Kitoro color and fruit

One Entebbe market is in an area called Kitoro, pronounced in the local dialect [chitoro] with a 'ch' and a rolled 'r'. Other tribal groups would pronounce it with a hard 'k', but here it has a 'ch' sound.
Learning this dialect detail today from Tom at the JGI helped me to understand why the woman in the airport's lost luggage depart kept confirming that my Yamaha keyboard was stuck in 'Chigali', Rwanda. Of course, you geography buffs know that she meant the capital city, Kigali. I hope to retrieve that precious box sometime tomorrow.
My friend and teaching partner, Ashley, arrived safely last night, and we took a log walk this morning. One helpful man named Isaac showed us to Kitoro and this is some of what we saw:
(Jug fruit)












I have a sore throat and hardly a voice. After only 12 hours sleep in a 75 hour period (Monday morning to Friday night, minus 9 hours time difference), my body is temporarily shutting down. Good thing tomorrow is Sunday - a day of rest.
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Cheeky monkey!

Outside my window this morning, I thought it was a cat on our neighbour's roof, but once my glasses were on, I could see that this was no cat! Watch as this cheek monkey steals some of Mr. Teze's corn.

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@ The Jane Goodall Institute

Here at last!!!





A view of the back... 4 residents' rooms with 2 bathrooms upstairs; kitchen, bathroom and multi-desked offices downstairs. Offices for 10-12 are in what once were living, dining rooms and den. I have not seen inside the garage.


Already making new friends - TJ and Opi


Ruth, who takes care inside and makes food; Mr. Teze, who is gardener and guard by day. Another guard covers the night shift.


Chickens and rooster sang me to sleep this morning at my 5:30 arrival.


Morris took me to town and kept me laughing for most of the day :)


'Shotty' on the big room with ensuite!


A princess like me must be safe from mosquitos.


Is this Africa? I was expecting to squat over a hole and throw water down!


Ruth's house and the chicken coop are both in the back yard.





Welcome to a land of birds, red soil and good people!

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Istanbul, Turkey

Nana says that "The Dardanelles" are where Fort Street and Oak Bay Avenue meet. She describes that landmark intersection as part of her walking commutes through the years. I may have, in fact, found the original Dardanelles on my stop-over in Turkey, where the Black Sea is connected to the Sea of Marmara (not Fernwood to Oak Bay) by straits (not tweed), including the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

Here are some bus-tour glimpses of Istanbul - inhabited, through the centuries, by countless sultans, clans, empresses, Muslims, Jews, Christians and traders - where Europe meets Asia.
























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Amsterdam - the beautiful land of bikes!

With only three hours of sleep I made straight for a little nap in the park on this sunny day in Holland.









Of course, it is the bikes that steal the show in Amsterdam. Check out the bike parkade just outside the Central Station and the handy urinal that awaits riders with full bladders. I don't know if women use this too - I snapped a quick shot of this guy in his fancy Euro shoes.



Here are the bikes:










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Leaving Canada

It was a magnificent day to pass by the southern tip of Saltspring Island, enjoy the Pacific Buffet in Active Pass and read Farley Mowat's 'Polar Passion' on the 10 hour flight over Greenland. Let the adventure begin!









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Gratitude

Thank you, GNS students and staff, for a great year!!!

Mat #9

7:00 Sunday night, outside the Cook Street Do-It Center, Mat #9 was accepted by a handsome bearded homeless man with his hall-dozen personable friends, including some street-saavy outdoor sleepers and a couple who pay rent, including a lovely native woman. I've given so many mats to men (7/9) that I was hoping to help a needy woman tonight. The nice thing is that most women I ask don't need a mat.

It is clear now that taking a picture is NOT cool. Tonight, when I asked if I could take a photo of him with the mat, he immediately pushed it back to me. Even though he slept on cardboard, the cop car a half-block away and a photo was a threat. Giving these mats must be without strings attached - not even a photo for the blog. Most importantly, I just want to keep track. Mat #9.


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Gathering donations

Here are three science units I will give to teachers: Commercial Fishing, Seeds to Trees, and Corn.




6 exercise books that will go further if they are sliced across the middle...
2 English workbooks
4 of The Canadian Oxford Atlas.




Can't go without color plus a half dozen brushes and writing utensils.




This is the wind section of the 'old instrument' gifts for Bwera.



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Type 1 diabetes supplies

Type 1 diabetes adds mass to my packing. What I would like to show is the WASTE that companies produce in packaging medical supplies, especially for an insulin pump. I stripped off the paper, plastics and boxing to reduce the size of my supplies from a camping cooler to about a bathroom bag. At least we recycle!

Some happy recipients