ebola, cholera, malaria- eeee!

So I’m sure you have all heard about the ebola outbreak by now- but my lack of posting has nothing to do with that… one of my African friends here though was talking to me about it and in his typical Ugandan accent said “ebola and cholera and malaria- eeeee!” it reminded me of lions and tigers and bears oh my! haha. People here are so used to this type of thing, it is again NBD. Nobody is particularly concerned here... we joke about it a lot, but I really don't think it is going to be an issue...so no worries... I know everyone is worried.

Sam is my dance partner AND my new tennis partner

On Friday Sam and I had a tennis lesson with our new favorite African named Ayub. I have not played tennis since I was about 7 and took tennis lesson for a week… so I obviously sucked real bad. Sam on the other hand played on the tennis team in high school… Ayub kept saying things like “come on” “focus” “watch the ball” and then the occasional “good” even though his face showed it was most definitely not good. haha he was cracking us up! We actually beat him 1 game out of 6 and made sure to let everyone know! 

Afterwards we went to imbalu, which is the circumcision festival. It only happens on even years and is a BIG deal here. We were a little hesitant to go because it was in essence a bunch of men hopped up and testosterone blazing… but we got a special invitation to sit with the president of Kenya, and I wasn’t about to miss the cultural experience of a lifetime (ebola or not) and we made our way to the festival (it was at a huge field out of town). It was CRAZY right from the boda ride there. Rodg my favorite boda picked us up and we started- along the way we ran into a couple MASSIVE circumcision parades. Each boy that is going to be circumcised has a parade of people dancing and playing drums and holding spears and singing and just generally supporting him. As mzungus though, we cause quite the stir. It  was ridiculous. Rodg valiantly tried to drive THROUGH the parade and the people were amped and for some reason pinching us and hitting us and yelling (not angry but yelling all the same) and at one point someone hit rodg’s glasses off his face and since I was in the middle closest to him I grabbed them and then was protecting his head because obviously I want his hands on the handlebars! As I was defending the rodg though someone hit me in the head with some sort of stick! Super not cool. Ha.

Rodg! right after he let cami drive!

We finally made our way through the chaos and to the festival and at this point think this is the what? worst idea we ever had.  We started to make our way to the important people tent and randos kept running/stampeding towards us as they ran away from the policemen that they were throwing sticks at. It was out of control- so the police threw some tear gas into the mix. Luckily we were already on our way to the tent and weren’t affected. Just saw the people running on the other side of the fence. We had Ayub and David with us and it was sad how the Ugandans treat their own people. We were ushered into the tent no questions asked, just because we were white… Ayub got hit by the policemen and pushed out before we realized what was happening and told them he was with us. It was real sad.  Inside the tent there was no chaos- just the hottest place on earth. All the important people were there though so when the boys started their traditional dances we got to see everything and it was really cool. Def worth the chaos at the beginning. Total national geographic stuff. We didn’t actually see any circumcisions, and I felt insensitive taking pictures of the poor boys walking away with their African lavalavas trying not to cry… It was a really cool experience.

AYUB! 

Saturday we went and hiked Sipi Falls. It was beautiful. HUGE waterfalls in the middle of the jungle, can’t get better than that.  We also fulfilled me lifelong dream of holding a chameleon! I wanted one SO bad when I was little- but I was never allowed to have one… I was so excited to see the first one that the little trail guide boys found at least 8 for us to play with! It was the best! They make everyone so happy!  We got to jump into a frigid river with at least 3 men that were completely naked and bathing- our bad- and it was so cold! Ayub jumped in first and I followed- he basically had to pull me out of the current. It was FREEZING and the current was pretty strong but just more shocking. When Sam got out though she had a leech on her! I obviously did not handle this very well and did this whole ehhh ehhhhh ehhhhhh thing while shaking my hands at her haha. She was understandably freaking out not knowing why I was freaking out and then Cami flicked it off of her. Ha. gross.

and i will name him... pascal 

so excited. 

I leave in one week from today and I am so sad about it. I can’t believe it has come so fast! I am going to miss it here so much.

the time a boy wrote me a love song and gave me a live chicken

Love this kid so much.

Well you know how much I love Simon- turns out he has the cutest little sister and I love her too! Her name is Jaclyn and she is quite possibly one of the cutest kids I have ever seen.

Jaclyn!!!!

This week we went up to Bunabuyoka to hang out with the kids and talk about the language school they want to start up there. It had been forever since I had been and I missed Simon! (and the other kids of course). As soon as we got there the kids came running out of the school and gave us hugs. It is the best feeling in the world when a little African kid remembers your name! So the shouts of Alexis! automatically puts me in a good mood. Which is good considering riding on the taxi smashed with 24 people in a van always makes me a bit cranky… (we discussed that middle middle on the airplane ride home would be a welcome spacious journey compared to African travel!) Simon of course ran up to me and told me he had something for me but I was a little confused as to what he was talking about so just gave him and hug and moved on.

Simon and his note/song!

Later I was talking to Jared the school teacher, which by the way MIND BLOWN- his name is Gerald! haha the whole summer we have been calling him Jared and I will continue to call him that-fits much better, and he told me that Simon had something for me. He motioned for Simon and he came running down and handed me a note. It turns out it was a song and it was so cute. He sang it for me and I loved it. Ha as the other girls pointed out- first time a boy wrote a song for me…and I didn’t hate it! 

Jared/ Gerald

Later that day we were hanging out with Jared and tall skinny teacher Simon and they are obsessed with the Princess Pat! We sang it to the kids once and they love it. I have literally never seen so many grown men dancing and singing to the Princess Pat.  We also got them to teach us a little African dance which was super funny. We were all laughing and then Jared was like “oh! I almost forgot! the boy brought you a chicken” …. uh what? yup Simon brought me a chicken! I felt so bad because his family can’t eat sometimes and here they are giving me a chicken! What am I supposed to do with a chicken?! I tried to turn it down but didn’t want to offend as Jared assured me I would if I didn’t take it…They made me hold it and thought I was the funniest person in the world when I called it chicky chick… I just really didn’t know how to react… I was so flattered by the present and the obvious ultimate sacrifice in Africa. Jared told me of course it wasn’t extra- there is never extra- but it is a sign of friendship. I mean he gets up at 5 am everyday to walk up the Hell Hill just to make it to school on time (it’s about an hr walk) and he did it holding a live chicken! He also takes care of his cute little sister on the way. It just made me love him all the more. Apparently the only thing I need to love a boy is a song and a live chicken haha. Sara (the woman we stay with) made it for dinner! Chicky chick is no more!

Some of my favorite village guys dancing! They love the princess pat!

This picture cracks me up- mostly because they don't think twice about  the hand holding... especially in a place that it is illegal to by gay....

He got me a what?

Finally comfortable with Chicky Chick

Sorry mom... this is chicky chick after... I of course had to eat it- I would be a terrible person if I didn't eat the poor boys chicken!

Cami and I have not been on a real project together all summer and are thinking about running an eye camp in Buna. The team in Lugazi had 800 pairs of glasses donated and they have nowhere to put them. We are thinking it would be really cool to do a camp and do a bunch of eye exams and then leave the extra glasses in the brand new clinic that we built! Then they will always be there when people need them. I am excited to finally work with Cami on something!

I just love Cami so much! Believe it or not..we are dancing haha

The beading women are doing good and we are excited to start them out on some new designs soon. As for the urine project…we are officially finished! So much cooler in PDF form… it still makes me shudder thinking about the pouring of Ryan’s pee we did… but on the plus side the women are super stoked! Also I found out that the people in Buna are using urine as fertilizer! haha I was just joking with them today when we were helping the kids plant beans for their agriculture project and they were like uh of course! haha.

Jaclyn and Simon!

I just love it here. 

1000 Shillings!!!!

Great news on the bead front!! These women are amazing! They are so excited and motivated to make the necklaces. We started working with them to improve the designs of their necklaces and it is better than anticipated! They look great! Last year the women were taught how to make paper beads but then were left with no market to sell them in. Here in Mbale and surrounding areas, the market is pretty saturated. So the women of Namatala had this new skill but they had no place to sell and became super discouraged. Our goal was to help them differentiate themselves and gain new skills. Then we decided we wanted to give them access to a global marketplace and have decided to start a business! We have named it 1000 Shillings (the amount of money the families in Namatala live off a day - about $0.40) . This new international market will give these women the opportunity to supplement their incomes.  We also want to be able to tell the story of each of these women and their families and communities. It will be like a travel magazine mixed with an ecommerce site. 

Meet the ladies!!!  

This is Veronica, she is the happiest lady ever! I love her smile! She is so willing to learn and is easy to laugh. We had the opportunity on Saturday to go and see her house and meet her family. Her husband left her awhile back and we couldn't distinguish quite how many children she actually has but she takes care of at least 10 kids. The kids were out working in the field and we got to go visit them and see them at work.

This is Ida. She is our rock star! She is the only one of the ladies that had continued from last year. She has been making beads and trying to sell them in her spare time (which isn't a lot). She picked the most complicated of the designs we offered and is doing super well! Her necklace had 730 beads! She is very dedicated and wants to own her own business one day. I really think she can. She tries to sell charcoal now but most of the time doesn't make a profit. We want to start teaching them business skills so that one day Ida and the rest of the women will be able to stand on their own as confident business women.

This is Esther. She is so funny. She loves to laugh and was so proud of her first necklace. She has been living in Namatala since her husband "chased her out" as she told me. She speaks English but is super shy. She was my partner this last week and we put this necklace together as a team! When it's finished the top with have a leather strap or possibly braided african fabric. We are really excited about this one!

Martha came out of nowhere! The first time we met with the bead ladies there were only 5 of them. Then one day Martha showed up and we are happy to have her! She is so on top of the game that when we met last not only had she completed her homework of making enough beads for her assigned necklace- but she had already varnished them! She is also quick to smile and has really good English. We got to meet all of her kids on Saturday as well. It was really cool to talk to them and see their mom's influence. She is a great asset to 1000 Shillings!

 This is Elizabeth, I admit we were a little worried about her at first- but she has turned out to be a front runner! I love her necklace! Rebecca was paired up with her last week and they had a lot of fun making what we affectionately call The Elizabeth. She is very shy and timid at first and then opens up and loves laughing with the women. I think the women appreciate this time together beading- maybe it helps them to forget for just a minute.

This is Annette. I absolutely love her. She is so friendly and has one of the cutest babies in the world! She is always wearing that neon green do-rag (spelling?) and it makes me laugh. She is usually right on time for our meetings (which is a definite accomplishment in uganda! ugandans tend to be at least an hour late! admittedly!)

These women are so great and I am excited to start being able to sell their stuff. It will make such a huge difference in their lives! Hopefully rent, school fees, food, and running their businesses won't be so much of a problem anymore! Plus I think I might of found something that I would actually be happy doing with my life... as seen by past experiences i'm not really great at staying in one place- but right now I have a yr and a half plan and I don't even feel claustrophobic about it! I get to combine my love of traveling with my love of photography. We want to branch out to different countries and spotlight collections from different women's groups all over the world. Rebecca has connections in Nepal so we want to start there after Uganda, but are also interested in going to women in the United States, as well as Mexico for this year. I'm excited for the opportunity to tell these women's stories- the aim is to let you get to know her as I have. I think this is such a cool concept! So...stay tuned!