Monday, August 25, 2008
Soccer can save the world!!
For decades now soccer or futbol has been considered the most popular sport in the world, except in America of course…go figure. Well it has proven to me, once again, to easily live up to its reputation not only as a popular sport, but also as the easiest way to bring different people and cultures together without any political ramifications. I have played pick up soccer games next to temples in China, on the beaches of Thailand, on the steps of a 500 year old cathedral in Peru, and now with some kids on a field in Uganda in a little village I happened to be jogging through. Lynn had the great idea of bringing some balls over here to give out to kids who could really use them so I brought 4 soccer balls, a volleyball, and a basketball. My friends Matt,Helen and I ended up playing with these kids for about an hour and, of course, the ball they were using was on its last legs so I told them I would bring them a new ball the next day. I brought the ball as promised and met their two coaches David and Moses. They were all very excited and David explained that he didn’t actually know a whole lot about coaching soccer so less than a week into my stay I have become the unofficial third coach of the under 14 boys team from Nyamitanga village. The kids are amazing, full of energy and excitement even while they share uniforms and play barefoot, but play just as hard and have just as much fun as any other kid around the world. Playing a game of soccer should be required during any political round table or negotiation as there is no better method of diplomacy that exists today.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Back to Africa....
Well, after 3 amazing weeks of semi-retirement in sunny Santa Barbara, I am back in East Africa, unfortunately without my lovely wife for the first 2 weeks, but i'll get by. Before I dive into a description of our new home in Uganda, I want to comment a bit more on the whole retirement thing. First of all, I highly recommend it, but you have to do it right. Lynn and I were very adept at retirement which was constantly confirmed through the outright jealousy of our friends and family. The trick is to get your errands done in the morning (of course after first watching a couple of hours of the Tour De France) so that you can be swimming or surfing by the afternoon followed by a cocktail and then a nice dinner while perusing your netflix. We knew we had hit the apex of retirement when one Tuesday afternoon we found ourselves sitting in the cottage sipping white wine and eating fresh peaches after a great bodysurfing session at Haskells beach. I don't think we really deserved to have a three week retirement, especially after a month long honeymoon, but it presented itself nonetheless and we took full advantage of it (on second thought, Lynn did deserve 3 weeks of retirement after perservering through 3 years of residency).
So back to reality. After 23 hrs. of flights and a very bumpy 5 hr. drive, I arrived in our new home for the next 10 months, Mbarara (which is pronounced Mbarara). It was so much easier to arrive in Uganda after having been in East Africa the month before. The drive was brutal as I kept getting woken up by gigantic potholes and sometimes cows blocking the road. Halfway to Mbarara you cross over the equator where you can actually stand with each foot on one side
Then you buy a coke and move on. Driving through the little towns and villages I was struck by how much they reminded me of movie sets, western movie sets in particular. A typical village consists of anywhere from a half mile to a mile of store fronts of various colors and various stages of disrepair. The road and the store fronts are always bustling with people and commerce, and cows, but there is usually nothing behind the row of stores except for miles of hill and tree filled land. The other striking aspect is that there is clearly not enough commerce to keep everyone milling around busy and so I noticed many folks just lounging around trying to stay cool in the hot sun. Although, maybe they were indulging in some early retirement as well...I don't know.
Mbarara is a medium sized city with about 100K residents. It sits at about 4500ft so the weather is very moderate considering how close to the equator we are. It is a very hilly city with some nice views when not too hazy. From my limited knowledge so far, I believe it is a trading town (I think they export some coffee and vanilla but not much) and a big stopover for folks who are headed to the beautiful national parks within hours of the city. It is a bustling city with boda boda's (scooter taxis) zipping around everywhere spewing their toxic 2-stroke oil clouds. The city seems to be a bit more on the developed side due to the presence of the University (which I will be attending) as well as the medical school and hospital that Lynn will be volunteering at. I am in a temporary cottage right now where several other expats live who are either volunteering with Lynn's organization or doing collaborating research projects with schools such as Berkeley and UCSF. I have someone looking into securing a bigger place for Lynn and I and hope to move in and get it set up before she arrives.
I spend my days navigating or shall I say circumnavigating the supposed requirements, which literally change minute to minute and person to person, for me to register for school. After stapling my picture to 100 separate forms with the same information on each, I believe I finished registering yesterday, but one never truly knows. My sleeping pattern is totally screwed up because I keep taking naps in the middle of the day...I have to quit doing that! There is a tennis and basketball court close by and some locals play soccer every evening in the field right next to me so there will be plenty to do activity wise as well as jogging the hills.
Well that's about it for now...I'm gonna go buy some fish and try to figure out how to cook it.
Cheers from Uganda,
So back to reality. After 23 hrs. of flights and a very bumpy 5 hr. drive, I arrived in our new home for the next 10 months, Mbarara (which is pronounced Mbarara). It was so much easier to arrive in Uganda after having been in East Africa the month before. The drive was brutal as I kept getting woken up by gigantic potholes and sometimes cows blocking the road. Halfway to Mbarara you cross over the equator where you can actually stand with each foot on one side
Then you buy a coke and move on. Driving through the little towns and villages I was struck by how much they reminded me of movie sets, western movie sets in particular. A typical village consists of anywhere from a half mile to a mile of store fronts of various colors and various stages of disrepair. The road and the store fronts are always bustling with people and commerce, and cows, but there is usually nothing behind the row of stores except for miles of hill and tree filled land. The other striking aspect is that there is clearly not enough commerce to keep everyone milling around busy and so I noticed many folks just lounging around trying to stay cool in the hot sun. Although, maybe they were indulging in some early retirement as well...I don't know.Mbarara is a medium sized city with about 100K residents. It sits at about 4500ft so the weather is very moderate considering how close to the equator we are. It is a very hilly city with some nice views when not too hazy. From my limited knowledge so far, I believe it is a trading town (I think they export some coffee and vanilla but not much) and a big stopover for folks who are headed to the beautiful national parks within hours of the city. It is a bustling city with boda boda's (scooter taxis) zipping around everywhere spewing their toxic 2-stroke oil clouds. The city seems to be a bit more on the developed side due to the presence of the University (which I will be attending) as well as the medical school and hospital that Lynn will be volunteering at. I am in a temporary cottage right now where several other expats live who are either volunteering with Lynn's organization or doing collaborating research projects with schools such as Berkeley and UCSF. I have someone looking into securing a bigger place for Lynn and I and hope to move in and get it set up before she arrives.
I spend my days navigating or shall I say circumnavigating the supposed requirements, which literally change minute to minute and person to person, for me to register for school. After stapling my picture to 100 separate forms with the same information on each, I believe I finished registering yesterday, but one never truly knows. My sleeping pattern is totally screwed up because I keep taking naps in the middle of the day...I have to quit doing that! There is a tennis and basketball court close by and some locals play soccer every evening in the field right next to me so there will be plenty to do activity wise as well as jogging the hills.
Well that's about it for now...I'm gonna go buy some fish and try to figure out how to cook it.
Cheers from Uganda,
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Some wedding pictures...
After a humbling few weeks of trying to navigate all the "modern", but not so lynnie-friendly media software and websites, I'm gonna just post a link to a small set of wedding piccies. Enjoy! (I'm hoping that after a few weeks in Uganda, I will be better friends with my 3-year-old Mac, and will be able to do something more creative...maybe). Lynn.
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