This past weekend was an adventure! On Saturday, my host mom invited me to come to visit one of their farm plots, which is located quite near to our house. It was about 4:00 when we left and the weather was really pleasant. It wasn't too hot and there was a very nice breeze with a cloudless sky. I commented that I wanted to visit a place called Pine Ridge one day (we live near the top of a valley that is rimmed by road atop the surrounding hill. Pine Ridge is a rest area at the top from which you can see in every direction...oh and it's covered in pines) so she suggested we go then. We walked leisurely so it took us about an hour to get to the top. I had previously gone up there, though not as far as the rest stop, and had managed in about twenty minutes, but taking our time was really nice. At the rest area, we got a soda and explored the peak of the hill. Turns out a local MP had purchased most of the land up there and had built the rest area and a race track for rally cars (??). I tried to climb one of the stands to get a birds eye view of everything but the first board I stepped on broke in half so I decided to enjoy the view from below. We made it back around 7:00 and were privy to a gorgeous sunset on the way home.
On Sunday, we planned to visit 'The Village'. I had always heard my family talk about the village but as yet had not managed to visit it. It is called Kanoni and is located in Gomba district, about an hour and a half from Masaka. Most of my host mom's family is still there, including her brothers, mothers, and father. We never anticipated what a journey it would be! We set out from Masaka around 11:30 in the morning and drove through many small villages. About an hour into the trip, going up an incline, the car suddenly stalled and refused to start. In addition, the brakes seemed unresponsive. The person driving us, a friend of my host mom, had apparently had many problems with his car because it was quite old so he set off on a boda (motorcycle taxi) to find a mechanic in the next town. He returned shortly with the mechanic and they set to work. My host mom, sister, brother, and I sought refuge in the shade while we waited. Two hours passed and there did not seem to be much progress. Of course, the place we were stranded had no cell reception so it was either wait there for the car to be repaired, or make our way forward by other means. After the two and a half hour mark, we began to try to find a taxi to take us the rest of the way. An hour later, and we still had no luck. At this point, we had only eaten a piece of bread for breakfast and it was already after 3pm so Margaret got on a boda to pick us up some snacks and drinks in the next town. When she returned, we scarfed it down and set out anew in our quest.
A car finally stopped and we convinced them to take us. They were not going all the way to Kanoni but they could get us closer. The old Toyota Corolla already had 6 people in it, but we crammed the four of us in somehow. There were four of us in the front, including two in the driver's seat, and six in the back. Not the most comfortable (or safe) arrangement but we were on the way again! We reached the car's final destination after about ten minutes and piled out of the clown car. Now all we had to do was find another taxi to take us the remaining 10km! Another half an hour and we had had no luck so we decided to board bodas to take us the remainder of the way. By this point we had been waiting on the side of the road for about 4 and a half hours total; we were hot, sweaty, dusty, tired, and hungry. What was 20 minutes on the back of a motorcycle on dusty roads? Feli and I boarded one and left Margaret and Tendo to find a second. An uneventful ride brought us to Kanoni at last. Feli showed me to her uncle Joseph's house and we devoured our lunch. Margaret arrived a short time later and she took me to see one of her mother's. Polygamy is not too uncommon, especially among the older generation, in Uganda so Margaret's father had four wives, one of which has since died. She explained that although it isn't always like this, in her experience all of her mothers were kind and cared for each and every child, biological or not, like he or she was her own. Margaret's biological mother is now quite old and is often ill, and the remaining two wives have taken her in to help care for her. It really is great to see that such an arrangement can work very well.
After we had met mother 1, Joseph took us in his car to see the new house he is constructing. It is huge and in a really nice area, overlooking a small valley filled with fields.
All of Margaret's family seem to be quite successful. Her father rears a number of animals and owns properties which he rents out. Joseph owns a couple rentals and some small gas stations. Another brother, Peter, has a successful bar and restaurant, and Dora operates a chicken factory. They all own multiple areas of land and their own homes, but remain down to earth and really friendly. Once we left Jospeh's house, we drove over to meet my Jia Jias (grandparents) at their village home. There were a number of grandchildren running around, and I met Margaret's biological mother, and the third mother, as well as her father. He seemed very quick witted and funny and everyone was very welcoming. By this time it was already close to seven so all of the visiting was very short. We promised to come back again, avoiding the delays that shortened our visit, so that we could spend more time with everyone. We began the journey back to Masaka at 8 and arrived home just before ten. It had been an exhausting (and dirty) day so we showered, ate, and collapsed in bed.
Always an adventure!
On Sunday, we planned to visit 'The Village'. I had always heard my family talk about the village but as yet had not managed to visit it. It is called Kanoni and is located in Gomba district, about an hour and a half from Masaka. Most of my host mom's family is still there, including her brothers, mothers, and father. We never anticipated what a journey it would be! We set out from Masaka around 11:30 in the morning and drove through many small villages. About an hour into the trip, going up an incline, the car suddenly stalled and refused to start. In addition, the brakes seemed unresponsive. The person driving us, a friend of my host mom, had apparently had many problems with his car because it was quite old so he set off on a boda (motorcycle taxi) to find a mechanic in the next town. He returned shortly with the mechanic and they set to work. My host mom, sister, brother, and I sought refuge in the shade while we waited. Two hours passed and there did not seem to be much progress. Of course, the place we were stranded had no cell reception so it was either wait there for the car to be repaired, or make our way forward by other means. After the two and a half hour mark, we began to try to find a taxi to take us the rest of the way. An hour later, and we still had no luck. At this point, we had only eaten a piece of bread for breakfast and it was already after 3pm so Margaret got on a boda to pick us up some snacks and drinks in the next town. When she returned, we scarfed it down and set out anew in our quest.
A car finally stopped and we convinced them to take us. They were not going all the way to Kanoni but they could get us closer. The old Toyota Corolla already had 6 people in it, but we crammed the four of us in somehow. There were four of us in the front, including two in the driver's seat, and six in the back. Not the most comfortable (or safe) arrangement but we were on the way again! We reached the car's final destination after about ten minutes and piled out of the clown car. Now all we had to do was find another taxi to take us the remaining 10km! Another half an hour and we had had no luck so we decided to board bodas to take us the remainder of the way. By this point we had been waiting on the side of the road for about 4 and a half hours total; we were hot, sweaty, dusty, tired, and hungry. What was 20 minutes on the back of a motorcycle on dusty roads? Feli and I boarded one and left Margaret and Tendo to find a second. An uneventful ride brought us to Kanoni at last. Feli showed me to her uncle Joseph's house and we devoured our lunch. Margaret arrived a short time later and she took me to see one of her mother's. Polygamy is not too uncommon, especially among the older generation, in Uganda so Margaret's father had four wives, one of which has since died. She explained that although it isn't always like this, in her experience all of her mothers were kind and cared for each and every child, biological or not, like he or she was her own. Margaret's biological mother is now quite old and is often ill, and the remaining two wives have taken her in to help care for her. It really is great to see that such an arrangement can work very well.
After we had met mother 1, Joseph took us in his car to see the new house he is constructing. It is huge and in a really nice area, overlooking a small valley filled with fields.
All of Margaret's family seem to be quite successful. Her father rears a number of animals and owns properties which he rents out. Joseph owns a couple rentals and some small gas stations. Another brother, Peter, has a successful bar and restaurant, and Dora operates a chicken factory. They all own multiple areas of land and their own homes, but remain down to earth and really friendly. Once we left Jospeh's house, we drove over to meet my Jia Jias (grandparents) at their village home. There were a number of grandchildren running around, and I met Margaret's biological mother, and the third mother, as well as her father. He seemed very quick witted and funny and everyone was very welcoming. By this time it was already close to seven so all of the visiting was very short. We promised to come back again, avoiding the delays that shortened our visit, so that we could spend more time with everyone. We began the journey back to Masaka at 8 and arrived home just before ten. It had been an exhausting (and dirty) day so we showered, ate, and collapsed in bed.
Always an adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment