Greetings from Mukono, Uganda!
Elise and I made it back to House of Hope Sunday, after a tiring journey from Kampala. We ended up taking two different taxis (14 person buses that cram up to 27 people in them!) and a private car taxi (toyota corolla) which drove 11 people 60km!! Elise and I squished into the front seat next to a man who shared the driver's seat with the driver! A woman told me that in Ugandan transportation, no one is left behind...so they just keep cramming them into the cars/taxis/buses...you name it! Hhahaha...needless to say, it's unbelievable how rewarded you feel after getting out of a backseat laying down sideways with your nose in a strange man's chest, grasping your wallet after not feeling below your knees for the past hour. I am grateful the US does not do transportation the same way. But you sure do make friends easy here! And EVERYONE wants to be friends with a muzungu.
Ugandans have two breaks from school every year: two months for Christmas, and one month for Easter. They spend Easter with their extended families and have a large special meal. When we asked the kids how their Easter was, they replied "Not good...we had to eat posho." These 25 kids had no family, no home, no special meal to celebrate the holiday with. Until we brought out two kilos of cookies for them all! They started jumping up and down and clapping and smiling bigger than the moon. We were so grateful for the small opportunity to make their Easter a little more enjoyable.
We made origami elephants and paper airplanes the next day, after weeding in the garden. The kids had to keep a close eye on Elise and I in the garden as we pulled out weeds: "No auntie. That is irish potatoe. This is maize. Only these are weeds." they say with a knowing gentle smile. Yesterday, we went to Masaka upon Jennifer's request for money for more food for the kids at House of Hope. We got to go to a local lounge and watch the Manchester United Football (soccer) game against Germany. Manchester United won, and it was fun to cheer with the locals. Soccer is a huge part of the culture here. And the soap operas are either philipino or mexican...and outrageously dramatic.
Today we are heading to another project north of Mukono for a few days to see what the other volunteers are doing in Uganda. On the first taxi ride over, we were grateful for the spare 1/2 inch of leg room, but had to cover our noses from the reak of blood in the taxi. Source of blood: unknown. Could've been the live chicken flopping around in the trunk. On the second taxi ride, I noticed a large billboard of Libya's Gaddafhi dedicating a mosque. That is the fourth or fifth mention of Gaddafhi's contributions to Uganda; mosques, roads, arms. And Libya, Syria, and other Arab country news are updated on news stations several times daily. I'm impressed with the questions the kids are asking about US foreign policy and why Obama hasn't taken out Gaddafhi. They LOVE that the US has a black president, and one who's father is African! I believe we are going to be hanging out with more kids and weeding in the garden.
It rained for about an hour on the taxi ride over, but was pretty sunny yesterday. Ate a ripe mango, freshly cut and sliced by the order, and chipati for lunch. Navigating through the taxi parks is a bit difficult however, due to the large baggage we were carrying. Elise mentioned to me that she felt a man try to put his hands in her pocket while she walked by. Good think we had all our valuables in our hands and our zippers secured shut. We kept up our muzungu pace anyway until we sat down in another taxi. (Ugandans rarely if ever walk fast...they meander aimlessly it seems until they come to their destination).
We met Jennifer's two brothers and sister who were visiting for Easter break. Very sweet family. It is so common in Uganda to recieve help so willingly. People on the taxi, on the street, in restaurants, all just want to make sure you are finding your way and haven't lost anything. Extremely generous people.
Saturday, we will head to Jinja for some white water rafting in the Nile River. Whahoo!!
I will try to update again Friday before we head out. Hope all is well and the weather is warming up back home! Happy belated Easter and until next time...
Weraba mukwanos, (Goodbye friends)
Jillian
