(shoe repair)
(the market in my village)
(typical construction in Kampala)
(backyard, route to work)I realized in talking with my dad the other night that either he is not reading my blog or I have not been very descriptive about my everyday living environment. So I thought I would just give a quick account of my so called life.
I begin waking up around 5:45 with the prayer call broadcasted from the Muslim mosque three plots (houses or grouping of huts) down from my house. Then I completely awoken by the sounds of the kids in my family opening up the metal gate and doors and bringing in the jerry cans of water from the tap about ¼ a mile from our house.
At 6:00am I am up and out of my house to go running. It is still fairly dark but the eyes are quick to adjust and the moon is usually enough. It also allows for an amazing sunrise view. I walk down an eroded dirt road past a field, row shacks, cows, trash dumpsters, and others going to the tap. My runs take me through the sugar cane fields, around the factory, down the main road, up the hill, anywhere I feel like. On the way back I occasional will help someone coming back from the tap with the jerry can.
I come home to the house busy with cooking and people getting ready for school.
My house has no running water, but several large wash basins in each room. I shower in the bathtub using my wash basin and cut out jerry can as a pourer. Sometimes I am given a quart of hot water to use as well.
Our house does have electricity; most of the village does not. But the power goes out probably 3 days a week. We do have solar power that we use as a backup that works fairly well.
We have no house phone and the 10” TV works sometimes to show an Indian station.
As I explain in the other posts, we don’t have an oven, standard stove, washing machine or any modern appliance. This is very common in most villages.
My clothes are washed by hand every weekend, I thought this wouldn’t be necessary, I don’t wash my clothes that much in US but with all the dirt and heat and rain it really is pertinent. They string all the clothes in the courtyard behind our house.
For work, I walk the 1 ½ mile through the main market part of the village and then by the center roundabout that connects the village to the main road, factory and Indian property, and then along the sidewalk to the factory and up around. The walk is routine but never boring, there are people everywhere, babies, factory workers, boda drivers, school kids, market workers, cows, goats, and plenty of my neighbors to greet.
At night, any number of family members will usually play cards, sit around and talk, prepare food, occasionally watch a movie with my tiny laptop, read, walk around, play with kids, nap.
We eat dinner about 9-10pm which is typical for Uganda. After which I usually go to bed. Usually the entire village is quiet about 11pm, but up till then it is full of life, in the house and outside.
Meals are kind of interesting. Usually one or two people will eat with me at the table, the younger kids usually sit in the floor in the dish room or family room or outside. No one really eats all at the same time unless it is a special occasion.
On Sunday evenings we go to the local “hotel” where they project the European premiere soccer league games on the side of a large wall. (European soccer is HUGE here, to the point where they watched a league game over the African Cup championship game) Everyone sits around in the dark on coke crates or plastic chairs and cheers for their favorite team. Mine being Manchester United.
Basically, wherever I go there are people, kids and animals. Privacy is nonexistent. My bedroom is suppose to be my own space, but my window faces the back courtyard of the house where everyone hangs out so I am always fully aware of what is going on. If my light is on, then I am free game. Even while I am bathing people are always yelling things to me through the window or door. For someone who comes from a big family I find a level of comfort in it all. I think when it comes time I am really going to miss all the little quirks that have become my African life.
I begin waking up around 5:45 with the prayer call broadcasted from the Muslim mosque three plots (houses or grouping of huts) down from my house. Then I completely awoken by the sounds of the kids in my family opening up the metal gate and doors and bringing in the jerry cans of water from the tap about ¼ a mile from our house.
At 6:00am I am up and out of my house to go running. It is still fairly dark but the eyes are quick to adjust and the moon is usually enough. It also allows for an amazing sunrise view. I walk down an eroded dirt road past a field, row shacks, cows, trash dumpsters, and others going to the tap. My runs take me through the sugar cane fields, around the factory, down the main road, up the hill, anywhere I feel like. On the way back I occasional will help someone coming back from the tap with the jerry can.
I come home to the house busy with cooking and people getting ready for school.
My house has no running water, but several large wash basins in each room. I shower in the bathtub using my wash basin and cut out jerry can as a pourer. Sometimes I am given a quart of hot water to use as well.
Our house does have electricity; most of the village does not. But the power goes out probably 3 days a week. We do have solar power that we use as a backup that works fairly well.
We have no house phone and the 10” TV works sometimes to show an Indian station.
As I explain in the other posts, we don’t have an oven, standard stove, washing machine or any modern appliance. This is very common in most villages.
My clothes are washed by hand every weekend, I thought this wouldn’t be necessary, I don’t wash my clothes that much in US but with all the dirt and heat and rain it really is pertinent. They string all the clothes in the courtyard behind our house.
For work, I walk the 1 ½ mile through the main market part of the village and then by the center roundabout that connects the village to the main road, factory and Indian property, and then along the sidewalk to the factory and up around. The walk is routine but never boring, there are people everywhere, babies, factory workers, boda drivers, school kids, market workers, cows, goats, and plenty of my neighbors to greet.
At night, any number of family members will usually play cards, sit around and talk, prepare food, occasionally watch a movie with my tiny laptop, read, walk around, play with kids, nap.
We eat dinner about 9-10pm which is typical for Uganda. After which I usually go to bed. Usually the entire village is quiet about 11pm, but up till then it is full of life, in the house and outside.
Meals are kind of interesting. Usually one or two people will eat with me at the table, the younger kids usually sit in the floor in the dish room or family room or outside. No one really eats all at the same time unless it is a special occasion.
On Sunday evenings we go to the local “hotel” where they project the European premiere soccer league games on the side of a large wall. (European soccer is HUGE here, to the point where they watched a league game over the African Cup championship game) Everyone sits around in the dark on coke crates or plastic chairs and cheers for their favorite team. Mine being Manchester United.
Basically, wherever I go there are people, kids and animals. Privacy is nonexistent. My bedroom is suppose to be my own space, but my window faces the back courtyard of the house where everyone hangs out so I am always fully aware of what is going on. If my light is on, then I am free game. Even while I am bathing people are always yelling things to me through the window or door. For someone who comes from a big family I find a level of comfort in it all. I think when it comes time I am really going to miss all the little quirks that have become my African life.
2 comments:
WOW, I dont think I could live with out my hot shower! So does anyone speak English or do you know enough native language from your classes to get around? Is the family you’re living with part of KORD?
I am completely envious of your lifestyle in Uganda, Kyra. Okay, maybe not as much when it comes to the lack of privacy but I'm sure it's something I would get used to and come to love.
I'm not surprised about Chad's comment on lack of hot water. ;)
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