Dinner

I have been here in Uganda for about 6 months know and have come to know alot about food and how it is prepared. Far different from back home in the states everyone knows how there food is raised/grown, harvested/slaughtered, and prepared. I find this very interesting and in many ways very appealing. The Ugandans marvel that back home we can go to a grocery store and all of our food is there waiting processed and in many cases prepared. Here if they want to eat some meat they have to slaughter the animal if they want some potatoes they go dig them from the garden. It gives them a appreciation for the food they are eating that is often missing in America because they know the work that has gone into getting it all the way to there mouths.

So this takes us to yesterday evening. Though I have observed and prepared the cooking of many different foods I had not yet seen how the meat and in this case the chicken make it from pecking around the year to my plate. So I discussed this with the guards at my home and they offered to show me how it was done. I offered to buy the chicken which costs about 5 U.S. dollars if they would show me how to prepare it. So I gave them the money to purchase the chicken at the market because I needed to go in to work for a while. When I arrived home I was greeted by the chicken. I began to get a bit nervous about having to kill the chicken but I thought it was only right that if I was willing to eat the chicken I also must be willing to kill the the food I am going to eat if the opportunity arises. The only animal I have every killed was a deer when I went hunting with some friends but that was with a gun a far less personal then this would be.

So the guards showed me how to kill and prepare but left me to do the work. It in not a difficult process and in the end we ended up having chicken soup with Matooke ( a type of banana like Plantains) and cabbage. The food was very delicious and also had more meaning to me because I now had a relation to the food I was eating. So it was more then just eating food it was an experience that I shared with the preparation of the food. It is hard to explain but it is definitely a more meaningful eating experience not just to my stomach.

So if anyone is wanting to eat some chicken when I come home I can show you how to really prepare it not just the stuff you buy from the freezer at the local supermarket. My time is about to run out here on the Internet an I have not gone back to read this so I hope it sounds alright.

Chad

Ants

I have a very nice house here in Uganda by anyone’s standards. There is one thing about my house that is driving me absolutely crazy. I have these black ants which I can’t get to leave my house. Any time I bring food home they are able to somehow find it and completely engulf the food by the ne_t morning. The __ key isn’t working on this computer so some of these words you will just have to figure out. I will leave a blank where the letter is supposed to go. Maybe that will make this letter a bit more e_citing. I can’t even count the times I have had to go without breakfast because the ants have got after the bread and ruined the whole loaves. If it were only a few ants I would probably consider brushing them off and eating the bread anyways but there are just to many. While on the topic of bread it is very challenging to find a nice loaf of bread because they will often sit at the stores for a long time before selling. To go along with many loaves ruined by ants I have had just as many which have gone moldy within a day or two of buying.
So I have been trying to get rid of the ants for a long time and will succeed for about a week only to have them be back in full force the ne_t week. They have this stuff called DOOM which is used for killing bugs and it works to kill them instantly but doesn’t keep them away.
The one good thing about having the ants is that is has forced me to be very clean. If I spill a crumb on the floor I immediately pick it up. I sweep the floors daily and am regularly washing the floor. I guess it could be a good way to train someone to keep there room clean. So I will continue the battle and while also learning something about good house keeping and grandpa thank you for the letter I appreciate it very much.

Congratulations to my cousin Amy and soon to be Husband Jerrod who will be getting married tomorrow. I am sorry that I have to miss the wedding while over here in Uganda. I am sure it will be wonderful and wish I could be there

Chad

hiking

The last weekends have been great. I have spent them doing once of my favorite activities. The is hardly anything I can think of which is more fun then hiking. It isn’t the hiking I’m used being out in the woods secluded from everything and everyone but enjoyable none the less. The 1st trip was to a place called Sipi Falls it is a series of three waterfalls that has turned into a tourist attraction. There are a few lodges near the bottom falls with great views of both the waterfall and the plans of Uganda. I went with a friend from Baylor who is working here in Uganda she organized a group of us and we headed up from the weekend. We spent most of Saturday hiking to see all of the falls they were beautiful and it helped that we were in the middle of the rainy season and there was an awful lot of water coming over the cliffs. During the course of the hike we got dowsed with water several times from the spray of the falls. It was a great weekend away from site with some friends. The next weekend was yet another hiking adventure. I meet a doctor from the states who was working here in Uganda for the Summer and he has been coming here for some time and had hiked to the top of the ridge that rises up from the east of my town. My town is situated on the edge of the plains near a large mountain range this ridge is the beginning of that range. So we spent most of Saturday afternoon hiking up to the top with another friend from church who was acting as our guide. The hike was very steep but worth it once we made it to the top. The ridge has many small waterfalls lining its face. When we made it to the top we hike along one of the streams to the point where it fell off of the ridge. There were several children playing in the stream near the falls. I wanted to go swimming but have become very scared of the water here due to the Peace Corps nurses who have told us of the sicknesses we can get from swimming. We relaxed by the stream for awhile with all of the children then we went back down.
The one thing that is so different about hiking here is that you can never get away from people they are everywhere. The trails we were using weren’t designed for tourists leisure but as paths for people to get to the fields they are working in. The Ugandan’s think we are crazy to be walking on the trails just get a view from the top they view these trails the same way we view asphalt interstate highways. They are a means of getting from one place to the other. So I hope I will have many more chances to explore the Ugandan country side in the next few months. Thanks for being patient with me as it has been awhile since I last updated this thing.

Chad

Boda Boda

This is the termed used to describe the mopeds, motorcycles, and bicycles that transport people around. These bikes are the most common form of short distance transport. In the small villages you will find mostly bicycle bodas where in the larger towns you will find many of all the different varieties.
The term Boda Boda originates because it is said that the bikes will take you from border to boder this may not be completely true be you can sure find them anywhere between the borders. The Peace Corps has a rule that volunteers aren’t allowed to ride on the motorized bodas. We can ride the bicycle ones as long as we are wearing a helmet. This rule is enforced wherever volunteers are throughout the world. It is for the volunteers safety that this rule is enforced. The rides are very dangerous when you couple the poor rodes, bad drivers and poor condition of some of the bikes.

These Boda drivers will sit on there bikes together at street corners and just wait for people pass by and ask for a ride. For most Ugandans they pass by the Bodas with no problem if they want a ride they will just hope on the back of a bike. If they don’t want a ride they just keep on walking. It is a different story for a Muzungu (White Person). The drivers will see you coming from far off and start shouting at you to see if you want a ride. The Peace Corps volunteer will obviously have to decline the ride but it doesn’t matter how many times you walk by the same corner they will continue to ask if you want a ride.

Walking on my way to work I pass a few street corners which are filled with bodas. I knew that I would need to pass these drivers everyday and I didn’t want to here them shouting at me every day. So I decided to try a different strategy. So on the way to work I stop and Introduced myself to the drivers and told them I would be here for the next two years and wouldn’t be able to take a ride from them because of a few rules I had to follow. This strategy has worked rather well and now they greet me when I walk past in the morning instead of just shouting out Muzungu.

So on the way home from work every day I pass many people selling street food. There are many different things that are sold but from cassava pancakes, grilled corn, goat meat on a stick fried breads but there is nothing more common then the Chapatti. Chapatti is an Indian food that was brought here with the Indian families that have moved to Uganda. It is a flour water and salt which is then fried in vegetable oil. It taste very good and you can find someone selling them on every street corner. So I had some free time this afternoon and thought I would try my hand at creating the Chapatti. I can't say it was a disaster but it was definitely not as tasty as the ones sold on the street. I have some work to do before I perfect the art. I am thinking about getting some advice from the experts on the street.

This brings up the topic of food over here. First off food only refers to grains section of the food pyramid. So if you were to serve someone lunch without, rice, posho (corn meal), matooke (banana that are steamed or boiled similar to plantains), potatoes they would ask you where the food is. Everything else is called sauce. Matooke is the traditional dish here and took some getting used to but know I can say that I enjoy it when it is prepared with the right sauce. There is not much variety in the meals it always consists of the same food with the sauce changing from peanut sauce, beans, or any type of boiled meat.

The times people eat are also very different. You don't eat breakfast until around 10:00 because you are thought to be lazy if you eat before you work. Breakfast will consist of Tea and a Chapatti, roll or piece of bread. Lunch is then served around 2 or 3. This is the largest meal of the day and will normally keep you full until around 8 or 9 at that time you have another cup of tea and some bread. Many families will then eat supper around 11 or 12.

This has been my schedule other then the supper at 11 that is a bit to late for me to eat. It took some getting used to but know I kind of enjoy eating a large meal in the afternoon. We will see if I keep it up. Right now I am eating pretty much only Ugandan food but because I am in a larger city I have the option of getting some American food. Right now I enjoy the Ugandan food and plan to keep in the routine. I will let you know if I cave into the temptation for the American food.

Week 2 at site

My home
So we have a computer at work but we are not hooked up to the Internet. So I thought to save some money I would type my blog entries on the computer and save them to my flash drive and then post them at the Internet Cafe. Unfortunately the computer has contracted a virus and destroyed my files. The viruses seem to be a huge problem with the computers here. I guess it is something I will need to be a bit more aware of. So I have been here at site for about two weeks and things are really busy but great.
My home is incredible with that of the Peace Corps standard. I ran across some Peace Corps Volunteers ( more commonly referred to as PCV's) in town this week and took them to see where I was staying. They couldn't believe that I had electricity running water, toilet, and a shower. Many of them have none of these things plus have to ride a bike 1 hour to get to their homes. Where I am in a good size city many of them are out in very small villages. I am also working with an organization that is functioning as a business which I absolutely love but is very different from other volunteers. I am beginning to think I will have quit a different Peace Corps experience from even some people living only 20 miles away. I am very excited about the opportunity I have here and the people I am working with.

Kitten
When I was leaving for my site from Kampala two weeks ago. I was given a kitten from a volunteer named Laura. At the time I thought it would be nice to have some company as this would be my 1st time living alone but I live in a 1 room house so there is no real way to separate the cat from where I sleep. This has become a problem because she is very active at night and makes it hard for me to sleep. The other night I got so fed up with her that I decided the next morning I was moving her outside permanently. So I got her food and a box and but her outside. Not two minutes later I hear the security guard yelling and chasing the dog Timmy. I went outside and asked him what had happened and he informed me that the dog was trying to eat the kitten. So I was forced to bring her back inside. So right know I am trying to come up with a strategy to keep her quiet at night until she is big enough to fend for herself outside. Any suggestion or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Finished with training

Training
So I have been here in Uganda for about 3 months and have decided it will be easier to update a blog then it will be to send individual email to everyone on exactly what is going on here.
Anyways I have just recently finished my training with the Peace Corps for 2 and 1/2 months we lived in a small Uganda town with a Ugandan family and learned everything from how to cook on a charcoal stove, bath using a bucket of water, wash clothes with hands and how to use a pit latrine. All skills we will need to use throughout the 2 years here. While the Ugandan families were teaching us these skills the Peace Corps was teaching us the Ugandan culture, a local language that would be used at our work site and technical skills that would better help us serve the people.

Training was great and I shared it with 49 other Americans who came over in my group but it is know time for to leave training and head off to our sites and begin the work we came here to do.

Dairy Farming
I guess growing up on a farm is going to pay-off at least a little bit. I was placed with an organization that is working to develop the dairy industry here in Uganda by organizing groups of farmers into cooperatives and creating income opportunities for rural populations. This allows the farmers to organize enter the market a bit easier. They can take advantage of the larger volumes of milk which help to lower the costs of transportation, marketing, management and equity investment.

The organization is working with one of these farmer group in a town in Eastern Uganda and that is where I will be working. The group has just purchased a cooler and placed it the middle of town. The way it will work is that the we will purchase the milk from the farmers who are part of the cooperative and then sell it at an increased price to the people of the town.

So for the past two weeks I have been working the organization in the capital city just learning about how hey operate and what they are trying to accomplish throughout the country. It has been a great experience and has given me some knowledge that will be helpful when I head for my site on Monday.

I will give an update once I get to site and settle in.

Hello everyone, this will be my blog while I am in Uganda.