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| The matatoo "You get in now madame". (And start sweating with the rest of the people in the taxi) |
Kitgum just a bus ride away
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| Some of the fellow passengers |
Peace Corp has a gathering of all volunteers so we can hear of the projects that each of us are doing so we know who to resource with to spread the info so we are not reinventing stuff to share with our area. One of the volunteers that is extending for a year called together a North ALL VOLUNTEERS so since we are in the N we replied and and went. We have left site 1X for a perma gardening workshop in Nov . Otherwise remained here so we thought this would be a good opportunity to meet other volunteers and network. We forgot about the part we hate...TRAVEL...
Day one we start out okay by having a bus ticket. This is the way to travel here sit on the L side whee there are 2 seats together go early in AM before the sun melts you because you are on the L side and the curtains stop the open window breeze. There is a place you go from the N and have to transfer to another form of transport and that is Karuma falls. It is one of the few places you can cross the Nile and it is a terrible place. The taxi (matatoo) conductor fills the taxi which is licensed for 14 and if you remember kids on laps are only 1 person. The conductor told us we would only have 14 so we paid we got 14 right away and thought we were going. Nope, now you people you just move over and one more can fit in the row. The matatoo as I have said is our old Toyota van with with 2 extra bench seats added and a jump seat on the end that flips down so 3 across is comfortable but 4 across is not as a lot of Ugandans are well fed and have shoulder the size of football players. They have very few who deodorant works on either but they are very clean and dressed to the 9s if they can afford it and most do. Long story short we yelled at, threatened, got out, demanded but finally the conductor waited us out and we stuck in4 more people to make 19 in the matatoo and off we go to Gulu to spend the night at this nice quite hotel on the end of town far from the disco's that play loud music. All rooms are located around a open stairway with small windows facing out. We were on 4th floor and tonight was a graduation party on 2nd floor and it is hot so they opened the doors and windows and danced until 2 with the music so loud you could hear it in town at the disco's. Next AM the church service was very quite in the same room using the same sound equipment. We went back to the bus park to get our ride to Kitgum 2 hours N because we were going to stay in a hotel with a pool. I use the word hotel lightly.
Same story, we missed a bus seat as they were all full and got a matatoo this time he shoved in 26 bodies. We had luggage on the top and in the back they opened the door to put more in but the seat is at the edge of the door so the door won't shut. They tied it. Now the exhaust can come in with the door open a bit and so can all the dust dirt silt and ash. It is dry season and all the long grass is being burnt off so the new grass can grow. Ugandans do not understand that the burning kills the good microbes that are in the top layer of the soil and that the breakdown of the old grasses feeds the microbes. So the whole country is pretty much being burned off and the ash in the air is small black threads that love to get on your fresh laundry and when you brush them they smear ash... We found out the road to Kitgum is dirt not tarmac and the people in the back row were covered in the dirt when they got out. One man had on a black suit coat that magically turned red brown by Kitgum. The roads are crowned a lot of the way because of the heavy rains in rainy season and the buses with the wide wheel base using them so often so at times we were like we were on the side of a hill going semi vertical and thinking we may be tipping over at any moment. We saw the bus that was too full to take us changing a tire ½ way down the road too. The rocks are so sharp they just shred tires. Upon arriving we uncurled and decided my mom would not enjoy this. We walked a mile in the hottest part of the sunny day and got to the hotel. I put on my suit and went to the pool that is the size of a large hot tub see picture and got in. Yes, it was cool but had a lot of bugs and little swimming bugs in it too. I didn't splash around too much but the cool felt so good. Supper and bed in our single bed dorm room. Next day we met some of the PCV and went to the workshops held under a mango tree all day. It felt so Ugandan being under the tree on a mat learning eating and conversing. See Photo
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| Class under a mango tree |
The organizers of the all vol were good and the food was wonderful except the last day and I will show you more photos later on why. We met other volunteers and heard ideas and strategies and all agreed that the form of aid we are giving from USAID is not helping but creating a dependent society of handouts.
The food was cooked outside over a sygerie and day 3 the animals were interested in what we were doing because all the animals are free range you can see what showed up for the pics. The chickens were always present under the mango tree but the hen had 3 chicks day one and only 2 after that. Day 3 the rice was left near the fire and the chickens found it and we eating out of the pan and walking in it before it was cooked. But if you are a long time volunteer you know that boiling kills germs so you shrug and cook it, which is what happened with the rice. But when you went to eat it with the beans you had rocks in it and almost ruined your teeth. I couldn't eat mine as I am a new volunteer yet. Rice and beans are standard fare for lunches here sometimes the rice is substituted with another starch like enyasa (cooked cassava)or posho (cooked corn flour) both tasteless but lots of fine rocks in for crunch...
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| Pigs checking out the beans |
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| Goats being moved from checking out the beans |
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| Hungry humans checking out the beans |
Wednesday, our last day we left early to enjoy the pool and relax with a book for a bit. We walked 4 miles in the heat of the day as we were stiff to start with and really hot by mile 1 and when we finally got to the hotel they were draining the pool because it was so “dirty”.
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| The dry pool in 90 degree heat |
We were so angry but what do you do? Shower right? So that was our cool down and we sat outside and talked with other volunteers from Mercy Corp that are working in Kitgum. They were interesting and fun to hear the stories they have, they are older volunteers too from California. We had meat for supper which we do not eat in Arua as we have no fridge, and went to bed content. Next day we went off to town to get a bus this time we had tickets but this bus they allow people to sit or stand in the isle for the 2 hour ride to Gulu so you again cannot stretch out as people are squished in the middle. We get to Karuma again and a PC pickup is there to pick up a volunteer to help her move to a site that she is changing too. Stevie the volunteer who is moving, Laura who is here with our group, and I squished in the 3seater pickup with the driver, so the the 4 males could have the seats on the bus. I had on capris so I sat over the shifter and off we went for 221 kilometers to Arua. 3 hours later we uncurled again and were home. Tom on the other hand did not get the bus but rather a coke truck that went 40 miles an hour and 4 guys and the driver rode in that. In Nebbi about 2 hours from Arua they found a bus with 2 empty seats and hopped that for home. Tom came in at 9 not very happy as we hadn't eaten much all day. But we are home again and remember why we do not like traveling. So if you come visit we will help you get a private hire. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Love from Arua where the grass continues to burn and the sun is still shining.(and hot)
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| View from the bus what one can have delivered to your window for lunch |
