In the Time of Butterflies

Family Visit Part I: Uganda

My parents came for a visit, finally. After talking about it for over a year now, they finally committed and came. Now, obviously I understand that things happen…life happens. But still. I’d like to think that I’m an important member of the family and deserve a visit too…just sayin’.

Anyhow, they came to Uganda for a week then we headed to Tanzania for a safari through the Serengeti. 

The days leading up to their arrival were full of anxiety and anticipation, to say the least. At first I was worried that I wouldn’t be any different, that we would all fall into the same habits and conversations that we usually do. Then I started fearing the opposite, that I was too different and that we couldn’t be as jovial and fun as we were before. My fears generally seem to be unwarranted though. There were times when I fell back into my old ways or times when I seemed to be a little out there in terms of observations and opinions I now have, but generally, I like to think that we got on just fine. I guess it helps that we had a very active two weeks together, rather than two weeks sitting at my site staring at the walls.

The funniest thing, which I was worried about most, was how open I had become about talking about my bowel movements and any illness I have experienced. I was worried that throughout this vacation I would make my family uncomfortable by my frequent discussion of my stool and its characteristics. Hilariously, one of the first conversations we had after my parents’ arrival was about poop. This eased my anxieties. 

The first night after their arrival we stayed up late, later than I anticipated, catching up. I got my dad and brother to have their first Ugandan beers, Nile Special and Bell. The next day they got to try Club, rounding off their experience. 

The next day we had a full day in Kampala where we went to see the Gadhafi Mosque, the Kisubi tombs, and the B’hai Temple. It was really great letting them see things around Kampala and also getting to see them myself. I hadn’t been given a chance to see the tourist attractions around Kampala, so it was nice to get to experience that.

On Monday, we woke up bright and early to head to Kibaale National Forest to go chimp tracking. The drive took a good eight hours, including a stop in Fort Portal for lunch. We stayed at the Kibaale Safari Lodge, where we had two very nice luxury tents (yup, I said it…luxury tents). Each tent felt like an entire house. Actually, one tent was at least 3 times the size of my house in Rakai.

The first night in Kibaale was uneventful; though we did run into the tour operator we booked the trip with, which was cool. My brother and I had our own luxury tent so after dinner and drinks we hung out on the balcony to see what we could spot. We even left out a banana to see if we could attract any animals. Unfortunately, this did not work. The next morning we woke up bright and early to go chimp tracking. The hike was not as extreme as my experience in Bwindi, but it was a good bit of physical exercise. We saw the chimps fairly quickly and were with them for about an hour. Most of the chimps we saw were on the group, either eating or relaxing. We got a number of good pictures and also got to experience a few chimps charging us or other chimps. It was really cool to see how they would climb up trees, even the thinnest of trees. Some of the trees they climbed on didn’t look like they were good support, but the chimps seemed to be able to stay on them just fine. 

Toti the Chimp (Photo by Ankur Desai)

After the morning tracking, we headed back to our lodge for lunch and a good break. The food at this lodge is spectacular, though it is a little heavy on the pepper. Maybe it’s because I have gotten used to a lack of flavor, but it seemed like the cooks went a little overboard on the pepper during the cooking process. After lunch we had a few hours to kill, so my parents took naps while my brother and I chilled out on the patio, trying to see if our banana would attract any late feeders. Later on in the afternoon, we went out for a walk through the wetlands. It was nice; we got to see many primates that we didn’t see in the Kibaale Forest. There was one point where we had to walk through the middle of the wetland area using a wooden bridge. I was a little nervous because it was 70 meters long. My past experience, these bridges aren’t always maintained efficiently…most of these types of bridges I’ve used have fallen apart leading to me falling through and injuring myself (never seriously). I was eventually the last one to cross, but at least I can say I did it without falling into the swamp area.

The next day we headed to Ishasha, part of the Queen Elizabeth National Park. There we were staying at another luxury tent accommodation, the Ntungwe Ishasha River Camp. Though it proved less luxurious than the Kibaale Safari Lodge, it was nicer than the places I’m used to staying at. We spent the evening relaxing and checking out the Ntungwe River nearby because one of the service men told us there was a chance to see elephants there! Unfortunately, over the time we spent there we were not lucky enough to spot any elephants at the river. The next morning we woke up for a morning game drive. We saw many herbivores, including the Uganda Cobb, Eland, and the Topi as well as larger animals such as elephants and water buffalo. We also saw smaller animals like baboons, birds, and warthogs. The family was slightly disappointed that we didn’t spot the famous tree-climbing lions, but our driver suggested that we’d have more luck on the evening game drive. He was almost certain in fact that ‘we could not fail to see them twice’. The evening game drive started off about the same as the morning one, where we mostly saw herbivores and smaller animals but we got a tip from another driver that there was a lion in a tree we had passed in the beginning of our drive. We rushed back to the tree and sure enough, there was a lioness in the tree! It looked very full; it seemed to have just eaten and was now relaxing and digesting its food. We sat with the lioness for a while looking out for any friends she may have around, but we didn’t see another lion. We went to another area of the park where there was a potential for more activity because of the water source, but we mostly saw warthogs and herbivores. On the way back to the accommodations, we saw a hyena! I was excited about that because it was the first time I had seen a hyena. We looked for the lioness in the tree again, but she had moved by then.

Tree Climbing Lioness (Photo by Ankur Desai)

The next morning we got to sleep in a bit because we were only going for a short drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The drive was only a couple hours, but the road was horrible so I didn’t get to sleep that much. When we got to Bwindi we hung out at the camp site and went on a short walk through the small town outside of the park gate. We did a little shopping and I got a Uganda Cranes jersey for pretty cheap ($8 when I would have gotten it for at least $15 in Kampala. There were some children doing the traditional dance and we watched them for a few minutes, but I never really like to hang around and watch because I know they’ll want money afterwards and I would rather give my money to them knowing it is being used for school or something (like paying for their school directly) or buy them a good meal. 

The first night was nothing short of hilarious. When my brother and I headed to our tent, we were bombarded by a throng of insects. We somehow made it into the tent but whenever we turned on the lights, the bugs would find their way in and attack the light and us. My brother went to try and take a shower and while he was taking a shower a praying mantis attacked him. It was crawling on one of the sides of the bathroom part of the tent and in my vain attempt to try and take a picture I was tapping at it. That just made it angrier…it attacked my brother even more (I could tell by the shrill sounds of his screams that it was not leaving him alone). After his short shower, he ran inside and luckily the praying mantis didn’t follow. Unfortunately, neither of us brushed out teeth so we had to venture back into the bathroom area. When I put on my headlamp to do so, in an attempt to avoid turning on the light and making the insects crazy, I thought I was playing it smart. Nope. Apparently that makes the praying mantis even angrier. As I tried to walk into the bathroom it flew at my face. I swear it was the size of my hand. Of course I screamed like a little girl and ran back out of the bathroom. We tried to tag team the sucker by using my brother’s small flashlight to distract him. For a while it seemed to work, but it seemed to be attracted to our toothpaste so it flew into the sink. It seemed to be slightly incompetent because it couldn’t figure out its way out of the sink area…apparently it forgot it had wings. My brother and I were thus prevented from using the sink so we spit into the bathtub (yup, there was a bathtub in a tent).  After a few seconds the praying mantis remembered it had wings and flew towards the bathtub, hitting my brother in the process. He screamed and jumped around, leading me to scream and jump around, causing a whole lot of noise. We probably woke up the rest of the town. The praying mantis landed on the edge of the tub and seemed to want to stay there so I quickly finished up and went back into the other part of the tent, rushing my brother to do the same. When he was finished he ran in and we zipped ourselves in, hoping to not have to cross that barrier before sunrise (we were working under the assumption that the praying mantis and other insects would go away by then). 

The next morning we headed out bright and early to being our gorilla tracking of the H group (Habinyanja). 

The trek was no joke. It was six hours long. When I did the Rushegura group, I thought that was difficult enough and that wasn’t even difficult, it was only three hours long. There were points where I was on all fours just straight up crawling up and down the mountain. I mean, come on…I can’t make up this stuff. It took us at least 4 hours to get to the point where the gorillas were. My mom and I were going slower because of the steep incline and our relative lack of ability to deal with oxygen depletion.  I was so proud that my mom made it to the gorillas, there were so many points where I thought I was going to give up; I had no idea what she was thinking about. I probably slipped and fell at least 15 times during the trek. My brother had an epic double slide down the mountain and my mom had a couple hilarious stumbles. I think my favorite fall was when I was walking along a fairly flat portion of the forest and all of a sudden I lost my balance and just fell into a bunch of bushes. It wasn’t on a slope, it wasn’t on a very treacherous path…it was on a level, straight portion. Hilarious.

When we got to the gorillas, we stayed with them for an hour. There was a silver back and two adult females. The silver back showed its dominance when we first arrived by grunting and false-charging. The females, on the other hand, were just hanging out and eating. Eventually the silver back got its fill of food and went to lay down with the other females and a few of the juvenile and infant gorillas. While the silver back was relaxing, the juvenile and infant gorillas were playing around, climbing up slim braches and breaking them. It was really cute to see the active young gorillas. At once point one of the juveniles was walking up to my brother and we’re almost certain if he hadn’t turned around to look, the chimp would have tried to climb my brother (my brother is about 6 feet tall…pretty giant for an Indian guy). We got about 5 or 6 feet from the gorillas at some points. I was a little anxious being that close to the silver back, but I figured the trackers and guides should know what they’re doing and they wouldn’t let us get that close if it weren’t relatively safe…right?

Baby Gorilla (Photo by Ankur Desai)

In the end, it was an awesome adventure and we were all really exhausted afterwards. We got back to the lodge and had some celebratory beers and just relaxed. Unfortunately, there was no hot water so I couldn’t wash the disgusting grime from the hike off me.  I’m glad we did a different gorilla group. I know I wanted us to have the easy group initially, and during the hike I was cursing the travel agent for getting permits for this group, but after the time we spent with the gorillas and the high level of activity from the younger gorillas, I’m glad we got this group. It was a lot more active than the group I saw the first time, plus it was just something different to experience. How many other people in the world can say they saw two of the handful of gorillas groups open to tourists IN THE WORLD?

The last night in Uganda was spent in Entebbe. We went out for pizza and then went to the beach for a bit, nothing crazy. Overall the week in Uganda was pretty great.

Now on to Tanzania!

STATE OF WONDER

After another camp season, I decided to take a vacation and visit a friend serving in Peace Corps Ethiopia. I was curious to hear about the Peace Corps experience there, as well as see how different life is in Ethiopia. My travels to Tanzania and Rwanda proved that even a bordering country can be vastly different in lifestyle.

Lucky for me, the African Union was in Addis Ababa for a conference, so the city was cleaned up and put in order. According to my friends, and what I saw on the morning I left, Addis Ababa can be just as congested, hectic, and over-populated as Kampala. 

50th Celebration of the African Union

My first goal for the trip was to get some good food. I was hesitant to try the local food, having had Ethiopian food in Atlanta (I was not impressed). That single experience in Atlanta shut me off to Ethiopian food; I rejected all the invitations to try Ethiopian food in Uganda because of this. Apparently, you need to go to Ethiopia for good Ethiopian food (who would have though?). The first dish I had was called sheero, which is a thick spicy lentil based dish. You eat it with njiira, the local “bread”. Njiira is more spongy and bitter tasting than bread, but it was delicious with the sheero. I also had a thinner version of sheero, which was even more delicious! It was hard for me to find a variety of vegetarian dishes because the Orthodox Christians just completed a meat-free month and now are eat meat ALL THE TIME (seriously ALL THE TIME). I was told that bayyanettu, a dish of various vegetables, would be ideal but it was really hard to find. We found it at a few places though, and let me tell you, it lived up to its expectations. Overall, I came to the conclusion that the local food in Ethiopia is leagues better than the local food in Uganda. There is more variety, more flavors, and more nutrients!

Bayyanettu

My second goal of the trip was to try Honey Meade, locally called Tej. Tej is quite sweet, let me tell you. You have to shake it up too; otherwise you’ll get a lot of yeasty taste in your mouth. They usually serve it in a beaker-looking glass, like you’re drinking something from a science lab. I tried it at a bazaar in Kambolcha, where they gave me the Tej in a plastic bottle I could take with me. It seems like they weren’t exact in their yeast measurements because the first one I tried was very yeasty. After shaking it up a bit, I tasted the full sweetness, but according to my volunteer friends it is usually much sweeter. The problem with local Tej is that the alcohol content isn’t indicated, so you don’t know exactly how much you should drink. I learned the lesson the hard way…but it was totally worth the headache in the morning!

Other stops included Lake Hayk, Kambolcha Beer Factory, and Desse. I got to meet PCVs and VSOs at all these places and it gave me a very clear idea that service in Ethiopia is quite similar to that in Uganda both in frustrations and triumphs. It is comforting to know that I am not the one volunteer having trouble finding work and feeling useful in my community. When interacting with locals who work with the PCVs or VSOs, I noticed they had nothing but positive things to say about the volunteer. It is interesting that we, as volunteers, often to do feel useful or impactful. In reality, the mere presence of a volunteer is impacting the community in so many ways. This experience definitely taught me to appreciate the little things I do in my community, even if it is just greeting a staff member in the morning or having a conversation about life in Uganda versus life in America. These little things create bonds that help break through differences and create understanding. This understanding is the real impact we have as volunteers.

On the days we were in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, I felt like a kid in a candy store. We had so much great food at our disposal including gelato, cupcakes, donuts, toasted sandwiches, salad, pizza, burgers, Lebanese, Sudanese, Chinese, and Italian. All this plus a 7-D movie theater (still not quite sure how all seven senses are involved). Addis Ababa is quite similar to Kampala in that it has all these great things available, but at a cost. Had I spent all my time in Addis, I would have used my entire monthly living allowance quite easily!

Everyone good in the world in one box!

Mostly Harmless

I recently had another opportunity to work at a youth camp for young Ugandan boys. Northern Camp B.U.I.L.D. is gear towards young Ugandan boys between the ages of 15 – 25, similar to National Camp B.U.I.L.D. held in Entebbe (see post titled ‘Two Caravans’), but rather than work with boys from all over Uganda, this camp was focused on boys from the greater northern region of Uganda. The camp was held in Gulu, one of the key areas during the northern wars and one of the key areas targeted by Joseph Kony and the LRA. Gulu is currently going through great rehabilitation, which camps like Northern Camp B.U.I.L.D. are a part of. 

During the camp, sessions focused on building leadership and life skills, teaching about entrepreneurship and business development, strengthening team work and understanding between people of different tribes and communities, and improving and maintaining one’s health. 

The day at The Recreation Project, a ropes course in Gulu, was quite inspiring. Many of the boys were nervous and feared the heights and obstacles that were ahead of them. However, you could see the change within each boy, how they took that fear and channeled it to overcome what lay ahead. All my boys attempted every task. All were successful. Some of the PCV staff and counselors weren’t as successful as the campers were, which was amazing to see.

The day dedicated to HIV testing was also inspiring. The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) came to assist in testing and counseling, as well as perform traditional dances for the campers. Each member of the TASO team shared their personal stories about when they were testing and they found out they were HIV positive. The testing was completely voluntary, but all the boys were encouraged to get tested. Knowing your own status is the best way Uganda can control the spread of HIV. Some boys were very resistant to getting tested, as were many of the Ugandan counselors. I decided it was important for me to set a good example for my camper group, so I stepped up as the first one from my group to get tested. One boy in particular seemed to be motivated by this as he requested, almost demanded, that he go immediately after me for testing. I was happy to hear that he would be tested, and in the end all buy one of my boys were tested (that I know of). After the testing was completed, we found out that out of those who had been tested, there were no positive results. I think this was great news for the campers as they could feel inspired not only that they had led a safe and healthy life so far, but they now have the knowledge and tools to continue doing so. 

The day the Northern Camp G.L.O.W. (Girls Leading Our World) campers came to visit the B.U.I.L.D. campers, we had the entire day dedicated to Gender Equality. This is certainly a topic that needs addressing within the youth of Uganda, however sometimes it feels as if this topic needs to be touched upon slowly. As a female counselor, it was hard hearing some boys from my own camper group strongly protest the idea of women wearing trousers. While I understand that some people have the opinion that it is not feminine for a woman to wear trousers, we were trying to get the boys to understand the different between what is one’s opinion versus what is a fact, in this case the fact that women can wear trousers. One of my boys in particular was very insistent that women should not wear trousers. He suggested it was disrespectful for women to wear trousers. After the session, I confronted him with the fact that his own counselor was a female and in fact was wearing trousers all week. I asked him if he felt this was disrespectful, seeking an honest answer and hoping for the ability to have a conversation about the difference between ‘should’ and ‘can’. When confronted, he suggested using violence against women, including me, in order to prevent them from wearing trousers. I found this very alarming, as he is really the future of Uganda. While I believed his threats were mostly harmless, I spoke with some staff members, even the PCV who nominated this particular camper regarding the incidence and what the proper reaction should be. It was suggested that I didn’t understand where this camper was coming from culturally. In fact, I almost completely understand where this camper is coming from, culturally. The fact is that we were trying to make him understand that one should not use violence to make his or her point and also that he needed to understand the difference between the opinion he had and the fact and ability of females. The day was somewhat resolved in the end, however a part of me feels like there wasn’t any real progress made. I would like to think that what happened that day made a difference, that the young camper finally understand that what he believed did not relate to the fact of a woman’s physical ability, but a part of me honestly thinks it made no difference at all. Unlike at Camp G.L.O.W., where you can really see how strong and empowered the young girls become, at Camp B.U.I.L.D., it is really hard to make young boys understand that both genders should have equal ability. I guess it’s true that anything worth fighting for isn’t going to be easy.

The Malawi Flames showing off our flag

The last day was just as challenging for the boys and myself as the rest of the week. Struggles getting respect and understanding from the boys seemed to be a common thing. In the end, I felt just as happy and almost as impactful as I had after National Camp B.U.I.L.D. While I may not have changed anyone’s life drastically, I do believe that by showing the young boys that women are strong and will demand respect, that I, as a woman, will not allow men to walk all over me, their minds have changed a little bit towards realizing that men and women should be given equal opportunities. 

One of the most interesting boys I met was a young boy who was part of a group called ‘Breakdance Project Uganda’. This boy was very outspoken and helped make huge strides during the Gender Equality sessions. He presented his ideas of progress and equality in such a way that I think the other boys really learned something. Having a young Ugandan boy validate things that were being taught really helped the overall message become solidified. 

Breakdance Project Uganda itself is a very progressive group, promoting gender equality and empowering youth through drama, breakdancing, and graffiti. The group encourages youth to take personal responsibility for their lives, suggesting they can change their future by getting tested, empowering themselves and their communities, and working together towards a brighter future. During the camp, the group did a breakdance performance centered on gender equality. It was really neat to see the group in action and I can really see how something like breakdance, which initially has been stereotyped as a cause for so many problems in youth, can now be used as a solution to many problems the youth face. Organizations like this give me hope for tomorrow. I really believe that youth like the ones I’ve met here in Uganda really will change the world, one small step at a time.

“Gender equality does not mean both genders are the same, but that they have the ability to be.”

GORILLAS IN THE MIST

This weekend's adventure took place at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. A merry band of misfits and I decided to go gorilla trekking. Bwindi is one of three places IN THE WORLD that you can actually interact with gorilla families in their natural habitats. The other places are in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gorilla trekking takes quite some time to plan. You have to go to the local wildlife authority and get permits, which cost $350 in the off season and $475 in the high season. When you get the trekking permits, you also pick the family you are going to trek. When I say 'trekking' I mean we actually go find a family of gorillas. The family we chose was the Rushegura group (commonly called the R group). This group is supposed to be the easier of groups, the one that is the most habituated with humans. This group is also supposed to be one of the groups that is closest to the rest camp we stayed at. The other groups tend to be further away, leading to a very long, strenuous hike. Our hike wasn't terrible, it was steep at some points but it wasn't exactly impossible. The worst part was the fire ants or safari ants. They are big, red, and evil. When they bite, you know. It's really painful and the pain lasts.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

When we finally got to the gorillas, we couldn't see them clearly at first. They were mostly youngsters who were in trees. Eventually they came down and we got to sit and watch for a bit. We took plenty of pictures. At one point, one of the girls in the group was posing for a picture and the silver back came down the path. It passed behind her by a mere 4 feet.

The REAL kings of the jungle

The silver back went down and posed for many pictures along with a mother and some babies. After a while they all started heading up. We followed them a bit, until the silver back decided to charge one of
the younger gorillas. At this point I froze and threw my hands up in an 'I didn't do it' type action. Of course if the gorillas had seen me, they would have thought I was being aggressive and would have charged me. Thank goodness they didn't see me.

BANANGE BANANGE BANANGE (translation: OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD)

I got really close to a mother and a baby and at this point the silver back had gone back up the hill. When I was posing for some pictures, the silver back started coming back down and passed behind me by a mere few feet. I freaked out and of course the guide keep trying to reassure me to stay calm and I'd be fine. I did and I was, but it was a bit scary while it was happening.

The time felt shorter than it was and we had to leave. We got back to the rest camp safe and sound. It was truly an amazing experience. Now I understand why Diane Fossey got all hyped up about these Gorillas (though she was in Rwanda, not Uganda).

The Cupcake Diaries - Ssula Biri

Let the baking adventures continue!

Rice cooker prepped and ready

As you may remember, some time back I decided to test out this whole ‘rice cooker cake’ theory. Essentially it was a success, with a few minor setbacks…namely my rice cooker overheating and shorting out. Fortunately, this time around, I was smarter about my baking via rice cooker. Also, this time I decided to attempt the rice cooker cupcake. Yes, this is a real thing.

Prepping for the GLORY

The instructions to make a rice cooker cupcake are as follows:

Mix cupcake mix according to box instructions. Place cupcake cups in molds. Add cupcake mix. Place cupcakes in steam tray and close the lid. Allow to steam according to box baking instructions (30 minutes typically).

Using caution, open the lid and check cupcakes for doneness. If ready, add frosting and enjoy!

Cups filled!

Rice cooker on - notice I did NOT tape it on this time. 

So, with this in mind, I armed myself with a box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Milk Chocolate cake mix (judge away, but I did not want to go through the motions of making cake mix from scratch if it wasn’t going to work) and a jar of Nutella for frosting. After my trusty sidekick, Alia (the vanilla buttercream frosting to my red velvet cupcake), mixed the cake batter and poured them into the individual silicon cupccake cups (fill each cup about half-way), we filled the cooking bowl about 2/3 with water. We used foil cupcake wrappers for half the batch, to test out how they’d do in the steam bath. We flipped the rice cooker on and started the waiting game. The water took some time to start boiling, but once started, the baking was on! After a few minutes, I carefully checked the status of the baking and to my amazement, it was actually working! That’s right folks, rice cooker cakes are completely and 100% feasible and delicious (and if you use the foil variety, wrappings are a viable addition).

Look at that steamy goodness.

 

NOM NOM NOM!

Cupcake GLORY!

Moist and delicious

Foiled perfection

Success!

The cupcakes are much moister than when I made the full cake in the rice cooker and more airy compared to when I used an oven. I almost prefer the airy, moist rice cooker cupcakes to the normal oven-baked variety. The combination of the deliciously moist cake and the deliciously creamy Nutella makes for a diabetic’s nightmare and a sweet lover’s dream-come-true. All in all, I’d say the rice cooker cupcake is a win.

With Nutella frosting!

On a final note, I highly recommend rice cookers to PCVs and younger, single, oven-deprived individuals. They are versatile and currently my best friend (you know, besides my human friends).

Now begins the road to ‘fat Aditi’.

Happy Easter!