A day in the life … species by species
Adjusting to my new life in Uganda – here’s my daily routine, one species at a time
“Greetings!” as we say in Uganda.
The view over my compound wall. Namuwongo ‘go down’ by railway Kampala
We may not have the same change of seasons here in Uganda as we do in Europe but the insects and other animal species don’t know that! They come and go in phases. If you’ve been reading my blog regularly you’ll have met:
- Mosquitoes and cockroaches – hell, but they do their own relentless thing all the year round!
- Flying ants with enormous wings
- Grasshoppers – or Nsenene – eat them or smoke them?
- Black Jumping Spiders – er… they’re black and they jump! Small and dead comical.
- Black ‘stumpy’ flies. A few millimetres long, they look like their wings have been clipped.
- Ants, o yes. And they’re still here.
- This week I’m noticing “Tim Burton’s” spiders – very thin scraggly long legs and tiny bodies. Proper name Golden Orb Spider.
Come back Ma, it only visited us once!
If you’ve ever wondered what my daily routine in Kampala is like, here we go, species by species:
My love-hate relationship with this beautiful bird was put to the test recently
I’m usually woken up by a Woodland Kingfisher …
In Uganda there are five or ten of every kind of bird… in the UK we have one species of starling and one species of kingfisher; in East Africa there are 15 types of kingfishers and 31 types of starling!
…or the ugly clack clack clack of the Hadada Ibises (Ibi?) – how can such a beautiful bird make such a bleeding racket? (And live in all that s**t come to mention it …?)
Marabou Stork, Mweya, Queen Elizabeth National Park
God forbid it’s an enormous (5ft / 1.5m) Marabou Stork flying overhead. They look so clumsy.
I throw open the curtains and out jumps a startled gecko.
Cock a doodle do… at 9 o’clock? The cockerel lives in the shanty town beyond the compound and likes to remind us VERY LOUDLY of his presence on an hourly basis.
As the day warms up a striking brown and bright blue Agama lizard wakes up and saunters along the top of the hedge. He’s ?? long, a mixture of beige and brown and the most vibrant blue. He’s a handsome fella.
Simpson killed another type of lizard (brown body with pale yellow and red belly). Simpson’s very intelligent but doesn’t know much about wildlife. He’s mad about his cows! (A pastoralist from the West, cows are a symbol of wealth and therefore highly valued). I told him off for killing the lizard. He was cornered on the toilet at the time (!) and he said he thought it was going to bite him. “Next time you come and get me” I said “and I’ll remove it for you.”
dead lizard Uganda – we nearly fell out over this one, I tell you!
As the heat of the day builds, we don’t see much other than the odd (but large and brightly coloured) dragonfly skimming past.
And when the insects get too much, I just have to remind myself that without all this food we wouldn’t have this amazing diversity of birds, one of my passions.
I do sometimes feel the Old Testament is being reenacted in my house!
That reminds me, toads (or frogs?), I often go to the sleep of them croaking very loudly after the rain.
At dusk the insects, birds and geckos reappear again. The geckos come out of their hiding spots, and stand sentry on the outside wall all night next to the security light. There are several in the house too. They TUT TUT at me loudly when I disturb them and I’m sorry that some were unwitting victims of the fumigation. They are my friends (we can forgive the fact I have black gecko droppings decorating my skirting boards!)
Grasshoppers – nsenene: eat them or smoke them? Discuss.
Grasshoppers “nsenene” – will you eat them or smoke them?
A storm had been brewing since an intensely hot morning and a few drops of rain spattered onto my new umbrella as I walked out of the Buganda Road restaurant.
Little did I know what I was heading into.
It was fun at first, stepping though the raindrops, tremendous cracks of thunder overhead but within a few steps it was ‘coming down stair rods’, a solid, vertical downpouring. I hung onto the umbrella hard but it only served to keep my head and bag dry(ish) as waves engulfed my feet and a strong wind – from nowhere – washed the sheets of hard rain against my body. Wet to the bone in seconds, continuing my walk was no longer an option. I stood beside a bright yellow vendor’s kiosk and screamed as water funnelled down the back of my T shirt.
Torrents of water gushed downhill and the previously busy streets emptied of all but the biggest 4x4s and the maddest matatu [minibus] drivers.
My shelter in the storm was one of many kiosks, this one – in the middle of Kampala – being a very modern fibreglass job where you can buy airtime and load money onto your phone. Most are a patchwork of wood, like a garden shed (only of less sound construction!)
I was wondering what to do when someone pushed open the flap at the front of the fiberglass cabin. A head poked out and shouted “Come in! Come this way!” above the din of the rain. I ran round the side of the booth and took refuge with a man and a lady in the dark metre-square box.
“Thank you for the shelter!” I screamed above the rain, and we laughed as Juma peeled off his shirt and wrung out a pint of water onto the floor.
As the rain pelted down, we spent the next twenty minutes in the dark, talking about the rainy season, Ugandan politics and the cultural differences such as food in Uganda, specifically in relation to eating grasshoppers, or nsenene in Luganda, currently in season.
I said I don’t eat grasshoppers because ‘silya enyama’ [I don’t eat meat] but apparently nsenene are not classed as meat.
“I try not to eat them any more” Juma mused, “even though I l like them.” He looked into the distance thoughtfully and spoke like someone trying to give up the fags.
In Kenya he said the same grasshoppers are collected and put on the fire, the smoke believed to keep ghosts away. An educated man, we agreed that eating dogs like the Chinese do wasn’t something we intended to try!
Do you eat Nsenene? Or do you prefer eating Enswa (white ants)?
I am fed-up
The ups and downs of life as a volunteer in Uganda
- No internet or office phone, nor promise from provider to solve it any time soon.
- Feeling fat.
- Sophie (junior) didn’t turn up to work, nor tell anyone she wasn’t coming in.
- Patrick isn’t in as his kids have all got malaria.
- Enid has been telling me about the frustrations of Uganda – inefficiency, protecting their jobs, saying sorry but not trying to address situation, refusing to give name of supervisor, not returning calls, blaming other people etc etc
- Simpson not here to cheer me up.
- The sun’s gone in!
- I have no plans (yet) for the w/end.
- Ken the painter didn’t understand me when I called to explain he needs to apply damp proof paint on all the walls inside the wardrobe (so I haven’t been able to unpack properly yet).
- It’s Friday the 13th which is cool cos maybe that explains everything?!Feel a lot better now I know why I feel pissed off!
Week 2 in Nam’ – My new home
Life in Namuwongo is just what I wanted.
I’m on a secure ‘compound’ (walled garden), five minutes walk from Nam’ (a suburb of Kampala approx 15-30 minutes away, depending on traffic). In Nam’ I can get public transport, use the internet (well, in theory at least!) and do all my food shopping (more about that another day, what an experience that is too!) There’s a shanty town over the wall, just 100m away, so there’s a constant buzz of human activity (not to mention drumming!)
First day in my new job, shame I couldn’t iron my clothes! It was all very relaxed and am learning to go with the flow. Spent the morning listening to Patrick and Enid understanding more about UCF’s immediate needs.
Hoping to meet two of the Directors this week and 4×4 driving lessons are planned once I get my Ugandan driving licence (though this is just a formality and not a prerequisite to driving!!) With all the other changes going on, almost forgot I am starting a new job as well, almost seems incidental. Meeting the Trustees in London and spending some time with Mike (the founder, who lived here for ten years) means I knew quite a lot about my new role. Still can’t believe my luck, this is such a great placement.
rewiring Namuwongo house
Electricity, we have some! Not all fixed yet but landlord arrived at 7.30 this morning. Most of house has been rewired now. Feels strange to have light and power! Once my bathroom has been rewired I will even have hot water! (But a power shower it ain’t).
There is a cluster of volunteers my side of town who I met up with yesterday so support network is building nicely too.
Michele has been asking about the men, well some really gorgeous young men on our first night out, playing the drums and doing the traditional African dancing. I just need to find out where the “h- edu(ma)cated” men hang out (and get a bit of a suntan first!) Still, plenty of time for all that – mpola mpola as they say here.
Avocadoes are ripe and dropping off tree into our garden compound but the paw paw aren’t ripe yet. It stinks out there tho, Simpson thinks there’s a dead rat over the other side of the hedge.
Touchdown in Africa – a letter home
Am writing from a really grubby internet cafe on the main road outside Kampala. We took a half hour walk thru the village to get here, all the kids shouting ‘Mzungu mzungu, bye!’ and waving at us. It was great fun.
Poverty is everywhere though: stalls just selling 4 tomatoes and a bunch of plantain, four people on a motorbike, enormous potholes and rubbish everywhere. My old colleagues at Laing Roads and the Waste team would have a field day here!
Had my first power cut last night – disappointingly short!! (The novelty will wear off I know).
This week we 12 new VSO volunteers are staying in relative luxury in Lweza outside Kampala in a religious conference centre. The reception area displays a calendar showing faces of all the Ugandan bishops (a must-have item for 2010 I think).
Today I had my first Luganda lesson, it was so much fun. Everything here is done with a smile on your face. Isla and I sat under the banda (like a bandstand) next to the ten feet high bamboo, watching the monkeys go by! We are learning to take life mpola mpola (slowly by slowly)…
Ugandans are so friendly and welcoming, so not the stereotype you see on TV of Africans (ignore typos, keyboard is heavy with red dust!)
I love Uganda already.
Induction very interesting. I’m bonding with some great volunteers. VSO are very good at getting us to connect and set up our own support network over here. About 30 VSO volunteers in Kampala, so life should be fun. Met British Consul yesterday so am already networking too 🙂
Food is pretty crap but no big bug scares yet.
First night went to African drum and dance show at the Ndere Cultural Centre. It was superb. I had to pinch myself – “I’m in Africa! At last!”
Even when I was on the plane I was obsessed with ramming my bags into the smallest cubby hole possible, trying to economise with every bit of available space. I kept saying to myself: “I can’t believe the months of packing (my flat / my possessions that are in storage / the stuff to bring to Uganda) are finally over!”
Gym and running have been non-existent this past month and the Ugandan diet threatens to turn me into a Big Mama very quickly (choice of 4 carbs for lunch!) Or was I supposed to eat all 4 of them? That said, maybe I’ll take up African dancing (‘the men aren’t bad looking’ as Michele will say!)
Meet my new colleagues at the Uganda Conservation Foundation on friday when we all move to our long-term accommodation. Hope to catch up with everyone more then. Don’t forget to drop me a line, one and all!
To read more about why I first came to Uganda, read The Story so Far
Are you planning to volunteer in Uganda? Are you a VSO?
Do you have any other Uganda travel tips or expat travel advice you’d like to share?
Please leave a comment here or contact me directly if you have any questions. I’d love to hear from you!
My new pad in Namuwongo, Kampala
Volunteer life in Kampala
My new house has a garden! Really excited about this tho whether it’s what we’d call a garden or concrete yard or bare earth or dog’s toilet or what I have no idea but will take my gardening gloves and a few packets of seeds just in case. Fingers crossed I can do something with it!
Robert (currently working with UCF in Kampala) has sent me my new address, between the railway line and the sewerage treatment works! So far it sounds like London’s Kings Cross. Wonder what chances are of still having view of Lake Victoria?!
I will be living in NAMUWONGO (I love the name!)
Google Earth shows Namuwongo bottom of photo; light reflects off the tin roofs of the slum area at the top of the photo.
Apparently I’ll be the only mzungu or muzungu on the street.
The house has three rooms, one of which may be the office. There are two bathrooms (with bath!) and a lounge. There are two garages, one of which may also be the office … This is absolute luxury by VSO standards and I am gobsmacked at what I am getting as I could very easily been sharing very very basic accommodation. The extra room(s) are for Trustees to stay on visits from the UK but that will be on quite rare occasions so plenty of room for friends and family to stay! I can’t believe my luck.
Namuwongo house cum office Kampala compound
Robert and Janice are currently VSO volunteers with UCF and St. John the Baptist Ggaba Primary Teacher College.
VSO volunteer teachers Robert and Janice, Ggaba PTC. DK is seated behind Janice
They are kindly leaving behind a number of items for me, including:
- A TV on which you can get four or five local East African stations, which are mostly in English. I was offered their satellite TV dish but this would’ve cost over 1/4 of monthly allowance of 400,000 UgX (Ugandan shillings). There are approx 2850 shillings to the pound!
- A battery operated radio …(main connection blew up during a power cut).
- There is a fridge (but it goes off when the power goes). Apparently there are very few power cuts here cos its in a government area – let’s see!
- Camping equipment (no Ma I’m not going camping on my own!)
Welcome! How this blog works … (I think!)
Hi All
I’m just learning the ropes here with blogging but thought you might be interested in hearing about my VSO journey ‘pre-departure’.
This outlines the VSO volunteer learning journey – I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be a part of this!
It’s been a fascinating ride so far, thanks to four days intensive training with VSO (getting us to think about how we deal with living in a different culture; possible corruption, isolation, being the only white person or ‘mzungu’ for miles; missing family and friends. That’s not to say I’ll have to deal with all these issues on the VSO placement I’ve accepted, as the Marketing Development Manager for Uganda Conservation Foundation ,but the process gets you questioning so many things you take for granted. Being a vegetarian for example is just not an option in most of the world, you eat what’s available, so what do I do when a poor family invites me to dinner and I’m offered meat?
I’ve always wanted to do VSO so it was an emotional moment when I realised I’m actually going to do it. Later I thought hang on, I’m giving up a good job and risking losing my flat… am I crazy?! Well the answer may be yes (!) but I’m absolutely sure this is the right course for me. Not only do people have only positive things to say about Uganda, but I’ve met most of the Uganda Conservation Foundation trustees here in London. Seem like a good bunch of people I reckon, very laid back yet dedicated and a good laugh too, all passionate about Africa and wildlife and very excited that I’m joining the team.
Please post comments! I want to hear what you think about my blog and keep in touch with you! This blog doesn’t replace me sending and replying to individual emails but it will save me saying the same thing a dozen times so forgive me for looking for a few shortcuts.
