Good news, friends! I am the proud owner of the most economically priced mobile phone in East Africa. Here's how this phone purchase went down: I handed a young woman some shillings. She proceeded to smile, laugh, and hand me an Etch-A-Sketch with an antenna. I said, "Thank you, nyabo," and scampered away.
If you feel like giving me a call, you can reach me anytime at (get ready for this): 2560712881383. I would really enjoy talking to you. Here's how many of my day to day conversations go in Kampala:
What?
What?
WHAT?
...
What?
(Smiles and gestures)
I can also receive text messages, but I haven't mastered the two white knobs yet. There's no telling whether or not you will understand my reply.
I talked to my parents today and they really appreciate all of the support you are giving both them and me. I appreciate it, too.
Oh, here's a good story: In Uganda, you can buy your own malaria testing kit. It's like a home pregnancy test in that you have to decode a series of colored lines to understand your results. It's not like a pregnancy test in that you have to draw your own blood with a giant needle. I tried to do it myself, but I just couldn't do it. I kept laughing. My roommate Kevin tried but we both kept laughing and I made him stop trying after he said, "I think I heard it work." That didn't make any sense. After fifteen minutes of screaming and laughing, Liz eventually got enough blood out of my finger to let us know that I don't have malaria. So, that's what I did today.
That's all the news I have for today. Please feel free to give me a call, and check back here often. I am going to add some pictures tomorrow.
Words of the day:
Nyabo: Mam
Sebo: Sir
Cheers,
Joey
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Jinja and Malaria
I may or may not have malaria. I probably don't because no one really gets malaria in Kampala. I do have several symptoms, though, so I'm going to get tested today. What is more likely is that I swallowed some local tap water or ate something prepared with local tapwater, and that has bacteria in it that I'm not used to yet.
I really hope I'm ok because we are supposed to go to Jinja tomorrow for a legal workshop that lasts all weekend. When we aren't working we can go to the spot on Lake Victora where the Nile River supposedly begins. You can take rafting trips up the Nile from there.
SO, I hope I'm well enough to do that.
Don't worry too much about the malaria though because it's easy to remedy and it only costs about $4.25 total.
Either way, I'll write about my weekend on Sunday or Monday.
I really hope I'm ok because we are supposed to go to Jinja tomorrow for a legal workshop that lasts all weekend. When we aren't working we can go to the spot on Lake Victora where the Nile River supposedly begins. You can take rafting trips up the Nile from there.
SO, I hope I'm well enough to do that.
Don't worry too much about the malaria though because it's easy to remedy and it only costs about $4.25 total.
Either way, I'll write about my weekend on Sunday or Monday.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Some Friends of Mine
I've made quite a few friends since I've been here: my house mates, expat wanderers, and local people. Here are a few...
James: James is from CA, and he works for Invisible Children. He's been in charge of the IC bracelet campaign for awhile. If you know my friend Brett, then picture Brett, and you will have a general idea of James. He's thoughtful, kind, intelligent, and he's searching. Kerry and I stayed up through half of Sunday night talking with him about life in general, and I'm already sure it will be one of my favorite memories.
Jamie: Is in his thirties. He's a world traveler. My understanding of his story is that he was working in a corporate office in America and was told to fire a friend of his. He was sitting in the room and said, "You know what, let him keep his job." And he walked out of corporate life forever. Some things are more important than job security.
"
Fizer: I'm not sure how to spell his name, but Fizer is a young boy who lives at an orphanage located next to Lake Victoria. Fizer lived around an area called Jinja, but his parents beat him often so when he was VERY young he walked away from his home and walked the 80 km to Kampala, where he slept under the clock tower in the heart of downtown. I believe he was arrested but somehow ended up at the Mercy Home orphanage. He is bright, calm, and hopeful, and his eyes belie a soul much older than his years. Can you look up to a child? I suppose you can.
Fizer is just one of the more than 130 amazing people living at the Mercy Home orphanage. I know about Mercy Home because a non-profit that I work for, Isiah Project International, is working to improve the children's' dorms and build a permanent school for the orphans and the many children of the surrounding area. They had a temporary school, but it blew down in a recent storm. We hope to have the temporary building up again by the end of next week, and we hope to break ground on the permanent school very soon. Currently we are making sure that we have competent people of integrity at every level of the building and financing process. It's rather arrogant and reckless to spend a few months in a place and believe you know what is best. We aren't interested in that messy road. Too much hurt comes from it.
Speaking of hurt, I must confess to you that when I first heard about the new school building, I thought it sounded like a good project. I thought it was a good way to help and make a difference. Once I met Fizer and hung out with the children of Mercy Home, though, "project" meant nothing to me. "Making a difference" sounded so silly. I was just spending time with some friends of mine.
If you'd like to meet my friends at Mercy Home, send me an email and I'll tell you what you can do.
Vocabulary of the day:
There are dirtbikes and motorcycles for hire all over Kampala. The drivers will take you anywhere you want to go for a very reasonable price. The bikes are called "boda bodas." Someone told me this came from "border to border." That seems right. Anyway the drivers have crazy names like Scorpion and they wreck all the time. I rode a boda boda once and that was enough to prove to me that they are unsafe and crazy. I rode one again just to make sure. Don't worry, friends, I take taxis now.
Although it is impossible to reduce a diverse amalgam of cultures into a word, I feel like I can point you in the right direction of understanding the people of Uganda. Uganda is Brexico. Brexico is a mix if Britain and Mexico. Since Uganda was a colony until 1962, it has retained much of the vocabulary and practices of the UK. Examples are driving on the left side of the road and "topping up" cell phone minutes. The people are very Mexican in their diet, attitude, and spirit. Rice, beans, tortillas are very popular here, although the tortillas have different names. Even though people may not have much, they are more than generous in sharing what they do have. They are a warm and friendly despite what we in the US would consider hard times. Brexico.
I finally found a reliable internet cafe so expect two posts a week on here.
Cheers,
Joey
James: James is from CA, and he works for Invisible Children. He's been in charge of the IC bracelet campaign for awhile. If you know my friend Brett, then picture Brett, and you will have a general idea of James. He's thoughtful, kind, intelligent, and he's searching. Kerry and I stayed up through half of Sunday night talking with him about life in general, and I'm already sure it will be one of my favorite memories.
Jamie: Is in his thirties. He's a world traveler. My understanding of his story is that he was working in a corporate office in America and was told to fire a friend of his. He was sitting in the room and said, "You know what, let him keep his job." And he walked out of corporate life forever. Some things are more important than job security.
"
Fizer: I'm not sure how to spell his name, but Fizer is a young boy who lives at an orphanage located next to Lake Victoria. Fizer lived around an area called Jinja, but his parents beat him often so when he was VERY young he walked away from his home and walked the 80 km to Kampala, where he slept under the clock tower in the heart of downtown. I believe he was arrested but somehow ended up at the Mercy Home orphanage. He is bright, calm, and hopeful, and his eyes belie a soul much older than his years. Can you look up to a child? I suppose you can.
Fizer is just one of the more than 130 amazing people living at the Mercy Home orphanage. I know about Mercy Home because a non-profit that I work for, Isiah Project International, is working to improve the children's' dorms and build a permanent school for the orphans and the many children of the surrounding area. They had a temporary school, but it blew down in a recent storm. We hope to have the temporary building up again by the end of next week, and we hope to break ground on the permanent school very soon. Currently we are making sure that we have competent people of integrity at every level of the building and financing process. It's rather arrogant and reckless to spend a few months in a place and believe you know what is best. We aren't interested in that messy road. Too much hurt comes from it.
Speaking of hurt, I must confess to you that when I first heard about the new school building, I thought it sounded like a good project. I thought it was a good way to help and make a difference. Once I met Fizer and hung out with the children of Mercy Home, though, "project" meant nothing to me. "Making a difference" sounded so silly. I was just spending time with some friends of mine.
If you'd like to meet my friends at Mercy Home, send me an email and I'll tell you what you can do.
Vocabulary of the day:
There are dirtbikes and motorcycles for hire all over Kampala. The drivers will take you anywhere you want to go for a very reasonable price. The bikes are called "boda bodas." Someone told me this came from "border to border." That seems right. Anyway the drivers have crazy names like Scorpion and they wreck all the time. I rode a boda boda once and that was enough to prove to me that they are unsafe and crazy. I rode one again just to make sure. Don't worry, friends, I take taxis now.
Although it is impossible to reduce a diverse amalgam of cultures into a word, I feel like I can point you in the right direction of understanding the people of Uganda. Uganda is Brexico. Brexico is a mix if Britain and Mexico. Since Uganda was a colony until 1962, it has retained much of the vocabulary and practices of the UK. Examples are driving on the left side of the road and "topping up" cell phone minutes. The people are very Mexican in their diet, attitude, and spirit. Rice, beans, tortillas are very popular here, although the tortillas have different names. Even though people may not have much, they are more than generous in sharing what they do have. They are a warm and friendly despite what we in the US would consider hard times. Brexico.
I finally found a reliable internet cafe so expect two posts a week on here.
Cheers,
Joey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
