Akatare Days

We have officially been in Uganda for over a month. In the grand scheme of things a month is not a long time, but so much has happened this month. I don’t mean so much in terms of, like, things actually happening. Honestly, I spend a significant amount of time here just sitting and waiting. Rachel wrote about waiting last week so I’m not going to do that all over again, instead I just want to write a little about what life is like for us here. This week I’ll focus on shopping, maybe next week on our living situation, transportation, or relationships.

The best thing about being in a different culture is that, at least at first, literally everything is new and exciting.

The equivalent of a trip to Safeway is a trip to the fruit/veggie market (akatare in Lukiga). I have never had such an exciting trip to Safeway or Save-on-Foods as every trip to the market is here. Kabale is a pretty small town- we’re talking one main street and a few side streets- but it happens to be the center for all the villages in a two hours radius so it can get pretty busy. The veggie/fruit market is pretty huge and, unfortunately, surrounded by butcher shops. There’s nothing quite like smelling fresh(ish) meat while you’re on your way to purchase veggies.

At the market we can purchase tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, beans, dodo (like bitter spinach), pumpkins, onions, garlic, ground nuts, watermelons, mangoes, apples, green oranges, pili-pili (hot peppers) and passion fruit (my personal fav). You never quite know what you’ll find at the akatare but these are the basics. It’s a vegetarian’s dream and if you love farmer’s markets or you’re a fan of ‘buying local’ you can be pretty sure that everything you can find was grown nearby.

 For those of you who have trouble making decisions this is probably not the place for you because there are 30+ people selling the same things. Good luck deciding which tomato is the perfect tomato. Not only that, most items are sold by the kilo so you better choose carefully because a kilo of green beans happens to be quite a few green beans. Rach and I have started making shopping lists just to avoid the fresh off the boat look of not realizing that a whole kilo of peppers is waaay too many peppers for just the two of us until they're packaged and we're trying to fit them into our bags. (Not that that has ever happened ;).

Photo: Just found this artwork at a market in Kampala. We are here for the weekend to get Rach drugs (it's a pretty unfortunate story) and I figured I might as well do a little shopping while we're here.... and eat some mexican food and take a hot shower. City life yo. Gotta love it.

A Few Thoughts on Death

 Death is commonplace here. There have been two or more funerals in this community every week that I’ve been here. People’s response to death is something along the lines of, “it’s just a part of life.”

I have only been to six funerals in my entire life. It doesn’t matter where you live, you can’t escape death but it is a much less noticeable part of life in Canada—especially for the average person my age.

“Loss is what gives love meaning, what makes time precious. Without contrast, there is no color.” – Jedidiah Jenkins

I’ve been sheltered from death for most of my life but I don’t want to live like death isn’t real. Shit happens. It helps that I believe in eternity, but that doesn’t mean that our present lives don’t end. Belief in eternity doesn’t fully remove the impact of death. I want to live with eternal perspective and I want that perspective to remind me to love more deeply.

Witnessing the way people live here I have learned that a true understanding of death inspires love, not fear or anger. I attended a burial today and it was one of the most joyful experiences of my life. There was dancing like nothing I've ever seen before. There were times when I literally couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

I think Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to think about the frailness of our lives. Today is the perfect day to start loving the people around you more deeply.

If you’re reading this… I love you! Feel free to enjoy one of those single’s blizzard’s from DQ on my behalf. I’m pretty sad that I’m missing out on what sounds like the best ice cream creation ever. Since there’s no DQ here I’ll just be cherishing the memory of the last ice cream cone I had before leaving Canada… it was a good one. I’m sorry for ending this semi-serious blog with a paragraph about ice cream. It just sounds so good right now. Guess I’ll go eat some beans. You might have ice cream but Canadian beans don’t got nothing on Ugandan beans and American akahunga doesn’t even exist. You don’t even know what you’re missing out on… just be lucky you don't have to wash it down with obushera (aka local beer). Trust me, obushera is nothing like a good Canadian local beer. It's made of fermented sorghum flour and when you finish every sip there is grit in your mouth.  

[One a more serious note: There’s a lot to think about with regards to death and human rights in places like Uganda. Maybe I’ll put a little more thought into a blog on this topic in the future.]

Some more of what has been inspiring me lately:

“Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer. When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know. So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands. Give your approval to all you cannot understand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed. Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.

Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years. Listen to carrion - put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come. Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. So long as women do not go cheap for power, please women more than men. Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child? Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth? Go with your love to the fields. Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts. As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it. Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn’t go. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.” —  Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, Wendell Berry (via ropeandsaw)

Island Lyfe

I’ve spent one week on this island and already so much has changed. The island seems to have grown. What felt so small when we first landed and took a tour now feels much larger.

This place is filled with interesting people.

There’s Rachel. She’s my co-worker, travel buddy, support system and spider-killing extraordinaire. We finally had a chance to clean our house today. No-joke, we probably killed 70 spiders… and that’s after a week of killing spiders every single day. If you aren’t a spider-lover and ever need somebody to kill a spider for you, you can just give us a ring. There was also the cockroach I found on my toothbrush. That was a really fun moment… no, I did not brush my teeth that day.

There are our Uganda co-workers. They are excellent chefs and can whip up a large assortment of incredibly delicious crayfish (aka crawfish) dishes. After learning to love crawfish in Texas it’s pretty sweet to be in the one place in Uganda that has crawfish. Unfortunately I’ll be avoiding those for the next six months as they don’t seem to be quite as tame as the Texas variety. I would go into detail… but nobody wants that ;). The staff here are also incredible language teachers- even when I’m a terrible student. I think I’ve learned five phrases. I’ve got a long way to go till I’ll be fluent in Rukiga and a true Bakiga lady. Evas loves to tell us we’re already Bakiga ladies. I’ve got a long way to go till I’ll be able to claim that title for myself. They are also great tour guides- always willing to lend a helping hand and tell us about the history of this area, the island we’re on, and their own families and villages. Have you ever met somebody and very quickly known they were wise? Enos is the resident carpenter, maintenance man and bird expert. I can’t wait to hear more of his stories and take his bird tour. He has spotted over 80 types of birds just on this island.

There are the guests. It has only been one week and we’ve met diplomats, European tourists, and an American midwife and her family that are working only a couple hours away. We might visit them at some point as they also run a guest house and live near the mountain gorillas. It’s interesting to be in such a rural setting but to see so many people traveling through. I’m looking forward to meeting more people from all over the world!

I think all these interesting people are the reason the island seems to have grown. We aren’t as isolated here as we might have felt when we first arrived. There are so many stories to listen to and people to learn from. I should probably also mention that there’s plenty of work to do! This past week was fairly slow but we’ve already got a better idea of what we should be doing.

P.S. If you’re the letter writing type I would love to receive some love in the form of written words! You can send letters to Bushara Island Camp PO 794, Kabale, Uganda. They’ll only take about three months to reach me J

Photo Cred: Raquelle Dehaanee

Lake Victoria Venture (UB#10)

Yesterday I walked along the shores of Lake Victoria with a group of people from my practicum. We wound our way through the fish market and then sat on the shore and watched the sun set as we snacked on fresh fried tilapia. Lake Victoria- like most large bodies of water- is beautiful. The lapping of the waves brings a sense of peace even to the busy (and somewhat smelly) marketplace. I thought it was beautiful. Then I noticed the awe of one of the men I work with, he is about sixty-five years old but his excitement was similar to that of a five-year old boy who has spotted a sweet tractor. He watched in awe as boats came and went, pondered where the boats could be going, and ended with a short speech about how he could not understand the complexity of living near the water. At sixty-five he had only been to the lake once before and had never ridden in a boat.

I am privy to a hoard of experiences unimaginable to some people. Yet my life is not fuller or deeper than Mr. Senjuwa’s. Those experiences in themselves have not given me greater wisdom or understanding. Standing there on the lakeshore I experienced maybe one quarter the joy that Mr. Senjuwa was experiencing.

May my past experiences never dull my ability to rejoice in the little things because those little things probably aren’t as little as they might seem.

(Photo Credit: this photo was stolen... from google... sorry)