Sunday, October 30, 2011

Mud and other stuff

It is always hard to know whether to write just for the sake of it but it is good to keep this blog going. At present we are in wet season - though it appears that it is not when it is meant to be. However, rain is rain and the quantity of it cannot be denied. Hence the mud. "Mud, mud glorious mud", I can hear my mother singing. Here, it is part of life but presents problems that are so so different to Australia.
First, rain means that everything stops. Nobody moves out of the house, it is a matter of staying home and waiting. Or staying wherever you are and stopping. Streets quickly become flooded, and if you get caught in the rain you will get very wet, very quickly. Then, it usually stops after a while and there is plenty of water and lots and lots of mud.
Thursday morning was such a time. It had stopped raining in time for me to go to school, so off I went - in Blundstones with my nice dress! The Blundstones did a great job - they collected great quantities of mud but by and large were easy to walk in and only a few muddy splashes up the back of my legs. At school, change into sandals to look nice for class. First mistake! By the time I got to class the soles were full of mud and it was quickly creeping onto my feet. A lovely young male student saw the state of affairs and came to my rescue and offered to clean the soles. He efficiently cleaned most of the mud off the shoes. Only problem is that with a mud floor, in wet weather it does not dry, and mud attracts mud so... On the bright side, I did not slip over at all! Class proceeds, no problem. Then, just before the end of class the rain starts. Remember, no ceiling just tin roof. Not so easy to teach 80 students, so just wrote some solutions on the board. However, the rain continued and looking out: it was very wet, a worksite with bricks to negotiate, rain pouring down, class just had to continue. The students were not going anywhere and so, no option the class just continued. This is Africa, time does not matter! I did eventually get out of class, but morning tea was delayed. Rain wets firewood, firewood heats water, water makes tea. So, logically morning tea could not be made at least until it stopped raining - amazing how much one takes for granted a nice electric kettle.
We have enjoyed having some friends here and on Saturday afternoon I took them to visit a group with the aim of buying some goods. After a trek up a hill through as much mud as you would ever want to walk through we discovered that the group did not meet due to the rain! Then, a trek back home - though we did have the joy of having many children join us for the walk and were able to buy some baskets from a couple of local friends. Well, I suppose you could put it down to a cultural experience.
The rain also makes the roads even more diabolical. We heard of a number of accidents that happened around us this week as well. One a minor one with someone knocked due to the pedestrian trying to avoid mud and puddles. Another with a guard from the village having his bike break into two! Not a common occurence, and he is recovering but had bad facial abrasions. Then, a very significant accident not that far from here where five people died in an car accident. The car they were in was trying to overtake two petrol tankers and then had to pull in between them as a car was coming the other way. However, it was at a point in the road where slowing down was necessary, the first one did, with the car coming in the second one did not slow down enough and kaboom, and the car was squashed. Horrific stuff! The people involved were two evangelists from America, a bishop and his friend from here in Uganda and the driver. A salutory reminder of the dangers here.
Throughout our time here it has been evident that education is of vital importance and so we have turned a lot of our attention to the high school and also looking at the education of the children at the village. With this in mind it is interesting and seemingly like a God given opportunity to be both going back to teaching positions. Ron's is a bit of a surprise but with the conditions being very suitable, we are thanking God for an opportunity for him to redevelop his skills in education and use his teaching gifts.
So, this blog has been a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I am sorry about that but hopefully keeps people a little up to date with our goings on. Perhaps a little deeper post next time, hopefully not deeper in mud.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update Anne.
    I know the Ugandan mud all to well and can well appreciate your situation.

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  2. Hi Anne, what a funny update! reminds me of the time when I got stuck in Nairobi after flash flooding due to the rain! Not so funny at the time but in hindsight it is! Hope the mud has dried up for you. What a shame we will miss you as we come through Uganda this year. Thanks again for sending something back with Anita. All the best LJ xo

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  3. Oh sorry, its Laura, didn't realise it didn't come up with my name! :)

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  4. Just about to go to work in the Blundstones again - lots of rain last night - not easing yet! All the best for the trivia night.

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  5. Oh dear! I can just see it! Can you imagine the carry on if rain and MUD was the cause for extended teaching sessions and no cups of tea here at home????

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  6. Hey Anne, Reuben from team 10 here. My mate has some money for you to administer as you see best... what's the best way to get that to you?

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