A day in Uganda

I just realized people might not know what I exactly "do" every day. Well here is a "typical" day in Uganda for Jon....

6:30-7:30 AM- Wake up under my very nice mosquito net with larger than mosquito size holes. Go Iron clothes for the day with a coal burning Iron. Take bucket shower in dark room with the only light coming from holes in the wall between the shower room and where I sleep.

7:40 AM take breakfast with Caesar. This usually G-nuts, bread, or if I'm lucky Chapati. These go with the tea (Dry or African. Dry is without milk, African is obviously with milk).

7:55 leave for work

8:15 Arrive at Skills Plus after the pleasant 20 minute walk. Admire Lake Victoria from Caesar's porch.

8:30-10:00 If power is on at work, then I work on the computer. If power is off I honestly can't do much. I try to talk to Ugandans.

10:00 Take Morning Tea (usually similar foods and tea to breakfast)

10:45-2(sometimes 3) Do random work. Sometimes talk with people. Other times go with Hakim (my supervisor) on visits to the field. I've been working on a grant proposal for a while so that has been keeping me busy. And the power has been working better of late (I think it has been out only 6 of my 16 days here, but 5 of my first 10)

2:00-3:00 Take Lunch (sometimes good:Posho with beans. Other times bad: green eggplant sauce with tiny fishes that stare at me)

3:00-5:00 usually people are visiting and I meet people from the community that Skills Plus either helps or who are financial/technical/administrative support for the organization. People love meeting and talking with Mzungu's (particularly one whose major is Political Science). Everyone seems to have an opinion on politics here.

5:00-7:00 I usually either go to town (Jinja) to meet some of the other western interns, check internet, continue talking with people, take evening tea (like breakfast and morning tea), or just read.

7:15 meet Caesar to play pool at the local pub called Silver Sands. If we play well we will leave at 9:00 or 9:30. If we play bad, we leave by 8:00-8:30.

9:30-Foot (walk) up the hill to Caesar's house.

10:00-10:30 eat supper. Matooke is a necessity. As is Envuluga sauce. And botunda. Botunda is one of their passion fruits and actually the juice is delicious. Better than any juice I've had in the U.S.

11:00-Write down random thoughts and go to bed.

I hope someone enjoyed this.

Anyways, the Introduction this past weekend was good. I was in a very rural village in the Mayuge district, right by Lake Victoria. The area we were in was surrounded on three sides by the Lake. (Peninsula, anyone?) Anyways, people there were literally shocked to see a mzungu. As in so shocked that almost no one chanted Mzungu. Instead they just would stop what they were doing and stare. I sat in a chair to talk with one of the Ugandans I knew and a literal circle of little kids surrounded us until some adult shooed them away. Also when I walked down to the lake, literally 15 kids tried to mob me.

Overall, the ceremony was interesting. I bought a traditional Ugandan ceremony garment called a Kanzu. It it a long white robe looking thing and I wore a suit coat to go with it. People thought it was hilarious and commented that "Mzungu is very smart" (well dressed) and that I "looked like Jesus".

After the ceremony we had the classy beverages of Coke, Sprite, and Fanta to celebrate (I will never understand how these are "classy" drinks here. People usually only drink them at graduations, introductions, or other celebrations)

Also, today a man wanted to name the secondary school he was building after me. I tried to convince him otherwise but he seemed pretty sincere. I don't know if he thought this would irrevocably tie me to the school and force me to support it or if he just really liked me...