If Jinja is the intro to east Africa Lira is senior year
advanced seminar. From what I hear if
you hit Kitgum or Pader you’ve reached graduate school.
Jinja squeezes the western comfort out of you a bit here and
a bit there. It certainly shocks the
sensibilities but you can stay kind of prune-like with it’s coffee shops, restaurants,
the fountain of ngo’s, the odd hot shower, and the scenic adventure vibe of the
lake and Nile.
If things ever go sideways you can always scoot into Kampala to get yourself sorted out and worse comes to worse you board a plane. Lira, on the other hand, gives you the choice between posho, posho, or
posho for dinner. It has insects the
size of squirrels. The land, it’s rock
and dirt, slaps you just for thinking of complaining. People are built tough as hammers. They could be dying in front of you and still
ready to walk the 6 miles to town. Law and order has a wild west feel to it. Lira
is like being on a fruit diet. The good
news is that after the detoxification, which includes a healthy dose of hanging
out with street kids, you can feel the softness leaving your psyche. I love comfort. Right now comfort is having a relatively calm
intestinal tract. It doesn’t matter that
the toilet in my room doesn’t have a toilet seat. It’s actually a luxury. Why do they even come with seats? The bowl feels unnervingly large at first but you don’t really need one. Try it.
My favourite post to date (and I'm liking them all! Had one of those explosive laughs at "...slaps you for just thinking of complaining."
ReplyDeleteLove the picture! another amazing post....toilet seats without seats....i'm glad we have them! You now I love comfort! our western comfort! got a chuckle from your Jinja and Lira comparisons. You are experiencing life in Africa! toughening up and getting it done.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Glenn. At least you have a toilet!
ReplyDeleteDad
Glenn I love the school of Africa analogy! Given my history there it seems as though I have had to retake the into course several times! Ha! Mind you I have audited Arua, Mbale and Nairobi, so, where does that leave me? And where does the Karamajong tribe reside? Is that near Kitgum? The stories Damali has told me of the Karamajong are fascinating and leave me thinking there are whole other worlds in Africa I will most likely never see.
ReplyDeleteOn a more practical note Glenn, I want to take your toilet recommendation to heart, but I need your advice on how to navigate this strange world. Everytime I have ventured to try a toilet without a seat I end up wet. Do you have a method or strategy for this?