Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to all. Bry'Chell and I will miss being with all of you--or whichever group of you we would have been with this year. While we don't miss the cold and snow, (OK, Bry'Chell just said she misses walking abound the house in thick socks, a big sweatshirt and jeans with a cup of hot chocolate--all without sweating), we do miss family and friends.

December is the warmest or one of the warmest months here. The weather is beautiful, as usual. Campus is quiet as most folks have left for home. Fr. Henry will be arriving this afternoon to take us to his family home for Christmas.

Christmas here is not nearly as commercial as in the United States. Bry'Chell noticed that there are no lights in people's houses. Of course, there is no electricity in most people's houses. People do give gifts, but mostly little things or homemade things and then only to family or maybe a close friend. I'm told a traditional gift to give your mother on Christmas--from a grown child returning home--would be a kilo of sugar, salt, tea and two bars of soap. This would insure that body and clothes would be clean and there would be something to drink with the Christmas meal.

Christmas is more about gathering with family and friends and having a festive meal. Fortunately, we will be sharing in that tradition.

Who is in the Pictures?

Publishing pictures is such an iffy proposition that I wait until they're up before I venture a description. The top picture in the previous blog is Marie with her mother, the lower picture is Joyce, Marie's older sister, who is learning computer.

Marie's mother is wearing the tradition Buganda dress for women. Notice the puffy sleeves. To me the dress looks quasi-Victorian. There is much discussion about its origins. Prior to the British colonization, the women wore bark cloth dresses, but the missionaries thought they were not decent, so they modified the dress to something much more European. The result is what Buganda women wear to this day as their traditional dress.

Joyce Learns Computer

A while back I wrote about Marie, the girl who sells bananas, and about the visit Bry'Chell and I paid to her house. I think I mentioned that her older sister, Joyce, asked if I would teach her how to use the computer during Christmas vacation. I said I would.

Joyce has been coming over to the house the past couple of weeks at about four in the afternoon to learn the computer. The first time she was here it was clear that she had never laid hands on a computer. She put her hands so heavily on the keyboard that it went nuts--a long jumble of letters poured onto the screen.

When I first met Joyce I thought she was about 15 or 16. I've since found out she's 18. She is going into Senior 6, the last year of advanced level high school. She attends Kiayabwe High School. There are no computers there. It's less expensive than St. Mary's where Bry'Chell attends, but not nearly as good a school. I'm realizing more and more that St. Mary's is really quite a good school. I take computers in schools for granted, but here, computers are a luxury. Few schools, even high schools, have them.

Kiayabwe is also further than St. Mary's so Joyce walks about 5 kilometers each way to school. Given that school starts about 7:30 AM and doesn't end until after 5:30 PM, that makes for a long day.

Joyce has been very committed to her computer lessons. I've started her on Ms. Mavis Beacon, a typing program that I've used with Bry'Chell. Joyce has just about caught up with Bry'Chell. She's pretty much mastered the keyboard. I should give Bry'Chell more credit, Bry'Chell doesn't look at the keyboard but Joyce still does. However, Joyce can type ten words a minute. (Bry'Chell just informed that she types 12 words a minute.) I think ten words a minute is pretty good for a kid who's only been typing for two weeks. Each day I teach her something new. She can now turn the computer on and off, she knows how to open and close programs. I started her on Microsoft Word yesterday. I prefer Word Perfect, but I think Microsoft Word will be more useful for her. It's the standard for word processing, even here in Uganda.

Computer skills are just about as important here as at home. Without computer skills Joyce has few options--mostly farming and housekeeping. Neither pay well.

Joyce knows how to use the touch pad and the mouse. She can click and double click, although she doesn't always know which one to use when.

I've shown her a couple of other programs, Excel and Powerpoint. Friday I had Bry'Chell take her out and show her how to use the digital camera. After taking pictures they came in and we printed them. Photos are a big deal here. The term for photos here is "snaps"--as in snapshots. Fortunately, Bry'Chell knows the local terminology.

Sunday, Marie came over to visit with her mother. Of course, they wanted pictures as well. We took the obligatory pictures and printed them out. Everybody was happy.

Marie came by again today and just left. Her mother sent her with some mangoes and an avocado. I'm sure they should sell them, but it would be wrong to refuse such a generous gift.

Weather Report

While we may not always have electricity and the water goes out from time to time, we do have wonderful weather. After reading the weather reports for Chicago, Indiana and even Las Vegas, I can tell you that the weather here is beautiful and nothing like what the U.S. is experiencing right now. I don't know the temperature since I don't have an outdoor thermometer, but I just stepped out in flannel pants and a t-shirt and it's delightful -- sunny and just a little bit cool with the promise of a mild day ahead.

Although this is supposed to be the dry season, we still get enough rain that I haven't had to water the garden. The tomatoes are coming along nicely. We've already harvested one crop of beans and the peas. We're not talking huge amounts here. We had enough beans for a couple of meals with leftovers and the pea pods went in the fried rice to add variety to about three meals. However, when the tomatoes start to ripen, we should have a bumper crop with plenty to share with our friends and neighbors.

Saturday Bry'Chell and I put in three more rows of peas and tied up a couple dozen tomato plants. We hunted up some string and went in search of sticks, both of which we found. It was good to get out and work in the dirt. I like having a garden. Bry'Chell says she wants to plant a tree when we get back to Chicago. I told her we have to check with our landlord, but I have no objections.

Campus is quiet. Most folks are gone to wherever home happens to be, usually some small village several hours from here. We're leaving Wednesday afternoon to go to Fr. Henry's home it's not really that far, but it will take a couple of hours since it's mostly dirt roads. He asked if we had any special needs. Other than boiled or purified water, we really don't. I'm looking forward to getting off campus. We'll be back on Friday.

With most people gone, the birds have arrived. I mean big birds, carnivores--although we're in no danger since they eat carrion, not live things. Bry'Chell was hoping they might take care of our yowling cats. Unless the cats stay very still, it's not likely. Too bad.

Two UMU Christmas Parties

Yesterday was the UMU staff Christmas party. We went to a farm west of Kampala for a meal and tour. The food was good, as usual. The tour of the farm was interesting.

The place is a combination of a working farm and a recreation area. The farm hires 70 local adults and children. The children are school drop-outs, or as they're called here, early school leavers. The adults are mostly women who have no way to earn a living.

In Uganda only 48% of the children finish primary school--that's 7th grade here. Even with Universal Primary Education, many children can't afford to attend school. Families need them to work. Sometimes parents can't afford uniforms or notebooks. Some areas don't have government-supported (not operated, just minimally supported) schools. Even though school fees are low compared to American tuition, still parents can't afford to pay. Several of the children working on the farm have returned to school. This is a big deal since drop-outs seldom go back.

The farm is former swampland. The local environmental officials permitted the farm because it has water-ways that allow the swamp water to continue to flow. The farm has three fish ponds where they are hoping to raise Tilapia, a favorite fish in the area, although not unique to the region. They have hogs, goats and cattle. With the cattle they have a bio-gas operation that is just beginning where they produce methane to fuel the cooking on the premises.

They have a field--really just a large garden--where they grow cabbage, carrots and other stuff.

There is a lot of work in progress. It has an unfinished look about it, but there's much activity.

The recreation area includes tables and tents on a field. There's a playground for the children. Playgrounds are rare in Uganda and a real treat for kids. Unfortunately, Bry'Chell was a bit too old for this playground. It was geared more for pre-school and primary.

There was a game that provided gifts for all in attendance. You pulled a number from a jar and you received the gift associated with the number. I received a little knick-knack of a dolphin. Bry'Chell received a half-pint of local gin. Neither of us was particularly excited with our gift, but it was pretty funny.

The other party, the one the students sponsored was last week. This was more of a show where students performed Christmas carrols and Christmas skits. The orphans from Kankobe were there. They sang and danced. The Kankobe orphanage has the school-age children--from about five to thirteen. They are considered too old to be adopted, although they're available for adoption (anyone interested?). The babies are at another orphanage and the high school kids at still another.

Sister Beatrice is in charge of the orphanage. She has 70 kids. She struggles to provide for them as there is no government support. This country has lots of orphans and those at the orphanage are among the luckier.

Sr. Beatrice told me that she doesn't want the kids to be sorry they came to Kankobe. She manages to provide one teaspoon of sugar for their porridge every other day. Sometimes she can't even to that. This woman hustles to care for those kids. She brings them to the university because the students provide some support for the orphans. When they come they also get a snack and a bottle of pop, a big deal for these kids. They drained that pop like they thought somebody was going to take it away from them.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes and I have a love-hate relationship. They love me and I hate them.

This relationship goes back to my childhood. If there was one person in a crowd that the lone mosquito would find, it would be me.

At camp, when we had contests to see who had the most mosquito bites, I would win every time. At times I've had over a hundred bites on my body. While I don't like getting bitten and all the itchy-itchy scratchy-scratchy that goes with it, it's never been a big deal. I've learned that if I get enough bites, I develop some immunity to them. By the end of the summer bites would appear and most would be gone in a couple of hours.

However, things are different here. Mosquitoes carry malaria. Malaria is really nasty. While it's usually just miserable, it can kill you. It kills lots and lots of people, mostly children.

There are actions to take to avoid getting mosquito bites and malaria. First and foremost, sleep under a mosquito net, a treated mosquito net--a net treated with some nasty insecticide. What it doesn't keep out, it kills. It's not just enough to have a mosquito net, you have to use it. You must tuck it in all around the mattress every night. I do. So does Bry'Chell.

Unfortunately, only eleven percent of Ugandans sleep under a net. Many who don't can't afford one. Others have different priorities. Some would rather buy minutes for their cell phone than buy a net. Since a cell phone can mean a job and a job means food, this is not as foolish as it might sound. There are many competing priorities for survival. Most people are just too poor to afford a mosquito net.

Mosquito repellent also helps. I brought a whole case of time-release repellent with DEET. We wear it. Daily. However, unless I take a bath in the stuff, some enterprising mosquito will find the one tender spot on my body that I missed. You'd be surprised where I have found bites. Yep, even there. These are some pretty ingenious mosquitoes.

Finally, there are anti-malarials, medication that provides some protection against malaria should an infected mosquito bite. I take mine faithfully. Some medication I can be less earnest about, but I take that doxycycline every day without fail. Bry'Chell would skip hers if I didn't remind her (translation; nag her unmercifully).

So, take that you nasty mosquitoes.

Grasshoppers

Early yesterday morning, Sister Rose (one of my students) and I were walking back from mass at the cathedral. We don't usually go to the cathedral, but there's no more mass at the Social Center since most of the classes are over and the students gone.

It's not far, maybe a couple of blocks, if there were blocks. It's right up the street at the top of the hill. In the old days the Buganda king gave a hill to each of the major religious groups, so the Protestants have a hill, the Muslims have a hill and the Catholics have a hill, each with their respective edifices perched at the top.

Anyway we were walking back from mass when we saw a grasshopper leaping/flying through the air. Rose asked if we have grasshoppers in the United States. "Yes," I replied. "We do."

"Do you eat them."

"No, we don't."

I wasn't especially surprised by the question since my friend, Fr. Modest and I had had a very similar discussion a week or so ago. Actually, that conversation was about the scarcity of grasshoppers this season and how it was creating tension in some communities. People were upset because some people had grasshoppers and others didn't. Grasshoppers are considered something of a delicacy and those who missed out were unhappy about their loss.

What's weird about the whole discussion is the sheer normality of the conversations. Modest and Rose are intelligent, well-educated, entertaining folks. They're friends of mine. It's just that they have a broader perspective on edible protein than my American palate recognizes.

If anything, I feel sort of ignorant in not appreciating the delicacy that is clearly valued by some perfectly normal, rational human beings.

By the way, grasshoppers are served fried.

The Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu

Yesterday, Sister Cecilia invited me to the celebration of her sisters' community feast. They were anticipating the Immaculate Conception, which falls on Monday. However, on Saturday the sisters could actually get together, so they did and invited some guests. I was glad to be included, although it made me miss my own community.

Cecilia usually wears blue--polo shirt or blouse and skirt with a white veil. However, yesterday the sisters, Cecilia included, were in white habits with blue trim. I'll try to find a picture and post it. It was pretty cool--not that I have ANY interest in personally adopting a habit. I can appreciate it in others without feeling any need to have the thing for myself.

I was taking the pictures, but not with my camera, so I don't actually have any of the pictures.

We started with mass in the university chapel at noon. I love the combination of music and liturgy that seem fairly traditional by Catholic standards until one sister after another lets out with a ululation--the high shrill sort of yodeling sound common in African singing and dancing--which, of course, is very traditional in African celebrations. It was just fun, reverent and still fun. It brings an incredible energy to the celebration.

Afterwords, there was lunch. The meal was great--no matooke--chicken, fish, rice, potatoes, pineapple, greens and chapattis. There was cake for dessert--the usual dry Ugandan cake--which looks beautiful, but tastes like it should have been eaten last week and a chocolate cake that I had baked that morning. I think people were surprised at how moist the cake tasted. Several people asked me if they could learn how to bake it. It's a really easy recipe. I found it when we had all kinds of sour milk and I was looking for recipes to use it up. This was one I found. The only confusing thing about it is that it mentions vanilla in the directions but not in the list of ingredients. I solved that by adding a teaspoon of vanilla. We like it so much I've made it several times. If people knew how easy it was, they would be less impressed.

The Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu have their motherhouse in Gulu, as would be expected. Gulu is in the north where much of the violence and war has been taking place. They had years when the war was all around them and a part of their lives. I've heard references to it, but not much detail. It seems to be a part of life that people would rather forget about, but it has had an influence nonetheless. The war is still going on, but the violence appears of have subsided for the time being.

Bry'Chell was invited, but she didn't want to hang out with a bunch of nuns. Oh well, she missed a good meal and great company. I did bring her a bottle of pop.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a much-used word around here. In the US when people talk about sustainability it usually has overtones of environmental responsibility. Here sustainability is more about survival. Yes, folks are aware of the environmental implications, but there is a very practical aspect.

Last night I stayed with the Grail Sisters as usual for Thursday nights. When I was walking toward the house, thre were two sisters outside washing bottles. I know from a previous conversation with Sister Marie that the sisters make their own wine--banana wine and, I believe, pineapple wine. They wash and sterilize the bottles and then fill them with the homemade wine. It's part of being self-sufficient.

Even more interesting, although they are in Kampala, the capitol city, they raise livestock. I've seen chickens that I'm pretty sure are theirs and I hear cattle and I've been told they have hogs. Urban agriculture is fairly common around here, so although it's impressive, it's not surprising.

What is cool is what they do with the manure--animal poop--they make methane that they use for cooking and heating water. It's not like they have a hot water heater, they heat water on a burner and use it for washing--dishes and personal. The left-over methane is piped to the neighboring canteen at the Uganda Catholic Social Training Center where it is used for cooking.

What is sustainable is also economically sound. Since utilities and both expensive and undependable around here, being "off the grid" has many advantages, both in terms of being less expensive and being more dependable.

I admire the ingenuity of people here. I'm impressed with the ways they use technology to make their lives better while protecting the environment. Way cool.

Thank God I was a Girl Scout

This morning I had to get up extra early since I was part of a team going to Kisumi Brothers Center, one of the centers that UMU operates. We were evaluating the facilities and programming to recommend whether it can become a stand-alone university. We were leaving at 6 AM since another group we were traveling with had an earlier meeting. I was up at 5.

I don't like getting up early. I do it when necessary and only when necessary. This morning my alarm went off and I dutifully got up and went in the bathroom to start my shower. I turned on the water and--nothing came out. Joy. No water.

This doesn't happen very often, and sometimes we have some warning so I can fill a few containers. This time there was no warning and there was no water. However, I was a Girl Scout so I know how to wash up in a miner's cup if necessary. It wasn't that bad.

The water heater in our kitchen leaks. It was supposed to be replaced about a month and a half ago, but it's still the same old leaky water heater so we have a large pot under it to catch the drips. I turn it off at night so it doesn't leak, but it pretty much has to be on during the day, so it leaks into the pot. Fortunately the pot was about half full. The electric tea kettle was also a bit more than half full. I had water. I turned on the kettle and pretty soon I had hot water.

I took the pot of water and dumped it in one of the large plastic tubs we use for laundry, added the hot water and I had enough water for a bath of sorts--the kind where you stand in the bathtub and wash up with soap and enough water to get the soap off. It works.

Since I had a meeting today I didn't want to head out all funky and smelly. I got my bath. Given that my natural tendency is to take looooong showers--anyone who has lived with me can testify that I am perfectly capable of emptying the hot water heater--it's nice to know that I can also make due with what I have. Backpacking with Girl Scouts taught me how to bath with a minimum of water. Who knew that it would pay off some forty years later.