We headed to our rural homestays in Kapturwa, which is in eastern Uganda on the border to Kenya on October 24th. Kapturwa is a town set up in the mountains! Mt. Elgon is right near there. As we drove through the plains of the Soroti district (think Iowa flat and farmland) we could see the shadows of them in the distance and then we began to climb them. We went up for a while and saw many waterfalls and the more we drove the prettier the view over the plains we had left behind. Everyone was getting pretty anxious and excited to meet there families. We began the drop offs and one by one tossed out one student after another. The roads started getting more and more interesting including a section over three logs spanning a river…we all prayed and thought very light thoughts as we drove over it. Eventually I went with Kamahna (another IMME student) and a driver named Michael to get dropped off at our home stays. We introduced ourselves and he could not pronounce my name so he called me something like “juice-sten.” I tried to help him wrap his mouth around the syllables of my name so I just left it, but Kamahna thought it was hysterical and we laughed until we cried about it. I’m so thankful for that moment though because it really took away a lot of the tension and anxiety I was feeling. Anyways, after driving through the banana tree garden we reached my house and I started the fun!!
My Family:
It’s incredibly ironic how many similarities my family in Mukono and this one in Kapturwa have in common.
Bonifas Chemwenon: my father, who is also a mid-30’s Reverend at the local Anglican church. He was about a head shorter than me. I spent a lot of my time with him during the evening meal because he would always be out being busy doing reverend type things during the day. I really enjoyed the times I got to talk with him and I learned so much from him.
Irene Chemwenon: my mother who has the same name as my mother in Mukono! I spent most of my time with Irene and helping her with all the daily chores. She had a job as a field officer for the local coffee growing society or something, but was only gone one day for that. She was very nice and found me to be very funny…eventually ☺ The two comments I think she made to me most often were “you are tired” and “eat more.” I felt very mothered by her and it was nice. I realized how much I missed that.
Abida: my four year old brother. When he found out that a visitor was coming to stay with them he was so excited, but when, expecting an African, I showed up he ran and cried to his parents about it. Needless to say it was somewhat of a rocky start for us, but by the end he cried because he didn’t want me to leave. I broke through to him by whipping out my camera so for a while he would be friends with me if I’d get that out. Baby steps right?! By the end of the time he and I were good buddies and I was sad to say good bye to him.
Enoch: God blessed me again by having an adorable little two year old brother in this second home. He also took a little while to warm up to me, but eventually would even let me hold him and play with him. He was an absolute joy. He played so hard every day and was probably the dirtiest boy I have ever seen. My favorite thing was to watch how he would greet people: give them a good punch ☺
Jocelyn, Solomon, and Selestine: the house help I guess you could call them. Jocelyn was 25 and ran the place when mom and dad were at work and did a lot of the chores. She was a wonder woman! Solomon was one of my favorites. He had the most stunning smile I’ve ever seen. He was about 16 and Bonifas and Irene had taken him in when his parents divorced. He did a lot of work for them and stayed and ate with them. I think they also paid for his schooling. He was so very helpful at teaching me to do everything around the house. Selestine also helped out and I think she was a niece (it’s so hard to tell relations here in Uganda). She was often gone at school.
The Good ol’ Homestead:
The house was made of mud and timber like the house we made with the pygmies. It was nice. It was rectangular and had an entry way that splits into the two main rooms of the house. One was the dining/sitting room and the other a storage room with a small bedroom attached where Abida and Enoch sleep. Attached to these main rooms was a smaller bedroom. My bedroom was off the sitting room and my parents bedroom was off the storage room. My room was about 5 feet by 7 feet. The bed was super comfortable and being up in the mountains meant that I got to use the thick comforter because it was wonderfully cool! Glorious! The floors of the house were made of a mixture of cow dung and ash…yes, I walked over cow crap every day! They re-cover the floor every week. I got to watch my mom mix and cover it as while I was there! The ash gets rid of any smell, but I found it crazy. My favorite part of the house was that my father decorated the walls with wallpaper for my arrival. He used old UCU newspapers to cover the walls so I would have something familiar while I was there. My room and the sitting room were covered in them. I did some crosswords on my wall in my room before I’d go to sleep and there were pictures and articles of some of my teachers in the sitting room so if I ever was eating alone I’d chat it up with them.
There were two other buildings on our land that were both circular mud huts with grass roofs. One was the kitchen, but I couldn’t spend much time in here because it filled with smoke and my eyes are “very weak” according to my mom and would start watering. The other hut was a bedroom for Solomon and I’m not sure who else. The place that I bathed had rocks all over the floor and 3 walls that were not porous…the fourth offered a reasonable view for anyone wishing to see if I was actually white all over. Don’t worry most of the time I bathed at night or hung my towel in the way. The latrine was actually one of the nicer ones I’ve used, but I only saw two other people use it besides me. I found out that they only use it to go #2 (I felt weird using the actual word) and go out in the woods to do the other. They must have thought I had to go #2 all the time because I used it more than I think I’ve ever used it in my life. I probably went about 8 times a day. That’s because they fed me and gave me so much to drink I think I must have gained 5 pounds!
Before we went to our homestays we were warned that we may only get to eat 2 times a day. That is false! I had tea at least 2 if not 3 times a day and was made to drink at least two full cups. The first time I was served supper I was waiting for the whole family to come in to eat because their was that much food, but I found out it was just for Bonifas and I!! And they said at least 4 times a meal that I must take more! I always felt like I was going to explode and I can eat a lot, but they were even pushing my limits! The food was pretty good though and I was able to sample a lot of the different foods they have, many of which they get from their garden.
I had a good time and it was a wonderful experience. I'm going to post another blog after this one that outlines those experiences and shares a bit about what I learned. This one is already too long. As my parents know I have a hard time condensing things. I remember at supper times back with the fam we'd go around sharing our highs of the day and my family would always say "Kiersten, try and share the Reader's Digest version" because I was so long winded. I can't help it so for those of you who trudge through the entirety I salute you!
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
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