Yesterday after I had finished posting my blog, I was sitting outside the internet cafe waiting for another volunteer whose computer had crashed. A man started walking towards me, shouting and pointing at me. He was speaking in Luganda so I have no idea what he was saying, but that he kept saying mzungu so I knew it was about me. A group of men nearby picked up rocks and started throwing them at him and eventually he went away. It made me think of a warning we'd received during induction. "Don't be out after 11pm. Until then there are lots of people who are near if you need them, but after 11 they disappear." After that incident I'll be taking that advice!
Back at the volunteer house it's become apparent that our side of the house has quite a cockroach infestation in the bathroom. I'm not too bothered, being from Queensland and all, but it's funny seeing the reactions of the girls from England to the bug situation. There was a big incident involving a rhinoceros beetle yesterday.
I've been hearing terrifying stories about the witchdoctors. Benedict, one of our project coordinators was discussing the advocacy and lobbying side of the business and told us how people would sacrifice a child for wealth. This involves beheading the child and taking them to the local witchdoctor who would in turn guarantee that they become rich. I'm assuming this sort of thing only happens in the remote no travel zones of Uganda but it's pretty awful to hear that it happens at all. There is a witchdoctor near the school as well. I haven't seen her yet, but 2 of the other volunteers saw a cat's head on the ground outside her house the other week.
Today we went to Kampala with Silvia who works for the organisation to show us around places we may need to go. While showing us local hotels and shops she was saying that she finds it strange that er are here on our work holidays because in Uganda they don't get them. If you work for the government you may be lucky and get 3 days off in a row once, but it's not likely.
We were also taken to a market set up for mzngus. I was sad to see ivory for sale there.
At times when we were walking around Silvia would take hold of my hand. This is a sign of friendship in Uganda so I was flattered, but as a non-touchy person had to fight my instinct to pull away.
Last we went to Oweeno Market. A labyrinth of cluttered alleyways dealing mostly in clothing from charity. When I said earlier that Ugandans are reserved, this is with the exception of stall owners in Oweeno! There were many calls of mzungu, people grabbing our arms and disturbingly, stroking our arms. I think I also received about 3 marriage proposals. 2 of the men simply pointed at me and said "my wife".
Crossing the road in Kampala is a nightmare. You basically have to just step out and hope for the best.
Our taxi back to the village decided to turn around early but still demanded full payment. Silvia had an argument with them, at which point the taxi conducter threatened to tell us that she was going to steal us.
We decided to go to the school afterwards as it was still early. There wasn't anyone available to drive us though, so that meant getting a boda boda (motorbike). It was me and another volunteer on the back of one. Silvia went side saddle with another volunteer on the back of another, up a dirt track with no helmet. You can specify the speed you want to go so we said 20km/hr. His speedometer was broken though so who knows what speed we actually went.
Once we got to the school, we decided to do some painting. The kids all rushed in to the classroom and took the brushes and did all the painting for us. I felt pretty guilty but they seemed to be having fun. We came across a weird looking frog and being mzungus didn't want to touch it. The kids stood on it and threw paint on it until we chased them away. They really didn't understand why we would not let them kill it. Animals command no respect in Uganda.
I'm starting to lean the backgrounds of some of the children. One of the girls that has been taken in by the school was found when she was 11, working as a prostitute in the slums. I can only assume she is also HIV+ as a result.
I'm still trying to work out where to spend the donation my grandma has given me. It's so difficult to stay conscious enough outside of emotion to make sure it's spent in a sustainable way.
This evening we went to a bar called Afro Bar a few villages over and tried one of the local lagers. It's called Nile Special and costs equivalent of 65p for a 500ml bottle. So including transport, I spent 1.30 for a night out. We had to get boda bodas home though as taxis don't run late.They really are good with scared mzungus and travelled around 40km/hr the whole way home.We left shortly after they began showing the Chelsea match. You just can't get away from football!
All of the Ugandan staff here have been so welcoming and lovely so far. I really appreciate that while they are all very religious (like most Ugandans) they leave religion out of their work.
I really do love Africa. There's something about the simple life that feels so honest. Here, the problems that occupy your mind are human rights and poverty, rather than the fact that the man next to you on the tube is a space invader You can derive pleasure from a 65p bottle of beer, rather than a 65 pound bottle of whisky.
I really don't mind that the electricity has been out for 24 hours or that the water doesn't run. It makes me conscious of my consumption of these resources. Uganda is definitely getting under my skin.
Today's Tidbits
Back at the volunteer house it's become apparent that our side of the house has quite a cockroach infestation in the bathroom. I'm not too bothered, being from Queensland and all, but it's funny seeing the reactions of the girls from England to the bug situation. There was a big incident involving a rhinoceros beetle yesterday.
I've been hearing terrifying stories about the witchdoctors. Benedict, one of our project coordinators was discussing the advocacy and lobbying side of the business and told us how people would sacrifice a child for wealth. This involves beheading the child and taking them to the local witchdoctor who would in turn guarantee that they become rich. I'm assuming this sort of thing only happens in the remote no travel zones of Uganda but it's pretty awful to hear that it happens at all. There is a witchdoctor near the school as well. I haven't seen her yet, but 2 of the other volunteers saw a cat's head on the ground outside her house the other week.
Today we went to Kampala with Silvia who works for the organisation to show us around places we may need to go. While showing us local hotels and shops she was saying that she finds it strange that er are here on our work holidays because in Uganda they don't get them. If you work for the government you may be lucky and get 3 days off in a row once, but it's not likely.
We were also taken to a market set up for mzngus. I was sad to see ivory for sale there.
At times when we were walking around Silvia would take hold of my hand. This is a sign of friendship in Uganda so I was flattered, but as a non-touchy person had to fight my instinct to pull away.
Last we went to Oweeno Market. A labyrinth of cluttered alleyways dealing mostly in clothing from charity. When I said earlier that Ugandans are reserved, this is with the exception of stall owners in Oweeno! There were many calls of mzungu, people grabbing our arms and disturbingly, stroking our arms. I think I also received about 3 marriage proposals. 2 of the men simply pointed at me and said "my wife".
Crossing the road in Kampala is a nightmare. You basically have to just step out and hope for the best.
Our taxi back to the village decided to turn around early but still demanded full payment. Silvia had an argument with them, at which point the taxi conducter threatened to tell us that she was going to steal us.
We decided to go to the school afterwards as it was still early. There wasn't anyone available to drive us though, so that meant getting a boda boda (motorbike). It was me and another volunteer on the back of one. Silvia went side saddle with another volunteer on the back of another, up a dirt track with no helmet. You can specify the speed you want to go so we said 20km/hr. His speedometer was broken though so who knows what speed we actually went.
Once we got to the school, we decided to do some painting. The kids all rushed in to the classroom and took the brushes and did all the painting for us. I felt pretty guilty but they seemed to be having fun. We came across a weird looking frog and being mzungus didn't want to touch it. The kids stood on it and threw paint on it until we chased them away. They really didn't understand why we would not let them kill it. Animals command no respect in Uganda.
I'm starting to lean the backgrounds of some of the children. One of the girls that has been taken in by the school was found when she was 11, working as a prostitute in the slums. I can only assume she is also HIV+ as a result.
I'm still trying to work out where to spend the donation my grandma has given me. It's so difficult to stay conscious enough outside of emotion to make sure it's spent in a sustainable way.
This evening we went to a bar called Afro Bar a few villages over and tried one of the local lagers. It's called Nile Special and costs equivalent of 65p for a 500ml bottle. So including transport, I spent 1.30 for a night out. We had to get boda bodas home though as taxis don't run late.They really are good with scared mzungus and travelled around 40km/hr the whole way home.We left shortly after they began showing the Chelsea match. You just can't get away from football!
All of the Ugandan staff here have been so welcoming and lovely so far. I really appreciate that while they are all very religious (like most Ugandans) they leave religion out of their work.
I really do love Africa. There's something about the simple life that feels so honest. Here, the problems that occupy your mind are human rights and poverty, rather than the fact that the man next to you on the tube is a space invader You can derive pleasure from a 65p bottle of beer, rather than a 65 pound bottle of whisky.
I really don't mind that the electricity has been out for 24 hours or that the water doesn't run. It makes me conscious of my consumption of these resources. Uganda is definitely getting under my skin.
Today's Tidbits
- There are giant birds here like ibis', but the sit in the trees. I'm terrified of getting a giant poo on my head.
- I saw a man today on the back of a motorbike holding a car windshield between him and the driver. So dangerous!!
- Silvia showed us a guitar. A harp like instrument with fur on it...
- Went past a shop called At Obama Butchery
- The kids think it's very strange that I'm 27 years old and don't have a baby.
- We saw a chicken shop. Though it sells deep fried whole fish.
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