July 8, 2007 - Loowje Island

Yesterday morning we spent the whole time getting ready to go to the islands. Erin, Joe, and I went to the office taking 6 different things to get charged. We had to make some visual aids there so we planned to make them while the things charged. After about 20 minutes the power went out and we were left in the dark to finish.

We returned to the house and I took a really cold bath (which is a really good way to wake up and to cool off I’ve found). Then I packed and we caught a taxi (leaving Joe behind because he is doing a safari this week). On the taxi ride over Erin told me lots of things about the islands that she “forgot” to tell me because I would be too "excited" to come if I knew.

1)      They carry you onto the boat

a.       They really do! Those boat men are super strong. They guy just swept me off my feet before I could say anything-Festus got a picture.

2)      The swarms of flies

a.       Although harmless, there are billions of them. On the way over we saw huge black clouds in a cyclone form hovering over the island.

3)      Frog-cockroaches

a.       Before I leave I want to get a picture of these things. They look like someone cross-bred a frog and a cockroach together. Although horribly disgusting, they are somehow fascinating. They live in the latrines (along with the hugest spiders I have ever seen.

4)      The regular-but-equally-if-not-more-terrifying-bigger-than-a-lighter-cockroaches

a.       Last night I woke up from a dead sleep to the feeling of something very large crawling through my hair and onto my head. I was crammed onto the bottom of a 3 level bunk bed trying unsuccessfully to escape and not to scream bloody-murder.

5)      The “5 minute” hike

a.       We had to hike in the pitch black dark because it was so late by the time we got to the right village on the island (we made plenty of other stops around the island first). Erin said it would only take 5 minutes to get to the school where we were staying. It was all uphill and took over a half an hour.

These were just some of the things that Erin mentioned on the way over that I have already experienced in my less-than-24-hour experience so far. We’re going to be here for another 3 nights so we’ll see what else comes about.

We drove from Ntenjeru to Katosi (which is a main land fishing village). We had lunch and then Erin, Julie, and I bought bananas and headed for the “monkey hill” (we had a lot of time to kill because the boat wasn’t going to leave until 4pm).

The monkey hill is this place on top of a hill that looks down on Katosi. Erin had been there before so we hiked up and stood holding out bananas (feeling slightly ridiculous because there was A. No monkeys to be seen, and B. Lots of villagers who live on the hill watching us). But the villagers began to call to the monkey which is not at all like the American version: “Hu hu ha ha ha! (ask my mom for a demonstration if you are confused) but the Ugandan version is: “Um um um um!” So we all began to “um” along and all of the sudden they started coming out-there were about six of them.  They would run up, snatch the banana out of your hand, then peel it, and devour it all within inches of where we stood (I really wanted to pet one because it was so close, but I was also terrified that it would mistake my hand for a banana and try to devour it as well).

Afterwards, we hiked back down the hill, and Lydia, Julie, and I went to go shopping for food to take with us for the trip for meals (which somehow all either got mistakenly taken or left on the boat so we had to improvise all our meals). We walked all around Katosi and I convinced them to buy pineapples (none of the other food made it, but I was guarding those pineapples with my life, even though it turned out there were several pineapple farms on the island-a case of cruel irony one might say).

I wanted to use the latrines before we left (it was a 3 hour boat ride, if you had to go you were basically screwed). So we searched and found this latrine building that had painted on the side “For Fish Handlers Only” but it was the only one we could find so we paid and went in. There was a shower space where a bunch of men were cleaning fish and a row of three toilet stalls. It was us three women surrounded by a bunch of huge grumpy looking “Fish Handlers” so we got in and out of there as quick as we could.

After finishing shopping we headed back to the restaurant and met Gavah (who is Festus’s brother who works with HIV+ people) and his muzungu GVN volunteer Andrew (who is from Canada). We started taking things to the boat and giving them to the burly boat men who loaded them on. There was dry land, then this marshy grass area, then more dry land before the boat. I have no idea what I stepped in from that marshy area, but it covered my shoes up to my ankles and smelled up to high heaven (I’ve been trying not to think about it).

After everything was loaded we were literally carried (men riding piggy back and women were carried like babies) onto the boat. It was pretty hilarious seeing full grown adults being carried (especially Festus-he seemed to really enjoy it). Then we had a three hour slowly motored boat ride to get to know Gavah and Andrew. It was a pretty ride, but after one to many waves I had to concentrate on not getting sick.

We finally got to the island. They didn’t carry us this time. (well, except for Festus, but I think he just likes being carried) because we were close enough to shore. Then Erin, Lydia, Julie, Andrew, and I made a “5 minute” hike to the school. While Festus, Gavah, and John went to stay at the local church (which John used to be pastor of).

We made it to the school and to the girls dormitory past dark (probably around 9) and were greeted by tons of kids, a muzungu (not GVN) volunteer girl (who was from Vancouver WA and knows where St. Helens is! It is a small world my friends), and two dogs.

We were all hungry, and so we had Chipattis (bought from the fishing village) and a pineapple for dinner (I think I ate more pineapple this week than I have in my entire life combined, we had it for every meal while we were there).

Then Julie, Lydia, and I set up our bedding in a 3 bed bunk-bed and Erin slept in a cot next to us, while Andrew slept in a tent (that was set up inside the dorm). We were all getting into bed, and then the singing started. All the girls in the dorms began to sing very loud (literally yelling while playing the drums and clapping) worship songs which lasted about 45 minutes which was followed by praying. Out loud and very loud for a half an hour. Apparently, the girls all do this every night at 10pm, and every morning at 5:00am. It was painful.

During there nightly ritual, Erin showed Andrew and I the latrines, which has by far been the worst experience to date (I had to prep myself and build up some courage before I could enter them). Not only were they very full latrines, and very stinky, but they also contained 3 ginourmous spiders, and tons of the cockroach-frog things. They were on the walls, right where you had to crouch, in the hole you had to go into. To make it worse the latrine was awkwardly built so that the hole was off center so you couldn’t put your feet on both sides of it, and the latrine itself was an incredibly tiny space to fit into (especially when you had so much company). It was absolutely disgusting and terrifying. I have resolved to go outside the rest of the time I am here.

Once we got back and the singing/praying actually stopped we went to bed. Julie on the top bunk, Lydia in the middle, and me on the bottom (no mosquito nets by the way, I am berating myself for not bringing my own now). The problem with the bunk-beds is not only is it nearly impossible to get in and out of them because they are so close together, they aren’t stable. 2 legs are shorter than the other, so when anyone moves it is like being on the boat. I literally got motion sickness from sleeping there and all my dreams were on a boat. Not that I had many dreams though, because I barely got any sleep.

Besides the continuous rocking, there were bugs. I put on bug spray before I went to bed (somehow thinking that it would help) but it did no good. I was slapping off bugs all night, some small and some not so small. At one point I felt something very very large crawling on my head and through my hair. I smacked it away and nearly killed myself trying to escape my bed. I turned to see one of the biggest cockroaches (honestly bigger than the one next to the lighter) I have ever seen scurrying on my bed. It took all that was within me not to scream bloody murder. I tried to stay awake on bug watch for the rest of the night, but I eventually dozed off. As soon as I did I felt something on my face wake me and I almost had heart failure. It turned out that somehow the dog got into the dorm and was licking my face.

At 5:00am the girls were up, singing and getting ready for school. I slept through it the best I could until I had to get ready myself. We split up into two groups to teach different seminars (ours was “Positive Living” and the other was “Post-test Support Groups.” Andrew, Lydia, and I went back to the town we docked at the night before. It is this small cluttered shanty fishing village right on the shore of Lake Victoria. The houses were all wood shacks with dirt paths that navigate through the village. We arrived at the “town meeting place” which was a half finished house that was partially roofed and a little longer than the normal square 5 by 5 house. We waited for everyone to arrive and about 15 showed up. Lydia started and talked about sanitation. When she finished I presented what I had researched and put together on nutrition. People seemed interested, but not in the idea of growing or buying fruits or vegetables. They said they were too expensive and the land wasn’t good for growing and that I should be realistic and just give them money instead. It was pretty discouraging, and I explained that I couldn’t help them financially. We somewhat expected it from this particular group though because they had just formed and the other group had been together for a while and a former GVN volunteer gave them all micro-loans (50,000 shs). So the group we taught expected that if they were also a club that they would get loans too (but there is no way that VOLSET has the budget for that, it was just a one time short term volunteer’s project).

Then Andrew presented home remedies for diseases which was going fine until someone tied their goats to the outside of the house. So then he had to compete with three bleating goats, which wouldn’t have been so bad except someone else had started burning grass right outside the house (and next to the goats). Smoke filled the room and everyone was covered in ashes and I think the goats were freaked out because they started going double time in the bleating. So we suffered through the last portion of our presentation, but I doubt anyone was really paying attention.

We had lunch in town and then hiked back to the school. Once we got there they decided to meet the other half of our group in the other village (about another “5 minute” walk i.e. a half an hour hike). We visited with everyone once we got there and then John, Julie wanted to go to this beach that had pretty stones. So we set off on another “5 minute” walk (the island is full of them apparently).

Once we got there though it was beautiful. It was a secluded beach covered in all white stones. We spent about an hour there picking out stones and relaxing and enjoying the sun setting. I stuck my feet in the water (although I had to restrain myself from jumping in the water but the word “parasite” was enough to kill my desire). We headed back all carrying as many rocks as we could.