Barn on Wheels

            I went to Kampala last week to try and take the GMAT, again.  For those that do not know, I was supposed to take the exam before I left for Egypt.  Unfortunately, there were “software” issues and I was unable to take the exam.  Needless to say, I was annoyed, but at the same time, not very surprised.  My taxi ride to Kampala was eventful, as per usual.  My friend, Lauren, likes to refer to these taxis as a “barn on wheels.”  There must have been at least 30 chickens in the back, feathers were flying everywhere and the whole taxi smelled like poop.  I was in the front seat and I had to keep picking feathers off of me.  In the middle of the ride the driver turned up the radio full blast because there was some Ugandan talk show playing.  I am not sure what this talk show was about, since they were speaking in Luganda, but I felt like it was the Ugandan version of “Jerry Springer”.  There was a lot of shrill yelling and I thought I was going to go deaf.  I had my iPod on full blast to try and drown out the sound, but to no avail.  I have never wanted a pair of Bose headphones so badly in my life.

            Thankfully, the taxi ride to Kampala was relatively fast because there is not a lot of traffic on Sundays.  I could not check in to my hotel until 3:00, so I decided to be super cool and see a movie by myself.  I decided to see Battleship – Taylor Kitsch in a navy uniform?  As Ugandans would say, “Thank you, please.”  As many of you know, movie theaters are no place for my mother because other patrons manage to annoy her.  Let me just say, a movie theater in Uganda is definitely no place for her.  There was commentary throughout the whole movie; I was even starting to get annoyed.  However, I was entertained for a brief minute when Taylor Kitsch took off his shirt and a Ugandan lady yelled, “Yaaaaaaaa, take me to America.”   I could not help but laugh.  I mean, who can blame her?  As my sister would say, he is so hot it is inappropriate.

            I was able to take the GMAT on Monday and it went relatively smoothly.  The power went out at the very beginning of the exam and my computer shut off.  All I could think was, “Thanks for jinxing it, Ryan”.  (He had sent me a text prior to the exam saying, “Good luck! Hope the power doesn’t go out.”)  Luckily, I had not started the exam, but I was just in the process of agreeing to the rules and regulations.  After that hiccup, the proctor plugged the computer into some extra battery thing and the exam went smoothly.  I am so glad it is over!  I celebrated with room service and endless hours of TV while lying in a king-size bed.

            There have been some life changing events here in Budaka – it only took me a year to acquire the following at site:

A mirror:

You are all probably wondering to yourselves how in the world I manage to look so good without a mirror.  I think it is because I can really pull off the frizzy/sweaty look.  Plus, I would use my webcam to pluck my eyebrows and I had a pocket mirror for special occasions. 

Light bulb:

 I have had light in all my rooms except for my center “washroom.”  The light bulb holder was broken when I moved in and I never had the desire to buy another one.  I finally took the plunge and splurged 2,000 shillings (about $1) on a new holder.  The light has really changed everything – I no longer have to bathe or do dishes in semi-darkness.

Security Lights:

I have two security lights, one in the front and one in the back of my house.  The light bulbs, however, have been dead since I moved in.  I never got around to replacing the bulbs because they are so high and I did not feel the need to have them.  Well, in the spirit of change, I finally bought some extra bulbs and asked my neighbor, Francis, to put them in.  His response, “Ah, finally.” 

House Girl: 

I spent the past year trying to do everything on my own: laundry, fetching water (sometimes), mopping, cooking, and dishes.  Over break, Sauya’s daughter, Eva, asked if she could do some work for me to earn money for school fees.  I happily agreed and I have not been the same since.  I cannot believe it took me so long to get someone to do my laundry!  Not only can she wash my clothes way faster, she gets them significantly cleaner. 

Unfortunately, she went back to secondary school after break and the work was left up to me, again.  My mom said she didn’t think it would take me long to hire another house girl.  Mothers really are always right.  Stephen’s niece, Carolynne, was looking to earn some extra money – HIRED!  I love not having to worry about fetching water or the dirty clothes piling up. 

I’m not sure which is more pathetic, that it took me so long to acquire these “luxuries” and hire a house girl or that they make me so happy.  These were the subjects of quite a few of my texts, including, “Light in my center room. Whooo!!! Life changing.” 

While Francis was putting in my security lights, he looked over at my yard and said, “Wow, we need to have someone come slash your grass.  We have been having some animals.”  I raised my eyebrows and asked, “What sort of animals?”  He laughed and said, “I won’t tell you because you fear.”  Right, like that response would stop me from figuring out he meant SNAKES!!  The rest of the day I ran with high knees to and from latrine in fear of snakes.  Since then my grass has been cut and I no longer walk in fear of the spitting cobra or puff adder. 

I have been really busy setting up the Library – organizing it by the Dewey Decimal System has proved to be no small feat.  Paul, an English teacher/librarian, has been a huge help.  I log the books on excel and he puts on the spine labels.  Some other teachers have also come in to help, which is great because it gives me hope that the library will be sustainable – my ultimate goal.  I’m sure it will be about a month or so until we have the library running.  The shelves are almost done too, which is great!  The teachers are all very excited.  They love to come in the library and flip through the books.  It is a nice pick-me-up when I get burnt out from the monotonous logging of books.  I will be happy when it is finished!