Visiting

This weekend Bry'Chell and I went visiting. One of Bry'Chell's classmates, Joan has been asking us to visit her home. Several times it just didn't work out, but this weekend I was determined that we would get this visit done.

On Friday, I had met Joan's father. He works at a small stand that sell pork. We're talking fresh pork, like straight from the pig who was walking around this morning. I bought some pork. This was the first time I've bought local meat, except for what I buy from Stanray, the chicken guy.

The guy at the stand had this big hunk of meat hanging from a hook. He hacked off a piece with his machete and weighed it on a banana leaf. Once it balanced with the one kilo weight, I had my meat. The other customers received theirs wrapped in banana leaves tied with piece of dried vine. Mine was put in a plastic bag. I think it was in deference to my Muzungu status. I would have been happy with the banana leaves. At least they're biodegradable.

I brought it home and really had no idea what to do with it. Fortunately, Sr. Cecilia came by for some help with something she was writing. She told me how to cook it. First, cut off the skin, cut it up and fry it in the skillet. After that, put it in the oven and cook it some more. I figured for pork that was a good idea. The more it's cooked, the safer it is. Especially since there was no refrigeration anywhere in the process.

Surprisingly enough, it was really good. I was hoping to have enough left over to use it in fried rice, but Bry'Chell polished it off.

I confirmed that Joan would come and get us at 2 PM on Saturday. She came at four, because she had to go see her grandmother. We went anyway. It was a longer walk than I had anticipated, but that was fine because I wanted the exercise.

Unlike most Saturdays, I had put on a skirt since I know that when you go to visit, you wear your good clothes. During the week I wear skirts, but on the weekends I tend toward pants. However, the people in the countryside can't quite deal with sister in pants--actually, they can't deal with women in pants, although exceptions are made for foreigners. Although women on campus wear pants, it's rare for women to wear pants in the villages.

We arrived to this small house house built of local bricks with a corrugated steel roof. Joan's mother invited us in and we sat on the two low stools that were the only place to sit except for the woven mat on the dirt floor. The house had no electricity and no plumbing. It was small, but clean and neat. Joan's father was at work, so we didn't see him.

I knew we would be offered food and I knew it would be rude to refuse it. I had discussed this with Bry'Chell beforehand who told me that she wasn't going to eat, but when we were served food, she could see that we could not refuse. We were served rice with a soup-type sauce made of tomatoes and green peppers. Since they don't grow rice, the rice was a luxury.

We were also served jack fruit. I don't know how to explain jack fruit. It grows in these large thorny-looking pods in very large trees. You open them up and the jack fruit is inside, but it's buried in this other pulpy stuff that's not edible. We were given tea to drink. I was glad because we couldn't drink the water unless it was boiled and I knew the water for the tea had been boiled. We were given English Breakfast tea, but Joan and her mom drank a tea made of local leaves steeped in water.

Joan's mother didn't really speak English, so Joan translated. Joan's English isn't the best, but it's way better than my Luganda which is non-existent.

Strange as it might sound, it was fun. The company was pleasant and the food, simple as it was, was good. I took a few pictures before we left. I printed them out and will send them with Bry'Chell to give to Joan and her family.

Joan walked us back a different way than we had come. She wanted to show us the bricks her 6th grade brother was making and the crops her family had in the fields. Although they have almost no cash, they are pretty self-sufficient. They grow bananas, maize (corn), jack fruit, beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, coffee (to sell), peanuts and sweet potatoes. They probably grow more, but that's what I could see.

Today, we went to the Equator with Sr. Marie Ester for a fruit smoothie and wraps. It's a bit of a treat for both of us. Bry'Chell took a book so she wouldn't be bored with the adult conversation.

We got a ride down in a pick-up truck and were going to catch a taxi back, but couldn't find one, so Marie Ester took a boda-boda and Bry'Chell and I walked. We were about halfway home when we ran into Marie, the girl who sells bananas, and her mother. They invited us to their house. Although I hadn't planned on doing any more visiting, we could both tell this meant a lot to them, so we went. Again, it was a longer walk than I anticipated, but walking isn't going to hurt us, so we went. Because our visit wasn't anticipated, we didn't have to eat, but they did insist on sending us home with some lemons and a mango. They tried to give us more stuff, but everyone has been giving us bananas, so we really couldn't take any more.

Marie's house was even more simple than Joan's. Where Joan's was brick, Marie's was mud plaster, more the traditional type house still used by the poorest families. I'm not sure who all lives in Marie's house, but in addition to her mother, we met her aunt and older sister, Joyce. The aunt was sick. She was laying on a mat outside. Around here, you don't lay in bed unless you're really sick. So she was really sick.

We didn't stay very long. It was getting late and I wanted to get home before it got dark. We stayed long enough to make some small talk and be stared at by all the neighborhood kids.

All this visiting made for a pretty full weekend.