The Epic Drive to Sipi Falls, Much Hiking, and Coffeeeeee :)

Shandraki playing with my camera

Here are the photos from the football tournament…

Football tournament

Signs at the school where the tournament was:

Parents We Want U Alive

AIDS has no medicine

My English class  :)

Lorenzo (an Italian volunteer that Paul lives next to) had his birthday party the night I stayed in Jinja before leaving for Sipi.

Waiting for pasta and CAKE!

Innocent and Jordan enjoying chocolate cake and nutella.

Sipi Falls was amazing!! The ride there was something to write home about, took about 6-7hrs and it was only supposed to be 3 or so. The taxi (matatu) we took from Jinja to Mbale (99km or 1 ½ hours) decided to stop pretty frequently to let people off and on so that added a lot of time. Finally we made it to Mbale around 5:30pm and we had about another hour and a half (so we were told) until we arrived to Sipi. After much debate and discussion with the taxi drivers and conductors we agreed on 4,000ugx as the price for each of us. 

A rainbow on the drive to Sipi!

We go in the taxi and thought we were on our way - - we were wrong… we then went to the taxi park and sat there for another 30min while the van filled up. So finally we were on our way and good because it was becoming dusk. We get to the bottom of this huge hill and see a sign for the place we booked for the night “Sipi River Lodge – 12km” We were so close… but out taxi decided to tell us that it wasn’t 4,000ugx its more than that and also, he wasn’t going to take us up the hill. So as we are parked on the bottom of this huge hill 12km away from our destination, our driver flags down a random private car that’s headed up the hill. A few words are exchanged and then the driver tells us to get out and that we are going with this car. So the five of us (Ethan, Sarah, Cory, Tom, and I) pile into this tiny beat up car with 4 locals, only 1 spoke English. We put our luggage in the back of the car where Ethan and Sarah had to sit. The latch didn’t shut all the way so we had to hold their hands so they didn’t fall out of the back and roll down the hill. About half way up the hill we drop off the only guy who spoke English and continued. For some reason the driver decided to stop again and talk to people on the street. It was now dark and locals surrounded the car. It was a bit uncomfortable but I just locked my door. When the driver tried to start the car it wouldn’t start – we sat there for another 15min trying to figure out the problem and soon enough they added some gasoline and we were putting up the hill again.

Sarah and Ethan hanging on for dear life.

Finally – Sipi River Lodge!!! We made it! Just in time for a hot dinner too. This lodge was backyard to the second of three waterfalls called Sipi Falls. 

That was our cabin the first night!

Thursday morning (14) we decided to do the hike to all three waterfalls before lunch.

The hike was beautiful….

Sipi River Lodge has their own garden/farm where they get
the majority of the food they serve from!

Sarah, Ethan, Tom, Me and Cory ready for our hike!

Awesome cave behind the 2nd water fall!

Neat slug...made me miss banana slugs and Nor Cal.

View while hiking...

Sipi Falls # 2

epic

Little creek/stream that Cory and Tom jumped into for a swim!

There was TONS of cabbage on this hike. Everywhere!

Sipi Falls #3

Just part of the hike!

The largest of the 3 waterfalls - Sipi Falls #1

I'm touching the waterfall!

The hike took nearly 4 hours and was very challenging. I felt like I was training for Mt. Kilimanjaro. Which reminded me that I needed to start running soon because I start that climb August 19th. 

In the afternoon I was going to go abseiling off the largest of the three falls. But unfortunetly it began to down pour (which apparently it does nearly every afternoon) so I had to cancel my abseiling. We changed logging that night and moved to the Crows Nest which was 1/10 of the price…but for good reason.

View from Crows Nest...not bad!

Our dorm for the second night

Friday morning (15) we scheduled a Coffee Tour/Coffee Safari and headed out early to learn all about the process of planting, growing, harvesting, roasting and drinking coffee! It was a blast!!

A baby goat!

First you have to plant the coffee seed. Then after 40 days it will start to sprout. Around that time you have to transport it into a little plastic bag type of pot so that it stays healthy and holds moisture.

Coffee seeds

After another 4-6 months they will become larger and ready to transplant into the plantation.

Ready for transplant!

We each got to plant out own coffee plant and name it after ourselves.

Antonia and Antonia the coffee plant.

 Once they are planted into soil, it will take 3 years for them to grow and be able to be harvested. So they told me to come back in 3 years and I could harvest Antonia for coffee.

This is what a ripe coffee bean looks like on the plant! CRAZY!

 Once the 3 year mark hits and they are able to be harvested, they continue to produce coffee beans for FORTY years!! After they become too old you cut them at an angle and another coffee plant will grow from it.

This one was just cut and another plant is
growing.

 We took out red coffee beans and put them through this machine to strip off the outside (red part) so that we were left with the white beans. Those beans are surprisingly sticky.

The beans are then washed and dried in the sun.

This is what the beans look like once they are washed and dried.

 But they still aren't ready to be coffee. We had to pound them and get all the loose particles/skin off of them before we roasted them.

Pounding away!

Our guide Tony getting all the unwanted particles
off the beans.

Time to roast them!

 I thought roasting took at least and hour... but no! It only took about 5-7min!

I love coffee!!

 Now we had to pound the roasted coffee so we could taste our coffee!!

 A cup of coffee at starbucks - ~$4
A cup of Ugandan coffee that you made yourself - priceless :)

It was one of the best cups I've ever had!

The ride back from Sipi was much much shorter than the one there. I made it back to Jinja Friday (15) around 5pm. Paul was on the river so I waited in town for him. The rest of the weekend was nice and relaxing. I was able to go rafting again on Saturday and enjoyed every second of it!

I headed back to Ndejje Sunday (17) afternoon and slept very good. 4 weeks left! Time to get to work. This week I am going to try many new things with the students. My Dad sent me some pencils so I'm going to use that as an intensive to do well also. I have to work on lesson plans and homework for the week.

The "Reward System," Jackfruit, Football Tournament, Losing Power and Water, Protests Across Uganda!

Although I believe that the solution to many of the world’s problems is education – I'm not so sure that my calling in life is teaching. I am so blessed and happy to be where I am doing what I am doing, but I don’t think teaching is how I’m going to save the world. I'm using a trial and error approach to tackling the worlds problems. But who knows, I still have about 5 weeks left and I got some great advice from two of my brilliant Aunts so things could definitely change!

Last week (4-7) was semi-frustrating and challenging for me. I work all weekend on an English exam for my students, half of them showed up! So I postponed it, and then the students finally took the exam only half of them passed. The ones who didn’t are the students who don’t come to class every day and don’t finish their homework. Its hard to explain to them – if you don’t do these things (come to class and do homework) you are not going to learn English. You are wasting your time and mine. I had my friend Jacqueline, the tailor woman who has been making me some clothes, come into the classroom to translate for me as I scolded some of the students.  I really want to help people here, but I'm realizing that they have to want to be helped. Everyone just expects hand outs or things to come easy for them. When they see me, they think - Muzungu (Swahili for white person) - she has money, she can solve all of my problems and take me back to America with her. I can't count how many people have asked me to take them or their children back to America with me. Its hard to explain how difficult something like that would be.

The kids in the Environmental Education class are VERY excited for the Jinja field trip. We put the date in stone (although nothing is really set in stone here) – Monday, August 15^th. I’m hoping that Paul can arrange a shuttle from Kampala which will save me a ton of money, other wise the round trip with a taxi rental will be about 300,000 ugx ($120). I introduced a “Reward System” as a way to keep track of the students who are doing well in the class. They can gain points by completing homework, outstanding class participation, volunteering to be “on duty” for the week (watching students to make sure they aren’t littering), doing well on the final exam, etc. But they can also lose points for being disruptive in class, volunteering and NOT doing their job, lying/cheating/coping, littering, etc. P5 is still behind on lectures but this week I am doing some “reusing” activities with P6 and P7. We will be making plastic bottles into things like: candle holders, juggling clubs, weights (for weight lifting), bowling pins, lava lamps, "tornado in a bottle," funnels, vases and holders for things, juicers, piggy banks, and maybe even a bracelets if we have time. Its hard to get in all the information I want to teach about the environment, the school only gives me 1 hour a week with each class. There are so many things I need to teach them about. Next week I think we will focus on land, air, and water pollution. I would really like to get to Climate Change including all of its effects and causes. We will see if time permits.

All of the phones here are like track phones; you have to buy minutes which are called “airtime”. When people don’t have airtime, which is often, they “beep” you. Which is they call you and then hang up, so that you will have to call them back and use your airtime. But HA, I have found the solution, I just beep them back!!

Apparently the main source of electricity in Uganda (unsure at the moment what that is) has been minimized so we had 4 days (4^th-7^th) of no power. Wait, it came on for about 4 hours one night. Thursday (7) I went to the SWB house again for dinner. Their neighbor, Major Alex (works for he gov’t) gave them tons of fruit so we had fruit and corn and samosas for dinner. Samosas are like little triangles that are filled with rice or beans. They are tasty, cheap, and probably not that healthy for you haha. I met three new locals that night: Grace, Dennis and Herbert. Grace and Dennis go to a local Primary school (not where I work) and Herbert is one of their older brothers who is my age. They brought us jackfruit from their garden/yard. Jackfruit is so amazing; it taste like starburst and it’s the biggest fruit I have ever seen!! 

Jackfruit in a tree!

They walked me home so I didn’t have to go alone in the dark. People here are very nice about that sort of thing; I appreciate it a lot too. I don’t feel unsafe here, but it just takes one idiot to do something stupid!

I learned on Friday (8) that we could also lose water. There was no water that day from about 7am-9pm so that was a new experience. I went to meet my friend Bangi (a local who works with SWB and is attending University in Kampala next term) and show him how to start a blog. He is one of the most open minded, level headed, reasonable, Ugandans I have met. He has a lot of good thoughts and he is very interested in Journalism. He wants to become a lawyer, and I honestly think he will succeed; he is very hard working and has a lot of determination. Two qualities that are not all that common here. It also helps that he has a sponsor from the US who sends him money for school fees and food. People are capable of are amazing...they only need the opportunity to prove themselves and succeed. After Banji left with the SWB volunteers I finished my work for the school and headed to the football field to watch the football tournament with all of the local primary schools! It was so much fun and very disorganized!! All the schools from p5-p7 had no school and there were so many teams and even more spectators. Each school had their own little cheers and stood behind the opposing side’s goal to chant! The goal was just 3 sticks nailed together. The majority of the teams played with no shoes, all of the teams played with no shin-guards (something that protects your shins from hard kicks and that is mandatory in the US). HOPE school did very well – 2 wins and 1 tie. I have some videos and pictures, but havent had time to upload them onto my computer. Next post will have many pictures for sure.

Acheal and his little brother and older sister stopped over after the games. I got to play doctor again; his sister seemed to have sprained her wrist. They thought the bone had moved to the middle of her wrist when she fell because it was extremely hard in the middle (they thought the hard spot was the bone). Alas, it was just very very swollen already. I splinted it with some pencils and showed them how to wrap her wrist with a stretchy ace wrap. I bought her some ice, gave them some extra money for more ice later, and told her to keep it elevated and NOT to move it if at all possible. It looked awfully painful…. She has not been at school since the accident. That night I ate dinner at Shandraki and Espoire’s house. I wanted to visit Fabrice to practice French but there was no time – didn’t finish dinner until about 10:30pm.

The power came on Saturday night and stayed on! It was a very pleasant change of pace! I made sure to charge all of my things because I had no idea how long it would stay on because it had been out since Tuesday (with the exception of a few hours one of the nights). I was going to go to Kampala over the weekend to meet up with my friend Ilan who is doing an internship with USAID, but when I called him his phone was disconnected. After an email I discovered that he was not enjoying his internship so decided to leave for India and is spending the rest of the summer traveling. That reminded me how lucky I was to have such an amazing experience here in Ndejje; although it has its downs, this place is remarkable.

I don’t think I’ve stressed enough how much dust there is here. None of the roads are paved and EVERY TIME a car or a boda drives by I have to hold my breath. My allergies have been so bad these last few days I thinks because of the a fufu (Lugandan for dust).

On Sunday (10) I went to Lighthouse Gospel International Church in Zana (a village or two towards Kampala). At first it was pretty exciting lots of singing but then the preacher started to constantly ask for money and remind his congregation that God won’t/can’t help them unless they give money to the church. This was coming from the preacher who was preaching from and iPAD!! An iPad in Africa is not a common sight, in fact, it was the first one I had seen.After mass (2 1/2 hours later) I was required to go into the chapel with all of the other “new comers/first timers” and we were pressured into joining the church and I was forced to memorized John 3:16. Want to know a good way to scare someone into never coming back? Do that to them. 5 hours after I had left my house to go to church, I finally returned home to start some school work.

Acheal and his older brother Samuel stopped over on Sunday after church. I had talked to him on the phone a couple of times but this was my first time meeting him. I served them some tea (the power was on so I could use my electric kettle) and shortly after they left Jacqueline arrived to surprise me with a dress she made for me. Last weep, she misunderstood me and cut one of my dresses too short (so I was unable to wear it to school to teach) so to make up for it she made me a new one! It is so beautiful, I am very happy with it. I will post pictures of it soon.

There have been many protests, because of the rise in price of commodity and petrol, throughout Uganda again these last couple of weeks. Josephine, my neighbor who took me to church, works at the Owino Market in Kampala. Owino is the most insane and crazy place I have ever been. Its scares me and I will not go alone, but it is definitely an experience. I will try to take pictures next time I go. But anyways, last week Wednesday and Thursday (6-7) the markets were on strike so she was unable to work. Then Monday the matatus (taxis) were on protest as well. They threatened to go all week but resumed on Tuesday. Read more here.

Monday’s English lessons went well, 4 students and they learned about possessive pronouns and family members. After my English class the SWB volunteers talked me into going to Sipi Falls with them. I have always wanted to go there and I missed my last chance to go with the Italians that Paul lives with. Fearing that this would be my only other opportunity, I jumped on it! I left Tuesday (12) for Jinja and will spend Wednesday/Thursday (13/14) nights in Sipi and then go back to Jinja for the weekend (15-17) like I had planned. The school was 100% ok with me taking off work. I figured they would be, because people do things like this all the time here. “Oh plans have changed we can't do this anymore.” Nothing is ever concert or set in stone here and nothing is reliable. Nothing. NOTHING!

I woke up Tuesday with a sore throat and a bad headache that lasted all day. Traveling from boda boda (motor-bikes) to Kampala, onto another boda boda to go around Kampala, to a looooooong matatu ride to Jinja onto another boda to Bugajali Falls (where Paul lives) was not ideal. But thankfully, the taxis were not protesting any longer; getting to Sipi would have been near impossible and would have cost an arm and a leg. I hope I'm not getting sick; I'm going to take extra good care of myself these next few days to ensure I stay healthy. I am in Jinja now, feel betting and waiting for the rest of the crew to head North East to Sipi. It will take about 5 hours on a matatu (can't wait) but everyone around has been saying its nothing short of spectacular. Great wildlife, tons of hiking trails, and apparently the scenery is second to none. I believe we are going to  hike the three water falls that are in Sipi and hopefully take a coffee tour. They also offer rock climbing and abseiling, but we will see if my wallet can afford their tourist prices. Looking forward to this mini vacation :)

Sorry for the lack of photos - next post will make up for it! Videos and photos galore!

Doctor Toni, Dancing in the Name of CAKE, Ugandan Conspiracies and My 1st Exam!

Before leaving on Sunday (26), Paul went to Dr. Debbie one more time to have his leg “packed” with gauze soaked in hydrogen peroxide. He described the feeling as a sharp pointy lighter burning the inside of your leg….sounds fun. Dr. Debbie said that I would have to repack it the next few days until he returned to Jinja J So far, Africa has made me Teacher Toni and Doctor Toni…have I mentioned that I love it here?

The ride from Jinja to Kampala and then from Kampala to Ndejje was more difficult that usual considering I had a giant box which contained a delicious smelling chocolate cake that read “Happy Birthday Toni!” Luckily I discovered my mistake of what matutu (shared taxi) to choose when going to and from Jinja. You must be INSIDE the taxi park to find the direct taxis. We arrived to my house just in time to take a nap and head up to Perrine’s house to get ready for the birthday party. They were all dressed very smart and I was wearing my new dress that Jacqueline had made for me!

cool dude

Soon the house began to fill with more and more children. There were two of them I didn’t even recognize…but the more the merrier!! The power had been out all day, so we partied African style. Jacques and his family couldn’t make it to the party, so after Paul and I left we stopped at his house to share the cake with his family.

Me and Paul excited for cake... (at least I was!)

Cutting the cake....

Waiting patiently for the goodies :)

Me, Paul, Peireen and Fabrice

Jullien and Eddy

Gradie (spelling?)

They made party hats :)

Gradie's party hat says "NOUS T'AIMONS TRES FORT" 

which in english means - We love you very strongly.

Here is a video that I edited which sums up my birthday celebration:

 

Monday (27), my real birth date, was amazing as well. I taught English as usual and then Paul and I headed to Kampala to eat at Lotus Mexicana Restaurant. We read about it in a Jinja/Kampala travel magazine and we couldn’t resist the temptation of margaritas. The passion fruit margarita was hands down the best drink I have ever had. (They used REAL fruit!!)

Enjoying an amazing drink with an
amazing man

Paul was having a great time too....

We took a boda back to Ndejje (we didn’t want to deal with the shared taxi) and the boda man clearly didn’t know where he was going and then he tried to over charge us – not going to happen. One thing that gets really old here is the consistency of people trying to rip you off and trying to get more money from you. One woman says 5,000ugx for a pineapple when I got one in Kampala last week for 900ugx!! They think white people are dumb and rich.

Tuesday (28) Paul came to school with me so Jacque and him could work on H.E.A.L – Uganda (the environmental organization they are trying to implement in Ndejje). I taught my two environmental classes and headed home at lunch because there was a huge storm that was about to hit. Jacques recommended that I cancel English class (no one would have came in the rain anyways) so Paul and I spent the afternoon with no power hanging out in the house. When it stopped raining Espoire and Shandraki came over to my house. Paul and I escorted them home when it got to be dark and their mother Jackie was home. She only speaks Swahili and Luganda, so we have to communicate through the boys. They all taught me how to make chapattis! It was fun. Chapattis are my favorite - they are a type of flat bread... between naan and a tortilla. They are good with EVERYthing.

Paul left Wednesday morning and since I had no classes in the morning I saw him off in Kampala. Wednesday-Friday the students at HOPE had their mid-term exams. I can’t believe how hard those things are! I didn’t even know some of the answers. The kids were telling me that all of the things that are asked on the exam aren’t always taught in class. Since there were exams, I only taught my English class to the adults, so now the P5 students are behind with the lesson. I had two new English students on Wednesday which was very refreshing. One of them finished school up to Senior-3 (which is probably similar to about 10th grade in the states). I think I will have to begin a separate class for this boy because he knows a lot of English and he can hold a conversation with me no problem. I told him that I wanted him to write me the story of his life, not so I could get to know him better, but so I could see where his weaknesses were in the English language and then we could go from there with our lessons.

This new student, Patrick, also told me some very interesting gossip about Uganda and Central Africa. He was explaining to me that Museveni (the current Uganda President) is half brothers with Paul Kagami (the current President of Rwanda) and that together they are becoming extremely rich and powerful because they are pretty much raping the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of its mineral wealth (diamonds, gold, etc). The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has been committing numerous crimes against humanity throughout Central Africa for nearly 2 decades and the leader of the LRA is supposedly a man name Joseph Kony. Patrick was telling me that there really is no more Joseph Kony anymore...he was around at some point - but he is non-existent now. He was telling me that the work of the LRA is actually the work of Museveni. I know that the government is corrupt, but I just am not sure how corrupt. He was telling me stories of Museveni cutting off the noses of people who are not in support of him.

Uganda held elections in January and the opposing candidate was a man named Kizza Besigye. Apparently Museveni and Besigye used to be very good friends - but then something went wrong and ended their friendship. Some say that Besigye was the true winner of the elections and that Museveni took the Presidency by force - other say it was a fair election. Either way, Besigye has been a major leader and contributor to the popular "walk to work" protests. A few months earlier he was tear gasses and had rubber bullets shot at him.

Not sure what to believe, I think this news can be compared with saying that Osama Bin Laden has been dead for years and he wasn't behind 9/11. It is quite an interesting story though. There is some saying like...every lie begins with a kernel of truth. So you never know!

The weekend (1-3) went wonderful. We had power for almost half of the weekend!! I completed my English Exam that I planned to give out this week. It was very sunny too, so I laid in the sun and spent a lot of time with the kids from school. I also took my braids out... I started to do it by myself, but it was taking too long, so I went to a salon (there are probably 30 in Ndejje) and they only charged me 3000ugx ($1.25) to take them out. It took about 2hours and I lost about 1/4 of my hair, but I survived!

Shandraki having fun with my camera.

Ester and her sister visiting!

On Monday I had planned to give the English Exam, but I think the students were scared because only 3 showed up - so instead I just reviewed everything I was going to test them on. The Soccer Without Boarders (SWB) volunteers got a third volunteer named Cory. Since it was our countries independence day...we decided to get together and celebrate!! It was the third time any of us had attempted to cook African style...but it turned out amazing!! We had corn on the cob (bought that on the street), I brought over fruit salad (passion fruit, pineapple, mango, and banana) with strawberry and vanilla yogurt, I also brought over some potatoes so we could make french friends. Sarah was the queen of the pasta salad and then we had cooked cabbage as well. I was extremely impressed with out fourth of July meal. The only down side...we couldn't find fire works ANYWHERE!!! The walk home at 10pm was not fun though. They live about 2km away and was pretty much running. Don't want to do that again.

Yesterday (5) I had my two Environmental Education classes and I introduced my reward system chart that would help me determine which students were the top students that would be coming to Jinja at the end of term! You earn points by completing homework, participating in class, volunteering to be "on duty" during lunch/break time to make sure no one is littering and you can lose points is you are caught littering, if you are being disruptive in class, etc. They seem very very excited about this :) I also handed out the English exam. It isn't going as well as I hoped. In class they seem to know everything, but when it is on paper...they move much much slower. In 2 hours, only 1 woman had completed the test. So I excused her and told the others that they could go home and study and that they would complete it today. We shall see how that goes today...

Burning Plastic, French Dreams, and Chocolate Cake for everyone!

Sometimes I forget how hard it is to get people to “change” their ways or make them understand a better way of doing things “differently.” Fabrice and Fabienne came to my house to help me learn how to use my new African stove that takes charcoal. I think it is extremely hard and tedious to get started. Previously I had seen many people start them by burning plastic bags all in the middle of the charcoal – I was not about to try that. All people do here is burn or dump their garbage…the smell of burning plastic is far too common here. Fabrice and Fabienne could not understand why I wanted to burn the paper pieces I had torn up instead of plastic. They kept saying things like “This is Africa” “This is the only way to do it” But I kept insisting that we start it with paper. I know that in Rwanda they have banned nearly all types of plastic bags so I asked them how people in Rwanda got their charcoal to start without charcoal! I tried to explain to them how bad burning plastic was and that the fumes were poisonous but they didn’t seem to understand.

Here is a tour of my house:

On Saturday (18) I went to the Soccer Without Boarders training near the school to play football with the kids from school. Instead I just talked to Bonji (a local who helps out and could possibly be getting a job with SWB). Afterwards some of the boy from the school came over to try to make paper – it was a complete failure. The frames I had made for me were way too big and didn’t fit into the wash bin were the paper was soaking. I searched all day long to try to find a wash bin large enough but it was nowhere to be found! The holes on the screens were too big, and we didn’t press out enough water so the papers came out like soaking wet mushy blobs. We are going to try again in a week or so.

I finally had my first French-speaking dream!! I don’t remember much of what was said, but I was at Richellie Park in Hurley, Wi with Ellysa Aijala, we were talking French together and she knew more French than me (even though she is a Spanish speaker).

When it rains, it pours... and then the electricity goes
out for the rest of the day.

Work never stops for the women (and some men) of Africa. Every morning by 6am the girls near my house they are cooking, washing clothes, bathing their little brothers/sisters, cleaning, etc! Even when it’s torrential down poor – they are still busy doing things while putting out buckets to collect what rainwater they can.

I audited one of Teacher Jacobs science classes for P5 so I could see the teaching style of Uganda. It’s hard to have authority here because the kids are beat by everyone –parents, friends’ parents, relatives, teachers, etc. I won't lay a hand on the kids, so I have no treat to them. When Eddy was walking home, he broke his 1,000ugx ($0.50) sandals. I fixed them with some duct tape when we got to my house and he said, “Thanks, now my mother won’t beat me.” Kind of shocking, and happy I could prevent a beating.

On Tuesday (21) I woke up early so that I could go with Perrine to the Owino Market in Kampala to buy some things for dinners. They cook for me at least 2-4 times a week so I wanted to buy them some food. That market is the most insanely stressful and overwhelming market I have ever been to. It is about 100-200 different venues on about 2 blocks or less or space with people from 20km away coming to buy or sell things in the countries capital. This market makes me NEVER want to live in Kampala – the city is far too crazy. I headed back early and made it in time to teach my 2 Environmental classes (my first day with P7) and my English class. 

I let the neighborhood kids have some fun with my camera
while Daniella played with my hair.

There are two people who work at HOPE school who have malaria right now…guess its pretty common – and one you have it I was told you will always have it. Good things my net is secured around me nightly and I haven’t forgotten a day of my malaria pills!

They had fun posing

Them they found "frames" on my camera.

I left Thursday (23) for Jinja and picked the wrong Matatu/taxi to take me. It was only 4,000ugx (last time the guy ripped me off and made me pay 10,000ugx) but it took over 2 hrs and we stopped all along the way! Matatus are these large 14 passenger vans (usually carrying more like 17 people) that either travel short or long distances – it is like a shared taxi. Ones around town stop as often as every 50-100 meters to pick people off or drop them off. In the taxi park in Kampala you can usually find one that goes right from Kampala to Jinja (about an hour drive) but I got on one that brought people anywhere in between Kampala and Jinja – so the entire ride the money collector (there is 1 drive and 1 money collector) had his head and hands out the window yelling something in Lugandan trying to fill up the seats of the taxi – we were constantly stopping to see if people needed a lift – sometimes we would pick them up and other times drop off people…it was not fun.

Paul had a massive spider bite/infection on his leg when I arrived. He told me it had been getting worse but when I saw it…wow! Looked pretty painful. Jane (his boss) and I finally talked him into going to the doctor (and not listening to the guys at the bar and letting them cut it open) so he could get professional help. I don’t want to go into details but he is on antibiotics now and is doing much better after the minor “surgery” and antiseptic at the visit to the doctors. He can't work for a few days because it’s a huge hole that needs to heal without dirty river water. 

This is a video of a bota ride when I went tubing with Paul's company - Zen Tubing - they are crazy little motor bikes that don't really obey the few traffic law that exist.

I ordered a chocolate cake for my birthday. Paul and I are heading back to Kampala then Ndejje sometime tomorrow (Sunday the 26th). I am going to bring it to Perrine’s house Sunday night and invite Jacques and his family and maybe some boys from school over to celebrate with us. Then on Monday (the date of my real birthday), after classes, Paul and I are going to go into Kampala to find a place to eat. I am very excited, because I think we found a place that serves margaritas… I really miss margaritas.

Next week I am going to introduce a coloring contest to the students in P5-P7 – winner gets their artwork as the logo for HEAL (Healthy Environment and Living) – Uganda. Which is the name of the organization that Jacques, Paul, and I are trying to start in Ndejje. We are also planning to start a compost area behind one of the buildings for the school. The students will help dig/build that as well. We think its important for them to be very involved for the whole process – start to finish – so that they can see the whole project.

A new "smart" start.

My house is slowly becoming my home. I finally got a broom and some other things for the house. I also bought an African stove, one which runs on charcoal. I was getting too fed up with the camping stove that I brought because it was scorching all of my pans and making everything black! I still need a place for my guests to sit though as well as a shelf for my clothes and books.  Its hard for my to justify spending money on all these things for my house because I will be leaving in October; and like my Dad has always told me – “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

People are constantly trying to rip you off here in the small markets and stores. When they see muzungu (white person) they see money. Its outrageous what some people reply when I ask the price of something…they must think I’m stupid.

Percy/Piercy, mother of Fabienne or Fabrice (its hard to tell because there are 2 families living in 1 hours and there are about 11 children), braided my hair on Saturday. I look like a real African now! It took 6 ½ hours…I sat on the cement the whole time! 

My new SMART hair style!

Jacqueline from the Kamaba Co-op finished my skirt for me!! It is so beautiful. I look very ‘smart’ now. Instead of telling someone they look “nice” or “sharp” like I have heard previously, here they say “smart”. For example, when all the teachers and students saw my new hair-do and my new outfit, I had people telling me all day, “Toni, you look smart!!” It’s a great compliment to receive.

On Sunday I did many things around the house and also went to Jacques to help him with his resume. Him and his family have visa offers for Canada and will be immigrating there in the next couple of years.

Paul came to visit on Monday (13) – I met him in Bujagali and we took a boda to Jinja and then a bus from Jinja to Kampala - - that was the worst bus ride of my life haha. I picked up some more fabric in Kampala so that I could get more smart clothes for the school; as a teacher I am expected to dress a certain way. Thankfully we made it back to Ndejje before dark. After I showed him my house we walked to have dinner at Jacques house. Jacques briefed Paul on the idea for the environmental campaign for the community and the following day they met at school and sat down together to do some real planning. HEAL (Healthy Living and Environment) Uganda is the name of the organization and they both have many great ideas that will change Ndejje.

I taught my first Environmental Education class on Tuesday (14) and it went pretty smooth. I was extremely nervous but thankfully there was only about 15 children in P-6 so that helped calm my nerves. My schedule is finalized now: Monday-Thursday 2-4(or 5 depending on class size) I will teach English to adults Tuesday 11-12 I teach Environmental Education (EE) to P-6, right after that from 12-1 I teach P-7 and then Wednesday from 11-12 I teach EE to P-5. Joseph, a Congolese man who I previously mentioned said he would be interested in tutoring me in French. We have put up a tentative schedule or tutor times for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12-2. This man is very inconsistent though, so we’ll see how well these lessons stick. Paul left Wednesday (15) morning after one last breakfast together.

I feel like the relationship here between the Ugandan Nationals and the Refugees (from Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Rwanda, etc) is similar to some American’s views/relationships with Mexican immigrants. Some Ugandans accuse the refugees of stealing their countries money and work for their people. I have heard of a few fights between the nationals and refugees, one which left my friend in critical condition and on oxygen for nearly 3 weeks. It was 30 men vs 1.

There are many organizations and NGOs that I have read about previous to arriving in Uganda who say that they are helping refugees and doing many things for them – but I am seeing first hand their lack of efforts and their lack of help! These organizations lie on their websites…such as BARC of Uganda. I didn’t realize how drastically life has changed for many of these refugees. Many refugees only receive help if they are living in a refugee settlement – but those are extremely unsanitary, they increase dependency on aid, and are very “dead-ended”. Fabrice went from having a father very high ranking in the military, his own Jeep, two bodyguards, and enough money to not have to worry about things – to fatherless, jeepless, living in a small 2-bedroom house with 12-15 other people. To cope with problems that many of these refugees experience, I have notices that many turn to alcohol. I am trying to influence them to find another solution.

Yesterday (16) Ashal, Eddy and two other boys from P4 stopped over my house after school. They really wanted to be in the EE class but I am only able to teach P5-P7 so I told them that on the weekend I would teach them some things and then we could also do some of the “reuse” activities that I was planning on doing in class. I figure this way I can also practice they activity before class. Today after school they are coming over with a bunch of paper to soak in water over night so that tomorrow, after we go to football at HOPE, we can go to my house to make paper.

Paul and I both became very sick yesterday. I think it was something we must have ate during his visit. Neither of us feels 100% but we are recovering. I was in and out of the bathroom all night - - and if being sick isn’t bad enough…trying being sick when your toilet is a hole in the ground, that makes things 10x worse!

My birthday is in 10 days and I will be going to visit Paul in Bujagali for the weekend. If possible we want to either go to Sipi Lodge, Murchison Falls, or Rwanda for the weekend. I am trying to utilize my time best – splitting it between lesson plans, homework, and studying French.

My new home in Ndejje, Uganda.

Six Days in Jinja and Bujagali!

      I landed into the Entebbe International Airport about an hour behind schedule on the 25th. Paul was there waiting to pick me up :) He helped me pack my things into the taxi and we were on our way! There is no road that connects Entebbe to Jinja so we had to go all the way through Kampala which was a giant unorganized hectic traffic jam. But, Paul had a pineapple in the car and sliced it up for us as we drove.

     The first thing I noticed about Uganda was how green everything is! It looks much different than Tanzania and is full of trees, farms and shrubs. As we road through Kampala the traffic "was not bad" but it took us nearly an hour just to make it through the city. They have a very crazy way of driving here an I am extremely surprised I haven't seen an accident yet. There are motor vehicles of every size that constantly spew out gallons of black exhaust (there are no smog tests here), followed by small motorcycles called "bota-botas". Botas are the fastest (but not the safest) way to get around town. Behind the drive you will see 2 goats and a person, 3 large bags of cement with a woman holding a child, or even 3 more men for a total of 4 on the bota. It is absolutely insane to watch these guys zip through traffic. Then you also have a mix of bicycles carrying obscene amount of things as well as well as the common and random men women and children who are walking. Driving does not look fun.

     Wednesday (25) was spent walking around Jinja and getting to know the area. The patters of the fabric here about absolutely stunning!! I cannot wait to get a few outfits made by the tailors in Ndejje. Jinja is the second largest "city" (it is considered a town) in Uganda and is known as the adrenaline capital of East Africa. I also noticed the lack of infrastructure throughout the town. Only the main roads are paved, there is trash everywhere, there is burning trash piles everywhere, and no trash cans!

     Thursday (26) we took a bota to Bujagali and I was able to go kayaking with Paul for a little bit. Bujagali is were Nile River Explorers (NRE) and Zen Tubing (Paul's company) operates from. It is a beautiful small village full of other "muzungus" (foreigner) and many volunteer opportunities.

     Friday (27) I helped Paul move into his new house in Bujagali. He is living with Mama Flo...she is a wonderful independent single mother of three. She has her own little business where she sells things that her and other women have made (jewelry, purses, etc) and also rents out rooms in her house. Paul is paying 70.000 ugs (Ugandan shillings) a week and that includes breakfast and dinner. 70.000ugs ends up being about $28 USD a week. Pretty cheap!! Cheaper than my place in Ndejje. Staying with Mama Flo is a woman about my age named Chichillia (not sure on spelling) from Italy. She is volunteering with S.O.F.T Power Education which is a group of different schools that were build with profits from NRE.

Innocent and his brother (they live at Mama Flos)

Innocent in Paul's kayak gear

    Over the weekend there were many overland trucks that came to NRE and I was able to go rafting and tubing with Paul. The Victorian Nile River (I thought it was the White Nile) is crazy different than California white water!! There are HUGE features and HUGE waves and HUGE eddy lines. It was so much fun. I actually enjoyed swimming; it was warm and deep! Alex (one of the guides) even let me guide a couple of rapids - - it was tons of fun.

       I met a couple of school girls on a walk home to Mama Flo's and made a play date to help them with their homework that night. They stopped over to pick me up and brought me avocado, mango, and maize. It was only able to spend a brief about of time with them, but it was great and gave me even more to look forward to :)

Paul and I when I went tubing

    I got a cell phone and called my director Jacques Bwira to set up when and where I would be picked up to begin my project with him in Ndejje. I am in Kampala (the capital city) now waiting for Jacques to pick me up. I have been studying French nearly everyday preparing for my project. I decided that I also want to implement an Environmental Education class into HoPE Primary School so I have been working on the class outline for that. I brought my French 1&2 textbook and I will use that as my outline for teaching basic French to the refugee students. As for the English classes, I think I will just have to see where everyone is at in their proficiency and literacy levels. I read a book about a student who came to Uganda to teach for a month and he had the students write an essay to start. He corrected the essays and taught his English lessons based off of the mistakes made in the papers. That sounded like a great way to start and I think I will base my lessons off of that.

    I am looking forward to getting to Ndejje and meeting everyone in the community. Jacques should be here in 4 hours, but Africa time tells me he will be here in about 5 1/2 :) I don't know when I will have access to the internet next...But I do know that I feel mentally and physically prepared for the greatest experience of my life.