Trash is sorted (research)
Bags are stuffed
And I'm scurrying to get last minute things done before my flight in 3 hours. But hey, I'm good...I'm already sitting at the airport.
But being really sad is soon to come...
Until next time...
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Notions
So, I've been thinking of something things that I have been considering sharing, but either haven't had the time, forgot what I wanted to write before I did finally log on, or had not worded it just right yet. I will start with my thought for today.
As I am now a Returned PCV, I am taking advantage of seeing the country I have lived in for the last two years from a different perspective. Driving the roads of Kampala is an adventure all its own and I'm sure I've picked up skills I will need to immediately discard upon reaching home. I know in the States we like to complain about potholes, and rightfully so, they can do serious damage to vehicles. Kampala has its share of potholes, well and the rest of the country. Some have been 'blessed' with more than others-just trying to put a positive spin on things.
Anyway, I have previously told people that I never thought I would long for speed humps to be installed, but when I used taxis, I wished they have them every 10 feet.
Today I've come up with an alternative to speed humps and I find it quite clever:
Instead of speed humps, they should just install potholes, they are much easier to install and maintain!
Until next time...
As I am now a Returned PCV, I am taking advantage of seeing the country I have lived in for the last two years from a different perspective. Driving the roads of Kampala is an adventure all its own and I'm sure I've picked up skills I will need to immediately discard upon reaching home. I know in the States we like to complain about potholes, and rightfully so, they can do serious damage to vehicles. Kampala has its share of potholes, well and the rest of the country. Some have been 'blessed' with more than others-just trying to put a positive spin on things.
Anyway, I have previously told people that I never thought I would long for speed humps to be installed, but when I used taxis, I wished they have them every 10 feet.
Today I've come up with an alternative to speed humps and I find it quite clever:
Instead of speed humps, they should just install potholes, they are much easier to install and maintain!
Until next time...
Monday, October 31, 2011
Trip around Uganda
Rhinos at Ziwa Santuary
Bwindi
Crested crane at "zoo" except they have a different name for it now, it is more than a zoo, it is an educational center.
A really nice place to stay. Beautiful rooms surrounded by a beautiful rainforest. And it definitely rains in Mabira.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
RPCV
I've made it. It's official. My first full day as a former Peace Corps Volunteer. I'll be returning 14th November. Right now I'm trying to wrap things up here. Research (yes, I'm actually accomplishing something, even if no one really knows about it), small projects I didn't have power at site to complete, and wrapping my head around jumping into American life with my new look on things.
See you soon Stateside.
Until next time...
See you soon Stateside.
Until next time...
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Shall we begin the countdown now?
So...
I plan to buy my plane ticket this month. I'm thinking very beginning of November. Then as cheap as I can, some traveling on the way home. I figure I have to get home somehow, so I can just take it a little slower. We'll see what happens.
Right now I'm just piled with work. I knew I'd be working on research, but gee whiz where'd all this other work come in. Good thing I have people to help and it will all be over before I can believe it.
I plan to buy my plane ticket this month. I'm thinking very beginning of November. Then as cheap as I can, some traveling on the way home. I figure I have to get home somehow, so I can just take it a little slower. We'll see what happens.
Right now I'm just piled with work. I knew I'd be working on research, but gee whiz where'd all this other work come in. Good thing I have people to help and it will all be over before I can believe it.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Vacation
Grandma and Amanda finally made it to Uganda.
We whisked them around the country and put them on a plane back home less than an hour ago.
Maybe after we all catch up on sleep and digest the last week and a half of events, we'll have plenty of stories and pictures to share.
Until next time.
We whisked them around the country and put them on a plane back home less than an hour ago.
Maybe after we all catch up on sleep and digest the last week and a half of events, we'll have plenty of stories and pictures to share.
Until next time.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Race Day
In March, I participated in an area bicycle race. A week before the event, I was asked if I wanted to participate because people always saw me riding here and there to go to schools and other villages.
So I signed up.
The day of the event was energizing.
The atmosphere full of excitement.
The road lined with crowds.
After a briefing, we headed toward the landing to the starting line. I was the only woman among 28 other men. The only white person for that matter.
The man with the gloves and I for part of the race kept passing each other, until he got tired. Ha.
Raymond took care to have everything I could possibly need along the race course. Which was really great, cause I needed water. It was hot and dry that day.
Somewhere I didn't take a turn and ended up not where I was supposed to go. But I was determined to complete and show girls they can ride bicycles too and that bazungu are not lazy as it seems most people think to some degree. Sorry I didn't do much for people here to think I'm smart. Ha
Most of the ride was lonely except for the times when Raymond whizzed by on the dirt bike.
Speaking of dirt, I collected some on my almost 3 hour ride. You'd think I was wearing leggings.
I finished very much last, but I think finishing was really all I needed to do. After some investigating on the part of the race facilitators, I found out I am 1 of 5 people who completed the entire race legitimately. The guy in the orange gloves passed me on the back of a truck at one point. Although I was about 1 hour behind everyone else-getting lost was not fun, but it was nice when I finally found the correct way. It was also nice to see somewhere I'd not been yet; the forest was very pretty.
Well, I staggered home, bathed, rested, and then was called back to get my prize....
What...I get a prize.
But I was dead last.
Then again, only a handful complete successfully.
SWEEEET.
My prizes. I had my eye on that bicycle pump before the race too.
How did they know?
So I signed up.
The day of the event was energizing.
The atmosphere full of excitement.
The road lined with crowds.
After a briefing, we headed toward the landing to the starting line. I was the only woman among 28 other men. The only white person for that matter.
The man with the gloves and I for part of the race kept passing each other, until he got tired. Ha.
Raymond took care to have everything I could possibly need along the race course. Which was really great, cause I needed water. It was hot and dry that day.
Somewhere I didn't take a turn and ended up not where I was supposed to go. But I was determined to complete and show girls they can ride bicycles too and that bazungu are not lazy as it seems most people think to some degree. Sorry I didn't do much for people here to think I'm smart. Ha
Most of the ride was lonely except for the times when Raymond whizzed by on the dirt bike.
Speaking of dirt, I collected some on my almost 3 hour ride. You'd think I was wearing leggings.
I finished very much last, but I think finishing was really all I needed to do. After some investigating on the part of the race facilitators, I found out I am 1 of 5 people who completed the entire race legitimately. The guy in the orange gloves passed me on the back of a truck at one point. Although I was about 1 hour behind everyone else-getting lost was not fun, but it was nice when I finally found the correct way. It was also nice to see somewhere I'd not been yet; the forest was very pretty.
Well, I staggered home, bathed, rested, and then was called back to get my prize....
What...I get a prize.
But I was dead last.
Then again, only a handful complete successfully.
SWEEEET.
My prizes. I had my eye on that bicycle pump before the race too.
How did they know?
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tippy Tap
After I finished this, they called it the expensive European model. I guess it does cost more than the original model, but I would like to think it will last longer and my feet will stay drier.
Tippy taps tend to need rebuilding every once in a while. I thought the last time was the best yet, but the termites and water had a different view…well, they might have thought yum yum, but whatever. So I had told Maama Gertrude I want to leave her with things that were both useful and I could be here to see her enjoy. I had spent some time thinking about improving the tippy tap. First of all, the jerry can could not be easily removed for refilling. Second, when the compound was sweep, whoever was doing it always seemed to move the foot pedal , making it a pain to then reposition and use. These were the main two criteria I used in my simple, yet more costly design. At the end of August, I put pen to paper and drew what I hoped would be a long last, more convenient to use, hand washing station. Here’s what I came up with.
So I quickly took it to the welder in order to wait two months to find out they really don’t understand…which I kind of figured. I had previously asked for angle bar of a length of 15 ½’ with hooks so I could use the exposed rafters to hang a couple window boxes. Surprise, surprise, I ended up with 15’ of angle bar and hooks in the wrong places. Well after a detailed visit the locations were correct as in distances from the ends, but how they were attached is another matter. Anyway, I’ll make it work. I still need to cut my box in half. That will be later.
So the tippy tap. Beginning of November. I make an appointment to go and work with the welders. They did a pretty good job and I even let them use several scrap pieces and by the end I had a brand new tippy tap support that look about 10 years old.
With the language barrier, physically showing what needed to be done was about the only way to get things moving. The main piece I have no idea of its origin, but it is a 2” metal pipe that before removing it had a small metal pipe welded inside and protruding out one end. Rusted and having just a few holes here and there, sure let’s use it.
For the bar across the top we used a nice piece of angle bar. The bracing is square pipe. There was a piece of sheet metal from a previous project (I’m sure) that they hammered flat and eventually was welded at an angle to support the cross bar. I think the part that took the longest was getting a piece of small square pipe between the two uprights to prevent tilting. But they figured it out. So that was one piece of the two piece tippy tap.
The second piece was meant to go into the ground. For some reason one of the guys was trying to get it to attach to the main piece and thank goodness the other guy had seen the location and even kind of helped me measure it. After some miming explanation and purchase of a good hinge, the second piece was complete.
Whew. It only took about 3 hours. Then they wanted to charge me 35,000/- more than what they had told me a few week prior. I was tired and ready to go home. I was happy and a little excited before that because we had just made my picture real. Then change in price made me not so happy and not really excited to get it home any time soon.. I left for the night.
The next day I was willing to give them 5000/- more than the original price and that is what they apparently had decided too. So I then took my freshly painted, newly made, ancient tippy tap home.
It took me another day to get the thing working properly. There are a few improvements to be made, but I used what I had. I guess I also surprised a few people with my drafting ability. Yep, did do some schooling in that area.
Until Next Time…
Tippy taps tend to need rebuilding every once in a while. I thought the last time was the best yet, but the termites and water had a different view…well, they might have thought yum yum, but whatever. So I had told Maama Gertrude I want to leave her with things that were both useful and I could be here to see her enjoy. I had spent some time thinking about improving the tippy tap. First of all, the jerry can could not be easily removed for refilling. Second, when the compound was sweep, whoever was doing it always seemed to move the foot pedal , making it a pain to then reposition and use. These were the main two criteria I used in my simple, yet more costly design. At the end of August, I put pen to paper and drew what I hoped would be a long last, more convenient to use, hand washing station. Here’s what I came up with.
So I quickly took it to the welder in order to wait two months to find out they really don’t understand…which I kind of figured. I had previously asked for angle bar of a length of 15 ½’ with hooks so I could use the exposed rafters to hang a couple window boxes. Surprise, surprise, I ended up with 15’ of angle bar and hooks in the wrong places. Well after a detailed visit the locations were correct as in distances from the ends, but how they were attached is another matter. Anyway, I’ll make it work. I still need to cut my box in half. That will be later.
So the tippy tap. Beginning of November. I make an appointment to go and work with the welders. They did a pretty good job and I even let them use several scrap pieces and by the end I had a brand new tippy tap support that look about 10 years old.
With the language barrier, physically showing what needed to be done was about the only way to get things moving. The main piece I have no idea of its origin, but it is a 2” metal pipe that before removing it had a small metal pipe welded inside and protruding out one end. Rusted and having just a few holes here and there, sure let’s use it.
For the bar across the top we used a nice piece of angle bar. The bracing is square pipe. There was a piece of sheet metal from a previous project (I’m sure) that they hammered flat and eventually was welded at an angle to support the cross bar. I think the part that took the longest was getting a piece of small square pipe between the two uprights to prevent tilting. But they figured it out. So that was one piece of the two piece tippy tap.
The second piece was meant to go into the ground. For some reason one of the guys was trying to get it to attach to the main piece and thank goodness the other guy had seen the location and even kind of helped me measure it. After some miming explanation and purchase of a good hinge, the second piece was complete.
Whew. It only took about 3 hours. Then they wanted to charge me 35,000/- more than what they had told me a few week prior. I was tired and ready to go home. I was happy and a little excited before that because we had just made my picture real. Then change in price made me not so happy and not really excited to get it home any time soon.. I left for the night.
The next day I was willing to give them 5000/- more than the original price and that is what they apparently had decided too. So I then took my freshly painted, newly made, ancient tippy tap home.
It took me another day to get the thing working properly. There are a few improvements to be made, but I used what I had. I guess I also surprised a few people with my drafting ability. Yep, did do some schooling in that area.
Until Next Time…
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