backlog, Sunday, February 25

Sunday, February 25
Sarah and I treaded through the forest – or rather, the area that has been recently deforested – with her dog, Buster, around 5:00 yesterday. It was somewhat heartbreaking to see what the “local authorities” have done to the area that was full of trees only a month ago. In the name of conservation, I suppose, they cut down hundreds of Eucalyptus trees. [Edit: I’ve learned the local authorities are building a new hospital and police station/barracks. All hail local development!] It now seems that many locals retreat to the same area to collect wood for their own purposes. Maybe I’ll learn to carry bales of wood atop my head by the time I leave this place.

The rains of West Nile intimidate me. I’m not looking forward to walking through the mud for the next six months. It gets cold too! Everyone talked of how fantastic the stars are here in Uganda – unfortunately its been cloudy every night since I’ve been away from the city lights. I wonder when that will stop….

Martha and Eric were very nice to me – we enjoyed pizza and pirates of the Caribbean, pirated pirates of the Caribbean, mind you. Apparently there is even a video-rental store in Arua, although from the make-shift nature of other “business establishments” (i.e. the road-side beauty salons, pronounced saloons, with nothing aside from one chair, some scissors, and maybe a razor [read: no electricity, water, or durable construction]), my expectations are low.

I went to lunch at the Pacific Hotel, with Leanna, the Right to Play person I met the other night. She came and met me, which was much appreciated. She showed me a new path, and it was definitely appreciated. While I still think we have some trouble connecting on a personal level, it is great to have someone to show me around and another person with whom I can share my thoughts/

After “G-Nut” stew and veggie curry we ventured into the Fabric Market which was totally awesome. I felt that I was in some sort of movie set. The fabrics were/are incredible – they come from DRC in just about any color and in a slew of designs They have booklets of Nigerian designs that they will copy and craft you a shirt/skirt/dress/napkins/wall hangings, etc... I am, however, not looking forward to the place during the rain season: with just the few days of recent rain the center aisles between the stalls were already a mess with mud. Also, the makeshift ceiling of plastic pieces hung at about 5 feet, five inches from ground level, was just low enough to cause for awkward passage.

We continued through to the vegetable market, where I felt lost in the dizzying maze of tomato triangle stacks, small purple onions, and people either smiling warmly or staring coolly.


This area was a bit more open air, and had greater representation of outside influence – people coming from all parts of town to have a go at selling their yields.



After a quick stop at the muzungu supermarket to pick up peanut butter, dish soap, TP, and “biscuits” (aka stale cookies from UAE and India) I caught a motorcycle boda back to the ‘hood and relaxed for a bit.

Robinah, the sister of Judy who I met in Kla (who was connected to me via Patience, someone I met on the airplane from London to Entebbe), stopped by and we talked about housing possibilities in Arua, as well as about the Jesus spotting in Gulu. For those who haven’t heard: JESUS WAS SEEN IN NORTHERN UGANDA, atop a MTN (cell phone company) kiosk. Even the Muslims were running for a glance. MTN kiosks dot the road sides of even the most rural parts of Uganda, and are a predominant, yellow feature not to be missed. Why jesus would opt to visit N. UG atop MTN is beyond me, but hey, Mary was spotted in Nebbi not too long ago either…