Making Mbale home

August 21 - September 12, 2016

Hiking Wanale Hill from our own backyard

Hello again!  After a heavy post about working at the University and in the hospital, we are lightening up the conversation and introducing you to our newest hometown: Mbale, Uganda.

Meet one of the 
animal neighbors

What is the language?

Mulembe. Mulembe.
Uryena?  Bulayi.
Kamakhuwa?  Kasila.

This is the Lumasaaba/Lugisu exchange used for greeting every morning.  The day starts by greeting, asking how the night was/how the person is doing, and what is the news.  Many people are surprised and delighted when Dennis and I are able to greet them in the local language, even if it's just a few short phrases. There are over 50 different local languages in Uganda, but most people speak at least some English, so it is used as the common language for almost everything.  The national television station (NTV) as well as newspapers are all in English.  Not to say that there aren't many side conversations in the various local languages.  Although we are learning the local language, there are many in the area that do not speak Lumasaaba/Lugisu, but rather speak Luganda, Atesso, Acholi, Lusoga, and many many others depending on the region where they are from. Even walking from our apartment to the top of the beautiful Wanale Hill (a cool 5 hour hike round trip), we encounter many people that do not speak Lumasaaba and don't understand us when we greet them.

A kitchen friend, Newton

Monkey Dennis
hanging curtains

Where are you living?

The new Mbale GHSP gang is living in a small apartment complex in a quiet area that is also a short walk to the town center, as well as to work.  Suffice it to say this apartment is nicer than any other we have lived in together in the US.  It is a 2 bedroom apartment equipped with a kitchen, living room, and large balcony that perfectly faces the sunset every evening.  While serving in the Peace Corps, housing is provided by the host organization, to ensure support for the Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) from the community in which they will be working.  We have running water (hot water should be installed soon :) as well as electricity a majority of the time. Combined with a small refrigerator, microwave, and a stove top we are set.  There are times when power is out for the entire community, and for us as well.  Fortunately, we have candles, flashlights, and a 2-burner gas stove to continue cooking if the power is out.  Otherwise, a delicious coffee shop/restaurant located nearby has a generator if we feel like splurging.  The guest bedroom is set and ready for whoever wants to bring an air mattress and come visit!

Who else is there with you?

Travis with US Ambassador
Deborah Malac

Bette

Let us introduce you to the GHSP team that we are living and working with over the next year:

Travis Bias is one of the "kids," a family medicine physician from Austin, Texas and traveler extraordinaire who recently spent 5 months volunteering at a hospital in Kenya.

Bette Brassfield hails from Colorado with a PhD in nursing - she will focus on nursing education this year.  She is also a former Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) from Thailand in the 1970s.

Jennifer with some of the
Mbale Regional Hospital staff

Jennifer Lasman is a continuing GHSP volunteer who was in Mbale for the past year and is extending for another six months.  She brought an iStat machine (for quickly measuring electrolytes and hemoglobin) which she is teaching the students and lab personnel to use. She is also a wealth full of information about the ins and outs of the hospital, medication availability, and pulling strings to get patients oxygen.

Julia

Julia Taylor is a nurse from Missouri.  Although nursing is actually her fourth career, as she previously worked at the CDC on the Dalkon Shield IUD evidence, as a teacher in Iran prior to the Iranian revolution (she left the same day the Shah left), and in the department of defense as a Fortran specialist (that's an old computer language for those of you who aren't old enough to remember).  In retirement she is a nurse.  Badass.

Judith Weiss is a librarian who hails from Ohio.  She is working on building up and connecting the Busitema University to more resources. She is a Peace Corps Response Volunteer, cook extraordinaire, and is traveling with her husband...

Judith and Robert Weiss

Robert Weiss, a pediatrician and return GHSP volunteer.  He was a part of the first cohort of volunteers (with Maureen Ries), serving at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in western Uganda.  He is a gem to have on board with a calm and rational demeanor, and always classy with an array of bow ties.

First potluck dinner

In addition to catching up on the stairwell when coming and going through the building, it has become a tradition to host a "house" potluck once a week.  It becomes a feast of home cooked food with a taste of home, getting creative with the freshly picked fruits and vegetables from the central market, as well as learning new secrets to recipes (who would have known that cinnamon in guacamole is delicious?!).  

What is the food like?

There are several options for food in Mbale town.  At the central market, you bargain and buy the local food from the families that grew it themselves.  The stalls are filled with tomatoes, onions, carrots, bell peppers, garlic, ginger, potatoes, avocados, cabbage, cauliflower, bananas, pineapple, cherimoya, watermelon, passion fruit, and even the occasional mango (we've been told mango season is in full swing near December).  Other more traditional Ugandan food is also abound, including beans, lentils, rice, peas, ground nuts, matoke, and yams to name a few.  When needing some basics, there are several grocery stores carrying milk, yogurt, butter (!), tahini (hummus is definitely happening), peanut butter, spices, and the best ever, NUTELLA!!!  This year we'll be taking full advantage of the farm to table freshness of the produce, and try our hand at creating several staple foods from scratch. 

The house is spoiled by Julia, who bought an oven and has supplied everyone with cashew and date cookies, homemade wheat bread, papaya cobbler, and of course a sweet banana bread.

Also in town is a Danish gentleman who has built his own cheese factory, making gouda, mozzarella, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and paneeer (Indian style cheese which he supplies to the local Indian restaurants). He even delivers cheese to your front door.  Amaaaazing.  We haven't had the luxury of trying out his products yet, but will keep you updated!

What can you do for fun?


Hike! 

Last weekend we discovered the local mountain, due east of the town.  Dennis and I can step outside of our house, walk to the base of Wanale Hill, climb to the very top, stand next to a large waterfall that cascades down the side of the mountain, and see the entire Mbale town below.  The hike involves climbing a wall of sticks to get to the steepest part of the path.  It looks daunting, until you see a man with a machete in one hand and a large sac of coal on top of his head scale the wall easily without ever wavering.  At the top are small pools of water where locals and hikers alike swim, alongside rolling green fields and banana trees.  Hiking down another side of the mountain leads you to the main road to town and back to our front door.  Round trip is 5 hours, easily the best way to start a weekend on an early weekend morning.

This past weekend we trekked to the beautiful Sipi Falls near Mount Elgon for a welcome weekend celebration with the eastern region Peace Corps Volunteers.  
After a packed, hour-long matatu ride to a quaint backpacker stay called The Crow's Nest, we were off for a day of hiking to the three major waterfalls.  It was the perfect setting to get to know the newest PCV cohort, as well as many more senior and seasoned volunteers.  The hike took us again through rolling hills and farmland, until we ascended to the first fall, with water crashing down and creating a mist over the area.  The power and force of the waterfall was incredible.  Nature always has a way of casting a spell through her beauty and strength.


As we trekked toward the second waterfall, we came across some locals harvesting their onion crop.  Thinking we would get a few onions to take home, we bought 2,000 ugx worth of onions.  The roughly $0.60 actually bought 2 kilograms of onions freshly harvested minutes earlier.  We are loaded with onions.

The hike continued downstream to a small waterfall that fell into a deep pool of water.  There many children were swimming and jumping off of the rocks into the pools.  Many of the PCVs joined in.  As we continued downhill, the scene became impossibly more picturesque, until we found ourselves in a large cave behind the the base of the second waterfall.  The cave created a protected area to climb down to the base of the falls, walk amongst the mist, and hear the water crashing down.


Not far from the second falls was the Sipi River lodge, where we warmed up in the sun, that intermittently peaked through, while eating sandwiches and drinking delicious hot coffee.  

In the later part of the afternoon, we descended a man-made "ladder" leading to the base of the third and lowest waterfall.  Once you were heading down the wooden rungs, you could no longer see the top from where you had started, nor could you see the bottom of the rungs where you were headed.  It felt as if you were suspended midair on the side of the mountain.  When we did reach the base of the ladder, standing on solid ground was a feeling of relief.  After hiking further down the steep path, we found ourselves overlooking the most powerful fall, complete with a rainbow at the base from the misting water and slowly slanting sun.  The view was absolutely breathtaking.  The hike ended by climbing back up the same ladder we had descended, now with our senses filled.  

Back at the lodge, we cleaned up in the warm showers while the rain played music on the tin roofs.  A rousing game of Cards Against Humanity (little known secret - this game was created by former Peace Corps Volunteers!) ensued before a filling dinner, followed by hanging out by the campfire through the evening while watching the stars and moon shine through the patchy cloud cover.  A huge thank you to Katie and Carson for organizing the weekend!

When not at work or hiking, we are usually cooking, reading, socializing with the crew, or keeping everyone updated through blogging.

Next planned trip - Murcheson Falls.  Where hippos feed outside of your tent at night.