Reflections on a Tropical Christmas

Pros and Cons of a Tropical Christmas:

Pros:
-No over-marketing leading to greed and disappointment
-No fussing with mittens, gloves, socks, hats when we go outside
-No crusty brown yard, but beautiful green garden full of flowers and birds instead
-No pressure to decorate perfectly
-We get to enjoy our poinsettias as bushes in the ground instead of potted plants that die
-No traffic at the mall; no mall!
-Experiencing Christmas in a culture that's more similar to Biblical times than modern times

Cons:
-No crisp weather
-No hot chocolate in front of a toasty fire
-No Christmas parties on the calendar
-No holiday music in every store
-No chimney for Santa; we'll (supposedly) leave a key for him on our porch.
-No carolers at the door or Christmas hymns in church
-No drives through the neighborhood enjoying the lights on the houses
-No big extended family surrounding us through the holidays

As I contemplate this coming Christmas, I find myself experiencing both anticipation and regret. I'm regretful that I'm not with our large family in the States, but I enjoy the quieter Christmas that we have here in Uganda.

Last year we were on furlough and in the middle of a move, so we did not decorate our small apartment at all, other than taping a few of the kids' school projects to the wall. All of our own decorations were in Africa anyway. It was a bit dismal, but the joy of being near our extended families more than made up for the Spartan decor.

This year will be our first Christmas in a new home and a new country. We will need to figure out where to put our small fake tree, where to hang the stockings with no fireplace, how to bring Santa in with no chimney, and how to spend our time while our office is closed. Will we travel or just have a warm weather hibernation?

Regardless of where we are, with whom we celebrate, and how the weather feels, we are more easily reminded of the meaning of Christmas when the broo-ha-ha of American holiday marketing is stripped away. It's easier to focus on the birth of our Lord when we are surrounded by farmers, warmth, animals being herded, bright stars at night, and thatched huts which are surely similar to the surroundings Mary and Joseph experienced in their lifetime. When we see the poverty nearby, we are so grateful for and humbled by our comfortable home, our plates full of food, the electricity and running water we enjoy, and most especially the Gift that was so graciously given to all of us regardless of our nationality or wealth.

Hills on Holiday, Part 2

As promised, here are some of the animals we encountered during our October vacation. We feel fortunate to live in a place where we can see these animals in the wild with no cages or bars.
We took a boat trip down the Kazinga Channel between Lake Edward and Lake George. We had the boat to ourselves remarkably and were delighted to see so many animals coming to the water for a drink and bath. The elephants were serene and plenetiful.

Waterbuck

Buffalo in the river. Some are red colored because they are mixed with a forest race of buffalo.

Uganda is well known among bird watchers, and the river trip gave us a great opportunity to see many of them together. I was photographing the birds when these hippos popped up to say hello.

The mother hippos did not like having us around. Two even charged our boat.

Banded mongooses make their home at the Mweya Lodge where we visited for the boat ride and lunch. One that we saw even had a collar.

We saw several warthogs with their tails high as they ran across the dirt track. We also saw a few like this big fella taking respite from the heat in mud pools.

The Queen Elizabeth National Park is famous for its tree climbing lions. We had just made the decision to drive across to a further part of the park in order to see them when we noticed two lionesses heading for a candelabra tree. This tree has a trunk resembling a normal tree, but the branches are more like a cactus. They perched in the tree for about ten minutes looking for prey but spotted nothing and returned to the male and another female. It was very exciting to get to see them in the tree.

Bands of baboons are often near the roads in game parks. QENP was no exception.

I have no idea what kind of Kenyan spider this is, but it's body alone was perhaps 3 inches long, and it had a hairy gold and white back. There were three of them outside our cottage.

In Kenya we had daily Blue and Vervet monkeys outside our cottage. This Blue monkey got a little closer than we expected.

All in all it was a great trip of enjoying the creatures the Lord created, including the two-legged variety in our own family!

The Cobra

This Forest Cobra has been lurking for a long time, but only at night. Yesterday Richard, our guard/gardener, and I were clearing out some dead leaves and branches where Tiger (our cat) had followed it a few nights ago.

Tiger spotted him today and growled which alerted Richard, who is afraid of snakes. He called me, and I came up with Cooper followed by Tessa and Jack. The snake was mixed in with the vines above our wall. I called Dusty at the office to get his opinion on how to handle it when I realized that I would be the one to kill it since Richard is afraid. He advised me to get his motorcycle helmet in case it was a spitting cobra, and a long piece of rebar. I grabbed a long piece of wood on the way. Dusty then called back to say he was on his way.

By the time I got back to the wall, a small crowd of passersby had gathered from the street at our wall. I figured I would poke it with the wood and someone could kill it with the rebar. Richard had gone inside to get a kerosene sprayer. When I approached the snake (with Tessa, Jack, and Cooper behind me with some lady) with my helmet and wood, people realized I was serious, and Richard started spraying it. The kerosene made it writhe and move fast as it's apparently poisonous to snakeskin. People began yelling and running. In the middle of the commotion Dusty drove up, and a man grabbed the wood and started whaling on it, beating it out of the vine and onto the ground, where he killed it.

So I can't claim the kill, but I'm taking credit for the initiative at least - everyone else was simply gawking and unwilling to approach it or make a plan. We brought it inside the gate after thanking the crowd, measured it at 6'4", took some photos, and gave Tiger a treat.

Even Cooper got a hold of it. The guards are happy to see it dead, and Dusty and Jack skinned it for me. I want a belt!! We'll see. I doubt anyone around here knows how to tan a snakeskin; neither do we. Do you?

Our book says it is the "largest and most impressive cobra in Africa." So this one is not a big Forest Cobra, but it was big enough to do some serious damage! I wouldn't ordinarily kill a snake, but knowing that this snake had the potential to kill, and knowing our small kids play games all over our garden was enough to send this one to meet his maker.

African adventures still continue after eight years!

Hills on Holiday

We've become accustomed to some of the British-influenced wording we hear so often in East Africa. One of these phrases is "on holiday" which doesn't necessarily mean a holiday in the American sense; it means a vacation. Here are some photos of our family from our recent much-needed holiday to Western Uganda and the Indian Ocean. From the enthusiasm on their faces you can tell that it had been a long time since we had last been on a road trip.

The only photo of all 5 of us, taken on the ridge overlooking Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. It was low tourist season, so we couldn't find others to take shots and resorted to the self timer. Otherwise it was pretty nice to have so few others around.

A water slide made of tile with right angles. Awful for the left hip, but awesome for Daddy-fun!

Western Uganda is covered with old volcanoes, so we enjoyed quite a few views and walks around the residual crater lakes.

The only caves in Uganda have a small waterfall which made us thankful for our raincoats. We were in for more than we bargained - it was a wet, tricky trek in the name of ecotourism - see next photo.

This is taken at the bottom of a steep muddy incline as I watched Dusty crawling under roots and vines and pulling Cooper up with him after removing the baby backpack. It became clear early on that ecotourism here means doing as little as possible to alter nature even if it means broken ankles and claustrophic vines. In other words, Adventure!

On to the second half of the trip. There were 10 dogs on the cottage compound where we stayed in Kenya. Although that is too many dogs for Dusty and me, it was a perfect source of entertainment for the kids.

It was lovely to have only 2 options for things to do every day in Kenya. Pool or beach. Marvelously brainless, and fun! Jack discovered flipping into the water while Tessa discovered flipping underwater. Cooper discovered that leather shoes don't go in water.

Cooper discovered the joy of eating fresh mango without utensils - a great sport when followed by a dip in the ocean.

The red snapper we bought which lasted us for three meals - unbelievably tasty in a coconut curry made from coconuts on the trees outside our cottage.

The next post will have photos of scenery and some of the animals we saw minus the dogs and fish! Stay tuned.

Forgetting America

Living so far away from our home country can put one in something of a time warp. Literally, we're always eight or nine or ten hours ahead of our families and friends. But it is also easy to forget what is happening in America.

Seasons - It's chilly and rainy here in Uganda, so I've been out of touch with that summer heat most of America experienced. And as your leaves are changing colors, our blossoms continue to burst forth in color year-round. We watched a National Geographic show recently, and when they showed a yellow leaf from somewhere near the Mississippi River, I gasped when I realized how strong of a nostalgic sensation that one image caused. There are NO leaves like that in East Africa. I miss them - their smell, shape, and changing colors. And although I feel sad when I think of the piles of leaves my children are not jumping in, I sure don't miss raking them!

Holidays and important days - Labor Day came and went without recognition on my part. We were in school, and Dusty was at the office while you were probably out water skiing on some lake or watching a football game. On July 4th, we were on the coast of the Indian Ocean and forgot about America completely - no fireworks or BBQ or parades. When Dusty's mother's Fourth of July package with flags for the kids arrived after our return to Uganda, we did not know what to do with them. The eleventh anniversary of 9/11 took us completely by surprise.

Yet we still are not familiar with Ugandan holidays, so they take us off guard as well. The most recent one was August 19th, Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan), and one never knows exactly which date will be chosen as it depends on a sighting of the moon, and clouds can delay things by a day or even two. The next will be October 9th, Independence Day. I'll have to mark it on my calendar this time.

Elections - I confess that forgetting this is not something I feel badly about. I don't mind missing the speeches, marketing, commercials, flyers, signs, billboards, and general broo-ha-ha leading up to November. I still have not figured out how or when to vote from here, but considering that I'm not informed multiple times a day in multiple ways about the positive and negative aspects of each candidate, this might not be a bad thing.

Terminology - At times we struggle to communicate with each other and the kids because we don't know if the other is speaking/hearing our British-influenced East Africa meanings or our American ones. For instance, one of us will say, "Let's play football; go get the ball," but when the kid returns with an American football, we say, "No, I meant soccer!" football/soccer. chips/fries. torch/flashlight. nappy/diaper. holiday/vacation. These are now somewhat ambiguous words to us.

At least I can keep somewhat in touch through Facebook. Friends' posts about presidential candidates, minor holidays, photos of temperatures from dashboards, and sports remind me that things continue to happen back home whether or not I remember them. And even though I never was a football fan, I do know that when you write about football, you surely are not talking about soccer. After all, how many of you are watching soccer? That's just for the rest of the entire world...

How the Hill House Works

I thought some of you would appreciate SEEING how our house in Uganda functions. Here are some examples:

The dryer.

We dry 90% of our clothes on the line, but we actually have a very old Maytag dryer which we bought from missionaries in Nairobi who were moving back to America. We use it when it's raining or too cloudy to finish drying the clothes and diapers.

The air conditioner and part of the security system.

We are very fortunate that Uganda has such a great climate! The windows are open all the time, and the house stays cool in the shade of some big trees in our garden. Most homes in East Africa have some form of bars on the windows to protect from intruders. And we definitely have screens on every window to keep out the most common invaders - mosquitoes and their malaria.

One of the security guards.

Koko stays outside all the time. Ellie sleeps inside with us so that we have double the protection from inturders. Although we are mostly concerned with thieves, the dogs also help out by keeping snakes out of the yard and house. Tessa's cat, Tiger helps out with mice, rats, and geckos as well.

Another part of the security system - the front door.

Having a large set keys is the norm, and you can see why - every door and gate has its own set of padlocks. Most interior doors have their own skeleton keys as well. This is the first time we've lived in a house with a solid metal door.

The produce aisle.

We're fortunate to have ample space for both flowers and edibles. Here you can see lettuce, ginger, and broccoli, but we also have tomatoes and several avocado trees. The saying here is "if you plant it, it will grow." We've found that to be true for the most part.

The local private school.

Before we arrived, there was a home schooling co-op, but those kids have moved away or into boarding schools, so we're on our own, although there are some other home schooling families in Entebbe. Now that I'm teaching kindergarten and 2nd grade, I really feel like an actual teacher, and we facetiously call our school "Queen's Road Academy" since we live on Queen's Rd.

The water supply.

We get our water from the city of Entebbe. It makes its way to this red tank above our bathroom and then into the house, and so far it's been much cleaner and significantly more reliable than what we had in Tanzania, but you won't find me peering into this tank!

The official filtration system for the water supply.

Although our water is clean enough for bathing, it certainly is not trustworthy for drinking, so any drop of water that we digest goes through this metal container with ceramic "candles" inside. The only trick is remembering to fill it!

The widow maker, otherwise known as a suicide shower.

Why the morose name? This modern version is much safer, but former versions of these individual water heaters can shock careless users. It intimidated me at first, but now I'm quite thankful for being able to heat water for a shower immediately instead of having to have the foresight 15-30 minutes in advance.

Self explanatory.

The reason I've included this photo is because of the awkward pulley for flushing (black thing on top near the right). If you don't pull it properly, the entire plastic top falls off. It seems that almost every toilet here requires an explanation before someone can use it. Either there's a tricky flushing mechanism or a missing/sliding/pinching seat.

The attached garage.

Apparently our house had an actual garage that was then converted into our guest bedroom and bathroom. We're thankful for this covered parking place which keeps the car cleaner and cooler. And now, you can come stay with us in comfort instead of us having to put you in the garage!

Ugandan power outlet/switches, 220V.

The lowest switch is for the light, and the right one is for the water heater in the shower. There are multiple ways to heat water for a shower, including solar, but this one has its own small heater attached, and you turn on the switch about 15 minutes before you want to take a shower. All the power outlets in the house look like this one, with safety switches to turn them on and off. Occasionally, Cooper turns one off near the floor, and it takes us a while to figure out why some appliance isn't working. An odd thing about the switches is that many power cords have only two prongs, so we're frequently shoving a ball point pen or scissors into the top opening in order to get it to work.

American power, 110V.

Any time we want to use an American electric device, we either have to use a transformer or an adapter. This transformer is in a kitchen cabinet, and is actually wired to an outlet over the counter, so we recharge the cordless drill and other devices in the kitchen.

The alternate power system.

When the power goes off, which is often, these batteries kick in to provide us some power in the house. Even though we can't run everything in the house, this is a great help to us when we're in the dark!

The entertainment system.

OK, so we actually do have a TV and a DVD player, but we limit the kids' viewing time, so they keep a lot of craft items in this Action Packer and can play checkers on top of it with bottle caps. They spend a lot of time outside playing as well.

While Dusty's been in Thailand, we've been staying busy, which hasn't been hard since we've been sick and have kept up with our home schooling schedule. In between easy meals, naps, and school, we've been playing outside, doing some crafts, watching a few movies, and playing games while we wait for Dusty to come back.

We are borrowing a trampoline from friends who are in Montana on furlough, and the kids are using up great stores of energy on it, which makes everyone happy, especially me. I wish I could get up there and jump like I did when I was a kid, but I'm too nervous about my back.

One of the kids' favorite things to do is to make paper airplanes for them from a book my mom gave us. OK, I'm the one who makes them, but then they color the planes, name them, and have flying races.

One of our garden visitors, and actually this one is on the smaller end. I know all of God's critters are amazing, but this kind kind of creeps me out. This morning there was a slug on the back of our map of the world in the school room. Blech. This evening right after dark while showing the kids a good-sized frog, Jack managed to step on it. Sorry Frog - he did hop away at least.

The weaver birds frequently scavenge from the dogs' bowls. So does our kitten, Tiger. We have so many weaver birds, that it's easy to forget how amazingly beautiful they are. We also have rainbow sunbirds, very blue kingfishers and one bird that is half black and half crimson - gorgeous.

Inspired by a friend in Musoma who did the same thing, we converted one of our ugly Action Packers into a game board and finally found something useful to do with the soda caps the kids have been collecting. Any more ideas for caps?

It's great to see our garden coming to life after planting several new plants while enjoying the ones that were already here. I'm not sure if I'm more happy about having blue hydrangeas or feeling confident that our new dog, Koko, will no longer try to kill Tiger, who can now roam at liberty all day long.

Tessa actually took this photo with our bulky camera. Cooper loves swinging in his swing outside, but he prefers digging in the dirt.

Easter in Entebbe

We actually got to go to an Easter egg hunt, and the kids used vegetable shortening tubs for Easter-egg baskets.

We visited a church for the first time, and Tessa and Jack spontaneously joined the children's choir singing songs they didn't know, doing choreography they hadn't practiced, in front of about 300 people they'd never seen before!

Tessa wore a new dress her grandmother gave her for her birthday, and matched it with some lovely orange Ugandan $1.50 shoes.

Forgetting to plan a fancy Easter meal, I served my family leftovers for lunch and popcorn for dinner (we did eat pretty well at the Easter egg hunt)!

We dyed hard-boiled brown eggs with white yolks. Orange and yellow did not show up, so we only had pink, green, and blue.

Easter weekend includes national holidays Friday, Sunday, and Monday so Dusty was off, but the kids and I carried on with home schooling.

And finally, we got some things done around the house, including hanging our hammock, which the kids see as a playground. Tessa apparently bit the hammock (why?), and Jack jerked it out of her mouth - along with her not-very-loose top tooth. It's great having a gap-toothed kid around these days! Congrats, Tessa!