3 weeks in

Friday March 15 (well it was started then!)

I'm writing this sitting on our verandah with a lovely breeze keeping me cool. Since the rains started the temperature has dropped from the mid 30s to 28 or so, which actually doesn't feel that hot any more. (that's quite something coming from someone who hates the heat!).

What can I hear? Priscilla, our cuisinière (cook), singing as she sweeps, children having fun in the background, the odd lorry and motorbike, a few birds and chickens, goats bleating, probably crickets, but they are so ubiquitous I think I've stopped noticing them now, the breeze in the trees around our house.  Yesterday some dogs disturbed a flock(?) of guinea fowl that were enjoying the newly overturned earth that our gardener, Iakano, is preparing for planting. They were not amused, and with much squawking and ruffled feathers  took refuge in the trees. 

We've developed quite a pattern of breakfast on the verandah (apologies to you guys still experiencing freezing weather!) at around 6:30 , work during the day – Pete mostly in his office a few hundred yards away and Gill in the house or out and about – including lunch prepared by Priscilla which is ready any time from 11:30 onwards! We end the day with a slightly odd tea (anyone for pasta and sardines?) made by ourselves and shower – perhaps playing a game in the evening before bedtime usually around 9:00pm. 

A week last Saturday (9^th March) we managed to arrange to get to Arua, 20 miles or so away in Uganda, to go to the shops for a much needed charger for a laptop and to stock up on our supplies. There's not much in the market in Aru, although we discovered some shops along the road from here last night which might be worth investigating. In Arua we also visited the cloth market – row upon row of small stalls selling brightly coloured cloth. So we've managed to brighten up the living room a bit and make it a bit more 'ours'.

 

 

The journey to Arua involves getting to this side of the border somehow – the Bishop kindly lent us his car (along with a driver) – negotiating several different immigration offices and police stations both in Congo and Uganda and then getting a prearranged lift or taxi to Arua. One day we might be brave enough to try a 'boda-boda' (motorbike taxi).

 We're very pleased with one of our first purchases – 4 'local chairs'. These grace our verandah. Nzua (our local Mr Fixit – actually the Diocesan Finance Director) arranged for someone to cycle to a market some kilometres away on our second day here to buy them for us at the ridiculous price of £1.25 each.

 

I think we're managing to keep quite clean with our 'showering' facilities – it's amazing how little water you actually need to wash with – when there's next a drought in the UK we'll know how to save water!

 

 

Overall, we think we are getting to manage quite well. But then something happens to remind us we are still new at this – we are not used to having to let people know what we are doing! The Saturday we went to Arua we forgot to let our cuisinière know we were going to be away. Since we were leaving before she arrived, and she has not got a key, we were going to have a problem because she would not be able to get in to the house and sort the drinking water or hot water. This would be a particular problem because she doesn’t come on Sundays….Suffice it to say we got it sorted!

So what are we actually doing? Pete is working for the Bureau Diocesain de Développement (BDD) – Diocesan Development Department. Gill is involved with Christian education, helping with materials and ideas for groups – we’ll describe more in the next blog, hopefully next week -as long as the internet behaves (it didn't this weekend)!