Contrasts

I just returned from a short holiday to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Cairo, Egypt. It was a great experience and since I was far from home for Christmas, going somewhere totally different was a great way to avoid feeling too homesick during the holidays. Both cities were interesting in their own way, and I've been reflecting on what I experienced in both.

Perhaps the most effective way to communicate my impressions of the two cities is to use a “compare and contrast” model. (nerdy, I know, but I am a Social Studies teacher after all!)

	Dubai	Cairo
Architecture	-ultra modern feats of engineering (indoor ski hill, tallest man-made structure in the world, man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree and “the world”, etc) -examples of what one very rich absolute ruler can build with enough man-power and money -a mixture of Islamic and Western styles	-ancient feats of engineering (pyramids, Sphinx, temples, fortresses, etc) -examples of what one very rich absolute ruler can build with enough man-power and money -a mixture of ancient Egyptian, Islamic and Western styles
Transportation Options	-Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris, Porsches, BMW’s or Mercedes are de rigeur -new buses and metro system	-a variety of vehicles with multiple scratches on the bumpers given the way traffic works, taxis that have been on the road for a LONG time, horse-drawn carts or camels -old and very dirty buses and metro system
Dress Code	-the latest designer fashions, traditional Emirati dress for men, all manner of appropriate Islamic styles for women -very elegant and stylish	-the latest designer fashions, traditional Egyptian dress for men, all manner of appropriate Islamic styles for women -varies according to economic situation
Garbage	-invisible	-piled in alleys, canals, and gutters
Typical Tourist Boat Experience	-dinner cruise on the Arabian Sea or Dubai creek on a traditional boat called a dhow	-dinner cruise on the Nile River on a traditional boat called a felucca
Unique to the City	-the only “7 star” hotel in the world complete with Rolls Royce pick-up at the airport and your own personal valet to attend to your every need	-collection of ancient artifacts from King Tutankhamen’s tomb
Smoking	-allowed basically everywhere…even some bathroom stalls come equipped with ash trays -shisha pipes are very popular and you can order cigarettes from some restaurant menus	-encouraged by the government. Apparently, the government keeps the price of tobacco very low so that everyone can afford it -if you only smoke shisha, that is considered by some as “giving up smoking”, even though the tobacco is just as strong as cigarettes
Overall Impression	-a fascinatingly “new” city. There is still construction going on all over the city and it has developed in basically a period of ten years -the height of all the buildings in the city is astounding, yet the Burj Khalifah (the tallest man-made structure in the world) rises far above them all. Makes one think of the Tower of Babel!	-a fascinatingly “ancient” city. People find antiquities when they dig in their yards, and there is evidence of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Islamic influence as well as Medieval and the British colonial period. -all of the above plus modern shopping malls with Starbucks and T.G.I. Fridays

Mohammed Ali mosque at the Citadel in Cairo

interior of the mosque

The Sphinx and one of the Giza Pyramids

camel riding in Giza

felucca ride on the Nile

the view from my Cairo hotel balcony (notice the McDonald's billboard)

the interior of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai...this is what 7 stars gets you

a view from the observation deck on the 124th storey of the Burj Khalifah.

That's the shadow of the tower you see stretching out below.

indoor skiing at the Mall of the Emirates

Malaria

This nasty disease is an unfortunate reality here in Uganda and throughout Africa. It is the number one killer of children on this continent and it is a very complicated disease to try to understand. I am now on the recovery side of a case of what the doctor called "complicated malaria" which means there were many malarial parasites in my blood which caused high fever, chills, and general weakness. Not fun! However, medical professionals here are very capable of dealing effectively with malaria, so I was sent to the hospital immediately to start a course of IV quinine drip. I spent the night in the hospital and am feeling much better today. I am grateful that I have the resources to get the necessary treatment; too many people can't afford medical help or have access to clean drinking water in order to deal with malaria effectively. Tragic!

the ambulance I got to ride in from the clinic to the hospital

the very exciting view I've been staring at for the last 24 hours (the ceiling of my room)

looking my best

(actually an improvement from the very green shade my skin was yesterday!)

Hair-do's

Two staff members from our Kibaale project got married on Saturday, and I went along to participate in the festivities. Ugandan weddings can be very confusing for Westerners, because the invitation indicates what time the ceremony will start, but if you actually arrive at that time, it is very likely you'll be waiting in a relatively empty sanctuary...for hours, possibly. We arrived at what we considered to be fashionably late enough, but we were greeted with the news that the ceremony wouldn't start for at least another hour.

When we returned to the church after killing time at Kibaale Community Centre, the groomsmen were all in position to enter the church, so we were hopeful that things were starting. About 45 minutes later, (the groomsmen had entered and were seated in the church for that time) the bridal party arrived and things finally got underway. The crowd was enthusiastic, there was singing and dancing and it was great fun to be a part of it all.

I have wondered why wedding delays are so common here and I think I have come up with a workable theory to explain it: It's all about the hair-do's.

The flower girl, bridesmaids and bride all get their hair done in elaborate styles for the event and it must take ages to complete these works of art. I was lucky enough to be seated directly behind the bridesmaids, so I had the opportunity to examine the intricacies of their hairstyles; it is truly astounding how much work it must be to achieve "the look." Taking that into consideration, that the bridal party arrives at all is a tribute to the women who work tirelessly to ensure that each strand of hair is perfectly in place!

So, to the hair dressers of Uganda: Well done! We wedding guests will continue to wait, eagerly anticipating the arrival of your masterpieces.

the flower girl (she was SUPER cute!)

close-up of the bridesmaids' hairstyle

the bridal party

the final effect

Nature

Yesterday morning, as we were preparing to leave for church, we heard the dogs barking quite persistently outside. When we went to check it out, we saw that the dogs had cornered a mongoose inside our compound and were engaged in a bit of a grudge match with the feisty little thing. After a short time the outcome was decided. I'm sure people might be wondering: Who'd win in a fight...2 dogs vs. a mongoose?

The answer is the dogs. That's all I really need to say about that.

Today Nature continued to cause some excitement for us. Again this afternoon, I heard one of the dogs barking persistently and went to check it out. As I approached, I noticed that he was barking at a small snake that was near our front gate. The snake was trying to strike, so I called the dog to get away, hoping that he hadn't already been bitten. Even small snakes here can be very dangerous.

Once I got the dogs safely away, I went back to try to deal with the dangerous critter, but I wasn't really sure what I was going to do. Armed with only my camera (you can't let a moment like this go unrecorded!) I tried to figure out a plan, but wasn't really willing to get too close to the problem. Fortunately, I didn't have to come up with anything on my own, as Paul just happened to be driving by at that moment. I flagged him down, and he picked up a nearby construction pole that had a large nail sticking out of the end. With only 2 hits he managed to hit the snake with the nail--crisis averted!

We think it was a black mamba, which could have been quite dangerous. However, the dog appears to be fine; the snake is gone, and we have one more great story to tell. I wonder what tomorrow will hold?

the snake lying near the gate post

Paul has successfully eliminated the problem

images of Moses in the wilderness...a snake on a pole

it's good to have neighbours who are willing to take care of unpleasant tasks!

Campfire

We have been living on the Timothy Centre site for nearly a year now, and last night we finally got around to constructing a fire pit so that we can sit around a campfire from time to time in the evenings. We had high hopes, but alas, it was not to be. It had rained quite hard during the day, so the wood we tried to use was too wet to burn and it ended up being too smoky to be fun. So, we packed up the marshmallows and hot dogs, headed back inside and cooked them using the broiler in the oven. We ended up spending the evening in the living room, which is pretty much the normal routine, but still enjoyable. All things considered, it was a fun experiment and we look forward to other attempts in the future.

it's so embarrassing when you show up to a campfire wearing the same outfit as your neighbour!

the reason we were driven inside

Wings

I guess it's an example of cause and effect. Cause: rain during the rainy season....Effect? "White ants" (I'm not really sure what kind of insect they are) fly out of the ground in massive quantities, drop their wings and crawl away.

These ants are a bit of a delicacy for the local people and the workers were very excited when this phenomenon had occurred overnight. The ants are attracted to light, and as we have security lights on all the buildings and gates on our compound that are on all night, there were piles of wings everywhere! The workers collected the ants and enjoyed them as a seasonal snack.

For me, these ants are less of a delicacy and more of an irritant; the wings are scattered all over my verandah in the morning and it requires a fair bit of sweeping to try to get rid of them. Not to mention that the ants themselves somehow manage to crawl through the crack under the door and come into my house. They aren't harmful or anything; they are just difficult to get rid of. Just when you think you've gotten them all, another one appears from somewhere and out comes the broom again!

Here is what my porch looked like this morning before I swept it:

Activities

Here are some things I've been doing that have prevented me from updating my blog lately:

-entertaining my parents while they visited for about a month

-learning to use my new Mac computer 

-interviewing more prospective teachers and staff members for the school

-helping to plan a youth camp for our church

-teaching Sunday School 

-writing school policy

-designing marketing material 

-creating budgets 

-deciding on furniture, supplies and resources for the school

-meeting with Evacy, the Head Teacher, regularly to discuss plans

-preparing to move into my office in the (mostly) completed administration building

-developing a Leadership course for the school

I enjoy all of these tasks and there is still much to do before our intended opening date in February, but I will do my best to write updates more frequently.  No promises though!

Workers

As the anticipated opening day (Feb. 2011) of Timothy Girls College approaches there is all kinds of work happening on the site. We have over 100 men employed to do the building, landscaping, wiring and plumbing of the school buildings, so from Monday to Saturday the site is a very busy place. The local community is very appreciative of the work we are providing for these men, and we appreciate all their hard work on our behalf.

All the buildings are constructed with locally produced bricks, covered in plaster with wooden roof trusses and iron sheet roofing. They are fairly basic structures, but there is a great deal of man power that goes into each stage of the construction. Landscapers have levelled huge piles of dirt with only hoes and pick axes; porters mix cement by the wheelbarrow full, men carry jerrycans of water by hand from the pump to be used in cement mixing; bow saws are used to cut the roof trusses and hammers pound the nails into them (the wood used is tropical hardwood that is very difficult to cut by the way.) Each brick has been laid with a hand trowel and the septic tanks, trenches for foundations and retaining walls have all been dug by hand. The only real machinery that has been used is a small bulldozer that was used to grade the sloped land. An electric skill saw has also been used to speed up the roof truss production process, but there is only one.

So, as a tribute to all the hard work that goes on each day, here are some photos of the workers doing what they do best. Thank you, guys!

making sidewalks behind my house

loading extra slate into the "tipper"

raking gravel

preparing for the installation of the roof trusses for the dining hall

shovelling gravel

digging a trench for a retaining wall

binding the joints of the dining hall roof trusses with metal bands

nailing the beams together for the roof trusses

all the workers change their clothes in the morning when they arrive and hang them outside the big storage building, then change back at the end of the work day

Interviews

We have started interviewing potential teachers and staff for the school and I have learned quite a bit about some of the more subtle aspects of the culture here through this process. The Ugandan head teacher takes the lead in asking questions of the candidates, as she has a better idea of what is important to learn from these individuals in this context. Here are some things I've learned from the questions she's asked:

1. The language, Kiswahili, (spoken widely in Kenya and Tanzania) is viewed by some Ugandans as the "language of thieves" and they resist learning it. This attitude hinders the development of a common East African language--something the government in this country would like to see.

2. Some families would be willing to pay high school fees to educate their sons, but would not be willing to pay the same amount to educate their daughters.

3. Chemistry and Biology are prerequisites for taking Advanced Level Foods and Nutrition, but a student doesn't need lower level Home Management (Home Ec) in order to take it. Foods and Nutrition is considered a Science course.

4. There have been cases of Art teachers completing their students' assignments for them in order to improve the grades on the national exams.

5. Despite the many challenges facing teachers in this country, it is easy to find many dedicated individuals who stand against corruption, care for their students, are committed to seeing more girls achieve higher education and work hard to achieve these goals.

It is encouraging to meet people who recognize the importance of education to development and want to make a difference in their country. I look forward to speaking to more interesting people over the next few weeks as we finalize our decisions.

Commerce

Here's a look at a variety of businesses around Masaka. People get very creative about where and how they display their wares; any spot on the street can become a shop. People sell items from baskets on the sidewalk, from baskets balanced on their heads and from pieces of cloth spread out on the ground. It can be a great adventure participating in commercial transactions around here.

A butcher uses a machete to cut the meat.

A suit salesman. He just piles one jacket over another on his shoulders and walks up and down the street. (the shop in the background is owned by our pastor's wife; it's where we get all our photocopying done.)

Street food. These guys are making chapattis.

A typical row of small shops along with makeshift shelters selling more items.

Kids

I just said goodbye to two of my sisters and another good friend a few days ago. They were here visiting for about 10 days and we packed in a lot of African adventures while they were here. A real highlight of the trip was the day we spent out in the village visiting the homes of some of the children that attend Kibaale Community School. My sister got to meet the boy she sponsors and present him with a goat that my nephew had raised money to buy for the family.

Several other generous people from Canada had donated money to buy goats for more of these needy families, so we were privileged to be able to deliver the goats directly to the recipients. Everywhere you go in Uganda, you see children and we had a lot of fun interacting with all the little ones living in the homes we visited. It was hard to tell who actually lived in each of the homes, because as soon as we arrived kids from the neighbouring area would come over to meet the visitors.

The kids love having their photos taken and then looking at themselves in the camera. As most are too poor to have mirrors in their homes, they don't see themselves very often, so it's a real novelty.

It was a day full of kids--both the human and the goat variety!

Dogs

I've mentioned our dogs before, but I thought I'd dedicate another blog entry to these animals that provide daily entertainment for us. They have a lot of energy and they enjoy the space they have on our site to chase each other, goats, cows, and occasionally even the workers (not something we encourage!) Their favourite activity, however, is chasing birds. As there are many different types of birds around here, Max and Joey have many opportunities to pursue this hobby. Fortunately, they aren't usually successful in catching birds, but this doesn't seem to deter them from trying.

Recently, there has been a crow that is getting revenge by tormenting our dogs in his own way. He flies very low, gets them to chase him and then he perches just out of their reach. It drives the dogs crazy and they bark, jump, run and look up helplessly at this smug bird. We've seen him doing this on several occasions, and it is quite funny to see. Watch out, dogs....that crow has ATTITUDE!

Max and Joey being tormented by a crow on the roof.

Fire!

Yesterday a fire started in the bush just beyond our property line. It continued to burn all afternoon and by the evening it had spread down to the wetland in front of our property. The fire eventually died down at about 10:00 pm, but we were watching it's progress pretty carefully throughout the evening to make sure it wasn't coming too close.

We're grateful that that no one was hurt and that nothing of value on our property or on the surrounding properties was lost.

An opportunity to get some rather dramatic photos!

Nothing like a fire burning close by to provide exciting and (somewhat scary) evening entertainment. You can see the bits of ash in the air illuminated by the camera flash.

Taken from the retaining wall in our front yard

Visionaries

I have been privileged to meet several Ugandans who are working very hard to improve their country and these people are truly inspirational. They face huge challenges—severe poverty, corruption, limited resources, disease and even physical danger, yet they continue to press on toward their goals and remain committed to improving their society.

There is the radio talk-show host that discusses educational issues on his programme and strives to encourage teachers and parents to take education seriously. As well, there is the local government official in this area who is staunchly committed to education and is appalled by the corruption he sees amongst his colleagues. The pastor of our church started a project for the children in the area, and another for their mothers because he recognizes the great needs and wants to do what he can to help. When you hear him talk about children you can see how much he cares for these vulnerable members of society. There are two men on staff at our Kibaale project who, out of their limited resources, sponsor several homeless children in the area because they benefited from sponsorship themselves and want to give something back.

None of these people are rich. They are just ordinary folks who want to see their country develop and are willing to sacrifice in order to see that happen. I am humbled by their dedication and perseverance as they endure many difficulties and continue to work for development. You hear a lot of negative stories about Africa, but I want to take time to applaud the people who work so hard within their communities to bring positive change. These changes come “slowly by slowly” (as the saying goes here) yet these committed individuals don’t give up. Bless them all!

Madmen

In a country that lacks so much in terms of healthcare, you can imagine how little help there is for the mentally ill. People here refer to these men and women as “madmen” and you often see them wandering the streets in cities and by themselves along the side of the highway. They are usually wearing very ripped, tattered and dirty clothes or (more often than not) very little clothing at all. Their behaviour isolates them from the rest of society and, sadly, they are a very marginalized group within this society with few available resources.

Here in Masaka there are a few men like this that we see regularly around town. One of them occasionally comes to visit Megan and me when we are working in the Christian Schools Association office in town. He walks right in, sits himself down in one of the chairs and starts talking to us. He has obviously been educated, as he speaks very fluent English, and he loves to expound on one or two of his favourite conspiracy theories. The topics seem to revolve around Catholicism, racism, Judaism, the War in Iraq and any combination of these and other hot topics. The other day he started the conversation (actually, it was more of a monologue, truth be told!) by asking “Where is Osama Bin Laden?” and so it went from there. Neither of us is required to say much in response to his thoughts, and he usually ends up saying something that cracks him up and then he gets up and leaves abruptly at that point.

We were in the office this morning and he hadn’t showed up during our time there. We weren’t too disappointed, as it’s a bit difficult to get any work done when someone is sitting in front of you discussing world politics. However, on the way home we stopped to pick up a few things and noticed him amongst the crowd at the weekly Friday market. As we drove by, he recognized us and we waved at him as we drove by.

I feel like I’ve passed some sort of milestone in terms of cultural adjustment...the local “madman” knows me and greets me in passing.

...another local personality