life here is exhausting
have had a super busy couple of days. thursday was the meeting at the office of the prime minister with UNDP (at the new mine action centre) - it was good met jane and jess was there too nice little three person meeting - so now i have a ton of project proposals to write for this mine action portfolio that has to be sent to new york like next friday or something.... i have meetings like everyday next week with the ministry of health other ngos etc trying to get it put together... feeling pretty official and pretty glad i'm not jane who has to edit it all.
Friday went out with jess and her new roomies - we went to the house where she's moving hung out there then then went to bubble's (the only irish pub) b/c on friday's it like muzungo (whites/europeans though used for all foreigners - Auki who went out with us is japanese but a muzungo) central. it was fun and kinda like being at home and at the penny/irish times/the wicket with an african twist, went home early though b/c jess wasn't feeling well and i was a little nervous about transport but i now have the numbers of some good special hire taxis from jess/jane and others. i'm learning how to be an expat.
yesterday jane took jess and i out to show us around, where are good places and where we can find things. we went to one of the craft markets and a touristy craft store - wow i'm going to be bringing home so much cool stuff, didn't buy much though (candles for when there's no power/scarf (for less than $5) and a cool pillow for sitting at my vanity, will be doing the craft shopping closer to going home/when christa is here/when anyone else is here -come visit you know you want to. if anyone wants baskets, art, scuptures, drums, masks, fabrics, jewlry let me know, i'll bring it home with me or mail it to you. went and bought some household stuff i needed - i finally have a decent pillow!!!!!!! went to this cosemtics store that jane had heard about - you can find l'oreal, pantene pro-v, gillette, axe anything there including lays potato chips!! I bought a little bag and am hording it... went to this amazing indian place for lunch - so good and no mashed food!!!!!! so glad i met jane - she's from the mid-west USA but been living overseas for most of the past 20 years been here since january sort of our parents age and she's helped jess out so much and me quite a bit, figuring out how to live here and how to be an westerner living in africa.
when i got back at like 6 i was so tired - life here is exhausting b/c you have to learn how to do everything, there's so many people/cars/bodas/matautus, and it's tiring to stand out and have to put up a bit of a defense to the staring/begging etc plus there's the heat, at least i haven't been really sick at all - knock on wood - b/c that would make it so much worse, i'd never get out of bed
then last night - alfred our IT guy showed up and told me he was taking me out with him and his friend miriam (girlfriend possibly - wasn't sure), went down the street to kabalagala (this area never sleeps, the bar was probably like a ten minute walk from my place) to one of the many bars there. if i was at muzungo central on friday night then saturday night was the opposite besides the mines awareness trust truck that drove by i didn't see another expat the whole night - only stayed out til like 9 though b/c so tired.
this morning i did my laundry - like everything - apparently sheets are ridiculously heavy when wet. then walked all the way to this supermarket across the street from the americn embassy (called embassy supermarket - how original) b/c it looked interesting/familiar from the matautu window. then to the butcher for some meat b/c i have power therefore can freeze something for tomorrow night then it'll be defrosted by the time i want to cook it, went to the european bakery by the butcher and bought two tiny baguettes, also bought some gouda from the butcher - kinda a splurge grocery shopping experience but i figure that tomorrow is my 4 weeks in the country (or a month) annivesary so i should celebrate (still spent less than 25 bucks total), on the way back stopped and bought some glasses (6 for less than $3!!) and cutlery - so excited to be able to eat with my own stuff! i think next time i get that many groceries though i'll matautu or boda back b/c i was so hot and gross by the time i walked back up the hill home. was done all that by 1230 so it's been chill out afternoon since then. think i'm going to have a nap now.....
ps - getting pretty good at taking the matautus into to town and ok with the bodas b/c i know my way around a bit better so i'd know if they went the wrong way though i tried to get a ride from a guy who wasn't a boda driver yesterday on the way to jane's place - so embarrassing!! guy sitting at the side of the road on a boda so i go and ask if he knows the un compound by the grand imperial, he says yes so i ask how much and then he's kind enough to inform me that he's not a boda driver and i should probably talk to the guys a little farther down. he wasn't upset and i apologized so many times but man that was embarrassing. in hindsight he looked a little too neat and professional to be a boda driver but i've gotta figure out how to id them better... b/c i don't like the ones who see me walking say something like muzungo or mama/sister/auntie to try to get me to ride with them even though i'm just walking by - if i want a ride i'll ask or find one...
Friday went out with jess and her new roomies - we went to the house where she's moving hung out there then then went to bubble's (the only irish pub) b/c on friday's it like muzungo (whites/europeans though used for all foreigners - Auki who went out with us is japanese but a muzungo) central. it was fun and kinda like being at home and at the penny/irish times/the wicket with an african twist, went home early though b/c jess wasn't feeling well and i was a little nervous about transport but i now have the numbers of some good special hire taxis from jess/jane and others. i'm learning how to be an expat.
yesterday jane took jess and i out to show us around, where are good places and where we can find things. we went to one of the craft markets and a touristy craft store - wow i'm going to be bringing home so much cool stuff, didn't buy much though (candles for when there's no power/scarf (for less than $5) and a cool pillow for sitting at my vanity, will be doing the craft shopping closer to going home/when christa is here/when anyone else is here -come visit you know you want to. if anyone wants baskets, art, scuptures, drums, masks, fabrics, jewlry let me know, i'll bring it home with me or mail it to you. went and bought some household stuff i needed - i finally have a decent pillow!!!!!!! went to this cosemtics store that jane had heard about - you can find l'oreal, pantene pro-v, gillette, axe anything there including lays potato chips!! I bought a little bag and am hording it... went to this amazing indian place for lunch - so good and no mashed food!!!!!! so glad i met jane - she's from the mid-west USA but been living overseas for most of the past 20 years been here since january sort of our parents age and she's helped jess out so much and me quite a bit, figuring out how to live here and how to be an westerner living in africa.
when i got back at like 6 i was so tired - life here is exhausting b/c you have to learn how to do everything, there's so many people/cars/bodas/matautus, and it's tiring to stand out and have to put up a bit of a defense to the staring/begging etc plus there's the heat, at least i haven't been really sick at all - knock on wood - b/c that would make it so much worse, i'd never get out of bed
then last night - alfred our IT guy showed up and told me he was taking me out with him and his friend miriam (girlfriend possibly - wasn't sure), went down the street to kabalagala (this area never sleeps, the bar was probably like a ten minute walk from my place) to one of the many bars there. if i was at muzungo central on friday night then saturday night was the opposite besides the mines awareness trust truck that drove by i didn't see another expat the whole night - only stayed out til like 9 though b/c so tired.
this morning i did my laundry - like everything - apparently sheets are ridiculously heavy when wet. then walked all the way to this supermarket across the street from the americn embassy (called embassy supermarket - how original) b/c it looked interesting/familiar from the matautu window. then to the butcher for some meat b/c i have power therefore can freeze something for tomorrow night then it'll be defrosted by the time i want to cook it, went to the european bakery by the butcher and bought two tiny baguettes, also bought some gouda from the butcher - kinda a splurge grocery shopping experience but i figure that tomorrow is my 4 weeks in the country (or a month) annivesary so i should celebrate (still spent less than 25 bucks total), on the way back stopped and bought some glasses (6 for less than $3!!) and cutlery - so excited to be able to eat with my own stuff! i think next time i get that many groceries though i'll matautu or boda back b/c i was so hot and gross by the time i walked back up the hill home. was done all that by 1230 so it's been chill out afternoon since then. think i'm going to have a nap now.....
ps - getting pretty good at taking the matautus into to town and ok with the bodas b/c i know my way around a bit better so i'd know if they went the wrong way though i tried to get a ride from a guy who wasn't a boda driver yesterday on the way to jane's place - so embarrassing!! guy sitting at the side of the road on a boda so i go and ask if he knows the un compound by the grand imperial, he says yes so i ask how much and then he's kind enough to inform me that he's not a boda driver and i should probably talk to the guys a little farther down. he wasn't upset and i apologized so many times but man that was embarrassing. in hindsight he looked a little too neat and professional to be a boda driver but i've gotta figure out how to id them better... b/c i don't like the ones who see me walking say something like muzungo or mama/sister/auntie to try to get me to ride with them even though i'm just walking by - if i want a ride i'll ask or find one...
posted by Erin at 2:02 PM
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