blog 7

October 7, 2009

Work continues well here and already we are nearly at the end of our 6 weeks. My French students can now greet French-speaking tourists, take a booking for a hotel room and understand an order in a restaurant! The Social Work students are learning theories and skills, as prescribed, but would rather be talking about community development work, which is what they all want to do. Paul’s work in developing a Science Department at the College continues and this pursuit took us both to Kampala last week, where he had a meeting at the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology to discuss possible funding and other opportunities.

Despite the crowds, the dirt, the noise and the impossible traffic-jams, it was interesting for us to spend a few days getting to know Kampala. Our guest house sat atop a hill with a panoramic view over the city. We were woken each morning by the muezzin from the nearest mosque, followed by the rooster from the garden, children's voices from the next-door orphanage and finally the sound of the cathedral bells . The route from this hill into the city centre led us through a very poor area constantly filled with market stalls, street sellers, beggars and crowds that were almost impossible to penetrate. An interesting aspect of business here is that, when a shop becomes successful, identical shops open up right next door so that you have not one shirt or computer shop on Kampala Road but about 50 in a row! When I was here 40 years ago, Kampala bore all the hallmarks of a spacious old colonial city but it is now a bustling centre with commercial enterprise, professional services and a first-rate university. It was an interesting visit but after a few days, we were ready to return to our rural 'home' in the hills!

Bus travel is an interesting experience here, as in many other African countries, I suspect. Paul and I travelled back from Kampala on a bus and the experience started when we went to buy a ticket the day before. The bus station was a seething mob of people and, in the absence of a ticket office, touts descended on us, trying to get us to buy tickets on their bus line. We were looking for one particular company which has a better reputation but were assured that they were now engaged in moving refugees around (a blatant lie but creative!). We arrived the next morning at 6 for a 6.30 departure, as directed. The bus was covered in dust inside and out and certainly looked as though it wouldn’t have passed any kind of inspection. For an hour, the touts continued their work, trying to get people to travel on their bus and finally, at 7, we pulled out of the bus station ... but only to park again at the curbside, where more tickets were sold. Eventually, at 7.30, when our patience was beginning to fail us, we were off .. but only as far as the fuel pump where we filled up for a further 15 minutes. It’s true to say that once they roll, these buses fly along at break-neck speeds, stopping only periodically, usually in the middle of nowhere, to let a passenger off or, on one occasion, to let both men and women off to relieve themselves - no prudery here! The whole event was an interesting experience but one we don’t necessarily need to repeat too often!

Our relaxation for the week entailed a trip to Lake Bunyonyi in the extreme southwest corner of the country. As we bumped along on the pass which goes over the mountains we found ourselves in the middle of the cloud with rain lashing the windows of the car. I did wonder, just for a moment, whet we were doing but our steady driver ferried us safely to our destination, where the sun was shining. The Lake is very large and irregularly-shaped with over 20 islands. It is surrounded by hills, striped with terracing, and mountains beyond. The island, where we stayed, is not cultivated and is a wonderful place for bird-watching and just enjoying the views - the dawn chorus was like a concet! Small dugout canoes made from eucalyptus trees ply to and fro, carrying people from one island to another, propelled by one or two people silently paddling with a spear-shaped paddle. A highlight on the Sunday morning was to hear and then see a larger dugout filled with children who sang and drummed their way to church across the water.

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Love and peace,

Jessica and Paul