A Memo To My Devoted Readers

I apologize to you all in advance but wanted to let you know that it is going to be awhile until my next post.  As the Ugandans say, “Sorry, sorry, sorry!”  Starting this Friday I am going to be away from site for approximately three weeks.  I am a counselor at National Camp GLOW (Girl’s Leading Our World), I then have a VAC (Volunteer Action Committee) Meeting with the Peace Corps Administration in Kampala, then I am presenting on homestay living at the new trainee’s Pre-Service Training, and finally I will be traveling back to the Southwest region to do a World AIDS Day event with my fellow Volunteers.  Needless to say, the next post will be long but full of all the things I have been doing.  Brace yourself; it is going to be a wild ride!

A Step-By-Step Guide to Thanksgiving in Uganda

I can tell you one thing about Thanksgiving… It doesn’t matter where you are, whom you are with, or what you have to cook on, it is a day to be treasured. 

Thanksgiving is quite possibly my favorite holiday of the year.  It is a day centered on family, food, and football.  It commences the holiday season, although Costco might disagree as I bet their holiday décor has been displayed since before Halloween.  I knew that when I applied for Peace Corps, that I would be spending at least two holiday seasons away from the comforts of home.  Upon arrival in this country, I was already actively figuring out how to make the holidays the best possible.  Here is a condensed how to guide.

1 – Assemble a group of wonderful PCV’s at a predetermined location, preferably one with cold drinks in stock.

2 – Have one of those wonderful PCV friends bring a turkey.  Essential for a traditional meal.

3 – Ensure that another one of those wonderful PCV’s is willing to kill and prepare the turkey.

4 – Spend Thanksgiving morning together chopping, dicing, and slicing all the food for the feast.  This includes potatoes, garlic, string beans, peppers, onions, cheese, carrots, chives, cucumbers, and tomatoes among many others.  Oh and please make sure all fingers are out of the knives way.  Rookie mistake Tara.  Rookie mistake. 

5 – Begin lighting the sigiri’s, charcoal stoves, and brick oven; because here in Uganda you do not always have access to those appliances that simply require the push of a button.

6 – In an organized fashion, cook each dish.  This has to be organized in that pots and pans are limited.  It should go something like this… Turkey first.  Toast bread for stuffing.  Break into pieces.  Boil the potatoes.  Boil pumpkin for miniature pies/brownies.  Make the mushroom soup for the casserole and chicken stock for the stuffing.

7 – Take a break to play a round of Apples to Apples.

8– Begin to assemble the dishes.

9 – Once the food is prepared, dispense into clean basins.

10 – Let the feast of turkey, green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, salad, and individual pumpkin pie brownies commence. 

Now to go into a little more detail…

My first Thanksgiving in Uganda was spent with 12 newfound friends at a wonderful place called Kalebas.  My fellow PCV’s and I discovered this wondrous place during language training.  It changed our world.   It had a mini trampoline, cold drinks, pizza, speakers we could play our American music on, running water, beds, and a bon fire pit.  This was to be our Thanksgiving destination. 

We arrived there after spending a day in Mbarara shopping for the epic feast that was to come.  Three of my fellow PCV’s and I took on the task of shopping and organizing the cooking.  Now none of us had done this in the States, so why now you ask?  My answer: What better place to practice than Uganda.  If we could accomplish that here then the States has nothing on us.  From Mbarara the eight of us were able to take a private hire (taxi) to Kalebas with all of our food, luggage, and a live turkey in the boot (trunk).  We spent the night eating pizza, drinking cold beer and soda, reflecting about the past six months in country and predicting what the following 18 or so more will turn out to be like.  The highlight

of the evening was when Robyn, a fellow PCV, finally arrived with her mom and sister, who graciously brought us American goodies.  Pistachios, Peanut Butter M&M’s, and organic fried onions for the green bean casserole. 

Fast forward to Thanksgiving morning.  No Macy’s Day Parade, morning hike, or trap shooting with the family.  Rather we spent it drinking instant coffee and eating fruit salad, bread with butter, and eggs.  Then we went to town.

We had to clean pounds and pounds of potatoes in basins among peppers, tomatoes, and other vegetables.  This then required us to chop away.  Now Ugandan knives are absolutely terrible and dull and some do not even have a handle.  We chose to use three Swiss Army Knives for the endeavor.  After four hours of slicing and dicing, we finished. 

We then sat around staring at all of the food, contemplating how to go about cooking everything in a timely manner and most importantly, how to have it all ready at the same time.  Well, we just went for it. 

First was the pumpkin pie, which required cleaning it out, saving the seeds for a snack, and boiling the pieces on a sigiri.  Then we put the cooked pieces into a basin and with a pestle, made the filling.  With a lot of milk and cinnamon, we managed to get a pumpkin pie consistency and taste.  This was added to our shortcake cookie crust, which was made ever so fine by the fingers of our hard working pinchers.

Garlic mashed potatoes was next, which went surprisingly fast.  Over a wood stove, think an open fire with bricks to lift the pit up off the coals, the potatoes were quickly brought to a boil.  Again with a pestle, the potatoes were mashed, cream was added, salt and pepper to taste, and garlic to top it off.

The macaroni and cheese was all Robyn.  She made her delicious, one of a kind cheese sauce over a small gas burner.  The pasta was all cooked over a sigiri.  In two takes since we had three bags.  We might have over estimated that one a bit.  Again in a basin, everything was brought together and topped off with breadcrumbs.

Now you might be wondering about the turkey.  Robyn’s vegan sister, Bailey, is a turkey connoisseur.  She helped ensure that the Ugandans were properly butchering, cooking, and seasoning it.  She did a phenomenal job.  It tasted wonderful!

Back to more food.  The stuffing.  My Mama’s stuffing recipe.  Now my Mama’s cooking is one of a kind delicious.  She sent me the recipe and I attempted to live up to it.  Mission accomplished.  Everyone loved it and needless to say, I am looking forward to the day when I can make it for her and the rest of the family during Thanksgiving 2014.  Anyway, after sautéing onions, chives, peppers, carrots, and garlic, three loaves of toasted, bite-size pieces of bread were added with approximately six cup of chicken broth.  Lawry’s poultry seasoning gave the dish that something special.  This was all done over an open fire, which resulted in a lot of smoke inhalation.  Pop this dish in the brick oven for a crispy top and voila!

The salad was simple.  Chop up cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, and peppers.  Then carefully find that perfect balance of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Serve.

Last but not least was the green bean casserole.  Now I never ate this in the States.  Funny coincidence though, as I was on the phone with my family during Thanksgiving I found out that my Baba Mila was bringing green bean casserole.  The one-year I am not home.  We made some instant creamy mushroom soup, added fresh green beans, and let the beans cook in that.  The secret.  Use milk instead of water.  It makes it so creamy!  While we waited for the beans to soak up a lot of the soup, we pan fried the onions.  Add those to the top and you got yourself a casserole.

Well, there it is, Thanksgiving in Uganda using traditional cooking apparatuses.  Together we feasted, shared stories, watched Ugandans eat their first taste of Thanksgiving side dishes, and then fell to the inevitable Thanksgiving nap.  We awoke to a bon fire, phone calls to loved ones back in America, and a sense of accomplishment. 

Total cost of Thanksgiving meal: 168,000 Ugandan Shillings ($67.20 USD)

Cost breakdown for each person: 14,000 Ugandan Shillings ($5.60 USD)

Spending Thanksgiving with Andrew, Brittany, Chelsea, Griffin, John, Kendra, Michelle, Murph, Patrick, Robyn, Robyn’s Mom Sharon, and Robyn’s Sister Bailey: Priceless.

A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

When I think of the holiday season, one word comes to mind… Family.  People have many definitions for what family means, everything from a mom, dad, siblings, grandparents, cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles, to friends, teachers, roommates, and Peace Corps Volunteers.  Well for the next one and a half holiday seasons, I will be spending it with the latter. 

Last week as my fellow PCV’s and I indulged in a Thanksgiving meal (more on that in the next post), we sat and did the traditional, “What I am Thankful For” activity.  I thought I would share…

- Clean water

- Ice

- Steady electricity

- Running water, both hot and cold

- Pillow top mattresses

- Meat that is already killed, cleaned, and packaged

- Refrigerators, which leads me to cold drinks, leftovers, and non-moldy cheese

- Lakes and rivers that do not contain Schistosomiasis

- Shaun T and his Insanity workouts

- Organized stores

- Ovens

- Wi-Fi Internet

- Police officers who distribute tickets and enforce traffic laws

- Reliable transportation options

- Taxi’s that do not exceed the amount of people allowed in the car

- Seatbelts

- American music

- A pen and paper to jot down moments of this crazy experience

- Greek yogurt

- A variety of food, which leads me to home cooked food

- Cold beer, cold soda, and cold water

- A compact rain jacket

- Kaiser Permanente

And now for some more meaningful ones…

- Living in a country filled with some of the most hospitable people I’ve met

- Family that is supportive, loving, and always there through the thick and thin

- Friends who still cherish our friendship despite the distance

- PCV’s who are there when you need to cry, scream, or share a breakthrough

- Family members of PCV’s who visit and bring American treasures

- Good health

I hope you all had a wonderful start to your holiday season and that you cherish every moment with your family… Whoever that may be.

A Day In The Life

Ask any current PCV or Returned PCV to talk about their daily routine and you will probably hear something along the lines of, “No such thing exists.”  I now know this to be (somewhat) true.  You never know what the developing world is going to throw at you.  For example, what you expect to be a simple 30-minute ride into town for fresh produce turns into a 120-minute, 3 different taxi ride experience.  Well, in hopes of giving all of my devoted blog followers, aka Daddy, Mamasita and sisters, here goes nothing…

Monday through Friday

6:00a – Rise and shine to the sound of goats and cows

6:10a – Lanudry!  I choose to do a little bit each morning so that the pile never gets to the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro. 

6:45a – Insanity workout with Shaun T

8:00a – Cold shower

8:30a – Prepare breakfast of egg whites or oatmeal or a protein shake or fresh pineapple or banana and peanut butter

9:00a to 4:00p – Head to the hospital for the day.  This can include helping organize the pharmacy, going on outreaches into the villages where I help conduct health education talks regarding HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition.  This can also include simply talking with the hospital staff about America, helping clean mushrooms that’ll be used for sauce, or watching a football (soccer) game.

4:00p – Head back to my house to check email, get on Facebook, write a blog post, call the family, and decide what I will cook for dinner.

5:00p – Prepare dinner, which typically is sautéed vegetables over brown rice or eggs or homemade chips and salsa

6:30p – Writing and reflecting time.  This could be letters home to family and friends or to the 2^nd grade class I am corresponding with.  Sometimes this is in my journal or just on a piece of scrap paper.  Sometimes this is a simple to do list or shopping list.  Nonetheless, it includes pen and paper.

7:00p – Reading.  Thank gosh for my Nook.

8:00p – Movie time!  I know you are probably thinking, “A movie?  In the Peace Corps?!”  My response, “Heck yes!”  Thank gosh there are plenty of PCV’s out there with loaded external hard drives, which allows me the opportunity to watch everything from Glee and Modern Family to Grease and Toy Story.

10:00p – Lights out!  Unless there’s no electricity and they are out already. 

The above also includes the weekend, if I am at my site.  If I happen to be elsewhere, most likely at Brittany’s, it looks like this…

Friday

5:00p – Get to Brittany’s and begin to cook dinner.  This can include veggie enchiladas, macaroni and cheese, chicken flavored noodle soup, potato soup, or popcorn.

8:00p – Continue the epic 2-year cribbage battle.

11:30p – Lights out.

Saturday

7:00a – Rise and shine.  Again, to the sound of goats and cows or to her cat pouncing all over me like I am a bounce house.

8:00a – Begin to cook breakfast.  Eggs, potatoes, pineapple, tea…  Something along those lines.

9:00a to 5:00p – Play cribbage, watch How I Met Your Mother, nap, go for a hike, facials, nail painting, or simply watch her kitty for cheap entertainment.

5:00p – Figure out what to cook for dinner.

6:00p – Head to the market for food and cook dinner.

8:00p – Again, more cribbage to the sounds of Florence and The Machine, Mason Jennings, and Trampled by Turtles.

11:00p – Nighty night!

Sunday’s at Brittany’s looks pretty similar to Saturday, other than me returning to site by the early afternoon.

Amendments to the daily routine…

- Some days include a visit to Mbarara, my closest “city”, where I go to the market for fresh green beans, lettuce, eggplant, cucumbers, and carrots or stop by the Post Office to pick up letters and packages (Thanks Mom, Dad, Nana, sisters, and Copelands!)

- For weekend dinners I am usually with other Volunteers cooking Indian food, chili, Mexican (we really like Mexican!), amongst other cuisines.  This is usually followed by some sort of game.  Settlers of Katan anyone?

-  There are days at the hospital that are incredibly slow so sometimes I’ll head into town to visit with some of the friends I have made, like Ann.  My go to yogurt lady in town.

If you are any bit intrigued by this post please feel free to book your airline tickets over here.  If you do, the following can be inserted…

- A safari into Queen Elizabeth National Park

- Rafting The Nile

- Jinja (This includes milkshakes!)

- Making more Mexican food

- Visits with my awesome Peace Corps friends

- Lake Bunyoni

- Murchison Falls

Miss you all to the sky and back and even more…

(Adapted from my Mama’s saying of, “Love you to the sky and back and even more…”)