This Little Piggy Went To Market

Just like the title suggests, I went to the market today and it was a successful trip . Teresa and I went to Utako Market (sounds like u + taco which made me just crave tacos, even though I rarely eat Mexican food) with a couple friends today. We meant to go to Jabi Market, where there are lots of Nigerian crafts and things, but as we tried to get out there, we hit a major traffic jam. So we turned around and headed to Utako Market instead. Think of rows and rows of rooms with all sorts of things in them, like household items, electronics, etc. Pretty tight quarters, but kind of makes me feel at home. And so it was time to pull out my haggling skills. I confess, I’m a little rusty since last year and will never be quit as skillful as my dad, but I like to think I can hold my own. Teresa and I made off with:

• 3 good quality cylindrical metal garbage cans (plus a mug because the lady wouldn’t give us a lower price but offered us a “dash” instead. A dash essentially means a little something extra, a tip, a gift, etc. Taxi drivers often ask for a dash when you are paying them your fare.)
• 6 glasses
• A giant bag of tangerines
• Cutting board
• 10 yards of blue cloth to make curtains with
• A dozen spoons
• A dozen forks
• 6 butter knives
• 6 stoneware plates
• Some Tupperware
• A vegetable peeler
• Probably the best “look at me” broom ever- blue with leopard print spots on the handle
• Hangers
• A bag of beans
• A blue toilet brush

I also bought these “Jasmine” style flip flops from a cart with a mountain of flip flops on it. These flip flops are compensation for the black ones I lost on the flight to Nigeria. They are turquoise and bejeweled. They are awesome and were under $4. Probably the best purchase of the day for me.

So as you can see, successful trip!!! So the house has a few more things in it now. And we had our first cooking experience with our gas stove tonight. I made a fried egg for each of us. See? I'm becoming domesticated while I'm here. Our Nigerian coworkers have told us that a year in Nigeria is not enough and maybe we'll stay forever after we marry a Nigerian. If that is going to happen, I think I need to learn to cook more than fried eggs...

This Isn't Good-Bye, Just See You Later

Last night, the staff made me an epic "last supper." It was complete with fried chicken. Everything was delicious. It was awesome having everyone together. It has been an amazing 5 months. I cannot reiterate that enough. I'm so grateful to everyone who made my stay here so wonderful. Sembabule has become a home away from home.

And in true Sembabule style, we had no power for the last day, so I got to pack the last of my stuff by lantern light. Then as I was packing, we were visited by a grasshopper in our room. Thus my last encounter with nature involved me trying to catch a grasshopper. I'm going to miss Sembabule a lot!

Favorite memories from my trip:

• My first trip using public transportation from Sembabule to Kampala. I still feel incredibly sorry for the chicken in the trunk of the car. And I definitely lost some brain cells when I hit my head on the ceiling of the van.
• Talking to my parents while trying to get Bob out of my room
• Lake Bunyonyi… almost like paradise
• Watching a chicken get slaughtered
• 10 mzungus getting onto bodas in Kigali
• The bus trip back from Rwanda: nothing beats a blow out and then thinking the bus will tip over and kill us
• Jamming out to Top 40 tunes at work in Mubende with Claire
• Game nights in Sembabule
• Running to Haandi’s for a meal immediately after arriving in Kampala
• Learning to fry matoke
• Making awesome friends in Sembabule and Kampala
• Not getting malaria
• Being attached at the hip to Claire

No words can describe how much I cherish all the memories I’ve made on this trip. There aren't enough Thank Yous to pass around, but I'll say it again. I'm so thankful for this trip, for everyone I've met and gotten to know, for everyone who has helped remind me why I fell in love with Uganda. I hate good-byes. So I'm serious when I say this isn't good-bye. Two years ago, I told myself I'd find a way to come back, and I did. This time, I'm saying it again. I love Uganda. I will be back.

Daddy's Girl

Recently nothing I eat is appealing or satisfying. So when we were trying to think of what to make for dinner last night, nothing sounded good. We looked around at what we had in the room to cook with and I decided I would give my dad's specialty dish a shot. My dad makes a version of chapati that includes green onions and doesn’t require a rolling pin because it’s a more liquidy batter. Think of it as salty, thin pancake-crepe thing. For as long as I can remember, my dad has made this for us. He’s the pro at making them thin; he may not be Iron Chef or anything but when it comes to this dish, he is master. Well I managed to make it last night without too many problems, so I’m claiming “master’s apprentice-daughter status”. Yes, the first one broke in half when I tried to flip it. And perhaps they weren’t a perfect circular shape. But I did it! I think they turned out rather well (a picture will be forthcoming) and we had a satisfying meal by pairing it with fresh tomatoes and green peppers. It was a cultural fusion of a dish of Chinese origin (I'm not sure it's of Chinese origin but since my dad's Chinese and all, I figure the Chinese part applies) that was made by an American in the middle of Central Uganda.

Speaking of parents, I have to say that being a parent is probably one of the most underappreciated jobs imaginable. At least it is if you are anything like my parents. Claire and I were discussing budgets, bank accounts, money in general, applying for grad school, etc when we marveled at how much tuition for college is and how many parents manage to pay their child’s/children’s way through school. (Just some background if you’re wondering why we were discussing this: I am looking to finish up a semester at BU and the cost of tuition made me want to have a heart attack, while Claire just submitted her grad school application.)

So if your child (say someone like me) goes to a state school and pays in-state tuition, let’s estimate a year of tuition to be at $10,000 (give or take a few thousand). The typical four years of undergrad would equal $40,000. That’s tuition alone. Then tack on rent and living expenses, if the parents are generous and willing to provide for their child… so we estimate $800 a month total. Then with 9 months of school, you’re looking at $7,200 a year (not including insurance, etc). After 4 years, you’ve spent $28,800 by needing a roof and food. In the end, parents are spending around $68,800 for 4 years of college and this wonderful piece of paper called a diploma. Can you imagine what the parents COULD be spending around $70,000 on? That’s about 35 round trip tickets to Uganda or 787,500 chapati or 196,875 Rolexes or over 7,500 dinners at Haandi’s or a brand new car or a luxury cruise vacation to all 7 continents… the list goes on. And I’m only talking about college!

At the same time, you have to consider the gas for the car carting us to tennis practice, piano lessons, friends’ houses… buying birthday presents, whether it was for you or for the friend’s birthday you attended… the braces that straightened your teeth… the multiple retainers you accidentally threw away with your hot lunch trash… and not to mention all the pain and suffering we children put our parents through when we hit puberty (and oftentimes beyond)… it’s a wonder my parents didn’t drown me at birth or accidentally forget me in the middle of a corn field when I hit puberty, and spared themselves a lot of pain.

In conclusion, I dedicate this post to my parents. I am extremely grateful for everything they do for me. And especially for their support, in every way, on this trip. I’m sorry for all the pain and suffering I have caused you over the years. And I profusely apologize for being such an expensive kid! I love you!

Everything tastes better when it's Fried

To add to my last post, after the band marched through town, we had an entourage of cars and trucks pull through Sembabule also. People were standing in the trucks, waving tree branches and yelling out things that I couldn’t understand. I was told this was the way people were expressing their support. I took a few pictures but internet’s been terrible so I’ll have to wait to upload those. The guy who is running for chairperson in Sembabule District was responsible for the vehicle parade and I managed to get a peek at him, standing up in a car, waving at people in town. Later on in the day, we saw a political rally in the middle of town for one of the men who are running against Museveni for president. He hung a huge banner in town and talked to a big crowd that had gathered. Since I can’t understand Luganda, I cannot tell you what he was saying. I have to wonder at how good someone’s chances are who is running for the presidency. I’d think not very good. Museveni is pretty much in control, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon… Presidential elections are February 18th. Let's hope they go smoothly!

This past weekend, we didn’t have power during the day so I managed to read a lot AND we cooked. Again, I reiterate that frying anything makes that food taste better. Claire and I fried some matoke on Saturday. It was quite a process. We were taught a technique by our program manager’s husband, who is Columbian. I think it's called patacones? Don't quote me on the name. And we decided to try it out. Peeling matoke is way harder than all the Ugandans make it look. Well it’s either that or I am just inept in the kitchen. I’m pretty sure I wasted a significant amount of banana flesh. We fried medium sized pieces of matoke until they were soft enough to squash flat with a bowl, then refried them, and finally seasoned with Claire's seasoning salt. They were sooooooo good. If matoke was served this way to me all the time, I’d never get sick of it. I'd also have serious health issues from so much fried food... but it'd be worth it. A picture will be forthcoming, I promise.

I just finished reading The Shattered Continent and really enjoyed it. It’s another book on economic development and aid in Africa but it was pretty easy to read and straight forward. Another interesting book I've finished is The Caged Virgin, written by the same woman who wrote Infidel. I think she has a very interesting opinion on Islam and women's rights. She questions why the West is so afraid to criticize Islam, calls for Muslims to look critically at their own religious beliefs, and advocates for better women's rights for Muslim women. Definitely a must read if you're interested in the Middle East, Islam, fundamental Islam, and want to see it from the perspective of a woman who was raised Muslim.

I have about a month left here and I desperately need to find a way to bring a chapati/rolex stand back to the US with me…

PS Did you know that the FAO reported that Uganda was the top producer of plantains in 2005?

I can make chips!

Movies and Chips

After getting back from Mubende last week, the rest of the week went by pretty quickly. We had a relaxing weekend with power most of the time. Claire and I had a Dance Movie marathon. It had started with watching Save the Last Dance about a week ago. We completed the marathon with Center Stage, Center Stage 2, Step Up, and Step Up 2. Yes, I know, we are so cool. But hey, they're fun, trashy, feel-good movies. We also were also pretty ambitious and made our own chips. I’m happy to report that I: 1) did not scald myself with boiling oil, 2) was successful in not burning the potatoes completely, and 3) did not set the office on fire. All in all, I think I’m well on my way to becoming a domesticated housewife… maybe… A picture as evidence of my newfound cooking abilities will be forthcoming. Claire brought Lawry’s Season Salt with her from the States, probably one of the best things ever to bring to Uganda. We put it on everything, including our chips. They turned out delicious. On Sunday night, we feasted on a rolex with 2 chapati. It was like the Big Mac of rolexes: a layer of egg with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and cabbage, a chapati, a layer of egg with veggies, another chapati, and a final layer of egg and veggies. AMAZING!!!

Tomorrow we’re going back to Mubende and will stay for a few days. This week is packed with meetings. It should keep us busy! Then we plan on going to Kampala for the weekend. I haven’t been there since the beginning of the month so we’re going to be stocking up on food and enjoying some of the excellent restaurants in the city.

Head lamps and Danielle Steel

I've been in Mubende this week and am spending the weekend here. The program manager is back in the States, so Claire and I have been able to stay in the house at the office compound. It's definitely been a luxury. Better internet, electricity... most of the time. We've been cooking quite a bit in the kitchen: pasta with tomatoes, onions & green peppers and toast. It's definitely a nice change of pace. Plus any time we want something different and don't want to do dishes, a short walk down the hill for some chips and egg. There is also a fridge here so our Splash juice and water can be cold! Yes, I do enjoy the little luxuries in life.

Work has been pretty good. I'm here to help support the Mubende F/CBOs with their data entry, see where they are having issues, and continue to edit our M&E tools. They have a bit of catching up to do on data entry, but there are the usual problems with the data: lack of power for desktop computers, incomplete forms, difficulty collecting the forms, etc. Things are progressing though and hopefully we'll have a decent amount of data collected in the Excel databases I made by the time I leave. Just in time for me to pass the torch of work onto Claire.

We spent the morning at one of the F/CBOs my organization works with that is just down the hill. They have a program for children who come from vulnerable environments in the area to come together on Saturdays. They are provided with spiritual, cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional support. We stopped by for a visit and managed to disrupt every class. The children were really excited to see their mzungu visitors. Weirdly enough, they all had an easier time saying: "Hello Auntie Jessica" as opposed to "Hello Auntie Claire." I wonder why that is.

We took the 9-11 year olds into the field and tried to teach them songs/games. Turns out they all knew "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "If you're happy and you know it" already. So in a last minute attempt to entertain them and because I do not have a cache of games to play with small children stored in my memory, I decided to teach them a Chinese song. There is something extremely amusing and slightly mind-boggling about teaching a group of 9-11 year old Ugandans how to sing in Chinese. I'm not sure if they'll remember what I taught them today, but I officially have that song stuck in my head. That might have been due to singing the song over and over and over again. And no, I do not enjoy singing in public. Claire played "Follow the Leader" with them and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them follow her, single-file, like a mother duck: walking, hopping, skipping, slow-motion running, crab-walking, and clapping. After a morning with the children, we were both extremely worn out. I definitely didn't have enough caffeine to match the children's energy level.

Electricity has been a bit spotty the last few days. The office runs on the inverter, which is great. Until the inverter runs out. Then we're left in the dark. But have no fear. We find ways to entertain ourselves, which include head lamps, finding Danielle Steel novels in the closet which were left behind by past volunteers, and taking photos in the dark. And yes, we are reading them.

C-pop in Sembabule

My favorite piece of electronic equipment here in Uganda would have to be my iPod. Nothing drowns out the cows mooing, roosters crowing, random radios blaring, and incessant whining of mosquitos better than a little C-pop in the early morning.

I can't really think of anything profound to say, but here's a little update on life here. You know how they say you can never "catch up" on sleep? They are right. I've been a bit of a walking zombie all week from the lack of sleep last weekend. As for work, we had visitors from the project that funds us this week. There were meetings and discussions for them for a few days. We're also coming down to the end of this fiscal year, which means lots of reports are due. I've been working on data collection for our projects all week. Every time I think I'm done with the data and I submit it to my supervisor, the next day or even that night, she tells me that we've filled out the wrong form or we didn't get all the data they needed or we've done something else wrong... It gets a little frustrating after a while. Especially when you're hand counting several hundred forms and tallying up totals. But I'm happy to report that the data is now completed... but that might just be wishful thinking.

The tap wasn't running for part of this week so Claire and I were running out of water to bathe, do laundry, etc with. This is slightly inconvenient but I think I've reached a point in Claire and my relationship where she doesn't mind when I wake up, looking horrible after not showering for 2 days... maybe... unless she's not telling me something.

I do all my laundry by hand in the basin I wash myself with. The water always turns a beautiful reddish brown color. And no matter how many times I rinse my clothes, I can never seem to get the water to run clear. I cannot wait to get home to Wisconsin and throw all my clothes into the washing machine.

I miss food. I miss hot meals that don't involve matoke or beans. I miss my mom's cooking. Nothing can relate how much I'd kill for some quality Chinese food right now. OR when I'm paging through the few magazines I've accumulated and I come across an ad for DiGiorno's pizza. Sigh. What's worse is flipping through these magazines and stumbling across images of food. Delicious sandwiches, meals, salads, cakes... I know you might find me slightly pathetic at this point, but I'm beyond caring. I miss food.

I stayed in Sembabule this weekend so it's some quality time to lay around and recover from last weekend and my zombie-state. I've finished The Wizard of the Nile (a fascinating book about Kony and northern Uganda) and am now tackling Atlas Shrugged.

The countdown begins: 2 months until my feet touch American soil again.

It's been almost 2 months in Uganda

(Written Sept 1) The one frustrating part about being in Sembabule is the Russian Roulette we play with internet and electricity. Sometimes you have network for the internet, but then you don’t have electricity for your computer to work. Other times, there is no network for the internet while electricity is on. Then there are the times when you don’t have either one, but you need to get things done at work. Internet is all done through SIM cards and the cell phone companies in Uganda, so it really depends on if the company you are buying internet through has network in your region. In Sembabule, MTN works best, but it is still comes and goes without warning. And as for electricity, our office, unlike the one in Mubende, does not have an inverter, so we are at the mercy of the electricity in the district.


We still do not have gas for the gas stove here in the office so I’ve been subsisting off of the smorgasbord of crackers/cookies/random things I picked up at grocery store in Kampala. The Haribo gummies in Uganda are imported from England, so though they are a little pricey, they taste fantastic! I had a Snickers bar the other day too; it was a gift and there’s no way I pass up any kind of candy while I’m here in Uganda. Not as sweet as the ones sold in the US, but still delicious. Thus far I have not been able to find any Kinder products, which makes me sad. Two years ago, we bought Kinder Buenos in the grocery store by Makerere University and hoarded them like starving children. This year, I’ve only been able to find Cadbury products.

The rainy season is officially upon us, which means temperatures actually cool down here. I write this wearing a jacket and wishing I could be wearing pants (must wear skirts in the office). It’s actually a great change of pace from the normal dry heat and avid amounts of dust. The rainy season has also brought many strange bugs to the office, which I have had the great pleasure of stepping on as I walk from my room to the office. Unfortunately for me, little did I know that some of these bugs omit a very odd and unpleasant odor when killed. Oops. Then I was able to watch ants move the carcasses of these dead bugs back to their homes, under the cracks of concrete in the office. I believe my coworkers think I am about 5 years old because I managed to sit and watch ants for about 15 minutes during lunch. I was extremely amused. I also chased a gecko around the office compound for fun after work, which made my supervisor laugh. Bugs, lizards… the things I do to stay entertained when there is no power and no internet and after reading three books in a row.

Update for today, Sept 2, finally got a little internet. As soon as it came, power shut off... TIA

Nkoko

It’s so easy in the US not to think about where our meat comes from. We can go to a supermarket and just pick up some fresh or frozen chicken breasts from the produce aisle. Here, they don’t have the luxury of picking up pre-slaughtered meat. Instead, for around $5 US: you buy your own chicken that has been raised locally, take it home, listen to it cluck for a while, slaughter it, pluck out all the feathers, and DINNER! The former country director of the organization I work at is visiting, so in her honor, the staff in Sembabule slaughtered a chicken yesterday. It was a rather eye-opening experience; I’d never seen a chicken get slaughtered before. I have only heard stories from my parents about how they had to slaughter their own meat before they moved to the US. Let’s just say I’m glad I don’t have to slaughter my own meat. If I did, I think I’d consider becoming a vegetarian. But due to the amazing privilege of living in the US and having plenty of Shaw’s, Pick n Saves, and Whole Foods around, I can just pick up my meat at the store.

RIP Molly the Nkoko. You were delicious!

Electricity and Internet... not for long

(Written on Aug 19) I have spent a little over a week in Mubende now, and I am about one fourth of the way done with my time here in Uganda. But today I’m returning to Sembabule. An interesting tidbit for you, it turns out that the Central Region has a HIV prevalence of 9%, which is known to be the highest in Uganda. The coverage of services to PHA and OVC is low in the districts my organization is working in, thus the organization is working with the community to address these gaps in services.


Staying at the regional office has been nice, since there’s an actual house to live in, running water, toilets, and an inverter, which means even if the power goes, we still have power at the office. If only we had an inverter in Sembabule! The internet connection is also ten times better here in Mubende than Sembabule, since it’s a bigger town. The organization I am working at has been experiencing a high volume of staff turnover, and tomorrow the new program manager for the Central Region will be arriving to start working in Mubende. It’s very exciting for everyone at the office, especially since it will alleviate some of the workload my supervisors (one in Mubende, one in Sembabule) have been experiencing. This week I’ve been training the F/CBOs in Mubende to use M&E tools. It’s not too glamorous but is an important aspect of compliance for the funding the organization receives.

My favorite meal in Mubende is definitely chips and eggs, which is strangely only served at dinnertime. (Chips = French fries, for those of you don’t know) I always go to the same restaurant that is down the hill from the office, and now when I walk in, they know exactly what I’ll be ordering for dinner. I’m pretty sure I’m one of the only people who orders this meal, considering that I’m a mzungu, I think that’s acceptable. After I return to Sembabule, no more chips and eggs for dinner! I’ll have to start cooking for myself again…

Bugs, Bugs Everywhere

I don't think I was ever the child who had a mad fascination with insects and I have never developed a true love of them. I find them either annoying or just terrifying (depending on size and bite lethality). And when at home, I usually scream like a little girl for my dad (or even my mom) to kill whatever bug I find. Well, my dad nor my mom is with me here...

Last night, I was happily eating my ramen for dinner when a small fly stupidly landed in my noodles. Normally I think I would have been disgusted and might not have continued eating. But since I'm here, I love my ramen, and there was no way I was going to make anything else for dinner, I drowned the fly with my fork, flicked it to the side of my pot, and proceeded eating. I did make sure, however, I didn't accidentally eat the fly.

When I lay in bed, I stare up at Fred, Murphy, and Sylvia in the corner of the ceiling (spiders). There's also Jack, the extra large spider, who hangs out above my door. Now, if these spiders were doing their jobs, they would be killing all the bugs that fly into my room for me. Instead, I spend at least half the night, running around my room like a crazy person and squashing as many mosquitoes and small flies as I can. Hey it's entertaining!

What isn't entertaining is laying awake and hearing a creepy rustling noise coming from the bag where you left your one onion to cook with the next day. It's extremely unsettling when you know you haven't opened your door for hours and there is definitely something crawling inside the plastic bag over in the corner of your room, where you were pretty sure the last time you checked there was only an onion in the bag. So in true, terrified girl fashion, I grabbed the chopsticks I brought with me, opened my door, hooked the bag on the chopsticks, and swung it out the door with an "ahhhhhh! ew ew ew!". Then I watched these large juicy cockroaches crawl out of the bag. That resulted with an "AHHHHHH!" and the slamming of my door. I decided I'd just leave the bag outside and deal with it when it was light out (when hopefully the cockroaches had left). Needless to say, I had the heebie jeebies for the rest of the night and I tucked my mosquito net in extra well.

**Update to my story** The guard found my bag this morning before I woke up and I guess he just threw it away. I tried to explain that there had been cockroaches in the bag and I was sorry he had to throw it away for me. I was going to take care of it when I woke up. I'm pretty sure he just stood there and thought: She's crazy. Plus if he'd heard me freaking out at my bag or if he'd heard me when I was dealing with Bob, he'd already know of my craziness.

Mosquito Bite Count To Date: 16

No Gas Stove Necessary

Fresh avocado, tomato and onion salad with a dash of salt!

My dinner tonight plus a side of chapati. Love the freshness of the avocado here!!

Gas Stove Adventures and More

I almost singed off my eyebrows last night. In order to light the gas stove, you turn on the gas, light a match, and then you have a fire. My problem is having the necessary coordination to turn on the gas and light a match at approximately the same time. It’s a lot harder than it seems.

Attempt #1: Could not light the match. I’ve never been good at it, and I usually opt for a lighter. I broke 2 matches.

Attempt #2: Match is lit. Turning the gas on required a little more effort than I realized (I learned to push in and twist to the right), but by the time I turned the gas on, the flame was burning my fingers.

Attempt #3: I tried turning on the gas and then lighting the match. I leaned in, lit the stoe and WHOOSH! Way too much gas. I made a fire ball rather than a flame and could feel the flames almost licking my face. I had to double check that I still had eyebrows. I did, but I learned my lesson on sticking my face too close to the stove. Then as I tried to turn the gas down, I accidentally turned it off completely.

Attempt #4: Light match. Turn on gas slowly. Light gas with match while keeping my face far from the stove. Success!!! I thoroughly enjoyed my noodles after all that work.

As for work, I’ve been working on database templates for the M&E tools the community health workers will be filling out for their clients. I have to code certain parts of the tools in order for them to be graphed, and make sure I make the databases straight forward so I can teach the community-based organizations (CBOs) to use them. The point is to help the CBOs build up their M&E capacity and help them create a sustainable system to use even after our program is over. As always, I am quickly learning that this is easier said than done.

I’ve been reading a great book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn. The book focuses on three significant abuses women face throughout the world: sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality. The authors emphasize how fighting global poverty needs to involve empowering women and helping them contribute to their economies. I highly recommend it.

Learning to Cook

My culinary skills are limited but I'm learning while here in Uganda! I didn't burn the house down!

Making cabbage on a charcoal stove at my supervisor's house.