An Emmaus Adventure

I wanted to go to Emmaus before heading home to America.  Emmaus Center/Community is the first place I ever went in Uganda, two years ago this July!  I call the people who live there my first family.

Going to Emmaus this time was not just to see friends, though that is a major encouragment and bonus.  I was going shopping... for land!  Land prices in Uganda are still fairly low, and you make money right away when you buy.  I am trying to think long term about sustainability projects for any work that I begin.

My plan is to use the money I make from any odd jobs I get in America this summer, together with some small savings, to buy an acre of land out in the villiage near Emmaus.  I want to buy there because the prices are good, the location from Kampala is not too bad, and I really trust everyone there.  I know that they would be helpful if there was ever any issue.

So I finally motivated myself to leave on Friday around 12:30, after making eggs which I forgot to put butter in the pan, so they all stuck to the pan.  Sigh. 

I packed very basically, knowing I would just bunk in with a friend.  I jumped on a boda, because the cost/benifit analysis determained it was worth it.  Getting into the city, the traffic jam was insane.  It took us forever to get to the park, weaving in and out of frustrated taxis, avoiding massive potholes, and bicycles hauling huge loads.  Thankfully I use New Taxi park to go out to Lewero, which is about 10 times more sane than Old Taxi park.  (Just imagine hundreds of taxis, potholes, people... in a very small space)

I got in the taxi and read my book (the end of poverty) while young men with water, soda, food, and other goods banged on my window trying to get my attention to buy their wares.  A large mother with two children squeezed in text to me.  It didn't take long for the 16 seat taxi to fill, and we were on our way.  It wasn't too long of a ride.  I looked out the window and thought how strange it was that two years ago I came here for the first time, never imagining I'd be here two years later.  The sun shown brightly on the beautiful variety of green vegitation.  It was good to be out of the city.

Trundling along, most of us in the warm taxis were dozing off when all of the sudden there was a HUGE CRUNCH.  Then a very loud scrapping sound as all of us jumped and were wide awake.  The driver skill fully pulled the car over.  I looked behind us to figure out what happened.  There was a tire in the road!  At first I thought that a tire had actually fallen off the car, but it hadn't pitched in the way you would think it would.  We sat, waiting in the heat, hoping that the repair wouldn't take all day.  The conductor ran and got the tire.  It was the spare, and they secured it and we were on our way.  We arrived faster than I expected, suddenly seeing the Emmaus Primary and yelling "Stage" as fast as I could!

It was wonderful to be at Emmaus, it's a very peaceful place with many people I love.  There was a prayer meeting Friday evening, which was nice.  Some of my friends from Masaka were there, which was strange, as it always is to see people in the "wrong" place.  I also got to see one of the youth I worked with in Sudan!  That was wonderful.  He was a part of Fr. Herald Brock's youth group in Torit, and was sent to Emmaus for their 6 month DTS formation, similar to what I staffed at Yesu Ahuriire in Mbarara.  It was great to see him and reconnect with him.

I had tea with my favoriet 4 year old, John Paul.  He loves white people and always knows who I am, Aunty Noelle.  We sat together and drank tea and ate bread, after playing with a bouncy ball for a while.  He then informed me that he would escort me to the next place I was going.  I love that kid so much! 

Love is a hot shower.  My friend Francis heard me say that the only reason I would pay for a room was for a hot shower.  He talked to me later and said that he would turn on the water heater for me in one of the houses and that I could use it!  So after the prayer meeting, I was able to go and get warm water flowing over me.  It was so beautiful!  I realized that Francis's love language was acts of service... and I did feel loved!  

This morning, after a good long sleep in, I got up and said hello/good bye to friends.  I got to have a wonderful chat with my dear friend Clemintina, who agreed to be the signitory for land that I buy!  She and I hope to be able to partner on some income generating projects in the future.

Then I packed up and walked down the road with Francis, who is my land assistant, to see a plot which is for sale.  I wanted to get an idea of size.  I think I am going to go for an acre... which hopefully will cost a bit less than 1,000 USD. 

I jumped in a taxi home, which was not as exciting as it had been on the way out.  However, once we reached town the taxi decided to take a back route.  It ended up that we got stuck in a huge traffic jam.  I wanted to go home.  It would have taken 2 more hours if I'd stayed in the taxi... and I couldn't take it.  So I jumped out, got a boda to Wandegye, a taxi to Nakawa, and a boda home.  It cost about a dollar more, but was totally worth is... I got home and had a pineapple and mango fruit salad for lunch.

Now... back to work. 

Anecdotes from Kampala

Sorry for the lack of posting.   

Here are some stories about life in Kampala.

The Doctor:  I went to the doctor today, a lot of money for very little results.  The Doctor I see, Dr. Paul, was not who I wanted when I first went to SAS clinic in October.  African Male Doctor did not sound like something I wanted to deal with.  But Dr. Paul came in whether I liked it or not.  He is very nice, mid thirties and not at all awkward.  So he was working today and consulted with him again. 

Sadly it took most of the day.  Blood tests and attempted other tests took lots of time.  Blood tests showed that I don’t have anything, but didn’t explain why my stomach is occasionally feeling like I am being brutally stabbed.  Hopefully tomorrow something will show up.

The Local Market:   There is a big market at the end of my road.  I wish it was about 5 minutes closer, because on a hot day or when I am carrying pineapples, it’s too far.  Across the street from the market is a taxi park, which is handy.  The market has everything which is standard in Ugandan kitchens:  Carrots, green peppers, onions, avocados, potatoes, mangos and pineapples. There are of course bananas and a few other things, all sold by pile.  The veggies and fruits are fresh, which is really nice.  Today I bought green beans for the first time, we’ll see how they cook up.  I try to buy a bunch of veggies on Monday and eat through them throughout the week. 

There are also clothes, big bunches of matooke, bags, and all sorts of plastic house items.  So I enjoy visiting it occasionally and picking up what I need.

Party!  This past weekend I was celebrating one year in Africa.  Esther and I decided to throw a party.  I thought that maybe 10 people would come...  I think that in total we had about 20 people at some poinst!  We ran out of sauce and cooking was intense but it was fun.  The best thing about the party was that it was such a strange mix of people.  It was wonderful to see people, who otherwise would never come together, be in the same room enjoying themselves.  I am really hoping I can stay around Kampala to be a person who brings people together. 

Home:  I am coming home to America for 2.5 months... I leave in 2 weeks and I am excited.  I have a lot of writing to do for the various programs I am working on.  I’ve been pretty exhausted, so I am resting a good bit.  I am hoping for a lot of fun and refreshment, and of course work, while home. 

Lots and very little is going on all at once, if that makes any sense.  The next year will be interesting!

Cooking with Cockroaches

Before I moved to Kampala, I was doing my own cooking in Mbarara.  This was because the food was making me so sick I had to try to control the situation a bit.  It only helped a little.

In the kitchen where i cooked, there was a small cockroach that would come and visit me while cooking.  This annoying and disguisting creature caused me to send food flying all over the kitchen one day in a totally  unwise assasination attempt.  By the time I left Mbarara, I had gotten sort of use to one "run by" of Mr. Cockroach each time I cooked.

Just to clarify, I really hate cockroaches.  Everything about them revolts and digusts me.  I HATE them. 

So then I moved to Kampala.  The day went flawlessly and I was so happy!  Then I go into the kitchen with Esther my roommate.  She's showing me around and says "oh these draws have a small cockroach infestation".  I said "Oh, let's fix that right now." So I got my bug killer and TOTALLY fumugated the draws.  Not much later, we were happily cooking together in our beautiful kitchen, when out of the corner of my eye is se a cockroach.

This creature was not a Mbarara cockroach.  I SCREAMED.   It was over 2 inches long and fat.  It was HUGE.  A city cockroach.  I totally scared Esther, and she laughed hard at me when she realized why I was so upset.  She killed it.

So we go back to cooking.  Not 2 minutes later, another VERY large cockroach shows up in the same place.  This time I run out of the kitchen totally unable to take it. I may have jump up and down screaming a bit… I might have.  Esther kills it again.  I pretty much spent the rest of the night with a can of insect killer.  We killed a total of 6 HUGE roaches. 

Life can never be perfect.  It's pretty close right now, but me and the roaches are NOT friends. 

They are really gross. 

So I cook with a spoon in one hand and a can of insecticide in the other.  :)

Note:  I think we’ve won.  I have seen only 3 since the first night.  Though last night the one in the bathroom was pretty much the king of roaches.  *shiver*