Africa Update -- Beware: Long Entry Ahead!

Welcome to the Wild Wild West. Or at least that is what it feels like! The rules are somewhat ambiguous, the people are friendly – particularly once they “know” you, and the roads are dusty. I think that Uganda today is much like the West in the 1800s, sans pistols and standoffs! This email is not particularly organized – just a bunch of thoughts about my first (almost) week in Africa. OK – here goes…

(1) White flies. After it rains, these flies loose their wings and for whatever reason, they are coated in fat (hence the name white flies – they are white from the fat). The flies are thrown into a skillet and fry in their own fat. Apparently, kids stand on the roads after the rain collecting them and gobbling them up. Yuck!

(2) Nice People. Oh my goodness – I am so impressed with the people here (and Kenya – but mostly in Uganda). I had heard that this was the case – Ugandans are some of the nicest Africans around. However, I was skeptical. But, I am close to being a complete convert. People are INCREDIBLY friendly… For example – when I headed into to Kampala to find Ayuen for the first time, I was COMPLETELY lost in the taxi park (more later) and could not figure anything out. I found the police booth, and stopped to ask for some help. As soon as I stopped, they invited me to sit down. All of these business people from the area came and sat and helped the police figure out which taxi I was to take – literally 20 people all helping me. Then, one of the police officers took me to the cab and made sure the price was fair. Once in the taxi, one of the people (of 14) asked where I was going, which started a stream of conversation – all trying to help me locate Glory to Glory Primary school. I was dropped off directly in front of the school and felt so lucky to be in a country with so many very helpful people – I would have never found it otherwise. Another example – the place I am staying (Nile River Explorers) is like a university dorm/hostel/family. People – mostly tourists – are always ready with advice and help once you ask. It is so nice to be able to ask about a bajillion questions and be able to get really good information. Unbelievable – the most helpful and patient place. It is great. I am really glad that I chose it!

(3) Food. I am still taking it easy with the food – I have to try a local place. I am scared about getting the runs or something worse. But, after asking around, new tourists seem to do just fine – particularly when going to places where other tourists frequent. I am mostly eating at NRE, however. The food is good and cheap - $2 to $4 for a solid meal. The first night I got in, however, I ordered pizza and left it at the bar while I washed my hands only to return to it and find it COVERED in ants. I shook off the slices and ate it anyway! It is kind of like camping – you are dirty and so is your food… except here you are expected to wear skirts.

(4) I have had little problem sleeping. In Nairobi, I slept poorly because I was anxious about the bus. The first night in Jinja, I slept in my mosquito tent outside because they were booked solid. It was lovely! The NRE has a fenced in yard with tall bushes surrounding it. It was quite peaceful – and I was surrounded by tents of other people doing just like me. The second night it was SO HOT. SO HOT. SO HOT. Like, suffocatingly hot. I poured water on me just to try to stay cool… Last night was very nice because it rained and really cooled everything down. And, the NRE folks left the electricity on, so the fans were on all night long – YAY!

(5) Schedule update. As it turns out, the gorilla permit they had for me was for Thursday… but I was not going to get it until Tuesday night, which meant I could not leave until Wednesday. AND, the permit was for Nkuringo (sp?) which is harder to get to than Bwindi, although in the same National Park. Anyway, I ended up signing up for the safari (which was optional with the permit purchase). It is nice, however, to have all of the food and transport and lodging and fees covered and taken care of AND I get to see a couple of other areas of Uganda that I would have otherwise missed.

So, the updated schedule looks something like this:

a. Tuesday: leave NRE at 730. Go to Queen Elizabeth Park. Spend night there.
b. Wednesday: travel to Buhoma (same base camp as before, but this time instead of a 17km road, we take a different 35km road to another gate). Spend night in Buhoma.
c. Thursday: GORILLAS!
d. Friday: travel to Lake Mburo Park. Spend night there.
e. Saturday: do a morning game trek with a Park Ranger. Head back to Jinja. I am going to get off at Kampala to see Ayuen (we get into Kampala at around 2pm, so I will have a couple of hours with her and the girls – more later). I will then head back to NRE and spend the night there.
f. Sunday: Kampala: church with Ayuen at her school. I am bringing my laptop as they are all SO interested… the digital camera was quite a hit – more later. Night at NRE.
g. Monday: start volunteering with Soft Power. (Aside: met Georgie this morning and her husband, Chris. She is GREAT! Very cool, laid back and just a kick. As it turns out, her husband, Chris, is the person running the safari that I am going on!! Weird, huh? Met Chris this morning also – he is swell as well.) I am moving to Eden Rock at Bujagali Falls (appx 10km from Jinja – I think it is on the map on the softpower website?).

h. Tues – Thu volunteer at Bujagali. The word on the street is that at the campsite, they actually are the only place around that has wireless!! We will see. It could make calling easy…

i. Fri – head back to town and *hopefully* meet Ayuen in town (she will come from Kampala). She will spend Fri and Sat with me… Then we head back to Kampala together on Sunday for church.

j. The following week… Volunteering, etc. One of the days, I am going out to one of the villages to hang out with some volunteers who are based out of NRE with a group called SPW. They do ag education. Very cool.

(6) Clothes. Mom – the skirts have been GREAT. Thanks so much. They were fun in Europe – but here they are essential and practical. I have worn different ones each day and they are perfect.

(7) Ayuen. What a girl. She is perfect. The female version of Dut. It is weird how alike they are. Something about good parents + genetics = same sort of people, even though they grew up without each other. The first time I met her, it was a bit funny… I got a bit turned around in the taxi park (see above) and FINALLY made it to the school. Dut had said that his cousin would be looking for me, but I did not see him, so… I went ahead. I got to the school and talked to the director, Pastor Felix (quite a character and so friendly). He reported that Rebecca (Ayuen) had just been taken by her brother one hour before and was not coming back for a long time. I was absolutely perplexed and concerned about the potential of her being abducted from under my nose. After a prolonged series of give and takes, Felix called John Deng Mabil, Dut’s cousin. Deng and his “cousin” (like three times removed!) named Kuch (the person Felix misunderstood to be Ayuen’s brother) had picked her up to COME AND MEET ME AT THE TAXI PARK!!! So, after this was solved – and that was not easy, because everyone was fairly confused – they came back. Ayuen was completely endearing when I first met her. You know the way Dut gives hugs to people – especially those shorter than him? Ayuen does the same. And she hugged me like twenty times and kept saying “Julianna, you are here… Julianna… Julianna, you are here…” Incredible. And then there was Deng an Kuch to meet – and they were excited to talk to me as well. WOW. What a 20 minute experience. Well worth the long trip!!!!

We went to a local pub and all had something to drink. Ayuen was so striking in her desire to help me… She offered to carry my bag… cleaned my seat before I sat… tried to help me if she thought I might trip… I have never been so attended to. It was hard because I was trying to be with her, but the guys wanted to talk. And, as I found out later, Ayuen is MUCH more quiet – like hardly talks at all – when men are present. When they aren’t, she talks a whole lot more! Anyway – I was trying to balance her (and my!) desire to get to know each other with the guys talking. Deng and Kuch were very nice and would give Ayuen space to talk, but she just would not. Anyway… Made a plan to come back the next day (without the guys for the first part of the day).

Sunday (yesterday) was even more incredible because I got to see Ayuen a bit more in her own environment without the guys to “hinder” or whatever her. I arrived during the middle of the church service (the taxi took an extra hour), and I was ushered to the front. It is a Pentecostal church, so I had to go to the front and talk about if I was saved (I said yes – and decided the theological argument about what that means would best be saved for later – saying yes was just better, I think). The service lasted five hours. During the service, I experienced the watchful eyes of the adults and children – but more from the kids. In fact, two came up to me and touched me briefly and just started laughing… I made it clear that it was ok to explore, and one came and sat on my lap (the mom left her with me for the entire service!!). She rubbed my skin, nose, scratched at my freckles, inspected my toes and fingers, pushed on my veins in my wrist… All of which was closely observed by the other children – about 100 or so. After the service, I went back to Ayuen’s dorm where she sleeps with 30 other girls. All of the girls came in with us and climbed up on the bunks and just stared at me. Once I looked at them, they would giggle an avert their eyes. So, I pulled out the digital camera and that brought everyone out of their shells! What fun!

Then, it was time for lunch. I had a REI bar and water… After the kids finished eating, the staring started and one kid ran up in back of me and touched my hair – which started off a loud roar of giggles. I said it was ok – and took my ponytail out. They all rushed over and I had about 60 hands on my head and arms. Quite the laying on of hands, I think!! Ayuen was very concerned that I was bothered, which I was not. Anyway… we went back to the dorm and it was time for a nap. I slept on Ayuen’s bed with her – all the girls, however, did not want to sleep but wanted to talk about America… Did I know Shakira? Is it true that green people came on plane last year to America? Could I teach them some songs? They headmistress came in and quieted them… At which point, I chatted quietly with Ayuen about stuff. It was great.

Then, Deng came and met us and we headed back to the same bar. We chatted for a bit – and had some more curious children stare (that is normal – everyone STARES at me and always talks about the Mzungo… me – the white person). I walked Ayuen back to the school and talked to her about western culture. She was floored that I lived by myself before I was married… and did not understand where I bought meat if cows, chickens, and goats were not just in the street/yard/nearby, ready to be slaughtered. It should be fun to talk more about this and prepare her for Australia (where she will be moving in a few months, thanks to Dut)…

(8) Transport. Everyone rides around on the back of bikes and motorcycles – they call them boda-bodas. It is my favorite way to travel, particularly on a bike. It is so peaceful to amble along to your destination… I love it. A typical trip costs 500 Ush… About 30 cents. Boda bodas are EVERYWHERE. And everyone uses them. People are always shocked to see an Mzungu riding on one – white people usually ride in cars (their own or rented ones)… It is nice to turn heads. My first trip, however, I got ripped off! They said 5000 Ush – and it took two bikes (one for me and one for my bag), which resulted in 10000USh. Oh well. Everyone gets ripped off a few times, right? It was when I had just arrived off of the Akambe bus from Nairobi, so I knew nothing! Anyway, it is great.

The other way to get around between cities (i.e. from Kampala to Jinja) is via taxi. You catch them at a taxi park, which is CRAZY. I am going to spend a day just watching because I cannot figure out how they fit so many “taxis” (AKA matatus…) in one place. They are for 14 people. I accidentally got on an unregistered one on my way to Kampala yesterday. Not only did it take an extra hour, but instead of the legistlated 14 people, there were 22 people and one chicken in this little van. Unreal. Oh well – lesson learned. I need to catch the taxi IN the park – not NEAR it. To get from here to Kampala, it costs 2500 – 3000 USh (appx $2). Crazy, huh? (Another random observation – the cost of gas per liter is $1 (more than $3 per gallon).
(9) Bugs. There are so few bugs here – at least FAR fewer than I expected. I am curious to see what the bug situation is like on the safari…

(10) Weather. Hot, but surprisingly bearable. It is usually in the 70s, but I am usually inside for the day, so I have not used the sunscreen yet. But, I will when I start working outside, for sure!

(11) PhD idea: why do people repatriate and to extent do they do so? This way, I can deal with what I know best – Sudan and Sudanese refugees and do field work in Sudan with those who have returned. What do you all think?

(12) My favorite thing that I brought with me so far: female urine director. It makes going to the bathroom in the nastiest (but typical) places possible and even easy. Peeing like a man – what a joy!!

(13) The electricity really comes and goes in a weird way and unexpectedly. African time for sure.
(14) Dirt. Pretty much, some part of me is dirty all of the time. Combine the humidity and heat (=sweat) with the ever present red dust that permeates everything = always a bit red (from the dust). However, one adjusts and rethinks what “clean” means.

(15) Mosquitos. I have had only ONE bite. I may need some more deet, however!

FEW! That is a big update. There should be more after the safari. Much love to all. Have a great day!