Our desks (tables) were not delivered on Sat as promised so I thought that I would try and figure out what happened as Sue had spent the night in Kampala. I wandered over to the next town to see if the cabinet maker was in the office but it was closed for Sunday - a rarity here. Oh well another job for Monday!
It 's getting hotter everyday I walked the 2km to the house and sat down and had a nap waiting for Jackson to get back from church and Sue to come back for lunch. The heat is making eatting a little harder fruit for lunch is a good choice and then we eat supper after dark by solar lamps!
A friend of Jackson's wanted to show us a school he had for sale so this was our afternoon adventure. To say this pllace was off the beaten track would be an understatement. Once we arrived 45 min later we were met by a steep climb up a hill wander through the cowpatties and thorns then to the buildings. The first clue that this wasn't going to work was the fact the buildings were the last on the tour. The buildings were more suited for a hostle and were a collection of small rooms surrounding an office. I guess once people think you are in the market they will call anything a school to get us to buy as that is the presumption once you are shown - you will buy.
One of our objectives is a vocational school without physical barriers so the disabled can attend as well. We are very specific in our requirements for an area to farm for food, a soccer pitch for exercise, room for teacher quarters and room for expansion, which makes it easy to discount some properties.
After a light supper I headed back to the guest house and since we had planned to leave early Sue sent the staff a message saying to forget breakfast. Up at 6, I met the girl in charge in the parking lot and said my goodby's for the day. She was confused as they had got up early and prepared my breakfast for me. A quick call to Sue and I sat down to eggs, sausage and tea - my morning ritual. I noticed a goat had followed me to the restaurant and waited outside, as I left he came with me and walk over 1/2 way to town at my side just as a dog would do. I wasn't sure if I should take him back or let him wander but I left on the edge of the built up area happily munching someone's grass. Maybe he is waiting for me to come home to walk back.
Our trip to town was slower than normal (I guess the potholes are getting bigger). Once we arrived we had to find a bank and of course the one we picked (Barclays) wouldn't accept my card. Sue called her Kampala contacts and we found the regular bank I deal with in Kansa (Stanbic) and we were good to go. Wandering over to the shipper with a pocket full of cash we kept our heads up. We paid the shipper 935,000 shillings and then we were told they would call us to meet at the container. Apparently the money has to go somewhere else to meet up with the paper work!
So we are now killing time in a cool Internet cafe. I think we will go to "pork joint", Jackson's favourite, for lunch to celebrate once I touch the elusive big brown box.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Sat Feb 4
This is Chris' last day so we are wandering to the house then she will leave with Sue in the afternoon by taxi to Kampala where Sue's sister will drive them to the airport in Entebbe. Jackson left this morning with Chris' bags in his car and they will meet in Kampala. At the guest house Chris dolled out gifts and trinkets to the kids and left a pile of clothes behind. We all will leave our clothes behind and take back items for Sue to sell in Canada to cut down the transport costs for her. She sure wouldn't want to put it in a container!
The painter has started on the window. It is a good day when you can get 5 coats of oil based paint on - a little dry here. The renovators of the guest house are also redoing all of the beds. They varnish and leave them outside overnight to dry while they are parging and painting the inside of the rooms.
As we walked into town today we saw a dust storm. A mini tornado dancing down the street picking up sand, dust, plastic and paper. It was quite fascinating to watch and of course I forgot to bring my camera. It continued and reached about 30 feet high until it tried to cross the road and "ran out of steam"! Crossing the road is dangerous even for tornadoes here.
Sue and Chris left about 2:30 and an hour later they called to say that the taxi had a tire blow out and they were on the side of the road. Steve was called and he went off to rescue them all he works with a taxi driver ( they have a driver and coordinator (money collector) in each van)
I tried to call Canada all day but the network was down - this is a new one for me but nothing is truly unexpected anymore. Our furniture maker did not show up with the desks so I am off to try and see what happened. Sue stayed in town with her sister so I will attempt it on my own.
The painter has started on the window. It is a good day when you can get 5 coats of oil based paint on - a little dry here. The renovators of the guest house are also redoing all of the beds. They varnish and leave them outside overnight to dry while they are parging and painting the inside of the rooms.
As we walked into town today we saw a dust storm. A mini tornado dancing down the street picking up sand, dust, plastic and paper. It was quite fascinating to watch and of course I forgot to bring my camera. It continued and reached about 30 feet high until it tried to cross the road and "ran out of steam"! Crossing the road is dangerous even for tornadoes here.
Sue and Chris left about 2:30 and an hour later they called to say that the taxi had a tire blow out and they were on the side of the road. Steve was called and he went off to rescue them all he works with a taxi driver ( they have a driver and coordinator (money collector) in each van)
I tried to call Canada all day but the network was down - this is a new one for me but nothing is truly unexpected anymore. Our furniture maker did not show up with the desks so I am off to try and see what happened. Sue stayed in town with her sister so I will attempt it on my own.
Friday, 3 February 2012
The next hurdle
Sue came back from Kampala without the container. The newest twist is that they have decided that books are taxable so they are going to determine how much we owe and send us the bill then we have to attend the yard Monday morning to open the container for them to see. Sounds a little backwards, and they asked for me! My guess here is the bill for the government - oh! white guy here is my hand to be covered.
John, the contractor, came buy with his team on Friday and inserted the new window in the wall. Unfortunately it is two feet too low as they found the main support lintel in the middle of the wall instead of above the old ventilation holes so it couldn't be removed. The kids will be able to crawl over and look out and there is a security grill over it that will hold them in. The window will be painted and fill with glass on Sunday.
Our garden is doing remarkable. The tomato and chard seeds have already sprouted since the girls are watering them every morning and they hot sun all day. We will have to thin them out by next week as Kyanja was a little liberal on spreading the seeds in the trench.
Today I saw a 5 - 6 year old boy herding a pig along the road. With the 8 and 5 year old's herding the cattle (8) along the the side of the highway it sure makes you wonder how fast they must grow up. One evening we saw a 13 year old girl using an old bike tire as a hula-hoop and Sue remarked that is what girls should be allowed to do!
Today is Chris' last day as she is returning home. With Madeleine, Shalan and Chris returning to husbands and families and Sue moving to Maama Watali, I will be the last in the guest house as it is being renovated and all customers have left. It will be interesting to see what my breakfasts are as Sue usually has to intervene every day for something.
I have run out of jobs at the house, best I could come up with is buying a push broom to clean up after the demolition of the wall. Even the broom was sub-standard but the girls like it and would like a mop with a long handle so they don't have to use a rag on their knees to clean the entire floor. I am going to try and make one for a project today out of the broom handle and some t-shirts. A project - yeah - since I am running out of books.
John, the contractor, came buy with his team on Friday and inserted the new window in the wall. Unfortunately it is two feet too low as they found the main support lintel in the middle of the wall instead of above the old ventilation holes so it couldn't be removed. The kids will be able to crawl over and look out and there is a security grill over it that will hold them in. The window will be painted and fill with glass on Sunday.
Our garden is doing remarkable. The tomato and chard seeds have already sprouted since the girls are watering them every morning and they hot sun all day. We will have to thin them out by next week as Kyanja was a little liberal on spreading the seeds in the trench.
Today I saw a 5 - 6 year old boy herding a pig along the road. With the 8 and 5 year old's herding the cattle (8) along the the side of the highway it sure makes you wonder how fast they must grow up. One evening we saw a 13 year old girl using an old bike tire as a hula-hoop and Sue remarked that is what girls should be allowed to do!
Today is Chris' last day as she is returning home. With Madeleine, Shalan and Chris returning to husbands and families and Sue moving to Maama Watali, I will be the last in the guest house as it is being renovated and all customers have left. It will be interesting to see what my breakfasts are as Sue usually has to intervene every day for something.
I have run out of jobs at the house, best I could come up with is buying a push broom to clean up after the demolition of the wall. Even the broom was sub-standard but the girls like it and would like a mop with a long handle so they don't have to use a rag on their knees to clean the entire floor. I am going to try and make one for a project today out of the broom handle and some t-shirts. A project - yeah - since I am running out of books.
Not for Kids
You may have noticed as I write that I have not included the feelings and impressions of others of the group. Madeleine and Shalan wrote me after they returned home and read the blog and felt there were items I left out. Our shared experiences have made us laugh and cry but a few need to be told. I have added my comments and explanations in italics
The one thing you missed is that the "AK47 touting ranger" was in fact "a very strong woman with a big gun", remember? oh, and you missed
_ the bruising from the game drive - four people trying to look at animals from a sunroof as we bounced through the Savanna
- the brothel - the room next to theirs at the student hostel apparently had a second function
- the union breaks - we found a nice bar with a thatched roof and a very short music track featuring numerous Celine Dion songs and many other light songs we all were ashamed we knew the words to. By the way the ice cream bicycle has the Titanic movie theme as its calling on a one minute cycle!
- the snake - Sue called me one night to come to hers and Chris' room while Chris was playing cards. She saw something move under the bed I moved the bed and saw a very skinny and 20" long snake wiggling away. It was apparently very poisonous so I grab the biggest shoe and made a very lucky shot. Carrying it outside with Sue watching that Chris hadn't seen it. Of course the inside joke for several days was "should we play snakes and ladders tonight" They had a hold in their drain where it probably came up
- your dangerous walking skills (walking into boda bodas) It was very dark one night and as I turned to face the road he came flying by I was grabbed by Shalan who probably saved my nose and other assorted parts.
- Edith and Patrick - two very fine shop keepers who were a great source of information of where stuff was in Kasana. They always smile and take time to load my phone or talk about themselves. She came as a refugee from Rwanda with her family many years ago
- card games - Madeleine tried to teach us Rumoli 500 - with her own rules we suspect. But it did give us many hours of fun in the evenings
- lots and lots of laughter
- dirt and burning tires - The never ending smell all day and night
- not being able to wash out the dirt - everything has a red hue to it from the sand
- the walks
- tears and roller coaster of emotions as stories were told
- frustration moments - so much to do and where to start - although I do admit they have some great ideas for us to work on when we get back
- grief moments
- moments of wonder
- extraordinary transformations - you cannot be here without having it change you. I hope that I can retain most of it
- bonding of new friends under extraordinary conditions
- the value of a hug just in time - everyone of us had moments where we were touched by something either from home or here and we counted on our friends to carry us a bit
- the getting to know the girls and listening to what they had to teach us - Adults learning from teenagers - what a concept
- the food - different and cooked with great joy
- the non-existent personal space
- making and drinking swimming pools - filtered chlorinated water 6 litres everyday- until our trip where we packed enough for several days
- playing with Ebra and his welcoming morning greetings - A two year old that screams with excitement every morning we arrive
- the meaning of gentle - two year olds can be a little rough
- children's faces - only the pictures will explain this
- wonderment of the girls in our funny skin and hair
- babies dying on the floor at the back of the baby class
- quiet moments - we all needed them to reflect on the day
It is a long list but they are snippets of what we have and are experiencing
It's been touched
Yes it is hard to believe but Rotarian Robert from the Makindye Club was able to actually touch the container in Kampala. Sue has headed in (Friday morning) with a wad of cash hoping to get it on the way here today so our Rotarian Crew can get to work on it Saturday. Our contractor has the window and is set to install it - funding from the Makindye Club. Moses' school class is on board to come up and install the solar system and deal with the renovation of the electrical system. All we need is a 20 foot container to be parked on a sand lot out front!
I went back to the bank yesterday afternoon (5pm) and the lineup was only 5 people long so I got in and waited my turn. Since you have been reading this blog you realize that there cannot be a simple conclusion to this - The machine ran out of money at the person in front of me. Chris and I returned Friday morning and waited with 30 other people but we were successful.
The weather continues to be sunny and mid 30's all day and a cool high teens in the evening. Steve a friend of Maama Watali who has helped us out over the past month came down with malaria yesterday. That makes 3 people we have known since our arrival who have contracted this disease. They cannot fight it on their own they must get to a doctor and get medication. Apparently if the medication works properly they begin to get better after 2 days. Unfortunately Uganda appears to be a dumping group for inferior products including medications. The local doctor has said that if he has North American medication it can be beat with 2 doses but the cheaper stuff takes significantly more time and if it doesn't do even a bit its off to hospital.
Theirs is a life of challenges that just keep coming but they are a happy lot overall
I went back to the bank yesterday afternoon (5pm) and the lineup was only 5 people long so I got in and waited my turn. Since you have been reading this blog you realize that there cannot be a simple conclusion to this - The machine ran out of money at the person in front of me. Chris and I returned Friday morning and waited with 30 other people but we were successful.
The weather continues to be sunny and mid 30's all day and a cool high teens in the evening. Steve a friend of Maama Watali who has helped us out over the past month came down with malaria yesterday. That makes 3 people we have known since our arrival who have contracted this disease. They cannot fight it on their own they must get to a doctor and get medication. Apparently if the medication works properly they begin to get better after 2 days. Unfortunately Uganda appears to be a dumping group for inferior products including medications. The local doctor has said that if he has North American medication it can be beat with 2 doses but the cheaper stuff takes significantly more time and if it doesn't do even a bit its off to hospital.
Theirs is a life of challenges that just keep coming but they are a happy lot overall
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Fish eyes
Sue had to go to Kampala today to be available to deal with container issues, I sat next to the phone ready to send documents. I had to prepare a packing slip with a letterhead on it and send it to her. Chris decided to go Kampala and do fabric shopping with Sarah (Sue's sister). Saturday is Chris' last day so she is in the finish off all the tasks mode.
I decided to go to the house and clean up the storage area. This is a 6 x 10 cupboard that is used to store everything from coal to food to old paint. I started taking out the big stuff finding a bike, 4 hoes, 6 gallons of paint, knives and machetes, corn and a floor of small coal pieces along with lots of wood and other stuff. Filling up the wheelbarrow we have (in comparison mine at the cottage has another 10 years in it!) I started. First I had to get the big stuff out then sorted through the coal to make sure any big pieces were saved. Locating 8 plastic coke bottle containers I was able to use them for the shelving support (the old college days) and the end result looks pretty good.
Annette brought me lunch and after walking through the market smelling the small minnows that had been dried I finally tasted them - WHOLE- yup they just warm them up and place them on top of the rice you eat them while they are looking at you.... A different experience and they didn't taste too bad if you kept your eyes closed since they didn't
I headed back to the guest house to hose off the coal dust and dirt and off to the bank. For 3 weeks I have been wondering why there is a tent and benches out front of the bank now I know the first of the month there are 30 + people lined up for the ATM.
It is 5 pm so I will try again hopefully they all got bored and left
I decided to go to the house and clean up the storage area. This is a 6 x 10 cupboard that is used to store everything from coal to food to old paint. I started taking out the big stuff finding a bike, 4 hoes, 6 gallons of paint, knives and machetes, corn and a floor of small coal pieces along with lots of wood and other stuff. Filling up the wheelbarrow we have (in comparison mine at the cottage has another 10 years in it!) I started. First I had to get the big stuff out then sorted through the coal to make sure any big pieces were saved. Locating 8 plastic coke bottle containers I was able to use them for the shelving support (the old college days) and the end result looks pretty good.
Annette brought me lunch and after walking through the market smelling the small minnows that had been dried I finally tasted them - WHOLE- yup they just warm them up and place them on top of the rice you eat them while they are looking at you.... A different experience and they didn't taste too bad if you kept your eyes closed since they didn't
I headed back to the guest house to hose off the coal dust and dirt and off to the bank. For 3 weeks I have been wondering why there is a tent and benches out front of the bank now I know the first of the month there are 30 + people lined up for the ATM.
It is 5 pm so I will try again hopefully they all got bored and left
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
If you could only believe
Tuesday was Madeleine and Shalan's last day so a quick breakfast and a walk with a few pictures along the way. We did a little Internet work then it was decided that Sue and I would go with them to Kampala where we would go to the Rotary meeting while Jackson drove them to Entebee. We arrived at the meeting a few minutes late but were warmly welcomed and once again totally unaware it was a fundraising meeting for them to provide a window and ventilation at Maama Watali. We sat there and listen to bantering and joking as the hat was passed. 385,000 Uganda Shillings later and we had enough for everything. I said a few words of thanks - more pictures and Robert tried to explain what the issue was with the container. He had committed to spend all Wednesday morning at the shipper's yard and get it straightened out We also met a Rotarian who was senior in the Customs Dept and she offered her help. What a high to leave the meeting waiting for Jackson we sat down to a great Chinese meal of lamb, fish, rice and spareribs. We were picked up about 9 and headed home. No wonder the travel books say not to travel at night, we had large buses passing us on blind corners forcing cars to scream to a stop and head for the shoulders. We had noticed on our way yo town that a 18 wheel truck had broken down and the mechanics were swapping out the motor on the side of the highway- why take it to the garage? The truck was still on the side of the road adding one more obstacle for the drivers. And yes the power was out in all the towns on the way so we had coal lamp lit market workers to watch out for!
Finally home the bed was a wonderful comfort..
Wednesday we heard from Robert - to try and solve the problem he convinced the shipper to go to the yard and look for the container to open it. They wandered and could not locate it. Several phone calls later revealed that although it had been signed in the container had not yet arrived the truck had broken down on the side of the road near Jinja several days ago and they were trying to fix it. The truth is fleeting here.
Robert also advised that he now required a packing slip and we are starting over trying to bypass the bond yard! I won't be home for a few weeks now I guess.
On a positive note the internet in Luweero was down so we headed to Kasana and found a high speed place with a really big fan to keep us cool
Finally home the bed was a wonderful comfort..
Wednesday we heard from Robert - to try and solve the problem he convinced the shipper to go to the yard and look for the container to open it. They wandered and could not locate it. Several phone calls later revealed that although it had been signed in the container had not yet arrived the truck had broken down on the side of the road near Jinja several days ago and they were trying to fix it. The truth is fleeting here.
Robert also advised that he now required a packing slip and we are starting over trying to bypass the bond yard! I won't be home for a few weeks now I guess.
On a positive note the internet in Luweero was down so we headed to Kasana and found a high speed place with a really big fan to keep us cool
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