Pass the potatoes . . . I mean bananas!

Hello, All!

Well, things have been going along pretty smoothly around here for the past week or so. I’m getting into the swing of things with school, and really enjoying re-learning all the things I skimmed over in high school (I’m pretty sure I’m having more fun in class then the boys). Little miss Lynnsi Ray is working up to a full school day too (we’re completely trouncing her math!). The culmination of a school day is when, if there aren’t any appointments that afternoon, we put away all of the school books, write out the homework lists, then move over to the couch and put in some time reading Fellowship of the Ring out loud. For those of you who really know me, you understand what a sacrifice I’m making in reading that book . . . not!

Anyway, enough of that, for now. I wanted to take some time to share my food experiences here in Uganda so far. I expected eating out to be different, so I was prepared for the frothy cup of flavored milk as a milkshake, and the discovery that most salads didn’t include lettuce, but it was the mixture of familiar and unfamiliar things in shopping and cooking at home that kind of caught me off guard.

I think it’s the semi-familiar things that throw me most (a lot more than the completely new foods). I made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch with the kids today, and realized how different it was! The jelly was plum jam (the most available fruit spread, as opposed to American grape jelly) and it came in a little tin instead of a glass jar. This can be disconcerting to a habbit-formed “jelly-from-a-jar” girl like me! It’s true that Sadie and I had an opportunity to buy familiar peanut butter, but the expiration date was almost up on it, and, never having run into an expired jar of peanut butter, I never want to, so we went with the Kenya-manufactured brand. When I opened it, it wasn’t entirely mixed and instead of the usual peanut oil on top, there was a thick, white lard-like layer. I managed to scrape most of it off, leaving the peanut butter somewhat thick and dry, but somewhat less worrisome to consume. Just about all of the bread I’ve encountered in Uganda has been pretty dry, with a very hard crust, so even the bread was different (and that’s not even going into the varying thicknesses of the slices).

Speaking of the bread, there are a lot more “from scratch” foods around here, which Sadie and I are really enjoying. Fresh bread making is next on my agenda (something I enjoy and haven’t done in a while). We’re also forgoing the store-option of long-life box milk and buying fresh milk that we have to boil and separate the cream from.

I’m also slowly learning more in the way of local dishes. I’ve already told you about African tea, but I’ve also been learning about how to make tortillas (soon I’ll try the African Chapati), spicy peanut sauce, and matoke (a banana-looking fruit that tastes like and is cooked like potatoes). Whenever I go out to the orphanage (or any other more Ugandan or rural meal setting), a plate of beans is usually served, with either rice or Posho (cooked maze meal, like thick, dry mashed potatoes). Posho can also be served for breakfast as a liquidy porrage, accompanying a snack of “g-nuts” or peanuts as we know them.

The best part of all of our food adventures so far has been trying new recipes and new ingredients! The fruit and veggies have been amazing (especially after the expensive and less-than-amazing Alaskan fruit), and Sadie has mastered the fruit smoothie craft (yes, it’s a craft, soon to be ‘art’). There are still adjustments I have to make in my head each time (like looking for “minced beef” at the store instead of hamburger, and having to put the flour in the freezer for a couple of days to kill the bugs in it), but “the kitchen” is slowly becoming “my kitchen” as I become more comfortable in it, and learn the ropes. I can’t wait to bring back the new recipes I’m learning!

January News

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The Nile, Sunburns and Kids!

Yup, it's been a busy week or so. Right now I'm sitting at the table, sipping a cup of Africa Tea (black tea made in milk and water, with a mix of spices called masala added- like a chai latte), and catching up on my writing. It's fun to think back to Christmas (which already seems long ago) and muse over everything that's happened since.
Let's see, first there was the adventure of white water rafting down the Nile River!!!!!! It was super fun! We'd been told about the trips before we even came, and were pretty sure that we'd have to end up doing it (who could resist saying that they'd rafted down the Nile?), but I'd expected it to be months from now. Well, there were a bunch of missionaries going on this trip, several of whom were leaving shortly after, so it turned out to be the perfect opportunity. It was about 6 hours of a trip, with lunch on an island and 11 rapids (grades 3-5), but one of my favorite parts was the calm stretches, where we just paddled, talked and laughed with our guide, or jumped out to swim/float down the Nile for a while. It was by far the warmest water I'd ever been in outside, and the rapids were great! Yes, we got flipped over, knocked overboard and even stuck on a rock at the top of a 16 ft. waterfall!
The only letdown to the whole trip didn't happen until we got home. SUNBURN!!!!!! Sadie and I didn't leave the house the next day, it hurt so bad and was soooo red! I was wearing capris, but my arms and my face were pretty well roasted. Poor Sadie's legs got fried! It wasn't until this past week that I realized how –completely subconsciously—I had been relying on my appearance to make a good impression with all the new people I was meeting, and then here I was with a swollen, red nose and a scabby face. The only reason I can talk about it now is that it's almost over. *brave sniff*
I've had the opportunity to do some more work out at the orphanage with Sadie! On an orphanage day, the alarm clock goes off at 5:45, in order to have breakfast and gather up everything we'll need for the day, and then walk into the bus stop in town to be picked up by the Good Shepherd's Fold van (which would fit in nicely out East End Road). The ride out into the villages and through the sugar cane fields is so fun, and so different, even from Jinja. You can tell that it's a completely different world in the villages; a much harder one. Once we reach GSF, we get to walk through the house yards greeting the kids and letting them know what activities are happening that day. I'm beginning to be able to put the right name to the right face, and I think I'll have them all straight just about when the other half of the kids come home from Christmas Holiday with relatives. They're all so much fun, and I can't help bursting into a smile whenever I hear a little accented "Aunt Megan!" coming at me. One of the best parts has been finding both kids and adults at the orphanage who remember my Dad's trip last spring! They all have such wonderful things to say about him as a friend, teacher and helper, and I'm so proud and encouraged about wherever it is that God is leading our family (I'm telling you, Dad, you've no idea how much you were used!).
New Years' Day was both fun and relaxing. Sadie and I went to Johnny and Jacob's neighborhood football game, got to cheer them on, and join with the other ladies there in mystified discussions about personal fouls and pass interference (which we were supposed to be watching for and calling). In the middle of the game, I had my first Ugandan thunder storm, which was beautiful, cool, and WET!!! The wind actually knocked a tree down in the back yard of the house we were playing at, and the boys loved getting dirty, wet and hardcore! That night Sadie and I had Stoney ginger soda, ice cream and homemade brownies, and stayed up until midnight to watch the beautiful fireworks display over the Nile (about two blocks away). After that was the perfect time to call the family back home (12 hours behind us) and let them know that I was in another year! Hehehe. I got to talk to my engaged sister Molly for a while, and she said that she was glad I was coming home before our birthday, because that would mean that I'd be turning 23 ten hours before her, instead of her having her annual 2-hour older-sister experience.
And finally, the most recent and very exciting news: I started teaching school today! It was just the two 9th grade boys, so I've still got to start with little 3rd grade Lynnsi, but it went really well (despite my suppressed fears), and I'm excited about becoming more familiar with the schedule and curriculum!!! Now, I'm finally settling in, not only to a new house and new people and . . . oh yeah, a new continent, but to a new job, and being useful! I can't wait to give God and these kids my all (Colossians 3:23+24), trusting Christ that it will be good enough.
Well, my tea is cold, which isn't entirely unpleasant, given the climate, but it's probably a sign that I've gone on long enough. Anyway, to save another thousand words I'll close with a picture of Sadie's and my week.
Thanks for all your prayers, and please continue to lift us up, as we settle in and begin to look around us, ready for what God has next. Happy New Year to you all!!!!!
(hmm, the photo for the blog didn't come over, so I'll have to send it separately)