Written on Thursday, posted on Friday, although parts were rewritten in haste as the electricity went off and I lost a lot of stuff I’d written.
I’ll try to upload the photos I refer to later.
Thank you / Diolch!
Just wanted to say thank you very much for all your lovely messages and texts. As the internet here tends to be quite sketchy, I’m not very good with coming back with individual responses, so I’ll try to cover everything on facebook / here.
Please don’t think that means I don’t want you to send any though, they’re lovely and make me smiley. (Or should that be smily Ann?!)
The Office
I met with Rebecca, the TACC Project Manager, this morning who gave me a quick overview of the project, how it is structured and the linkages between TACC and the three local districts (Mbale, Bududa and Manafwa).
But despite this explanation, I still don’t completely get it. It seems very, very complicated with so many local, national and international stakeholders involved.
We’ll be going over my Terms of Reference (ToR) tomorrow so by then, I’ll hopefully have a clearer idea what I can realistically deliver in the months I’m here. Up until now, I’ve been doing desk research and trying to get to grips what and how TACC will deliver.
The electricity in the office (pic of office below) beeps and flicks on and off without warning which can be frustrating. I certainly have it a lot better here than Sue and Alex do though as I don’t think either of them have electricity. In fact, they don’t even have offices! As a result, I worked from the hospital for a few hours this afternoon because we have an electricity back up generator which means I can read the millions of pages worth of documentation I need to do.
The office is about a 15 minute walk away from the hospital down a very dusty orange ‘road’ – see below. I leave the hospital looking half decent and am pretty sure I get to the office covered in bright orange dust looking like a tramp / something out of TOWIE. I’ve certainly learned the hard way that even though white and cream clothes are good for keeping cool, they certainly don’t look good for long!
Home!
So as I’ve said, I’m living in a guest house on the grounds of the CURE hospital in Mbale. Until today, there was an Irish medicine student who is doing her main placement in Kampala
Becky taught me how to get places, what things cost, gave me advice on places to stay, where and how to catch boda bodas and how NOT to mount a boda boda!
Sorry Bec, but you just looked hilarious and your departing squeal was the icing on the cake! It may only have been a very short time, but it was really lovely living with you – I hope the next housemate is as fab and knowledgeable as you are!
I had a tour of the hospital today too but I’ll write another blog about that as it deserves so much more than a passing mention, but I can honestly say it was one of the most heart breaking, inspiring and generally awesome (not in the cheesey American ‘that’s cool’ way but as in I am totally and utterly in awe of the work they do there) things I have ever done / seen and definitely the most humbling.
Venturing further into town
As my confidence here is growing, I ventured further into town tonight and did a bit of shopping. I didn’t find many of the places I was looking for, but to be fair, I didn’t have a map!
I did, however, stumble across the Mbale rugby club in the middle of a training session! They looked most amused when I sat down and watched them for a while.
So now I know when the Mbale Elephants are next playing – who needs the Six Nations?! Wonder where I can get one of those giant foam hands and learn a Go Elephants routine?! I’m sure I’ll blend in with the locals…
See photo below.
I also bought some of the massive ugly fruit that is sold in the market. I can honestly say it was disgusting and smelt of feet (I’m not saying whose but Cath, Ffion, Gwion, you’ll know) and tasted rank. I still have no idea what it was – something like jaka, yaka or haka?? Am I the only one who thinks it’s rude to say ‘pardon’ more than three times before faking a knowing nod and saying, “Ahh, I see”?
Photo below.
I’m still not very good at the haggling thing though. Having briefly seen the conditions some of these farmers work in, I don’t mind getting charged extra for goods we’d pay up to ten times the price of back home. I bought a huge mango yesterday for about 15 pence and who knows if that was what they call an inflated ‘muzungo’ price? I honestly don’t care.
I still need to explain a bit more about the markets, I know, but I’ll do that some other time. But yes, they really do have the fish and meat laid out on tables in the heat! And no, I have no intention of buying any.
However, I still haven’t found the Mount Elgon Tourist Office or the bus station so it looks like I’m staying in Mbale for the weekend! But maybe that’ll be quite nice actually as I could go and chill out at the Mount Elgon hotel which apparently has a nice pool.
***Update – having consulted a map, it turns out I did see the bus station after all, I just didn’t realised that’s what it was. It’s very different to Cardiff Central you now!***
Stuff I have learned today
- I need to switch the hot water switch on unless I want a freezing cold shower - despite the fact that it is a zillion degrees heat outside and that water from the kitchen hot and cold taps are scalding and boiling respectively.
- People don’t take milk with their coffee. And they thought I was weird for not having sugar or ginger (yup, ground ginger!) in mine!
- People in the market buy live chickens and carry them home in black plastic bags.
Current location from swanky GPS thing :
No idea. Need to reread the instructions on how to use it. Sorry Stevie! I’ll learn to use it by the time I’m on the road, promise!
Last text I had, who was it from and what did it say :
From Alex saying, Been trekking in the National Park. A hard, long trek but now reached the other side of the mountain. Just arrived at a school in middle of nowhere, don’t think they know what to make of me!
I can imagine – I can’t go anywhere without kids laughing, pointing, waving at me, wanting to talk to me, touch me, hold my hand and I’m in the town where I’ve seen a grand total of 4 other muzungos by now - I bet he’s the first white person they’ve ever seen!
Hope I get to trek up mountains at some point.
Last thing I ate :
The leftovers of the really minging pesto / pasta / tomato / onion concoction I made last night followed by a Marie biscuit bequeathed to me by Becky!
Stuff I wish I’d brought with me
- My denim shorts that Manda and Ffion banned me from bringing because they were too heavy
- Another skirt – good job I didn’t listen to you and leave it at home Ffi!
Love to you all back home, especially the ones that need it most. I miss and love you and am sending virtual cwtches your way.
XXX
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