Luzungu

I have been at the project now for 5 days. It has been very busy with classes running from 10am to 6pm with a break for lunch. I have been teaching english most of the time as this has been the main request. Keyboard has been happening in the background or at lunch times and videoing is happening occasionally. It makes sense to get the english going so people feel more comfortable.

We've had about 10 to 20 people each day and they are very keen to learn and everyone seems to be enjoying very much. We've also been doing some knitting, weaving and drying fruit.

Night happens from 7pm and is experienced in near total darkness. We have a parafin lamp and my head torch. There are lizards on the ceiling or crawling around the walls and sometimes they fall out the trees.

Me, Molongo, Nabukenya, Nazua and Chitiko and sometimes others gather for dinner in my room in the evening. After dinner on wednesday tonight, after the women had gone, Ben turned to me and said, "so laurence, tell us a story." I was taken aback at first - "which story? What do you mean?" - but they said it was a normal thing to do and insisted. I told them simply about my experience arriving in Uganda and they were very satisfied. I liked this routine though. Tell me a story.

At night, nature generally is very noisy here. Crickets and chameleons bleat the loudest. We have been out for a morning canoe around the lake. The fisherman Julius took me, Molongo, Ben and Hakim out at 6am on the lake and Ben pointed out various species such as the kingfisher variants, an eagle, hornbills and black kites and vultures among others. We saw a fisherman catch fresh tilapia and we bought it from him. 10k (3 pounds) for 5 fish squirming in the boat. We met a tame monkey (vervet i think) on the way back in the morning, living with a local family. It lives tied to a string but it looked very content, picking tics off a dog, chomping on mango and generally being very relaxed. I have not been bothered too much by mosquitos thanks to my jungle spray but since i have been here, 2 people i have been spending time with have contracted malaria. Despite appearing very rough, they still came to lessons and went to work.


I have been playing football with the local team, Dewe FC. They train every evening and play a game splitting into two teams and playing into one goal without a keeper, scoring by hitting the woodwork. In this case, the goal is actually made of wood and any part of the wood will do. It is fun but tricky as i sweat so much as soon as i move, and there is dung everywhere. Some of the chaps play without shoes and my friend Ben plays without shoes and with cuts he has incurred from nails while doing woodwork. I was glad to have brought ball as their's burst last night.

There is much mirth that there is a Muzungu amongst them. A muzungo is a kind of racial term but in a nice, affectionate way. I have been called it a few times as i have been walking around but not in a threatening way. Often, children or boda boda drivers huddle together stare at me and mutter "muzungu." I have been asking what it literally means. I was told at first it meant white man, but it is more than this. It literally means, "person who is not one of our colour." Muzungu is me. A Muganda is a person from Uganda. There are also muindians and mugermans. So really, I am a muenglise. But muzungu seems to be especially reserved for the english speaking peoples. Zungu does not mean white. gandans speak lungandan. Hence, I speak, lugunzu. In lessons, we move between lugunzu and luganda with relative ease and i have been learning lots of the local dialect. Kale sebo.

Other things

I find it a bit tricky to wash in a bucket with a canister of cold water in the dark.
I like going to the trading centre at night.
I have driven a boda boda.
Had some interesting discussions about what a sensible number of wives is to take.
Spent the day at Rainbow international school today.