Week 3 - Personal Blog - 16/02/13

“One of the delights in life is eating with friends “ (Colwin, 2000)

This week we met one of our friends, Hannah, who has just arrived in Uganda to volunteer with Dwelling Places (the charity we were in Uganda with in the summer). After disrupting the rest of the diners by some screaming and hugging, we enjoyed a lovely Indian meal with Hannah, Marsali (the nurse from Dwelling Places) and the new teaching volunteer, Esther. It was great to catch up with Hannah and meet Esther. We were able to give them advice on living in Uganda; things to do and things to watch out for. Who would have thought 3 weeks ago that we would be giving tips on living in Uganda?

Joanna and I having lunch with Charles.

We then returned to Dwelling Places with Hannah. This almost felt like returning home, the Uganda that Joanna and I first fell in love with, the place where the roads were extremely orange and dusty and where everyone knew us. Firstly, we went for lunch with our Ugandan friend Charles.

Joanna and I outside Dwelling Places Kids' Home.

Then we visited the staff and kids in the home. The staff all greeted us with hugs and kisses but seeing the kids run towards us with their big smiles shouting, ‘Auntie Karen, Auntie Joanna, you are back’ was a priceless moment. We were back with our Ugandan family.

Little Sabin wouldn't even smile for us in the Summer. Now he is full of giggles!

“Family is not just about blood relations or who you share chromosomes with, but something wider and bigger” (Dessen, 2008)

Some of the children at Dwelling Places.

Expert Pancake Flipper!

Later that (Tuesday) night we made pancakes with everyone, our old, new, Ugandan and British friends; it was Pancake Tuesday after all! This was a great chance to introduce our Ugandan friends to a proper pancake, not those banana fried pancakes that they eat here.

Although we still believe that our pancakes are much better than the Ugandan equivalent, we have come accustomed to the Ugandan food. This week, one of our friends, Olive, from Nana Hostels, made us a typical Ugandan meal, rice and soup. It was really tasty and we were so thankful for the vegetables in the soup. Since arriving in Uganda, we have been craving vegetables in this carbohydrate filled world so the carrots, tomatoes and courgettes in the soup were just delightful. We promised to return the favour by cooking Olive, and our other friends, Nellie and Samantha, a typical Irish meal. Although this could be a bit tricky with only one hob!

Joanna, Olive and I.

As “food is a central activity of mankind and one of the most significant trademarks of culture” (Kurlansky, 2009), this week we have been really adventurous and tried lots of Ugandan food such as chapatti (thick tortillas), Ugandan sausages (strangely pink and spicy) and Samosa (similar to a spring roll but triangular and filled with peas). Food is very cheap here; even the high-priced places are cheap compared to home. Dinners from our local restaurant range from approximately 40p to £2.00 each and approximately £5 each from the expensive places.

James and I enjoying a Samosa.

The Chapatti Man

We are certainly getting used to the Ugandan food but what I wouldn’t give for my Mum’s Irish stew and Pavlova….

References:

Colwin, L. (2000) Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen, London, HarperCollins.

Dessen, S. (2008) Lock and Key, North Carolina, Viking Children’s Books.

Kurlansky, M. (2009) The Food of a Younger Land, New York, Riverhead Books.