Another Honeymoon

I should start this by saying……..another long hot day toiling in the African Sun bringing love and enlightenment. It was actually me who got the love and some language so scratch that. Truth is that today some of the words actually began to make a bit of sense……. Amaro Chai! I love Chai, for anyone who lived in India this is cheating but what the heck. 

Adam the driver and Steven my guide, guard, translator, teacher, etc. picked me up this morning after 8. Today was one of those magical, interesting, very fun days where you think you have really stepped into a place that you want to get to know better. We went to meet the local police and the guy is was so nice and friendly.  He even rushed off to pick a bag of oranges to give to me. He has been voted into his position since 2001 and was someone that I would definitely count on to keep things in order.  Our friendly conversation drifted into football (how is that possible?) and of course I have a way of leading any conversation into B R O N C O’s.  I actually think I could have a more interesting conversation if I go into Manchester WHO? United. They explained that in Uganda there are fights after the game, how well I understand, I won't even take a connecting flight through Seattle any longer unless the fare is very good. My personal goal is to find someone to watch SB 50 with me, when the Bronco’s kick butt. Just an overall great experience meeting the powers that be and walking about in a garden with some vegetables I had for lunch yesterday but it was delicious, something like rau mung and a cheap but delicious dark green veggie. Yeah!

We went to visit my humble abode where I will be spending the next year. It is embarrassing how nice it is. Very clean, large and safe, they were installing screens, a new lock, and I was imagining which of the four bedrooms to store my 3 suitcases full of “stuff.” One for the electronics’, one for skirts, one for this one for that. The house is lovely and the compound is large. The house was used in the past for 3 volunteers so I will have plenty of space for those of you planning a visit to Northern Uganda any time soon.  It has running water, a gas stove, and a lovely compound. That lovely compound also was pictured on a previous volunteers FB page with a Cobra or a Boa (she thought one, David our "guide" thought another) I’m not going to test the grass.  In all it looks quite comfortable and can be made a bit more homey. Previous volunteers left an abundance of kitchenware, including wine glasses. Got wine”

We headed out to the countryside. Steven is a man of short sentences but is delightfully friendly and full of surprises. He said that we were going to go to the country and I was of course prepared to experience a Saturday afternoon in a grass hut. Not so. We went to a place that had very fast Internet connection, and was clean, spacious, beautiful gardens,  cool breeze and has some rooms for rent that actually do have thatched roofs. Remind self: fresh air is just beyond the bend.  It turned out to be a very relaxing day at the Brownstone Country Home, about 7 miles from Lira.

We had lunch which appears that they ran into town to buy the ingredients for which has been my ongoing experience with meals that I have ordered. Sketchy refrigeration makes for fresh food if you find the right place. Very lovely. By chance? If anything is by chance in this place we ran into our country director for GHSP Bonny and said hello. 

Last night! Lest I forget. We had a remarkable dinner with University staff and I was able to have a great chat with the President of the University (could be the wrong title) who was a Fulbright scholar who lived in Chicago and Boston. We were having a wonderful conversation and enjoying our talk so much when at some point we were reminded that it was raining and it we should go inside. Speaking of Malaria……… which I am reluctant to do, I am sure that I was bitten about 20 times. Overall, a very good day. Bonny led some very good session earlier in the day with my Supervisor (the Dean) and Counter Part Agnes that I felt were some of my most productive in Uganda where he did his best to lay out his expectations for me as a GHSP volunteer and for the University as for the expectations for me.

The greatest stumbling block appears to be centered on when the University opens, when classes begin, and when the lectures and other staff members actually show up to start teaching. A perfectly illogical set of problems for some of us but very real here, My host family says that the time stretch between when the students arrive for classes and when the lectures actually are to be taught left me with the impression that there was a gap that was about ten days between what we hope for and what we get. We played a few interesting games which seemed a stretch culturealy but actually gave me some good insight into what they might be expecting from me.


I heard quite the music fest going on near my house and assumed it was a karaoke bar or some such thing, it actually is a "born again" church the family informs me. Sounds like they are having a very good time. 

There is no way on earth that I am going to be able to spell or grammar check, or at least not be able to keep up with my data use but this is the way it is August 1, 2015.  Bonny the country director assured me this is just the “honeymoon” period if so this is a marriage I can live with.  Amaro Lira