Somewhere but Nowhere: Thanks-coal-giving!

November 21-28

I’ve been putting this post off for about a week now because my lack of energy and charging ability. It’s now or never with this post because I will be leaving for camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) tomorrow and won’t be back for a week. I’ll then have 2 days to write about camp GLOW and then I’ll be heading back towards Kampala to train the newbie group about homestay. After that…. MY BROTHER COMES! (although he’s only bringing a backpack and I want more than a backpacks worth of stuff from home like a deflated soccer ball for the kids!) Its okay Mike I’ll get over it… eventually….

Let me take a moment to think about what happened in the past week…. THANKSGIVING!

On my way to the taxi park in town… just a few days after the crazy earthquake… I heard a weird indescribable BBBBZZZZAAAAPPPP and when I looked up at a telephone pole (there wasn’t even a transformer attached) I saw what looked like a blue force field of energy… like from the film Independence Day. At this point I was still a bit jumpy thanks to the earthquake. Even now when I hear the tin on my roof crackle just a bit because of the harsh sun or my cat, I expect a full-on earthquake! Anyways… I made it to the bus park wondering what the heck just happened and after waiting 30 minutes finally had a matatu (taxi van) pull up heading my direction and I get put in the front seat with plenty of room…. Such a tease… I get transferred to another matatu not even 5 minutes later and am sitting in-between two men with no deodorant and no compassion for the people next to them (me) on how much space they are taking up. Rude. Skip to the car ride on the way to the Thanksgiving venue (a small outdoor restaurant owned by a Dutch man with a decent ‘view’ and quiet atmosphere) there are so many of us piled in the vehicle that it gets stuck in some mud 200 yards from the place. We all just decide to lighten up the car and get out. While rummaging through the trunk to get the food I go to grab a bag and something from inside is looking at me! I found the turkey!

Once we reach the venue we throw all of our bags in a large room that is littered with mattresses for us to sleep on. The mattresses were made up with sheets, blankets, pillows, and towels. I was impressed! It looked like a giant sleep over and reminded me of the good old days. We got served pizzas with pineapple, ham, beef, tuna, and a mystery meat that I took a bite of and tossed in Kendra's direction for her to finish. While we were picking our teeth clean and licking the plates Robyn and her sister, Bailey, and mother, Sharon, from the States arrived. They have been traveling all over the SW of Uganda for the past week and were gracing us with their presence for such a family oriented holiday. Actually Robyn set up the venue and organized everything so…. BIG shout out to Robyn and being on top of it all! Thank you! Robyn’s mother also brought gifts we requested from the States so I was able to enjoy pistachios again! Another shout out and Thank You to Robyn’s mom for lugging everything we requested!!

The next morning (THANKSGIVING!) Kendra and I went for a walk around the village when we eventually reached a dead end and saw two women in their yard. They waved us over and pulled over a bench so we figured ‘why not’ and took a seat. We greeted them and then just sat. We didn’t know enough Runyankore to carry on a complete conversation and they didn’t know enough English… so after 5 minutes we excused ourselves and found the trail again. When we got back to Kalibas (the restaurant) I opened a letter from my cousin Laura who handed it to me at my going away party and it read ‘do not open for 6 months.’ She didn’t remember writing it or plan me to open it on Thanksgiving but it was a very inspirational letter. A great start to a great day! Robyn killed the turkey while her mother and vegan sister watched. I just watched everyone’s face that I could see while this slaughter was going on. The last time I saw a chicken get slaughtered I wasn’t impressed… just scared… for the chicken. I decided to opt out of watching. While the turkey was cooking we set up the sigiris and chopped the veggies. I was scrubbing extremely dirty potatoes by hand so we could keep the skins on in our mash of potatoes. After scrubbing those suckers clean I decided to tackle the pumpkin with the only knife I could find…. my pocket knife. The resteraunt was very ill prepared and did not have many knives… only one I believe.. so everything we chopped was with pocket knives. Good thing almost every PCV I know has one! After spending an hour de-seeding, chopping, and peeling the rind off I boiled the pieces and threw the cooked pieces in a clean bathing basin. We had THAT much pumpkin. We also used a basin for the mac and cheese, salad, and mashed potatoes. During this feast we were not lacking food. I roasted the pumpkin seeds, mashed the pumpkin while Kendra added the pie ingredients, mashed the potatoes, and cooked the green bean casserole. I felt productive and useful! So our menu for the meal was: turkey, vegetable salad w/ basalmic dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, stuffing, and drum roll…. Pumpkin pie! Everything for the meal was a team effort and made from scratch. Most of us had blisters on our hands when we were done chopping and cooking! Way to go team! After our main meal we sat by the fire with some drinks and enjoyed one another’s company. It was the end to a wonderful Thanksgiving… I may not have been with my family back home but it sure felt I was with a family… which is the most important. My Peace Corps family!

The next day we celebrated one of the PCVs birthdays. It was an epic night filled with bone shaking (dancing), lighting my mouth on fire intentionally (twice), and getting VIP treatment for being white… most of that would never happen in the States… it was AWESOME and at the same time extremely odd to be so privileged. Celebrity status. Although while bone shaking I saw a television with news about the rebellion in the DRC and it just all felt like a dream… like something dramatic you would see on a TV show or in a movie… I was having a good time dancing and there was this… war/ unrest… happening on television… in a country right next to me.

When I got home after an exhausting day of public transportation I fell asleep at 6pm and didn’t wake up again until 9am. Good thing it was raining most of the day so I did NOTHING but clean my house and write. Uganda gives me OCD. I also have more of an appreciation for Elend (my cat). He cuddles with me when I want him to, he responds to me clicking like a dog, he now follows me down the driveway when I leave…. he’s growing on me… but still an idiot (aka waiting till it pours to go outside then being mad when he’s all wet). I started playing with the kids more outside my house because there are only about 4 living here during break and they don’t do really anything all day. Four kids isn't as intimidating as 20. Tonight I was giving the younger ones piggy back rides, we were spinning and getting dizzy, I had a little photo shoot with them, and then we kicked a ball around. The two youngest, Abigail and Bridget, each fell once and started crying. When they aren’t falling and hurting themselves they are adorable. They call my cat ‘cappa Michelle’ because he is mine. After returning inside my house I got a tap on the door 10 minutes later and posho and g-nut sauce delivered to my door. I grabbed a fork… walked outside… and sat down on my stoop with Abigail and Bridget. They both got on either side of me and were talking to me in Runyankore. I didn’t know most of what they said but it was still cute. Very enjoyable.

Earlier today I also sat in town charging my computer and watching the TV show Community for a few hours. I pulled my only three carrots from the garden in the front of the house because the cows trampled on everything else I planted. While I was in the garden a black mohawked eagle flew over me again and I tried getting some pics. A long-crested eagle…. I wish I could tame one and walk around with him on my forearm…. When I wanted him to he could mail letters for me. After the eagle flew over, Elend came to visit me in the garden and we walked back to the house together… at one point I had him running next to me… this is what I would do if I had a dog. Ugh. I miss my dog from home.

Tomorrow I am heading to GLOW until the 8^th! My group animal is the Warthog… snort snort! Get ready to play some Frisbee girls!!! Empowering women is going to be fun!

Thank you for the package Grandma Sophie! I’m enjoying all of the food and the kitten pot holders and oven mitts! Maybe I’ll stop burning myself now!

Hope you all had a MARVELOUS Thanksgiving and have reflected on what you are thankful for!

When trying to teach a Ugandan about Thanksgiving... they just kept asking 'what did you give?'