We spent much of yesterday washing down the education center in advance of Ben and Moses who hope to begin painting this week-end. I also tried in vain to fix our door lock. A new mortise lock jammed immediately – what can you expect from something made in China and exported to Africa? Little Stephanie, one of Passy’s daughters, tried to help us sweep using our muzungu broom like an African straw broom. It will never catch on here.
We got the fridge working and I am sipping an ice cold Castle Lager, freshly showered from our afternoon thunderstorm. It’s like being a kid again, out in the rain in your birthday suit. And there is plenty of room for us to bathe together. Oh, that we were young newlyweds!
Kara, Richard’s girlfriend from Kinyara Sugar Works, stopped by this morning to introduce herself. She hopes to help out with some of the educational programs and wherever else she can. She has invited us over as their guests, possible on Sunday and mentioned something about a quest membership at the club. Food, booze, pool, showers – even tennis and golf – but we shall see.
I began to listen to the Swahili tapes today. Hajambu y’all! It’s been a long time since I tried to learn a language but we have the time and it’s lingua franca of East and Central Africa, especially Tanzania where we will go on safari. Speaking of which we must book that soon.
Now that we have settled in, cleaned the banda, appropriated a picnic table and patched, he said hopefully, the leaks in the roof, there isn’t much to do until Ben arrives. We have cleaned much of the center so it is ready for a base coat of paint. Unlike Robert and Lawrence at Kalinzu who were content to watch us work; Amnon and Vincent simply disappear when I start something. And when I “suggest” that something be done they have reasons why it shouldn’t be or just ignore me. If JGI actually hires them for this project I believe we are in for some trouble. They can’t see things that need to be done and must wait to be told what to do – like children. I don’t see either of them as exciting, inspiring teachers either. At least Lawrence and Robert had that going for them.
We rode the bikes to the market near the Sugar Works to pick up some vegetables. It’s held on Saturday and Monday and has quite a lot of things but the produce selection is not as good as in Bushenyi. It’s a lot farther than we thought, nearly 30 kilometers, so we will probably go all the way to Masindi town for a better selection, a chance to use the internet and a good lunch.
There were several butchers at the market, hacking away at goat and cow carcasses – you could tell which by the head they left nearby. When they tried to sell me innards – I recognized lungs, liver, intestines – and they laughed at me when I said, “that’s not muzungu food!”
It rained a bit on the way home and the road got a little muddy but we have survived worse. Back at the banda, now renamed “Butterfly Banda” – baboons have been scarce – we put away the groceries and waited for Ben’s arrival. He and Moses, the artist, arrived about 3:00pm and we got right to painting while Moses checked out the forest with Vincent. We had forgotten about the crappy tools sold in Africa but quickly remembered as the paint brushes shed like cats on the white walls. There are several more days of painting both inside and outside and Ben plans on staying for 5 or 6 days.
