Let’s get Physical… or at Least Interactive!

Howdy there folks! Well, there’s a lot going on, and I thought it might be fun to switch it up a bit. I’ve heard from a number of you, asking questions about life in Uganda, inquries about the temperature, what are I’m eating, etc., and that got me thinking… how can I answer all of these questions, not in blog/text form? So, I pondered the idea of doing a video-blog (or vlog, as the young people like to call it) where I’d try to answer any questions you might have. But, in order to do this – I need your help! Over the coming months, feel free to send in questions that relate to my job, life in Kampala, or travels. I’d aim to upload something once a month, and that way you might be able to get a different perspective of what I’m doing – you telling me what you’d like to know about, rather than me guessing. And I might even get to learn something I otherwise wouldn’t along the way! Does that make sense?

So, here’s how it would work… below (as in the bottom of the page, not the post) is an “Email” form. Use this to ask your questions and I will try my best to answer them.

Hope to hear from you soon!

-the Orange Canadian

A Sight that Mosque be Seen

Apologies if a Mosque pun is deemed inappropriate or offensive – it is not my intention and I will change it immediately if that is the case!

As part of our attempt to take in as much of what’s around us as possible, Aaron and I decided to pay a visit to Gaddafi Mosque. This is also known as the National Mosque, and was named after Muammar Gaddafi, who was a key contributor of its construction. Construction was also apparently started by Idi Amin…

We had intended on visiting the Mosque on Saturday, but by the time we’d collected ourselves and were ready to leave, the rains began. On Sunday, our luck changed – for it was rainy in the morning, but cleared up after breakfast, catching up on emails, and doing some light housework.

I have to say, it’s pretty overwhelming pulling up to this magnificent structure. There are mosques scattered all over Kampala, along with the various other buildings where different forms of Christianity and other religions are practised. But, these other mosques are far smaller than this one, but equally elaborate. In fact, there’s one close to where we’re living, and I have come to enjoy waking up to the morning prayers.

Part of the exterior of Gaddafi Mosque. Elaborate and stunning.

Anyway, we were directed to the tourism office, where I was immediately fitted with a skirt and veil. I was totally on board for this, except that I was fitted with the whitest veil of the bunch. I mean, not just because it made it abundantly clear that I was a non-practicing white woman, but also, if it weren’t for the black infinity symbols and sequence decorating the material, it would have made it extremely difficult to determine where my face ended and the veil began. Man, I need a tan…

Photo credit: Aaron Wolf

After getting settled, we were escorted into the main building. Part of the tradition of entering a mosque is removing one’s shoes. A very weird part of me enjoyed the feeling of the cushy carpet beneath my feet. But also, taking in the structure, the detail, the symbolism was overwhelming for my eyes. It was hard to focus on one particular aspect, because it was so easy to get distracted by other details within.

Inside the Mosque.

Our tour allowed us to see both the men’s and women’s prayer halls. The carpet itself was quite impressive in that, the pattern was laid out in such a way that each participant of the service had his or her own space. I was also intrigued to learn that class does not exist within those walls. The example that we were given was that if the President of Uganda happened to be a Muslim and was attending the prayer service, he would not be given a specific or special area, and would, in fact, have to join where space was available amongst the rest of the people in attendance.

A view of the men's prayer hall from the women's.

Next, we grabbed our shoes, made our way outside and began climbing the many, many steps to the top of the tower, or minaret. The purpose of the minaret was to deliver the daily prayers to the masses, before the use of technology made it easier. It was really creepy looking up from the bottom, or down from the top. But, the climb was well worth it, as it provided wonderful views of Kampala. In fact, the Mosque is itself situated on the top of Kampala Hill, which was were the British first settled. But, it was also a main hunting ground for the King of Buganda, who, yep you guessed it, would hunt Impala! History lesson!

The view of the steps looking down from the top of the minaret.

Views of Kampala!

The tour lasted a little under an hour, but made for a nice little Sunday afternoon adventure. Thankfully the sun was shining, which allowed for optimum views and photo opportunities. I’m really looking forward to exploring a few of the other cathedrals while I’m here, and might even look into attending a Friday service at the Mosque. But until then, here’s hoping for a productive week ahead!

-the Orange Canadian

My First Week in the Office... and it Smelled like Bacon?

Okay, so I feel as though the title of this post may have been a bit misleading… my week didn’t actually smell like bacon, nor does my place of employment. However, on my walk to work early on Friday morning, for whatever reason, part of the route had a most welcomed sent of smoked strips of pig fat. What? That’s essentially what bacon is! Mmmmm… bacon.

Anyway, I have trekked my way to work everyday, and back for the most part, walking uphill, both ways, in about 20-25°C temperatures. On the way there isn’t as bad, because it’s broken into two hill climbs, while on the way home, the downward part is far easier than the straight hike up what feels like a never ending mountain. On day one, I had to stop three times, just to make it to the top. By Thursday, I had managed to go the whole way. I’m not really willing to celebrate this feat as of yet, because I haven’t had to climb said hill since.

This week was pretty quiet, which is quite different from what I’m used to work life being. Part of this is because it’s month end, and my co-workers have been working hard to complete all of those end-of-month tasks. Another part of it is that they want to ease me in slowly, which is sweet – but I’m definitely more of a hit-the-ground-running sort of gal. So, it’s a process - and one that I need to recognize as the pitfalls of starting any new job - but the week coming I feel should be a bit more productive, and I'm looking forward to what's ahead. Also, the group that's stuck with me for the next 6 months seem pretty great, so I can only imagine the trouble we'll get into!

That being said, I’ve attended two pretty important events. On Tuesday, I accompanied Gonzaga, the Program Manager, to a round-table discussion on Women’s Land Rights, hosted by the Uganda Land Alliance in partnership with the International Land Coalition. Upon arrival, I felt really intimidated to be in attendance for such a dialogue. But as the discussions began, I became fascinated by how little women were actually apart of it. Not only because there was only one woman who actually added to the conversation (another woman spoke, but just credited the government on the ‘good work’ they were doing), but also the discussion didn’t even begin to touch on the topic at hand. Instead it became a free-for-all government bash. However, I did find it interesting the questions that were asked, such as changing mindsets, capacity building, and government accountability. These are all really good things, but had nothing to do with creating policy to improve gender justice in relation to land use and rights…

Friday was spent at the 5^th Annual Indigenous Food Fair hosted by PELUM (Participatory Ecological Land Use Management). Here I spent the day trying out some of the local foods and listening to speakers from NGOs, academia, and government talking about the importance of soil health, promoting local foods instead of importing from the West, and the need to engage youth. It was during these discussions that I quickly became aware that I was the token* white person, as frequently, whenever the Muzungo was mentioned, everyone looked at me, or I was pointed at when one speaker referred to me as the white lady from the West over there who reaps benefits from the taxes she pays her government, but we do not from our own… Awkward. Of course, it wasn’t that bad – I actually had quite a chuckle over this.

Aside from these discussions, there was an exhibition outdoors, which showcased several small-scale farmers from across the country. Here I learned about some of the struggles afflicting farmers in relation to marketing, production, and climate change. I was also able to see a variety of different foods I hadn’t seen or heard of. By far the ‘oddest’ to me was a bucket, which I thought was filled with fried onions with flies buzzing around in it. But nope! It turns out that it was just a bucket of winged white ants that are consumed with the belief that it will give the person eating them energy and strength. There was some difficulty in translating my attempt to understand how they are served, but either way, I was not able to sample this delicacy. There was also a table of different types of beans in various shapes, sizes and colours, and several varieties of yams, such as my new favourite, purple speckled! I wished I had brought my camera to this event, but have found a similar display of the beans, at least.

 

(Photo Credit: PELUM)

So, while at some points of the week it may have felt slow – such as when the power went out on Thursday, and I convinced the team that it would be ‘the most fun they’d ever have’ helping me organize the very disorganized bookshelf, which in doing so we found a copy of Mama Mia the film… – the two big events I was invited to attend allowed me to gain further insight into the challenges of food production in Uganda. As I come to learn a bit more, I’d like to tackle this in some detail, but for now, I think it’s too soon for me to be able to make a rounded argument/discussion-y thing.

-the Orange Canadian

*Well, not even the token white person, just more so the white person!

A Colourful Weekend…

Happy Election Day, Canada! Of course, I’m writing this at a time when some of you are just getting out of bed… ugh, this time difference thing is really putting a damper on my Election Day enthusiasm! And while most of you will be waking up to the news of who our (new?) Prime Minster will be tomorrow, I will have to wait until mid morning, or later in the day.

Anyway, Aaron and I are settling in nicely. As part of this, we decided to make the most of our first weekend in Kampala. This started by making our first meal – a delicious concoction of rice and veg*. We didn’t anticipate it tasting even remotely as good as it did, so we thought it to be a successful first attempt at cooking in Uganda.

On Saturday, we took our first drive in a matatu (a bus, similar to the trotros I spoke of in Ghana). We went into town a) just to get an idea of where we were and b) in search of the open market. We didn’t stay for very long, but it was good just to walk around for a little bit and attempt to get our bearings. Plus, we bought mangos, which are one of the top 10 reasons to live…

In the afternoon, we made our way back into town, where we met up with Bosco, a friend of a friend, who is studying at one of the local universities. The three of us attended the (wait for it!) football/soccer match between Uganda and Sudan. I know, me voluntary going to a sporting event, and happily must be making a number of you concerned, but I assure you, I’m okay! Uganda won 2-0, and aside from the hot, hot, heat from the sun that was raining down on us, it made for an exciting day! I especially enjoyed the enthusiasm from the Sudanese supporters who didn’t stop cheering on their team from before we entered the stadium (we could hear them while we were outside) until probably long after we entered the taxi park after the game ended! There was also a Uganda supporter dressed as a wizard who was throwing out pieces of sweet potato root**… but he was more creepy than enthusiastic, I suppose!

Sorry, it was really hard to snap a picture of the action, as the sun was directly in front of where were sitting!

But, all cannot be so smooth for an Orange Canadian, particularly when technology is involved. For whatever reason, my phone doesn’t seem to appreciate the beautiful sun Uganda provides us, and has encountered some issues with its ability to work properly. So, on Sunday we made another trip back into town, where Aaron helped me pick out a new phone***, but for which I negotiated down to a fair price, with his council. Afterwards, we encountered a super sketchy sir who claimed to be a legitimate phone service provider. After he became a bit too aggressive when I asked if I could have a receipt for the money I was about to pay him, we both felt something wasn’t right, and we walked away. I ended up getting it all set up on my own after purchasing a SIM card from a seemingly innocent young chap on the side of the road.

On our way back to the taxi park though, I earned a bit more street cred. As we were crossing the road, a man attempted to grab my necklace, but had really bad aim, so instead just gave me a good smack in the chest. The thing is, as much as I would have been heartbroken to lose this gift from my step-dad, I was more afraid for the guy who tried to nab it from me. I mean, at a very fundamental level, he obviously needed whatever money he could have made off of it, far more than I need to wear it proudly around my neck. But, in Uganda, there is a thing called mob justice, in which if the sir had taken my necklace and been caught, he would have been beaten up. And, even though I think there needs to be some disciplinary action for such an act, that is not my way to go about it. Anyway, I am fine. I’m not sharing this to create worry or make anyone think that Uganda is unsafe, because I truly feel safe here, minus the driving styles of the majority of vehicle operators. I more so just thought this was an interesting tale, particularly since the symbolism of the pendant**** is to keep me safe.

Anyway, we returned back home to no power. But, while we were out, we found a pack of cards. Since the power was out, we proceeded to spend the remainder of the afternoon playing every card game we could think of*****. It still wasn’t on by the time we started making dinner, so we had one epic meal****** by torchlight (aka flashlight), and then put on a movie. It was about halfway through the film when the power came back on, and despite how awful/amazing it was we continued to watch. Kevin Costner – where have you been all my life?

Good luck today, my fellow Canadians – we need it!

- the Orange Canadian

*We’d bought meat the night before, but unfortunately we didn’t have power, and thus, didn’t trust the safety(?) of the meat.

**Apparently this is good for stamina… Bosco asked the man sitting next to us, and he informed him that when we chewed on the root, he could “preform” for up to 4 hours. I think I’ll pass.

***It looks like a chocolate bar… and I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of tempted to make sure it isn’t one.

****It’s St. Christopher, who, amongst other things, is known as the patron saint of safe travels. So… it worked? Scott gave this to me as a graduation gift, in the hopes of its ability to return me safely each time I travel. And – so far, so good.

*****Aaron was reluctant to give in to my demands to play Go Fish, but once he saw my enthusiasm for the game, he was hooked.

******Seriously – we made a tasty Indian curry! It was awesome!