More from Chez Mzungu

Hello again from our lovely home. We made it home on Monday and were greeted by a lovely gift from Sam... a washing machine! This was very fortuitous as we all brought home a good pound of Gulu road dust in our clothes (and hair and nose) so we needed to do some serious washing. I had already washed a load by hand before we went to Gulu and I could have continued if I did the laundry every morning from the previous day so that there was only a little bit to do but the washing machine is fantastic! No complaints there. We have even installed a clothes line on both balconies and have purchased cute fishy clothes-pegs.

Our kitchen is becoming well stocked for our time here and Corey is preparing amazing meals with the local ingredients. Tonight we are trying Boo (pronounced boaw) which is an Acholi leafy green that needs to be boiled for about 20 minutes to become tender. The traditional recipes we have found online cook it with odii (ground-nut butter) so that is what we are going to try. This is the green that we planted at St Patrick's school in Gulu so we wanted to try out this fast growing green. The seed is like a legume - looks like a small soybean - so it's quite an odd plant. Our dinner will also consist of rice, oyster mushrooms, eggplant and carrot. Yummy!

We bought the boo at the same market we went to last Saturday. I had thought (silly me) that it might only be a weekend market but it is just as plentiful during the week. Apollo, our driver, tried to keep us on the edge of the market where he could keep an eye on us but we ventured into the stalls to get avocado, pineapple, pawpaw, mango and the boo. I bought a basket today to put the fruit into so slowly by slowly the house is feeling like home. I initially found a beautiful lime green basket but it was twice the size and weight of the orange one and so this one with handles was the one I bought. The pineapple, by the way, cost $1.50 and the 4 avocados were $1.00 total.





The weather has been great. Not too hot with a lovely breeze. In the morning we are pretty socked in with hazy smoke but by the end of the day, the smoke has left and we have an amazing view. Yesterday we were able to see all across the lake. It was the first time I noticed that. We also had a beautiful full moon.


















Birds and monkeys continue to visit as well. As mzungu, we are much quieter than the neighbours so the fauna comes to relax here. When we got home today there were two crows just screaming outside the kitchen window. We all looked out and there was a vervet monkey, just trying to relax on the water tower but the crows were having none of it.

We have also had some beautiful birds that I am trying to identify and will add to the blog as I go.

Apart from the few tiny ants in our bedroom and the very occasional cockroach, we cannot complain. And even at that, we can't complain! Apollo, our driver, is great and knows the back routes to avoid the jam. Edigga, the grounds-keeper, is so sweet and works very hard to make sure the leaves are swept, the floor is washed, and the grounds are safe. He has told us that he only leaves the grounds to go next door to the school to eat lunch and dinner. When we returned from Gulu, our shoes were a bit muddy but nothing we wouldn't have just left at home to eventually wear off. When we got up the next morning, the shoes were gone. Ediga had collected them after washing the floor and scrubbed them spotless. They are cleaner than they were when we bought them!

So life here is good. While Ellen, Marina and Kathy are on safari, we are going to do some more exploring of our neighbourhood. There are small stalls with fresh produce, grocery stores, and other little shops to see. There are also some restaurants that we want to explore in Kabalagala which is 2 neighbourhoods away.

Webale nyo for reading my blog! Please comment and let me know what is happening at home. We always love to get news.

Erika

PS - I do have a blog from Gulu but it is on my iPad so I have to wait until we get our wifi.