Cry, The Beloved Country

If you haven't read this book - go to a bookstore right now and get it. (it's very possible that I missed the boat on this one, and everyone else has indeed read this. If so, just enjoy the quotation below) Alan Paton's book is beautiful. To give you a small taste, from the 1987 Scribner publication:

"There is calling here, and in the dusk one voice calls to another in some far distant place. If you are a Zulu you can hear what they say, but if you are not, even if you know the language, you would find it hard to know what is being called. Some white men call it magic, but it is no magic, only an art perfected. It is Africa, the beloved country."

a little help?

it's 6:37 a.m., and i've been awake for 2 hours. I always have great ambitions of reading history books, going to the gym (ha), or getting work done with these extra hours given so generously to me by my good friend Jet Lag.

You might think this is a golden opportunity: my disgusting cold has diminished to the point where I can almost breathe comfortably again, I have several new books to read (thanks, family), and loads of free time. But somehow I find myself unable to work; unable to redeem these 8 hours' difference between what my body accepts as daytime and what the world says are correct operating hours.

I find jet lag (as one small part of the larger thing that is travel) to be very isolating. During the wee morning hours you're bright and chipper - but nobody else is awake. Then as everyone starts to wake up, you are ready for action - but it takes hours for people to get ready. You're thinking, people get moving already- I have been awake for 5 hours and am waiting for you! You get a couple good hours from 11-2, where you are alive and so is everyone else. But then the afternoon looms and you start to fade, fade from sight. Nobody can bring you back, and you find yourself asleep on the leather couch, while everyone else is watching that NBA game. Even the shouts 'Come on, Ref!' don't awaken you. Then it's morning and you're awake at 4 once again. Just when you thought you were getting over it. This goes on for about a week, and as you finally just resign yourself to only having 6 waking hours' overlap with normal human beings each day, you are back. And you wish that you had savoured the early morning magic and the ability to wake up without an alarm.

what I'm really saying here is this - does anybody have good tips for what to do with those morning hours? I know all the rules about recovery - get exercise, don't nap, drink water, give yourself 1 day for every hour of difference... but what do you do with yourself?

Christmas in Vienna

It's been said (mostly by me)- that nobody does Christmas as well as Europe. This past weekend, I met up with my dear friend Anna for a quick visit to Vienna. Anna is living in Bratislava, an hour train ride from Vienna, so we made plans to stay at her friend's apartment and wander around the city on my way back from Uganda. (I know, try to keep up! The flight pattern was: Uganda-Amsterdam-Vienna-Amsterdam-DC)

Anna & I had a little less than 48 hours, so thankfully Anna had been to Vienna several times before - plus I had some great recommendations from Ian (thanks!). I have such internationally savvy friends! We started hitting a micro-brewery called Salm Bräu - let's just say Vienna is the place to go for meat & beer lovers... it was delicious! I ate this potato-ham-pasta thing, and Anna & I tried various beers of course. Then we wandered through Karntnerstrasse and Karlsplatz, hit up the Kuntschalle cafe - it was time to re-caffeinate and de-thaw. No, everything in Vienna does not begin with the letter 'K,' but you would be surprised at how fun it is to make up fake German words and pretend like you're a local! We wandered through Naschmarkt - the largest 'Kriskindlemarkt' in the whole world. Vienna is famous for these outdoor markets at Christmastime - many many stalls ('stallen') with lots of trinkets and potential Christmas presents.

Saturday evening, Anna & I attended a concert by the Vienna Residence Orchestra - hosted inside a palace, and complete with dancers, opera singers, and full period costumes. If you ever go to Vienna, this is my highest recommendation. The music by Mozart and Strauss, in the city where they composed and performed these masterpieces - music that kings & queens danced to, it speaks to the soul. After 300 years, the music is still genuine. The first violinist played on an instrument from Mozart's time period - can you imagine a 300 year old violin making such beautiful sounds? For a taste - see here, although filming this was against the rules..... no respect, people. and the dancers were annoying & detracted from the music. just my opinion.

Sunday morning, Anna and I traipsed over to the Hotel Sacher for a taste of brunch and the world-famous Sacher Torte. Needless to say - delicious, and worth every single calorie. Next we visited the Art History Museum - inside yet another palace. We wandered amongst the ancient art from Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Europe, and then sat and talked about life. By dusk we wandered around the beautiful buildings, all lit up for Christmas surrounded in lovely snow... only in Europe. It felt like magic. We walked over to Ratthouse, the new-ish municipal building. The Ratthouse is turned into a giant advent calendar at Christmastime, with one of the windows opened up for each day in advent. Ate some bratwurst, drank punzch, and got ourselves lost in the city.





Anna was sweet to wake up with me at 3 a.m. and make sure I got to the airport on time. It was a wonderful time to get into the Christmas mood and have a European rendezvous with Anna. Thanks to her friends Nasstassia & Tina for letting us stay at their place, and Merry Christmas everybody!

Snaps from Milan

finally some pictures from Sarah & my Milano trip-- captions below, but no apologies for some of the silliness that you're about to witness.

First, a vespa ride - Chris said, 'You can't be in Italy and not ride a vespa.' so we did. Chris took each of us to the metro individually!















Next, the three ladies - Jelena, Sarah, & me






















an artistic moment - Sarah in the Studio. I love this shot.


Day 1, our trip to il Duomo - Sarah & me atop, Sarah pretending to be a toy soldier, and me amazed at the interior intricacy of the floor.













































Roasted Chestnuts - I finally understand the hype. A Milano specialty!





















another shot of the glorious Maison Sabbatini studio. Sarah & I kept saying to ourselves - we get to sleep here?!?









Sarah & Anna checking out the town. Anna was way cool for meeting us in Milan - just for the weekend!


















Jelena prepping us to be italian models










So, so much wonderful food.
Sarah & me eating gallons of gelatto, and then the scrumptious meal that Alfredo made - eaten by Chris, Jelena, Seba, Sarah (not pictured) & me





































and what documentary wouldn't be complete without a shot of us heading off into the sunset? yes, we are ridiculous - but wouldn't you be too?

MEAT

it's very important in Africa. In Uganda, there are two types of things to eat: food and meat. I'm not kidding.

tonight I ate a catered Christmas Party dinner for my Uganda office - this was hosted in the capital city, Kampala. There were 5 types of meat served: beef, chicken, pork, beef, & fish. Additionally, the catering company served rice and potatoes. My poor boss is vegetarian... not sure she had a wonderful Christmas dinner, but what else do you expect if you're veg. on this continent?

In the northern part of Uganda, I don't think people have figured out how to chop meat yet - so many times you will get bits of bone in your mouth. My recommendation: chew carefully!

In Zimbabwe, the attitude is very similar. Although you can get salads as entrees, it's unusual to find them without meat on top - and especially red meat. One time I got pizza for lunch (cheese, pizza sauce, crust, basil, something like that), and one of my team told me, "Oh Abigail, it's not real pizza unless it has meat on it." And then showed me her pizza which had not 1 but 2 types of red meat on top.

It's not that the meat is always terrible, but honestly - where are all the fruits & vegetables? Well, fruits are served as breakfast or dessert (ok, cool). Vegetables are definitely a side dish only. Sometimes you might get beans n rice as an entree, but that is considered a poor man's dish.

at least people are getting their daily/weekly iron needs fulfilled.......

back to the future

This Saturday I leave for Uganda again. It will be 1 year and 4 days since my very first trip to Africa - talk about coming full circle. I'm really excited to go - this will be a short one, just 2 and a half weeks. On the way back, I'm going to visit my dear friend Anna in Vienna!


I've been thinking about the past year, and the many many ways that God has blessed my travels. Here goes:

-will have visited 8 countries, 3 continents, and traveled for 26 weeks
-stood mere feet away from both evil dictators and wild animals.
-was on Ugandan radio twice and quoted in the local newspaper (yikes) once.
-purchased bulls, goats, & sheep, and selected timber, telecom, and security service providers
-was the face & voice of an anti-corruption campaign
-received a number of marriage proposals (I stopped counting) - even one on a scrap of paper
-managed a 'household staff,' adopted a mutt, and am now an honorary auntie
-saw all the 'Big Five' (rhino, lion, leopard, elephant, & hippo)
-had a child named after me. not my own child, but thanks for asking.
-got to be VIP at an italian nightclub.
-out of 34 plane rides, only lost bags one time
-met up with my way-cool-also-a-traveler Aunt Chris in the Amsterdam airport
-learned how to bucket shower
-saw 2 World Wonders
-jumped off a waterfall into the pool below
-had a wild weekend in Milan with Sarah, Chris, & Jelena
-bungee'd over Victoria Falls
-fed a baby rhino
-swam in the Pacific ocean (for me this was a first)
-zip lined through the Mexican jungle
-got picked up & dropped off at the airport more times than i can remember by my wonderful family (and a couple late nighters by Martha - thank you!)

To wrap up this random post, I want to say - thanks to everybody for praying me through these travels, and always being willing to hang out in between trips. Hope I'll get to see more of you all in 2010!

tame safaris & generally Zimbabwean

Hey folks - here are some fun stories from my Zim trip-- we've been working pretty hard, but also playing a little bit too-

(pictures are interspersed for fun - there are no rhinos outside my office door)




1. outside my office they are cutting down a tree - one of our power lines rests on the tree branches, so I am watching as we are about to lose power for a few days. amazing that you can talk to people about it - beg and plead, and they will listen to you, but they won't do a thing - maddening, really.

2. the air zim flight a couple of days after mine hit a herd of wild warthogs on the runway. all the people got out ok - the pigs, not so much.

3. the power went out at my hotel the other night. My colleagues & I had just sat down to dinner - and asked if we could possibly order some drinks, as we waited for the generators to get started. We were told absolutely, positively nothing will be ordered without power.


4. this past weekend, I went on a very tame safari at Imire Ranch & Conservation Park. Many animals in Zim have been so decimated by poachers that this conservancy was set up to protect the animals. Because of that - the elephants & rhinos have armed guards 24 hours a day. How sad - but also how wonderful that people would do something drastic to save these animals.






The animals are somewhat tame - although you should never trust that completely. We got to feed the baby rhino's by hand - they are so cute. Their mouths are like some alien Star Wars character - and somewhat slobbery too!

5. of course my favorite was the baby elephant - he put on quite a little show for us - rolling all around in the mud. I'll post the video as soon as I can get it - pretty much the cutest thing in the whole world.

















6. But the funniest story was of this elephant who was raised by buffalo, and thinks - wait for it - that she is a buffalo. She's one of the pack - the guards have brought her around other elephants, and she's afraid of them!

7. have you ever seen a giraffe eat off the ground? for a graceful animal, it looks entirely out-of-character awkward








8. also the closest I've ever gotten to lions - you can see Ruby looks nervous!

shooting stars over Z

After 27 hours of travel, a stop in the wrong country (Zambia), and some very turbulent plane rides, I have arrived safe n sound in Zimbabwe. Here are some things that I love so far:

1. The hotel gets hot water, and actually has a gym! (it's about 20 years old, and I'm pretty sure I'm the first one to ever use it) Also, it has a pool. I'm so happy.
2. The weather is sunny and warm during the daytime, chilly at night. The flowers are in full bloom, even though people tell me now is the dry season.
3. There's lots of fresh fruit & salads to be had - a huge improvement over my last visit. Additional improvements include: a lot of fixed potholes, trash piles cleared off the streets, and all my team members look just a bit fatter.
4. Outside the plane window I saw two shooting stars. The first one, I didn't believe my own eyes - but after the second one I knew that blaze of fire in the sky was either a missile or a shooting star.
5. I get to attend the Marine Corps Ball on Friday.
6. Every morning, I drink rooibus tea (that I filter myself - it's made from tea leaves) and eat a scone with marmalade. Questionable as the colonial legacy is, I love this morning ritual.

All for now - pictures to come after the weekend perhaps.

bella italia!

You would think three days in Milan would easily fit into one blog post... I will try:

Sarah & I met up in the Milano airport Malpensa, and rode the shuttle bus into the city. A 40 minute drive was exactly what we needed to begin debriefing on our oh-so-different lives over the past 2 months. We landed at Stazione Centrale, which is both a bus and train station - and oh yes, it was built by Mussolini. People say this is one of the most beautiful train stations in the entire world, and they are right: the station towers above the little piazza in glistening white marble. The structure is intricate and also imposing.

Christopher & Jelena ('Yelena') picked us up in their little BMW, and took us to the Studio. Christopher & his dad Alfredo are internationally-acclaimed photographers, which I knew - but maybe I didn't realize how cool that was until I walked inside their Studio. Beautiful black and white pictures cover the walls of this huge apartment. I've never felt so totally engulfed in the world of an artist. Sarah and I slept right in the middle of the action - on a pullout couch next to the black set, and underneath some cool nude photos. It was great to get the artists' perspective on a lot of their paintings, and of course Jelena had a lot to add since she works as a model.

The first afternoon, we mostly hung out at the Studio - drank espresso and talked about life. We went out for panini's, and Sarah & I kept saying to each other: "We are in Italy!"

The next day, we all woke up around noon (don't question - just embrace it) and Chris & Jelena took Sarah & me all around Milan. We started at Armani's house (which is above his store, above his restaurant, above his hotel - he owns the whole block). Sarah & I took a few moments just to breathe the same air as Armani. Then we walked down the high fashion street - past Prada, Gucci, Fendi, and every other designer you can remember. Jelena told us that the window displays in Milano are considered even more beautiful than the ones in Paris. The streets were full of lovely Italians - little kids, old people, the middle aged - everyone has that smooth skin, and the italian phrases rippling from their mouths. I'm going to speak for Sarah too - because we agree that we could listen to people speak Italian for the rest of time.

We came upon the Duomo from behind - the church is breathtaking. The white marble sparkles in the sunlight, and the intricacy of the spires has a dizzying effect. We jetted to the top of the church, where we wandered on the roof for an hour - the best view of the city is found on top of the Duomo. We basked in the old-ness and wonder of the sculpture and architecture. You can look out onto Piazza Duomo, where there is a fountain and a beautiful archway dedicated to Emanuelo Milano. We trudged down the winding staircase, and went inside the church. Like so many cathedrals, the building has beautiful rose windows and an altar that you would really like to get married at, but what struck me was how much of everything there was - not just 3 rose windows, but 5 or 6 - not just 1 statue or 2, but multitudes. Also the floor is this beautiful and complex tiled pattern - made it hard to walk around - as I kept looking at my shoes. Finally, we went outside to see the front of the building - breathtaking again, even after we had seen the outside & the top!

Next we met up with Anna (who is living in Switzerland and decided to pop up for the weekend - love Europe). We all wandered across the piazza through the archway toward my first real gelatto experience - wow. I got Stracciatella mixed with something else delicious - it was so, so good. Then we wandered through the local castle, down some other streets, and generally got a taste of the city.

We got back to the studio in time to get ready for our night on the town - Jelena had vip passes to Club 71, which was very fun & very full of italians dancing to trance music. Sarah hadn't danced in months, and I hadn't danced anywhere near Sarah in months - and I am not sure Italy was ready for those moves, but we broke them out anyway. awesome (see here)

The next day Jelena & Chris told us that we 'had pretty much seen everything,' so Sarah, Anna, & I decided to wander the streets where the poor people shop (poor as in 150 euros for a pair of cheap boots), eat gelato, and get ourselves lost. We passed an old European car show, and checked out the various Ferrari's & Citroen's. Sarah bought italian leather boots, Anna bought everything else in sight. Just kidding - it's hard to resist the fashion!

Sunday evening, after an unbelievably tasty homemade dinner by Alfredo (Papa Sabbatini, as I like to call him), Sarah & I were models in a super fun photo shoot. This was a very new experience for me - so it was really helpful to have Jelena doing hair & makeup, Seba setting the lights, and Chris yelling 'be a monkey!' Just kidding. I loved it - every minute. For the results - see here and here.

Thanks to Chris, Jelena, Seba, Alfredo - and all of Milan - for such a fun weekend. Pictures will be uploaded eventually - until then, ciao bella!

Mountains of the Moon

This past weekend, I visited Fort Portal - a little town in western Uganda. It was great to get out of Gulu and see another part of this country. It always amazes me how small my mind is: I was constantly surprised at how different this area of the country is from the northern region that I'm used to. Western Uganda is very, very green and hilly. Actually the Rwenzori Mountains (located right near where we were staying) are some of the tallest in Uganda. They are called Mountains of the Moon because they have so many beautiful craters and crevices.

Since the roads in Uganda are bad, we had to drive 4 hours south to Kampala and then 3 hours northwest to Fort Portal. On the way down, we split the drive and spent all Thursday night partying in Kampala. Let's just say an Irish club called Bubbles O'Leary, a casino called Simba, and the big city factor got the 11-person group home around 6 a.m.

The next day we drove up to Fort Portal - round the winding roads, through the foothills, and past the blazing sunshine of the north. I was in a group of 7 expats (3 from Britain, 1 Scot, 2 Irish, plus me), and we met up with about 8 other Irish folk. I don't I've ever been around so many redheads drinking so much beer and shouting 'ye man!'

Fort Portal (Kabarole district) is filled with crater lakes - leftover volcanoes that have filled with water. For the most part the lakes are free of bilharzia - the dreaded still water disease you get from swimming recklessly in Africa, but you can't be entirely sure. Despite the possible disease & definite bacteria, the lakes are really beautiful - green reflecting the mountains surrounding them. And the fact that you are standing where volcanoes used to erupt - how cool!

Saturday we spent bumming around the crater lakes. We visited Ndali lodge, which is at the top of a mountain overlooking a deep valley on one side and a crater lake on the other side. The air is so clear I wanted to breathe it forever. We also ran across some Calabash Monkeys, who were very entertaining... We swam at the lodge's pool, ate a huge lunch (including honey lemon pancakes - who knew?!), and then escaped down the side of the mountain in a torrential rainstorm. Down to the security of the little town, and the next day allll the way back to Gulu.


Anyway - a great weekend, and props to my friend George for driving the entire 15 hour trip!


*Disclaimer: I was lazy the whole weekend, and didn't take any of these pictures.

10, 9, 8....

The days are getting shorter, the weather chilly - the wind bites your nose as you walk out the door... oh no wait, wrong introduction. The days are still long, the weather perfect, and the only thing that bites are the cruel mosquitoes. I'm getting ready to leave Uganda in 9 days (remember how it took me 2 weeks to mentally prep for this trip?).

I haven't figured out how to deal with leaving foreign countries, really. I say bye, give giant hugs, and hold back the tears. At least for Uganda I will probably come back, but I never know how soon that will be. Goodbyes are tough.

I'm normally so tired that I konk out during takeoff on the first plane ride, no meds necessary. By the time I wake up, the flight attendants are serving food I haven't seen in weeks - cheese, crackers, chocolate pudding (I never eat the chocolate pudding - it is disgusting).

Anyway - part of what's making me ready to leave Uganda is this: on the way back, I am meeting my girl Sarah in Milano, Italia for a wild weekend of italian fun. Uganda, Milan, DC? Oh yes.

Here are some pics from this trip - some of my favorite memories all around:
Breakdance for peace & positive social change














little kids, about to receive baseball caps:














Faith: my favorite



































Local Dancers - fierceness personified:

a letter from Sarah-- Spain to Uganda

how do I even begin to explain----

rolling thunder griffith

As you may already know - I've been wanting to learn how to drive a motorbike for a few months now: Sunday was my golden opportunity.

I cajoled one of the engineers I work with, Frederick, to teach me on his own bike (the keys to the program bikes were hidden away somewhere). We drove over to an open field where 'you won't be able to hit anybody or anything,' said Frederick. I told him, 'I will be the second woman in my family to drive motorbikes - my brothers will be totally impressed.' He thought that was just great.

As soon as we got to the field, a crowd of 20 kids gathered to watch the mzungu make a fool of herself. Frederick said, 'They are so impressed with you.' Not so much. Here in Gulu, most kids learn to ride around age 17, so for them it ain't no thing. I was a little worried about hitting them - but they all managed to scurry away in time...

Since I don't know (entirely) how to drive a manual, it made learning a bit more complicated - but after many stalls and an hour of jerking poor Frederick around the compound - I think I might be a pro. At least I can get into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears. Frederick said to me, 'you are now so perfect!' what a good teacher :)

I definitely landed us in a giant, and I mean giant puddle on the way back to the office - but between the two puddles, and I definitely chose the smaller one! Next steps: learn to drive without Frederick on the back of the bike telling me to 'go slow!' and figure out how to kickstart - that is tough stuff.

9 things that make me giggle

1. picking your nose in public is 100% appropriate and accepted here.

2. cell phone calls are of paramount importance- meaning that you answer your cell phone no matter what you are already doing. Last week I was at a ceremony opening a new hospital, when the speaker's mobile rang mid-speech - of course, he whipped it out, answered it, and had a brief conversation before continuing his speech.

3. I'm often greeted in one of the following ways: "Mono, hello how are you i am fine." "Mzungu, marry me." "Madam, give me your dog."

4. Nobody is ever described as having a bad personality trait here - they are just 'so stubborn.'

5. word pronunciation- z's turn into j's, and people just throw h's into words wherever they want: organization = organijajon; however = ow heva; social change = shoshal chan

6. last week i was introduced as 'a visiting dignitary.'

7. when you break out new dance moves, it's called 'pulling queer strokes'

8. when you want something ready immediately, you say 'now now' - as if 1 now isn't enough.

9. today i walked into my kitchen to find my fat little 'niece' Faith lying on the floor, wailing because she wanted a potato. this girl will eat anything and everything, and woe to the fool who comes between her and her food.

the expanse of the heavens

One time a friend told me that Africa is big sky country. That's putting it mildly. The african sky is so beautiful that it sometimes takes my breath away.














Let me try to paint a picture for you:









-you wake up with the dawn - the sun is already so strong that it burns through the curtains and plays with your morning dreams. The sunrise is mild hues of pink and corral, and it passes quickly into regular morning sunlight.




-during the morning, very few clouds mar the sky. It is blue as far as the eye can see - a deep azure like Longfellow's poem. Even if the morning air is cool, the sun begins to beat down in waves of dry heat.








-in the afternoon, the clouds begin to gather for their evening performance. They are magnificent - cirrus on top of cumulus and stratus. They look like varied brush strokes on a canvas of sunlight. The sun sometimes outlines the clouds or streams through them. The light turns orange and fierce, but the expanse of the heavens stretches far beyond what two eyes can take in.

-by sunset, you are eagerly anticipating what the sky will provide tonight: streaks of deep orange or pink, a flaming globe hanging low. no one can predict the glory of sunset in africa - some days it is understated, with lilac tones gently making waves across the world. other days you think the sun has disappeared, and then it rounds a foothill to blind you in its fierceness.


-dusk passes, and the moon arises - talk about your star performer. Every night the moon is beautiful. Last night it was a waxing crescent - soon it will be full, hopefully before I leave. It shines brightly enough to lighten the dark street where I live. The darker the night, the more brightly it shines - I could stare for hours.

-the night sky is littered with stars: so many that you want to throw your head back, let your jaw hang open, and just gape. I get in trouble for doing this while walking...










Not just in Uganda is the sky painfully beautiful - Kenya and Zimbabwe are the same. A colleague once told me, "There is something magical about the birds and the sky in Africa, take deep breaths and drink it in."