Thursday, September 22, 2011
h20...the stuff of life
we have been without running water at our house for officially 2 weeks. I just wanted to say that. The end.
Friday, September 16, 2011
krochet kids taking over the world!!!
Okay...maybe not the world, but we are definitely growing as an organization!
Bing decided to make another commercial for us (they made one for us a few weeks ago that aired during the X Games)!!!
Our commercial featured this past week during the season finale of America's Got Talent, and aired on NBC, TBS, and some other channels. Maybe you saw it? We got 20,000 hits on the website because of the extra publicity, and over the past two days 950 purchases were made online. Our hats are completely sold out, and so we are increasing production by 20% to meet demand.
It's all pretty exciting! I hope you support our organization as much as I do! Check out Krochet Kids International if you haven't already!
Watch one of our commercials: Bing's Krochet Kids Commerical
what is luxury?
Having no running water at our house for the 9th day in a row has gotten me thinking about what “luxury” means to me. It’s funny how your perspective can change so drastically in such a short period of time. So, what exactly is luxury? I think I may have a few ideas.
Luxury is:
Luxury is:
- showering with more water than it takes to flush a toilet (yes, it’s possible to shower with less)
- running water at your disposal
- not needing to walk 10 minutes to the closest water pump
- having access to soap at hand washing facilities
- not needing to use rain water to cook pasta
- taking a boda to work instead of walking
- wearing clean clothes
- the ability to keep your feet clean
- free wifi
- toilet paper
- reliable electricity
- paved roads
- doors with fully functioning locks
- handles on doors
- personal transportation
- having options
- the opportunity to establish a savings fund
- having rights
Monday, September 12, 2011
hitchhiking...adventures?
This weekend, I was able to spend some time with my friend Julie in Masindi. Being able to see her was great, but boy did I have to work hard to get there.
The trip started immediately after work on Friday, when my co-worker Dennis called me the minute I arrived home and informed me that I needed to be at the bus station right away. The taxi that we were taking was on a "first come first serve" basis, and it was filling up quickly. I made my way to the bus station and took my place on the last seat left. Or so I thought.
We were in a 10 passenger van, 14 if you count the folding seats on the end of each row. Just as I took my seat, squeezed between two grown men, the taxi driver managed to somehow add a few extra bodies to the van. We took off, and I tried to contort my body in such a way to accommodate the number of people sitting in each row of a very small vehicle. Well, we stopped on the side of the road, and just as I thought we were going to let some people off, we did the opposite. Yes, that's right, we continued to add more people to the already tightly packed van.
At one point during the journey, I counted 21 adults and 5 children. That makes 26. I believe the terminology is...packed like sardines.
About 3 hours later, we found ourselves in Kigumba, an hour outside of Masindi where Julie lives. It was there that we were told we had to get off the taxi and find our own way to Masindi. Dennis and I were dumbfounded, since they had originally promised to take us to Masindi. Well, they refunded us both 5,000 shillings, as if that was going to compensate for the inconvenience (we found out later that this was NOT enough to get to Masindi - yes, we had been cheated) and off we went.
So, we walked about 10 minutes down a road, and I suppose during the day this wouldn't have been a terrible thing, but by this time it was almost 10 o'clock pm. Because of the late hour, we were not sure if we were going to be able to find transportation to our final destination. It took several attempts and several more vehicles passing by until we finally found a vehicle heading to Masindi. To my surprise, it just so happened that this vehicle was a lori. As the rain began to fall, Dennis and I boarded the the truck and made ourselves comfortable amongst the bags of beans and dried cassava, and made our way towards Masindi on the bumpy, dark, and narrow dirt road. I finally made it to Julie's house at 11 that evening. What an adventure!
The ride back, unfortunately (or fortunately?) was not as eventful. The most exciting thing was fighting for leg space with the two chickens under the seat. In the end, the chickens won. I can't beat a chicken that pecks. No, sir, I cannot.
Thanks Julie for the awesome weekend and a shout-out to your kitty! And now, PICTURES! I mean seriously, what's a blog post without pictures? And yes, I realize that there are more cat pictures as there are human pictures, but it's just because this cat is so darn cute!!!!!
The trip started immediately after work on Friday, when my co-worker Dennis called me the minute I arrived home and informed me that I needed to be at the bus station right away. The taxi that we were taking was on a "first come first serve" basis, and it was filling up quickly. I made my way to the bus station and took my place on the last seat left. Or so I thought.
We were in a 10 passenger van, 14 if you count the folding seats on the end of each row. Just as I took my seat, squeezed between two grown men, the taxi driver managed to somehow add a few extra bodies to the van. We took off, and I tried to contort my body in such a way to accommodate the number of people sitting in each row of a very small vehicle. Well, we stopped on the side of the road, and just as I thought we were going to let some people off, we did the opposite. Yes, that's right, we continued to add more people to the already tightly packed van.
At one point during the journey, I counted 21 adults and 5 children. That makes 26. I believe the terminology is...packed like sardines.
About 3 hours later, we found ourselves in Kigumba, an hour outside of Masindi where Julie lives. It was there that we were told we had to get off the taxi and find our own way to Masindi. Dennis and I were dumbfounded, since they had originally promised to take us to Masindi. Well, they refunded us both 5,000 shillings, as if that was going to compensate for the inconvenience (we found out later that this was NOT enough to get to Masindi - yes, we had been cheated) and off we went.
So, we walked about 10 minutes down a road, and I suppose during the day this wouldn't have been a terrible thing, but by this time it was almost 10 o'clock pm. Because of the late hour, we were not sure if we were going to be able to find transportation to our final destination. It took several attempts and several more vehicles passing by until we finally found a vehicle heading to Masindi. To my surprise, it just so happened that this vehicle was a lori. As the rain began to fall, Dennis and I boarded the the truck and made ourselves comfortable amongst the bags of beans and dried cassava, and made our way towards Masindi on the bumpy, dark, and narrow dirt road. I finally made it to Julie's house at 11 that evening. What an adventure!
The ride back, unfortunately (or fortunately?) was not as eventful. The most exciting thing was fighting for leg space with the two chickens under the seat. In the end, the chickens won. I can't beat a chicken that pecks. No, sir, I cannot.
Thanks Julie for the awesome weekend and a shout-out to your kitty! And now, PICTURES! I mean seriously, what's a blog post without pictures? And yes, I realize that there are more cat pictures as there are human pictures, but it's just because this cat is so darn cute!!!!!
Friday, September 9, 2011
jack and jill went up a hill
yesterday we invited some of our coworkers over to our house for dinner. everything was going according to plan until we arrived home and realized we did not have any water. it also happened to be the night we decided to make spaghetti for dinner, which, as we all know, requires water!
luckily, Dennis had the idea to some water from the local well. the kind of well that requires pumping. i decided to accompany Dennis, especially since i have yet to pump my own water while living in Africa! so, we befriended my neighbor Vicky (met her for the first time yesterday) and together, we walked to the well to fill up some jerry cans.
It was at the well that we were told that access to water was 1,000 shillings a month (about 50 cents). well, we didn't have any money on us, but luckily, the lady who was in charge of that well allowed us to take water free of charge!
Random fact: you need to remove your shoes while at the well or you can be fined.
Those around the well encouraged me to pump some water. I of course wasn't going to turn down the offer, and so I pumped water for the first time in my life! I filled up a whole jerry can! I guess it's not really a big deal by African standards, but by my standards, it was a HUGE deal!
needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. i hope you are too. =)
and here, for your viewing pleasure, a picture from the night!
luckily, Dennis had the idea to some water from the local well. the kind of well that requires pumping. i decided to accompany Dennis, especially since i have yet to pump my own water while living in Africa! so, we befriended my neighbor Vicky (met her for the first time yesterday) and together, we walked to the well to fill up some jerry cans.
It was at the well that we were told that access to water was 1,000 shillings a month (about 50 cents). well, we didn't have any money on us, but luckily, the lady who was in charge of that well allowed us to take water free of charge!
Random fact: you need to remove your shoes while at the well or you can be fined.
Those around the well encouraged me to pump some water. I of course wasn't going to turn down the offer, and so I pumped water for the first time in my life! I filled up a whole jerry can! I guess it's not really a big deal by African standards, but by my standards, it was a HUGE deal!
needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. i hope you are too. =)
and here, for your viewing pleasure, a picture from the night!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
no thank you boda! we are footing today!
i am learning that plastic and rubber shoes are the best for the kind of terrain you find in Gulu, mainly because they are easy to wash and dry. on dry days, any kind of shoe is fine, so long as you don't mind them getting stained red from the dirt or bleached by the sun. however, if it rains the night before, you should prepare yourself for some seriously muddy road conditions.
at our old house (we moved two weeks ago to a house closer to work) the roads were pretty bad. we nicknamed one spot in particular "the trench of death." it really is quite treacherous. though it does no justice to how bad it actually is, here is a picture:
can you just imagine that in the rain? and it FLOODS here. we nearly fell over multiple times when a boda unknowingly crossed over it. yikes is right.
as you can imagine, i was so happy to move to a new place, and not have to deal with the roads on that side of town. And, at our new house, we are close enough to walk to work (no more bodas!). well, this excitement did not last very long. what i failed to take into consideration is that the roads to work might not be paved (which they're not). one spot in particular is ALWAYS super muddy, rain or shine (leaks in the pipes underneath, they say). maybe i am exaggerating, but you can be the judge of it.
as you can also imagine, we have not quite yet mastered walking without getting our shoes dirty. of these days, it will happen. you just wait. but in the meantime...
at our old house (we moved two weeks ago to a house closer to work) the roads were pretty bad. we nicknamed one spot in particular "the trench of death." it really is quite treacherous. though it does no justice to how bad it actually is, here is a picture:
can you just imagine that in the rain? and it FLOODS here. we nearly fell over multiple times when a boda unknowingly crossed over it. yikes is right.
as you can imagine, i was so happy to move to a new place, and not have to deal with the roads on that side of town. And, at our new house, we are close enough to walk to work (no more bodas!). well, this excitement did not last very long. what i failed to take into consideration is that the roads to work might not be paved (which they're not). one spot in particular is ALWAYS super muddy, rain or shine (leaks in the pipes underneath, they say). maybe i am exaggerating, but you can be the judge of it.
as you can also imagine, we have not quite yet mastered walking without getting our shoes dirty. of these days, it will happen. you just wait. but in the meantime...
Saturday, September 3, 2011
everythings bigger in...Uganda?
you know you're in trouble when you mistaken the sound of a bumblebee for a boda passing by on the street =)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
words with friends
okay, the quality stinks...but if you look super super closely, it says: "jocelynzchung played QUILTS for 78 points." BOOM!
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About Me
- Jocelyn
- Like stitches in a fabric that are a part of the masterpiece, so are the moments of experience, reflection, and revelation in my life as I travel the globe. These moments are the pieces that have come together to make me who I am today, and will continue to shape and mold me and I continue in this journey called Life.