Packing is such sweet sorrow

Airport send-off July 2010

VSO's volunteer website gives a long list of what to pack - close to 100 items including first aid medicines, wellies (gum boots), blue tack, binoculars.  As usual, I followed everything plus some extras, such as a hammer.  I arrived at the NAIA 15 kilos overweight.  I blamed the bathroom weighing scale at home that I used to weigh my bags - which may have been calibrated by the weight-watchers not to reveal the true numbers.  I would have spent a fortune to pay for my excess baggage if not for the kind soul of the ground crew.  I told him that I was a volunteer to Africa and he probably knew how some things could be hard to obtain there.  So he allowed me to re-pack my big suitcase and I ended up with two check-ins, and 3 hand-carried bags.  I

Sundries to pack

thought then that the ground crew was lenient with my baggage because he considered me an overseas Filipino worker (the unsung heroes of the Philippine economy).  I am proud of that attribution although I cannot contribute a cent to the annual USD 18 billion that overseas Filipinos send back home.  Now one year later here is the scorecard:  I packed an ice pick that cannot be used.   Despite the heat, block ice is unheard of as you can't make commercial ice with the frequent brown-outs.

My co-vols cooling their heels at the Dubai airport

There was a need to bring a feather duster (or akin to it) as that gadget does not exist here, even with the constant dust.  I am the only one in the compound who wears an apron (a grade school project of Mia and an extra) in the kitchen and to think that I can't whip anything.   All told, I had everything I needed, including Lucky Me noodles of different flavors.

Different strokes for different folks

A privilege

In Mpondwe, near the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Ugandan vehicle owned by a physically disabled person, is tax-free.  So some people got this bright idea of overloading the cart - with the disabled looking like a prop.

Better than a cane

It's hand-operated

All over Uganda, transportation is difficult and I understand that road conditions discourage businessmen from going into the transport business.  Bicycles or motorcycles with sidecars are not used because most roads are narrow.  I'd say 1 out of 5 automobiles that runs in Gulu has a cracked windshield -

Mobile car wash

Car mechanics in a huddle

Cracked windshield

not caused by stone-throwers but by flying gravel from roads under construction.  Modern car repair shops and expert mechanics are still  works-in-progress.   There is no dearth of car washes here as seemingly every ditch is a car wash.  If one wants a cleaner wash, then a push-mobile car wash is available. Most cars have air conditioning, but drivers turn it on only when the road is dusty and windows have to be closed.  It's the high cost of fuel that turns-off the air conditioning.

Car wash by the ditch

But this fellow below riding on his bike is not going anywhere at all. 

He sharpens slashers in his stationary bike. 

Preparing for change

Our final pre-departure briefing at the VSO office in Manila

Whenever things get unbearable, I always remind myself that during our training we were told that volunteering was not a bed of roses.  The first time I complained about the food, my Japanese friend who felt the same way said that she just tells herself that she came to Africa not to eat a gourmet meal.

Lining up at the Bu. of Quarantine

At the face-to-face assessment for applicants, tough questions about the motivation to volunteer were asked.  It got me thinking why I was leaving my comfort zone.  But the most difficult stage was the training on Preparing for Change as it gave me a lowdown on the hardships volunteers

Yellow fever in Africa

experience.  It could be that locations are too remote from civilization, clean water supply is several hundred meters away, accommodations are in the midst of howls of wild animals, cash might be in the pocket but there is nothing to spend it on.  The images and stories can outweigh the boldest of intentions.  We were given access to the volunteers' website where we can contact VSO volunteers who have experience in the location;

Mendiola Bridge

they were generally very encouraging.   I had to narrate the lowdown to my family so they can play devil's advocate. What I find memorable during the preparations was my trip to the university belt where I have not been in more than 30 years to get certified true copies of my diploma and professional license.   Oh how the place had changed - or maybe I was just disoriented since I've spent the recent years in the concrete jungles of corporate business centers.

A hairy story

A lacy pleated natural hair

Hair grooming seems to be big business here.  I had often wondered why the African hair is problematic.  An infant starts with hair that is soft and straight.  But then nature takes its course.

Soft but curly

As the hair grows it begins to curl and becomes cotton-like in texture.  The curls get wound and the hair gets hard and turns into an

Well-groomed

impenetrable mesh.  I was told that no amount or kind of shampoo or conditioner could soften that hair.  So men go for frequent haircuts (up to skin head) as turbans are not for them. 

Stretched and relaxed

Hair pleating

Women, by nature, would always go for several options.  They can have their natural hair straightened, relaxed and trimmed or pleated or braided.  Using a wig is not common.  A popular choice is using extenders.  Human  or synthetic hair is sewn and glued into their natural hair and styled.

Back view of extenders

Stylish pleats

Turbans look better

Not to be forgotten is the traditional way, which is to hide the problematic hair with turbans.  But when women start wearing western clothing, the turban would seem out of place - but some can carry the eclectic style very well.  Once I saw a strand of a braided hair on the floor.  A colleague came rushing to claim it as she was going to put it back. Frankly, I like their look better in their natural hair.  When they start changing hair styles (which is often) I could hardly recognize them at once.  Whenever they see me run my fingers through my hair, I know that women secretly wish they could have the same mannerism.

Soft, shiny, spotless skin

But what they don't know is I actually envy the smoothness and softness of their skin.  Their arms and faces do not have blemishes.  Unlike mine, where the pores, black and white heads and hair follicles are visible and feel like sandpaper.