Wednesday, 23rd of February was the official half-way-day - that means that the length of time I've so far been in Uganda for, has to be repeated again before I go home. It also means that I'm now counting down til my departure day - and not in an impatient way - but in a passive sense, realising that as time flies by without me even noticing, I've got to treasure each moment.
Being back at project after nearly two months travelling had a really good feeling to it. It didn't take too long to readjust to old ways - washing with a basin or trying to think of appetizing meals that can be made from limited supplies of bitter plantains, tomatoes and tiny onions. The first thing Finn and I did upon our arrival back was give our accommodation a huge clean-over. Somehow wed gained a spider infestation with creepy crawlies in every frigging corner and it was incredible how far reaching the dust was. Things weren't made easier by the extreme Ugandan Summer heat , Lwakhakha only got the year's first rain a week or so after our arrival back. It was hard to once again be giving up western food for rice and vegetables, but for my birthday my parents had sent out some boil-in-the-bag hiking food and so Finn and I picked a day and enjoyed chicken tikka curry (with chapati) followed by a chocolate pudding dessert with hot chocolate sauce - beats school dinners any day. Then a few weeks later Finn's uncle paid us a visit from Kampala (where he lives) and he just so happens to be a chef. We chose the finest half goat we could find, hanging and drying in a cloud of flies in front of the butcher's shop. And so, for the first time in my stay here, we cooked goats leg (coated in curry + stuffed with garlic) on a charcoal 'BBQ' - served with homemade chapaties and creamy mash - utterly delicious. Sometimes making things homely at project can be hard without basic neccessities, such as having a variety of foods or even electicity. But we get by - buying a coca-cola bottle of fuel to power the internet cafe's generator or sipping luke warm drinks, cooled in a pot of Lwakhakha river water.
Not long after arriving home we were back to work at Seed Time primary and nursery school. We were greeted by our jolly headmaster, John, telling us 'You've been lost!' It was nice to see so many new faces, as the school expands, and of course the old ones like the P5 Isaac who upon spotting me arrive, pointed at an innocent female classmante and shouted 'I am a munter and she is a munteress!'. Slightly worried at what exactly I'd been teaching last years P5, Finn looked on, as I explained 'No Isaac,.. you're a hunter and she is a huntress.' I wasn't entirely sure how I felt to be back to teaching and I was both nervous and aprehensive yet all trepidation disappeared in those first few minutes back in the classroom, teaching Primary 3 maths. Our attempts last year to rid the school of corporal punishment appeared to have paid off as John told us the official school policy on the subject was non-tolerance. And although I've not witnessed a beating since I've been back I still get an eerie feeling when I walk into a classroom and see the thick wooden cane in the corner, left by last period's teacher. To tackle this Finn and I decided we needed to offer an alternative discipline (and praise) system and so introduced a typical 'House system' drawing up posters and charts for Elephant, Rhino, Eagle and Lion house. Still, it's a lot of work when the teacher's (and even John) don't really feel any need to change. It's much easier for them to just hit a naughty child and so attempting to reason with such an old African custom is like attacking a brick wall.
On February 18th I got to witness a really important even in Uganda - the presidential elections. Opposition 'Besigye' was contesting for the third time against the corrupt current president 'Museveni' who abolished term limits and has consequently been in power since 1986. Everyone had an opinion and everyone was nervous, more so to see the reaction to the result than maybe the result itself. The day itself passed pretty smoothly in Lwakhakha, although there was a tense military presence (police with sticks and body-armour) . On the day after the elections, Finn and I had made plans to make the two hour trip to the town of Mbale to collect post and get some food shopping - looking back a stupid mistake. The town was empty but with an even stronger number of armed police - men with mounted machine guns, tear gas and I even saw one soldier with a rocket launcher. I have never before seen a rocket-launcher - it all seemed a bit excessive. What situation would have to arise for the soldier to ever fire into an uprising? We rushed about our things (post office was shut anyway) and while sitting in the internet cafe, I heard a siren and looked up from my screen to see a police patrol pass, followed by a tank. I hadn't expected their to be any problems before the election results had been announced but some poll results were coming through and it was obvious anti-government Mbale wasn't happy with large groups of men gathering around town. Finn and I quickly got our food shopping and exited town to get lunch in a hotel, away from the action. Our boda-boda driver was angry, telling us how undeveloped Uganda was compared to other East African countries, blaming Museveni. I could tell he, like most people, was scared of a dictatorship. After lunch we met an MP called Lydia who didn't think we'd be able to leave Mbale by public transport as the army was closing off parts of town. As we spoke a number of men ran past the hotel - the arm was pushing potential rioters out of town. We hung around and eventually things calmed down enough for us to catch a bus home. In the end, Museveni won another 5 years of presidency with 68% of the vote (a landslide by UK standards), but there was unsettling reports by the opposition of extreme rigging - ballot stuffing, voters turned away and known opposition supporters not down on the registrar. It was very easy to get sucked into the politics and to pity these people who don't have a free and fair vote, something we in Britain take for granted. I just hope that the Ugandan people don't turn to violence, like the situation in Libya, to protest against the corruption.
