I took my first trip on my own this week. Wizzit (Felicity) is my counterpart in the neighboring district and we planned for a meeting this week to discuss how to approach the project from two different places.
Gulu is the next area to the west and although its only a 2 hour drive they have a slightly different language. But I can get by with my limited greetings, as John tests me daily, so travel was not too hard. I was a bit intimidated with the idea of going to Gulu alone but in the end it was an easy and pleasant experience.
I took a bicycle boda (pedal bike with a comfy pad on back for passenger) and off we went to the taxi park. Taxi's here are mini vans that hold about 14 passengers and are the preferred way to travel throughout Uganda. Matata was what they were called in Kampala. The trip cost 10,000 shillings, about $5.
It was quite orderly at the taxi park and of course as soon as anyone sees me they want to help. So I was ushered into a waiting bus, and we sat and waited for it to fill up. Taxis don't generally go on a scheduled time, they go when they are full. After they loaded a basket of smelly fresh fish below me (much to the complaint of my fellow passengers) we were off. This was the express bus and we only stopped once for a chicken along the way, who also was stuffed under my seat.
The trip took about two hours, but I expect that to get shorter as there is construction along the main road just out of Lira and there is a stretch of about 2k with speed bumps (big ones) every 30 feet or so. So all the cars seem to drive twice the distance swerving along to find the lowest point on each bump, to avoid tearing off anything under the vehicle.
When I arrived in Gulu I was struck by how comfortable I was immediately. Felicity and I had a great meeting, and there was a nice going away party for one of the other volunteers attended by about 40 people at the main Gulu compound also known as Mike and Liz's. A night of singing and dancing was perfect under the clear incredible star filled night. The next day I headed back and met a lovely young mother Agnes and her 4 month old baby – Amigo. We chatted the whole way back about her future and a bit about the project I am working on.
We exchanged numbers and as she is now in Lira for a few months I promised we will have a soap making course soon, and of course she is invited. I can't get over how friendly people are and how easy it is to make friends.
In the market this week I noticed a sign for Cold Pressed Shea Butter…. It was exactly what I have been looking for to make my soap. So I bought a few bottles and back at the office that day a lady was also selling Shea Oil. This one is heated and used for eating, they drink it like a health product. So in one day I got more shea products than I had hoped for.
When I returned to the house, Lyn said she thought the cats and kittens who have been living in our back garden had left, as she didn't hear them anymore. But the next day she came running in the house to say she thought she heard them. I came out and we found them at the bottom of an old pit latrine in the back of the property. I shone my flashlight in and saw two sets of eyes looking at me about 20 feet down. What to do? They must have been down there for at least 2-3 days!
We found a neighbor to help and lashed together five old papaya branches and lowered them down into the hole. We tied up the end to a wire attached to a tree and put out a plate of milk and hoped for the best.
That night I could hear a lot of chattering going on and I was sure I heard the kittens loud and clear. The next morning it was confirmed, they had climbed out and now are hiding in the water drain as mom tries to get them out of this terrible place, but they are just too little (6 weeks at most) to get over the wall.
So it was a good week, with many adventures.
I have included this time some pictures of the house I am in here in Lira, and one of the magnificent lizards (they call them monitors) that have an orange head, green body and a wide orange band on their tail. There are also many geckos that come out at night around the front porch which is where we sit in the morning and evening.
Work in earnest will begin after the election I am imagining as we are to remain home from Wed to next Tues during the election and results time. We are assured that if need be we will be taken care of by VSO if anything develops. Everyone is hoping for a peaceful election period.
No comments:
Post a Comment