Pictures from South Africa! (2/2)

And here is batch two of the selected photos from South Africa.
This is the hotel we stayed at for almost a week in Kalk Bay. It was great! Small, nice staff, and breakfast was served outside every morning. And yes, they also had a pool ;o)

After wpending a week in Cape Town we headed east in our rented car. A few times while on the high way we passed town ships like the one below. They seemed endless! Thousand of shacks build really close together. While in Cape Town we actually went to visit a Town ship, guided by a young man living there. It was really interesting!

The land scape was amazing! Everything was just big!

We passed an animal on the way were we saw leaopards and cheetahs among others. Amazing animals. The park was rehabilitating animals from the wild in order to let them back into the wild, but had some animals that were to tame to be let out, and they were the ones we were allowed to see.

It was quite an amazing feeling being this close to a cheetah!!

One day we decided to go hiking and went to the NP below. We actually vlimbed the rocks and crossed the beach and went to the point on the far right on the picture below.

The hiking was such fun that we decided to do it again the day after, this time to see a water fall. If you look really close you can see Martin almost in the middle of the photo.

We finally arrived in Port Elisabeth, spent two nights there and then left for Uganda on the 12th of November. Conclusion: South Africa was amazing! More segregated than I'd imagined, but I would love to come back one day!

Hope to put some photos here soon from Tanzania, but we are leaving Masaka today, Uganda tomorrow, so maybe it will take a while!

Till then: Merry christmas and a happy new year!!

Pictures from South Africa! (1/2)

Here are finally the first photos!
I arrived in Cape Town on Nov 1st and was met by Martin at the airport. Our first tourist thing on the list was to go to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Unbelievable beautiful nature! First we took along walk up to the light house at Cape Point.

Where it was extremely windy!

Just behind Martin is Cape of Good Hope.

And here we are posing for the mandatory tourist photo ;o)

This beach was amazing, I think it was called Nord Hoek, so we had to go and dip our toes in the water. Since it was on the western side of the cape peninsula, the water was freezing!

More photos soon!...

So much to tell! So little time!

I have not given up on my blog, just very very busy at the moment. But I guess that is my punishment for taking nearly one month off, enjoying Africa.

South Africa was great, Seeing Martin again even greater! Rafting on the Nile in Uganda was so much fun, despite thinking I would die a few times! Driving through Kenya by bus was quite the experience as well; we somehow managed to hit Africa's largest flying bird: A 12 kilo heavy bustard! But we made it alive to Tanzania and went on an incredible safari in Serengeti NP, seeing more than 50 identified animal species including: lion, elephant, leopard, cheetah, hyena, hippos, ostrich, water buffalo, wildebeest, monkeys, birds etc. Continued for 5 unbelievable relaxing days on even more unbelievable beautiful Zanzibar! The best November ever!

I'm now back in Masaka stressing to get the last things done before leaving for home next Friday. I'll try to post some photos here tomorrow!

Data Collection, week 2!

We have now completed the second week of data collection for our theses which were even better than the first! Probably because we now know what we are doing ;o)

We left Masaka Monday morning, the three of us, the three translators, and Fred, our driver. It took us around 1½ hours to get to Lyantonde where we checked in at a somewhat expensive hotel (Skyeblue) but is was either this or a brothel!... And disregarding the fact that there was no power, only a noisy generator; no light in the bath room; no hot water in the shower; no water at all in the sink; a non-functioning TV: it was indeed worth the money! A very comfortable bed and incredible nice staff! We then continued to Kacheera, a further 40 minutes away, where we met with the chairman for the cooperative (KAFAME) whose members we were going to interview.

We got the member list, selected our 30 members to interview and off we went in our big 4-wheel drive on roads that half of the time were a narrow path...

The region was so beautiful, very green despite the fact that this region also suffers from frequent droughts. At the end of the day we had interviewed 7 members, one more than planned and early! On the way back we stopped to copy the member list and Sara and Sophie grapped the opportunity to share a roasted maize.


We went back to the hotel, talked about the day while enjoying a cold Guinness.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much the same: Got picked up by Fred, bought lunch (chapati’s), drove to Kacheera, picked up the chairman and two other community guides, and split up with a translator and guide each and a list of who to find and interview that day.

Compared to last week, it was much more organised so we finished early each day and had time to relax a while each afternoon (meaning: reading a good book at the hotel while enjoying a cold beer in the sun).

Students running after the car waving and screaming "bye" at us! We felt like rock stars!

Another beautiful picture of the landscape. Don't you think?

And he I am doing the final interview with the help of my translator Wilson (English-Luganda), another translator (Luganda-local language) and the woman being interviewed.

Me, Fred the driver, Chris (translator), Orgrives (translator) and Sophie posing for a group photo.

Here we are all three of us, trying to take a nice photos sitting on a broken banana palm tree, but it was very slippery!

On Thursday around lunch we had interviewed the 30 people we planned, so we picked up Mountain Dew (Fred bought another goat pregnant with triplets!), left Kacheera and headed back to Masaka. We played some hacky sack in the garden before getting ready to go to 10 tables for dinner. We had decided to invite the field crew (translators, Fred and Cotilda) for dinner as we could not have done the data collection without them! It was a perfect way to finish the two weeks. Not that we are totally done, but for now at least.

So nice to enjoy a glass of Chardonnay!

That's enough time spent on doing fun stuff, have to get back to school stuff!

I'm having a great time here, but I'm starting to really miss you all!

Hugs!

Data Collection, week 1!

First of all: Thank you for your comments! You made my day! Now down to business!

We have completed our first week of data collection for our theses and it was great! Sara is writing by herself, Sophie and I together, however we collect the data together all three of us.

We left Masaka Monday morning; the three of us, the three translators, Cotilda and Fred, our driver. About an hour later we arrived in Kyotera where we found a hotel. Dropped off our stuff and continued to Kamukalo, a further 45 minutes away. Here we met with the chairman for the cooperation (KAME), the members of which we were going to interview. He briefed us about KAME and gave us a members list from which we selected members to interview and off we went.

The area we went to was very dry compared to the Masaka region despite the fact that it was only 1½-2 hours away. Interesting that the difference can be so big! However, it was still beautiful and the farmers appeared to be coping alright even though some were clearly very poor.

At the end of the day we had interviewed 2 members each, which was our goal. We went back to Kyotera, discussed the day and made a few changes in the interview guide.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday had a similar schedule: Went to Kamukalo, picked up the chairman and two other members who were our guides around the area, and then we went looking for members. However, on Wednesday it started raining which was very good for the farmers, but not good for me as I was wearing flip flops and fell on my knee in the mud when trying to get from a house to the car! Fortunately the next stop was Nabusozi, a small village by Lake Kijanebalola where I could go and wash the mud off, while the villagers were laughing at me.

On Thursday it was also raining a lot, so I wore shoes instead of flip flops, which turned out to be a good decision. Even the car had trouble getting around on the small paths that turned into mud paths. There were more sliding and gliding going on than actual driving, but thanks to the 4-wheel function we stayed on the road and reached all our destinations. Around lunch we had interviewed a total of 30 people as planned, so we said goodbye to Kamukalo and headed back to Masaka. Below are some photos from the week! Have to go as we have a lot to do preparing for week two of data collection starting tomorrow, this time in Lyantonde! Enjoy the pics, I’ll be back with more after next weeks data collection.

The 6 of us waiting at the office for the car


On our way to Kyotera from Masaka (the African highway!)


A typical village we passed on the way


The view from the first village we went to. Beautiful or what?!


Sophie and Chris in the middle of an interview in the house of the respondent


Sara and Orgrives interviewing the chairman of the cooperative


How to dry a fish in Uganda... Just put them on the roof!

The surroundings we moved around in during all 4 days

A small village we passed on the way

Me and Wilson finishing our interview with Jane, a very energetic 60 year old woman who talked a lot! But it was fun even though I didn’t understand any of what she was saying. More than once she got up and demonstrated how she did morning gym during some trainings, how the goats moved around etc. I liked her!

Ready to leave Kamukalo. I think school had just finished for the day because suddenly the road was full of kids! Fred bought a goat that we brought along in the car. We named her Mirinda (after the soda).

A typical way to transport Matoke (cooking bananas)

That’s all folks!

Already October!

During the past 2 weeks, I haven’t experienced that much. It has mostly been school assignments and just hanging around in Masaka. So I thought I would share some of that with you!


The guard at the office. He is very nice but wouldn't smile for the photo;o)

This fall semester consists of to courses, MIDM50 (Sept-Oct) and MIDM60 (Nov-Dec). During MIDM50 we have had 4 assignments, and 3 of those are completed, so there’s only one left. And this one is an assessment of the Uganda office as an organisation. I have to look at the individual level, meaning interviewing the staff and doing personality tests to figure out if the people working there create an inspiring and productive working environment or not. Exiting I think! And if I do a good job, I might even help improve the effectiveness of the office, which feels very inspiring! Finally, a school assignment that can be useful!

Then, MIDM60 is all data collection for our thesis, however, since I’m going to South Africa 1-12 of November, and rafting on the Nile, safari in Tanzania and relaxing on Zanzibar 16-30 of November we have decided to multitask in October, doing the organisational assessment while collecting thesis data. And hopefully be done with everything on October 30th;o) Almost all the logistics have been figured out: We have hired 3 translators, tested our questionnaires at the Agroforestry Training Centre (ATC) on some of the staff members there, our supervisor Cotilda has been to the villages we are going to visit to inform them of ‘when, what and where’, the car is booked and accommodation looked at. So starting on Monday, the 12th, we will spend 2 weeks in the field interviewing farmers. Exiting!

Other than that, life here is pretty easy... We pay low rent in for a big house in the centre of town. And Grace comes every Thursday to clean the house and do our laundry, so no complaints! We also have a gardener Mon-Fri and guards every night + weekends. I have a very big room with a nice big bed. And we have a variety of free alarm clocks every morning: the neighbours’ cow, a few different birds, our guard dog Fanta and a rooster on the other side of the road. So I am usually awake by the time my clock rings. I’m thinking about recording the cow so I can use it as an alarm tone on my mobile ;o) It’s actually a very cosy sound!

In fact, there are a lot of different animals here, especially birds! There is one in particular which is kind of scary: the marabou stork!



It is huge and somewhat disgusting, but at the same time fascinating! It reminds me of a dinosaur and when it flies over you there is an impressing sound coming from the flapping of the wings. Then there’s a funny one always walking around on out lawn with a long beak, and a variety of small colourful birds being noisy and chasing each other around. There have also been a few monkeys jumping around in the trees.

And of course we have the goats and cows grazing on the big piece of land next to our house! Oh, and mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, geckoes, tiny jumping spiders and other funny looking flying insects!

We do most of our grocery shopping at the local market as they have all fruits and vegetables there, and then buy our powder milk, cornflakes, bread and butter at the supermarket. So we eat breakfast at home, usually toast with mashed avocado and scrambled eggs on top, get tea and chapati (pancake/naan) at the office around 10, eat lunch at home or out at 13, get tea at the office around 16 and then go home to eat dinner. I rarely get hungry in between meals ;o)

Florence, who is the 'mother' at the office, and the supplier of our daily tea dose!

And, we have finally planed our avocado tree that we bought at the ATC a few weeks ago (Ms Njo Njo) in the garden.

I actually took a walk around the garden the other day and realised just how many different flowers and plants we have. It’s quite amazing! Below is a small selection of them.

Hmm, that’s about all I could think of for now. Take care until next time!!

More Uganda updates!

Time is just flying by! I know it’s because there is so much we have to do before going home AND so much we want to do! Since I updated you last time, I have learned a few things. Among other, the possible reason for the juice we drink in the morning having a bizarre taste and colour as the label on it says: “Manufactured by: Excel chemicals”! I felt a bit more relaxed when reading that it only contained “permitted food colours and flavours”... ;o)

Last week we prepared our in-depth interviews for the 2 groups we have already visited. We went back to the first Thursday which turned out to be a very interesting day. We each did an interview with a group member (with the help from interpreters) and then Sophie and Sara went on to interview another member while I went with Cotilda and the chairman of the group to his house where he showed us the groups pineapple winery.


The Community facilitator and the chairman of the group.
And of course we had to taste it.


Me and Cotilda enjoying a class of pineaple wine!

Later the others joined, the community facilitator got a little bit drunk emptying the half full glasses we left on the table. Hilarious! And interesting to discovery a picture of us and the chairman from our visit 2 weeks earlier on his wall! (In the upper right corner)


The next day (Friday) we finally went to Kampala. We got a lift with one of the employees at our organisation and arrived at our hotel around noon. We decided to immediately go to the big mall 5 min away to have lunch and check out the supermarket! And we all got a bit high on buying each a pair of shoes/sandals! Thus the kissing of the elephant ;o)

Later that evening as we were waiting for Matilda and Lisa (two other girls from our class who are also in Uganda, although in another part) we tasted the different beers available at the hotel and maybe got a little bit drunk. A great evening with many intelligent discussions!

Saturday I was a bit hung over and my stomach was upset about something I ate the day before, but we (Sophie, Sara and I) went on a walk through town, had pizza (!) for lunch, took a nap and then went to see a show on the National Theatre. It was performed by high school students and was a mix of traditional dancing, singing and a hilarious although long play. Then all 5 of us went to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. Good, but not as good as the one in Dar es Salaam where I celebrated my birthday last year!

Sunday we did some final grocery shopping (as the supermarkets in Masaka don’t have cheese!) and then began our mission of getting back to Masaka. We ended up on a bus, paid to Mbarara even though we were only going to Masaka, but what did we know! (And they knew we didn’t know!) Waited inside the bus for about an hour (like a sauna full of people selling pants!) but finally went on a death race to Masaka!

Kampala city centre

Yesterday we went to do the in-depth interviews with the 2nd group which went a little bit more according to our plans (meaning no wine!).

While waiting for Sophie to finish her interview I entertained the kids in the village by simply looking at them as they were all scared of me (the Mzungu!). Some were braver than others and even dared to touch we when I stretched out my hand, while some started crying/screaming when getting to close to any of us!... When I wanted to take a photo of Sophie all the kids wanted to be in it as well and one woman even took her child and placed him next to Sophie which he didn’t particularly enjoy.

But we have now completed all data collection for the first school assignment and for the rest of the week we are focussing on getting our background information and data collection methods ready for the actual thesis data collection. We have to have the survey questions ready tonight! The clock is ticking, only 39 days until I’ll be going to South Africa to meet Martin!! I feel a little bit stressed but at the same time, I can’t wait. Time is a funny thing...

Oh, forgot to say: Keep posting comments! I LOVE reading them! Take care