Just Another Day in the Neighborhood

Adventures of the Day....

1. There is always room for more: Have you ever looked for seat on a bench or in the pew and saw a tiny spot between two people but knew you would never fit. Well I am here to say that you can always fit more! I’m not sure if I have told you guys about the Matutus (the local buses) that we take everywhere. But they are a tiny bit bigger than mini vans and over 20 people can fit in them at times. Today I got on one to go from Makhai back to Mbale and I looked in the very back seat really confused as the lady began to motion me to sit down. There was no way I was going to fit in there. So I attempted to plop my bottom over the location where she thought I should sit and some how I was able to wriggle it right in. The rest of my group (which there was 5 of us in all) proceeded to get into the Matutu, although I was sure there were only 3 spots when I got in. The Matutu then when on its was, but as we continued onto Mbale we made at least two more stops to pick up people before any one got off. I’m not exactly sure how they fit, but I guess there is always room.
2. Kettle of boiling water + a mug = one good shower: I am getting pretty use to not taking a shower for a few days, but when you begin to smell yourself during work I think it is a sign that a shower should be in your near future. So today I made an executive decision to take a “shower”. The lady that stays with us and cooks for us, Vicki, boiled me some hot water in the kettle so that I could have a hot shower. So, I then proceeded to take the kettle to the tub with a mug. The guy, John, I am here with did it this way so I figured I would try it too. It is a very interesting experience when you take shower using a mug and a kettle. But something about living in Africa for an extended of time and learning to improvise makes it some what of an adventure and I feel well accomplished. You would be surprised how refreshed and clean you feel after taking a kettle and mug shower when you haven’t showered for a while.
3. What language do I speak?: All my life have been told that I speak English. So, as I travel and people try to talk to me in different languages I have to look at them stupidly and apologize for only being able to speak English. But today I found out that I have been wrong. As we were returning to Mbale on the Matutu the other people in my group and I were talking about how many people keep getting on the bus and we don’t know where they will sit. Soon after we fell silent the lady next to me turned to me and asked what language I was speaking. I kindly replied, “English”, only to be told that I was indeed not speaking English. The others and I tried to convince her that we were indeed speaking English when we were talking to each other and it was the same English that we were speaking when we were speaking to her. She was not convinced and after many tries at persuading her we decided to move on with our lives. Although, I’m pretty sure she is still convinced that we are with holding information from her and speaking in spy code.
4. Child Sponsorship Programs: Have you ever sponsored a child and received a picture of that child in the mail? Have you ever wondered who took that picture? ... doubt it... but if you did, wonder no longer. I take those pictures! Today we took a collective of around 200 pictures of kids who are sponsored through Food for the Hungary’s Child Development Program. The Program in the Mbale area has around 900 children. There were roughly 200 photos taken before we arrived, then we took pictures all day today (Tuesday), and the rest of the pictures are due with names in Kampala’s Head office by Thursday. This is the exciting life of a professional photographer... or just a practicum student trying to serve any way possible!