Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Uganda

Well, Christmas 2012 has come and gone. Christmas in Uganda is slightly different from that of the U.S.  as holidays are not very commercialized here, so you have to keep reminding yourself that Christmas is on it's way. The major (I use that word loosely) shopping centers here had everything all decked out with trees and blow up Santas, but outside of that, you really do not see any decorations. I attribute this to the fact that a very small percentage of the population actually has expendable money for decor, or electricity  for lights and blow ups. Although we always have power, we spend many hours per day on generator. We are so fortunate to have the generator, as not too many people do. So, we put up a tree, hung some cute balls on it, wrapped a tree skirt, threw two Christmas themed pillows on the sofas, and called it Christmas!

We enjoyed spending a few evenings through the week with friends. We even decorated a gingerbread house with a some friends that have a tradition of hosting a gingerbread house decorating dinner party. Unfortunately, I did not know this in time to order a prefab kit, therefore I had to make dough, roll it out, print and cut a pattern, and hope for the best. Our roof was not well thought out, and ended up being a little improvised. All and all it was a good time.

 

 

Santa did make his way to Uganda, and put a few gifts under the tree. Honestly, the urge to self indulge here is easy to resist. There are not a lot of places to shop for what you would want. Mail service is good for us, but you have to plan well in advance, and since we do not get any real commercials, the ideas for spending your hard earned money just isn't there. It's quite nice actually.

 

 

Don and I ordered each other a small furniture item that will be hand made. Very inexpensive, very basic, very African. Something to remind us of our Ugandan Christmas. Unfortunately, the power in our area has been out, meaning the saws could not be run, and our furniture did not get ready in time. This is really not an issue. You learn to live on Uganda time, which is "you get it when you get it". I'll post pics when the furniture arrives, and I return from the states. I will be visiting soon, and I am very excited to see everyone. 

The gift that I have most enjoyed was my gift of volunteering. Savannah, me, and some friends volunteered on Christmas eve at a babies orphanage. The staff gets short during  the holidays, so the Momma's were so happy to have some help. We played with he babies, helped with laundry, bed making, and feeding. Lots of fun to see those smiling faces. I hope to do a lot more volunteering when I return. There is plenty of need here, so I'm sure I'll stay busy.

So, with Christmas compete, I'm looking forward to another great new year. I can't believe that we have already been here for 5 months. It's already time for me to go home for a quick work visit, and when I come back it won't be long before planning starts for the summer visit.

Time has really passed by quickly. There are days when I am ready to head home, and days when I feel like I can stay forever. We are already a quarter of the way finished with our current tour, and no matter how much I miss home, I know that our job here is not done. I know this is were we belong, for now. So, here's to the new year, 2013!

Since it's been forever since I posted, I  am posting some fun snapshots from our last couple of weeks. See you in 2013.

 

Lunch on Lake Victoria at an outside restaurant on the beach.

 

Some guy on in line skates catching a free lift from the van in front of us. Just funny!



Some cute kids selling bananas at the traffic circle

 

Beautiful Lake Victoria

Our wheels have arrived!

I know, getting a car should not be this excitng, but we have been without wheels for the three months that we have been here. There are only so many places that we can walk to. So, Friday night, Don surprised me with our car! He was planning to just show up with it, but there were a few gliches in his surprise. When the warehouse driver was bringing the car to Don, they hit a pothole, and punctured a tire. So, they had to repair that. Then, the traffic was crazy. And lastly, Don was actually stopped by traffic cops on his way home, and told "sir, you need to hire a driver!". How funny is that? Not that he is a bad driver, it's just a chaotic place to drive.

We are planning to have our driver start soon, so we can get around more, but it's so nice to know that if I just need something from the store, that we can go get it. I have only driven once, but it's not too bad around our area. So, I can get to the store, the restaurants, and Sam's school.

Did you vote today?

Well, it's time to vote! Go cast your ballot. I mailed my vote in last week, and I am looking forward to the outcome of the presidential election. I'm sure everyone is ready to be done with all of the ad campaigns. We are usually spared the political commercials here due to our limited channels, but I am excited to see who will run our country for the next four years. Regardless of who wins, I pray that they will run our country well.

Since my last post, we have been busy with the usual business of life. We celebrated Sam's 15th birthday. He requested lasagna, and cake baked by Savannah.  Happy Birthday Sam!

We have enjoyed spending time with friends, and attended an amazing volleyball tournament at Sam's school. It was a lot of fun to watch the teams play, and both our boy's and girl's teams won the championship.

I also learned to groom our pet Schnauzer. We have not found a dog groomer here, and he was desperate for a haircut. So, I watched a little video on the internet, and broke out the clippers. Surprisingly, it went really well. He got a little irritated by the end, and would not let me trim one of his back legs. Now it looks like he's carrying around a rabbit's foot. :) Either way, he looks pretty dapper.

 

 

 

Lastly, we are anxiously awaiting our car, which should be hear in the next few weeks. It will be so freeing to have our own ride. We are in the process of hiring a diver to help us get around. It's important to have someone that is familiar with the territory since there are no street signs, and who understands the language and customs of the road. Hopefully, next post will contain a picture of our freedom ride. Until then, have a great week, and don't forget to vote!

 



So what's going on in your world?

Good morning, or good night to most of you. It's weird being 7 to 8 hours ahead of most of my friends and family. I finish my day when you are beginning yours. So, if you ever want to know how your day is going to go, give me a shout.

I haven't posted in a while. I guess I don't feel like anything eventful has happened, so I didn't want to bore everyone. But, I felt like it was time to catch up. Life here has been going well. We are completely settled in, and enjoying helping others settle in by hosting a dinner, or going out to one of the local places to eat. We have friends that are still waiting for their shipment of personal goods, and we know how difficult it is when you do not have your house settled into a home yet.

It's amazing to me how "small town" it is for us here. We run into people we know more often than we ever did in the states. I guess it's because we all stand out in the crowd.

We have been able to check out some of the markets, which was very interesting. A large grouping of makeshift stalls with no floors. The merchandise is generally used items that were likely donated at some point, then purchased to be re-sold. It is the ultimate form of recycling. Nothing goes to waste. I kept expecting to see something that I had donated to the Salvation Army or somewhere like it. I really wanted to get some skirts. Although the weather is nice here, it can get a little warm and humid. Shorts for woman are not really acceptable, so pants, even capris, can get a little warm. So, I had planned to check out some knee length skirts. I did look at a few, but it was just a little overwhelming for my first time. So, maybe next time.

Another exciting thing that I have done; I got my hair cut and colored. Now most of you may think that is not earth shattering news, but if you were here, you would understand why this is such a big deal. I was not sure if there would be anyone that would know how to deal with Mazunga hair. So, I asked one of my new friends, an American that has lived here for several years, and she took me to an amazing salon. I wasn't sure if I could wait 3 months until I traveled back to the states. Anyway, it was just in time, because I got a job offer, and will start soon. So, it's nice to have a fresh look to start my new job.

Well, enough about me. I would love to hear about all of you. How are things going where you are? What's new for you? So please, leave a comment and update me on your world.

Bubble Gum Milk and Blue Skies

Just some fun Wednesday randomness. Have you ever wanted to drink Bubble Gum Milk? Really? Me neither, but we have it here. We have several flavors of milk boxes; coffee, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, and bubble gum. So, Sam decided to try the bubble gum. He said it was pretty good.

Other than exciting new milk flavors, life is pretty simple right now. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our car....next month. So, for now, we are still a little house bound, and anxious to get out and meet more people and do some things. I am also hoping to go to work soon. 

I am still enjoying the nice weather outside, but it gets a little stuffy indoors in the afternoon. So, I sat outside a little this evening, and enjoyed the early evening skies from the back porch. Thought I would share, and I hope you enjoy. Have a great week.

 

Do you recycle?

Do you recycle? I mean, really recycle? As I was riding through Kampala the other night, I was taking in all the surroundings. The city is always bustling with people walking, driving, riding bodas, and selling or shopping. This is not typical shopping. There is shopping in traffic, through your car window. Shopping at the many new and used stores on the side of the streets. This particular evening, what interested me, was the plant nurseries along the road. Rows and rows of plants, from very small, to very large. I'm not sure what type of plants, but I imagine there are vegetable plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs. As I was looking at the plants, I noticed what containers the plants were growing in; it was recycled bags. Yellow bags for the larger plants. I am not sure what they contained before, but they had writing on them, and I imagine they were re purposed for the plants. The smaller plants were grown in one liter milk bags, like the one I had mentioned in a previous post. My thoughts went immediately to the number of milk bags that I so casually throw away. Hmm, that won't happen again.

Although there is no formal recycling program here, yet.... I have been attempting to recycle. Mainly because I hate to be wasteful, but also because our trash here gets burned. Not dumped in a landfill, which is bad enough, but burned, often close by our home. It stinks, not to mention what it is probably doing to my lungs. So, I figure the less I throw out, the less I breath in later.

So in attempts to find something to do with my "recyclables", I asked around. I was told to offer it to our staff. The locals here love to get free cardboard boxes. I've heard of one person who donated her moving boxes, and they were used to floor a church. One of my guards requested plastic bottles, like soda bottles, and dish liquid bottles. His wife makes homemade liquid soap, and this gives them a way to package and sell the soap. It makes me happy that my trash can actually help someone earn an income.

When I came to Uganda, I wondered how I would make my mark. What would I do to make a positive impact. And, now I see how Uganda has impacted me. Uganda has made me more aware of the many wonderful things I have available to me, and how I can share them, even my trash.

I've learned not to take any item for granted, not even an empty bottle or bag. I even wash and reuse my Ziploc bags. They are not sold here, and I have to reorder them when I run out. So, why be wasteful?

So, I ask you again, do you recycle? Re purpose? Reuse? Just because you have it in abundance now, doesn't mean that you always will. Maybe you will look at that used bag or box and think "how can I reuse this?".

Reptile week

Sometimes I feel like I'm in a Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom episode. You know the one's where they tell you about killer ants, deadly snakes, etc.?

Overall, we seem to be settling in. We have gotten almost all of the boxes unpacked. We are ready to hang pictures, just need the facilities guys to come do the hanging since they have the correct tools to do the job on cement block walls.

Don had a business trip to Gulu, which is about 5 hours away, so I was happy for him to get to do a little traveling, and maybe see some sights. He saw some baboons, and even took their picture. Unfortunately, the baboons decided it was a good opportunity to pose in a very unflattering way, and I cannot use the pic. Maybe next time.

Saturday our guard informed us that we had Safari Ants trying to get into our yard. Hmmm, Safari Ants? I've heard stories of these ants that travel in a swarm, are very territorial, and can be deadly to small animals and small people. Well, that wasn't going to happen to me, right? Wrong! There they were....traveling through the open storm drain to go into our neighbor's yard,  so that they could come around the back storm drain, and into our yard!

 

 It was Saturday, so no way maintenance is coming to spray. So, the guard instructed the gardener to get boiling water and gasoline to douse them and sprinkle along the property line. Apparently they do not like the smell of gas, and will go a new direction. An added bonus of the gas, is that the snakes do no like it either. Apparently we had a cobra heading our way this week, but was stopped by the gardener. He said there are not any more in the yard, and they do not like the gas smell, so should deter them from coming in. So my theory; weekly gas application, but please, no smoking.

Sunday was an enjoyable day at Sam's school. We had a fundraiser "Family Fun Day". We helped with the soda sales, and also got to do a little shopping at the booths. I got some nice hand sewn items, and some of the Uganda beads that are made from recycled paper and then painted. The money goes to a children's orphanage, and to help women get ahead. I'm trying to stock up to send back for everyone. Let me know you would like one, and if so, a color preference.

I also have a friend here that makes these wonderful kimonos, aprons,slippers, and makeup bags. You can see her creations at lucciejensen.com.

 

 

I almost forgot about the lizards. Yesterday I saw the gardener digging up white eggs, and dropping them into the open water drain. So, I mosey on out to see what kind of eggs we are dealing with here. Fortunately, they are only lizard eggs.

 

 

There were 12 of them, and he felt like they had been laid by three mommas. He said the rain will wash them out, and then when the cover by soil again, they will hatch....somewhere else. Which, is exactly what I prefer, somewhere else! We have so many lizard type characters already on the property, that I prefer to reduce the number.