Gossip Around the Water Cooler

I know some of you do not read the Book of Mormon. And these verses may not be the typical introduction, but they do embody what is valuable about the BOM, that in the simplest of lines you find meaning you did not expect.

Alma 8:14-32, particularly verse 27

You can find the verses here, but I will summarize. In this chapter, Alma is on his way back to the city to once again preach the word of God, when he meets Amulek. Faithful Amulek, instantly knew that he was the man of God that he is suppose to nourish him. So he did just that. For several days, these two great men tarried together in the home of Amulek before setting off to the city to do the Lord’s work. There is no detail about what went on in those few days. But in the progress to do the most important task of sharing the gospel these two men took a few days to linger. Without explanation, I am sure there were many significant reasons why.
I am always in a hurry. My body and body functions on ultimate capacity. I start my day early, make lists and go from place to place. Like at home, each morning, I wake up very early and run. Each day I run by several watering holes where all types of people in the village come with colored jerry cans to get water for their every day needs. As I run by they stare and as I run back I see individuals straining to carry them the distance to their home. The other day, I saw a older skinny man in black rain boots carry two jugs, one in each hand, 30 feet, stop. Then, go back 30ft. and pick up one jug and carry it the 30ft to meet the other two. Then pick up the other two and repeat the process. I stopped and stood there, contemplating my limited time and my desire to finish the last ½ mile to my house. For once I was the one staring. Then I put my ipod in its plastic bag and walked over to the man and picked up the one jerry can. I then followed him up the dirt hill, down the ditch, along the road, through the alley of mud houses and to his front door. There were no words exchanged beyond an acknowledgement and directional grunting. At his house, his son came out brushing his teeth, laughing.
“Hello! Thank you
“No problem, have a nice day.”
I walked the rest of the way home and did not look at my watch.
This is not a big or unusual act and Ugandans do things like this every day. Ugandans take life at a good pace and maybe with good reason. I like the opportunity to become a little more Ugandan each day.

Window Seat

(the view from the back of the bus, which is about the size of VW van, and filled with 19+ people)

If you have ever seen the movie "Winged Migration" you can understand how amazing it is to have a bird's eye view and travel right alongside their wings. I am not nearly as agile as our feathered friends and do not have an award winning camera crew following me around, but I thought you might like to get a muzungo eye view of getting to and from my village.

It starts with a walk on foot, then cruises with a boda boda on wheels, squeezes into a taxi van, and sometimes on lazy days ends with a perch on the back of a bicycle.

Household Sex Talk

(my front yard)
Yes, I just used the “s” word and like most advertisements it is in an effort to lure you into reading this. Is it working?

At home in Denver, Brandon and I choose to use sponges as our household cleaning tool. We are not particular with brands and usually end up with the cheapest value pack. We do prefer to get the kind that has one rough side for scrubbing and a gentle absorbent side to give our dishes a good guy/bad guy kind of love. I know some of you are appalled at the idea of sponges (Amber). And trust me, I am the reason people criticize them, the length of time we continue to use the sponge before we finally succumb to the fact that it is now actually just spreading bacteria on our dishes instead of cleaning them is embarrassing. Aside from this, I think sponges have gotten an unnecessary bad rep. There is something exhilarating about ripping open the package and pulling out a brightly colored, virgin sponge. Unknowingly, its rough side ready to rumble, the soft side quick to absorb soap. When a guest comes over and sees an unspotted sponge sitting next to the faucet, there is no shame, it is as if dirt doesn’t even exist in your house. Yes, there really is something charming about a virgin sponge.

I can confidently say that I am not that kind of sponge. I have reached a point where I am honestly comfortable and enjoy living abroad, not because I like adding colorful visas to my passport or because I think I will be able to save people; but because I like new communities and the challenge of adaptation. I have reached a point where I go into restaurants, bathrooms and take transportation and notice the reaction of foreigners around me. Sometimes they are amazed and/or appalled by the standards and habits. I am not. I don’t say this with a cocky air or with the assumption that most people are sheltered, but mainly out of a subtle, surprising, personal insight. I have honestly reached a point where doing this is natural for me. The situation is new but my level of comfort is not. I am able to connect and relax with my host family and prefer being away in the village, which is allowing me to take full advantage of my time here.

However, there is a slight sadness to this newly recognized development. There is a certain kind of excitement and willingness to soak it all in when you are a virgin traveler that you just can’t get back. Though I am happy to be a ‘been around the sink sort of gal’, and do not think I will ever stop being amazed or curious, every once in awhile I wish I was that bright little yellow sponge sitting next to the faucet.

Trading Spaces

For those of you who have done similar expeditions as the one I am embarked on or have been to Uganda or have travelled quite often, I hope this blog does not become lackluster. I am trying to find a way to explain the smaller details to the unfamiliar while providing a more substantial content for those who may be looking for more beyond stories of held orphans and the wonder of how people live (neither of which I look down on or am oppose to just try not to subscribe to). On that note I am going to talk about where I live.

I arrived at my host family on Tuesday evening. Anytime you enter a new living situation, there is a bit of harbored uncertainty. The drive to my house began with a 10km car ride from Jinja to a township called Kakira. As we turned off the main road, we head up a long straight pristine hilled road lined with gigantic shady trees and not a bit of trash (RARE). We then passed through two guarded gates, passing a horse corral, an air strip, expanses of sugar cane fields, and immaculately landscaped flower beds. I was beginning to wonder just where I was. Then we came to a round-about which perfectly captures the polarization that is Kakira and explained everything. On one side is a typical African village with dirt roads, roaming livestock, multitudes of people living in small homes and rickety structures, alongside markets and trash. On the other side is a high functioning sugar cane factory open in 1985 which is owned by several East Indian gentlemen, then on the final side is the large properties and facilities in which the owners of the factory spend a portion of their time. As we left the road and entered the village, the reason the factory is able to function is apparent, lots of cheap labor and a vast amount of picturesque sugar cane fields. Atop a hill, next to the mosque at the far end of the village is where my home is. I entered the home I was immediately greeted with laughter and cake. I decided I much preferred my village to the clean roads and riding horses.

My host family is full of spirit. I was beginning to doubt if I would be able to do with Ugandans the one thing I love most- laughing and grinning, particularly of the full-hearted kind. But I think there was an unseen hand in my placement. My family loves laughing and teasing. William is the host brother and is apparently the mover and shaker of town. I am sure everyone knows this guy, he is everywhere, knows everyone, has a hand in everything, but no one is quite sure what he actually does. William’s sister Annette is a very smart woman who owns her own school and loves to talk books and funny things. The head of the house is Josephine who I call maama. She is a farmer, mother of 10 children, wants to learn more English but talks to me in Lugandan and is convinced that I don’t eat enough, ever. There are also a handful of younger children who are in and out but never particularly constant in the home. As to be expected of me, one of the best features is the fact one of the older boys likes to run and joins me every morning at 6am. Though I normally like to run solo, a personal guided tour of the area by a handsome young fit African guy is a good substitute for solitary. (picture- right my brother, left his friend didas)

The house itself is a bit nicer than usual. I have my own room with my own wash bucket and mosquito net. There is a kitchen and family room with a 10in TV that apparently only plays Indian shows. A couple of other rooms and then another section of quarters behind the house. We have cows, chickens, goats, lizards, plenty of ants and mosquitoes and several neighbors who like to come look at the muzango (white person). I am fairly positive that I am the only muzang in the lives in the entire village or even 20km area. And trust me Ugandans are not shy at ensuring I am aware of this fact.

GPS

I just wanted to let you know that I have an address and a cell phone. It is almost like I am in the States . . . almost.

Send mail to:
Foundation for Sustainable Development- Attn: Kyra Tarbell
P.O. Box 1722
Jinja, Uganda

To ring:
+2560751418186

If you are sending mail by USPS it will take about 4 weeks to get here. I will be leaving March 20th. If you send FedEx it could get here in about a week but there is a slight chance it will be taken in Kampala and never reach me.

If you want to call, it is free for me to receive calls and I have no idea how much it costs to for people to call me. I also receive text messages. I am happy to receive either but am not sure if it is cost-efficient.

Of course, I do not expect any mail or calls but if anyone is interested (mom) that is the info.
If you send me your address, then I will do my very best to send you a postcard. If you tell me something you want that is under 5lbs I will deliver.

Cliff Notes

Tell me if you can understand the following phrase:

wasuze otyano sebo?
bulungi nyabo?
mm
Abeka bali batya?
bali bulungi
mpozzi ggwe
jendi
kumacha azuukuka
nnaaba mu masso
oluvannyuma
nsoma oluganda

You know what is awesome; I not only understand it but can speak it, very slowly and with uneven pronunciation.

Logistics

The last few days have been spent in language and program training, cruising around town and trying local cuisine. There is surprisingly a large population of East Indians in the city and it proves to be the best food. African food consists of the following FOOD (click on word to see description) I can do bland, but oh how I miss my condiments. I have decided to carry a bottle of hot sauce with me at all times to solve this problem, I would like to give a shout out to the guys at the Denver Rescue Mission for teaching me this trick.

Jinja as you would expect is full of rows of tiny shops with all goods visible on sidewalk, bicycles and motorcycles, taxi vans, potholes, markets, temples/church, street food, banks, music, masses of pedestrians, cute kids, internet cafes, beautiful Africans and Indians and photo-worthy flora and fauna. I plan to post more pictures with examples but haven’t had too much opportunity yet. Here is a good general description as well of GENERAL UGANDA ELEMENTS, I would explain all myself but why reinvent the wheel.

However here is a picture of gigantic, ugly stork that are all around, particularly the trash. I have also included a map of where I am at for those of you who aren’t so familiar with African geography.

Also people still ask what am I do and what is my host family like, two things that I, myself would like to know. As of now I have only been told what to expect but the details of reality will come shortly once I meet my family and begin work later this week.