This is a jackfruit tree. The fruits are huge. They taste good, but it’s very messy and difficult to separate the little juicy globs inside from the rind.
I sit on my covered front porch sometimes during cooling rainstorms. This is my view. Unfinished construction is on both sides of my tri-plex. If I ever meet the owner I will ask him about it. I also throw my laundry and dish washing water out on that little rise you see.
I had a couple of leftover photos from last week shown here.
First a couple of reactions to comments. The treadle sewing machine I showed last week received some attention and sparked some memories of a by-gone era. Second, please don’t sweat about my weight. I am pretty sure I have stabilized at 165. Now that I am cooking for myself, my fear is letting it go back up. I am still trying to restrict after dinner snack intake.
This week I finally visited some farmer groups at their VSLA meetings. I was introduced at each meeting by the ATEFO trainer, and it was announced I would be coming back in a week or two to give a lesson on budgeting.
I met with 7 groups, 5 along the same road on Tuesday. Due to scheduling conflicts with Matthews and the four day Muslim holiday weekend just finishing, for Eid al-Adha, I will speak to only one group next week, this Wednesday.
Lots of Muslims out celebrating Eid al-Adha on Thursday, mostly dressed in White.
I was well-received at these groups, and they seem interested in what I will have to say. I hope I can measure up to their expectations. I gave a similar talk on budgeting to a group of Boda drivers during tech immersion.
My first village meeting was in this mud hut. It had mud floors of course and was built three years ago. Nice and cool in there!
All the other farmer groups met outside in the shade of a large trees. The women often sit on mats, although a man is on this one.
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From left, Mwondha’s dad, brother Matia, mother, wife Collin, Mwondha, sister Esther. Collin wore her gown from her previous graduation. At the village party, other former grads wore their gowns again. They don’t rent them here.
On Saturday, I attended the graduation of Mwondha, my carpenter, and his brother, on the grounds of Basoga University, only a few blocks from where I had language training near Iganga. Before Mwondha received his diploma (but after his brother received his), there was a massive rain storm which completely decimated the event, blowing down tents and turning the place into a muddy quagmire. We left, just as the rain was tapering off, and went to his village where his parents still lived.
The village had been organized into a huge festive celebration. As we got out of our cars, the brothers were mobbed like rock stars. The women make this high-pitched warbling scream that sounds sort of like Banshees. I was semi-mobbed by the village kids, who acted like they didn’t know what to make of me. Once I started fist-bumping them, they relaxed. They had organized tents, decorations, cakes and lots of food for the whole village. There were two MCs and a sound system run off of a generator. I had hoped to hang back and watch, but was ushered to a seat of honor with the family. Of course there were speeches, and during each one, I was singled out and told I was “most welcome”.
An altar was set up, and a priest said Mass. He asked God to delay the rain until after the party, but God didn’t listen, and so half-way through mass, I was in my second deluge. A lady, Collin, was sort of delegated to be my minder for the day, and told me she was Mwondha’s first wife. The wife I was acquainted with at the carpenter shop was his second. Collin told me Mwondha is 32 and has six kids with the two wives and another woman he didn’t marry. I have come to understand that polygamy is frequent among the Masoga tribe (and Muslims) here in the east, but less common in the northern and western parts of Uganda. Collin is from the far north and admitted she wasn’t happy when this happened. Just like my father Simon at home stay, he’s Catholic too!
During the storm at graduation, tents got upturned, so people threw out the chairs so there would be more room to huddle together.
Trying to keep their nice clothes dry while the tents take a beating. Much more entertaining than handing out diplomas!
This is the top of a tent that was flipped off it moorings by the wind, and came down pointy top first, piercing into my tent. Might have hurt someone in the way.
Procession during the village party
During the rainstorm, I was hustled into this room with other “elders”. I know my beard is grey but….The guy on the right is an engineer who used to employ Mwondha. We didn’t get to visit much in there, unfortunately.