Other volunteers, food, wishlist

Cluster Meeting – fellow volunteers
Last weekend – Oct 19-20 – we attended a cluster meeting of VSO volunteers in our area. Including Danny and I there were 8 of us. The weekend meeting was held in Bushenyi, a small town about 70km from our campus. The hotel, meals and our transportation were paid for by VSO. The weekend was simply brilliant and it was such a boost for us to bond with others in similar situations. We shared stories, advice and beer. Three of the other volunteers arrived at their placements about a week before us.

The colleges and schools have the longest break of the year during the Christmas season – a good time for those in the education sector to take a holiday. We discovered at the meeting that three of the volunteers planned on a trip to Lake Bunyoni, which is where Danny and I planned on as well. The lake is safe for swimming as it is devoid of hippos, crocodiles and the parasites which cause Bilharzia. Canoes, kayaks and mountain bikes are offered for rent. Not confirmed yet but we booked a cottage for 10 days.

Work
Danny has been teaching physics one day per week and the rest of the time he has been fixing, sorting, and upgrading the college computers in the ‘computer lab’. Next week he will begin teaching computer classes and I will be assisting. There are 8 or 9 usable computers, many with 32k RAM – a blast from the distant past!

A teacher’s wife has requested my assistance in learning to use a computer – basic Word, Excel, etc. She works as a secretary and currently uses a typewriter.

We are still trying to find a language teacher. VSO will pay for a private tutor. College admin seems to think picking up words and phrases here and there from staff members in a noisy staff room is sufficient. But we need a good foundation on the rules of the language. I could function well on learning the very basics – hello, how are you, how much does it cost, thank you, good afternoon, may I take your photo, etc. But Danny will need more advanced lessons as he will need to converse in local communities trying to convince parents of the value of school attendance by their children.

The WEATHER here is absolutely brilliant! It seems to hover around the upper 70’s to low 80’s (about 24-27C). Just after a downpour it cools off considerably. Both Danny and I keep anticipating that it will be getting cold soon…..emmm……no. No change. Same all year except that some months are wetter than others.

Most difficult adjustment
By far the hardest part of this culture shock for me is trying to understand the accents. One does tire of asking people to repeat themselves!

TV
We bought a small colour TV on one of our initial shopping sprees but it took quite a while to set up. The outdoor antenna we purchased at the same time was, of course, shoddily constructed. Danny has fixed it and with lots of help we finally have TV, all two of the non-satellite channels. The picture is never perfect, but good enough. There are some English-speaking programmes which include CNN International for an hour several times per day, as well as BBC World News and occasional movies and documentaries.

We brought the set of 5 seasons of DVD's of our favourite programme Still Game, which is a sitcom about some pensioners in Glasgow. At the rate we’ve watched them we’ve already exhausted them and are rewatching.

Pigging out!
Saturdays have become our day to treat ourselves and do our shopping. At the Agip Motel and Restaurant which caters to foreign tourists we get a gorgeous breakfast. An English breakfast costs 11,000sh (just over £3) each and consists of a plate of 5 or 6 fruits, juice, tea or coffee, eggs, bacon, sausage, liver (no thanks), cereal, pancakes. Needless to say we waddle out of the restaurant. The menu is massive and by the time we leave in 2 years we’ll probably have tried most, if not all, they offer.

I had vaguely noticed that in Mbarara there is a dairy factory that makes cheese, yoghurt, milk, etc. So I have finally found some lovely cheddar cheese. At Hot Loaf Bakery they sell only white bread, rolls, cakes, but there is a slightly sweet white bread shaped like a French loaf that, together with the above, makes gorgeous grilled cheese sandwiches!

Another of my food discoveries with which I’m well chuffed is Quaker White Oats – and have had a gorgeously, creamy porridge on several mornings.

Email and Wishlist
Apologies to everyone for being so slow in replying to emails. It’s difficult to keep up with them since internet time is limited but I’ll work on this and plan on a bigger chunk of time on Saturdays. The cost is a whopping 50 shillings/per minute or 3,000 per hour. (85p or $1.70/hour). Ok….not much.

Danny and I are grateful for all the well wishes and positive feedback!

Thanks to the many generous folks who have offered to post us items. Shipping fees from the UK seem to be quite dear and I’m sure it’s even more from the US, but I can easily reimburse anyone via Paypal. Our UK wish list at the moment is:

Maltesers
Galaxy plain chocolate bar
Airwaves gum – black package
Scottish Oat Cakes
Hob Nobs – chocolate or plain (or both!)
Quick-drying bath towels (like those used for camping/backpacking)

PHOTOS

Last week I posted to the blog in the expectation that my photos would be uploaded soon after. Not. Trying again this week.