A BUG'S LIFE

So I decided awhile back that Willy, my gecko, could stay-I didn't want to mess up the whole 'circle of life' thing happening in my apartment. The other night my decision was reinforced as I witnessed an episode of National Geographic in my bedroom. I woke in the middle of the night and knew I wasn't going back to sleep, so I turned the light on, I'm such a chicken. So I notice Willy hanging out but he's not alone, it turns out his girlfriend Liz lives with us too. One gecko felt okay, two made me a touch nervous...but not for long. Every night I close all my windows, stuff the cracks under my door with toilet paper ( I can't believe I'm confessing this stuff), spray Raid in the corners of my apartment and in general try to make my place cockroach-proof. But there are windows that cannot be closed and when you have your lights on at night, big bugs fly in. So the other night I lay there in the safe confines of my mosquito net ( thank God for mosquito nets) and watched fat bugs flying all over the room, then I noticed Willy and Liz very attentively watching them too. As I watched, fascinated, Willy and Liz cleaned out the room of all the bugs...they ran all over the walls until they trapped and ate every single flying elephant (just a nickname). By the end of the episode I was rooting them on, pointing out an ant they had missed...who needs a tv. Well actually, my neighbors do, many of them have tv's. And I saw a monkey...not in my bedroom, when I went for a run in the hills. Everybody else was very casual as I jumped up and down in excitement. I guess monkey's aren't a big deal here but how cool is that, to see a monkey on your run!

I've been putting together a schedule of sorts. I started thinking that I liked visiting the remote villages and I like public speaking, why not combine the two. So I've hired Tespista's son (the lady that cooks for me) as a translator and guide for two weeks. We ride our bikes into the back villages all around Naggalama, stop when we see a group of people gathered and start talking. I found out that I can go into a medical supply store and get free condoms, so I picked up 2000 the other day (the title 'condom queen' comes to mind) and at the end of our "presentation" we hand out condoms. Usually the people have a slew of interesting questions and some wild ideas about how a person can or cannot contract HIV. Some people seem informed, others laugh, some listen attentively...it's not an easy topic for a modest culture to discuss. Moses (translator) or I usually demonstrate how to use a condom and I even giggle every now and then. Abstinence is rad but not something that most people choose to partake in. As Moses said, "Sex is the poor man's tv." It's difficult for me to tell these people that abstaining is the only way to go when it's a form of entertainment they can afford.

HIV and AIDS is a big deal here. The conductor on a taxi I took the other day had the open sores indicative of the disease, it's not that rare to see people that look as if they might have AIDS but it shocks me every time. I try so hard not to stare and my heart fills with pity and at the same time all these thoughts run through my head, can I get it, he helped me put my bags into the taxi-did his sores touch my stuff...I hate it. I know how HIV spreads but paranoia sneaks up on me. Sometimes I get very frustrated, almost angry when the people we are speaking to laugh or keep talking about the situations when HIV hasn't spread (i.e...I know this woman, married to an HIV positive man but she's not positive, why, explain that...)-I try to explain that it's a crap-shoot, some people may not get it but unsafe sex (even safe sex to a certain degree) is always a gamble.

Our village adventures have lead to 3 upcoming speaking engagements at local high schools. Our first one is Friday, I'll let you know how that goes. Most schools are religious here so our presentation will be a bit more tailored.

Some miscellaneous facts...

Moses' translator services (two weeks): $50
Bike hire (two weeks): $5
Condoms (2000): Free
The idea that someone might learn something that saves their life: Priceless

Food facts... ( I walk five minutes down the road to eat at Tespista's place)

Breakfast: Samosas and Mandazi (fried dough, so fatty, I love it) and pineapple
Lunch: Rice, fried spinach and pineapple
Dinner: Rice, fried spinach or chard and pineapple (sometimes, when I've been good or picked up a new word in Luganda, Tespista cooks spaghetti noodles, potatoes and spinach....when I've been REALLY good, she makes me fries)

Luganda greeting...

Lara: Wasuze otya, nyabo (how was the night madam)?
Tespista: Nasuze bulungi, nyabo (the night was good madam), wasuze otya, nyabo?
Lara: Jendi. (fine)
Lara: Gyebale ko, nyabo (thank you for the work that you do madam)
Tespista: Kale, nawe gyebale. (okay, thank you also)

Greetings are very important in the village and can be much more complicated and long. They believe that every person has some special work to do every day, hence the thanking someone for the work that they do.

Last thing-the elections were held last week. The incumbent Yoweri Museveni (in power since '86) won again. There was some rioting and violence in Kampala but nothing too bad and total calm in Naggalama. The popular opposition leader, Besigye is arguing that the elections were rigged...they very well could've been, cheating is very normal here and almost accepted. Not just in politics, also in marriages. Multiple wives is a common practice here and another cause of the proliferation of HIV. I like the idea of supporting unique cultural practices but what about when they cause disease and death?

I think that's enough out of me, it's late and I need to catch a taxi home before they stop running for the night. Imagine a night on the streets of Uganda-without my Raid...shudder.