Yesterday, Claire met Bob Junior while she was bathing. He jumped out of an empty jerry can that was sitting in our shower area. After keeping her eye on him and finishing her shower, we used a plastic bag to remove him from our room. Then Bob Junior proceeded to have a photo shoot with me outside our room.
It has been exceedingly difficult to wake up since we got back. I don't know why but I'm definitely dragging my feet every morning to get ready for work. The office is really quiet with half the staff in Mubende for a training, which makes it difficult to concentrate in the afternoon when all I want to do is to take a siesta.
I bought some Twix bars this weekend and I have to say, I think they taste better in Uganda. Maybe it's because they're not as sweet or sugary (they're imported from the UK). Or maybe it's because I've been away from America too long. But I do think they are more delicious here than when I eat them in the US.
I'm currently finishing up Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux. It's such an interesting book. He goes by land from Cairo to Cape Town. I've heard stories of people who've done this trip, but it's really interesting reading it from a perspective of someone who lived in Africa in the 60's. He talks about how things have changed, how things are rather similar, and how sometimes things are worse than they were before. This isn't a happy-go-lucky safari book about the Big 5 and his fun experiences on safari, but it is an interesting, thought-provoking read that I am really enjoying.
Yesterday was election day and I only get to read about the results online. I'm kind of sad I missed such an interesting point in American politics, especially now with the House being controlled by the Republicans. Since I'm leaving in December, I'm also going to miss the Ugandan elections that will be held in February. There's a lot of campaigning going on and a couple months ago, there was major drama in Sembabule involving the primary elections for candidates in the NRM party (someone was shot). I kind of wish I could be here to see what happens in February. The US embassy in Uganda is preparing for any possible problems that might arise during or after the elections. I just got an email from them. All the organizations are developing or have a contingency plan if things go poorly and all ex-pats need to leave the country.
I'm sitting here this morning, rather sleepy and thinking about politics, waiting to take chai. Every morning at the office, around 9:30-10, we have a tea break. Chai = tea. Everyone gets a short break to drink chai together. Ugandan tea is not what tea drinking is like for me in the US. Back home, I would use a tea bag or tea infuser and add hot water. Tada! I'd have my tea. Sometimes I'd add sugar or honey, but usually I drink it plain, without anything added. In Uganda, tea is made by adding some water to milk and some ginger, boiling it, adding tea leaves for people to drink. People usually add quite a great deal of sugar. I've rarely seen Ugandans drink coffee. It's always all about the tea. Sometimes they make things more exciting and add more ginger (when I say more ginger, I mean A LOT more) or cinnamon. It's quite nice, being able to take a tea break every morning. There's often also something to eat with the tea. Bread with Blue Band (the scary, non-refridgerated margarine), chapati, samosas, or fried cassava. I love our morning tea breaks. Speaking of which, I'm going to go enjoy right now!
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