Blog Bus Takes Flight
An extended vacation from the blog leaves me with two more stamps in the passport and a lot to catch up on. I haven’t been feeling particularly eloquent lately, so I wanted to hyperlink to lots of pictures to compensate for the otherwise perfunctory prose below, but the internets aren’t cooperating w/ any uploading to flickr right now. I’m just glad I was finally able to access blogger. Last post was June 14th, so I’m just gonna start there:
My last couple days of work were spent ‘in the field’ observing one of the agricultural forums organized by the NGO that I was evaluating. Getting to the field should be much easier in a country that’s 90% rural: I got on a bus to leave Kampala at 7:30 am…the bus left Kampala at 10 am…on the bus ride, I received a text message from someone I work with that read: “when you arrive in Mbarrara take a motorcycle to the hospital and get in a small car there to Rubindi”…I arrived in Mbarrara at 1pm…no one knew where the hospital was…I managed to find a car going to Rubindi, we left when the small 4 door sedan was filled with 9 people, including the driver who is always a little guy so that he can sit on someone’s lap while he drives…on the way to Rubindi I received a text message that read: “When you arrive in Rubindi a man on a motorcycle will hand you a note, he knows where we are”…I waited in Rubindi for 20 minutes, but no motorcycle, no note…finally I received another text message: “An elderly gentlemen on a motorcycle wearing a blue shirt will come to pick you up”…such a gentleman finally arrived and he said “Andrew, we’ve been waiting for you.”
This was Mr. Biangile. He owns the farm that was hosting the forum, where the organization mobilizes local farmers to meet and discuss best practice agriculture techniques and methods. I rode on the back of his motorcycle over steep dirt roads to the top of the highest hill above the town. Gathered there were about 25 people, sitting on chairs beneath a tree – the forum could finally begin. This specific forum was focused on cattle rearing and it was really interesting to see the wealth of local knowledge that these farmers possessed and to listen to them discuss and refine that knowledge. The organization will then disseminate these techniques throughout the community and to other regions using ICTs and will use it to improve the practices of female farmers in particular. It was definitely worth the long and intriguing journey.
As the sun was setting and I returned to Rubindi on the back of Mr. Biangile’s motorcycle, another driver pulled up and handed me a note before speeding quickly away, it read: “Andrew, go with this man he knows where we are.”
I returned to Kampala for a final weekend in the city and a final taste of Kampala’s cuisine with some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had. A good way to end things in a city that treated me quite well and rivals Addis Ababa for my favorite African cities thanks to its friendly atmosphere and easy urban living. The US even came through with that well-played but intense draw against Italy. This match pleased me most because I was confident that once we were knocked out, there would at least be a team to cheer against for the rest of the tournament.
I spent 6 weeks in total in Uganda, a country I hadn’t even planned to visit initially. I had planned to spend at least that much time in Kenya, staying with my friend Pete and hopefully working with his NGO, Family Preservation International, but it got bumped because of the opportunity with Bridges in Kampala and I’ve been emailing Pete once a week for the last two months, basically saying: “Don’t worry, I’m coming, but not ‘till next week.”
That week finally came and it was great to see Pete and great to be in Kenya. He’s been working in Eldoret for the last three years, running a microfinance project for people undergoing ARV treatment for HIV/Aids. He’s finishing up his work with that project and will be going to school in Boston next year as well. I had some work to finish up myself, so my first couple days in Eldoret were spent sitting in Pete’s yard with my laptop.
After a few days, my friend Elin came to visit and renew her Ugandan Visa. For a day trip, Pete recommended we take a minibus to the Nandi Hills, home of his girlfriend Nelly (also an excellent host), former Kenyan president Moi, and an endless carpet of tea. I never imagined tea plants would be so beautiful, but in the heart of Kenyan tea country its just rolling hills of the iridescent green leaves. We hiked around the hills and eventually arrived at the Nandi tea estates, got a tour of the factory and some really cheap tea.
Next day we visited Nelly at Moi Hospital in Eldoret where she works as a nurse in a ward that cares for infants and children who have been abandoned or whose parents have died. Got to hang out with the kids, tried to take one home, but was busted by security. Then it was on to the Imani Workshop, one of Pete’s projects where women with HIV produce local crafts that are sold in order to build their income before they begin receiving micro-credit loans. Stocked up on plenty of gifts to go with the small Kenyan child I’ll be bringing home.
Finished up a week in Eldoret that was extremely refreshing – returned me to an old friend and to the country side. One downside of Kampala: tons of pollution. A week in the Kenyan hills and I feel like I’m learning how to breath again. Back to the bus and the cities though: Eldoret to Nairobi to Addis Ababa.
The bus trip from Eldoret to Nairobi is a bit like riding in the tin-can that’s attached to a newlyweds’ car. This is a well-traveled road, but perhaps a bit too well traveled and the Kenyan government apparently can’t keep up with the repairs. The only thing that redeems this 7-hour ride is that it takes you from top to bottom of the Rift valley and offers exceptional views. The Rift Valley is a bit hard to describe because it’s really a giant region that has no discernable entry and exit points. But you don’t have to be a geologist to realize that when you’re in it, you’re in a place that was absolutely brutalized by tectonic activity. What’s left today, however, is much more beautiful than brutal.
The bus climbed high above the Rift coming out of Eldoret and it got cold…snow-on-the-ground-cold…that’s right, there were icy chunks of dirty snow surviving into the late afternoon at the highest points above the valley. That didn’t stop the guy in front of me from opening his window just to make sure I knew how cold it was on the mountain tops and just how much it was raining in the valley. When we finally reached the floor of the valley, the roads didn’t improve, in fact it was straight up off-roading through the savannah…in a bus…a bus that was probably manufactured in the 1960s: the rattle of the aluminum roof is so loud you can’t hear the music from your headphones, your seat is shaking so much you can’t read, and the whole experience is so terrifying that you can’t sleep.
I had no problem passing out once I finally arrived in Nairobi though. I didn’t even spend 12 hours in the city because it was time to fly. That’s right, cheating on the blogbus with an aeroplane. Time constraints and concerns with the Kenya-Ethiopia border forced me out of the bus and into the air. I had set out to complete this trip over land, but…well…you see…the flight was really nice. It was also nice to be reminded of the pleasures that I thought were restricted to the road: The Kenyan Airports Authority security screeners apparently stumbled upon my wallet in my checked-bag. When I arrived in Addis Ababa all the cash was missing – about $0.14. I had been collecting some small bills from a few countries and keeping them in this wallet. I’m not sure if the airport employees were deceived by the large dollar amounts on Zimbabwe’s currency, but I’m down a few souvenirs.
It’s pretty unreal to be back in Addis, where I lived and worked for six months in 2003. I’ll be here for two weeks - the last two of the trip. Hopefully will be able to get some pictures up soon, but expect some major updates to both sites once the blogbus returns to its final destination.
My last couple days of work were spent ‘in the field’ observing one of the agricultural forums organized by the NGO that I was evaluating. Getting to the field should be much easier in a country that’s 90% rural: I got on a bus to leave Kampala at 7:30 am…the bus left Kampala at 10 am…on the bus ride, I received a text message from someone I work with that read: “when you arrive in Mbarrara take a motorcycle to the hospital and get in a small car there to Rubindi”…I arrived in Mbarrara at 1pm…no one knew where the hospital was…I managed to find a car going to Rubindi, we left when the small 4 door sedan was filled with 9 people, including the driver who is always a little guy so that he can sit on someone’s lap while he drives…on the way to Rubindi I received a text message that read: “When you arrive in Rubindi a man on a motorcycle will hand you a note, he knows where we are”…I waited in Rubindi for 20 minutes, but no motorcycle, no note…finally I received another text message: “An elderly gentlemen on a motorcycle wearing a blue shirt will come to pick you up”…such a gentleman finally arrived and he said “Andrew, we’ve been waiting for you.”
This was Mr. Biangile. He owns the farm that was hosting the forum, where the organization mobilizes local farmers to meet and discuss best practice agriculture techniques and methods. I rode on the back of his motorcycle over steep dirt roads to the top of the highest hill above the town. Gathered there were about 25 people, sitting on chairs beneath a tree – the forum could finally begin. This specific forum was focused on cattle rearing and it was really interesting to see the wealth of local knowledge that these farmers possessed and to listen to them discuss and refine that knowledge. The organization will then disseminate these techniques throughout the community and to other regions using ICTs and will use it to improve the practices of female farmers in particular. It was definitely worth the long and intriguing journey.
As the sun was setting and I returned to Rubindi on the back of Mr. Biangile’s motorcycle, another driver pulled up and handed me a note before speeding quickly away, it read: “Andrew, go with this man he knows where we are.”
I returned to Kampala for a final weekend in the city and a final taste of Kampala’s cuisine with some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had. A good way to end things in a city that treated me quite well and rivals Addis Ababa for my favorite African cities thanks to its friendly atmosphere and easy urban living. The US even came through with that well-played but intense draw against Italy. This match pleased me most because I was confident that once we were knocked out, there would at least be a team to cheer against for the rest of the tournament.
I spent 6 weeks in total in Uganda, a country I hadn’t even planned to visit initially. I had planned to spend at least that much time in Kenya, staying with my friend Pete and hopefully working with his NGO, Family Preservation International, but it got bumped because of the opportunity with Bridges in Kampala and I’ve been emailing Pete once a week for the last two months, basically saying: “Don’t worry, I’m coming, but not ‘till next week.”
That week finally came and it was great to see Pete and great to be in Kenya. He’s been working in Eldoret for the last three years, running a microfinance project for people undergoing ARV treatment for HIV/Aids. He’s finishing up his work with that project and will be going to school in Boston next year as well. I had some work to finish up myself, so my first couple days in Eldoret were spent sitting in Pete’s yard with my laptop.
After a few days, my friend Elin came to visit and renew her Ugandan Visa. For a day trip, Pete recommended we take a minibus to the Nandi Hills, home of his girlfriend Nelly (also an excellent host), former Kenyan president Moi, and an endless carpet of tea. I never imagined tea plants would be so beautiful, but in the heart of Kenyan tea country its just rolling hills of the iridescent green leaves. We hiked around the hills and eventually arrived at the Nandi tea estates, got a tour of the factory and some really cheap tea.
Next day we visited Nelly at Moi Hospital in Eldoret where she works as a nurse in a ward that cares for infants and children who have been abandoned or whose parents have died. Got to hang out with the kids, tried to take one home, but was busted by security. Then it was on to the Imani Workshop, one of Pete’s projects where women with HIV produce local crafts that are sold in order to build their income before they begin receiving micro-credit loans. Stocked up on plenty of gifts to go with the small Kenyan child I’ll be bringing home.
Finished up a week in Eldoret that was extremely refreshing – returned me to an old friend and to the country side. One downside of Kampala: tons of pollution. A week in the Kenyan hills and I feel like I’m learning how to breath again. Back to the bus and the cities though: Eldoret to Nairobi to Addis Ababa.
The bus trip from Eldoret to Nairobi is a bit like riding in the tin-can that’s attached to a newlyweds’ car. This is a well-traveled road, but perhaps a bit too well traveled and the Kenyan government apparently can’t keep up with the repairs. The only thing that redeems this 7-hour ride is that it takes you from top to bottom of the Rift valley and offers exceptional views. The Rift Valley is a bit hard to describe because it’s really a giant region that has no discernable entry and exit points. But you don’t have to be a geologist to realize that when you’re in it, you’re in a place that was absolutely brutalized by tectonic activity. What’s left today, however, is much more beautiful than brutal.
The bus climbed high above the Rift coming out of Eldoret and it got cold…snow-on-the-ground-cold…that’s right, there were icy chunks of dirty snow surviving into the late afternoon at the highest points above the valley. That didn’t stop the guy in front of me from opening his window just to make sure I knew how cold it was on the mountain tops and just how much it was raining in the valley. When we finally reached the floor of the valley, the roads didn’t improve, in fact it was straight up off-roading through the savannah…in a bus…a bus that was probably manufactured in the 1960s: the rattle of the aluminum roof is so loud you can’t hear the music from your headphones, your seat is shaking so much you can’t read, and the whole experience is so terrifying that you can’t sleep.
I had no problem passing out once I finally arrived in Nairobi though. I didn’t even spend 12 hours in the city because it was time to fly. That’s right, cheating on the blogbus with an aeroplane. Time constraints and concerns with the Kenya-Ethiopia border forced me out of the bus and into the air. I had set out to complete this trip over land, but…well…you see…the flight was really nice. It was also nice to be reminded of the pleasures that I thought were restricted to the road: The Kenyan Airports Authority security screeners apparently stumbled upon my wallet in my checked-bag. When I arrived in Addis Ababa all the cash was missing – about $0.14. I had been collecting some small bills from a few countries and keeping them in this wallet. I’m not sure if the airport employees were deceived by the large dollar amounts on Zimbabwe’s currency, but I’m down a few souvenirs.
It’s pretty unreal to be back in Addis, where I lived and worked for six months in 2003. I’ll be here for two weeks - the last two of the trip. Hopefully will be able to get some pictures up soon, but expect some major updates to both sites once the blogbus returns to its final destination.
3 Comments:
I'm glad to see that you've formally become "Andrew", at least for the purposes of following notes on motorcycles to meetings under trees in hillsides.
Andrew: I have a message for you...meet me in Boston on July 27th. There you will meet me in Jamaica Plain
Smart move to fly that bit. Damn near impossible, unless you like perching on a truck above cattle and getting lots of sunburn... or even shot at.
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