Getting To Engeye and Some Facts About My Life in Africa

Hello! Here is a little about my first couple days.

Ddegeya Village is about two hours south west of Kampala. In order to get to Ddegeya we had to take the public taxi to the taxi park, a taxi from the taxi park to Masaka (the largest town close to Ddegeya) and then hire a special hire taxi from Masaka to Ddegeya. Along the way we had to pick up fresh water and propane in Masaka and groceries in a market village close to Engeye. So here is what we picked up:

1 Bunch of Onions

5 Yams (I have never eaten these before)

5 Carrots

3 Pineapples

1 Pumpkin

1 kg Eggplants (the eggplants here are about the size of a jalapeño pepper and green)

2 Kilos of crushed nuts

Lots of Tomatoes

3 Kilos Beans

2 Loaves of Bread

1 kg Salt

4kg White Rice

2kg Sugar

16 oz Butter (blueband brand)

50 Bags of Tea

Napkins

3 Rolls TP

4 Washing Soaps

3 Litters Cooking Oil

1 Bag Stain remover

Including the propane the groceries cost about 100 dollars and we hope that this will last us for two weeks.

The ride was pretty comfortable until we got to Masaka. In Masaka we had to changed to a private hire taxi rather than use the public taxi system. The hire was a small sedan and we had to fit all our bags and five people (the driver, Hudson, Richard, Steve, and I) as well as all the stuff we bought along the way. At first it wasn’t too bad because they just stopped shutting the trunk and tied the trunk door down instead. But after we go the water we could not do that any more. By the time we left the market everyone was completely covered in stuff and had something at their feet. Furthermore, about twenty yards from the clinic the car ran out of gas and the drive had to find a Boda Boda driver to go get him a jerry can full of gas. After we got the gas the car still wouldn’t work so we had to flag down another car to give us a jump. To be honest our driver was really weird and I think he was drunk, because when he first arrived Hudson and Richard started whispering and looking at him in a worried way. Anyways the car finally started and we made it safe and sound to the clinic with all of our stuff.

After we unpacked Steve took out his soccer ball and we played soccer with the kids. At first all of the children played together, but after a while the girls got over their excitement at seeing white people and became to shy to play with the boys. So I brought out another soccer ball and played with the girls and the really little boys. In addition to playing soccer, they taught me some hand clapping games similar to “Miss. Mary Mack”. They also play “bubble gum bubble gum in a dish how many pieces do you wish”, but they sing “cigarette, cigarette how many does your father take in one day”.

We have very little power and internet access. Thank you to everyone who has send me emails and commented on my blog, I am very sorry that I can not respond in a timely manner. One of the hardest things here has been not knowing what is going on back home with the people I love.

Our first meal and food in general…Our first dinner was served around eight o’clock. Dinner consisted of and usually consists of a lot. First and most importantly there is Matooke. This is Uganda’s staple food. It is steamed and mashed plantains. As Susan our cook has been teaching me to cook Ugandan food I have learned that Matooke is prepared by pealing the plantains then wrapping them in banana leaves then placed in a large pot with water where the package is boiled for about one hour. This is also how they steam pumpkin and yams. Second is peanut sauce. This is purple colored sauce made out of crushed peanuts boiled in water with onions, salt and tomatoes. This sauce is put on top of matooke and rice. It is pretty good. Third is rice. This is prepared by putting onions and a lot of salt in water, once it boils they put in the rice and wait till the water is absorbed. We also have potatoes, eggplant, greens, cabage, and tea. I have learned how to prepare all of these things. I can also cut them all without a cutting board. For the first couple days there was so much food.. Ugandans eat like Italians on steroids. They eat so much and in addition they eat mostly carbohydrates. Anyways for the first couple days they feed us a lot. After a while we got through to them though and now there is just the right amount. Currently Steve and I cook about every sixth meal. Learning to cook has sortof sucked. They treat me like I am a baby and have never cooked before. Which is really annoying and degrading, but has gotten better as I have proven that I know what I am doing. Susan and Francis often tell me I an doing something incorrectly, I have started telling them I do things the “American” way just to get them off my back.

We go to bed here around nine o’clock. Hudson and everyone else can make it to eleven or twelve, but I get to tired. I sleep/live in a room adjacent to the boys room. We live in one of the volunteer houses. The large rectangular building has been sperated into three spaces. The first is right as you walk in and is the boys room, this is where Steve, Hudson, and Richard sleep. Then you turn left and there is a curtain over an entry way into a second room. This is where I sleep. There is another door in my room that leads to a hall way. At the end of the hall way is a small room for showering. I will explain showering next. Anyways, it gets really dark here. I have never seen so many stars it is really beautiful.

So showering. We have these plastic bags called solar showers. They have a hose with a shower nozzle attached to the end of it on the bottom and a place to hang it on the top. You put the bag in the sun and the sun heats the water. Then at the end of the day you hang the bag in the shower facility (I can’t do this because the bags are too heavy with water in them) from a thick metal wire. Then you shower. It is really easy and the water gets really hot.

The first work that we have been give is to stack about 15,000 five pound bricks. They are going to be used to finish building the laboratory. This is our first project and I am very excited about getting to work. Moving bricks is quite the workout and I hope that I am ripped by the time they are all moved. So far we have moved about 7 to 8 thousand.

Our First Wednesday at Engeye Hudson taught us how to hand wash our clothes. Now I thought that we were just going to rinse our clothes and then beat them against rocks. I know this sounds insane, but this is how they did it in Vietnam. This is not how we did it. First, we put all of our clothes in a large plastic bin and filled it with water and detergent. Then we let them sit overnight. In the morning we took the buckets out back and rubbed soap (the same soap that we use to wash our dished, the floor, and they use to wash their bodies) all over each item. Then we scrubbed each item with itself by putting the fabric between our hands and rubbing our hands together. This gets the clothes pretty clean but stretches the cotton ones out a bit. After completely lathered the clothes are put in a second plastic bin full of clean water to be risined. Then they are hung to dry. By the end my knuckles were bleeding, but my clothes were pretty well cleaned. Francis got the clothes so clean. My socks are cleaner then when I bought them, but they are now about twice the size.

People in my life. Right now there are very few people in my life that I have regular contact with that speak English and are older than eight. First there is Hudson. Hudson has been hired to be our teacher, life guide, and friend until John gets back. He is a god. Hudson is great. HE understands that we want to work and help out, which for the first couple days no one else got. He also is from the city and a little more relaxed and social than everyone else. Next there is Francis. Francis is John’s 19 year old brother. He is the youngest of 14 children and it shows a little. He is a nice addition to most of our conversations. Now Richard. Richard does not really speak to us that much. He is the clinic’s care taker. He is nice, but rather shy because he is from the country side. Then there is Susan. Susan is the girl we have hired to cook for us. She is also Richard’s girlfriend (we did not know this until a little while ago). She is so nice and a great cooking teacher, but really shy and still will not speak to us. Lastly there is Lawrence. He is the nurse in charge of the clinic. He is really nice and very soft spoken.

Steve and I have decided to speak Spanish when we need to share something private. What a great idea. And its really nice, because they speak about us in Luanda while we are present all the time.