just a little.

This coming week is also looking to be very busy, which could inhibit the chance to blog, but we'll have to see how the week plays out. So far we are in the field again today (Sunday), at school Monday and Tuesday, but Tuesday afternoon we're going to the field. We have our 1/2 day on Wednesday and are probably spending the afternoon out with a friend, Thursday we are trying for Murchison Falls, Friday we have our goodbye dinner, Sunday is the fund raiser--exciting side note is that they've started digging the foundation for the building!!!-- and Monday is our goodbye party and Tuesday we leave for Kampala.

Thats really about it for now...hope all is going well in Canada (and where ever else you are reading this)
Tash

Still singing in the rain....

This week was such an awesome week, its hard to put it into words. On Monday I taught school in the morning by myself-Jess wasn't feeling the best- and I'm very very proud of myself :) We also had a meeting this week-on Sunday- with the board of directors from UMOJA and got to hear about their plans for the new building they are constructing, including a fund raiser on the 17th of August. We were also informed/shown a bunch of donations that came in from Feed the Children of exercise books, seeds to plant, pens, pencils, clothes, and text and children's books. It is sooo amazing; such a blessing.

So Jessica and I have spent the week going back and forth from school and the office sorting all the donations and have already given out the exercise books to the children at the school- a big help to their parents who can't afford to buy them new books.

This week we also met another member of our new extended family-Oscar...who is probably one of the funniest people I've ever met. He stayed with us in our house for 2 days only, but we had a great time with him.

This week at school we've also had 2 days off-Wednesday and Thursday- so the P7 classes could write their district mock exams, and well, the rest of the school isn't very good at being quiet for them to do this-and most of that noise can probably be contributed to Jessica and my presence...haha. So we've spent the last two days doing some grocery shopping in town-yes its an adventure every time, but we have wonderful friends here who help us accomplish what we need to- doing more sorting of the donations and having some of the students over at our house. We are getting all the donations organized for Saturday and Sunday when we will be visiting about 60 homes in the villages of the poorest people-thus we are bringing clothes and seeds- and even some of the homes of our students. Many of our students are partial or total orphans, and they are living with relatives that have taken them in on top of their own children. While I have loved working at the school-especially getting to know the kids- I am really looking forward to this opportunity to move deep into the village- places where the bodas can't even reach- and meet and try to help some of these people.

This week has been a week of pouring rain here in Kyema, Masindi. Sunday we had a downpour like no other, during which our friends who live with us; their little sister locked the key in their house. All the windows here have bars on them to keep out robbers, so you can't climb through a window and get the key back, so in the pouring rain we stood trying to help them get the key-which was on a massive table- and i thought, ah yes- this is where in Canada we would use a hockey stick...haha....however they had a passive hook that they used to pull the furniture and we got the key.

Then on Tuesday it down poured at school-while i was in the office down the road from the school. I tried to wait it out, but ended up having to try to run down a washed out clay road-fairly unsucessfully towards the school, getting drenched.

Then today (Thursday) it poured rain while we were attempted to meet someone to visit a cemetery, stranding us for 2 hours, looking at someone's pictures who we had never met before...oh life here is interesting...haha

Our time here is starting to wind up-though there are still many many things to do- and its very sad to think about returning in only 2 weeks; however we are also very happy to come home and have our food and friends from Canada around us again...however there are some moments here where i almost think i'm in Canada-like last week I left Traveller's corner (the internet cafe) and heard Garth Brooks playing on a radio from a shop...very surreal.
please continue to keep us in your prayers as we will be very busy in the next two weeks and must begin saying goodbye to friends of ours who are going to university next week
Thats all for now,
Tash

From the Respiratory system to Chicken caniballism in 10 minutes...??

We are officially back home in Masindi, and very glad to be back here. Kampala was wonderful and we had a great time, but its always nice to come back to friends and familiarity.

This time on the way back from Kampala we took a bus-what we call tour buses, they call buses- and sat-surprise surprise, more people than seats, but Jess and I both got our own seats, which was nice. There was about 7 people who sat on makeshift seats made out of boxes of shoe polish boxes stacked in twos in the middle isle...this is much harder to do when you are driving on roads full of pot wholes and speed bumps. Then there was a surreal moment...we stopped for gas in Kampala and 1/2 the bus got off for washroom breaks and such, and I looked up and felt like i was suddenly back home...a gas station right out of Brampton...so while Jess watched our seats and bags, I went in and found myself wondering if I was still in Uganda or not...after choosing a few snacks for the next 5 hours of our lives, I went to pay for them, and the cashier actually had to scan in the items and a price came up on the till....and then a receipt was handed to me...i almost forgot what a real-non hand written receipt looked like...i am still in wonder as I think back to that moment...

This week has been full of going to school and teaching and playing with the kids....but yesterday (friday) was definatly the highlight of the week. We had 2 classes of P.E and got to end the day with P6 class sitting in on their science homework lessons...which started with the respiratory system and went into chicken rearing...where we ended up learning about chicken caniballism...Jess and I both agree that we learned enough about chickens during that 1/2 hour that we could run our own chicken farms now.

Today we are in town for a short time to 'surf' and to grab some things at market..including our chicken which we are scheduled to kill ourselves in a few hours :) haha...and bread, nutella and eggs. We have officially set some crazy record for the cusumption of those 3 items...it hasn't even been a week and we've eaten 2 loaves of bread, 3 dozen eggs and a jar of nutella...and about 3 liters of oil...yes everything we eat is cooked in oil and most of what we are eating now are eggs, chips (fries made from irish) eggs, french toast, and our breakfast every morning is bread, tea and nutella. We also just finished our last african chicken....they have african chickens and 'europeanized' chickens...we went with the african..which was good-tougher than what we are used to, but still very tasty and easier to eat than the beef or pork that they boil for us.

Other than that, we are gearing up for our last week at school-their terms ends August 10th and then we have 9 days to enjoy Uganda...we are planning a trip to Murchison Falls and I am hoping to join our 'momma' in the field one day...she works counselling HIV/AIDS victims and visits their homes.

Thats all for now...hope all is well in Canada, and we'll be seeing a lot of you in about 20 days.

Orala Kurungi (good night!..because its night time for yuo at least!)

Amoti (Tash)