Poppin' Mango Flies

            If you have been an avid follower of this blog, then you probably recall me mentioning mango flies.  For those that have forgotten, let me refresh your memory.  Mango flies will sometimes lay their eggs in your clothing while it is hanging outside to dry.  The eggs hatch upon contact with skin, and the larvae burrow into the skin and develop into fully grown maggots.  In order to avoid these pesky flies, it is advised that you iron all of your clothing.   The thought of maggots in my skin terrifies me, so I have been adamant about ironing all of my clothes.  A part of me, however, did wonder if mango flies were an actual problem…until now.  Over the weekend, I met up with Bethany, Joe, and John in Mbale.  John asked us, “Do you all want to see the weird bite I got at Joe’s house?”  He raises his arm and there is a boil like spot that is black in the middle – characteristic of a mango fly.  Joe says, “Uh, I think that’s a mango fly.”  Naturally, John freaks out, while the rest of us proceed to check it out and take pictures:

Mango fly bite

            Since we are Peace Corps Volunteers and have been in Uganda far too long, we thought the proper thing to do next was pop out the maggot.  I should probably mention we were in Chat n Chino, an mzungu restaurant in Mbale; neither an ideal nor very appropriate place for popping out a mango fly.  We, however, have been in the village far too long and did not think twice about popping out a maggot in front of other patrons.  We also disinfected with Purell because that's all we had.  Now here is the proper way to pop out a mango fly:

1.     Make sure someone is there to film this because you are going to want to cherish this moment forever.  Thankfully, I had my iPhone and was able to document the whole adventure.

2.     Put Vaseline or clear nail polish over the red bump in order to suffocate the maggot.  It will then proceed to try and wriggle itself out.

3.     Wait a few minutes and then squeeze the maggot out like you are popping a pimple.  If it’s being stubborn, then use a needle to pull out the little bugger.

4.     Let out a sigh of relief…you are now maggot free.

5.     START IRONING YOUR CLOTHES.

I know you are all dying to see this adventure.  Sorry for the poor video quality, but I didn't want to sit here all day.  When I return to the US I'll show it to all of you in high def.  You can click on the video to watch it via youtube and make it full screen: 

 

            Coming home from Mbale that day was also quite eventful.  I was sitting in the front, middle seat of the taxi, which is usually right on top of the engine.  While we were driving my seat started to get hot, but I did not think much of it because I know this can happen sometimes.  I ignored it until it started to become a little unbearable, and I told the driver that the seat was getting hotter than usual.  He looked over, and then we both realized the seat was starting to smoke.  He pulled over; the conductor in the back seat jumped out, opened the door and pulled me and the other passenger out of the front.  The driver lifted up the seats to see the engine and a small fire was starting.  He had a jerry can ready and he poured water on the engine in order to put out the fire and cool it down.  He then put the seats back down and motioned for us to get back in.  I looked at the other passenger with my eyebrows raised and we both laughed and shrugged our shoulders.  I got back in the taxi like this was perfectly normal and no big deal.  After all, this is Uganda and anything goes.  As they say here, “there is no problem.”  We drove for a couple of meters and then the driver pulled over again and he sent the conductor to refill the jerry can from the swamp.  He returned, and we were instructed to get out of the taxi again.  The driver filled the coolant tank with water and then told us to get back in the taxi.  All I could think the rest of the ride home was, “Wow, I hope there isn’t another fire.  I really like these jeans I’m wearing and I don’t want to burn a hole in the butt.”

            This past week was uneventful because the students were slow to trickle into school and the teachers are still on strike.  Things are continuing to get worse here in Uganda, the exchange rate is now 3,000 shillings to the dollar.  It was 2,300 when we arrived!  Food and gas prices continue to rise, and teachers are still only making around 173,000 shillings a month.  That’s just over $50!!  It is rumored that the strike will end sometime this week, but anything goes.  I am going to keep myself busy by going to the health clinic and working on the resource room. 

            On Sunday, I invited my neighbors’ kids over to watch a movie on my computer because I have a bunch of Disney movies on my external hard drive.  We watched the Lion King, and I thought the kids were going to die of excitement.  The only television they watch here is the news and Spanish soap operas that are dubbed in English.  (Only some of my neighbors have televisions and they only get a few channels because they use the bunny ears).  After the movie, they went home and then came back twenty minutes later and asked if they could watch Simba again. While it was a very cute request, I had to say no (I don’t want to set a bad precedent of allowing them to come over all the time to watch TV).  I told them that on Sundays, when I am around, I will have them over for a movie day.  I have a feeling that I will be watching a lot of Lion King because I am not sure they really understand that I have other movies to watch.  Ah, but there is no problem :)

This bug was in our hotel at Lweza.  We don't know what it was, but it was gross!

Beginner Uganda

           I am finally finished with the three weeks of Peace Corps workshops, and it feels great to be home.  When I arrived back to my site, my neighbors were beyond excited with my return.  They had some of the students help me clean my house, and they did an amazing job.  They swept, scrubbed the floors, and dusted everything.  I don’t think my house has ever been so clean – I am so grateful for my awesome neighbors.  I did say in my last post that I was worried I was going to find some critters in my house and/or latrine.  Well, I had reason to be worried.  There was a dead and decomposing rat in my latrine.  It was actually STUCK to the floor and my neighbors had to scrape it off.  It smelled like death in my latrine; I was gagging.  They then scrubbed the floors, so now it’s back to its clean self.  Phew! 

            During my three weeks away, I realized my whole training group has started to pick up a few Ugandan phrases.  While sometimes we are joking, sometimes we cannot help talking like a Ugandan.  In order to understand, I think that I need to teach you a little Ugandan English:

1.     Greetings are more than just a simple “How are you?”  Here is how a typical greeting will go with a  random person on the road:

            A: “How are you?”

            B: “I’m fine”

            A: “Mmm.”

            B: “How are you?”

            A: “I’m fine.”

            B: “Mmmm.”

            A: “How is there?”

            B: “Good.  How is home?”

            A: “Fine. Well done.”

            B: “Mmm.  Thank you for your work.”
            A: “Mmm.”

From there you can continue down the road.  And, yes, the “Mmms” are essential in every greeting.  I actually usually say “mmm” when someone speaks to me in Lugwere and I don’t understand.  In most cases, it will suffice!

2.     You will find yourself saying all of these phrases constantly if you are in Uganda an extended period of time:

-       Well done

-       Thank you for your work

-       It’s okay

-       Eh, sorry (sorry is pronounced more like soddy”

-       “You first wait” or “You first come”

-       If something is broken – it’s “spoiled”.

-       If your phone battery is dead – it’s “finished”

-       If a restaurant ran out of French fries, which are chips here, then the chips are “over”.

3.     I feel like I should elaborate on some of these phrases.  For instance, “it’s okay” is the response to everything.  When I tell my neighbor that I’m off to Mbale to do some grocery shopping, he or she will usually say, “It’s okay.”  If I ask a question, and I’m not understood, then the response will just be “it’s okay.”  It’s a universal response to anything. 

4.     “Eh, soddy” can be used in all contexts.  For example: If you’re sick, you drop your pen, you trip, your phone battery is finished, or if your computer is spoiled. 

            A: “My mom has the flu.”

            B: “Ehh, soddy. I missed your call because my phone is finished.”

            A: “Eh, soddy.”

            Person A drops their pencil accidentally.

            B: “Eh, soddy.”

You get the picture.

5.     If you are gone for a long time, then people will tell you that you have been “lost.”  Since I was gone for three weeks at workshops, people keep coming by to tell me, “Ah! You have been lost.” 

6.     Statements can always be turned into questions.  “The phone is what? It is spoiled.”  “The food is what?  The food is over.” “I am what? I am hungry.” This is a nasty habit we have all picked up – it started out as a joke, but now most of can’t help speaking in statements/questions. 

7.     When you return home, some people say “well be back” instead of saying, “welcome back.” We have not started saying this, but we all want to know why this is said.

For all the people reading this that have been to Uganda, I know you’re thinking, “yup, totally!”  For everyone else, I’m sure you’re thinking, “huh?”  All I have to say is, come visit me and you will understand completely.  Otherwise, in two years you will start to notice that I sometimes speak like this myself.  Kind of like when I picked up a little bit of a Midwestern accent when I went to UW. 

This blog post is now what? Finished.