Lots of odds and ends....

To be honest, on the taxi trip from the airport to the capitol the sight of endless dismal, dreary, run-down buildings made me seriously question our decision to come here. Danny found it interesting, but I felt a bit panicky. This reaction concerned me because according to the 'culture shock timeline' this isn't supposed to happen for a few weeks. However, I'm now glad we are here and feel certain we will settle in well. We are slowly making our house quite cozy by cleaning, painting, furnishing. We are gradually accepting the fact that nothing will work as it should and that neatly packaged items needing assembly will be covered in dirt when the box is opened. This certainly makes one realize just how completely spoiled we are. The scenery surrounding us is beautiful. The open markets with all the gorgeous fruits and bright-coloured clothing are attractive as well. The best part though is the beautiful smiles on the kids with big, brown eyes who seem so thrilled to see us. Many photos are on my agenda!

Money
During our induction at VSO just after our arrival we were given in excess of 1.5 million shillings for pay advance and to get us started furnishing our house. Yes, million. However, since the exchange rate is currently 3500 sh per UK pound and 1800 per US dollar…. Some random prices—280,000 for a small, beat-up, used, refrigerator; 3,000 for a box of tissues; 500-1,000 for a fresh pineapple; 1,000 for a newspaper, 110,000 for an electric kettle….you get the idea. Most people can ill afford a computer. The cost is comparable to UK and US prices, but the wages are pennies compared to western countries. A primary school teacher makes about 200,000 a month. A low-priced laptop would cost a teacher about 5 or 6 months pay. School children all wear uniforms and most don't wear shoes.

We are slowly becoming used to the currency. Danny continues to convert shillings to pounds in order to judge a price. All the zeros in prices are difficult to deal with but with all the shopping we've done so far I'm slowly getting a grasp of prices.

Food:
Matoke: a type of banana that tastes nothing like sweet bananas--the type westerners consume. It’s mashed then cooked in the skin and has a texture similar to potatoes. It’s a bit bland but very good with gravy. A huge variety of fruits and vegetables that are very low-priced, even when we pay the muzungu (non-Africans) price. A huge bunch of sweet bananas (the type westerners eat) are only 500 sh (about 14p or 28 cents). Pineapples are so sweet and juicy—it’s like having dessert!

Staff and volunteers are offered sweet bananas and tea in the mornings, a milky, sweet tea at 11, a hot lunch, and plain tea in late afternoon. Lunch consists of the same fare every day with small variations—rice, matoke, beans in a gravy, boiled cabbage, potatoes, occasional boiled beef. We were told that volunteers often gain weight while here. Hmm…could be the very high carb diet! This government-owned college is sorely strapped for cash, so these dishes are obviously filling and cheap. Danny and I enjoy the food although it will quickly get monotonous. The students are fed the same fare but only rarely are they fed meat. There is no shortage of overweight Ugandan women, and I haven't noticed many overweight men.

Amazingly I found good peanut butter in a small supermarket in Mbarara. The label says 'American-style' and my reaction was 'yea, right', but it's true. Other western foods can be purchased here as well. I plan to make a list for future volunteers.

A day out
Friday was a public holiday so Danny and I spent the day in Mbarara on our own without having to consider the staff driver and other passengers. We walked the 2 miles down the dirt track to the main road and boarded what is called a taxi -- a 15 passenger minibus-- a common sight on the roads as the fare is dirt cheap.

We spent over an hour in the internet cafe, then walked to the Agip Motel and Restaurant which is featured in tourist books and is recommended for European meals. We had a lovely lunch of beef stir fry for Danny and a club sandwich made with chicken and lots of bacon for me. I had begun fantasizing about the bacon rolls I'd recently become addicted to so this was a real treat. We plan to have a meal at this restaurant every weekend. As this is a popular spot for safari tours and other tourists to stop, there were mostly muzungus (whites) eating there. After being the centre of attention everywhere we went and rarely seeing another white person, it felt quite strange to suddenly be surrounded by white people! An odd culture shock.

After some shopping we made our way to the main taxi area and boarded what we thought was the taxi back to the college. Miscommunication resulted in a 30 minute trip becoming a 2.5 hour trip as we were in the wrong minibus. We learned a hard lesson but now we know. Can't wait for Danny to get his motorbike!

Education in Uganda
Primary school education is now free in Uganda. However, only about 50% of children attend. Many cannot afford the uniforms and most of the ones than can don't even have shoes. So kids in bright purple or pink uniforms walked barefoot in the evenings is a common sight. The school day in primary school is from 8-5, but primary (grades) 1-3 attends until 1. Secondary schools charge tuition so attendance is even less.

Safety
We feel safe quite safe on the campus. Any thefts are opportunitistic--leaving valuables within reach of an open window and villagers' children are tempted. Rarely there have been break-ins when something highly desirable is seen through a window. There is a guard at the entrance to the campus, but local villagers work in the kitchens, gardens, and clean for some staff and their children wander the campus as well. The children have very little in the way of material goods so are especially curious to see the belongings of muzungus (us). Our house was surrounded by them on our first weekend here as whites are such a rarity and they were extremely curious about us. Many like to shake our hands just so they can touch us.

Unless we go out in the dark we are quite safe in this area and in the towns.

The college
There are 400 students at any time and there are no fees for tuition, food, housing. Books are not issued as neither the college nor the students can afford them. Most of the books in the library were donated and many are old US textbooks. Science labs are sorely lacking in equipment. The college vehicles all display USAID on the side. Although the students range in age from 18-22, most look to be about 15 or 16 to us. There is a shortage of teachers and the college cannot afford to hire more due to recent severe cutbacks in funding. We can easily foretell our favourite charity on our return home.

Danny's duties include the outreach programme which entails assisting primary teachers/headteachers, giving workshops, finding ways to get children to attend school, and teaching occasional physics classes to the college students. He has taught a couple of classes already and was impressed by how well-educated the students are.

A few odds and ends....
In the town of Mbarara we've seen numerous herons and pelicans---incredible since we are many hundreds of kilometres from the sea. We inquired of staff why this occurred and were informed that these birds don't eat fish, they eat rubbish.

It is rare to see anyone wearing eyeglasses. Is it because they all have perfect eyesight or because they can't afford eye exams and glasses?

Very rarely have we seen anyone smoking, and as I recall, it's only been whites.

I am sorely missing my washing machine. One of the major causes of my whining is doing laundry by hand with 2 plastic basins. Yes, the image of me using a washboard to do laundry sent some friends and family into hysterics. As I was squatting down on our back porch one morning washing clothes I was thinking how a photo of this would give many a good laugh. At that moment Danny walked past and commented 'I should get a photo of this!' Will add more pics later but these are schoolchildren walking past our college, and the other is our wee house.