Yesterday we went on our first outing by foot to the markets just down the hill from us. Our house is located about 2/3 of the way up one of Kampala's "Seven Hills", which gives us a pretty sweet view of the city. The district we are staying in is one where diplomats have historically lived so I'd liken it to an upper middle class neighborhood. Up behind us on the top of our particular hill stands the Roman Catholic Cathedral, which is quite beautiful and serene. Looking out and away across the valley stands the Anglican / Episcopal Cathedral, another stunning piece of sacred architecture (and the place we plan to worship at tomorrow). But down in the valley there are the markets and they are exactly like you'd imagine. Skinned animal carcasses hang in the open air under rusty tin roofs supported by crumbling mud brick. Fish are sat out in the sun to dry and cure. Women sitting on buckets and minding their closet-sized produce stands, displaying all manner of things. These interspersed with an electronics shop selling antiquated mp3 players, and things you would have found 5 years ago on closeout at Big Lots or Dollar General. And a charcoal making business. And a 'business services center' that will make photocopies for you, again in a tin-roofed, mud brick hut. And hot food vendors cooking a variety of meats and chapattis. All these little enterprises crammed together on dirt alleyways. It was quite charming and smelled like being at the county fair. We bought two Pineapples and I lugged them both and the boy home. Note: I have never had pineapple this good at any time in my entire life. Never. Bananas too. They are out of this world.
So after that fun outing, I spent some time with the boy over at the missionary neighbor's yard (a wonderland for kids) and pushed him on the swings for quite a while. After that we had an appointment with Joshua, a sweet 16 year old boy we are hiring to help us tutor our little guy in English. He is coming everyday for 1 1/2 hours to play and instruct him in learning and using English. Joshua is so great and creative with ________ and he dreams of being able to go to university to get a degree in Information Technology. He also moonlights as a DJ and wants to produce clean shows for young teenagers as an alternative to some of the morally bankrupt dance clubs that people his age go to. Great kid and great for our kid.
Last night was the first night that our son-to-be went to bed with nary a whimper. We've been asking one of the Ugandan girls (Susan) to come in each night and explain to him in Luganda that it was time for bed, that Mommy and Daddy would read him to books and that he is to go to sleep immediately afterward, which his did without protest. What a blessing! So after he went down, I was able to phone a couple family members, which was the first time I'd actually talked to anyone back home. Also a blessing to hear their voices!
Today Molly, I, our s-t-b and friend Alicia walked about 2 miles in order to attend an adoption conference (mainly for Ugandans, but open to anyone) just to have something different to do. (Did I mention they had child care?) I should rather say that I carried s-t-b most of the way there, mostly up hill. He might be little, but he's a solid little guy and that is quite a workout. We listened to a few lectures, had a tea break, listened to another speaker, had lunch and walked home. Me and my 'lil shadow spent an hour playing kickball in the driveway until Molly took it upon herself to do laundry. When he saw Molly doing laundry, he ran over to her and jumped right in to the chore with her. Not only did he help her, he practically schooled Molly and I both on the finer points of hand washing clothes in Africa. The boy is serious about washing clothes, like it was his J-O-B, which it probably had been. After about 1/3 of the clothes were washed, he completely took over and finished the rest of our laundry while Molly hung clothes on the clothesline. That kid is incredible.
After that, Joshua showed up for lesson time which was great. Joshua made up games to teach the words go, come, boy, girl, yes, no, the ABCs and a few other phrases. It was great start and we're looking forward to the lessons each day.
After that Belinda from Shreveport Louisiana made us all some killer gumbo, garlic bread and sweet tea. A bit of southern fare goes a long way to make a place so foreign feel a little bit like home. We're really grateful for her and Alicia and Alicia's boy G_______ and also Scott, Adria and their boy A____. We're really enjoying having the support, friendship and camaraderie of these new friends.
Our little man went down pretty smoothly again tonight. Such a good couple days we've had.
These blog posts are manna for us back home. They are infinitely fascinating and so appreciated. Thank you, thank you, for making the effort to keep us in the loop. I'm so glad you've had good days and hope this day that's now evening for you has been sweet. All love to the three of you, Mom/Honey.
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful update. It sounds like_____ is adapting well to the two of you. Loved reading about the laundry serenio. Amazing how quickly little ones in Uganda are given responsibility. He's going to be astounded when he gets home to the American laundry. Love you all and praying everything continues to go smoothly, with the very best outcome on Thursday.
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