Behind the Scenes at the Entebbe Zoo

After arriving back in Uganda from Zanzibar, Melanie and I had 24 hours until she was to catch her flight to America for her furlough. We were able to cram in one more adventure...


Behind the scenes Entebbe from Natalie Rolfe on Vimeo.

Rats!!

Because it is worth sharing (again for some of you)….

After a month of living at Tendo in May, I came home to some unwelcome visitors who had taken up nightly residence. (YUCK!!)

So, after some locally made rat traps failed me, I went to the "expert trap."

And it worked. 

BUT, there was just one problem…

Sticky traps are just that- sticky- not deadly. 

So, I was left with a problem.

And then this happened...

(But first this picture is necessary to understand my side)

 (Some friends question my logic, but it still seems to make sense to me… 

surely the bleach fumes would poison it, right?!)

All in a Saturday morning...

As I got home from a morning in town I started reflecting on the  norms of this "lazy" Saturday morning. My thankful words uttered to the Father also made me realize that some of these things are beyond normal for some of you, so I thought I would share as a little insight into my life:

Thank you Lord for:

- Saturdays with no set agenda

- a town small enough to walk the whole of (especial as I am hand delivering checks to the various banks to pay staff salaries)

- the extreme convienience of boda bodas (motorbike taxis) and their cheap fairs (less than 50 cents) 

- making a house call to the physical therapist who made my neck feel better all in the comforts of her living room with her cutie little baby crawling around (and all for less than $8, which I had to insist that she take and at least bless someone else with)

- meeting up with a friend at the hottest new coffee shop in town to catch up on life

- the sandwiches they serve at the coffee shop. Wonderful, super yummy sandwiches on fancy bread and everything. A treat that has not been offered in Mbale in the whole time I have been here. 

- walking out of the coffee shop, which has mentally transported me to America with its wonderful familiarity, then being back on the Main Street and being reminded of how awesome God's grace is that He has chosen me to be here

- a town I call home where I can walk down the street, buy two poster maps and a small book; go to the movie store to get the latest release ( often times before they have been released in America), make my way through two allies to the market, where the tailor alters a top for me as I wait, then go to buy farm fresh eggs from the man on the street

- for an international house and the opportunity to love and be loved (I currently am staying with girls from London, America, Holland, Australia, and Uganda) 

- simplicities and complexities

- the sound of school children walking down the road and a football match going on in the distance, all while I sit in my sunroom and type this blog on my phone

- time to putter in the kitchen: making brownies (that are selling like hotcakes at the coffee shop) and brewing tea to start a new batch of kombucha

- clean water to drink (as I fill up a container to pour into the water filter) 

- for friends old and new that quickly become like family

My heart is thankful for days that my overflow response is to bless The Lord for all the "normals" in my life. 

And I can't forget to thank The Lord for the daily amusements I see on the streets. Today's sight was this man selling traditional music CDs as he rolled his sound system around and announced his product through the microphone. 

An easy guide to fishing in Uganda

 Step 1: Collect your supplies in the local market, including a rubber flip-flop to act as the bobber.

Step 2) After driving to the area where you would like to fish, find a swampy part.

Step 3) Dig up a big chunk of swampy mud and bring to the (non swampy) shore.

Step 4) Sort through the mud in search of earthworms. (Note: I am not featured in this photo because I was the only one with rain/mud boots on, therefore I was sent to do the dirty work of wading through the swamp to find the best muddy patches to dig up)

Step 5) When you have found enough earthworms, make a muddy bowl with a lid to act as a container so the slimy crawlers don't get away.

Step 6) Watch your friends as they might want to smear their muddy swamp hands all over you.

Step 7) Find a good location where you think the fish might be and wait for them to bite.

THE FIRST CATCH OF THE DAY!!

THE SECOND CATCH OF THE DAY!

Step 8) Even when people are catching fish around you and you feel like you are only being a humanitarian by providing a free lunch for the fish who somehow sneakily manage to nibble the worm off without biting the hook, KEEP TRYING. 

AND the 3rd fish was a bit bigger… but not by much. 

Step 9) Don't forget to bring your charcoal stove, because there is no size restrictions in the swamp-creeks of Uganda and though small, a mudfish like this is still worthy of roasting.

Here were the final fish scores at the end of the day:

Jerad = 3 

Dan = 1

Nat, James, Joseph = 0

Step 10) Bring some extra cash because if you fail to catch your dinner, there are freshly brought Nile Perch begin sold at the local market.

My favorite sign in Uganda

Some things you see here are cause for a double-take. This is my favorite sign I have seen yet in Uganda, right in the heart of Kampala.

Advertising a company that sells chicken.

And Epic Thanksgiving Story Retold

I moved to Uganda in October 2007. Looking back, this was interesting timing, seeing as it was right before all the major holidays of the year (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and all 4 of our family members’ birthdays).

My first Thanksgiving in Uganda, I was living at the Ogenga’s house, and had come to the conclusion within myself that since this is Uganda and there is no Thanksgiving Day and I would just go throughout the day as if it was any other day.

But God works in mysterious ways. The previous week, Pastor had received 2 big (live) turkeys as a gift. So for a week these turkeys have gobbled near my window in the courtyard, waking me up every morning. Thanksgiving morning rolled around, which happened to be a public holiday. Around 11am, Mama passed me and asked, “Isn’t Thanksgiving coming sometime soon?” Mentioning that it was today, she quickly responded, “Well, lets have a Thanksgiving meal.”

Truthfully, excitement and panic flooded me. Mmm…. turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pie. I was salivating just thinking of it. BUT how in the world can we pull this off? I had never made Thanksgiving. That was Dad’s joy. And he and Janece always have a menu planned a month in advance, shopping finished 2 weeks in advance, and begin the prep work at least 3 days before the actual day. Now I am here, the day of, 11 am, with only a live turkey. What the heck do I even do with that?!?!

But with some encouragement and willing hands to help, I decided to give it a go. As I made a menu and the list for the market, some of the boys around the compound took charge of the turkey. Yep, you imagine correctly. Catch the turkey, chop its head, put it in a basin, pour boiling water over it, pluck the feathers, and luckily for me, remove the innards.

After going to the market, remember EVERYTHING here is done from scratch, I came home with a load full of goodies. Thankfully Betty [Crocker] gave me step by step instructions on how to make stuffing and how to stuff a turkey.

Now this process was something all of its own. It is amazing what you take for granted as you eat it. The direction said, “Make sure the turkey is thoroughly washed inside and out.” Then take 1/3 of the stuffing and…. “WHAT!!??!! You want me to shove it where? Do you realize that in doing this my whole arm is inside this turkey that gobbled me awake this morning?!” But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to have this American feast. (At this point, I was so grateful for all that my dad did behind the scenes, since if we are honest, all I really did growing up was eat and wash dishes.)

After placing the turkey in the oven and instructing some of my helpers on what to do for carrots, pumpkin, mashed potatoes, and green beans, I remember thinking to myself, “This just might work.” We were busy and still had a lot to do, but things were moving along for an early dinner feast.

That is until the power went out. Ugh. This is annoying any time it happens. But especially inconveniencing when the oven that is cooking your turkey is electric rather then gas.

“Great. Now what the heck are we going to do?!” The turkey had only been cooking for and hour and a half and according to Betty Crocker, had at least 2.5 hours to go. That is 2.5 hours in an oven that consistently on and at a consistent 350 degrees. Hmmm. What to do now? There is no telling when the power will come back on.

So after much debate over what our options were, Jaja (my Ugandan grandmother) and I decided to put the turkey in a sauce pan, wrap it up with banana leaves, and put it on the charcoal stove, in hopes of steaming the turkey. About an hour into the turkey steam bath, the power come back on.

… A dilemma again. Leave it, or put it back in? Leave it, or put it back in? After a bit of eeny-meeny-miny-mo, we went with the oven route, testing our luck once again. Bad choice. Another hour later the power went out again. Ugh!!! Turkey is the key ingredient to Thanksgiving!

By this time it was almost 7pm, the rest of the fixing were ready and on the table, and the feasters were starting to get hungry.

With a headlamp, Mama and I carefully cut into the turkey to examine its edibility. Although still a bit tough, we determined it was cooked enough.

The final outcome was delicious. Though I didn’t get around to turning the pumpkin into pie, it was nice to eat something that reminded me of home in Texas. And the whole ordeal has given me a great story to tell throughout the years as Thanksgiving approaches.