Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hello Everyone!
So this is my 3rd blog in Uganda and it's been just over a month since my last one in Kampala and although it seems like there's less to talk about that before, i still have 18 things to mention, so here it goes....
SO, it was the day after leaving our Reps house and we'd all had a safety talk about how to always be with your partner in Kampala when we were walking down and someone's partner drove past in a taxi.... one thing led to another and before we knew it we were "meeting" this partner in Fang fang, a chinese restaurant where we thought everyone would be. We got in only to discover nobody was there and we were trapped inside this restaurant on a 3rd story, having to wait for a partner and having to buy a meal which cost 30,000/= (shillings). ok so that's 9 quid but for us here in Uganda, thats a third of our monthly wages gone on an all be it lovely chinese meal. Were currently living on just under 40 quid a month although as off later me and kieran have decided that were going to try and live under the poverty line! We live off about 5,000/= a day between us and that's more than enough for us to survive and still treat ourselves to a soda every now and then! That's how cheap food and living is here, nowadays we often just live off food from the garden (cassava/matoke etc).
As you may have seen a few weeks ago me and kieran decided to get a haircut and for 1,000/= we decided to go bald! It seemed like a great idea at the time because it was funny but we spent the next week covering up in the shade because of sunburn!
Church is quite good now although we had our last service last week because of exams and the school finishing for term which was sad to say goodbye to a few people such as Judge William and Sir Deborah, but we've got ways of staying in contact. A few SUndays ago I actually preached there! It was the saturday when i was asked, yes i know, i was given a load of time to prepare! and sure enough, the next day i preached at 5am uk time, 8 here in the UK for 30 mins. It was such a weird experience but I know GOd was with me and helped me because otherwise it could've been quite a disaster but i know God gave me the right words to say.
As of late, a few events have cropped up which are worth a mention, our 2 month anniversary in Gombe, which we decided to spend in Kibibi! World food day, which was so TIA because there was no wordly foods and we ended up dancing in front of the whole of Gombe and being given money for it! I'm not sure how legitimate that is but that was the easiest 5,000/= i ever earnt! We now have started inviting teachers over for dinner parties where we cook and entertain them. First dinner party we cooked Matoke, Cassava (Of which i'm delighted to say we can cook and learning how to cook them was just so pleasing and satisfying because they use the whole of a banana tree to create this matoke at the end of it which is so resourceful!) and g.nut sauce and after we went to watch the football. One guy turned up in his sunday best, the other turned up in shorts and a man utd polo shirt! What a contrast, the awjwardness when they saw each other was just hilarious! We've finally bought bedsheets and pillows for our bed after 2 months of a foam matress and a make-shift pillow of trousers and jumpers. At the most recent market, we decided to buy Sam and Nelson (the two boys aged 7 and 9 we live with) some t-shirts. So we searched the market and ended up with a cookie monster t-shirt and a thomas cook football camp t-shirt! So funny to watch them wear it. You find allsorts of t-shirts passed on from charities here in the UK. Even i've bought a soft Heart fundation London to Brighton bike ride jumper!
At school were now mixing things up a bit, we've started taking Music lessons with them and so far we've half successfully taught them "in the jungle" and "oh when the saints" which is really quite fun to hear but the beat of the drum just sends the kids nuts and they go wild! Also now, we're doing conversational english days with the students so no a group of 5 or 6 students come in for 20 minutes and practice their english speaking, it's so much more beneficial for the students and we already notice a difference.
One interesting point of observational which I thought i'd share is the cost of living, every so often me and kieran go out to GOmbe and buy street food, we realised we could have an all you can eat for about 2 quid. It's ridiculous. Chapattis cost 3p, pancakes cost half a pence (allbeit uganda banana pancakes), Pilau rice 15p, meat on a stick 15p, fish 15p, drinks 5p... you get the jist, the only thing we've worked out is the same cost proportionally is a cup of tea!
On tuesday we celebrated Idi day and for the first time since we got here we had meat every meal! It was incredible, we went to the first school management committee which discussed a few important issues and we also played in a local football game in front of the whole of Gombe (Gombe 1 Kayenje 2). They loved seing the muzungus play and it was my shot/set up which led to us scoring the winning goal in the game which made me feel good. We only played one other game since but that's not worth mentioning since we got owned 4-1!
Yesterday, we went White water rafting.... That was quite incredible if I must say so. 8 in a raft inc the instructor and 5m high waves. We did a series of 12 rapids from grade 3 to grade V (5) which was just... wow! We flipped over once and I fell out once and it was so surreal being submerged in the waves, at the whim of the rapids, not knowing when you would surface or where.... It sounds dangerous but it isn't with th safety they had and the lifejackets you wore... It was just so thrilling to have the waves crashing against you, having no protection from the incoming crashes of waves. It was one of the most thrilling and exhilerating experiences of my life.... Best travelling experience yet by far. AND to top it all of, afterwards there was an all you can eat buffet! For those of you that know me well, you will know fine well the best part of the day was the buffet haha! Great food, best meal in Uganda yet (p.s. I also tried my first pizza in kampala on thurs which was really nice as a treat but i didn't miss it as much as i thought i would, the pizzas aren't the same here).
All in all it's been a very eventful month or so. Next week, terms ends and our visas expire so most of the volunteers are heading off to Rwanda for a week in December before travelling around western Uganda and home at the Project for Christmas and New Year in Kampala! (We went to our first nightclub on thursday as well which was so surreal because it was no different at all to a normal one, except cheaper and less white people and older music) and we ended up getting back at 3 30 in the morning, knowing we had to be up for 6 am to go rafting the next day! (We spent about 7-8 hours actually rafting so that made it good value for money).
All in all, I'm loving it here, I'll update my blog sometime in the holidays when I get enough time, I enjoy every second, see my 2nd blog and write to me! I can usually respond to you within a week. I really have fallen in love with the African culture and I feel lik my own man with so much independence, making my own choices (good ones so far!) and really living life to the full. Thank you for reading this and thank you to everyone that is praying for me, your prayers have certainly helped me.
Take care and God bless
Shaun x
- comments