I'm back from Africa.
Still have to post pics and thoughts from our two days in Kigali, Rwanda.
Returning back to my regular routine kinda feels like settling into what used to be a comfortable chair;
or, or, it kinda feels like putting on a shirt that used to be your favorite shirt, but you feel like its time to retire it because it makes you remember how naive you were when you first put it on;
OR it kinda feels like that not-so-fresh feeling...
Anyway, I'm back.
3.31.2008
3.29.2008
Uganda pt 11 of 11: Last day in Kampala
I’m sitting in Bourbon Café in Kigali, Rwanda.
In a few hours we get on a plane and make our way back to the states!
As you probably know I fell behind on the posts. Internet access became peculiar as we traveled from Kampala to Kigali. I took A LOT of pictures (about three hundred, give or take a few). There was something interesting to see every where, so I took shots of everything.
We did a lot on our last day in Kampala.
First up, we visited the The AIDS Support Organization:
The logo.
TASO values.
Founder Noerine Kaleeba.
Anne Kaddumukasa, TASO's Public Relations Officer, gave us a tour of the facilities.
A reporter from the paper New Vision took our picture. Anurita took the time to write out our names, but we were left on the cutting room floor! I guess no international press for us...
Later in the day we traveled to Reach Out Mbuya:
Part of the facilities.
Roselyn Nandawula, who works in public relations at Reach Out, showed us around.
Necklaces made by some of the members.
He came over to say hi and fell in love with Anurita's camera.
And then he wanted Ross' camera. He was sweet and pretty upset when we had to leave.
Our day ended with a visit to the National Repertory Theatre:
In a few hours we get on a plane and make our way back to the states!
As you probably know I fell behind on the posts. Internet access became peculiar as we traveled from Kampala to Kigali. I took A LOT of pictures (about three hundred, give or take a few). There was something interesting to see every where, so I took shots of everything.
We did a lot on our last day in Kampala.
First up, we visited the The AIDS Support Organization:
The logo.
TASO values.
Founder Noerine Kaleeba.
Anne Kaddumukasa, TASO's Public Relations Officer, gave us a tour of the facilities.
A reporter from the paper New Vision took our picture. Anurita took the time to write out our names, but we were left on the cutting room floor! I guess no international press for us...
Later in the day we traveled to Reach Out Mbuya:
Part of the facilities.
Roselyn Nandawula, who works in public relations at Reach Out, showed us around.
Necklaces made by some of the members.
He came over to say hi and fell in love with Anurita's camera.
And then he wanted Ross' camera. He was sweet and pretty upset when we had to leave.
Our day ended with a visit to the National Repertory Theatre:
Uganda: pt 10 of ?: On the road to Kabale
ROAD TRIP!
We traveled by car for seven hours from Kampala to Lake Bunyonyi Overland Resort.
Our first pit stop was at a lovely shop. (Totally forgot the name of it).
Had a WONDERFUL latte.
Street Scene.
At a certain point this became our view. Absolutely gorgeous. Seemed unreal.
Making gravel.
A drive-by shot of another gravel pit.
And then we arrived at the lake.
Check in.
Pick up after yo'self, man!
Taking the luggage to the rooms.
>
My front porch.
Ketchup looked like jelly, but it was delicious.
After dinner, the rain rolled in.
Got pretty wet.
I sat on my front porch and fell asleep. It was very relaxing. Had a dream about bunnies.
The next day everything was all soggy.
A place to chill out.
Across the way, another resort.
This is Edison who works at the resort.
A snippet of our conversation:
EDISON: Where are you from?
ME: The United States.
EDISON: Ohhhhh. Where are your parents from?
ME: The United States.
EDISON: Ahhh. Do you have people from here?
ME: I don’t know.
EDISON: You have features that resemble the people from here.
ME: Really?
EDISON: Yes. It’s always nice to see someone who looks like us accomplishing good things. It makes me very proud.
Canoes lined up to tour the island.
This sign was next to 'em.
Of course I crawled my don't-know-how-to-swim-behind into one. Liesl promised to save me if I fell off.
The conductor.
Bon voyage.
A fellow traveler in the distance.
Back to the dock.
To a nice cup of tea.
We traveled by car for seven hours from Kampala to Lake Bunyonyi Overland Resort.
Our first pit stop was at a lovely shop. (Totally forgot the name of it).
Had a WONDERFUL latte.
Street Scene.
At a certain point this became our view. Absolutely gorgeous. Seemed unreal.
Making gravel.
A drive-by shot of another gravel pit.
And then we arrived at the lake.
Check in.
Pick up after yo'self, man!
Taking the luggage to the rooms.
> My front porch.
Ketchup looked like jelly, but it was delicious.
After dinner, the rain rolled in.
Got pretty wet.
I sat on my front porch and fell asleep. It was very relaxing. Had a dream about bunnies.
The next day everything was all soggy.
A place to chill out.
Across the way, another resort.
This is Edison who works at the resort.
A snippet of our conversation:
EDISON: Where are you from?
ME: The United States.
EDISON: Ohhhhh. Where are your parents from?
ME: The United States.
EDISON: Ahhh. Do you have people from here?
ME: I don’t know.
EDISON: You have features that resemble the people from here.
ME: Really?
EDISON: Yes. It’s always nice to see someone who looks like us accomplishing good things. It makes me very proud.
Canoes lined up to tour the island.
This sign was next to 'em.
Of course I crawled my don't-know-how-to-swim-behind into one. Liesl promised to save me if I fell off.
The conductor.
Bon voyage.
A fellow traveler in the distance.
Back to the dock.
To a nice cup of tea.
3.27.2008
Uganda pt 9 of ?
i'm typing from a public computer at Lake Bunyonyi. It's gorgeous
here, and I can't wait to load up the pictures! The 7 hour drive to
the lake offered a lot of great shots, too.
here, and I can't wait to load up the pictures! The 7 hour drive to
the lake offered a lot of great shots, too.
We hit the road to go to rwanda this afternoon. The drive is about an 90minutes.
3.25.2008
Uganda pt 8 of ?
I'll be awake long enough to post a few more pictures. I have to say, I'm glad I schlepped my laptop and camera here. I wouldn't be able to post everything when I return home. It would've been too much. As the days pass, as we meet more and more people, everything gets clouded. I'm starting to look at the posts to remind myself what I did and how I felt.
So, yay for technology and yay for blogging.
We rise up in a few hours and climb into a bus for an 8 hour drive to Lake Bunyonyi, close to the border of Rwanda. Our time in Kampala has come to an end. So crazy! We packed in a lot in a few days. Such as:
A visit to this grass roots organization founded by Beatrice Were.
We were greeted by a small group of women.
A few members of the drama program sang songs for us.
Fatima showed off the jewelry the women make.
During our visit more people showed up until we had a group of about 30. They discussed challenges they face in their communities and programs offered through the organization.
Later that day we went to Makerere University's Music, Dance, and Drama Department.
Dr. Mercy Mirembe Ntangaare, Dean of the Department.
Playwright and professor Patrick Mangeni spoke to us about the theater scene in Kampala.
He introduced us to theater artists all affiliated with the university (alums, current students, faculty). Listening to everyone speak, I was struck by everyone's passion. Drama can empower artists all over the world, huh?
Filmmaker Steven Nyeko.
Students discussing the kinds of theater they like.
Faculty discussing the audiences who go to the theater in Uganda.
Listening to the students made me think how small the gripes about American critics are, the gripes about the few slots, the gripes about regional hits. All of that stuff is a blip on the map of world-wide drama.
No joke.
I felt a lil lame trying to describe what goes down as an "American" playwright. Any way I look at it it seems incredibly silly to talk about American theater while I'm in Africa. I can talk about what I do, but I'm not so good at translating the establishment.
The good thing is the rest of the crew can talk about anything with anybody which gives me room to step back and listen, observe. I'm taking pictures, jotting down notes, chewing on bits of ideas and such.
So, yay for technology and yay for blogging.
We rise up in a few hours and climb into a bus for an 8 hour drive to Lake Bunyonyi, close to the border of Rwanda. Our time in Kampala has come to an end. So crazy! We packed in a lot in a few days. Such as:
A visit to this grass roots organization founded by Beatrice Were.
We were greeted by a small group of women.
A few members of the drama program sang songs for us.
Fatima showed off the jewelry the women make.
During our visit more people showed up until we had a group of about 30. They discussed challenges they face in their communities and programs offered through the organization.
Later that day we went to Makerere University's Music, Dance, and Drama Department.
Dr. Mercy Mirembe Ntangaare, Dean of the Department.
Playwright and professor Patrick Mangeni spoke to us about the theater scene in Kampala.
He introduced us to theater artists all affiliated with the university (alums, current students, faculty). Listening to everyone speak, I was struck by everyone's passion. Drama can empower artists all over the world, huh?
Filmmaker Steven Nyeko.
Students discussing the kinds of theater they like.
Faculty discussing the audiences who go to the theater in Uganda.
Listening to the students made me think how small the gripes about American critics are, the gripes about the few slots, the gripes about regional hits. All of that stuff is a blip on the map of world-wide drama.
No joke.
I felt a lil lame trying to describe what goes down as an "American" playwright. Any way I look at it it seems incredibly silly to talk about American theater while I'm in Africa. I can talk about what I do, but I'm not so good at translating the establishment.
The good thing is the rest of the crew can talk about anything with anybody which gives me room to step back and listen, observe. I'm taking pictures, jotting down notes, chewing on bits of ideas and such.
uganda pt 7 of ?
Ross Manson, artistic director of Volcano Theater company, has launched his own blog to capture our trip to Uganda. You can find it here.
As for my posts you will see new pics from Monday and Tuesday after I wake from my nap.
As for my posts you will see new pics from Monday and Tuesday after I wake from my nap.
3.24.2008
Uganda Pt 6 of ?: food & drinks
My first taste of Ugandan food happened here on Easter Sunday:
We shared a meal with Kalundi, a filmmaker, and Marie, an accountant. All kinds of situations unfolded which made it a memorable experience.
Monday evening we traveled to Lake Victoria to have dinner with Ugandan fiction writer Doreen Baingana:
I drank this:
And ate some of that:
And one side of this:
Which might explain my upset tummy....
We shared a meal with Kalundi, a filmmaker, and Marie, an accountant. All kinds of situations unfolded which made it a memorable experience.
Monday evening we traveled to Lake Victoria to have dinner with Ugandan fiction writer Doreen Baingana:
I drank this:
And ate some of that:
And one side of this:
Which might explain my upset tummy....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)