I See…
- the sun’s red, orange and yellow hues as it
rises at 6:47 in the morning
- a herd of cattle being escorted across a main
road
- blue, white, red, pink, yellow, and white
uniforms donned on children of all shapes, sizes and ages as they walk or bike
to and from school
- a flash in the sky, once, twice, no - more than
ten times repeatedly as the heat lightening illuminates the night
- joy on the faces of Gulu residents ambling,
biking, or boda-ing by
I Hear…
- Luo, the local language, being spoken in different
tones, volumes, and speeds by the masses
- children… giggling, suckling, crying, babbling,
screaming “MUNU!”
- propaganda for the upcoming Uganda Gospel Crusade
Jubilee being spewed from massive speakers atop a massive truck as it puts down
a dirt road
- a bell ring at 3:30 in the morning and the
roosters begin to crow shortly thereafter
- bodas rev their engines from every direction
- laughter… the belly achin, side splitting, deep
down from the depths of your soul laughter
- music blaring from a local establishment every
night of the week until the wee hours of the morning
- rolling thunder post heat lightening
- a deep ribbiting that sounds more like UFO’s than
a frog’s vocal chords that can only be heard, not seen
I Smell…
- maize roasting atop of hand mined charcoal by a
row of women on every street
- body odor in sporadic whiffs; I am unprepared
each and every time
- pleasant floral scents of a species
unrecognizable to my nostrils
- putrid sewage again in sporadic whiffs which
again, I am unprepared for each and every time
- fires burning garbage, wood, meat, maize, posho,
bricks…
I Taste…
- deliciously fresh and ripe pineapples and
mangoes from the local market
- beans cooked to perfection in taste and texture
- a Stoney, for the first time, after the cool
glass bottle touches my lips, a type of ginger soda that lingers, seconds after
is slides down my throat
- warm chapatti, covered in the perfect ratio of
cinnamon to sugar, with a side of scrambled eggs and veggies, to kick off the
day
- the bland, bulky posho that adds sustenance to
ours and students lunch daily
- boo, an amazing combination of cooked greens and
ground sim sim paste
I Feel…
- the sheer mosquito netting around my bed as I
lift it up to lie down
- children’s skin as they reach out an authentic
‘lil hand of acceptance in return for a high/low five
- the metallic bar behind my rump on a boda boda
as I clench on for dear life to and from a destination
- the warm hands of colleagues and friends as we
greet each with sincerity and a long, nearly choreographed handshake
- each and every pothole in the road as the boda
attempts to drive over it
- an ever changing red earth beneath my feet as I
run through a now very familiar town
- dust, from head to toe, in places I didn’t even
know existed
I sense Gulu today, everyday, with all of my
senses and all of my heart.
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| Children, Children, everywhere! |
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| Cattle crossing! |
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| Central Gulu town (pic compliments Jeff Shimabuku) |
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| Gulu running club... at the beginning... it's pretty much just me and occasionally Jane now:) |
