Happy birthday to the very best sister, friend and role model in the whole world!
Can't wait to celebrate Ugandan style in a few weeks!!! Love you! xoxo
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Happy Birthday, Mama!!!
Mom,
I put on the fanciest dress that I could find in honor of your birthday. We celebrated in style for your big day. Sending you lots of love, glitz and glamour from Uganda! I hope that you have a grand celebration!!!
Love you!
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| Ugandan mermaid? |
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| Susy hopes that your birthday is as glamorous as she looks. |
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| Aditi is dancing for your special day. |
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| Serious fanciness |
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Nutella
So, I've had a jar of Nutella that I bought in Gulu that's been calling my name more than usual these last few days. Since I'm trying to 'reduce my size' as they'd say in Uganda, I decided to gift it to a local lady I know that loves sweets. I took it over with some 'biscuits' (aka cookies) and she went to town.
While I was there, the piggery assistant came over to find me. We offered him some nutella and biscuits and he declined. I continued to probe him as to why he'd pass up free chocolate. For anyone that's not familiar with Nutella, it's a chocolate and hazelnut spread that is delicious on anything. Anyway, we discovered that this man had never had chocolate. Let me repeat, NEVER HAD CHOCOLATE.
He declared that it looked like 'bike lubricant' and questioned why anyone would eat such a greasy thing. Well, after a few minutes, we convinced him to smell it... then taste it. And he LOVED IT.
Not sure if it's a good thing or not (especially since there's no chocolate in my town), but if I do nothing else while I'm in Uganda, at least I know I've introduced chocolate to a man who would never have tasted it otherwise.
While I was there, the piggery assistant came over to find me. We offered him some nutella and biscuits and he declined. I continued to probe him as to why he'd pass up free chocolate. For anyone that's not familiar with Nutella, it's a chocolate and hazelnut spread that is delicious on anything. Anyway, we discovered that this man had never had chocolate. Let me repeat, NEVER HAD CHOCOLATE.
He declared that it looked like 'bike lubricant' and questioned why anyone would eat such a greasy thing. Well, after a few minutes, we convinced him to smell it... then taste it. And he LOVED IT.
Not sure if it's a good thing or not (especially since there's no chocolate in my town), but if I do nothing else while I'm in Uganda, at least I know I've introduced chocolate to a man who would never have tasted it otherwise.
Happy 50th Year of Ugandan Independence
Today is Uganda's Independence Day. I've heard mixed opinions regarding the feelings of today, but overall, people are celebrating and looking forward to what the next 50 years may offer. Tonight I'm heading over to my counterpart's house for dinner. They're slaughtering a chicken in honor of the big day and Janet has offered to allow me to kill the chicken this afternoon. Don't think I'll take her up on her offer. Maybe some other time...
I went to the piggery this morning to meet the 6 new piglets born at the piggery last night. They and the mother seem to be healthy and doing well. Unfortunately, 2 of the piglets from the previous litter aren't doing so well. They're much smaller than the other piglets and don't seem to be getting enough milk. The mother doesn't seem to be producing enough milk to feed all the babies even though she's eating and drinking constantly. I've been doing some online research to see if I can feed them at home and may give it a try, but it seems pretty risky. We don't have any manufactured piglet feed available here, so the best I could do would be warm cow's milk. I can't even find goat's milk although there is no shortage of goats roaming around the village. Anyone have any orphan pig rearing knowledge to share? I'll call the vet tomorrow to see what he recommends. In any case, I couldn't take them until tomorrow since my cooking gas ran out last night and I'll need to travel to Kitgum to get it refilled before I'd be able to heat the milk for the piglets. Poor lil piggies.
Not much else new going on around here. We had a PTU Board of Directors meeting last week where I met two great representatives from the Gulu University PTU club. I think they'll be great partners in spreading PTU's mission and representing the organization outside of Pajule. I also traveled to Kitgum to meet some PCV friends for dinner on Saturday night. Last weekend we constructed a cob oven in their yard, and on Saturday, we made a few loaves of bread and baked ziti! YUM. For breakfast, we made an egg casserole and cinnamon rolls. So good. I think I may find myself at their house every weekend from here on out! Hoping that they'll come to Pajule to help me construct mine!
I went to the piggery this morning to meet the 6 new piglets born at the piggery last night. They and the mother seem to be healthy and doing well. Unfortunately, 2 of the piglets from the previous litter aren't doing so well. They're much smaller than the other piglets and don't seem to be getting enough milk. The mother doesn't seem to be producing enough milk to feed all the babies even though she's eating and drinking constantly. I've been doing some online research to see if I can feed them at home and may give it a try, but it seems pretty risky. We don't have any manufactured piglet feed available here, so the best I could do would be warm cow's milk. I can't even find goat's milk although there is no shortage of goats roaming around the village. Anyone have any orphan pig rearing knowledge to share? I'll call the vet tomorrow to see what he recommends. In any case, I couldn't take them until tomorrow since my cooking gas ran out last night and I'll need to travel to Kitgum to get it refilled before I'd be able to heat the milk for the piglets. Poor lil piggies.
Not much else new going on around here. We had a PTU Board of Directors meeting last week where I met two great representatives from the Gulu University PTU club. I think they'll be great partners in spreading PTU's mission and representing the organization outside of Pajule. I also traveled to Kitgum to meet some PCV friends for dinner on Saturday night. Last weekend we constructed a cob oven in their yard, and on Saturday, we made a few loaves of bread and baked ziti! YUM. For breakfast, we made an egg casserole and cinnamon rolls. So good. I think I may find myself at their house every weekend from here on out! Hoping that they'll come to Pajule to help me construct mine!
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| The oven in action. Made from local bricks and stones, firebricks and cob (mud + clay + sand + poop) |
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| The delicious egg casserole that my friend Aubrey whipped up for breakfast |
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| The Gulu University students and me in the office |
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| Opwonya Denis, Okidi Joseph, Achola Nelly, Owira Emmanual and Akena Leonsyo |
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| The meeting gang |
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| The new kids on the block |
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| Newbies |
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| The spotted one with the really pink nose is who I'm most concerned about. Too little. This is also a very pitiful picture of him... he was prancing around just a few minutes before. |
Friday, October 5, 2012
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TIA
It's easy for me to forget how strange some of my daily happenings could be to an outsider.
For instance, today I...
Just another day in paradise.
For instance, today I...
- awoke to the sound of a chicken trying to escape its captor while a Celine Dion song played in the background, on repeat, for about 3 hours
- chased a goat out of my garden
- was invited to join some old men, sitting in a circle, sipping thick, brown, home-brewed liquor from a shared pot sipped through long reeds at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon
- was asked if I put 'jelly' in my hair (it was wet) and if it was my real hair
- bit into a lemon thinking it was an orange (oranges are usually green here, and this was yellow, so I thought it was a ripe orange for a change... shoulda known better... lemons are usually green too)
- heated water in my tea kettle for my outdoor bucket bath, burned my trash, and will most likely pee in my 'night bucket' tonight instead of walking to the pit latrine in the inevitable rain that will come after dark
- paid a young boy the equivalent of 50 cents to fetch 4 20 liter jerricans of water for me
- spent a good 5 minutes stalking a large, buzzing hornet around my house before smashing it with my flip flop
- discussed the US presidential candidates with a guy named Elvis. He informed me that Obama was African and therefore would not win the election. Hmmm.
Just another day in paradise.
Mail Call
I love, love, love getting mail! Thanks to everyone that's sent me cards or packages. You're great.
I thought I should give an update on things I'd like or don't need in case you're planning on sending anything in the near future. If something is already in route, no worries, I have another year left and plenty of villagers that would be happy to inherit a few American luxuries.
Thanks to you guys, I have plenty of...
I thought I should give an update on things I'd like or don't need in case you're planning on sending anything in the near future. If something is already in route, no worries, I have another year left and plenty of villagers that would be happy to inherit a few American luxuries.
Thanks to you guys, I have plenty of...
- spices and condiments
- toiletries- soap, toothpaste, medicine, etc.
- antibacterial hand soap
- tea
- books
Things I'd like...
- tuna or chicken packets
- vacuum-packed pepporoni, salami, or bacon pieces
- AAA and AA batteries
- clorox wipes
- deodorant
- healthy snacks
- Starbucks instant coffee packets (I think they're called Via) and EmergenC vitamin drink packets
- Anything else fun- magazines, hand-me-down summer clothes, postcards, etc.
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