Christmas and New Year 2006
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything on this MySpace thing, so I thought I’d better fill you guys in on what I’ve been up to – but it’s quite long, so maybe you’ll have to read it in chunks or during coffee breaks or something. Apologies in advance if it gets a little boring…

Well, Christmas wasn’t what I expected. I wanted the African experience. To have an African Christmas in Uganda – and it was going to be great as far as I was concerned! I was expecting too much, and that was unfair in a way. Uganda is great though. I love the country and the people, and this was my third visit. It was good to see Flic – someone I knew and could chat to (friend from Bridgwater who’s working out in Uganda for two years and was here when I went out in October/November last year.)

So, yeah, flew out to Uganda on 21st December (via Nairobi). Bit of a nightmare journey, but I got there. Spent most of our days in Kampala town or at the Guest House where Flic used to stay. Met loads of lovely people – Wilson, Dennis, James, Alex, Jake, Cat, Laura, Rita, Carol, Edwin, Ramona…(not that those people mean anything to anyone else, but hey). I really couldn’t have asked to be around nicer people. Flic has some really good friends and seems to know everyone!

Did not feel like Christmas at all though. I think the first time it hit me that it was actually Christmas, was when I was at Nairobi airport and they were playing Christmas music. Apart from that, nothing here in Africa is what I would call ‘Chrismassy’. There are no lights, no carols being sung, no Christmas music in the shops, no Christmas decorations, no Christmas parties… But that’s Christmas to me, and it is unfair to compare it really.

Went to a really good Christmas Cantata performance at Kampala Pentecostal Church in town on the 22nd December. Was ace! So so good!! (get the impression I liked it?) Over 100 in the choir. With dancers (very westernised dancing – ballet, salsa…!) and a group of actors doing the nativity. Was wonderful. Finally felt like Christmas (a bit!)

For Christmas we got invited by Edwin (one of the trustees of the organisation Flic works for) to his wife’s family home. It was really lovely of them to invite us (Wilson, Alex, Jennifer, Flic and me). We were told we would get picked up at midday, go to their family home for lunch, then go to the beach. How cool!? It sounded great. The African Christmas experience I wanted. Flic and I got so excited. The beach on Christmas Day!! Christmas dinner in Uganda with a large African family. It was going to be ace! We decided to take some food with us, and two crates of sodas (getting hold of them was an adventure in itself and far too long a story!). I cooked pasta (which didn’t turn out like I expected), Jennifer made stuffing and a bean stew. We were all packed, towel, bikini, shorts, sun cream…dinner and the beach was awaiting us.

Managed to speak to my family on Christmas Day too, which was really lovely! Technology is great. Can’t imagine what NGO workers used to do without the internet, e-mail and mobile phones. Makes life so much more easier and bearable.

So yeah, we were all set to go at midday, as told. We shouldn’t have been so optimistic. This is Africa remember. Two and a half hours later, and most of Love Actually watched, Edwin arrived to take us to his wife’s family home. I think Flic and I were quite frustrated and annoyed (and how bad did I feel for feeling like that!? – these people had very kindly invited us out for lunch on Christmas Day, and what do I do – complain, very selfish of me!). I think watching Love Actually didn’t help either. Seeing all the Christmas lights, people being with their families, enjoying the festivities we associate with Christmas. Made me quite sad and I just wanted to be with my family. Suddenly it dawned on me that I wasn’t there, and they were having their Christmas Day without me. I wanted to be at home and have our Christmas traditions – of my sister and I waking my brother up way too early so we could all open our stocking presents together…and to once again see that Mum had been far too generous (which other Mother do you know puts a CD in your stocking!) – she’s so lovely. And then to find out what toy from the Poundshop and other silly games Dad had added to our stockings. All these little things that you miss, and you don’t realise how much until you’re not around them. Like Carols By Candlelight at my church in Wolverhampton (and playing with the candles, melting all the wax and burning my fingers!) and Christmas Day at church, seeing what presents the children had got, singing carols and eating mince pies (of course, church on Christmas Day isn’t just that – we do have serious stuff too, like celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son if God – incredibly important!) J

Anyway, we eventually got to where we were meant to be going. It was a lovely house. Everyone was really welcoming. We were offered sodas (lots and lots of sodas!) and chatted to Moses, the grandfather. Really lovely guy, and very hospitable. It’s quite rare to have a grandfather in Uganda. Then the food was ready. I asked for my pasta to be heated, and it didn’t come out until quite a lot later after the meal had started, which was a shame, but probably saved everyone the displeasure of having to eat it!. I think I should have just done a load of vegetables.

There was so much food though, and it was delicious. Matoke (of course!), potato, cabbage, rice, g-nut sauce, lots of different meat pots, and a fish dish, gepatis…The boys were in their element! All very very lovely. Couldn’t have asked for nicer food, and plenty of it. But the weird thing was, all the family sat outside on the back veranda, while all us Mzungo’s (white person) ate in the front room with Moses. Edwin joined us later. I felt really bad, like we’d intruded on their family day. They have family in the States that had come over for Christmas. I’m sure they just wanted to spend time talking to them, rather than being with us – despite their protests that it was fine and we were welcome. But it was kind of weird. Flic and I were saying later that if it had been in England, and you’d invited people over for Christmas, then we’d all sit together. We wouldn’t all sit in separate rooms. There I go again, complaining when I should have been so thankful that we were invited out!

Christmas cake was brought out later – sponge with shed loads of icing. Flic and I were so craving something sweet! I’m sure we ate most of it! Was sponge though, not fruit cake like we have back home (not that I’m complaining – quite happy with chocolate sponge, it was great!) We were thinking of the mince-pies, Christmas cake, apple pie with custard (and ice cream!) we’d have back home though. I did feel really bad though, longing after something else, when they’d been so hospitable to us. I felt so selfish, like I can’t just be happy with what I’ve been given. It was weird, being surrounded by food and people, but wanting what you’re used to, despite everything you’ve been offered.

We never got to go to the beach either, which was a big disappointment to me (man, it sounds like all I’m doing is moaning, sorry, please don’t think badly of me). It would have been so cool to get out of Kampala and go somewhere different, away from it all. Ramona apologised and said she wasn’t sure why we didn’t end up going. I think it was just because we were so late starting food. And there I go again, being critical because it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I’ve really got to stop that. There are other ways of doing things, that are not my way, but it doesn’t mean they’re wrong.

Texted home later saying how I missed my family, and that the day hadn’t turned out quite how I expected. My sister texted back saying that they’d laid a place for me at the dinner table. Bless! Really didn’t expect that. I shed a few tears (I so don’t do crying). I just wanted to go away and cry buckets (like I said, I don’t do crying). I wanted to be with my family so much. Just wanted a hug, to be around people that understand me and love me (I’m so pathetic!). It was really hard. In a way, I would have preferred to be in Renk in Sudan, by myself, rather than be with the family who I had dinner with, all together, yet not part of them and wanting to be with my family. It’s really silly the things you miss. I felt like I was about twelve. Oh dear, reading that back sounds like I was so depressed, and near-suicidal…it really wasn’t that bad at all. But it did make me realise how important family is.

Ok, enough of Christmas…once the day had passed, that was it. Christmas was over really. Flic and I went to Jinga for a couple of days after Christmas, which was ace. SO much fun!! It’s where the supposed source of the Nile is. We stayed in a lovely place right by the Nile. I can’t get over how big the Nile is up there – considering how small it is down in Renk! Anyway, we had a great time rafting. The instructor kept asking me why I kept falling out J More fun that way in my opinion. SO nearly died though on the last rapid (called ‘The Bad Place and 50/50) – getting sucked into the rapids and eddies is not always as much fun as it looks when one is in the water and not coming up for air anytime soon! I was scared, and there was some serious praying going on under that water. But it really was so much fun! I wanted to do it all again the next day (I’m not sure Flic was quite so convinced). Then we went mountain-biking the next day. Realised how much I missed my bike and being up on the Quantock Hills. Gonna have to get myself a bike in Renk somehow…somewhere…could be difficult though…any of you guys wanna flat-pack a bike and sent it out to me…Nige, what do you reckon??

That was Jinga, and we had such a great time – rafting, swimming in the pool (and bombing into the water by the pretty girls who would go in for a few minutes, making sure their hair stayed dry – you’d be proud of me Ben), being bought drinks by some guys who fly planes to map the entire country of Uganda!. It’s a hard life.

Then for New Year we went to Kampala Pentecostal Church for an all-night worship service. With a 100+ choir again. So wonderful! And so many people. They even had a big screen set up on the grass outside! Reminded me of Henman’s Hill. It was a really good night. Flic and I left after the break (at 1:30am!) – but the service continued on. I think the boys got back home at around 4 in the morning or something ridiculous! Don’t know how they did it.

New Year’s Day was very cool too. Flic and I met up with Peterson and Prosse – two people who were part of the team when I was out in Uganda last year. We went to Peterson’s parents house to meet his family. Really lovely people. And because we were their first guests of 2007, we got presented with a beautiful sponge cake – again, with loads of icing! Flic and I were loving the cake! It was so generous of them. They’d never met us before, but we were made to feel so welcome. It was very humbling. Would I be quite so hospitable in my home in the UK, or would I see it as more of an inconvenience that people had come round and disturbed my New Year’s Day? Then after that, Peterson took us to his sisters house where they were having a huge family meal. At least 20 people were there when we turned up. Again, it wasn’t a problem to them. We were made to feel very welcome, as if it was normal for friends of the family who they’d never met before to just turn up for lunch (which was actually around 15:30). It really did make you think, and wonder whether I would be that giving?

Towards the end of my time in Uganda (I’d already postponed my flight once), I had a lovely couple of days just sorting stuff out and going round Kampala and spending time with the people I’d met. We also went to a beach resort in Entebbe, which is right on the shored of Lake Victoria. Beautiful! Played Frisbee and went swimming in the Lake – went out for ages with some random guys I met, until I thought better of it and came back. There was also a swimming pool in the hotel grounds, so we were diving off into the water, and doing somersaults and cartwheels into the pool. I’ll try and get some more photos onto the website.

I tried to get my visa for Sudan while I was in Uganda, but failed miserably. I was so gutted (the fact that it was really last minute wouldn’t have had anything to do with it I’m sure)! I just wanted to go back to Sudan without having to have a long stop-over in Nairobi. Also, Tearfund were having a retreat for all the teams in the North Sudan Programme from 7-9th January. I really wanted to be there. To get to know everyone and feel part of the bigger Tearfund team. I’m the only Tearfund ex-pat in Renk (and we’re a consortium of NGOs, rather than just one, like Tearfund). Where-as all the other teams are majoritally (is that a word) made up of Tearfund staff. But it just wasn’t meant to be, and God obviously wanted me in Nairobi for a reason. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. Why not get a visa in Uganda and go to Sudan and be part of the retreat? Surely that is a good thing – good for me, and good for my role as WatSan engineer/.coordinator in Renk – being able to chat and ask questions to all the other WatSan people. But obviously God had other plans, it’s just that I didn’t agree with His logic.

On my last night in Uganda, I decided to cook for everyone. You would have been well-impressed with me Mum, I cooked for nine people! I know, I’m still recovering from the shock too! And apparently they’re all still alive. I cooked sweet potato, rice, g-nut sauce, beef, cabbage, carrots, and I think that was it. It was good fun and a lovely way to end my time in Uganda. It was actually really hard to say goodbye to everyone. They’re all such lovely people and we became really good friends. They really made me feel part of their team, even though I wasn’t.

So onto the plane I got…next stop Nairobi…

…and I’ll leave my adventures in Kenya for another time…I think I’ve bored you enough, and it’s not even that exciting!

Still miss you all!
b xXx