Learning the Ropes

This weekend was spent getting to know the ins and outs of living in Uganda.  I have come to realize that without a washing machine, oven, and microwave, one could easily spend all day doing household tasks like laundry and cooking…which is what we spent our Saturday doing!  The morning passed quickly as we browsed the market in town, stocking our kitchen for our first few days.  I was particularly excited about the avocados (twice the size of those we have at home and the taste…heavenly!) and mangos, although I am looking forward to making my own peanut butter as well in the next few days.  I am also determined to find a way to make banana bread on the stove since we have two giant bunches of them currently …

For lunch we learned to make chapatti-a delicious East African version of flatbread which I had been dreaming about since leaving Uganda two years ago!  It was fantastic (you can see I was a bit excited), rolled up with avocados, tomatoes, and a little bit of fresh garlic.  Top this off with freshly-made passion fruit juice and I was in Heaven!  Hmmm, I’m afraid this may turn into a bit of a food blog from time to time, so bear with me! 

After lunch we learned to do laundry!  It is a bit of a process, involving three bins of water, lots of soap and splashing, and our unmentionables drying glaringly on a line in our front yard (at least this last part goes quickly in the hot, equatorial sun!)  These tasks could seem menial or mundane, but here they have a social function which has allowed us to bond with Joy, our live-in teacher of all things Ugandan, in a way which is genuine and fun.   I might even venture to say that doing laundry and cooking this way is therapeutic…although I might not feel that way once our schedules fill up a bit with teaching!  For now, however, I am learning to live on African time, realizing that there really is nothing to rush off to; so take the time to socialize over household chores, attend three-hour church services, and eat dinner by candle light when the power goes out.  And don’t move too quickly, because it is far too hot for that. J