The long dry season

June-August is the longest dry season of the year. It hasn't rained at all for about 3 weeks, and then it was just a short shower. It's possible it might not rain again until well into August.

This makes it difficult for the crops and cattle. To compound the problems the April-May rainy season was very dry this year. We water our garden during this time, but most others can't.

A benefit of the dry season is that the number of mosquitoes drops substantially. It also makes off-road wildlife tracking much easier as the tracks will be dry and not muddy when there is a risk of becoming stuck.

A group of us will be visiting Lake Mburo this coming weekend. For Danny and I it will be our third visit. It will be the 4th of July and I'll be the only American there but I'm sure the others will help me celebrate - even one of the English who said 'it's a celebration of getting rid of the Yanks!'.

Everyone thinks Uganda must be boiling hot because it's on the equator. But due to the high elevation it isn't. The sun can sometimes feel very strong even when the temperature is only in the 70's or low 80's (20's C). Out of the sun it doesn't feel hot. The humidity is quite low here which makes a difference. It isn't very often that we feel too hot, and then it's only because we are out walking in the sun for a long period - such as going to the shops and markets.

Yeah! Can order from Amazon!

Don't know why I didn't check before, but last week I wondered if I could order from Amazon.co.uk and have it delivered here. I was surprised to find that I could - it couldn't be a used book from the Marketplace sellers, but I can order new books - or other items.

So I ordered a book and it arrived after just one week. Of course the shipping fee is triple, but I don't care!

Technology in the classroom

On our recent trip to the US we purchased a projector. Its primary purpose is to enable Danny to give better presentations to his classes. All the tutors here use flip chart paper to teach.

Danny has been planning his lessons on his laptop using PowerPoint which can include photos, animations, sound, music, even movie clips. This is hooked up to the projector and shown on a large screen which the college owns but doesn't use. The students have never been exposed to anything like this and they love it.

As these students are training to be teachers this also shows them the possibilities for teaching in the future.

The projector also serves the purpose of showing movies in our house. Our living room is tiny so with the projector and the screen it gets very crowded, especially if we have a guest or two. It's like sitting in the front row of the cinema.

When we find bigger and better speakers we will begin to show movies to the students in the assembly hall.

Cultural Differences

Even after nearly 9 months in Uganda I am still astounded by the differences in our cultures. It still stops me in my tracks when someone asks a question or makes a comment that I don't know how to explain. A few of these are:

• Why do you read books if you are not studying? This is not a book culture so it is difficult for most Ugandans to understand that people read for pleasure or to gain knowledge that isn't required for work or school.
• What was the 'bride price' given for your (Danny's) daughter when she married? Generally in Uganda (outside the capitol) it is a number of cows given to the bride's family by the groom's.
• Explaining what the christmas holidays are like in the US and UK, especially all the lights and decorations.
• The fact that not all Western households have a maid (housegirl). There was a surprised reaction when I told someone that nearly all households, even poor ones, have a washer and dryer and that many have dishwashers. The housegirls here live in the house with the family and their meals are provided. But they work 7 days a week doing all types of work - washing clothes (by hand); ironing everything with a charcoal iron; cooking by charcoal or wood; gardening including digging, planting, harvesting and bending over pulling weeds for long hours; chopping wood; slashing the grass; sweeping; taking care of the children; etc. In our area the typical pay for a housegirl is 20,000 shs a month, the equivalent of $12. As spoiled mzungus we spend more than this on our Sunday lunch buffet at the hotel near town.
• Trying to explain that other countries have 4 distinct seasons. Uganda is the same all year round except for more rain at certain times.
• I told someone that Danny does the cooking because he enjoys it and is a better cook than I. I do the cleaning up. I was informed that it would be a source of shame for a Ugandan woman if she did not do all the cooking.
• Attempting to explain a wireless network. I am able to sit in our house and print to the college computer room printer. A staff member I had typed something for was gobsmacked by this.
• Explaining that I was listening to audiobooks on my Ipod.

Broccoli

Since returning from the US, we have had a couple of meals that - except for the rice - came completely from our garden. We ate eggplant, onions, herbs, broccoli, and couple of other things. I cannot take any credit as Danny is the gardener. I have never seen broccoli sold in Uganda - the seeds came from the UK. Here is one of our broccoli plants....

You are fat. Gee, thanks!

From what I have observed, most Ugandans believe that being plump or fat is attractive and a sign of prosperity. Being told one is fat is intended as a compliment, and most certainly not as an insult.

Last week it was mentioned to me that I had become fatter during my visit to America. Hmmm... As my background is American and British culture, I find it difficult to take this as a compliment.....very difficult. Of course, I cannot reveal that this is something I would rather not hear.

Other volunteers have had similar experiences. Recently one shared her experience of being complimented on getting fatter during the last couple of months, and that she'll continue to get bigger.

http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html
In a study of British and Ugandan students' evaluation of body-shapes, the Ugandans rated an 'obese' female figure much more attractive than the British ......

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/333/7570/672-c?rss=1
Doctors and government officials in Uganda are becoming increasingly concerned at the country’s growing incidence of diabetes, which they attribute to changes in lifestyle and rising obesity. The number of people with diabetes is now thought to have passed a million, in a population of 28 million.

Return from America

Danny and I had a pleasant and memorable time visiting my family. I took loads of photos while visiting, including about a thousand of my granddaughter! We are now settling back into our house in Uganda after spending a few days at our favourite hotel in Kampala. Unpacking is nearly finished and somehow a huge pile of laundry has accumulated. We have already booked our flights to the US for Christmas. Big thumbs up for Emirates Airlines as always!

This was our first trip out of Uganda since coming here 8 months ago and I wondered how it would feel to return after spending 3 weeks in the US. It is incredibly easy to become used to being spoiled there. I waver between wanting to be with family in the US, at home in Scotland or in Uganda.

While walking through Dubai Airport for the final leg of our flight we heard a flight to Glasgow being called. I got a lump in my throat and for a fleeting moment wanted to jump on that flight and go home. Homesickness comes and goes but I always remind myself how much I’d regret not finishing our placement here. The people and the weather are easy to become attached to. The landscape, the wildlife, the culture are things I enjoy as well.

On our drive back to Mbarara from Kampala we complained about all the potholes but we also enjoyed the renewal of our ‘celebrity’ status. A major thing I will miss when we go back home is the children always smiling and waving at us. One boy alongside the road smiled, waved and gave us two thumbs up. That did it for me. I was happy to be back.

While in the US I bought a washboard. Apparently there is only one company left in the US, which makes washboards. A couple of relatives pointed out that this company had recently been a feature on the news. Most of the washboards are used as musical instruments but many have been sent to soldiers in Iraq and other places where hand washing is done. I ordered one to bring back with us and have tried it out today. It is especially good for washing socks and washrags, so I am a satisfied customer of The Columbus Washboard Company in Logan, Ohio. http://www.columbuswashboard.com/

Since our visit was in May my family spent a good deal of their time at work or in school during our visit. So Danny and I did some exploring on our own. I’ve always liked Ann Arbor but didn’t realize what an interesting and pretty town it was until now. Since our visits have been in winter or autumn I hadn’t seen Michigan in spring in about 18 years—the last time I lived there. Lovely.

Highlights of our trip (aside from seeing all the family…wedding, memorial, etc etc etc):
-The town of Chelsea (pics are in my album) http://www.chelsea-mi.com/
-Civil War re-enactment at Greenfield Village http://www.hfmgv.org/village/index.aspx
-Tour of the Ford Rouge plant (linked to Greenfield Village)
-The refurbished Detroit Museum of Art http://www.dia.org/
-Frankenmuth http://www.frankenmuth.org/
-Great food!!!
-Getting to drink (clean, cold) water out of drinking fountains
-Hot showers, washer and dryer, no mozzie net at night, no mozzies!
-Shopping! Especially Best Buy, Borders, malls, etc……

Back to the present. The students return to the college tomorrow and classes resume later this week. Danny will be teaching and since the electricity has been reliable for well over a month we expect IT classes to resume. I will attend the classes to help students learn the basics beginning with Word.