I wake up anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30 and either go for a
nice run or begin to make breakfast. I go running early now because it is
cooler and there are not tons of people. My runs consist of small village dirt
roads and amazing views of trees and the tallest mountain in Uganda! If I did
not boil water the night before and put it in a thermos, I boil up some water
and add it to quick oats and into my French press. Yes I can find peanut butter
to add in, yes I have cinnamon, yes there is fresh coffee right from Uganda,
and yes sometimes I get milk but I am also learning to drink it black…woah!
After a long and exaggerated meal, I wash my dishes (either in a bucket or in
my all-purpose bathroom sink), I take a cold shower, and do what I need to do.
If it is a clothes washing day, I soak the clothes with some powder detergent
and then handwash everything and line dry it. It is actually pretty cool!
During the day I either meet people in the village, walk to the closest trading
center to buy produce and such, lay around and do nothing, or go to town.
So traveling is the most interesting part of my days. I live
off of the major road that connects Kenya-Uganda-Sudan; that means it is really
busy with huge trucks and probably the worst road I have ever seen in my life.
There are monster pot holes I can lay in everywhere! But, there is also a lot
of opportunity to meet people. I am about a 15 minute ride to my town, Tororo,
and an hour ride to Mbale, which is a much larger town where I can find lattes!.
Also, I am only an hour and a half from Jinja, the source of the Nile and
“mini-America.” Ok so boda boda—motorcycles—are everywhere here and most
peoples’ source of travel. However, they are dangerous so we are not allowed to
use them. Instead we use taxi vans called Matatus. They comfortably seat 15,
but since personal space does not exist, they usually have 20+. They are always
an adventure and you never know what is going to happen while on the road.
At night I exercise a little, usually yoga (I might
unintentionally be becoming a yoga instructor because I get tons of watchers
who join in), and then begin the process of making dinner. Until I can get a
gas tank for my stove, we use either a charcoal stove (sigiri) or a
wood-burning stove. With the help of some kerosene, you light it up and play
this dance of trying to keep it lit/hot while also preparing your meal.
Depending on what I am making, it can take hours haha. Luckily, I brought a lot
of spices and you can find almost any kind of food, so the meals are really
tasty. I am saddest about there being no broccoli, but I intend on planting
some! It is more dishes time, another shower, I boil up some drinking water to
cool overnight, and then some reading or movie watching before going to bed. I
am usually asleep by 9:30 or 10, crazy!
Every day is usually a little different and there is a ton
of downtime that I spend reading, making my house a home, or watching the farm
animals in my front yard do their thing (no I am not crazy, but it surprisingly
replaces TV.) We have a really feisty female cow that does whatever she wants.
The house is really coming along and I am quite excited for it. There is room
for visitors! And my host dad is a carpenter so he built me a gorgeous full
sized bed that needs extra bodies =). I am still loving life here; it is so
relaxed and so green, no mad crazy rush. But I do get a little homesick each
day. Mostly, I can’t wait to start working with the kiddies!
