New Arrival(s)

WE GOT A PUPPY!!!

 

 

Augustine has been taunting me with the promise of this new arrival for several days, and I was starting to believe it was a sham.  But lo and behold, today our new friend arrived.  And he has not stopped crying from his dog house ever since.

 

 Sunday morning began as we can expect them all to: with church.  This time we went to Augustine’s Anglican church, a large white structure that has been under construction for the past 40 years.  This ceremony was no brief pilgrimage:  we were there for nearly three hours.  The highlight was an excruciatingly clumsy performance by a visiting Dutch group.  Clearly not singers, their weak attempt at amusement fell resoundingly flat.  The embarrassment was palatable.

During this eternal proceeding, there were no less than four separate calls for donations and a painfully forced auction.  I am amazed at the funds procured by this church for the sake of continued construction:  nearly 1 million Ugandan shillings a week ($400).  With that much coming in, you think they could have finished the place in the last 40 years.  Seems like a bit of a racket to me…

 After church, Augustine suggested we return to the internet café for lunch.  No objections on our end.  We split a bacon, egg and cheese that almost made up for the morning’s anguish.  Afterwards, Chelsea and I opted to walk home for the sake of exercise and exploration.

 The walk was long, and our decision to carry 5L of water each was one we quickly regretted.  I have a new admiration for the women carrying jerry cans, and a renewed resolve to learn the art of balancing shit on my head.  But all was forgotten when we returned home and discovered the puppy.  He will now be my new best friend.  If he ever stops crying….

 Unfortunately, the high of the cute fluffy addition did not last long.  Overnight there had been a colossal rain storm.  Thunder shook the house and the rain literally poured down in sheets.  It woke both of us up, and kept us up, for well over two hours.  As a result of these rains, a plague-level swarm of flying white ants descended upon us Sunday evening.

 Words cannot adequately describe the scene.  Hundreds of these bugs, three inches long with four big white wings, began swarming.  They were EVERYWHERE.  Even fleeing into the house was futile – there were as many inside as out. 

 

The Plague Aftermath

Our hosts were not the least bit bothered by having their dinner dive bombed by these winged menaces.  The most terrifying part:  the children were gleefully collecting them for what we later learned would be a snack.  That’s right, TO EAT. 

Bugs in Bowl

 With strategic plans regarding room entry and a fastidious tucking of mosquito net cocoon, I could have managed this onslaught.  If it weren’t for what happened Monday morning…

 Red. Ants.  Streams of them, hordes of them, were leaving clear passageways in the dirt. Picking at the dead bodies and discarded wings of the white ants (yes, the children ripped the wings off the ants they collected and left them littered around the porch).

 In my early morning haze, I didn’t look carefully enough at the ground and managed to step right into their crosshairs while brushing my teeth.  Suddenly I was being bitten all over.  It is amazing how fast these things are – in less than a minute there were on my chest.  Chelsea had the pleasure of witnessing the absolute freak-out that resulted.  Kicking my shoes off, running toward the porch and failing my arms wildly.  I barely managed to hang onto my toothbrush, rinsing water still in my mouth. 

I concluded my morning with a murderous rampage of ant stopping in a vain effort to prevent them from entering our room.  Needless to say, it was not my best 12 hours in Uganda.  And there wasn’t even any freaking tea….