Kids and Gum

Today Paul gave the kids gum. The kids were given gum around 11am and by the time it was 5pm the kids were still chewing/playing with the same piece. Even worse, the younger kids were putting gum in people's hair. Many of us had to cut off a chunk of our hair, we weren't happy volunteers. And kids just find it entertaining while you're freaking out about having gum stuck in your hair - those cute little buggers. For next time, it's safer that we hand out hardcandy sweeties.

Chimp's Nest - Kibale

Out in the jungle 150m above the ground, standing tall with the trees  - Paul, Apruva and I slept overnight at Chimp's Nest in a treehouse. The treehouse is a 10 minute walk from the lounge/reception, so we were isolated from everything with complete peace and privacy. On our walk to the treehouse I had never been surrounded by so many butterflies; it truly felt enchanting. Dozens of butterflies would be on the ground in front of you, and as you walked by they would all begin to flutter. As much as I hate butterflies, I tried to embrace the beauty. The treehouse terrance/balcony is surrounded by beautiful large trees. Not only that, but there are monkeys all around you! Many were jumping from branch to branch or picking at the jackfruit. It was amazing to be so one with nature. I am excited to shower later, it is located outside on the terrance/balcony. I think it will be a very Tarzan like experience. 

The only thing I do not appreciate about the place are are the moths that surround the jungle. If you are still for more than a couple seconds a moth will land on you. And you can feel their tongue "licking" you! I'm trying to relax because I know they aren't hurting me, but to feel them crawl along your body while licking you with a tickling sensation… it is hard to bare. Currently as I'm writing, there are 4 moths on me: one on my head, my shoulder and one on each leg. Apurva is still fighting the moths by waving her arms periodically or switching positions so they do not have a place to land. But for once I am trying to be tough. I'm letting them sit on me… Some have been on me since I started writing! But I do wonder what they're tasting, or why they land on us. I feel like if I sat here all day eventually I would be completely covered by moths. And maybe like the movies, I would morph into some sort of creature?

New Experiences

Today I faced my fears.  The last time I was in Uganda I learnt to drive a boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) but slid out and was left with a scar. I was switching to the 3rd gear for the first time and found the speed too fast, so I tried to gear down but did not hit the gear properly and was unexpectantly heading towards a building.  Impulsively I swerved, dropped the boda and fell off. Luckily the boda-boda and I were fine, but it definitely left me physically and mentally scarred. I didn't attempt driving again after that. Arriving in Fort Portal Ivan, the local boda-boda driver wanted me to drive him around. I told him what happened and that I was too scared to try driving again. Somehow he convinced me otherwise and I started back learning on the field. He wants me to drive him into town, and I want to too but I just have to get past my nerves and practice some more. Hopefully I can say I drove into town before I leave!

It was also my first time to hitch-hike onto the back of a truck! The locals and past volunteers have been telling me that that's usually how they get a ride into town if a free boda-boda does not pass them on the road. So after 10 minutes of walking and no boda-boda, I decided to "thumbs up" a truck that was about to pass by. Surprisingly they stopped and I asked them if they could take us into town. They said okay and I hopped onto the back of the truck standing in what looked like grey mud (?) and the other girls jumped in the front. It felt weird just standing beside 4 Ugandan men who didn't speak any English but also pretty fun while we maneuvered the windy roads while holding onto the truck. Definitely an experience that I would do again. I know my parents wouldn't approve but hey, we saved ourselves 3,000 UGX!

The Strange Things Africans Do

So here's a confusing post about time. Recently I learnt that all of East Africa reads time differently when spoken in their native language. If you want someone to meet you at 4pm you would tell them 10pm Lutorro time (which is the native language spoken in Fort Portal) or say 4pm muzungu (white person) time. It's confusing. Basically they read the opposite hour on the clock, so 3 is 9, 2 is 8, 1 is 7.. etc. We learnt this because last Thursday at school the kids were asked to come to class the next day at 10am. Then Friday about 3/15 kids showed up to class at 10am. We asked the kids where everyone else was and they told us, "You said 10am! That means 4am Lutorro time!" Well obviously class at 4am is kinda ridiculous... but I guess kids being kids they wanted to skip out of class and used our mistake as a reason. Luckily one of the teachers knew where most of the kids lived so we were able to round up a full class before 11am. Moral of the story: When speaking to an African about time, specify whether you're talking in African or muzungu time.

They also count numbers completely different on their hands from us... But I'll save that for next time on, The Strange Things Africans Do.

Ibonde - Fort Portal

Arriving at my new placement I was shocked, compared to the Wakiso placement, life here is quite luxurious. I sleep in a double bed (larger than the bed I have at home), volunteers have a hangout room with multiple couches (again, more than I have at home) and share multiple washrooms (which you can guess, I also don't have at home). Unlike Bulabukulu-Wakiso, the volunteer home is about a 3 minute walk just down the road from the school and orphanage so we get some privacy. We also have electricity! Which is something I'm still getting use to. In Wakiso after 8pm after the sun had set, many kids would become quiet and run out of things to do. The children of Ibonde Children's Home have a satellite television, fully lit dormitories and they are in the process of building flushable toilets and showers. There are also less children here, so the ratio of volunteers to children is much better. The weather here is much more bearable than Wakiso. Since we are situated closer to the rainforest, I don't find myself constantly wanting to hide in the shade from the hot hot heat.

Life here is nice, but I definitely miss my kids in Wakiso.