Last Visit Home

I woke Friday morning to take Suzan to Kampala so that she could get her final injection in her leg. We showed up before 1, but nonetheless the employees were on their way out for lunch hour. So we bought some western sweets and ice cream. We also got two maps for my family from a street vendor (sorry mom, we looked all over the place for the biggest kind but they weren't selling them anywhere in the city at the time). After we returned to get a few signatures necessary for the final injection, we walked to a higher elevation of town. While I waited in the waiting room for Suzan, I was reading a book on Watoto, which is an organization committed to helping orphans out of poverty and whatnot. It was funny reading after being here, because they had pictures of homes in which the captions read things like "Conditions Unimaginable" - I'm reading these things and looking at the pictures and thinking, "What are you talking about? That's not a bad house. I would live there willingly." Just because a picture features mud walls and matoke trees doesn't mean it's unimaginable conditions. Also, the book noted that Uganda has been home to the highest per capita percent of orphans in the world. This may have been true at some point, but I guess I just find it hard to believe. Maybe that's because local organizations have done an incredible job taking in these kids. Africans are good at solving their own problems, believe it or not.

Then we took transport to Suzan's family's home in Muyenga, Kampala. I like going there. Her little brothers can play all day, and my time there is spent in fending off Emma (short for Emmanuel in Uganda) from biting me. Suzan's step-mom Sarah makes delicious food. She even turned down the opportunity to return home to their village through free transport on Friday because she wanted to stay to wait for me. That was such a nice gesture. Anyway, I think the family likes me. We took a lot of pictures together and that was cool.

The ride out of Muyenga was bumpy and my headache that had been minor throughout the day was increasing. When we reached the giant taxi park, I was hot and uncomfortable because the legs of my boxers kept getting twisted and creeping up my leg. How annoying.

We walked out of the taxi park up the crowded streets to get a matatu to Mukono, but the line was easily over 100 people long, double file. So we went back to the taxi park and I was getting overwhelmed by all of the stress factors and the fact that it was not the first time I would reach home late. On top of that, everyone was trying to sell me things (gotta love white skin) and the taxi was now charging 2000 Shs instead of 1500 because everyone was trying to leave at once. So yeah, we finally got through the traffic jams and made it to Mukono. Turns out I wasn't significantly late in reaching home.

Sarah went to Jinja to get more college papers and then Dad had to go to Soroti, which is very far away, to get signatures for her to submit papers to Uganda's universities. I think Sarah will go for either Fine Arts or Geography at a public school on the way to Kampala.

African Bush Harp pt. II

Last night I was playing the adungu like always and I asked Suzan if she knew the English word for it, which is "African Bush Harp." Then Suzan asked why the term "bush" was included. I told her because it is a primitive instrument created by the mindless people of backward cultures. She laughed.

Megan Clapp visited yesterday

So yesterday I finished the last of my coursework, except I have two exams Monday.

Megan came to visit in the afternoon. She got to meet my family here after walking around town. They prepared us an early dinner which was tasty. Therefore, I also got to go to bed very early. So I in turn am at school very early. Nothing much else to say, except that I will be home in two weeks.

Second-to-last Weekend at Home

Saturday

Today was kind of low-key. First I woke up and finished my Pluralism paper for ATR class, knocking out all duties for two of my five classes. Next, I washed clothes outside. Then I played adungu for a little.

When 1 PM or so came around, I told Toto I was going to pick Suzan. When I reached Suzan's friends' hostel, they were all watching Ghanian films, which are just as bad as Nigerian films. In each Ghanian movie, the same actor gets involved with too many women and things gets complicated within the family. Africans watch these movies as if there is nothing more intense. When the power goes out and shuts off their laptops they get fairly upset. Anyway, we left there with some supplies Suzan bought for making French Toast. She came over to our home and cooked with me. She also made some really good chapati. Dinner was really good as a result. The day was slow and Sabbath-like.

Sunday

Today I woke up before 6:30 and prepared for the day. USP kids put together an Ultimate Frisbee team and I was a part of it. I met Suzan outside her hostel and we all grabbed a matatu to the rugby pitch in Lugogo, Kampala. There were about six teams and we were all given different color T-shirts based on what team you were on. USP was green. Before the tournament (a charity event for the red team which was from an orphanage) started, Silver met us there as well. We played the orphanage team first and came from behind to win by one point. Then we played another team immediately thereafter and lost. After that loss the red team approached us saying the game ended in a draw. This is impossible in frisbee, but since our captain Redman could not convince them otherwise, we flipped a frisbee to decide the game. Luckily, we won the flip. But this (and events to be noted later) will explain how corruption is just a part of the Ugandan culture and people.

We played the peace core next, who were very tall and last years champions. We slaughtered them 10-5 or something like that. Then we were tired and barely lost our next game.

The other games ended in a win and a loss, putting us at a 3-3 record. Megan Clapp showed up to hango ut halfway through the tourney. After our six games, I told Redman I was leaving to take Suzan for some American food. Apparently after I left there was a three or four way tie for third place and we played a ten minute game and lost with a close score. Oh well, we all had fun and I am a much better ultimate player as a result.

We went to New York Kitchen and Suzan and I shared a teriyaki burger with all fixins, coleslaw, fries with Heinz Ketchup (Megan said it's not made in Pittsburgh so it's not quite as legit), and a brownie sunday. Silver ate fries. Meg got free bagel crisps with salsa which we all consumed together. It was a good meal according to all of us (Suzan mentioned the next morning she could still taste the burger). Megan and I came up with an idea to start a chapati stand on our campus - a "send meg and phil back to africa" business.

On the way home, our matatu pulled into an illegal space to pick up customers. A police officer came over to ticket the conductor but the conductor just slipped him a few coins. Like I said, corruption here is natural. Additionally, we ran out of gas while on the way home. Horrible service in Uganda sometimes!

That night I was very sore. Suzan, Dean, and I were all exhausted.

Monday

So I woke up very sore to a text from Suzan saying her leg was paining her like it did twice in the past.

I met Suzan as she was coming to campus and I escorted her to the Dining Hall because she needed her ID card to go to the hospital in Kampala to get an operation. She had previously forgotten her meal card and had to leave her ID with the head cook as collateral. The head cook wasn't in so she tried to get a referral from the clinic. The clinic denied it. Meanwhile, a UCU prof I have grabbed me and made me take a quiz on the spot because he could not locate the questions to my last quiz (only the answers I had given were in his hands). He was impressed with my essay, but it was kind of frustrating at such an inconvenient time to take a quiz on the spot. Then Suzan and I went to ask our director Mark if it was okay if I skipped class to escort her to the city. He said it was ok if I was marked absent and we took a matatu after a long while of trying to wait for a coaster which would give room for Suzan to stretch her leg. We were picked up from Suzan's father's work at the Bank of Uganda. He took us to a resort where their doctor friend was. He instructed us what to do about Suzan's bad left knee, which was now swollen over twice the size of her good knee. We went to their temporary residence and they fed me (even after Suzan's dad spent several thousand on food for us). I helped figure out how to get working younger sister Rachel's laptop computer which was donated by a sponsor. Then Suzan's dad drove me to town to catch a matatu back while they would go to the clinic to get records of the previous operation so that the problem could be diagnosed without cost. Suzan is probably in Kampala getting fluid extracted from her knee or getting prescribed with tablets as we speak. She may come back to Mukono tomorrow.

So now (after 5 PM), I'm going to start my paper which I wanted to start at 7:30 AM haha. It's the last paper I need to do so I just want to knock it out.

I forgot to mention that Suzan's dad gave me three maize to roast, two mangos, and a handful of "transport money." What a nice dude. Maybe I'll reciprocate with getting him yogurt if I meet him Friday.

Celebration of the Oppression of the Native Americans

Okay, this won't actually be a cynical post for a change. I just wanted to use a cynical title to describe our Thanksgiving experience in Uganda.

So in the morning I went to town with Josh to buy sweet bread, eggs, and milk to make Cinnamon French Toast because the USP students were responsible for the deserts at our Thanksgiving party (which Mark hosted and invited all UCU alums who happened to be in the country). We took Suzan with us so she could learn how to make this recipe. Josh, Suzan, and I made over 50 pieces.

Then the frustrations began. I went to a tutorial and found out that my tutor had not received my essay a few weeks ago (I gave to a coemployee who said he would forward it to him), and he had not had my quiz from over a month ago (which he later found, thankfully). I told him I'd print out my essay for him again (which costs money by the way), but when I looked for it on my computer, it wasn't there. Thankfully after a frustrating half hour I recovered it. Then Suzan, who had already been dealing with my frustrated self, offered to help me go off campus to find a folder for a portfolio to hand in for the end of a class. She helped me go print some things and put the papers together and was really patient and wanted me to stop thanking her, but I told her it was Thanksgiving, the time of year where we celebrate how those of backwards cultures submitted to the rule of civilized European authorities, saving the history of America as we know it. Just kidding, I didn't tell her that, but I did tell her it was Thanksgiving so she would have to accept my thanks.

USP played a game of American football, of which I wasn't able to make it on time because of all of the stressful running back and forth and printing and organizing and recovering lost things. But afterward we had Thanksgiving at Mark and Abby's house. It was pretty cool. I met a guy from Ethiopia named Moses who studied in England with New Tribe Mission for a year and now was doing something with widows and orphans in Mukono and he was a nice guy. We ate turkey, which I did not know existed in Uganda. We had tons of delicious food. It was a very legitimate meal. I didn't feel 100% afterward, naturally, but it was all worth it. We watched Charlie Brown Christmas when the electricity came back on. There were also lots of monkeys outside hopping from tree to tree.

Today we go to Mildmay Hospital somewhere not far from here. Then the dudes from IMME are having man night together.

Picking up Sarah

Our sister Sarah has finished her last semester of college in Jinja and will start university around September. We went to pick her up yesterday (Vincent drove me, Dean, Suzan, Toto, Kevina, and Sam). We stopped in between Mukono and Jinja where salesmen and saleswomen flood each vehicle to try to sell their products. I got a dozen or so mangos for 1000 shillings and Toto bought some bananas at a dirt cheap price.

When we reached to pick up Sarah, she showed us around her campus. She's also suffering Malaria headaches and has seemed to be pretty tired.

Then we went to Toto's sister's place in a sweet neighborhood of mud/bamboo homes. We were fed a delicious lunch with lots of laughter.

Then Vincent drove us back to campus where Dean and I joined the Ultimate Frisbee practice because we are playing a tournament Sunday in Lugogo, Kampala.

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers are everywhere.
Sometimes people catch them and fry them and eat them.
They are very tasty.
They fly on people in class too.

Rakai

Friday we left after lunch for Rakai, SE of Mukono not far from Lake Victoria and the border with Tanzania. The drive was 7 hours and consisted of me being tired and uncomfortable and seeing trucks overturned just off the highway. One big truck was recently flipped over cuz we could see people gathered around and cattle that were previously inside of it laying on the ground bleeding. Not to mention, all of those cattle-carrying vehicles also have teenage boys stationed on the top, so at 60 MPH I'm sure those boys had to bail when they felt the truck flipping.

We arrived in the extremely-rural Kibaale Community Centre in the Rakai District. It is primarily a private school that is directed by a Canadian group of missionaries, but most staff and teachers by far are Ugandans. I think there's about 150 staff. The Canadians are trying to train Ugandans so it is eventually all run by them. There's also a small hospital and guesthouses and farm and other facilities. The weekend was really chill. The only obligation we really had was a Saturday morning tour of the place and church Sunday morning at El Shaddai Voice of Healing, a church about 3 years old.

The weekend was good food and relaxing, but I had nothing to read and no homework to get ahead on and nothing to do really, which is a good formula for my body shutting down and wanting to be sad and do nothing. The area is beautiful though and I'm ready to get back to work on my remaining courseworks before the semester is over.

This is the last week of my classes through UCU, and on the weekend I may have an interview for a job back at Messiah's Campus and Sunday I'm playing an ultimate frisbee tournament in the capital city Kampala. I think this Friday is when some of us are going to a local hospital that has well addressed the AIDS epidemic. Also, just an interesting fact: AIDS here is not primarily transferred by homosexuals at all, and the use of condoms, unlike in the states, provides absolutely no statistical evidence that AIDS is best prevented through such means.