Fun, friends, grasshoppers and ICT2
on Sam Elrick (Uganda), 20/Nov/2009 06:51, 34 days ago
Well it's been a few weeks of safari free life in Kampala and how I miss it. Alas a girl can't stay on safari forever so it's back to reality and everyday life. Despite the total lack of large predatory animals it has been an interesting few weeks culminating in our second week of VSO training (ICT2), a great opportunity to catch up with everyone and reflect on our first two months in country. Did I say two months, I can't beleive that, sometimes I feel as though I have been here for so much longer and at other times I wonder at how fast the time has gone.Last weekend I helped out at the Hope Ward Fun Run in Kampala, I took people's money (but resisited from embezzling it!) and generally helped out. It was pretty hot and hilly out on the course and I admired the folk who competed. This weekend is the Kampala Marathon, that is only for the very, very brave I think. Anyway there was a good turnout for the fun run that raises money for Hope Ward that is a charity ward at the International Hospital Kampala that provides health care to those who can't afford it, a very worthwhile cause indeed.Unfortunately I discovered the fine vanilla milkshake at the New York Kitchen in the carpark of Garden City in Kampala. It is a fine thing indeed but am in danger of becoming addicted as are some of my friends. I think life in Kampala in general finds ways of burning it off so I might be saved from a life of obesity.This week has been characterised by ICT2 which has been a fabulous opportunity to catch up with everyone especially those who have been upcountry. I am not sure if I learned alot during the training but it was lots of fun and there was a fair bit of laughter going on. I seemed to get the role of social organiser, so there were a few dinners and general merriment. One of my friends organised a Ugandan dancing lesson which was lots of fun and a seriously good workout. I was feeling it a bit in the bottom and hamstrings after. I can assure everyone that it is much harder than it looks. We will try again next week and have plans for a grand performance in the future - but we may be dreaming!!Feeling adventurous during the week we decided to partake in that fine Ugandan declicacy the grasshopper. It is particularly popular around the area that I live. The are sold in plastic tubs, already fried and ready to eat. I have since learned that it is better to buy them fresh and cook them yourself, but really there is a limit in what a girl can do. So we had ready to eat grasshoppers as an appetiser before dinner one night. It had great comic value but I really can't vouch for their gastronomic value. They tasted like month old chip oil and looked a bit like shiny overgrown maggots and the smell if you got too close to them wasn't so appetising. Unfortunately one stray grasshopper fell into my beer, which was when everything started to go astray. If anyone fancies grasshoppers for a quick snack, please think again. They may poison your beer and cause a belly-ache the next day. Proceed with caution!!The week did produce lots of inspiration for poetry and there have been some fine literary masterpieces created. Poems to follow but for now we shall see what next week brings......