September 5, 2010

First two days in “the compound” .. As it is Ramadan, the family is fasting and though they know I am not, the food is not plentiful. As I await dinner, I am offered porridge.. a thick soupy gruel made from millet. It’s sour pungent taste is completely unfamiliar to my palate and I’m not sure if I’m in the like/not like zone or if my brain is just calculating the nature of the substance my mouth has presented it with. I’m thinking, well this is just the beginning as they bring out a tray of slathery, sauce laden pumpkin and potatos only to find that this is my ration, this and a cup of tea. Damn, I’m hungry. A stashed bag of peanuts, and a bottle of water serve to quell the gurgling tummy as lights promptly shut down. Can’t help feel like I’m punished, sent to bed without dinner as resurfaces the childhood memory. And so I cheat and read with the flashlight like so many years before.

Animals, turkeys, bunnies, guinea fowl, chickens and that monkey! I’ve spent half my day chasing him around as he tries to slip thru the gate and reach what he presumes is freedom but what the rest of us know is going to be a hell of a lot worse than the pampered life he’s living behind these walls. Rafiki.. friend..his name. We’re working on it.

I’m feeling stymied and some frustration and the word dread seeping in as this “internship” seems it may be more of an idle-ship. Nothing has been done since the last interns left – 4 stalwart, inventive, vigorous students from ’08 cohort who hammered something out of nothing – an NGO for peace with ambitious programs and creating a registered charity to move forward in a variety of areas – all of which lie now dormant due to lack of funding and attention. As they say, I have my work cut out for me. I can only hope that monolithic chicken coup doesn’t come down with the avian flu or the like for the air that I’m breathing is thick with feathers and fowl exhalations. I love the idea of the farm life but this may all be a bit close for comfort. Welcome to Arua Shelley