The Reno: Part One.

Did I mention that my parents are remodeling their house? Well, they are. From 7:30 in the morning until 5:00pm we have a great team of construction specialists in our house. I think their mission is to make as much noise as possible. It probably is a man thing... or a construction thing. Anyway, they are all hard workers and it is amazing to see the progress they make every day.

This afternoon, after a respectful noon day break from the noise to allow me to have a phone interview without banging and pounding and jack hammers, I came upstairs and the electrician- who has a long pony tail, crooked smile, and jeans that proudly say "I'm a man's man- I work hard for my money"- opened his hands and said, "well- how'd it go!?" The four other men, none of whom I had met until that minute- stopped working, stared at me expectantly and wanted to know. This is shocking to me. Here are a group of men who have mastered a trade, who work hard for their income, and care about the people who live inside the house they are remodeling. Even the adult child of the people who are paying their salary for the day. In that moment, I felt proud. Proud to be a Minnesotan. Proud to be a citizen of the United States. Proud to know that there are people out there that know that finding a job today is hard, who are willing to take their lunch break so that someone can have an interview in peace, and then ask about it.

At the end of the day today, these men cheered because they got the gas line to work. They are proud of their work and I am proud to know them.

This probably will not be the last post about The Reno. It will be going on for another 80 days. Yes, I am counting. However today, despite the loud construction noises, I am thankful for a bunch of hardworking men who cared enough to ask me how my interview went.

Oven-Barbecued Asian Chicken

I love trying new recipes! For me, there is a challenge to find new recipes that incorporate healthy food in a new way. Over-Barbecued Asian Chicken was a recipe I had wanted to try for a while. It looked so yummy! My brother was in town a few weeks ago and he wanted to cook, so we went for it. My over all assessment was that it was not amazing, but still good. It does, however, satisfy your craving for Chinese food in a healthy way! Another alternative is to use the sauce in a stir fry, which I think might even be better! So here it is:

Oven-Barbecued Asian Chicken (GF)

Ingredients:
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Asian hot sauce, such as Sriracha, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (found it at Target!)
• 4 bone-in chicken thighs (1 1/4-1 1/2 pounds total), skin removed, trimmed
• 4 chicken drumsticks (1-1 1/4 pounds total), skin removed, trimmed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Notes: I used a double package of boneless, skinless chicken breast and doubled the sauce in order to cover the chicken well. Since I used chicken breast, the cooking time took about 30 minutes.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch (or similar-size) baking dish with tin foil and greece with butter.
2. Thinly slice 1/4 cup scallion greens; set aside. Mince the whites. Whisk the scallion whites, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, hot sauce and five-spice powder in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Arrange the chicken in an even layer in the prepared baking dish, meatier-side down. Pour any remaining sauce from the bowl over the chicken.
3. Bake, turning once halfway so the meatier side is up, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part without touching bone registers 165°F, about 1 hour. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and top with any remaining sauce from the baking dish. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and the reserved scallion greens (Note: My chicken only took 30 minutes to cook).

Nutrition:
Per serving: 361 calories; 16 g fat ( 4 g sat , 6 g mono ); 144 mg cholesterol; 11 g carbohydrates; 4 gadded sugars; 42 g protein; 1 g fiber; 547 mg sodium; 473 mg potassium.

Comments:
I didn't include the hot sauce or soy sauce so that probably changed the taste a bit. I think this is a recipe I will use once and a while, but not on a weekly basis.

Source: Eating Well, November/December 2011 Issue, Photo from Eatingwell.com

Happy

Happy. Can you be happy and yet stressed out? Maybe it is contentment? I am happy. I am happy where I am at. I am happy sitting in the coffee shop where I got my first job in high school. I am happy that while I sit here, my friends are working the bar, and people I have known my entire life stroll through the door to get a good afternoon cup o' joe. Happy.

Happy. Maybe it is because I feel like I belong. This is my place. My people. My culture. My coffee shop. This is where I have cried, worked, learned, sang, and contemplated life. This is, without a doubt, the hub of my community. Happy.

I am happily looking for a job. I am happily unemployed. I am happily drinking a cup of coffee. I am happily watching the high school girls wear sweatpants in style. (yes, MN teenage girls can pull that off). Happy.

Happy that I am here. Happy that I was born in this place. Happy that it is where I feel at home. Happy.

New York Times

I like reading the New York Times. It makes me feel sophisticated. I usually skim the headlines and focus my reading on the op-eds and the world news section. Today, however, I got to read an article written by a friend. So if you want, jump over and read her story of giving birth to an American child in a Muslim country on the anniversary of 9/11.

You can find it here.

Jubilee!

Every fall the churches in the area get together for a Jubilee celebration. Jubilee comes from the the Old Testament, or Torah, in Leviticus 25. I'll let y'all look it up if you want to read it here Leviticus 25

Our modern rendition of Jubilee happened this past week. People in the community donate stuff. Piles of clothing, food, furniture, and toys. Individuals who have a need for anything can come and choose what they want to take home. In addition to the stuff, there are also bounce houses for the kids, dentists for a free check-up and booths advertising for various services. My dear friend Beth has been involved with Jubilee since its inception. I have heard about the celebration for years but was finally able to take part!

Here is a bit of the crowds. There were lines and lines of people! It was incredible!

Beth's child, Cora was so happy to see her Papa (grandpa) and get a balloon! We had a lot of fun together.

Finally, here is my Mom and her friend Marcy. They have a free ESL class for women who want to improve their English. They had a both to advertise the class.

I am so glad to be in Minnesota and to be able to be part of our community's Jubilee!

Edith-My Friend

I said my first goodbye today. My dear friend, Edith, is on her way back to boarding school. Edith is a ball of energy! She loves to laugh, to sing, and to joke around. Her father married one of my coworkers. And as a result, they moved into the back house of the compound. It took some time to adjust to having an eleven year-old around the house. However, I am so glad she came to stay! Her early Saturday morning wake-up calls, through my bedroom window at 7:30am or her constant singing of high school musical songs brought joy to our home. Her love for pre-teen movies is pretty extensive and I have more than once had to relocate my work for her to watch Hannah Montana, Alvin and the Chipmunks or High School Musical. Oh- I also taught her how to make cut out Christmas cookies- she loved it!



Edith has a tender side as well. She cares about people. She watches and learns and repeats many things. She is able to organize and mobilize the older teenagers in her community very well. I also had the privilege of watching her get baptized this past weekend. I literally cried as this sweet girl professed her faith before her church.



So when January 31, 2011 came to be- it was very difficult to see Edith pack her things in a red suitcase, tenderly place her recent artwork in her backpack, put on her bright blue uniform and get into her father’s van. As I hugged her goodbye, tears strolled down my face. I know that I will see Edith again, and hopefully it will be before she is a Broadway star! However, Edith’s departure means that soon I will be boarding her father’s van with my red suitcase on my way to the airport.

Safari

Well, the lack of blog posts does not mean the lack of activity in my life. Things have picked up pace and I feel like I am living at typical American pace instead of Ugandan pace.

First off, I went on Safari. It was a blast! After a very long, and somewhat bumpy 6 hour drive, we arrived at Murchison falls in Northern Uganda. To a short hike and a view of this:



Afterward, we continued along our bumpy way to the base camp where we were promply greeted by these warthogs:


The next day, we were up and ready to go and saw the sun rise over the nile.


While impressive, the animals soon took priority as we saw these fellows:



And this guy:


And this one:




And nearly got attacked by this:



Back to base camp where we enjoyed a long lunch break. Only to be whisked away to the boat tour down the nile. Where I saw many crocodiles:



And Hippos:


And birds:



The finale was this:


The next day, we drove back to Kampala. However, we had to make a stop at the Rhino park. I was 10 feet away from this gal:



While waiting around for these crazy animals to do anything, I took time to capture the finer details of Uganda. Dew:


And that my friends, was the adventure of my Ugandan Safari.

What a week!

What a week! This week has been packed full! I thought that the end of the school year here in Uganda would free up more time, and somehow I am a bit more busy.

This week I have been working with one of the schools to push through a proposal to send 60 children and 4 teachers to a literacy camp. It is a great opportunity for them to spend time in books, learning how to read, and how to teach literacy! I am so excited about this opportunity for these children and teachers to soak in books!

In addition to this, my mom came to town! I went down to pick her up from Entebbe. We stayed at a fabulous hotel! Let me tell you, it was a wonderful break! I had amazing curry, spent the evening reading, and then took a car to the airport to wait for my mom. In the car, I met a man from Kenya who was there picking up a friend. It turns out, that we have mutual friends from Food for the Hungry. What a small, small world!

It has been a busy few days introducing my mom to the people I work with in each village/site. She made village scones, met some teachers who are working on the above literacy project, ate Ugandan food at a friend's home, had a dress fitting for a Ugandan dress, had her first ride on a bush taxi, went to the market, and enjoyed the first five episodes of season 4 Chuck. (I love Chuck...).



It is great to have her here, seeing my life and work. She has jumped right into life in Uganda and has no fear in trying different things! :)

Dancing

This past Thursday I went to Bulbandi to celebrate the end of the term and to say goodbye to the teachers. It was a glorious day!

The sun was so bright; the sky was blue and the clouds puffy white. Everywhere you look the rain has brought its magic to the land and as a result it is green. I was fortunate to sit in the front passenger seat on the way the way there and the way back. As a result, I didn’t have my typical view of African heads. Instead, I was able to watch the beautiful country roll by as I traveled to the next district (state).

On this ride, I realized (again) how beautiful this country is! The rolling hills full of maize, sugar cane, and tea plantations remind me of the drive through Wisconsin. It is this soothing rhythm of the fields swaying in the wind, the farmers working, and the children running about.

Arrived at my destination, stopped to buy some soda (FYI: I am sorry to admit I have officially converted from pop to soda) and the on my way to the school. This time, I directed my boda-boda driver where to go.

At the request of my teacher-friends, I also brought a mzungu cake- a nice, moist, chocolaty cake with real frosting. They LOVED it! They LOVED it! Well, it wouldn’t be too hard to impress these Ugandans with cake since their version is rather dry. We sat and reflected on the term, what they have learned, what they have accomplished, and their desires for the future.
After the students had completed the day’s exams, they assembled and began signing and dancing. Here I sat, under a tree, with a front row view of their performance. Picture small, Ugandan children, with their dirty school uniforms, mismatched sweaters and sandals, dancing and singing. I have often tried to figure out how to explain Ugandan dancing and singing. It is really quite difficult. Therefore, I have a short video which I will try to post at some point. My internet is just a bit too slow!


After the afternoon quickly passed, I had to leave. However, before I did I had a quick dancing lesson from the children. - A lesson on how to shake your hips properly. Let’s be honest, a white American really cannot shake her hips as well as any Ugandan in the world. However I had a lot of fun trying! One girl came right up, we were facing off, shaking, laugh, smiling, with a circle of children around us. Oh so much fun!

Back on my boda-boda to return to my taxi, back in the front seat, back to town. However on the way back, I realized that I felt at home. Being able to master transportation, on your own, in a new city/country is one way I mark my transition into a new place. Be it navigating the freeways of Southern California, or the skyways of Saint Paul, the Metro in D.C. or the taxi/boda-bodas of Uganda. Every time I realize I have mastered the transportation system, I feel content, happy, and glad to be where I am.