Pick up lines...

There are few 'stubborn' men in Pajule that would probably like to make me their wife on account that I'm from America and am something of a novelty in the village. Culturally, it's accepted when men often openly flirt with women and women are expected to decline their advances many times before finally giving in. It's a kind of play hard-to-get game. Well, I'm not 'playing hard to get,' but it takes some time for them to realize.

A few months ago, I would get text messages referencing passages from the bible as support for a relationship... 'Man should not stay in the home alone,' 'Woman was created from the rib of Adam...' stuff like that.

The other day someone asked me when I would have them over for supper and then told me that they 'wanted to be close to me like Jesus Christ.'

Pretty funny stuff.

The Five Senses

I usually don't post overly-dramatic or existential posts (or I try not to at least...), BUT I thought that it might be fun to capture some of the everyday sights, smells, sounds, tastes and feelings of Uganda; the five senses if you will. It's hard to summarize a place using words or pictures. And Uganda, or at least my Uganda, is a complicated place. My observations and opinions about Uganda have certainly changed over the last 16 months, and will most likely continue to evolve over the next 11. I find it really challenging to answer people when they ask me, "what's it like?" or "how's life?" "It's different," or "It's good," just doesn't seem to suffice.

I'm sure I could add something to this very disorganized list everyday if I wanted, because everyday is still an adventure, a learning experience and a roller coaster.

I see…

Bare feet, straight white teeth and eyes that can see in the dark, strong necks, flexible vertebrae, protruding bellies, runny noses, strong arms, curious stares, shy smiles. Dust through the boda’s headlight, road ruts like frozen waves, long horns, stray goats, stray children, mosquito nets, yellow cooking oil jerrycans, black and orange lizards doing push-ups, lorries full of people, cattle and cargo, posho and beans, elephant grass covered in red dust, kneeling children, school uniforms, hoes and winnowing baskets, blood and burns. Sunsets and moonrises. So many stars. Sweat. Natural resources. Exploitation, corruption, injustice. Gardens growing. Pregnant bellies swelling. Rainy nights. Bicycles, babies on backs, bundles on heads. Charcoal, firewood, maize, mangoes, umbrella trees. Hard work. Lantern light, flies, spiders, moths, crickets, praying mantis, too many bugs to count. Potential. Brightly colored kitenge skirts, shiny gomezes, braided hair, rosaries. Orphans, children. A young country by history and population. Three-rock cookstoves, woven mats, goat poop. Bodies like worn-out tools. Mud, wide open spaces, kids playing in the streams while their mothers wash clothes and long-horned cows drink. Perseverance. Tradition, pride. Pages and pages of books read. Sugarcane. Barbed wire, cement walls, broken bottles and lace curtains. Flip flops made of tires. Laughter in his crow’s feet, cotton candy skies, little girls with a lot of responsibility. Boys racing homemade toy cars made of bent wire and bottle caps. Sickness, scarcity, reliance. Hope.

I hear…

Leb Acholi, repetitive bass-heavy beats from 'the Paradise Club', my fan. Mosquitoes buzzing, children playing, babies crying, goats bleating.  Someone always hammering. Polite greetings. The Acholi cry, cellphones ringing, Celine Dion singing the same song over and over, metal doors locking, sizzling onions, my neighbor snoring. The bus’ horn announcing its arrival and abrupt departure. ‘Abersi.’ ‘Munu.’ ‘Biiiyeeeeeeeeeeeeee.’ ‘I am fine.’ Crickets, rain on the tin roof, school bells, church hymnals, laughter, wind through the passion fruit vine. My ipod. Hopeful requests. Drums. Radio static. So many questions. Pounding something- maize, millet, sorghum, gnuts- into flour. Ankle bells. Ladies singing while they dig. Stories of war. Motorcycle engines, squeaky bike tires, someone laughing. Plans for the future. 

I smell…

Burning trash, burning fields, roasted pork, humans. Freshly slashed grass, mosquito coils, bleach, truck exhaust, hair and body lotion. Roasted maize, sawdust from freshly cut furniture and coffins, smoked fish, pigs. Rain on hot earth. Dust. The distinct smell of latrine. Burning beans, extinguished candles, paraffin, laundry soap, coffee. Charcoal stoves, burning pine, something sweet and unidentified. 

I taste…

Beans, posho, cassava, sweet potatoes, mangos, banana, collards and kale from my garden, tomato, onion, green pepper, cabbage, eggs, millet bread, porridge, boo, doodoo, malakwan, odee, Club, Tusker, Penasol, Waragi, grasshoppers, stir-fry, spaghetti, eggplant, Ugandan tea with lemongrass, Nescafe coffee, white ants. Lots of rice. Dust and small stones. Lots of popcorn. Malaria tablets.Warm Fanta. Florescent "ketchup" and plasticy "margarine" (both of which I shunned when I arrived, and now can't get enough of...). Samosas, chapati. Bland carbs.

I feel…

Happy. Hot, sweaty, itchy, dirty. Famous. Isolated. Content. Grateful, patient, complacent, frustrated, satisfied, confused, jaded, heartbroken, reluctant, misunderstood. Loved. Bored, lazy. Lucky. Anxious, ready. Hopeful. A sense of community. Mystified. Overwhelmed, trusted. Friendship. Sunshine every day. Mosquito bites to last me a life time. Thoughtful, appreciative, grateful.

Bugs

Tonight's bucket bath started out like any other... I had my trusty lantern, my big orange bucket full of warm water (one kettle of boiling water added to room-temp jerrycan water) and all my toiletries in tow. I surveyed the bathing area (a papyrus mat enclosure with a gravel floor) for any lurking creatures and saw none. I happily hung the lantern on the nail, humming to myself, and just as I started to wet my hair I heard a hiss and a fast clicking... perhaps the sound of fluttering wings??? Eeeek. Not a welcome noise when you're stark naked outside in the dark in a remote village in Uganda, home to black and green mambas, spitting cobras and poisonous lizards. That is not the way I want to go out.

And it wasn't. Turns out, it was just a... well, I don't really know what it was. An over-sized praying mantis I guess... it was probably eight or so inches long, and I wish I were exaggerating. It's body was a lot fatter than a normal praying mantis. As I said, it was dark so I didn't get a good look at it in detail and I didn't want to get too close. Needless to say, I decided to put off washing my hair until tomorrow and after a quick splash, I returned to the safety of my room with half a bucket of water leftover. I considered going back out to take it's picture, but I don't want to press my luck.

On an unrelated note, if anyone reading this is thinking about sending anything my way... could you please throw in some packaged tuna/chicken, parmesan cheese and/or reece's pieces? For whatever reason, I've been craving reece's pieces for a year or so. Thanks guys! And thanks for reading!

Countdown to Zanzi

I'm sitting at the office, charging my computer using the only socket in Pajule that has power (three cheers for solar!), taking a break from writing a grant proposal while 5 little boys (between the ages of 2 and 6) peep over my shoulder and pet my ponytail. Another gaggle of shy ones peer in from the door. What a different working environment this is.... love it and it makes me laugh everyday.

Had beans and posho for lunch with my office neighbor and was gifted a 'new type of orange' today (a.k.a. a tangerine). I found mini bananas in the market, which has never happened and arranged to procure a live chicken from the village (apparently the village chickens are the best) as a Christmas gift to my counterpart and his wife. A good day all in all. As soon as my computer's charged, I'm headed home to cook dinner before retiring under my mosquito net to watch a movie on the remaining charge of the computer.

Only eight days until the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar will be between my toes. Hope Tanzania's kiddos are as cute as Pajule's!

Under the Big Sky

There's not much new to report from Pajule. I'm happy to be back, sleeping in my own bed, readjusting to the quiet, slow pace that is village life... happy that I don't have to pack a bag for a few more weeks. It's nice to see my old pals too.... walking through town, I get the 'Abersi, welcome back! We have been missing you,' more times than I can count. I'll miss this place one day.

Today I did some laundry, finished a book and started a new one, weeded a very small square of garden, bleached my jerrycans,  met with coworkers and did some work, sat on the porch and chatted with a few different groups of people, took biscuits (cookies) over to Janet and her son Herichen as a welcome back from school gift, had morning and afternoon tea, cooked dinner, washed dishes, washed myself... and now I'm in bed, under my mosquito net... enjoying my fan and electricity after three days without, along with a glass of very mediocre red wine from a box that I brought back from Kampala. And best of all, it's raining. Dry season hasn't won yet.

Tomorrow I plan on doing some more laundry (it's quite a chore without machines or running water), going into the office and attending a graduation ceremony for the Technical School boys. I've been requested to attend, along with my camera.  All is quiet and happy in Pajule; hope all is well stateside and beyond!

Stowaway in my collards

My unidentified trees are blooming

Sunset over the huts and rooftops

Full moon in a big sky

Gaddafi's Mosque and the Baha'i Temple

When I went to Kampala for my mid-service medical check up last week, we decided to check out the local religious scene for some inspiration to get us through the next 11 months. We started our spiritual journey where else but at Gaddafi's mosque. It was beautiful, with the timber transported from DRC, chandeliers from Morocco, carpet from Libya, and glass from Ethiopia. We walked the 5 million stairs up to the top of the minaret for a great view of Kampala. Gaddafi's is the second largest mosque in Africa, following one built in Casablanca.

Beautiful carved ceilings

The minaret we later climbed

Carpet imported from Libya

Griffin and me

Kampala

On the way down

Looking up

Under the arch

We didn't end our spiritual journey there. Next, we went across town to check out the only Baha'i temple in Africa; one of only seven in the world. The Baha'is recognize the nine world religions, symbolized in their nine-faced temple. The temple was simple, and you couldn't take photos inside, but the grounds were gorgeous with beautiful trees and flowers and manicured lawns... something hard to come by in Uganda, and especially in Kampala. It would be a great place to bring a picnic lunch and a book.

Local skeptics... guess they knew we weren't Baha'i

Thanksgiving

Gobble, gobble. I had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with my Peace Corps family in Kitgum. We made a pretty impressive meal, considering we had limited ingredients, 2 gas burners and one homemade outdoor oven.

Good friends, good food and good drinks were abundant, as were gracious thoughts and appreciation for the many blessings we're lucky enough to celebrate. So grateful to be an American sharing the experience of living in Uganda with such smart and fun people.

***Caution: some pics are of a graphic nature. Sorry PITA, TIA.***

Mr. Gobbles' head. He was delicious.

Green bean casserole, rolls, mac n cheese, salad, stuffing, cranberry sauce , mashed potatoes, gravy and pie!

The master chef and his oven 

My plate with a homemade IPA

The gang

Back in the Vill(age)

Back to real life.

Today I was gifted a cabbage, 2 bananas, a carrot and a lemon for coming back to Pajule. I guess the locals realized that it'd be a challenge to let my sister get on that plane to paradise without me following closely behind.

I spent the whole morning washing my unmentionables and sweeping my house. I went into the office for a bit, had a last-minute meeting with an NGO from Gulu, and then had an impromptu dinner guest before bucket bathing under the stars and now getting ready to turn off the lights (yes, there's power!!!).

PTU met with the Refugee Law Project researchers today to discuss the increasing suicide rate in Northern Uganda and its possible causes. We discussed PTSD, the lack of psycho-social services available, domestic violence, alcoholism and the like... all current issues in the area. Then somehow the conversation turned to the issue of the wild dogs biting people in Pajule. Whaaaaaat!?!?!?! was that???? Yes, I heard it correctly- wild dogs... rabid African wild dogs at that. So now there's a curfew from midnight until sunrise and all stray dogs found during those hours will be killed on site. Great. Looks like I won't be catching that 5 am bus to Gulu/Kampala anytime soon.

It's a good thing that I'm heading to Kitgum on Thursday to spend Thanksgiving with friends, and then to Gulu for another Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday. After that, I'll be in Kampala for my mid-service medical check-up before coming back up to Pajule for three weeks before taking off for Zanzibar for Christmas and New Year's. Hopefully they can take care of this dog problem before I come back. And while they're at it, they could eradicate this new Ebola outbreak in Luwero. Oh Uganda, never a dull moment.

I hope that everyone stateside is gearing up to spend a glorious, gluttonous Thanksgiving with family and friends. We all have so much to be thankful for- our health, our government, our sanity, one another- just to name a few. Don't forget to take a break from preparing a feast or watching football to appreciate how lucky we are to have all the things that are truly important, whether big or small.

Jen's Visit

I'm super sad after sending Jen off at the airport earlier today. It was so nice to spend some quality time with her and get to see her take in the sights of Uganda. She was a real trooper and got to see and experience Ugandan culture at it's finest... complete with packed matatus, burning garbage and naked babies.

We spent a few days at my site (power was out the whole time we were there) after a day in Kampala, followed by a trip to Murchison Falls National Park where we got to see lots of indigenous animals in their natural habitats, then back to Kampala and Entebbe. I can't thank her enough for braving the trip (and putting us up in a nice hotel in Entebbe!) and I miss her terribly already. I think another visit to Prague is in my future!