Life in Africa

I have been here for almost 2 months now. Everyday holds new challenges and new adventures. I am still in love with this place and with the people. One of my favorite things right now is that I can’t walk anywhere around town without running into someone that I know. It may be other volunteers, people from the church, mommies from the orphanage, or shop owners that I have come to know by name, whoever it may be, I love that I am feeling more and more apart of the community here.

I have done my best to acclimate myself. I am “enjoying” doing my laundry by hand. I usually do it 2-3x/week. I scrub it out with detergent, rinse it, and then let it soak in hot water for the evening. In the morning I wring it out and hang it on the clothesline in my room. I could easily have some of the workers do my laundry here for a small fee, but there is just something about the “African” experience and doing laundry by hand that I find to be a necessary part of my time here :o)

I am loving the Ugandan cuisine. I ate termites! Interesting. They are called white ants and they are best fried. I’m not adventurous enough to eat them when they are still alive. Some say they taste like cracker jacks…they are liars…but I am glad that I tried them. I love the fresh fish, the beans and rice, and my all time favorite is the cabbage.

I have been using public transportation more and more. They call them boda bodas and they are motorcycles (some in better shape than others). As a female it is culturally appropriate for me to sit with my legs off to the side and to hang on to the back of the small seat. The cost is usually about 1000USH, which translates to approx $0.60. It is a quick and efficient way to get around town…scary at times on the busier roads, but an adventure nonetheless. The roads in general are best avoided, not practical, but still the best option. There are no laws here when it comes to driving and the roads. If there are laws and if they are broken, the police would have to chase the offender by foot as there are VERY limited police cars available. Most of the time it is an intense game of Chicken being played out before your eyes…there are 5 cars coming at you, all drivers looking drunk since they are constantly swerving to avoid the numerous potholes, and all you are aimed with is your turn signal to indicate to them that you are coming and they need to get over. Too many near misses to count.

Many of you know my “luck” with lawn mowing. I’m hoping that my time here in Africa will forever rid me of my complaints. Here they use machetes and goats to mow their lawns…I could potentially get into the whole goat thing but unfortunately in America we have Home Associations who would probably frown on such activity.

Power has become more and more unreliable these past few weeks. We are in the middle of rainy season, which translates into many severe storms. Some places have been without power for over 3 weeks now. Fortunately my guest house uses the same line as the hospital, so we are usually only without power for a few hours at a time.

This is a fairly efficient African country…compared to America it is considerably behind, but this isn’t America. In my mind, getting to the bank, paying utility bills, eating lunch, and checking internet, equals a very successful day. The problem is that often there is no rhyme or reason to how they do things. For instance, some came into the country and received a 3 month visa without any problem. We were only given a one month and had to go to immigration to get approved for two more months. I wrote out my request and was told to come back in a half hour, it was tea time. I’m sure if I were staying here long term that the lack of rhyme or reason would potentially become frustrating, but for now I just shrug my shoulders and laugh…After all, this is Africa.