February 21^st

Today the UCI teachers are all at a traditional wedding. Fortunately I had heard about it yesterday, so I didn’t go in. Instead I walked to town to the SanKofa internet café, to make some notes for my last week of teaching. A very hot day. And I gotta get outta here. Two days ago I got an abrasion on a toe from my sandals. Treated it effectively with New-Skin, an antiseptic liquid. Last night there was a lot of wind and dust, and I began to wheeze, not seriously. And today, on the way into town, I twisted my ankle. I can walk on it. But the gods are telling me something. Also, going through town I recognized 2 or 3 people and stopped to talk with them. Actually, they recognized me, greeted me, and then I recognized them.

More tidbits –

The SanKofa café – Begun by an American ex-pat who had worked for an NGO, and stayed. He married a Ugandan woman. Legend has it that he had been a baker before he came here, and when he stayed he began baking cakes and other baked goods here. He would carry them on a tray on his head, and sold lots. Made enough money to start the above-mentioned café, on the third floor of a building downtown. He trains all his own Ugandan employees (very good, courteous service), has a excellent American and Ugandan menu, including good pizza, milk shakes, ice cream, smoothies, and cinnamon rolls, and contributes some of his profits to local good causes. There are always many Ugandans and white ex-pats there, most using the wireless internet, 1000 shillings (or about 50 cents US) for 30 minutes. He has expanded to another site in Gulu.

The North – I’ve been told by a number of people that the North, where we are, is the poorest part of the nation. They say this is so because the original “revolution” against the British began here, among tribes here, and the first few presidents (elected and otherwise) were from the North, and thus the North got a lot of everything. Therefore, there was unrest in the rest of the country, demanding that they be paid attention to, and for several tens of years the North has been ignored. Apocryphal? Perhaps.

The beginning of the advancement of the common woman in Uganda? – I know I have written about this before, but in one of my classes at UCI, a man from a village spoke of not understanding why the man being the absolute head of the household might be a barrier to behavior change. Immediately, several men and some of the women challenged him. In fact, it seems to me that women do the majority of work in the majority of households in Uganda. And the work in the fields also. Nevertheless, it seems at least that the idea has begun here about empowerment of women.

Cattle – Some cattle are butchered and some are used for milk here, but the majority of cattle just exist. They are a symbol of wealth.