Un- eventful
Trip Start
Jun 22, 2008
1
17
36
Trip End
Jul 31, 2008
Gulu,
Uganda
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
I did next to nothing today. Perhaps it was necessary.
I started by making a trip to Ma's Computers to update
travel blogs and check e-mail. I made an attempt at uploading pictures as well,
but in the process put a virus on my laptop! Crap! Considering Microsoft Word
just made its way to Uganda, I don't think Anti- Virus programs are coming any
time soon.
After three grueling hours with little success, my
stomach reminded me it was time for lunch
IC offices
. I decided to be brave and trysomething new. This meant finding a different restaurant, not necessarily new
food (considering the Ugandan diet is extremely limited). The place I decided
on had no name, just a sign that said "Restaurant." This would suffice. The
food choices were limited to a couple of options: Rice, Beans, Fish or any
combination of the three.
I elected to have the Fish and beans. While they cooked
my meal I read the day's paper. Apparently according to the Daily Monitor, the
closest man to Joseph Kony called the NRM government to carry out his
assassination. This was quite surprising and showed the waning influence Kony
is having on both the LRA and Uganda.
My fish arrived only 5 minutes later
Invisible Lizard
. I think there wasmore bone than meat, which was evidenced by a feeling of famish after I
finished. Since I had another hour to kill before I was scheduled to be at the
IC offices, I continued my reading.
After another hour of reading the paper I took a boda to
the IC office on the other side of town. Here I was scheduled to meet with
Francis No-No for a mentor visit. This
program seeks to strengthen students by allying them with a positive older role
model. Francis greeted me at the front of the office with unfortunate news.
Since he had a meeting that ran until 5 pm, he said apologetically that he
would have to reschedule. We rescheduled for 9 am the next day.
I then took the long boda ride back to Christ the King
Mentorships
. Iwas feeling pretty unproductive about the day so far. The only remedy: Futbol!
I changed clothes and headed to Pope Paul VI for the second day of soccer. When
I got to school, the students informed me that the only ball they had was
deflated. Like a typical Mzungu I asked "Why don't you pump it up?" You see the
problem with Uganda is that they are severely lacking in the resources
department. If they didn't have scissors for classrooms, what made me think
they would possess a ball pump? We were determined however to have our game.
Therefore, the students and I went up the street where we knew of a bike repair
station. When we got there, the worker was in the process of inflating a
bicycle tire. You should have seen this pump. It possessed no needle, a shoddy
air valve, and no cap. Nevertheless, we made due. My student Solomon took apart
his pen to create a tube. He then stuck this into the ball, placed the valve of
the pump over it, and asked another student to pump. This was a slow process.
However, little by little, the ball was inflated. Eventually we had our ball!
We thanked the worker and headed back to Pope Paul for our game.
The students were elated to see us return with an
inflated soccer ball. We quickly formed two teams and begin our game. Ugandans
can play in ANY conditions! They proved this today. Even with the plethora of
small trees, pot holes, and uneven ground, they played a high intensity game. I
honestly don't know how there wasn't at least one injury! I take that back,
there was one: me! I tripped and scuffed my knee. The injury was minimal, but I
looked like a totally Mzungu- injuring myself even when avoiding all obstacles.
After the game I had a crowd of Acholi asking me
questions. They wanted to see me rap....so I did. They wanted to see me dance....so
I did. They wanted a history lesson....so I gave them one.
I was quite popular. They had an affinity for "Okello"
(my Acholi name). I'm not going to lie, I didn't mind the spotlight. Surprising
huh!
After answering their barrage of questions I headed back
to Christ the King for dinner. Dinner offered little variety. I didn't mind. I
have grown accustomed to our dinner choices, and carry little expectations.
I crashed early. Until tomorrow my friends!
