Riding Bodas, Ugandan style (or not)

In Uganda, both bicycles and motorcycles are referred to as bodas (pronounced boh-duhs).  They, along with taxis (or what are referred to in Kenya as matatus—see earlier posts for a description) are the most common means of public transportation around here.

Man on the back of a motorcycle boda

Usually I only take bodas when I have somewhere to go that is too far to walk or when it’s nighttime and I need to get somewhere by myself (which is a rarity). A bicycle boda from town back to my house is about 500 Ugandan shillings (or the equivalent of about 20 cents). A motorcycle boda is around 1,000-1,500 shillings, depending on how far you’re going.

For a motorcycle boda, you just ride on the passenger portion of the motorcycle. A bicycle boda consists of a bicycle (similar in style to a 10-speed, but lacking all of the fancy gears) with a padded seat for the passenger that is situated on the back behind the bicycle seat.  The seat for the rider is about 1 and a half feet wide and maybe 2-3 feet long, and about 1-2 inches thick.  There are (of course) no helmets or other safety gear provided. 

Man on bicycle boda

You don’t really see a lot of mzungus on the back of bodas around here. I think it’s because the handful of Peace Corps volunteers who live in Soroti aren’t allowed to ride on motorcycles (for obvious safety reasons).  And I believe many of them have their own bicycles (since unlike myself, they are in the same location for an extended period of time—27 months, to be exact), so they don’t need to ride on the back of someone else’s bike.  Plus, the town is small enough that you can usually walk to a lot of the places you want to go. 

Bodas galore going through town

So the sight of me on the back of a boda in Soroti seems to garner a bit of attention.  I even get catcalls while on the bodas. So whenever I do take one, I now typically act as if the shouted comments are meant for the driver, rather than me.  For example, while riding on the back of a motorcycle to go to a wedding one day, a man yelled at me “I love you!” I told the driver, “Wow, he must really like you!” which he thought was pretty funny.

Women in Uganda, when riding on the back of a bicycle or motorcycle boda, typically sit sideways. In fact, they frown upon women straddling the motorcycle or bicycle seat as being unladylike.  They also don’t typically hold on with their hands in any way.  I, on the other hand, don’t care what it looks like--riding sideways seems incredibly unsafe. So I straddle the boda like a man; and if it’s a motorcycle, I hang on to the driver, or at times, the bar that is on the back of the motorbike.  And when on the bicycle, I hang onto the underside of the padded seat that I’m sitting on, so my hands are pretty much right between my knees--I know, not helping to blend in that way, but I’d rather look ridiculous than fly off the back of the bike when we hit one of the road’s many potholes.  Plus, who am I kidding? I could ride sideways without hanging on while casually holding an infant in my lap (as is often seen), and I still wouldn’t blend in.  So I figure I may as well play it safe. :)

Woman riding sideways on motorcycle boda (not hanging on, of course) 

Thanksgiving in Uganda

Thanksgiving is, of course, not a celebrated holiday in Uganda. So observing Thanksgiving in East Africa is going to be a little out of the ordinary.

Thanksgiving reflections:

This was not my first non-traditional Thanksgiving though. There was one year when I was a flight attendant that I spent Thanksgiving flying to Salt Lake City, hanging out in the airport for 4 or 5 hours, and then flying home. And there was another one when my Dad was deployed (to Iraq I think?) and my brother was not around, so my Mom and I attempted going out to eat in the South Bay on Thanksgiving without reservations (which I would not recommend). So an out-of-the-ordinary Thanksgiving is not an anomaly per say.  What was different this year though, is I think for the first time in my life I really felt the level of gratitude that I think one is supposed to experience on that day. Maybe it was not having the distractions of worrying about what to bring, or where to go, or how many homes were to be visited that day.  Maybe it was not having the distraction of lots of delicious food to taste and sample, and not feeling full and comatose for most of the afternoon/evening after stuffing myself silly (at least, this would apply to Thanksgiving meal #1, below).  But more than anything, I think it was being in Africa, and realizing how much I truly have in comparison to the majority of the rest of the world. 

Part 1: Breaking Bread at the Landmark Hotel

Thanksgiving meal #1 in Uganda occurred on Thanksgiving day, naturally. I officially had the day off; however, it was only the American staff that took the holiday (of which there are 2 of us in Soroti right now); and since I live in the office, and all of the Ugandan staff had to work that day, it was more of a quasi-day off. So I decided to sleep in a bit, then skyped with loved ones, did a work out video (courtesy of a fellow volunteer—thank you Heather!), and then eventually I made my way (down the hall) to the office. I worked off and on throughout the day, and made a run to the outdoor market in the afternoon (where some guy was really persistently trying to sell me a cucumber, which I had no interest in buying, but made me start to wonder if I should take offense… But I digress).

That night, I met a new friend, a Peace Corps volunteer, in town for dinner. We both were of the mind that even if it’s nothing like Thanksgiving, we are at least doing something to commemorate the day. So I walked to the restaurant, and we had an ok meal. It was American style food, so even though it wasn’t remotely Thanksgiving-ish, it had the slight feeling of home. And there were lots of options on the menu. However, in Uganda (and also Kenya for that matter) you learn to ask what they actually have in stock before you order, as it's quite common that a good third of the menu is not available that night, but there's no way to tell that up front.  So I asked, "Do you have the veggie burger this evening?" and they said "No, we have run out." So I ordered the avocado, tomato and cheese sandwich and chips, which they said they had. Turns out, they were out of avocado. So I asked, "Do you have the veggie pasta?" which yes, they did have.

Thanksgiving Dinner #1

It was fun to talk about our different Thanksgiving traditions and celebrate a bit. Afterwards, I took my first bicycle taxi home, which was quite an experience, but for the sake of time and space, I’ll have to describe it in another post.

Part 2:  Thanksgiving, PCV-style

On Saturday night, the same Peace Corps volunteer (or PCV as they’re called for short) invited myself, 2 other PCVs and a cultural anthropology PhD student, who is here for a project, over for a potluck Thanksgiving. I think we did pretty well given the limited local options. I even found canned cranberry sauce, though it was a pricey 12,300 shillings (or about $5).

Final preparations

One of the guys got a turkey from somewhere, and slaughtered it that morning (Yikes!) and had it prepared in time for dinner. Another made mashed potatoes, and my housemate made a tomato/potato/egg soup that was quite nice. I cooked sukuma wiki (kale) because I figured we needed a green vegetable, and there are no green beans or asparagus around that I know of. And finally our host, who had a small toaster oven (a rarity around here) on loan from an out of town PCV, made chocolate cake (Yay!).  

Sukuma Wiki (I promise it tasted better than it looks!) 

Thanksgiving Dinner #2

I also brought some trail mix to serve as our appetizer, courtesy of one of my care packages I recently received (thank you Aunt Betty!).

Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner

Trail mix direct from the USA and chocolate cake from a recipe in the Peace Corps Uganda cookbook 

It turned out to be a really nice meal. We talked about what we were thankful for, and our past Thanksgiving experiences, and then the topic of conversation turned to the slaughtering, which was a bit more than I was ready to hear; but all in all, it was a good time.  

Good times had by all

The holiday made me really miss loved ones, family and friends. But I also felt thankful for the opportunity to meet new friends and to come together and share this experience. 

Picking Rice

Ok, so maybe I’m starting to run low on material, but I thought this experience was pretty interesting and worth sharing.  And since it's Thanksgiving today, I thought a food-related post would be fitting.

Typically on days that all of our business mentors come in from the field for training, lunch is provided due to the distance they travel and the duration of the meetings they attend.  The meal is usually cooked by someone hired by the office; however, this week, the woman who usually does the cooking was out ill. So the office staff all pitched in to help with the lunch preparations.

Usually in times like these, I help with things like the dishes, because then I can be of help but be out of the way and let those more experienced with the cooking take the lead.  However, it was a big task cooking for about 15 people (while everyone was also trying to get work done), so once I had completed the first round of dishes, I offered further assistance.

That’s when I was told, "Kim, you can help with picking the rice," and I was given a large bowl and a tray. 

Now, I’m sure this is not a uniquely African experience, and perhaps it's done in the States as well, or has been done in the past; but it’s not something that I ever recall having the occasion to do before...

Usually when I buy a bag of rice here for my own consumption, I purchase it from a store, and it has already been picked, or cleaned (like many Americans, I choose convenience over cost). However, it’s cheaper to buy it in bulk from the outdoor market.  So that is what is done when cooking for events for the non-profit (due to obvious cost-saving reasons), and  this is what (I believe) most of my Ugandan colleagues use as well.

So why the need to pick the rice?  Basically, when bought in bulk from the market, the rice has rocks, and bits of grass, and other fragments in it that you don’t want to be ingesting.  

It was explained to me that this happens because of how the farmers who grow the rice prepare it for selling.  When ready, the rice is harvested, and then placed into stacks on the ground. The piles of stalks are then beaten with sticks to knock loose the rice grains (this is also how beans are extracted from the vines).  Then the grains are laid outside on the ground (or at times, on tarps) to dry.  So, when the rice is scooped up to be transported to market, stones and other bits are inevitably included in the mix.

Rice to be "picked"

So back to the picking. I first received a tutorial on how it's done. I was to pour a portion of rice onto the platter, and then meticulously sort it from one side of the platter to the other, a small number of grains at a time, searching for stones and other debris. It was tedious work that required focused attention, and good eyes. (It did not help that the platter was tarnished black, and most of the stones are darkly colored as well.)

Picking the rice  

It was the kind of work that anal people like me can tend to enjoy, but then we can also tend to get caught up spending a little too much time in the process.  Eventually reinforcements were brought in to assist with speeding things up...  It reminded me of when I would do things to assist at home like helping to wash dishes, and then someone would eventually take over because I was taking too long. :)

For the results, as you can see, we removed a number of stones.  But even with my meticulous picking, some rocks still got through, so my coworker had to quality check my work. :(

Debris removed from the rice
(and dirty hands to show for the hard work) 

While it may seem mundane, the task is actually quite important when you consider that most people around here don’t have easy access (if access at all) to dental care. So one has to use great care. You don't want foreign objects carelessly left in the rice to cause harm to those who consume it.  So far, there have been no complaints or dental bills passed my way since the lunch earlier this week, so I think I was successful (or perhaps just lucky). 

To me, it's just another glimpse into how life can be more difficult for people here, especially when you consider those without running water, who, if they can even afford to eat rice, would also have the added tasks of taking a jerry can to the well to fetch water and then starting a fire to be able to cook after the picking is done. 

Just another thing to be thankful for as Thanksgiving groceries are purchased, and cans are opened, and people come together to share bountiful meals and give thanks for all that we are fortunate to have. 

The Ups and Downs of Life in Soroti…

I’ve been in Soroti, Uganda, for a little over 2 weeks now, and will be here another month before I head home to spend a couple weeks in the States for Christmas.  As I reflect on my time so far and the weeks to come, it seems that life here does have its perks and its drawbacks. So it’s through that lens that I share some of my day-to-day experiences from the last 2+ weeks that didn’t really fit into posts about disbursements, weddings and birthdays.

Welcome sign as you enter Soroti

The Town

Of the 3 places I’ve lived so far since I came to Uganda and Kenya, I like Soroti town the best.  It’s kind of like an old western town.  It’s situated at the base of a large rock, which is a nice point of reference to direct you when driving back toward town. Though it’s pretty hot here and there are lots of mosquitos, it’s easily walkable and also has a nice big outdoor market. 

View walking into Soroti town with rock in background

Pausing to allow turkeys to cross the street (also a view of trash on the side of the road, which is a common sight all around Uganda and Kenya) 

The house/office is in town, which is nice for convenience; but like living closer to city centers anywhere in the world, it means it’s also noisier.  For instance, we have a school right next door--as in maybe 4 to 5 feet from my bedroom window. So starting by 6:30 or 7 a.m., Monday through Saturday, you can hear the sounds of kids talking, playing, singing, etc., throughout the day.

There’s also a church next door, which is a little less popular with me so far. Church starts on Sunday between 6:30 and 7 a.m. with the booming sounds of music and the pastor’s amplified voice coming over a loudspeaker.  I figure there’s no need to actually walk to go to a church as long as I’m here because essentially I am already there, tuning in and able to hear every syllable, from my bed. Fortunately I’m an early riser, so the early morning wake up call isn’t too much of an inconvenience... But when the church had some sort of revival the other weekend that went until 4 in the morning, I was NOT a happy camper. 

The House/Office

As with the other locations, the fellows live in the offices, which is nice for people like myself who don’t care for commuting. The house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice big yard (though I’ve heard some snakes have been spotted there) and there’s a small apartment of sorts in the back where we have a Peace Corps volunteer living. 

Area of the office where I usually sit, and eat meals 

Rest of the office

Kitchen

Where we wash dishes, since the sink in the kitchen doesn't usually work too well 

My bed, though I no longer leave the mosquito net down to the floor like that
(the reason may become apparent as you read further) 

Bathroom shower curtain and hole that I have taped up, also for reasons which may become apparent further down 

Back yard

The bathrooms do have shower curtains (which so far seems to be a rarity in East Africa) but it does not have hot water.  So I have been getting used to very fast, cold showers.  To adjust, I’ve tried to do things like work out before the shower in the morning so I can convince myself that it’s actually truly refreshing to have a brisk cold shower to start the day! And since it’s hot during the day, I try to use the same logic when it is necessary to rinse off again at night. I certainly don’t have to worry anymore about keeping my showers to a certain time limit (back in the US, I actually used to set a timer to try to keep my showers to a reasonable length for purposes of water and energy conservation--no longer an issue here!).  

But on the plus side, the water and power are more consistent here than they were in Hoima. We still use the generator regularly, but it doesn’t have to log the same hours as it did in the other location.  Strangely, the internet seems to go out often here though, even when there is power.

The Staff

The Ugandan staff are wonderful, warm people who have welcomed me with open arms and are eager to share things about their culture and way of life. We often cook lunches at the office, so I’ve been learning local recipes for things like pumpkin, and cabbage and eggs.  In addition, one of my coworkers routinely picks guavas from the tree in the backyard and makes amazing fresh-squeezed guava juice that is just delightful.

Cabbage & eggs (tastes better than may be surmised from this photo) 

Guavas from tree in the backyard

Enjoying fresh made guava juice while working 

The Townspeople

So this one is a mixed bag so far. Some people are really friendly, like the market and store proprietors and some women and children I pass on the street. However, on the down side, there is a bit more catcalling than I care for. Not any worse than Kenya and Hoima, but rather it’s perhaps just starting to wear on me a bit more. (I think I also recall that happening after I had lived in Mexico for a few months.) I think over time, the tolerance and patience for the unwanted attention tends to get a bit strained. Typically the men are the worst, and the boda drivers are the main culprits. But some of the kids in town have actually surprised me with their brashness. I was in the market this past week, and a kid walking by me said “Give me 2,000” I was like "What did you say?" not sure if I had heard him correctly, and he repeated “Give me 2,000” which means, give me $2,000 shillings (or about $1). Then as I walked back from the post office another day, a kid yelled at me “Give me money!” To both I said, “Nope. Not going to happen.” But what I really wanted to say was “Do you realize how offensive that is?” or more preferably, some other choice profane words, but that would not be constructive and would probably only draw more unpleasant attention.

The one that takes the cake though, is last week, I was walking back from the market and a kid who appeared to be about 7 or 8 years old yelled at me “Hey mzungu, you want a bite of my frankfurter?!” I was shocked.  And appalled.  And at the same time, I was strangely impressed, thinking, what a command of the English language to use such a colloquialism.  Later it dawned on me that the incident had occurred not far from the German House of Cooperation (whatever that is) so perhaps some German had taught that to him?

By far people are more friendly and warm (and less insulting) in the smaller villages where we work, so that is always nice.

Wild Kingdom, in my Bedroom

There have been far more uninvited guests to my bedroom/bathroom than I care for in the past week and the casualties are piling up -– in one week (so far) I have dispatched of 3 mice and 5 roaches.

Ok, so this is definitely on the drawbacks list. I am squeamish. I don’t like bugs. Especially massive cockroaches. What I don’t like even more is seeing them regularly pass through my bedroom.  And what I like the very least, as I now know from the experience, is the feeling of one of those big cockroaches crawling on my neck while I'm in bed in the middle of the night. I will spare you too many details, but let’s just say the roach did not live to tell the tale and afterwards I baby-wiped my neck, sprayed the perimeter of my mattress and the floor around my bed with Off bug spray (due to the lack of anything stronger) and then went back to bed, with the lights on.  Since then, in the past week, I’ve killed 4 more, though fortunately no more in my bed (though I check it thoroughly now every night before I get in and at any point when I wake up in the night). On the bright side, the ants in the kitchen don’t bother me nearly as much as they did at first. They are small potatoes now, and they usually keep to themselves.

Then, there are the mice. Oh, the mice. It started with the mouse that I blogged about in the ‘Mouse in the House’ post where I lamented its nighttime activities and my not executing it when I had the chance.  Little did I know I would be taking it out, and 2 more of its friends this past week. Unfortunately there are no mousetraps to be found in Soroti so far. There is poison, which clearly does not work, and sticky goo stuff, which seems to have a moderate success rate, and helped me catch two. However, dealing with the mice that get caught in the glue is entirely unpleasant, and I feel it’s best to spare those details as well. For the third mouse, I’m pretty sure I gave it (and also myself) a heart attack.  It ran into the bathroom when I was brushing my teeth the other morning, and I screamed and jumped up and down and slammed the door, and then afterwards saw the mouse laying on its side over by the bathtub. No joke! At first I thought it must be playing dead, but fortunately for the mouse (and me), it never got up again.

Since those experiences, I’ve gotten a little jumpy, and I now start and look twice at every spot on the ground or movement or anytime a fly lands on me. I'm sure it will subside with time though.

Lost in Translation.

To bring things back to a brighter tone, I thought it’d be fun to share some funny experiences I’ve had here lately as well.  To start, the other day, I let one of the office staff know that we were almost out of dish soap, so perhaps when they go to pick up more bottled water for the office, they could get dish soap as well?  When the person came back with the supplies, he handed me something and said, “I believe you requested this?”  I looked down and it was a plastic soap dish.  I had to explain that no, I meant dish soap, not soap dish.

Dish soap (which I should now refer to as Axion, when requesting) 

Soap dish, for the bargain price of 2500 shillings, or about $1 

Fitting in. (Or not.)

Yesterday, as I was working away on an audit, a coworker asked me to step outside for a brief discussion. It turns out, she had pulled me aside to advise me that the skirt I was wearing (which I had purchased when I was visiting Uganda in January) was not necessarily appropriate to wear into town. I was confused. The skirt is quite long, down to mid-calf level, so definitely conservative enough. She then explained to me that what I was wearing, according to their custom, was actually a petticoat that is meant to be worn under a skirt.  And to wear such a garment to town would certainly attract unnecessary unwanted attention!

Comforts from Home

Finally, to bring a nice close to the week, I received two wonderful care packages from my mom and aunt yesterday. I had been recently craving good chocolate and other comforts from home, as the towns we are in here in Uganda have less chocolate options than were available in Kenya, and these treats definitely brightened my day and will sustain me in good times and bad for the next month until I come home.

Birthday in Uganda

I celebrated my birthday in Uganda yesterday.

I’ve never thought of my birthday as a time to reflect on how fortunate I am just to make it to this age. I’ve usually thought “Ooh it’s my special day!”  And how it’s fun to toast, and spend time with friends, family and loved ones, and to have some good sweets.  Or maybe even a time to consider existential questions, like “Am I where I thought I would be in life by this age?”  But I’ve never thought about how lucky I am to still be alive at the age of 34.  

Some of my Ugandan colleagues sent me birthday greetings yesterday which really brought this home for me, especially considering how many people here (and in other parts of east Africa) are never lucky enough to reach this age.

Birthday messages/greetings:

“Many have always wanted to reach those years but have always failed and you should always thank god that you are among the blessed ones, many happy returns.”

“Happy birthday. This is a very special moment in life since it comes once in a year. May the loving God bless you and grant you more life to celebrate and blow more candles.”

Birthday Lunch

My coworkers were also thoughtful to cook me a wonderful birthday lunch.  It consisted of beans (which I opted for instead of the chicken that we received the day before that was slaughtered in the back yard that morning), eggplant and atapa. 

Making Atapa

Atapa has a slightly nutty taste and was quite good and very filling. It's made from either a combination of millet and sorghum flours, or in our case yesterday, cassava flour, stirred into boiling water.  It takes a lot of elbow grease to work the flour into the gummy, almost playdough-like texture. 

Steaming pile of atapa (I know it looks scary, but it's actually pretty tasty) 

While I was watching it being made, a coworker explained that it used to be tradition that before a man would marry a woman, she was given a very large pot and had to make atapa.  If the atapa was not of good quality (like if it still had little balls of unmixed flour) he wouldn’t marry her.  So I asked the cook if hers was worthy of a marriage proposal, and she just laughed. 

Birthday lunch of beans, atapa and eggplant

It was a delicious lunch!   And a good birthday!

Soroti Grant Disbursements Days 3-6

After 660 kilometers (410 miles) behind the wheel on some rough African roadways (or lack thereof), we have almost concluded the grant disbursements in the Soroti area for this grant cycle. Given the level of activity over the past week, I thought it was best to summarize it all in one post.

Day 3: Obalanga (Monday)

We had a smooth day of grant disbursements in Obalanga on Monday.  It was another long drive over some challenging terrain, but fortunately, it didn’t rain and we got back before dark, so it was a much easier drive than some. I was also complimented by my coworkers on the improvement in my African driving skills, so that was nice!  Although I did get confused at one point as we were driving into town when I saw an oncoming car, and it looked like a toddler was driving it! Then I remembered that the driver sits on the other side here. (Duh!  Not the first, and probably not the last time I’ll get confused like that.)

We had the disbursements under a mango tree, and all went smoothly.  It was the same process as the prior days, so not much more to explain there. Something different though was that there were two languages spoken by different business owners in the area, so one of the local leaders served as a translator throughout the process.

Another cool giant mango tree with business owners assembled beneath it 

Talking with business owners with help from translator 

Reviewing record books

Woman with baby signing for grant

Happy business owners

I also had an interesting bathroom experience while there. It was basically an enclosed flat section of earth with a makeshift wall for privacy. It was the only place to go in the area, and the compound's owners were so happy and welcomed me to use their facilities--one even helped to hold back the side that was starting to collapse so I could get in. It was certainly memorable. I didn’t realize until I got back to the group that straw from the wall had gotten all over my back.

Rustic bathroom

Day 4: Katine (Tuesday)

Katine (pronounced Kah-teen-ay) was closer to home (only a 30 minute drive away) and the main roads were really nice. However, once we exited the pavement, there weren’t really roads, just small footpaths. In fact, we had to slow down and look for a break in the trees to find the turn-off.  My coworker advised “You have to use wisdom to find your way here.”  I was surprised that a car could even fit through some of the places.

So it's kind of a road...

Passing by a field of sunflowers owned by one of our business groups 

A fun thing about driving in this area was that every time we passed a group of kids while going through the villages, they all started running after us and following the car for quite a ways. Considering how rough the paths were, I had to go pretty slowly, so they had an easy time keeping up.

Shot of kids in the rear view mirror

There were also some interesting places to park.  For this one, I was directed to park in a bushy area and had to climb across the front seat to get out.

View of parking job behind business owners

Though the location was close by, it was still a long day with going back and forth between different Business Mentors’ disbursement sites. We also had an issue where business owners who were supposed to receive their grants didn’t bring all of the appropriate paperwork, so we had to leave that area and come back later when they had their records, so there was a bit of extra driving involved.

Disbursement in a church with a grass-thatched roof

Day 5: Mukura (Wednesday)

Mukura was also not too far away, however, we hit a bit of a delay on the way. We were cruising along until we were flagged down by some police who directed me to pull over and park on the side of the road, along with every other car headed in our direction. My colleagues guessed that there might be some sort of dignitaries coming.  As it turned out, they were clearing the road due to some wide-load trucks that were crossing the series of narrow bridges ahead of us, so no cross traffic could pass until they made their way through. It ended up being about a 45 minute delay. When the lumbering vehicles finally passed, the writing on the large cylinders indicated they had something to do with gold mining. I had read in the Uganda news recently that they were attempting to revive gold mining in the country, so maybe it had something to do with that. Finally, we got back on the road. 

Waiting on the roadside

View of bridges and trucks that were blocking the way through 

Wide loads finally coming through 

Once off the main road, we had a couple of instances where there were cows in the path that did not want to move out of the way of the vehicle, so we had to have someone get out and shoo the cow off of the road.  

Stubborn cow that refused to move, despite honking the horn and inching forward 

At the first disbursement site, a group sang a song for us, which was really neat.

Signing business owners

At each location, the business owners were so kind to set out chairs for us. I think they might be chairs from local schools, since they are all almost the same style   They were not the most comfortable chairs to be seated on for several hours at a time--especially after long drives in the car. But still, they were a luxury considering we were usually the only ones with chairs, while others sat on the ground, or on leaves or rocks.

Our typical seating arrangement

I encountered some new wildlife at the second site. At one point, a bunny hopped into our meeting area, which got me really excited (which amused the business owners). Then we also had the typical sheep and chickens making their way through to check out the action.  

Uninvited visitor

Curious sheep

I also received another live chicken, and this time handled it more gracefully. One of the business owners explained that it is Ateso custom to give a chicken to visitors who come to the village.  

Receiving chickens

We also received bags of oranges, which are actually green here in Uganda--as in green all of the time, including when they are ripe. 

The final disbursement of the day was held in a partially built church.   All in all, a good day!

Children in front of the unfinished church

Day 6: Katakwi (Thursday)

Today we went to Katakwi, which is almost 2 hours away on some really rough roads.  

Typical oncoming traffic

 At one point along the way, I was chastised by my coworkers for slowing down to avoid running over a young monitor lizard. I was surprised when they said I should have aimed for it. I was told the lizards eat the local villagers’ chickens, turkeys, etc., and could hurt people too. In fact, there were some villagers beside the road to observe the spectacle of me maneuvering to avoid the reptile, and my passengers speculated that they were saying to each other “Crazy mzungu” or something to that effect. My coworkers also said it was just as bad as slowing down not to run over a snake! (I didn't say it outloud, but I was actually thinking that I probably would have slowed down if it was a snake too).

After a somewhat grueling drive, we arrived at the disbursement site.  Records were reviewed and cash grants disbursed. In addition, we also gave out a couple of grinding machines.  These are used grind local grains for packaging and selling (for more on the grinders, check out a blog post from my coworker at http://villageenterprise.org/blog).  The grinders were assembled so the business owners would know how to put them together and use them. 

Demonstrating grinder assembly

Kids gathering for a watch and to ham it up in the background of the photo 

Demonstrating grinder operation

Afterwards, I received some generous gifts of eggs and eggplants, and some of the business owner groups asked to have their photo taken.

Happy business savings group (women with grinders holding the boxes on their heads) 

As we were getting ready to leave, a guy asked me to come and take his picture (or rather, that’s what I understood from the translation). I went over and he got on a bike and started peddling. Turns out he had equipped it to serve as a human-powered sharpening tool, which he demonstrated by sharpening a panga (or machete). He was so proud and I was truly impressed by his ingenuity!

Pedaling the tool-sharpening bike

Close-up of panga sharpening

We have one last day of disbursements, which was supposed to take place tomorrow, but since there is a conflicting function in the village, it will have to be rescheduled. So fortunately, I get a day off from driving on my birthday tomorrow!  What a great present!