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Friday, September 17, 2010

The Mango Trees are in Bloom!

(Note: post written on August 28, 2010)

Yes, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, the mangos are coming! It’s a beautiful sight to see the hundreds of trees around my village start to flower; not because it is appealing to the eye, but rather to the stomach! With each tree having the capability of producing hundreds, if not thousands of mangos, there will be a plethora of this delicious fruit in the upcoming months for all to enjoy! I doubt whether or not you are truly grasping the magnitude of the upcoming fruiting (I know its not a word, but it feels right so I’m leaving it). I’m told there will be such a surplus of mangos, that one won’t even be able to purchase them at the local market! This is due to the fact that anyone can pick a basin-full within minutes, while many more fruits will lie rotting on the ground due to the lack of takers. Now how did these mangos earn the prestigious and coveted title of my post (besides the fact that they are delicious)? Three words: GLOBAL climate change. Close to the time I arrived at site in April is the normal peak of mango season. However, for reasons unknown to the Ugandans, the seasons here are shifting, making life unpredictable and just that much harder (especially since a vast majority are sustenance farmers). I conveniently forgot to chime in about how back at home I, along with much of the “developed” world, drive a personal car everywhere, use an exorbitant amount of electricity, fill large bins with trash every week, support numerous unsustainable and environmentally unfriendly industries/companies/products... (the list goes on and on). Even though this 21st century buzz phrase has been on the tip of everyone's tongue for awhile now, living in a comfortable city/suburban setting doesn’t directly expose you to the consequences. Therefore, I find it quite interesting to see the affects happening to such an extent all around me. Alright, its time to take off my little hemp hippie hat and get back on track.

Now I’m sure all (two) of my loyal blog followers (thanks mom & dad!) want an explanation for my sorry excuse of a blog, and the lack of posts. Well, one critical factor is I’ve been gone from site (home) for three of the past four weeks. First week was due to illness; anybody heard of Rickettsia? Tick-bite fever? No? Me neither, until three weeks ago. Supposedly it’s a much tamer cousin of Lime’s Disease, contracted via the bite of an infected tick (surprise surprise). It consists of fevers (and the chills/night sweats that come with that), entire body aches (especially head), a rash, an infected lesion, and possibly more. I’m assuming I had a milder case of it (which I attribute to my superbly in-tune and strong physical body…), but Peace Corps was nervous because none of the local health centers could diagnose me. Therefore I was called into Kampala, where two health centers and two days of testing later, Doxycycline was prescribed and I was on my way to a full and quick recovery. However, only a couple days after returning to site, I was off again for two weeks of “In-Service Training”. Although somewhat boring, I was able to see many of my American friends, as well as have another bout with Giardia (that persistent punk). After popping some more pills, I was “A-Ok” just in time for probably my most epic weekend yet in Uganda: RAFTING THE NILE!!! That’s right baby, a full day of chasing hippopotami and crocodiles over class 5 rapids on one of the most famous rivers in the world! (For the sake of my mother’s heart, I’m going to come clean and admit there are no hippos or crocs on that part of the Nile, but it was still EPIC!!!) Just another incentive for any/all of you to spontaneously hop on a plane, fly across the world, and say hi!

So as you can see, I've been quite busy running around and fighting off disease. However, I'm thinking things might slow down now and I'll be able to regularly update this blog. So, a sincere thank you for all your patience in bearing with me. Please keep reading (and hopefully enjoying)!

Take care all.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Brennan,
    Though we haven’t met (at least not in your adult life anyway), you have met my husband, Dave Stefko, when he took you for a flight in his Cessna airplane out of Van Nuys airport. Now, it so happens that Dave & I live on the corner of your street on Canyon End since April of this year! Your mom has been good at keeping me posted on how you’ve been doing and sharing some of the grueling experiences you have had to endure. I just wanted you to know that you have been in my prayers and will continue to be. Thank you for representing the wonderfulness of our nation!

    With Heartfelt Sincerity,
    Janet Stefko

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  2. Im a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia. Im about to finish my service here and we wanna do some traveling. We plan to be in Uganda some time after mid January. Were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us.

    We dont really know many people who have traveled up to Uganda, so we dont really have any leads.

    What are the best things to do in Uganda?

    How much are Visas? Is there any special process we need to know about when buying them?

    Generally how much do food and travel cost?

    Can you free hike, or is that too dangerous? If not what are the general forms of travel, combi, bus, trains, something else?

    Where are the best places to stay?

    What else should we know?

    How many volunteers are there?

    We would appreciate any help you could give us. Please write me back at natebloss@gmail.com if you have time.

    Thanks,
    Nate

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  3. Hi Brennan--River rafting on the Nile sounds awesome as for having to fight all those bugs not so cool. Keep well. You're always in my prayers. Denise (currently in Gardnerville)

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  4. Hey Brennan- I always love reading your posts. Africa gets in your soul. Even though we did it the "Yuppie Way", I'll never forget my time there. The people and country never leave you. I am so proud of you for following your dream. Keep up the good work! I'm praying for this whole crazy world.

    Annette Hodge

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