Culture and Language

I've been here for 9 months now. Last week I caught myself say a very non - English sentence!
I was just nipping out of my office, at the school, to see someone in an office at the hospital, when the secretary asked me if I was on my way home. My reply was “ I”m just coming”. In England I would have said 'I'll be back in a mo...' or 'I”m just nipping out...'. So Uganda is beginning to rub off on me – you'll have to bear with me and my English when I come back!!

Here are some of the other things I've heard!
'You are lost!' often a greeting a received when I've not seen someone for a while. I used to reply 'I've been around!'. But I have now come to realise that they are just saying haven't seen me for a while.
When I'm out and about in trousers (happy to be out of my uniform dress!) I often get complimented 'You are smart!'. At first I wondered if my uniform was scruffy!! But it's just a compliment stating that I'm looking well dressed.

The classic one I received when I came back from my Easter Holiday “you have put on weight”. It really is ingrained here that to put on weight is a good thing – indicates prosperity and being well fed.
These days if I'm trying to arranged a lift to somewhere I now ask them to 'pick me' at ...... For some reason the 'up' is dropped from the statement. I've not worked out why yet!
When ever I get back from being in town or visiting a friend I am told 'Wellb back!' an abbreviation of welcome back!

What I haven't got used to is being told 'well done' when I meet people. I usually reply – what for?? But I am coming to realise that in fact it is just part of a greeting, like saying hello!!! So when I see you, you will now know what I mean, when I say 'I'm just coming'. And you will understand when I tell you to 'pick me' that I am without car and need a lift!

I found this poem in a book and liked it- here it is for you to read!
We and They
by Rudyard Kipling
Father, Mother and Me
Sister and Aunties say
All the people like us are We,
And everyone else is They.
And They live over the sea
While we live over the way.
But – would you believe it? -
They look upon WE
As only a sort of They!
We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn-handled knives.
They who gobble Their rice off a leaf
Are horrified out of Their lives;
While They who live up a tree,
Feast on grubs and clay,
(Isn't it scandalous?) We look upon
As a simply disgusting They!
We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch.
They drink milk or blood
Under an open thatch.
We have Doctors to fee.
They have Wizards to pay.
And (impudent heathen!)
They look upon We
As a quite impossible They!
All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And everyone else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!)
Looking on WE
As only a sort of They!

Moths!

Just couple of pictures for you to admire! I have discovered these outside my house. Usually around where the security lights are!

This one has see - through bits on it's wings!! I had to inspect it very throughly to be convinced that it hadn't just been nibbled by some enemy!!

A Home Birth!

This morning I was called out for my first ever home birth!
Three months ago I was asked if I could help provide some midwifery care for one of the missionary ladies here. When I went for the first check up, I was then asked about providing labour care as well! I discussed it with 2 other midwives here and we formed a team providing care for her. As we prepared for the birth we discussed all eventuallities - what to do in an emergency, investigated flights out of the town etc!! It was interesting discussing all these things as we are midwives from varying countries - British, Netherlands and America!
This morning I had a text message at 4.30am saying that she thought it was time for me to come. I quickly had some breakfast, as I checked my bag of 'might be useful' things! I then rung my neighbours who had kindly agreed to be my transport!
When I arrived things were calm and the other 2 midwives were there debating if it had been a false alarm. However you never know...... So we stuck around to see how things would go.
By 08.30am things started to look more promising and by 09.55am we had a smooth birth of a beautiful little girl! Praise God for her safe arrival!

P.S. For photographs have a look at this address http//coppedgeafrica.blogspot.com I'm in one of the pictures.

Flowers...

One thing that is nice about this compound is that there are many many trees. They provide good protection from the strong sun in the heat of the day. The only thing about the many trees is that there are so many leaves to be swept up during the dry season!
We have many fruit trees, including: lemon, mandarin, avocado, mango and mulberry bushes. When they are in season it is lovely – you generally have to compete with the children to get any fruit – as they leg it up the trees and take what ever is going! As well as competing with the children for fruit we have to compete with the monkeys! They tend to come especially for the mulberries. (frustrating when you want to make mulberry jam!) Of course no one competes for the lemons!
This compound also has many beautiful flowers – I've been enjoying some lovely ones in my small flower beds. They spring up on their own – without much attention from me or the gardener. So the place is colourful and I benefit through the differnt seasons.......

Esther's Big Day

Two weeks ago Esther came to me asking me to be a maid at her wedding because one of the other maids had droped out. I said 'surely 5 maids were enough'. But no! You can't have an uneven number of maids as they have to march in pairs! So I became a maid!

THE DAY BEFORE

Beautification started on Thursday with the maids having thier hair done. Extentions put in, 'fine pencil' extentions! I was called upon on Friday to come. The bride and a few other maids set of at 7am. But Esther called me and said I could come at 9am! So at 9am I was ready and met up with the matrons to travel into town where the salon was. They said we would wait for hospital transport. 10.30am we were still waiting... I suggested I get a motorbike into town and take a flower girl with me. But the matron's were reluctant as I didn't know where I was going. 11am a motorbike driver, some how related to the wedding, turned up and I was sent with the girl to town. Sure enough I would never have found the place!

At the salon there was a hive of activity. 2 maids having their hair done with 3 hairdresseres working on each head. After a while the chief hair dresser called me to see what they could do with my hair. She wanted to do the same as the other maids, but without extentions. But after doing 3 I realised what great difficulty I would have getting the twists out agian. So refused any further hair dressing. They all thought it was funny that I should refuse! But the hairdresser, who then undid what she had done, came to realise the truth of my words....

The flower girl had her hair done..... we had lunch at the point when I felt like I was about to faint! The warmth, the chemical smells, the exaughst fumes of a generator and lack of fluids contributed to my faint feeling! Lunch was Enya and Greens which I stomached due to my hunger, but the texture of enya gets to me every time!

By 4pm I was getting tired, as was the flower girl. Her hair was done, mine was staying undone... I asked about us leaving .... but we needed our nails painting. The men who paint nails were on thier way (here it is a job that men do for good money! They sit in the market place and other strategic places and paint mainly toe nails. They will cut, file and paint if you let them!)

They arrived at 6pm!! I have ticklish feet so all I let them do is wash the dirt off my toes and paint them. They were told to paint my toes white - when I got home I noted, in the good light, they were cream!! They were also told to paint the fingers of the left hand but not the right! I had my right hand painted too as I thought I'd look odd with just one hand painted!

So at 7pm, as the sun was setting, and after haggling with the motorbike drivers, who wanted to charge the white woman almost double the price, I got a ride home with the flower girl....The bride and her entorage got home gone 9pm!

WEDDING DAY....

Saturday, I got up early, boiled water for a hot 'shower' and washed and styled my hair in accordance with the other maids. I covered my feet with plasters, all the points where the shoes seemed to rub! I joined the wedding party soon after 8am ready to leave at 9am.... We left at 11am! I was told we were late in leaving as the bride should not turn up at the church before the groom - and he was running late...

We traveled in 3 decorated cars and as we approached town, 'tooted' our way to the church!We slow stepped into the church - we had practiced the steps while waiting to travel to church! I was a little unnearved as parts of the church floor were unfinished and therefore uneven, and we had heels on! The service was great, thought the music rather loud! The sermon was good and was translated from English to Kuku (Kakwa) a Sudanese language. The bride is Sudanese.

After the service we had a pit stop at a lady's house near the church where we all had a reviving 'soda', sugar rush! We then moved on to the golf course for photos. We reached the reception in good time....

The reception was held in a school hall - which offered shade to all. The food was good, Enya, Rice, Potatoes, Beef, Chicken, Fish, and Salad. A couple of very short speaches were made by the parents of the bride and groom. (Short speaches are very unusual, so I feel I got off lightly!) There was the cutting of the cake and giving it out. And the there was the gift giving. Everyone gets a chance to dance up and hand their gift over at a table and wave to the bride and groom. Among the gifts were a Chicken, big plastic bowls for washing clothes in, a jug, kerosene lamps, an arm chair and sofa, a side board and gifts of money...... There was lots of singing of different styles and everyone seemed to have fun. The day came to an end at about 6pm.....

I slept well that night!!!

Today we had a picnic for our finalist students. At the begining of May they will be sitting their finals and leaving us, having completed their Comprehensive Nurse Training.

I organised some games to play, and we all became children again! We had relayes such as: the lemon and spoon race (lemons instead of eggs as eggs are expensive). Balloon Races and a Chimp race!!

We had fun wrapping people in Toilet paper and retriving sweets from a washing line whilst blind folded! We also enjoyed eating Banana Cake. Thanks to folks at the LRI for sweets and other goodies that made the day more fun!!

Thunderstorm!!

After a particularly hot Saturday, I was longing for some rain. I didn't hold out much hope as the night before it had threatened rain and then just passed us by. So Saturday night I suddenly found myself awake, realizing I could hear the rumblings of thunder and see repeated lightning flashes lighting up the room. I looked at the clock -just after midnight.
Then all of a sudden the heavens opened and the rain hammered down (tin roof!). I pulled over a blanket as the temperature suddenly dropped. The thunder came closer and the lighting flashed repeatedly. After one particular bright flash of lightning came a deafening crack of thunder that made my heart pound! And with it there was suddenly bright light!?!
The hall light had come on!!! The hall light has not worked for the last 3 months! With the light on I now could see how each time there was a roar of thunder my mosquito net billowed with the resulting gust of wind! I debated about getting up to switch it off but as I continued debating getting up out of the safety of my bed in the middle of a tremendous thunderstorm my problem was solved – the light went out again!
As the rain began to ease I did venture out of bed just to check on water status in my wing – and found a small trail of water moving down the steps in the hall way – but that was all. I wondered how the guests were fairing in the other wing – but did not venture to find out!
Sunday I opened the door to the living room/dinner and discovered 2 big puddles! Not quite sure how they got there! The leaks always seem to be in a new place from last time! I think the wind has something to do with it! There was also a big puddle in the kitchen where the water had come under the kitchen door from outside.

postscript....
Sunday evening we had another storm - hailstones!!! I discovered where the water was entering!! Roof leaks!! One of the visitors had water pouring through her window (wire mesh at the top - there's no stopping it!) So her bed got a bit wet!
On Monday morning on the way to work there was a commotion - a tall Eucalyptus tree had fallen during the storm on Sunday night - it fell in the direction where least damage was done. An outside kitchen and toilets were damaged. Had it fallen any other way it would have landed either on the church or on houses. God was Merciful!