I’ve just spent the last hour trying to get this thing to post so I hope it finally goes through…
The day got off to a bit of a rough start. I was supposed to joing Fanette and the IRS team in the field. Got about 3 km along the road and Fanette's excellent chinese mountain bike broke. The derailleur fell off. Why? it's PLASTIC!! the cogs on the derailleur are plastic!!! It could be pedaled but the chain was so loose it was slow going. I gave her my bike so she could carry on and I started to ride back to Mukhobola. A bunch of young guys on bikes stopped to ask me what the problem was, I explained that the bike was broken. I grabbed one guy's arm and asked him if he could pull me along. He suggested we put the bike on the back of another bike and I sit on the back of his bike, bodaboda style. So, the group of us (of course the usual crowd of observers had to join us) rode in to Mukhobola. I gave them 200 shillings (2 bucks) and they were very happy. I wanted to take a picture of them but the cheap "eveready" batteries we bought in Busia don't work...another fabulous item made in China. As they say, TAB, that's Africa, baby!
Spent the rest of the day trying to figure out the incredibly complex office/administrative procedures...I've never seen anything like it, there is a form for absolutely everything and it needs to be signed and authorized by 4 different people...total pain in the ass. THere must be 50 different forms for everything from paying a per diem for field staff to signing out equipment to paying for everything.
Fanette had a visitor in the night last night - a rat in her bed! It also nibbled on some bananas that were on the kitchen counter. I'm rather freaked out by that, and want to have the houseboy set a trap, but she keeps saying don't bother, another one will just come.... That's all for now, our new cook has prepared a delicious supper of cassava and eggplant, cabbage, rice and chapati. Heavy on the carbs. yum.
Going to try and upload some pictures but it takes FOREVER and I don't have the patience and the internet keeps cutting off so if you don't see any here today, maybe tomorrow...
The day got off to a bit of a rough start. I was supposed to joing Fanette and the IRS team in the field. Got about 3 km along the road and Fanette's excellent chinese mountain bike broke. The derailleur fell off. Why? it's PLASTIC!! the cogs on the derailleur are plastic!!! It could be pedaled but the chain was so loose it was slow going. I gave her my bike so she could carry on and I started to ride back to Mukhobola. A bunch of young guys on bikes stopped to ask me what the problem was, I explained that the bike was broken. I grabbed one guy's arm and asked him if he could pull me along. He suggested we put the bike on the back of another bike and I sit on the back of his bike, bodaboda style. So, the group of us (of course the usual crowd of observers had to join us) rode in to Mukhobola. I gave them 200 shillings (2 bucks) and they were very happy. I wanted to take a picture of them but the cheap "eveready" batteries we bought in Busia don't work...another fabulous item made in China. As they say, TAB, that's Africa, baby!
Spent the rest of the day trying to figure out the incredibly complex office/administrative procedures...I've never seen anything like it, there is a form for absolutely everything and it needs to be signed and authorized by 4 different people...total pain in the ass. THere must be 50 different forms for everything from paying a per diem for field staff to signing out equipment to paying for everything.
Fanette had a visitor in the night last night - a rat in her bed! It also nibbled on some bananas that were on the kitchen counter. I'm rather freaked out by that, and want to have the houseboy set a trap, but she keeps saying don't bother, another one will just come.... That's all for now, our new cook has prepared a delicious supper of cassava and eggplant, cabbage, rice and chapati. Heavy on the carbs. yum.
Going to try and upload some pictures but it takes FOREVER and I don't have the patience and the internet keeps cutting off so if you don't see any here today, maybe tomorrow...
IDP Camp
Returning from the field - that's Veronica (IEC team) carrying megaphone - note bodaboda
IRS team preparing to leave in the morning
1 comment:
Wow, nice bikes. I like the green one. Maybe you could ship a couple of them home for us to ride around the neighborhood.
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