Village Life

What can I say; village life is even a different experience then how I live at the house Masaka. Yes all both are living in Uganda but the village has its own challenges and rewards!

You remember back in the 1800’s when people would have chamber pots and pitches & basins in their rooms? Well when I was told to use a plastic basin to urinate in at night because I couldn’t get out of the locked house and down to the latrine in the dark I had to remind myself that I was using a chamber pot of the 1800’s in 2009. In the morning I used my make-shift pitcher & basin too. I would pour water from a plastic pitcher into another basin and wash my face, legs and feet, then get dressed to go outside.

Each morning as I walked out of the front door of the house to go to the latrine, I was greeted by about ten of the St. Mark’s students that had already arrived for class. I walked down the dirt hills in the compound, carefully making sure I didn’t trip, and dodging the cow piles, down to the mud walled latrine. I then dumped the contents of my night basin into the small hole in the dirt floor of the latrine and then I proceeded to rinse the basin out with water from a jerry can that was by the latrine.

From there I walked back to the house, always greeted again by the small children. By then breakfast was ready. Usually breakfast consisted of tea, small yellow bananas, bread or buns, and jam. Pretty much everyday I’d eat with Charles and Edith, the owners of the house, but sometimes by myself. When we’d eat together we had very pleasant conversation of how our night was and what was planned for the day. From there I would go onto teach at St. Mark’s but that is another blog.

Lunch time was usually around 1:30 or 2:00pm. Charles and I would gather in the sitting room as we had for breakfast, around the coffee table, to have lunch. Lunch varied from time to time but most days in consisted of matooke, g-nut sauce mixed with something, and Irish or rice. Charles and I would chat about the morning, how classes are going and what we wanted to do in the afternoon; go to market, rest and read, visit the church or compassion project, or go visit a house in the mountains for prayers. So my afternoon was usually busy walking around with Charles, with Rosette into Kisiizi or one of the other teachers, usually Teacher Mercy.

By the time I would return from my afternoon adventures it was warm enough outside (usually) to bathe. Bathing was another experience; there was a small mud & plaster building with a partial cement floor used for the bath house. In the afternoon I would tote a washing basin, wash cloth, soap, pitcher and large jerry can full of water to the bath house. Then I would have to come back to the house change into my robe, put on my shower slippers, wrap a towel around my waist and walk though the compound dodging the mud, and cow piles to the bath house. As you could imagine bathing was like a camping shower. I always prayed it was warm outside cause if it wasn’t I was so cold!

Every afternoon was spent on Rosette’s cement porch of her small house talking and preparing food for supper. It was usually Grandma, Rosette, Dorothy, and the three of the 6 children that lived on the compound. They’d chat about the day or life, usually in Rukhiga, Rosette would translate for me, and peel matooke or Irish. By night fall the kerosene lanterns were lit, as there was no electricity, and everyone would head into the main house or by the cooking fire to stay warm. About 9:30 every night supper was served. Supper always consisted of matooke and g-nut sauce with a few additions each night. Sometimes rice, Irish, or sweet potatoes and occasionally we had beef, pork or tripe (stomach & intestines). After supper we’d always pray and then Charles would say it’s time to go to bed, so we’d all say good-night and head to our rooms. I usually would stay up and read my torch light (flashlight) or candle light tell I was tired.

Life there had its joys as much as the challenges you read above. I think my biggest joy was the love that the family and my co-teachers showed and expressed to me daily! Just caring for me; making sure that I had meals, water for bathing, that I was comfortable and never bored. That showed such kindness and love. Even when I got sick for a few days and was down in bed with a cough and fever the family, especially Rosette, Charles and Edith would check one me a lot. When I got a little stronger Edith even took me to Kisiizi hospital to get checked, tests and medicine. Every morning the Grandma (Jajja) and I would hug. She did not speak any English but I knew that hug every morning expressed LOVE. All in all the LOVE that I experienced there far out weighed any kind of “American discomfort” that I experienced. This experience thought me that I could grow in God’s love and gain strength from Him in any experience that I have! Thank you God!

Sights and Sounds of Kisiizi

As I step up the driveway incline, through the gate and onto the red dirt road leading into Kisiizi a rush of sights and sounds come to me. I see the little children across the road chasing their bicycle tire with a stick, the only toy they know. Of course I’m greeted by them with the only English they know, “How are you”. I reply, “Good” and they go about playing. As I walk down the road a breeze rushes through rustling the matooke tree leaves. I’m surrounded by matooke plantations on either side of me. It is such a beautiful sight, all of the green banana looking trees, very exotic, I know I’m not in the U.S.. From the matooke plantations I look up the lush green hills to see pine and hard wood trees. It is an amazing sight to behold! I think to myself, God is so creative and full of majesty. I then come to an area of the dirt road that has turned to mud because the water running down from the hills. The water has created a small stream across the road which runs clear with small rocks at its base. It’s wonderful to hear the babble of a stream, something very tranquil about it. I jump across and keep walking.

As I walk I occasionally see a small wood or mud houses with tin roofs on them. Out in front of the houses are children running around the front yard, of red dirt, playing as men set outside on the ground or on a bench talking. I’m greeted by some of the small children, “Agandi teacher Rita”. They are some of my nursery school students. Agandi means how are you in Ruchiga (Lu’chi’ga), the local tribal language. I greet them back, ni gaahe, meaning ok. I keep walking peering out at the green hill sides and see boys walking up them with their cows and goats in a row climbing the hill for grazing. Naturally I have to look down quite a bit because the road has many ruts, holes and some mud on it, so I can’t be looking up at all the beautiful scenery surrounding me as much as I’d like. I have to stop walking to do that.

That’s what I do next because the matooke plantations have stopped and the valley has opened up to fertile farm ground. I see women, with their colorful pagnes wrapped around them, out in the field digging the dark black soil. The color contrasts are a sight to behold. The dark black soil is just waiting to produce crops of sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes or beans for the next season. The women look up at me at wave and I wave back. I’m almost to the Kisiizi trading center now, just a few minutes ahead of me, and I hear a pig snorting. He is tied to a small tree, routing in the dirt for something. I have to giggle at his sounds. I cross over a small bridge and look below me at the river water rushing by. Then see to the left of me pasture, cows grazing and up the mountain side thick group of trees. Wow how beautiful! The road opens up to a canopy of very large trees beckoning you into the trading center. As you head up the road you see Kisiizi Hospital Primary school, then the Hospital. You finally reach the trading center, with its makeshift wooden stalls, with women selling tomatoes, passion fruit, Irish, and small bananas. Opposite of this are 10 or so small wooden huts selling everything from candles and soap to feed for chickens. This is Kisiizi!

Slience is Broken

I'm sorry I've been silent for a month but I've been in Kampala in the riot, Tanzania at a University and for the last 3 plus weeks in a village in Western Uganda...Kisiizi. Kisiizi has NO internet, so I have lots of my adventures and experiences to blog about. I'm actually at a small internet site at Lake Bunyoni...outside Kabale right now.

Please look for these fun, interesting, and informational blogs to be post upon my return to Masaka; The Riot, Sights & sounds of Kisiizi, Village Life, St. Mark's Nursery/Primary, One Wedding & a Funeral, and Four Hour Roller coaster Ride! :) Just know that God is opening my eyes to so much and setting my direction to what He has for me! God Bless!!