Holla From Kampala: Fresh Fried Chicken

I have always had a strong urge to slaughter my own chicken, pluck out the feathers, and then prepare it fresh. I felt like in order to get the true “African” experience, I needed to prepare a chicken the real way, and not buy it from the supermarket. I finally accomplished that goal…sort of. Max, Ryan, and Caroline came over this weekend because we wanted to slaughter a chicken and make fried chicken. My neighbors could not believe that we wanted to attempt this by ourselves with no help:

Francis: “Are you sure you can manage? Let me get someone to assist you.”

Dennis (the 9 year old): “Eh, you are deceiving me. You cannot manage.”

Students were circling my compound, staring at the four crazy mzungu, and laughing. I do not think anyone believed that we could actually do this. Max, however, pulled through like an expert. He slaughtered the chicken, and then I poured boiling water over it so he could easily pull out the feathers. Max also cut out the insides like a champ! I say I sort of accomplished my goal because I did not really do any of the manual labor – I just watched and took pictures. We made delicious fried chicken and onion rings (super healthy!). We also had a huge jackfruit, which we shared with all of my neighbors. They were ecstatic and kept saying, “Thank you for keeping the visitors!” (Ugandans use the verb “to keep” for hosting).

In the last blog post, I was so focused on grossing you all out, that I forgot the best part of visiting Willysha. Willysha also lives on a convent, and the sisters had a party for all the teachers because it was the end of the school year. Sister insisted that Willysha bring all of her guests - so Maggie, Elizabeth, and I all showed up way underdressed for the occasion. We had to sit at the front, facing every one, and they had us serve ourselves first for dinner…even though this was a party for the teachers. Gifts were handed out to all of the teachers, and then Sister handed a gift to each of us as well. We each got our own gift bags with handkerchiefs! Willysha headed back home because her back was hurting her, but Sister insisted that the rest of us stay to have a dance party. One of the Ugandan male teachers took the microphone and said, “Let’s start dancing. I want to dance with these guests over here!” We couldn’t really say “no,” so out to the dance floor we went. I wish there was a video of this night because I don’t think my words will do it justice. Ugandans can actually dance, unlike us three mzungu who have no rhythm whatsoever. Nevertheless, we made fools of ourselves and dominated the dance floor. We were drinking wine, and whenever we finished our glasses, Sister would grab our cup and say, “No empty glasses!!” By my sixth cup of wine, I could not drink anymore, so I left it half full. That did not work either. Sister took my cup and said, “Eh, you keep drinking. I fill it all the way!” I took to just dumping the wine out on the grass when no one was looking. At the end of the night, Sister insisted that the DJ play a “western” song and I did the worm for everyone (I told you…my new signature dance move; it’s all I got). If living in this country has taught me anything, then it’s that nuns can party.

The school year has come to an end, and we now are entering our two-month vacation. I spent the past two weeks helping students prepare for their exams and I proctored a few. My family is coming to visit in 33 days, and I could not be more excited! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving; we are all going to be celebrating on this end and preparing a special feast (slaughtering our own Turkey!). I am sad that I will be missing my favorite holiday, but I know that the Knaptons (especially you, Steve) will eat extra just for me.
Thanks to all of those who have donated to Libraries For Life! We have already raised over $11,000. If you haven't already, please check out our webpage:

https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/to-project.html?projectId=79

Lastly, here is a little saying that Maggie shared with me – I found it funny:

“A man falls down a well, and a missionary walks by and throws down a bible. An NGO worker walks by, and throws down some money. A Peace Corps Volunteer walks by and throws down a bag and jumps in the well. The man asks, ‘What are you doing?’ The Peace Corps volunteer says, ‘I have come to live with you.’”