Boy or Girl?

            One of the many things that I find amusing in Uganda is that there is not a distinction between “men’s” and “women’s” clothing.  This is not to say that men walk around wearing dresses, but you will find them wearing lacey women’s tops, hot pink shoes, or women’s dress pants.  There have been many times I have tried not to laugh at a grown man’s bedazzled shirt.  For example, Emma, the little boy next door, has a favorite pair of pink, short overalls – clearly made for a girl.  The other day, however, his wardrobe went to a whole new level.  He was wearing a royal blue dress.  I kept doing a double take and asking myself, “Is he a boy?”  I spent the whole day trying to determine the answer.  Sure his name is Emma, but I was pretty sure that was short for Emmanuel.  Plus, his sister’s name is Kevin – so the idea of sex-based names was sort of thrown out the window.  I really wished I could just take a peek under his dress without being a perv.  Well, this morning, the mystery was finally solved.  He was outside taking his bath and I confirmed in a non-creepy way that he is in fact a boy.  Phew!  Another one of Uganda’s mysteries solved. 

             You know that saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”?  I have never seen an idiom hold so true as I have here in Uganda.  Whenever I go to the trash pit, it is a free for all.  The kids coming running to see what sort of goodies they can dig out of my trash bag.  Peanut butter jars, empty bottles, boxes, paper – you name it, they want it.  Last week, I threw away my trash and minutes later Dennis came knocking on my door.  He was holding up my old, used razor blade and said, “You shave your face!?” while pretending to shave his chin with the razor.  I laughed and reassured him that I do not shave my face, but mzungu girls shave their legs.  I also told him that he shouldn’t be playing with the razor and he should go throw it back in the trash pit.  He looked at me with some confusion and asked, “You mean like this?” and proceeded to shave his legs with the razor.  I snatched it from him and said, “No, really, you should not be playing with this.  You could cut yourself and it’s unsanitary to use some else’s razor blade.”  Of course, this went way over his head – safety is not a big thing here among kids.  Youngsters often run with knives (literally!).  I took the razor back and decided I would throw it away in Mbale.

                       Chelsea and I have been really committed to “Active April” – Chelsea wants to look good for her boyfriend that comes in two weeks.  I am just along for the ride for moral support.  This past weekend, we decided to climb Wanale Cliff, which is just behind Mbale – it’s almost like the backdrop to the city.    

You can see Wanale Cliff in the background of this photo

           There is no designated hiking trail, but Ryan gave us “directions.”  His directions consisted of routes like “take the shitty road on the right that goes up” and “there is a sort of fork in the road, go left.”  Of course we missed this so-called fork in the road because it was actually a left turn, so we went in a round about way to find a path for this cliff.  Thankfully, Ugandans are extremely helpful when you ask for directions.  So we were led to a path that we could take up the hill.  A lot of the times we were walking through people’s property and gardens, but everyone just waved hello to the mzungu and told us which way to turn.    

            Wanale Cliff hike started off relatively easy because it was just a wide dirt road. Towards the end, however, the hike was very steep and we had to climb up a lot of rocks – we took breaks every three minutes.  The whole time we kept saying, “Going down is going to be extremely interesting.”  Of course, Ugandans who live on this cliff were running up and down no problem.  Two men were carrying matoke on their heads and they didn’t even look like they were breaking a sweat.  Also, a grandma was booking it up the cliff no problem.  I swear Ugandans are of a different breed.  We were both drenched in sweat and near the end, it did not feel like we were getting any closer to the top.    Two kids, about 8 years old, followed us the last leg and I am sure they were thinking, “Man, these white girls are slow!”  We finally reached the top and it was beautiful.  You could see far out past Mbale, green grass was everywhere, and there was a stream and a waterfall.  Well worth the hike!  We brought a bag of salt & vinegar chips and bread and peanut butter to make sandwiches.  A sandwich always tastes the best after a long hike!

            We decided we wanted to go to this rock at the edge of the cliff to eat because it had a great view and looked awesome.  When we got there, we realized that we had to jump over a crevice.  We debated, “Is this a bad idea?  What if we fall and get stuck?  Or just drop to our death.”  Well, one of the little kids just looked at us and hopped up on the rock ledge no problem.  Needless to say, we felt pretty lame.  Nevertheless, we practically crawled across in fear of falling through.  The kids stared at us like vultures while we were eating and they kept inching closer and closer, but we didn’t want to give them any food until after we were done.  We knew it would be like pigeons, they’d come for more and bring their friends.  Do not worry, we gave them all our left overs when we were done - we are not that big of jerks. 

            Unfortunately, our great lunch was cut short because it started to pour rain.  Of course we didn’t have our rain jackets and it was freezing.  The rain eased up after we moved and we decided that we really wanted to finish our salt & vinegar chips.  We were munching away and we could see rain clouds coming in the distance.  We also heard thunder and saw lightening – not the greatest thing to see/hear at the top of a cliff.  Chelsea and I were discussing how we should probably head back, but we really wanted to finish our chips.  However, after Chelsea mentioned that you should get into a ditch if lightening gets really close, we decided it was probably time to make moves.  Thankfully, going down was actually a lot easier – minus all the slipping and sliding in the mud.  Also, we dodged the storm so we didn’t have to lie in any ditches. 

            This week I am helping Chelsea cut cloth for RUMPS and I am hanging out with Eva, Janet and Isaac.  (They are also helping me cut!).  Next week we have mid-service training and then I am off to Egypt.  So, it may be a while until you hear from me, again – but I will be sure to post when I get back.

This lady was really excited to take a picture with Chelsea

The hike started off so easy...

Halfway to the top!  Mbale and beyond

Nap time!

Looks safe, right?

We made it!

                    

                 Crossing the crevice! Eek

                   

                  Getting a little too close to the edge for comfort there, buddy!

The slices of bread were cut a little unevenly in our bag of bread.  Oh Uganda...

The lunch spot

            A while back, Eva and Sara brushed out my hair because they love to play with it.  I am sure you can all imagine what my curly hair looked like after it was brushed out - a lion's mane.  Afterward, Sara told me that I looked like Princess Mia from the "Princess Diaries" before she got pretty.  Sara, Eva, Janet, Isaac, Osborne, Oswald, and Jimmy decided they wanted to draw me.  Take a look at all their lovely portraits of me - real self esteem boost!

At least I have boobs and arm muscles!

Does this picture make me look fat?

Sara, this is why you're my favorite.  I don't look too awful. 

Look at that cleavage!  Osborne, gold star. 

And, my personal favorite.  Thank you, Isaac.