FFF

2010-06-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

2010-06-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

The traditional wedding in Uganda - a lots of dancing, singing, eating and no alcohol

2010-06-15T06:48:00.001-07:00

Entebbe town, quiet getaway from Kampala.

Huge spiders above the dining table, the best tilapia fish ever and crazy drive in one of the Matatu (common public transport in Uganda, cheap, but quite hair-raising).

2010-06-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

The Kingdom of Uganda is a fairy tale. The scenery is different, the climate is different and most of all, the people are different from anything elsewhere to be seen in the whole range of Africa....what message I bring back....concentrate on Uganda." Winston Churchill (My African Journey - 1908)

Streets of Kampala

10 WEEKS IN ,, THE PEARL OF AFRICA''

2010-06-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

"For magnificence, for variety of form and color, for profusion of brilliant life -- bird, insect, reptile, beast -- for vast scale -- Uganda is truly "the Pearl of Africa.'' WINSTON CHURCHILL

Here you can be any religion you want ...

Some street posters and car signs you just can't not notice...

THURSDAY

2009-12-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

98 years old woman from Jitpur village - she still cuts the grass ,feeds buffaloes etc...

Had another bumpy Indiana Jones ride on the local bus to go to Kathmandu , the price - 10 rupies...

Kathmandu looked chronically busy - tiger balm sellers , pipe carvers , 100% cashmere ( or is it ... ) shawls , incenses , mandalas , internet coffee places , wondering tourists , pirated dvd's , sleeping bags , fake ,, North face " winter jackets , woolen socks , yak- milk tea bags and so on and so on

To come back i had to take a cab , cause there is no public transport after dark . The cab drive at night was quite animating , but we didn't kill anyone (21 years of prison ) or a cow ( 20 years of prison ) , and we didn't get killed , so it was a good day.

WEDNESDAY

2009-12-08T02:07:00.000-08:00

It's a boy ... not a girl

Other ECD kids

I can confirm it - Nepal is the country , where when you ask something , you will never get it , and you are given ,when you don't ask it . Today my face looks like a tribal native indian face , covered in all the rainbow colors - for no reason , all the people i lived with or worked with decided to give me Tikas in the most vivid colors . The teachers asked me to buy a sari and wear it at school :

,, The married woman shouldn't wear a pair of ripped jeans - it's such a disgrace! "

And then all the teachers found it funny the fact , that i drink a black coffee without the sugar . They told me , that i must be a very strong and severe person not to add sugar into my drink....

Today i brought to school an instant coffee bag and asked the other teachers to have some coffee with me . Four of them agreed to keep me company ( just to be amiable ) . Literally , they put two or three granules of Nescafe into their mugs and 5 spoons of sugar . The color of coffee was not brown , it was yellowish - and they drank it , saying that it was very tasty ! - kind of the same sweet tale , when i make declaration of love to rice every day ....

At school there is one blind teacher . Other teachers introduced him to us ( me and the other volunteer Zarina ) to him saying :

,,- Here is our abnormal teacher - he is blind! "

They used that word - abnormal... I thought , at one point , Zarina will die hearing that . She works in the organization , which actually does everything , that people with disabilities would be easily integrated into society and would not feel ,, abnormal '' .

It was difficult to keep the straight face , not to laugh , when Zarina was trying to explain that ,,abnormal '' is not a right word and should not be used in that case .

For dinner we went to Osho camp , which was really close ( 3 km ) and had an amazing dinner for 1.50 $ - simply an Eden....

TUESDAY

2009-12-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

Teachers room

Teachers

School cantine

Ramis and his sister

How can one explain what the celery is to the kid who never saw it in his life ? I had difficulties with that during my English class .

At school local teachers,, accused ''us being unsociable and reserved . They wanted us to hang out with them in the room of principal , which serves as a teacher's room as well . Schoolteachers here are quite gossipy at a glance here . They do try to talk to me , but i don't understand mostly their questions , and they don't understand my answers equally , but we continue anyway having this no-win conversation . One of the ECD teachers gives me a TIKA ( red mark ,big honor ) on the forehead , saying that this way i look more serious - well , definitely i look like a popinjay and i am kind of nervous , if that violent red color will ever come off my hair...

During the break i meet Ramis (Mowgli 's) sister . She is 13 years old , she finishes her school at 3 o'clock , and then goes to work till 9 p.m . She cuts the lawns , does laundry for the rich families , cleans hotel rooms etc .

,, - She never does her homework , and she is not very talented '' - that's how her teachers describe her ...,, - But it's ok ''- they say :

,, - Anyway , she is from the lowest caste , so who cares ... "

My colleague from ECD class is 28 years old woman , she has a 18 months baby . Her daily routine is quite Spartan : she wakes up at 5 a.m. , does her household work , prepares breakfast to everyone ( she lives with her in -laws , that makes 9 family members ) . Then she walks all the way to school for one hour , works there , then comes back home , cleans the house , cooks the dinner , takes care of her baby . She doesn't groan about it , because , once more , she is from low caste and this is just a way to be .

Like they say there :

,, I am Dalit ( the lowest , untouchable caste ) , i am Woman , i am Dalit Woman - i am three times discriminated ..."

MONDAY

2009-12-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

My crib

School

The little Garima

Back to work .

Indeed , I started to to be fond of those English lessons we are having every morning - it's so amusing to see kids actually willing to learn something with such an enthusiasm and without any enforce .

ECD class is very crowded today, we have 17 children - i guess , the word just spread out about new teachers with a lot of new games and activities . All the kids are dressed in dirty clothes , not washed - a band of young vagabonds... There is this little girl , called Garima , she is 3 years old .

I lifted her up , and even my handbag is a way heavier than her . An obvious lack of nourishment . The only food she has is dry , pressed rice, and the only thing i could think looking at her was the image of a starving child from Auschtwitz Birkenau camp .

Local teachers told , that the children were missing us yesterday and it just made my day till ... the moment i got back home and realized that the toilet was jammed and all feces from last three days are out ...

The head of the family fixed it up that problem next day and then gave some serious speech of instruction how to use the toilet paper properly . He said that all foreigners are using too much of toilet paper . Very ecological thought , indeed , but with no access to running water , it gets a bit complicated ...

DAY 6

2009-12-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

Back to the orphanage . Bought the ball for boys ( they had no , even all of them love football ) and the 22 pair of socks ( not one of them had any ) . The handout had a huge success . Girls were trying the socks , then putting them back tidily in their treasure troves . The older boys started the try outs of the ball straight away .

The girls dragged me off to their room , saying that it's girls time and no boy is allowed to interrupt it . They were singing and dancing , i tried to imitate their moves , causing a lots of laughters , being such a maladroit . The girls brushed my hair , saying that i had very untidy hair , and that i should wear it in tight knot to look more attractive . Real beauty parlor we had there until it got dark ...

DAY OFF

2009-12-03T03:10:00.000-08:00

Astonishingly , i had a nerve to take a local bus to go to Thamel , and even to ride it in the top of bus , the way all homies do . It was horrifying ( Indiana Jones ride at Dysneyworld feels like bagatelle comparing to that ) , and my bottom didn't thank for that neither - got so many bruises!

Thamel , after being isolated for one week , looked very medley . Full of lights , cars, bikes , hotels , bars , spits , smells and so on .

Nice dinner with all the the other pals from the VIN ( volunteers initiative nepal ) , medium hotel , warmish shower , soft bed - what could one want possibly more for Saturday night off ...

DAY 2

2009-12-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

The orphanage dog Dieu ,who leads us to school

Kusum

5 a.m. Woke up of a distant car or motorbike signals . Why this country can't sleep longer ???

Didn't have a strength ( or will ) to take a cold shower - and ,, cold '' is not strong enough to describe this arctic , icy water anyway ...

Then escorting orphans to school . We are all lined up in one line like a gang of ducklings . This school walk was supposed to take 10 minutes , but it took me longer than 30 minutes to get to destination . I wouldn't call it just simple promenade , it was more like climbing the mountains , sort of trekking . I was the one to look after the kids ,but it was them , who looked after me , screaming :

- Be careful , Sista , BE CAREFUL !

The local school looked just as you would imagine any village school could look like . Teen girls , sitting side by side , gossiping and giggling ; teen boys , gathering in groups , hawking and spitting , juniors - just running and playing around - kind of stereotypical , peaceful image ,which you can stare at for ages . . .

The bell rings , and fun is over . We go to our ECD ( early childhood development ) class . Today there are only 5 children , aged 3 - 5 , to be taken care of , one of them is from my orphanage - little Ebo . The language barrier hits straight away , so i have to use all the burlesque grimaces or acting skills to have at least some communication with kids . We play all the Montessori games i brought from home ( thanks to my friend's contribution ) . Children are really attentive and curious to any game they are being introduced to . They obey every order their local teacher is saying ( i am envious of that , cause every time i try to say something , they look at me as i would be a little green man from other planet ) .

During short break we - them , actually -play some nepalese music with madals ( nepalese drums ). Half of the school gangs up at the doorway to see this .

Done at 3 p.m. Rocky road back to the orphanage . The youngest kid Ebo proposes nobly to carry my handbag , i do refuse ( i should be caring his back and him instead ) , he gets upset , so i let him carry my bag . You can tell ,that he feels very superior and honored because of that .

Back in the orphanage we found the girl , Kusum ( 14 ) , who can't go to school with everyone because of her leg's inability . All day she just sits outside , observing the world or watching TV. She has no tutor , the orphanage can't pay her placement with a special school . Every time you look at her , her face lights up with such a inner smile . Kusum crawls to toilet , to TV room -anywhere she had to go . Other kids are quite gentle to her , they assist her with a dishes , talks to her about what happened at school that day .

6 p.m . No electricity . The first time in Nepal i have heard of this ,, load schedding '' , and i am seriously considering of going and bringing flowers to Benjamin's Franklin's grave to pay my respect for such a brainy invention discovery as the Electricity ...

DAY 3

2009-12-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

little Sandja

6 a.m . - cold shower ( cold spritz , more likely )

7 a. m . - english lesson , which consisted mostly from learning ,, If you're Happy and You Know it " ( clap clap ) song . That's the only thing i could think of this cold and early morning hour . During the lesson children served me a cup of hot liquid , which had the same color as black tea , but it did taste more like a maple syrup .

8 a.m. - breakfast time . Rice , rice and rice ( got almost chocked on it ,but finished my plate with dignity ) .

9 a.m . - school time . 5 hours of ECD classes with no break .

There is this 4 years old girl at the class , called Sandja . Sadly , she has a very strong urine odor around her . Local teacher explains , that her parents are drunks , who don't really approve their daughter's education etc . Sandja keeps wearing the same dungy outfit for months and months , and she has not been washed for quite a time herself as well .

To be honest , the local teachers look like a holy beings to me . They watched after the children with such a natural love and care . They don't even mind the 21 runny noses . It looks like , that all the children in this country have a permanent coryzza . After spending 5 hours with snotty faces , i did feel a bit nauseous .

Coming back home after the school , helping with some homework . Embarrassed myself in front of everyone , when couldn't solve the mathematic task for 10 years old .

After such a long day , i felt having something more various for dinner than rice , so went to local restaurant ( where , obviously , i was the only customer in really long time ) . I had the plate of instant chinese noodle - it did taste like an ambrosia to me . Came back home with a candle , cause electricity is gone again and then bed , which is not an actual bed - it's a piece of chunk with no pillows , no mattress , but probably it's good for my back ( not to be too pessimist :)

DAY 4

2009-11-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

RAMIS

Laundry time

How many despairing stories can one take in such a short term as one week ?

There is this little boy , ,named Ramis at the ECD center . He is 6 years old , although , physically , he looks like 4 years old . Ramis wears dirty pajamas every day to school . His parents are local farmers of the lowest caste , non - educated . They don't like the idea ,that their son is every day attending the school .

Ramis is the most humble child i ever saw . He is a loner at his class . First time this kid saw me , he went hiding under the table , and it took me longer than one day to get him from there . He looks and he acts just as a Maugli . Every time you try to give him a pencil ,he just hides in the corner . Teachers gave up on him , saying that he is lazy , apathetic child , whose parents never have money to buy him a pencil or exercise book ( they call it ,, copy -book '' here ) , so there is no time or energy to waste on the case like that ... Well , i wouldn't really agree on that one , cause this ,,savage '' is anything but not a laid - back ,when he hears any kind of music . He claps the hands and swings into the rhythm with such an enthusiasm , suddenly forgetting all his shyness .

Back from school at 13 .00 ( the lessons are shorter each friday ) . The first thing orphans are doing after the school is washing their uniforms for the next week . 5 - 6 years old children , washing clothes with a cold water on the floor of their ,, shower room '' with no detergent - this i will never forget ( i won't take the laundry machine for granted anymore ;)

During the game hour ,Kusum ( the disabled girl ) crawled to me , grabbed my hand and started to cuddle it , saying that my hand smells so good . Had to leave the room immediately to hide the tears .

Tomorrow is the DAY OFF . Hurrah!!!!

Thamel , warm shower , and maybe a bottle of beer ... :)

ARRIVAL to an ORPHANAGE

2009-11-26T00:43:00.000-08:00

The cab driver pulls over just in front of the orphanage . At a doorway of tiny hutch i notice a couple of curious faces of children sticking out . Trying to ignore not very overwhelming odor in the yard (which, i guess, is their playground ), i try to make an amicable smile to kids. Unlucky for me , i don't cause a stir for very long time ,looks like they have a better occupation than observing strangers . What that could be? Curiosity leads me straight into the house to find out , that the centre of attention of 21 orphans sitting in lotus pose is nothing but the match of box on some local TV broadcast...

The local volunteers (two middle aged man ) come up to me and start the introducing ceremony . That excites the curiosity of kids . With a treacherous trembling voice , i introduce myself .

Damn it,but i couldn't feel more sheepish even standing in front of 100 ministers (not that i would know that feeling either :) ,than in front of those 21 tots , who look at me with curiosity ,wonderment, caution and ( or is it just my imagination) hope?...

After my short disastrous introduction that was something as ,, my name is Margarita '' ,and ,, i am from Lithuania " (tried to show my country in the map ,which hangs on the wall and couldn't find it for 10 minutes...).

The kids are more determined introducing themselves . They are all so so different... Different appearance , age , character... everything . Some of them yells out their names ; some of them -trying to make an impression - go through telling all their life ,instead o just saying the name or age ; some of them just mumble their name gingerly . I think , i will never ever remember their names . And talking about the gender ,i am not able to tell who is boy ,or who is girl - they all have the same very boyish haircut...