February 2016

Happy Shiny People

Author: Charles February 14, 2016

I have returned from traveling near Kampala for the annual All Volunteers Conference (“All Vol”) and then a trip with PCVs Karen and Dave to their sites, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Lake Bunyoni. A separate blog post for each, posted so you can read chronologically.

This is Annie, who arrived with the November 2014 Education cohort. She was a classmate and friend of my son Clark at Westminster’s Stanley Lake High School. Her childhood dream was Peace Corps, specifically in Uganda. Annie is thriving here. Small world, Anna, a health volunteer from my cohort, met her 5th grade teacher Sandy at All Vol. Neither had seen each other since, nor knew the other was in Peace Corps.

All Uganda PCVs met from February 1-5 at the same conference center where my June 2015 cohort had supervisors workshop last August, just before swearing in It was an opportunity to renew friendships, and meet many other volunteers for the first time. We received a security briefing in anticipation of the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary election. Peace Corps has ordered us to “Stand Fast” in our home sites, no traveling, from the 15th to the 29th. Also stay away from polling places and large crowds, which is not easy for me. There are lots of opinions about the potential for violence. It’s a fascinating time here.

We had some training sessions related to “Feed the Future” which underwrote All Vol. If you were in a committee you met with your fellow members to discuss the upcoming year. I am one of two representatives elected from my cohort to a committee which I will explain in my email notification to subscribers. So far my contribution is drafting the committee’s Charter. Yuck, legal work!

In an interesting training attended by various committees, I took one of those psychological tests which identified how you form policies and how to collaborate with others who have differing approaches. No surprise, I am guided strongly by a need for empirical evidence more than any other factor.

Various PVCs provided a smorgasbord of programs of general interest. For example, I went to Becky’s program demonstrating how to make cheese, a rare and expensive commodity in Uganda. It’s incredibly easy to make some with just whole milk some vinegar, and no rennet. I’m going to try it. I also attended a presentation by an ambitious PCV named Steven who plans to stay in Uganda a few more years while he promotes an innovative approach to education. He wants to be the Steve Jobs of East Africa. You read it here first.

The evenings had social activities. I played Texas Hold-’em poker one night, getting eliminated by two “bad beats”. The last night was the annual “Prom”, this year with a disco theme. Raised on 60’s and 70’s rock, I consider disco a low point in music history, if not civilization, but whatever. I decided my lack of original outfit would be called “parental chaperone at prom”. Katie F. says I better do better next year.

Good to see my cohort again, many with mixed results getting work arranged with their orgs. It was also interesting to meet a few other older volunteers and learn about their histories and careers and how they arrived at the Peace Corps.

This is Anita from my cohort at Prom sporting the 1979 big hair look, with Ray, who made his outfit from campaign materials promoting the President of Rwanda. Everyone wanted to pose with him!

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Left to right, Katie L., Mackenzie (Happy shiny ear ring?), Kelly, and Katie F. all from my cohort

A market scene down a narrow street in Kampala, on the way to the taxi park after All Vol.

I continue to be impressed by the young volunteers. They are the cream of crop of America. They are smart, altruistic, and industrious. I am proud to serve with them. I read the other day the USA dropped 24,000 bombs on six Muslim countries in 2015. I would submit Peace Corps has been our best foreign policy, at a fraction of the cost.

General

All Vol, Kampala, training, travel

What’s for Tea Mum?

Author: Charles February 14, 2016

A nearby view from Karen’s place of some of the tea fields. These are actually trees which are kept trimmed into shrubs. After planting they take 3 years before the leaves are tea-worthy, and then they produce every growing season for 100 years. Most of these fields were planted in the early 1960’s. Karen frequently sees baboons, which inhabit the wooded valley below, but they were not around on our day there. A couple of days later we saw baboons on the road to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We did see white-tailed monkeys called Colombus in the plantation’s forest. Couldn’t get good pictures.

My fellow fossil David, and still-too-young-to be-a-fossil Karen enjoyed a great week traveling together. Our first stop was the massive tea plantation at Karen’s site. Karen is a Health volunteer recently retired from her career in the Navy as an air traffic controller. She teaches about good, nutrition, HIV and other health topics to the several worker camps spread throughout the plantation.

This selfie to mark the beginning of our travels was taken upon our arrival by taxi at the closest town to the plantation. Karen needs to summon a car from here to get home

The field on the right and beyond has been sprayed with ground up limestone to treat algae. This is brand new technology. They will be growing again next season.

Karen stands by her excellent permagarden by her home. It takes drainage from her roof and is double dug and everything. She dug another one at a work camp.

The tea factory. There were conveyer belts with fans to dry the leaves and then they are ground down, separated by quality, and put in large bags, transported elsewhere to be processed into the tiny tea bags.. There are different grades of tea. They make black tea. Green tea is from the same leaves, just processed differently.

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This is a tasting room. A spittoon in the right foreground. When new employees are interviewed, in the waiting room they are given the choice of coffee, tea, or other drinks. If they don’t select tea they don’t get hired!

These are the machines to trim the tea trees. Run by two on each side, and a third person with a bag to collect it

The plantation raises its own eucalyptus trees, which are fast-growing, and used to power the factory with steam energy

Feeding the boiler

Karen and her supervisor Elijah at a work camp. In Uganda, no matter where you go, you have to sign a guest book. I have signed dozens of these.

An artistic representation of a crowded taxi for sale in a hotel in Fort Portal. The tires are bottle caps. I plan to buy one to bring home when I return to America, but it was too delicate to lug and too expensive ($12 US- ha! Uganda!) to get now.

We teased that Karen’s place is “Posh Corps”. She has tremendous views, good electricity, running water, a kitchen similar to a US suburb (both gas and electric burners, gas oven, many cabinets), western style toilet, a nearby club for executives Karen may use (free beer) and even a nearby landing strip. David and I stayed at a guest house a few minutes from Karen’s home. We had a cook and our clothes were laundered.

We walked through the tea fields to the Tea Factory and received a tour. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in the factory. Later we enjoyed the free beer at the club and a lively conversation with Karen’s supervisor, Elijah.

General

agriculture, garden, perma-garden, Tea, travel, Uganda food, volunteers

Farmer Dave

Author: Charles February 14, 2016

On the right is a key hole garden. Dave was growing collard greens, kale and coriander. When he returned after our trip, pigs had escaped their pen and totally destroyed it. He thinks they like kale. On the left is a hugelkulture garden. He buried timbers which soaks up water so the roots continue to be nourished during dry season. It is growing collards, beans and peppers

After two nights at Karen’s tea plantation, we stopped in Fort Portal. It’s the closest big town to Karen and David and gets a lot of tourists on their way to national parks.

Heh- Super Bowl game face

Karen dislikes football, and chose to stay at a hotel for Sunday night.David has great internet reception at his site, a large demonstration farm on the top of a hill. We went to bed early, and then streamed the Super Bowl beginning at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning.A glorious victory for the Broncos!

David had a career as a graphic designer in the states, though he “woofed” at some farms in recent years (room and board in exchange for labor). He calls Wisconsin his home state, lived in Pittsburgh for many years and most recently he lived in North Carolina He has dug eleven different gardens on his site. (My own permagarden is a disaster in mismanagement and neglect- except for the carrots. Matthews transplanted my cabbage and my broccoli did not grow. I’ll do better next season.)

Dry season is intense out in the west, with only negligible rain since Christmas. Dave’s place had a dry water tank, so no bathing that night.

Another hugelkulture garden, growing Russian comfrey, which is fed to chickens to make their yolk yellower and eggs tastier.

David made this with bamboo, called reeds here.. He needs to add Madagascar! When he isn’t researching how to be a concert impresario, he enjoys painting in the evenings.

Like I do, David greets many children on the trek to his place. Which of us will have the first heart attack from swinging children around ? I usually prefer the fist bumps followed by hand disinfectant 🙂

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David has an ambitious secondary project. He wants to promote a three day
music fest in Fort Portal. beginning on World AIDS day December 1, Anyone who voluntarily tests for HIV two months earlier, will be admitted free.

General

agriculture, Dry season, garden, travel, volunteers

“Enjoy the Nature”

Author: Charles February 14, 2016

Following the Super Bowl, David grabbed a couple of hours of sleep (I was too jacked up and wanted to read the media reports) and then we headed back to Fort Portal and rejoined Karen.

On the way to the park we passed the Equator. The taxi driver and other passengers indulged us with a five minute break to take a picture. Unfortunately the passenger who shot this stuck his finger in the viewfinder and tilted the camera at an angle. My brother Mark has fixed it the best he could.

We traveled to Omwani Training Cafe just outside of Queen Elizabeth Park for two nights. It was started by a former Peace Corps volunteer and the lodging and food is half price for PCVs. Local Ag cohort Katie L. met us for fantastic pizza, cooked in clay brick ovens. She introduced her friend, Nicholas, who would be our park guide the next day.

We did our sightseeing standing up This Peace Corps experience makes me exercise so much!

We set off at 6 a.m. and spent until mid afternoon in the park. The guides would call each other when there was something pretty cool and we would meet other tourist vehicles.

We saw some slow-paced lion drama through binoculars. Two lions went into a brush to hide. A water buffalo stopped nearby to graze. Soon two more lions took up positions on the other side. He was surrounded. The rest of the herd kept going and the buffalo seemed oblivious. Was he old and knew it was his time? Had he lost a fight for dominance and been expelled? He didn’t seem injured. We watched for 45 minutes but there was no attack. The guides thought the lions would bide their time until nightfall. Vultures were flying overhead. No decent pictures of this. It was one time I wish I had a camera with telephoto lens. I had to resist the urge to walk up for a closer shot! They seemed peaceful enough!

Ugandan Cobb, which is on the flag and the money

“You should see the other guy”

The largest nests in the world are built by little birds called Hamacocks. I came up zilch on a fact check, but found a similar bird called a social weaver. residing in South Africa.

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The famed Ugandan Crested Crane. Its also on the flag, and all the money. The national soccer team is the Cranes.

Water Buffalo looking around for their friend.

Hippos on the shore of the local fishing village within the park..

I love this picture from the fishing village. If I made a print of this for my wall, should I trim the trash in the foreground, or retain its Ugandan authenticity?

This is a maribou stork a/k/a “Trash Bird” a/k/a Undertaker Bird at the fishing village. Note what appear to be white legs. Actually the bird shits on his own legs to keep cool.

We saw warthogs, several times, this was actually in the fishing village. I thought these guys would be mean.

Early on our tour, we saw a herd of elephants, but they were quite distant, and we were a bit disappointed. Then, by a stroke of luck, we happened upon a herd of about 40 elephants on both sides of the road, crossing it to go to water. My brother stitched together a few smart phone elephant videos here. You will hear Nicholas smugly say “Enjoy the nature”. You will also see a little baby between the legs of her mom, and very pregnant mommy to be..At one point a young one seemed about to head our direction. Our driver revved his engine to make him go back.

At this particular park there are no zebras nor giraffes, but they are about to be reintroduced. There are hyenas and leopards, but despite the efforts of our guides, we didn’t see them.

General

travel, volunteers

Deep Forbidden Lake

Author: Charles February 14, 2016

The view of Lake Bunyonyi from Tyler’s front porch. About 60 PCVs came here for Thanksgiving. About 60 PCVs posted this same view on their FB or Blog. Unfortunately it was hazy for us.

We left Omwani Cafe and headed to the town of Kabale and beautiful Lake Bunyonyi. Karen, David and I agreed it was the worst taxi ride we had ever taken in Uganda, with either 24 or 25 people crammed together. David and I were jammed in the back row, my knees ache in memory. Two boys next to me were spitting up into a bag.

The climb up the hill to Tyler’s place is steep and a bit challenging. Even harder going down as Karen demonstrates her crab walk. (I hope she forgives me for printing this 😉 )The picture does not do it justice. You have to watch the loose dirt, but Tyler assured us it is worse during rains.I wouldn’t enjoy this at night.

Lake Bunyonyi is in the southwest corner of Uganda near the Rwanda border It is over 6.000 feet in elevation. It is a volcanic crater and the second deepest lake in Africa, 29 islands are scattered throughout the lake.

We met Tyler at her site and spent a night there. (She was Rosie the Riveter in the Halloween photos). Tyler is from Washington state and a Health volunteer. She is a wonderful host and very level-headed.

On the boat with Tyler going to lunch. She often boats to other islands for her work.

This is an entry point to see gorillas. I posted this mainly to show off my new Peace Corps T-shirt

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After we snooped around a couple of nearby resorts while Tyler did some work, we took a boat ride to one of the islands to have a nice lunch at a restaurant.

Punishment Island per Wikipedia

On the way we saw a small island in the distance with a solitary tree. It is called “Punishment Island”. Per Wikipedia:
The Bakiga used to leave unmarried pregnant girls on this small island with a lone tree – to die of hunger or while trying to swim to the mainland (swimming skills were rare). This was to educate the rest, to show them not to do the same. A man without cows to pay the bridewealth could go to the island and pick up a girl. The practice got abandoned in the first half of the 20th century. Although this practice has been abandoned, it is still possible to find women who were picked up from punishment island today.
Another island was a colony for lepers.
We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon at the restaurant chatting with three girls who were independently traveling the world. They had joined together temporarily and were heading to Rwanda the next day. The American mentioned she saved her travel money by working at Google in Silicon Valley. There are 16,000 employees on that campus, but It turns out her desk was next to a guy who dated Tyler in college. They had a hoot sending him a selfie via Facebook.

I had seen these “Keep Bunyonyi Blue” stickers around town. Just found out they are Tyler’s creation. She has also done some interesting art work on her walls which I might try to replicate.

Then it was back to Kabale, where we had dinner with Ron in a Fossils reunion. Ron bikes eight kilometers round trip to work each day and does yoga. He has lost 25 lbs, in Uganda,

The next morning we caught a 7 a.m. bus. Karen and Dave split off a couple of hours later, while I stayed on to Kampala, where I changed to a taxi and got back to Bugiri by 9 p.m. I was happy to see Meowri was still OK, and in fact my neighbor kids got their own kitten!
Dry season is hitting hard now. There was no rain my entire trip and I have to start getting to the bore hole at 6 a.m. again.

Elections are nest Thursday the 18th. Stay tuned….

General

Dry season, travel, Uganda Culture, volunteers

Monthly Archive: February 2016

Happy Shiny People

What’s for Tea Mum?

Farmer Dave

“Enjoy the Nature”

Deep Forbidden Lake