June 29, 2010
Today my feat was not feeling ill after any meal. it's been at least a week since i could say that.
my week in kenya was so magical and yet i am consumed with my memories of feeling so sick. i don't even think i can conjure up the many thoughts i had, which is disappointing because the wildlife and good company was unsurpassed. 16 lions - 13 cubs with 3 moms. if i could only find the words to explain how my heart was full...
i was cared for by my guide and the people at the camp in ways i don't even know. in and out of sleep i'd find a plate of food with someone encouraging me to eat. i'd have a few bites, fall back into deep sleep, be awoken with a plate of fruit and a friend asking questions and trying to translate the mumbles and hand gestures coming from my sad pile of blankets and pillows. i understand how people die from malaria. or whatever parasite that was. it was the first time in years i couldn't help myself even if i wanted to and when i stood up i was lighter than myself, sort of floating in a blur. i felt closer to being an angel than i did a human. or a soul, is what i should say. my soul was who i was. i was lucky not to fall over because my legs were soft and i was disorientated.
my days since have brought me to amsterdam where i am staying in a luxury room booked on points. the first thing i did was take a hot bubble bath and i slept about 28 hours last night. outside of that - i'm in amsterdam... life is ridiculously perfect. wake, walk around, love the little canals and people on bikes, walk, people watch, cobblestones under foot, sit outside of a small cafe and have a mineral water, watch, walk again, observe the many bikes that go by and the interesting people on top of them, pop into coffee shop, chill and be chatted up by young stoner boys and rastas, walk. sit outside, eat thai food. walk. stop and have a heineken. read. walk. repeat. i have 3 days to do this and can't be happier. so many tiny little alleys and canals to cover - HEAVEN.
Today I weighed myself three times. The first time put me 10 pounds under what I was in Uganda. The second, 7 under. The third, 5 under. My body perception has been one of the more interesting things for me on this trip. For over a month I didn't have a full-length mirror and only looked in a tiny compact mirror once every couple days. I have never felt as confident as I did those days. I was active and in the sun and nature and felt I shed pounds, had been blessed with good hair all of a sudden and looked fit. I've had a difficult few years and haven't felt fit or thin in a very long time. In fact I have been stupid critical during this time. But I feel different. I feel fit, good.
Funny enough when I had my first look in a mirror after over a month I looked like I did the last time I saw myself, and not the little twig I was making myself in mind. Not the perfectly messy 'do' I expected. I was the same Suzi I was months ago.
I've learned from this. What a fucking lesson. When you know how critical you are of yourself, can you change it? The view comes through your eyes, not a mirror, doesn't it?
My last note has to address the sunset. As I've been on the equator for a month I am conditioned to expect the sun to set at 6 or 7. The sun in Amsterdam during the summer sets around 11. It took me a day and a lot of confusion to figure this out. Viva LIGHT!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Malaria
If I could define malaria it would go something like this.
Malaria, n. (fucker): a demon that is inserted into your veins by an evil mosquito. Said demon will take over for a full 7-hour night and eject every drop of liquid and solid possible out of your body, leaving you shaking, dizzy and sweating.
Synonyms: beastly, calamitous, corrupt, damnable, depraved, destructive, disastrous, execrable, flagitious, foul, harmful, hateful, heinous, hideous, iniquitous, injurious, loathsome, low, maleficent, malevolent, malicious, malignant, nefarious, no good, obscene, offensive, pernicious, poison, rancorous, reprobate, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, spiteful, stinking, ugly, unpleasant, unpropitious, vicious, vile, villainous, wicked, wrathful, wrong
i threw up over 25 times my bad night. quite honestly i don't believe it was malaria. i think it was a parasite but not malaria. but i spent 5 hours on a table in the clinic getting pumped fluids and meds intravenously and the doctor there said so. i have been disagreeing for days but in any case it totally sucked. my waistline is happier.
Malaria, n. (fucker): a demon that is inserted into your veins by an evil mosquito. Said demon will take over for a full 7-hour night and eject every drop of liquid and solid possible out of your body, leaving you shaking, dizzy and sweating.
Synonyms: beastly, calamitous, corrupt, damnable, depraved, destructive, disastrous, execrable, flagitious, foul, harmful, hateful, heinous, hideous, iniquitous, injurious, loathsome, low, maleficent, malevolent, malicious, malignant, nefarious, no good, obscene, offensive, pernicious, poison, rancorous, reprobate, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, spiteful, stinking, ugly, unpleasant, unpropitious, vicious, vile, villainous, wicked, wrathful, wrong
i threw up over 25 times my bad night. quite honestly i don't believe it was malaria. i think it was a parasite but not malaria. but i spent 5 hours on a table in the clinic getting pumped fluids and meds intravenously and the doctor there said so. i have been disagreeing for days but in any case it totally sucked. my waistline is happier.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
June 21, 2010
“When you leave make sure you lock the tent because there are monkeys and they will come in.” This was what I was told when I arrived here today in Amboseli, Kenya. I flew out of Kampala at 5 this morning and was scooped up at the airport (by a tour guide waiting at baggage claim holding my name… I love that, it makes me feel important…) and driven southeast of Nairobi about 3 hours, again in a safari van that felt every bump on the sometimes paved/most of the time not/corrugated gravel roads. Nairobi is much more developed than Kampala was and there were some stretches of the road that were actually like US-standard roads - the first I’ve seen in East Africa.
My last days in Kampala went too quickly. As the end grew nearer the guys in the house started asking when I’d be back. Besides Justin there are 2 men - Anthon and Michael - who work as staff and guard the home, clean and make dinner. And then Brian was there a lot too. I felt really sad leaving them. They started to feel like family to me. Brian with his crazy outbursts of energy and dancing, Anthon with his respectful and shy presence always checking on me, Michael with his huge smile and cute laugh, and Justin, my fellow former San Franciscan, changing the world and hunting for a good woman. They kept me entertained and safe. I grew to love them.
Michael came to Kampala with Justin 2 years ago. Prior to that he was his security at his home in Mbale. He is going to vocational school for auto-mechanics and studies harder than ever saw any American. He is born and raised in Uganda - in Mbale I think. He shared a lot of stories with me, and there’s one that is now imprinted in my memory.
To understand this I must mention that crime in Uganda is very low, and this is mostly because even petty crime is not tolerated. For example, if you steal anything - a bottle of soda, a pack of gum even - they can kill you for it. And they will!
Michael told me about a guy in Mbale who stole a bora bora (taxi motorbike). They chased him down and beat him up. Then they tied his arms behind him and forced him to drink gasoline. When they were done they poured the rest over him and set him on fire. He said this laughing. He’s seen this with his own eyes, more than once. That still disturbs me so much, this image. It’s no surprise crime remains low.
There are a lot of things, besides the boys, that I will miss about Uganda . Here are some, in no particular order:
... Power outages. We had them a few times a week and would light all the candles in the house and proceed as if nothing changed. I adore living by candlelight and seriously think I could live that way forever as long as I could have 1 outlet to charge my ipod and laptop.
... Bare feet. I personally like flip-flops but there is something about people walking on the roads barefoot that feels so primitive and natural.
... Sleeping under a mosquito net. You have to put the net down every night to refuse the mosquitoes (aka ’Mozzies,’ my personal favorite nickname) their favorite amusement, buzzing in your ears while you sleep. It also protects you from Malaria. I quite like being in my little netted cocoon. It reminds me of being little and making forts with couch cushions and blankets.
... Roosters. There were 2 of these fuckers living on each side of my bed, it seemed. Every morning they’d rooster back and forth as soon as the sun started coming up. Despite my ‘no killing animals’ rule I seriously thought about killing those fuckers. Funny enough, by my last week there, I grew to like the sound and be able to sleep despite them.
... BAAAAAAA. There was a sheep right outside our gate that sounded literally like one of my friends playing a joke on me and very poorly imitating a sheer and yelling BAAAAAA.. I think I laughed every time I heard it, which was maybe up to 50 times a day.
... Walking through the shower to get to the toilet. So was the setup in my house. You’d open the bathroom door and to your right would be a showerhead and knobs, directly in front was a shower curtain, and behind the curtain a toilet.
... In-home full-body massage: $10 (no happy ending, thankyouverymuch), includes story about how massage therapist's dad was a successful businessman and had 32 wives.
... Peeing in a hole. Public bathrooms outside of the nice restaurants and bars have just a hole in the floor. It turns out I am a master shooter.
... Potholes. I will miss the absurdity and continuous bumps that were part of every car ride.
... Waiving, smiling kids. Although at times I felt a “Miss America Complex,” one of my favorite things was running in my neighborhood past the many, many little kids who would see me and run towards the road, smiling big and waving, yelling “Mozungu!!!!” During my 30 minute runs I think I’d smile and wave to a group of children at least 50 times. I’d wonder who the hell I think I am running through their neighborhood, smiling and waving like I was my own little parade. Hence, Miss America. But their smiles were so big and genuine that I didn’t care if I looked like I should be in a prom gown in the back of a convertible. I smiled big and waved and carried on, each little group of kid making me even more content.
... Cows and goats. I really like living in harmony with the free-range farm animals that sit in the middle of the road and just stare at you when you want to get by.
And so tonight I am out of Uganda, out of the city, and laying a bed in candlelight, under my mozzie net, surrounded my a canvas tent and beyond that a symphony of crickets listening to some jackals cackles that sound very close, in Kenya. It feels great to be out in the wilderness again and breathing such fresh air.
“When you leave make sure you lock the tent because there are monkeys and they will come in.” This was what I was told when I arrived here today in Amboseli, Kenya. I flew out of Kampala at 5 this morning and was scooped up at the airport (by a tour guide waiting at baggage claim holding my name… I love that, it makes me feel important…) and driven southeast of Nairobi about 3 hours, again in a safari van that felt every bump on the sometimes paved/most of the time not/corrugated gravel roads. Nairobi is much more developed than Kampala was and there were some stretches of the road that were actually like US-standard roads - the first I’ve seen in East Africa.
My last days in Kampala went too quickly. As the end grew nearer the guys in the house started asking when I’d be back. Besides Justin there are 2 men - Anthon and Michael - who work as staff and guard the home, clean and make dinner. And then Brian was there a lot too. I felt really sad leaving them. They started to feel like family to me. Brian with his crazy outbursts of energy and dancing, Anthon with his respectful and shy presence always checking on me, Michael with his huge smile and cute laugh, and Justin, my fellow former San Franciscan, changing the world and hunting for a good woman. They kept me entertained and safe. I grew to love them.
Michael came to Kampala with Justin 2 years ago. Prior to that he was his security at his home in Mbale. He is going to vocational school for auto-mechanics and studies harder than ever saw any American. He is born and raised in Uganda - in Mbale I think. He shared a lot of stories with me, and there’s one that is now imprinted in my memory.
To understand this I must mention that crime in Uganda is very low, and this is mostly because even petty crime is not tolerated. For example, if you steal anything - a bottle of soda, a pack of gum even - they can kill you for it. And they will!
Michael told me about a guy in Mbale who stole a bora bora (taxi motorbike). They chased him down and beat him up. Then they tied his arms behind him and forced him to drink gasoline. When they were done they poured the rest over him and set him on fire. He said this laughing. He’s seen this with his own eyes, more than once. That still disturbs me so much, this image. It’s no surprise crime remains low.
There are a lot of things, besides the boys, that I will miss about Uganda . Here are some, in no particular order:
... Power outages. We had them a few times a week and would light all the candles in the house and proceed as if nothing changed. I adore living by candlelight and seriously think I could live that way forever as long as I could have 1 outlet to charge my ipod and laptop.
... Bare feet. I personally like flip-flops but there is something about people walking on the roads barefoot that feels so primitive and natural.
... Sleeping under a mosquito net. You have to put the net down every night to refuse the mosquitoes (aka ’Mozzies,’ my personal favorite nickname) their favorite amusement, buzzing in your ears while you sleep. It also protects you from Malaria. I quite like being in my little netted cocoon. It reminds me of being little and making forts with couch cushions and blankets.
... Roosters. There were 2 of these fuckers living on each side of my bed, it seemed. Every morning they’d rooster back and forth as soon as the sun started coming up. Despite my ‘no killing animals’ rule I seriously thought about killing those fuckers. Funny enough, by my last week there, I grew to like the sound and be able to sleep despite them.
... BAAAAAAA. There was a sheep right outside our gate that sounded literally like one of my friends playing a joke on me and very poorly imitating a sheer and yelling BAAAAAA.. I think I laughed every time I heard it, which was maybe up to 50 times a day.
... Walking through the shower to get to the toilet. So was the setup in my house. You’d open the bathroom door and to your right would be a showerhead and knobs, directly in front was a shower curtain, and behind the curtain a toilet.
... In-home full-body massage: $10 (no happy ending, thankyouverymuch), includes story about how massage therapist's dad was a successful businessman and had 32 wives.
... Peeing in a hole. Public bathrooms outside of the nice restaurants and bars have just a hole in the floor. It turns out I am a master shooter.
... Potholes. I will miss the absurdity and continuous bumps that were part of every car ride.
... Waiving, smiling kids. Although at times I felt a “Miss America Complex,” one of my favorite things was running in my neighborhood past the many, many little kids who would see me and run towards the road, smiling big and waving, yelling “Mozungu!!!!” During my 30 minute runs I think I’d smile and wave to a group of children at least 50 times. I’d wonder who the hell I think I am running through their neighborhood, smiling and waving like I was my own little parade. Hence, Miss America. But their smiles were so big and genuine that I didn’t care if I looked like I should be in a prom gown in the back of a convertible. I smiled big and waved and carried on, each little group of kid making me even more content.
... Cows and goats. I really like living in harmony with the free-range farm animals that sit in the middle of the road and just stare at you when you want to get by.
And so tonight I am out of Uganda, out of the city, and laying a bed in candlelight, under my mozzie net, surrounded my a canvas tent and beyond that a symphony of crickets listening to some jackals cackles that sound very close, in Kenya. It feels great to be out in the wilderness again and breathing such fresh air.
Monday, June 14, 2010
June 14, 2010
Where to start? So much has been going on. I’ve just returned from a 5-day safari trip to western Uganda. We went to track the mountain gorillas, of which there are only around 700 left. They are in Bwindi National Park, about 7 hours from Kampala. We had a great tour guide - Dominic - who drove us and set everything up for us… which was really important because driving ourselves there would have been painful. Uganda roads suck. I thought it was just Kampala but it really appears to be the whole country. Despite Bwindi being one of the biggest tourist attractions in Uganda the road to get there is a dirt road that seems to never be maintained, so there are huge holes and washed away areas. You have to have a 4-wheel drive to get through it and it’s seriously like backroading. I think I got whiplash. This lasted HOURS!
We had a group of 8 to go track the gorillas. The professional trackers go out an hour before we’re set to leave and go to the area the gorillas were yesterday, then follow tracks and flattened bush to follow the direction they moved since the day before. They only move about 1km a day so it’s not hard to find them. Then the radio the GPS to us and we head in. The most strenuous circumstance - and yet my favorite part of it - is that we are not following a blazed path. We are trekking through the think rainforest and having to blaze our own trail. This meant a lot of falling and trees whipping us in the face and climbing steep terrain.
Man was it worth it. We were within 15 feet of the gorillas and they were HUGE!! They didn’t even pay attention to us but they knew we were right there. There is a part of me that feels awkward about stalking and gawking them in their natural habitat when they seem incredibly used to it. I realize the fees they get for guiding these treks are used to protect the existing population and conserve the environment and protection of the animals, but no wild animal should feel that comfortable in a human’s presence unless they are specifically being used for research purposes. What if a poacher treks in? They wouldn’t even run. Anyway, I am torn about the availability of these gorillas despite enjoying their brilliance. To look at their facial expressions, hands, feet, habits - they are so close to ours. I love science. It seriously bewilders me to think there’s still a question in anyone’s mind around the history of evolution.
In all we saw 5 or 6 mountain gorillas, 2 of them being babies and 1 a silverback (the dominant male, called silverback for the grey/silver hairs it develops as an adult male on its back). We watched a female try to climb a tree where one of the non-dominant males was, and the dominant silverback came running over grunting, basically saying no - that aint gonna happen! The female was obedient and came down right away. We found out the day before the dominant silverback was fighting hard with one of the other silverbacks because he was trying to ‘make nice’ with one of the younger males. Yes, that’s right - even gorillas can be gay!! Evolution, baby.
After visiting Bwindi we stayed in a local village and were drawn from our room to follow the sounds of drumming and singing. It was coming from an orphanage close-by, and we sat and watched these 50 or so beautiful children performing songs and dance. They were so cute it melted my heart. Even the littlest had soul and it seemed like it all came so natural to them. There high little voices echoed through the nearby valley and their smiles radiated my soul. They had art that all the children had done laid out, and we were able to meet the artists for each thing we bought. I hugged a little boy named Joseph who painted a gorilla on canvas that I bought, and he clutched onto me and hugged me so tight. Don’t worry, mom, I didn’t take him home. I seriously thought about it, though!
Our next 2 days were spent in Queen Elizabeth National Park where we did game drives and a boating trip. We saw a bunch of elephants, antelope, birds, hippos, buffalos and lots of monkeys. The hotel we stayed in one night - Jacana Safari Lodge - had as many monkeys in the trees as we have squirrels back home. Having never seen monkeys in the wild I was astonished, again, by their resemblance to humans. I seriously want a monkey… despite the fact that one of ones I stalked tried to pee on me from the tree.
Our last night in Queen Elizabeth was spent watching the US vs. England in the World Cup and I was sick with a fever and horrible sinus problems, but it made me feel a closeness to my friends and family back home that made me reminisce about past times and feel a bit homesick. I’ve only been out of the country for 2 months but it feels like much longer. That said I feel like I’ve only chipped the iceberg of the travel I need to do. I’ve decided to spend this week in Kampala recovering. I still am fighting this cold/flu thing. Next week I’ll head over to Kenya to do a 6- or 7-day safari, visiting Masu Mara and the Serengeti in Tasmania. After being out of the city for a few days I’ve realized what I learned in Botswana - that the more desolate a place I am in.. the closer to nature I am… the happier and soul-filled I feel. This makes me seriously consider whether I want to spend the next 5 months in Barcelona and am considering now spending 3 months there and then finding someplace in the countryside to stay a while. It sounds silly but seeing farm animals all over the place really makes me want to have a farm with a little animal sanctuary on it. Some pet goats, pigs, chickens, cows…
I am still trying to capture the chaos in Kampala in photos but a picture just doesn’t seize it. The cars and motorcycles fighting for space on the small, pothole-filled roads that are encircled by tiny tin-roof covered shacks - all selling CRAP like batteries and airtime - and the half-naked, barefoot children playing on the side of the road everywhere and waving and smiling excitedly at you in your car. It’s a sight to be seen. The smells of diesel fumes, the sounds of horns honking, the smell of garbage burning, the seemingly infinite number of hair weaving shops, the packs of boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) waiting on street corners, the potholes, the women with babies strapped to their backs with colorful fabrics carrying huge items on their heads…
The American Embassy sits atop a large hill in the city and from it you can see a village that is clearly poorer than its surroundings. I came to understand these are the slums and had Justin put me in touch with a remarkable man, Moshen, who runs a free school for the kids living in these slums. Last week I spent 2 days over there. The first I taught an English class to kids around 13. I really have no business trying to teach. I had no idea how to, but Moshen helped me along and eventually I connected with the kids and found fun ways to engage them. The second day I helped the older kids make jewelry. As this NGO is funded mostly by donations, Moshen wants to make sure the kids don’t feel like they are being given money. He wants them to learn they have to earn things. So the kids make jewelry after school and sell it to the craft market. This is how they raise a lot of the money to keep it running. I love what they’re doing. Parents here have to pay for their kids to go to any school, which just keeps the poverty continuing generation after generation. For parents who are not educated and very poor they can’t/won’t pay for their kids to go to school. Understandable, I think. So they can enroll their kids in this program if they can’t afford it but want their kids to get a formal education and vocational training.
The school is located behind a maze of narrow dirt roads that are littered with tiny shacks, kids and chickens. It’s an area about 30 feet by 60 feet, separated by 6-foot plywood walls painted with images of elephants, Bob Marley, birds, a map of Uganda, etc, into 4 classrooms. The walls start about 2 feet from the ground and there is open air below and above them, so it’s very loud and hard to keep focus on what’s happening in your small classroom. They have a bathroom in the back, which is a new addition, but it’s all you smell. The smells of horrid feces fills the air and the lungs of the kids and they don’t even notice. As an outsider it’s all I notice. The stench is overshadowed by the privilege these kids have to actually have a small concrete room with a hole in the floor. If this doesn’t make you feel fortunate, yet powerless, nothing will.
It would be great to see more of these schools open and even better if I could find a way to help Moshen in his mission. This is a feeling I seem to be experiencing a lot here. I want to help but have no idea where to start or how to. Even more, it’s not a small task that I could give a little and walk away from. They need ongoing help and dedication. And there are hundreds of groups doing similarly extraordinary things. How to help, who to help… I’m immobile trying to find my place in all of it. For years I could have thrown money at these organizations but being unemployed and on a tight budget I just can’t right now. Or can I (says my soul)? All I have now is time to offer, and that is what I can give. I still just have an overwhelming feeling that I can do more. Suggestions welcome!
Where to start? So much has been going on. I’ve just returned from a 5-day safari trip to western Uganda. We went to track the mountain gorillas, of which there are only around 700 left. They are in Bwindi National Park, about 7 hours from Kampala. We had a great tour guide - Dominic - who drove us and set everything up for us… which was really important because driving ourselves there would have been painful. Uganda roads suck. I thought it was just Kampala but it really appears to be the whole country. Despite Bwindi being one of the biggest tourist attractions in Uganda the road to get there is a dirt road that seems to never be maintained, so there are huge holes and washed away areas. You have to have a 4-wheel drive to get through it and it’s seriously like backroading. I think I got whiplash. This lasted HOURS!
We had a group of 8 to go track the gorillas. The professional trackers go out an hour before we’re set to leave and go to the area the gorillas were yesterday, then follow tracks and flattened bush to follow the direction they moved since the day before. They only move about 1km a day so it’s not hard to find them. Then the radio the GPS to us and we head in. The most strenuous circumstance - and yet my favorite part of it - is that we are not following a blazed path. We are trekking through the think rainforest and having to blaze our own trail. This meant a lot of falling and trees whipping us in the face and climbing steep terrain.
Man was it worth it. We were within 15 feet of the gorillas and they were HUGE!! They didn’t even pay attention to us but they knew we were right there. There is a part of me that feels awkward about stalking and gawking them in their natural habitat when they seem incredibly used to it. I realize the fees they get for guiding these treks are used to protect the existing population and conserve the environment and protection of the animals, but no wild animal should feel that comfortable in a human’s presence unless they are specifically being used for research purposes. What if a poacher treks in? They wouldn’t even run. Anyway, I am torn about the availability of these gorillas despite enjoying their brilliance. To look at their facial expressions, hands, feet, habits - they are so close to ours. I love science. It seriously bewilders me to think there’s still a question in anyone’s mind around the history of evolution.
In all we saw 5 or 6 mountain gorillas, 2 of them being babies and 1 a silverback (the dominant male, called silverback for the grey/silver hairs it develops as an adult male on its back). We watched a female try to climb a tree where one of the non-dominant males was, and the dominant silverback came running over grunting, basically saying no - that aint gonna happen! The female was obedient and came down right away. We found out the day before the dominant silverback was fighting hard with one of the other silverbacks because he was trying to ‘make nice’ with one of the younger males. Yes, that’s right - even gorillas can be gay!! Evolution, baby.
After visiting Bwindi we stayed in a local village and were drawn from our room to follow the sounds of drumming and singing. It was coming from an orphanage close-by, and we sat and watched these 50 or so beautiful children performing songs and dance. They were so cute it melted my heart. Even the littlest had soul and it seemed like it all came so natural to them. There high little voices echoed through the nearby valley and their smiles radiated my soul. They had art that all the children had done laid out, and we were able to meet the artists for each thing we bought. I hugged a little boy named Joseph who painted a gorilla on canvas that I bought, and he clutched onto me and hugged me so tight. Don’t worry, mom, I didn’t take him home. I seriously thought about it, though!
Our next 2 days were spent in Queen Elizabeth National Park where we did game drives and a boating trip. We saw a bunch of elephants, antelope, birds, hippos, buffalos and lots of monkeys. The hotel we stayed in one night - Jacana Safari Lodge - had as many monkeys in the trees as we have squirrels back home. Having never seen monkeys in the wild I was astonished, again, by their resemblance to humans. I seriously want a monkey… despite the fact that one of ones I stalked tried to pee on me from the tree.
Our last night in Queen Elizabeth was spent watching the US vs. England in the World Cup and I was sick with a fever and horrible sinus problems, but it made me feel a closeness to my friends and family back home that made me reminisce about past times and feel a bit homesick. I’ve only been out of the country for 2 months but it feels like much longer. That said I feel like I’ve only chipped the iceberg of the travel I need to do. I’ve decided to spend this week in Kampala recovering. I still am fighting this cold/flu thing. Next week I’ll head over to Kenya to do a 6- or 7-day safari, visiting Masu Mara and the Serengeti in Tasmania. After being out of the city for a few days I’ve realized what I learned in Botswana - that the more desolate a place I am in.. the closer to nature I am… the happier and soul-filled I feel. This makes me seriously consider whether I want to spend the next 5 months in Barcelona and am considering now spending 3 months there and then finding someplace in the countryside to stay a while. It sounds silly but seeing farm animals all over the place really makes me want to have a farm with a little animal sanctuary on it. Some pet goats, pigs, chickens, cows…
I am still trying to capture the chaos in Kampala in photos but a picture just doesn’t seize it. The cars and motorcycles fighting for space on the small, pothole-filled roads that are encircled by tiny tin-roof covered shacks - all selling CRAP like batteries and airtime - and the half-naked, barefoot children playing on the side of the road everywhere and waving and smiling excitedly at you in your car. It’s a sight to be seen. The smells of diesel fumes, the sounds of horns honking, the smell of garbage burning, the seemingly infinite number of hair weaving shops, the packs of boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) waiting on street corners, the potholes, the women with babies strapped to their backs with colorful fabrics carrying huge items on their heads…
The American Embassy sits atop a large hill in the city and from it you can see a village that is clearly poorer than its surroundings. I came to understand these are the slums and had Justin put me in touch with a remarkable man, Moshen, who runs a free school for the kids living in these slums. Last week I spent 2 days over there. The first I taught an English class to kids around 13. I really have no business trying to teach. I had no idea how to, but Moshen helped me along and eventually I connected with the kids and found fun ways to engage them. The second day I helped the older kids make jewelry. As this NGO is funded mostly by donations, Moshen wants to make sure the kids don’t feel like they are being given money. He wants them to learn they have to earn things. So the kids make jewelry after school and sell it to the craft market. This is how they raise a lot of the money to keep it running. I love what they’re doing. Parents here have to pay for their kids to go to any school, which just keeps the poverty continuing generation after generation. For parents who are not educated and very poor they can’t/won’t pay for their kids to go to school. Understandable, I think. So they can enroll their kids in this program if they can’t afford it but want their kids to get a formal education and vocational training.
The school is located behind a maze of narrow dirt roads that are littered with tiny shacks, kids and chickens. It’s an area about 30 feet by 60 feet, separated by 6-foot plywood walls painted with images of elephants, Bob Marley, birds, a map of Uganda, etc, into 4 classrooms. The walls start about 2 feet from the ground and there is open air below and above them, so it’s very loud and hard to keep focus on what’s happening in your small classroom. They have a bathroom in the back, which is a new addition, but it’s all you smell. The smells of horrid feces fills the air and the lungs of the kids and they don’t even notice. As an outsider it’s all I notice. The stench is overshadowed by the privilege these kids have to actually have a small concrete room with a hole in the floor. If this doesn’t make you feel fortunate, yet powerless, nothing will.
It would be great to see more of these schools open and even better if I could find a way to help Moshen in his mission. This is a feeling I seem to be experiencing a lot here. I want to help but have no idea where to start or how to. Even more, it’s not a small task that I could give a little and walk away from. They need ongoing help and dedication. And there are hundreds of groups doing similarly extraordinary things. How to help, who to help… I’m immobile trying to find my place in all of it. For years I could have thrown money at these organizations but being unemployed and on a tight budget I just can’t right now. Or can I (says my soul)? All I have now is time to offer, and that is what I can give. I still just have an overwhelming feeling that I can do more. Suggestions welcome!
Sunday, June 06, 2010
June 5, 2010
my first few days in uganda were odd for me but i think it was just because of the transition. i'm much happier now and am doing really well. it's totally different than botswana and i do prefer botswana but here i am seeing a lot of musicians and artists and breakdancers which is awesome. it is too crowded for me too. and the air pollution is outrageous. i have sat still in traffic for over 20 minutes on at least 3 occasions with deathly fumes filling my lungs. there are so many cars and motorbikes, and the motorbikes and cars and people fight for every open space in the road. the bikes also act as taxis - which i would never take - and many times there are 3 people on the bike, with one of them being a baby, and no one wears helmets. somehow everyone does move within each other so it's sort of an organized chaos but i can't figure out how it works. you have to be aggressive but not too much so. they all know the rules but i have yet to figure them out. i'm glad to be a passenger and not a driver!!
aside from the roads it's totally safe here. i haven't felt in danger at all. i don't think the people here are quite as happy as the ones in botswana but i don't see aggression either. the kids here are suuuuper happy and cute. they are everywhere and not usually under supervision or playing with store-bought toys and they are so much happier than kids in the US.
i may go to an orphanage tomorrow or if not tuesday to help teach english. i'm really looking forward to it. the kids i've met have just crowded around me and hugged me and were so sweet. they love white skin. they just keep touching it and asking questions about it. in general people admire the whites here (or 'mozungos' as they call it). it's weird. but i guess it's better than being hated! they love my tattoos too. i haven't seen anyone from uganda with a tattoo so they are really interested in touching it and trying to rub it off.
wednesday we head out to safari through sunday. we're going to see the gorillas, which i am so excited for! there are abotu 700 left living in this forest - bwindi - and they go in early to see where the gorillas are and then you treck in and spend an hour with them. they come right around you. you don't touch them but you just sit in their space as they move around you. i am sooooo excited! these are the last on earth. it's such a rare opportunity. after that we're going to some other wilderness areas to do game drives and staying in rustic hotels. should be great.
i forgot to mention that one other HUGE difference here is the HUMIDITY. i seem to be the only person who even notices it, and it is obvious that i do because i'm constantly dripping with sweat and pulling my shirt to unstick it from my sweaty body. i do not like humidity. at all.
i've been spending lots of time with brian. brian is an 18-yr old from uganda who needed heart surgery to survive last year. he approached justin last year and told him his story, and over time justin was able to get an israeli NGO agree to take him in and do the surgery. justin reached out to all of us and raised money to help with the travel costs and everything. brian stays in justin's house sometimes and is the perfect example of someone full of life. he runs around singing, dancing and laughing and it's just amazing to know he would not be here today had justin not taken him in and helped him out. he calls me aunty. it's really cute.
one bonus to being in a more urban area is there is a lot of food options. in botswana the vegis were scarce and often wilted. here the vegis are everywhere, as are the different ethnic restaurants, and i am in heaven. i've had NY pizza, ethiopian food and mexican food - and after having starches and wilted vegis - which i cooked for myself - for a month... this is heaven! the nicer lodges here also have pools and gyms, so i have taken advantage of both of them but not nearly as much as i should.
the internet as justin's house isn't working so i'm not sure when i'll be able to get back online, but know i am well fed and safe and still learning every day. i would love to share some photos of the mayhem that is the streets of kampala. soon!
my first few days in uganda were odd for me but i think it was just because of the transition. i'm much happier now and am doing really well. it's totally different than botswana and i do prefer botswana but here i am seeing a lot of musicians and artists and breakdancers which is awesome. it is too crowded for me too. and the air pollution is outrageous. i have sat still in traffic for over 20 minutes on at least 3 occasions with deathly fumes filling my lungs. there are so many cars and motorbikes, and the motorbikes and cars and people fight for every open space in the road. the bikes also act as taxis - which i would never take - and many times there are 3 people on the bike, with one of them being a baby, and no one wears helmets. somehow everyone does move within each other so it's sort of an organized chaos but i can't figure out how it works. you have to be aggressive but not too much so. they all know the rules but i have yet to figure them out. i'm glad to be a passenger and not a driver!!
aside from the roads it's totally safe here. i haven't felt in danger at all. i don't think the people here are quite as happy as the ones in botswana but i don't see aggression either. the kids here are suuuuper happy and cute. they are everywhere and not usually under supervision or playing with store-bought toys and they are so much happier than kids in the US.
i may go to an orphanage tomorrow or if not tuesday to help teach english. i'm really looking forward to it. the kids i've met have just crowded around me and hugged me and were so sweet. they love white skin. they just keep touching it and asking questions about it. in general people admire the whites here (or 'mozungos' as they call it). it's weird. but i guess it's better than being hated! they love my tattoos too. i haven't seen anyone from uganda with a tattoo so they are really interested in touching it and trying to rub it off.
wednesday we head out to safari through sunday. we're going to see the gorillas, which i am so excited for! there are abotu 700 left living in this forest - bwindi - and they go in early to see where the gorillas are and then you treck in and spend an hour with them. they come right around you. you don't touch them but you just sit in their space as they move around you. i am sooooo excited! these are the last on earth. it's such a rare opportunity. after that we're going to some other wilderness areas to do game drives and staying in rustic hotels. should be great.
i forgot to mention that one other HUGE difference here is the HUMIDITY. i seem to be the only person who even notices it, and it is obvious that i do because i'm constantly dripping with sweat and pulling my shirt to unstick it from my sweaty body. i do not like humidity. at all.
i've been spending lots of time with brian. brian is an 18-yr old from uganda who needed heart surgery to survive last year. he approached justin last year and told him his story, and over time justin was able to get an israeli NGO agree to take him in and do the surgery. justin reached out to all of us and raised money to help with the travel costs and everything. brian stays in justin's house sometimes and is the perfect example of someone full of life. he runs around singing, dancing and laughing and it's just amazing to know he would not be here today had justin not taken him in and helped him out. he calls me aunty. it's really cute.
one bonus to being in a more urban area is there is a lot of food options. in botswana the vegis were scarce and often wilted. here the vegis are everywhere, as are the different ethnic restaurants, and i am in heaven. i've had NY pizza, ethiopian food and mexican food - and after having starches and wilted vegis - which i cooked for myself - for a month... this is heaven! the nicer lodges here also have pools and gyms, so i have taken advantage of both of them but not nearly as much as i should.
the internet as justin's house isn't working so i'm not sure when i'll be able to get back online, but know i am well fed and safe and still learning every day. i would love to share some photos of the mayhem that is the streets of kampala. soon!
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