Bodas, Chawch, and Football

Saturday - The weekend rolled up on us pretty fast. It was in the plan for the four of us to spend Saturday cruising around the Kibaale area on dirtbikes, take in some sights and put some miles down. In typical Uganda fashion our 11am self-made appointment was bumped out to 5pm before we actually got going. Why? Mugabi Robert (his real name, yes) had to use one of the bikes to head off to Bakijulura a few kilometers down the road and negotiate a land deal for one of our students. That took pretty much all day, but he did come back around noon to let us know that the other bike had a flat tire. So while waiting for Mugabi, I rode into town to the local “mechanic”. Who, I had forgotten, doesn’t exactly have proper tools and used screwdrivers to change the tube. The polka-dot pattern of patches already on the tube were a testament to his skills (read: he was a hack). Ahh well, had to get it done anyway, so I played the management role to try and avoid another puncture.

Anyway, eventually we got rolling. We put 10,000 shillings of fuel into each bike, then blasted off in a blue fog of two-stroke exhaust that left Cliff and Deanna coated from head to toe as they followed our lead around the local hills. We dodged cows on the road, climbed to the top of a few hills for the views, drove to within viewing distance of Tanzania, and had a pretty good time. No crashes, no goring by cow horns.

Sunday – Church time. We went to Cephas’s church about a 10min drive away. His church has a tradition to treat visitors like gold, so it was no surprise to walk in and discover armchairs (well…. lawnchairs) set up on the front stage for us to sit in. A good service spoilt a bit by rain, as most people were not there, then off to Cephas’ place for lunch, and a football match. Lunch was a traditional Ugandan meal of matooke (boiled and mashed bananas), rice, beans, chicken, fried cabbage, and “soup” which is basically an oil/borehole-water broth. No supper for anyone that night.

We left for church in the morning at 10:30, and got back home just after 7pm. ‘Twas a good day.

Because Naked Babies Are Cute

That’s what they keep telling me anyway.

Look for an update on the Adrians’ weekend sometime tomorrow. For now, this photo.

Arrival

Jamie’s folks have arrived! Some big hugs were exchanged, bags were piled into the pickup, and then parents stuffed into the backseat of the truck – we had them out of the airport and sweating in the Uganda humidity by 11pm. Five minutes later we were unloading ourselves into the guesthouse where we’d stay the night. Of course we managed to put them up in the only room without a working fan for the night. Sorry guys.

 

The next morning we got up early, had some breakfast, and booted our way up to Mpigi. Jeff & Shannon are in Mpigi right now with the team from Peace Portal Alliance Church… the team are mainly doing construction projects which include a new chicken coop and rainwater harvesting system, installing water tanks and gutters to direct the water for storage for the kids later. It’s always a pleasure for Jamie and I to visit the kids in Mpigi, see the Mamas, and reminisce as we look back towards “the hill” where we were engaged (the cell-phone tower jutting out of the hill serves to mark the occasion for years to come). A quick tour, quick hello to the kids, and then back into the truck for the rest of the drive back to Kibaale. Driving here is always a chore. You eventually get used to being run off the road, dodging potholes, and swerving around the hundreds of ambling 3 year olds on the shoulders of the highway, but every now and then the trip just leaves you wasted. This was one of those times, and it was good to get back to Kibaale, unload bags and parents into our house, and do a lot of nothing for a few hours.

 

This morning we were set to build a kitchen for a family of one of our students, Emmanuel. Rain had other ideas of course, which made for a different experience than planned. Rather than slinging mud outside and helping to finish construction on the kitchen, it ended up with the four of us huddling into Emmanuel’s living room with his family. The rain continued for over an hour, and passersby would come sprinting off the road and into the house in an attempt to stay dry. Eventually, sitting in this 7’ x 9’ room, were 12 adults and 6 children, talking very little as the sound of the rain drowned out all conversation, each person contemplating the gradual loss of feeling in their legs as they squatted and huddled just out of the wind. Definitely something to make you think. Definitely a unique and very Ugandan way to spend a morning.

 

Above: Jamie’s parents with a few of the younger kids at Mpigi, posing with Mama Rose. Also, Emmanuel and his family, and Deanna wondering how on earth she’s going to sneak this little package home in her luggage without Cliff knowing.

Jamie's Parents in 1 hour...

Well, we drove from Kibaale to Entebbe today, which takes about 5 hours. Special arrival at the aiport for us… a late Christmas gift so big it had to be sent on a plane. 2 gifts actually.

 

We’re sitting here at the Entebbe airport guesthouse just killing time now, and I get to watch Jamie check arrival times every 3 minutes with excitement. It’s going to be a good visit J

 

Above: Jamie, excited with a bunny back in Canada. Imagine how excited she’ll be with two parents in Uganda

 

New PAOS Website

Check it!

 

http://www.paoutreach.net

 

 

Revenge of the Babysat

The Dycks, along with Rachel, headed off to Egypt for Christmas. We got back from Mount Elgon shortly after they left and got to spend a few days with the younger kids. Jamie led the charge in a water balloon fight (shortly after that pic - Avin takes one in the chest), we hit the pool, and I got to throw them on the handlebars for a spirited ride to see the nearby lake where we had a bit of an audience. Good times.

 

Uganda continues to amaze us with its natural beauty. We’ll be trying to do some updates to share that a bit more regularly than in the past… I think that’s a worthy new year’s resolution, and not doomed to failure like, I dunno, trying not to drink coke or anything absurd like that. Also, avoiding malaria is on the list. It’s taken out the entire crew over at the Timothy Centre. Anyway, more frequent updates… well, we’re blogging through email now… it saves a ton of time (and a ton of precious internet), but it might look ugly. Hopefully not. If so, sorry.

New Years on Mount Elgon

Here are some pictures of the second half of our vacation. Once we had had enough sun (... this is a bit of a lie, because we really weren't finished with the beaches and ocean of Zanzibar, but hey, we had a flight booked) we flew back into Uganda and immediately drove out to Jinja, then off to Mbale where Mount Elgon is located.

Check the photos below. We did the climb in 3 days instead of our planned 5, but still had a great time. We started climbing from Budadiri trading centre at 1,770 metres, hiked to 3,500 to camp the night which took about 8 hours. Camping was unbelievably cold... Jamie and I haven't felt temperatures below 10 degrees the entire time we've been here, and it got down to around 0 that night, with us in rented sleeping bags. Brr. Second day, from camp we hiked to the peak at 4,321m which took about 3 hours, then descended back to the first camp on the mountain at 2,900m to camp and warm ourselves up by the fire, and of course celebrate new years eve (by falling asleep at 9pm). As soon as we hit the peak the clouds rolled in and it started to rain, which made it quite enjoyable as our path down the mountain turned to form a small river that we tiptoed around all the way down. The last day we woke up early and were down to the bottom by 10am, drove back to Jinja, and enjoyed a shower and some good eating on the shore of the River Nile.

Here's a few pictures.
-Sean

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

From New Years on Mount Elgon

Christmas in Zanzibar

Here are some photos from our Christmas holiday in Zanzibar. It was our second African Christmas and we are still not used to the hot weather while listening to songs like "Let is Snow." We travelled to three different places on the island and LOVED it!

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

Stonetown buildings

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

From Christmas in Zanzibar

Flying away