First days in Uganda
Monday, around two a.m. on the plane to Entebbe. July tenth………my reading light doesn’t work so I can’t find the number buttons……..
The adventure begins and getting there is part of the fun. Boston to London was fairly uneventful. Both Adeui and I got only one hour of sleep and we landed at Heathrow a bit dazed. Exchanged some money – I found 120 Euros in my passport case – checked our bags for the day and made sure Adeui had a seat on the next leg of the trip. We took the tube to London and walked around Covent Garden, Charring Cross, and Embankment. Over the bridge, saw the Thames, Big Ben, and Parliament. Lots of actors out on this beautiful Sunday and even an amazing frozen person – you know, those guys who just stand there and make you wonder if they are a statue or not. We had a daily pass for the public transportation and just hopped on busses until we found an area we liked…….i had learned to use my camera on the plane and used up the battery, so we bought some disposables, along with deodorant in London. Had a great Shepard’s pie lunch and got on the tube back to the airport. Met a nice Irish guy who helped us with directions. Back at the airport, Adieu continued to sense out every Sudanese, and especially every Dinka. Met a guy who we gave our pass to.
Met UN worker, a Sudanese John Simon who says he will contact me. Everyone is supportive of the school idea. The closer we get to Sudan, the less crazy people think we are since many have been there and it doesn’t sound so insane to them. The plane to Entebbe was delayed two hours with engine problems and I somehow am in a bulkhead seat and upgraded seat with tons of legroom. Fell asleep immediately and woke up to eat the best meal in a long time. Airline food, but maybe my lasueit chicken meal for a while. Had a glass of wine. Before the plane took off, Aduei ran over to me from her seat further back and tears were flowing from her eyes. A black man was being beaten and it brought back memories of torture. He was handcuffed and thrown off the. He was screaming. Adeui was in pain. She was like a small child who has suffered so much.
Travellng with Adeui has been great. She is the expert on the culture and I am simply the older person. It is like traveling with a daughter, though everyone looks at us and wonders what is up. They can tell that she is not my daughter, so they assume that she is my girlfriend. People look. When we tell them that she just became a citizen, I think they believe that we are married and that is how she got her papers.
Bought some tapes and coffee and will be videotaping the reunion. Adeui is nervous about meeting her brother and sister. She will also meet mom and later dad……..mom she hasn’t’ seen since she was six, and dad since she was one. He is a powerful man and her uncle is the main police chief of the area.
I can’t wait to meet the Dinka and Caleb who will be our guide in Uganda. Aduei has also met a great guy who worked in the area and in Darfur for a relief organization. He is sitting next to her and we talked about Russian literature. Let’s get this show on the road. I’m ready.
Hopefully I will sleep now……ah turbulance….i love turbulance………….
7:30 am Uganda time…just over Ugandan airspace……brushed teeth and feel ready for anything. ….. slept a bit, dreamt a bit……the adventure begins………….
Tuesday July 11, 2006 Ron Boyd’s birthday – must call him….
Yesterday was quite a week or so it seemed…..we got into Entebbe a few hours late because of a delay though it turns out that the Ugandan Presdent was on our plane.
Arrived and bro and sis were not there, just Joseph and Caleb…..Adeui was worried………I am an elder and must sit up front…. Baggage in back of pick up truck and Caleb sits in the back of the truck to protect the luggage. ..finally brother - Marian - and sis reunite and we go into town……and to the Cornernstone for much needed showers. Change money and have coffee and then off to the SPLM offices to get visas for southern Sudan. We go to the SPLM office guided by the Thompson-type high school friend of the brother…..it’s a bit of a rugged place but everyone is friendly, especially the young looking guy in a suit who is not so young and is the boss. We talk and have to come back in a few hours………we come back and me and the boss have some laughs and he supports what I’m doing in southern Sudan. We joke about me getting SPLM –Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement - membership – says if I come three times he’ll give it to me……in the meantime, takes one of my passport photos to remember me and calls me the White Dinka. That shall be my name.
Hired a cab who took us everywhere …went to us embassy to register and get the Sudan warning.
Back to Cornerstone with Caleb Adeui went to visit some family. I was alone with Caleb, Peter and Edward……went to a dark Ugandan restaurant. Sat outside and drank lots of beer and ate amazing food…talked about women and drugs and AIDS and life in general in Uganda. When I say we talked about women, I mean, we’re talking in general about morals and expectations. The Sudanese do not talk openly about sex and relationships. Once again the idea that light skinned women are prettier – like in Rwanda. Talked about how women bleach skin to look prettier…this light/dark skin thing really blows my mind. ….……pretty drunk by the time I got home……restless sleeping till 2 then slept like a babe…..the day before I was nodding off every few minutes struggling to stay awake. Now sitting at café trying to get on the internet, though with no luck…………..need my coffee…………….people are friendly, women have amazing smiles…….though service is slllllllllooooooooooowwwwwww….i want my coffee…………oh yeah, when I hit my head on the short door leaving the SPLM office, I said, “Us tall Dinkas got to be careful – especially the white Dinka. ……….later…
Called Ron Boyd and he was happy. Went to relative of Adeui for lunch and had my first Dinka meal. I felt like an honored guest – shaking lots of hands. The meal was great – women come around with a bowl to wash my hands, then eat with one hand – no silverware……it was amazing……..then got a haircut – not easy finding someone to cut white people hair……….now at café and getting ready for the 4am bus ride to the Sudanese border……oh yeah, also met a Lost Boy who works for the Nile River Institute who is setting up a school in Bor, near where OASIS wants to set up our school. For those who don’t know, OASIS is the Organization for the Advancement of Schools in Sudan. That’s what we’re calling ourselves…..Anyway…….i’m really excited about the project and can’t wait to get it started………..
I love Africa – the pace is great, the people are wonderful…….though the question is how do we improve people’s lives without making them hurried and depressed westerners? There are so many people with no jobs and nothing to do – they hang out with friends and talk and visit. Cell phones exist but are very expensive and only used to set up a time and place to meet. They are incredibly adept at just waiting around. There is no need to always be doing something.
A few of the Sudanese I’ve met here in Uganda would love to finish high school but cannot afford to. High school costs money, which only reaffirms my belief that we must open a free high school for all to attend. It is only through education that southern Sudan will be able to take control of its future. Remember, it is education, will of the people, and leadership which determine the success of a country – not natural resources. The big moral dilemma is how to bring health and medicine without all the negatives of western society? People are dying from malaria and the treatment often costs under ten dollars. But on the other side, they seem happier than most people I know and they seem to have closer friendships. The kids have the most amazing smiles. But this is the same feeling I get whenever I go to a third world country. I wonder what good all our progress has done us in the West. Sure, we live longer and have many opportunities, but are we happier? Do we have more love in our lives? Hmmmm…….
Hopefully camera will be charged – no electricity yesterday and I can send some photos……………
The adventure begins and getting there is part of the fun. Boston to London was fairly uneventful. Both Adeui and I got only one hour of sleep and we landed at Heathrow a bit dazed. Exchanged some money – I found 120 Euros in my passport case – checked our bags for the day and made sure Adeui had a seat on the next leg of the trip. We took the tube to London and walked around Covent Garden, Charring Cross, and Embankment. Over the bridge, saw the Thames, Big Ben, and Parliament. Lots of actors out on this beautiful Sunday and even an amazing frozen person – you know, those guys who just stand there and make you wonder if they are a statue or not. We had a daily pass for the public transportation and just hopped on busses until we found an area we liked…….i had learned to use my camera on the plane and used up the battery, so we bought some disposables, along with deodorant in London. Had a great Shepard’s pie lunch and got on the tube back to the airport. Met a nice Irish guy who helped us with directions. Back at the airport, Adieu continued to sense out every Sudanese, and especially every Dinka. Met a guy who we gave our pass to.
Met UN worker, a Sudanese John Simon who says he will contact me. Everyone is supportive of the school idea. The closer we get to Sudan, the less crazy people think we are since many have been there and it doesn’t sound so insane to them. The plane to Entebbe was delayed two hours with engine problems and I somehow am in a bulkhead seat and upgraded seat with tons of legroom. Fell asleep immediately and woke up to eat the best meal in a long time. Airline food, but maybe my lasueit chicken meal for a while. Had a glass of wine. Before the plane took off, Aduei ran over to me from her seat further back and tears were flowing from her eyes. A black man was being beaten and it brought back memories of torture. He was handcuffed and thrown off the. He was screaming. Adeui was in pain. She was like a small child who has suffered so much.
Travellng with Adeui has been great. She is the expert on the culture and I am simply the older person. It is like traveling with a daughter, though everyone looks at us and wonders what is up. They can tell that she is not my daughter, so they assume that she is my girlfriend. People look. When we tell them that she just became a citizen, I think they believe that we are married and that is how she got her papers.
Bought some tapes and coffee and will be videotaping the reunion. Adeui is nervous about meeting her brother and sister. She will also meet mom and later dad……..mom she hasn’t’ seen since she was six, and dad since she was one. He is a powerful man and her uncle is the main police chief of the area.
I can’t wait to meet the Dinka and Caleb who will be our guide in Uganda. Aduei has also met a great guy who worked in the area and in Darfur for a relief organization. He is sitting next to her and we talked about Russian literature. Let’s get this show on the road. I’m ready.
Hopefully I will sleep now……ah turbulance….i love turbulance………….
7:30 am Uganda time…just over Ugandan airspace……brushed teeth and feel ready for anything. ….. slept a bit, dreamt a bit……the adventure begins………….
Tuesday July 11, 2006 Ron Boyd’s birthday – must call him….
Yesterday was quite a week or so it seemed…..we got into Entebbe a few hours late because of a delay though it turns out that the Ugandan Presdent was on our plane.
Arrived and bro and sis were not there, just Joseph and Caleb…..Adeui was worried………I am an elder and must sit up front…. Baggage in back of pick up truck and Caleb sits in the back of the truck to protect the luggage. ..finally brother - Marian - and sis reunite and we go into town……and to the Cornernstone for much needed showers. Change money and have coffee and then off to the SPLM offices to get visas for southern Sudan. We go to the SPLM office guided by the Thompson-type high school friend of the brother…..it’s a bit of a rugged place but everyone is friendly, especially the young looking guy in a suit who is not so young and is the boss. We talk and have to come back in a few hours………we come back and me and the boss have some laughs and he supports what I’m doing in southern Sudan. We joke about me getting SPLM –Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement - membership – says if I come three times he’ll give it to me……in the meantime, takes one of my passport photos to remember me and calls me the White Dinka. That shall be my name.
Hired a cab who took us everywhere …went to us embassy to register and get the Sudan warning.
Back to Cornerstone with Caleb Adeui went to visit some family. I was alone with Caleb, Peter and Edward……went to a dark Ugandan restaurant. Sat outside and drank lots of beer and ate amazing food…talked about women and drugs and AIDS and life in general in Uganda. When I say we talked about women, I mean, we’re talking in general about morals and expectations. The Sudanese do not talk openly about sex and relationships. Once again the idea that light skinned women are prettier – like in Rwanda. Talked about how women bleach skin to look prettier…this light/dark skin thing really blows my mind. ….……pretty drunk by the time I got home……restless sleeping till 2 then slept like a babe…..the day before I was nodding off every few minutes struggling to stay awake. Now sitting at café trying to get on the internet, though with no luck…………..need my coffee…………….people are friendly, women have amazing smiles…….though service is slllllllllooooooooooowwwwwww….i want my coffee…………oh yeah, when I hit my head on the short door leaving the SPLM office, I said, “Us tall Dinkas got to be careful – especially the white Dinka. ……….later…
Called Ron Boyd and he was happy. Went to relative of Adeui for lunch and had my first Dinka meal. I felt like an honored guest – shaking lots of hands. The meal was great – women come around with a bowl to wash my hands, then eat with one hand – no silverware……it was amazing……..then got a haircut – not easy finding someone to cut white people hair……….now at café and getting ready for the 4am bus ride to the Sudanese border……oh yeah, also met a Lost Boy who works for the Nile River Institute who is setting up a school in Bor, near where OASIS wants to set up our school. For those who don’t know, OASIS is the Organization for the Advancement of Schools in Sudan. That’s what we’re calling ourselves…..Anyway…….i’m really excited about the project and can’t wait to get it started………..
I love Africa – the pace is great, the people are wonderful…….though the question is how do we improve people’s lives without making them hurried and depressed westerners? There are so many people with no jobs and nothing to do – they hang out with friends and talk and visit. Cell phones exist but are very expensive and only used to set up a time and place to meet. They are incredibly adept at just waiting around. There is no need to always be doing something.
A few of the Sudanese I’ve met here in Uganda would love to finish high school but cannot afford to. High school costs money, which only reaffirms my belief that we must open a free high school for all to attend. It is only through education that southern Sudan will be able to take control of its future. Remember, it is education, will of the people, and leadership which determine the success of a country – not natural resources. The big moral dilemma is how to bring health and medicine without all the negatives of western society? People are dying from malaria and the treatment often costs under ten dollars. But on the other side, they seem happier than most people I know and they seem to have closer friendships. The kids have the most amazing smiles. But this is the same feeling I get whenever I go to a third world country. I wonder what good all our progress has done us in the West. Sure, we live longer and have many opportunities, but are we happier? Do we have more love in our lives? Hmmmm…….
Hopefully camera will be charged – no electricity yesterday and I can send some photos……………
posted by Charly at 10:04 AM
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