Neighbourhood changes

We have been here long enough now that we are starting to see some changes in our neighbourhood. The garden across the road is on its third crop since we arrived- this time they are growing maize. The plants in our compound have grown so much since we arrived. We were looking at a picture of our apartment building that we took several months back and we can’t believe how different it is now- the vines have grown way up the building and are threatening to take over our balcony.
Other things in the neighbourhood have started to change as well. We were thrilled when we saw them start to put up a new tower a few months back. All the communication we use is mobile and so both our internet and our cell phones are very “hit and miss”. Sometimes you can get a great connection and sometimes you can’t get anything at all. We watched the workers as they worked very hard to get the new tower up and surprisingly, it was going up very quickly. But then, something happened- we don’t know what, but construction stopped and the tower has been sitting at this stage for the past few months.

It is hard to get a picture of the tower. On sunny days, it is too bright and on cloudy days, it blends into the clouds!

 The other change that has started recently is in the vacant lot behind our building. Since we arrived, we have had daily “visitors” back there- goats that come to graze for the day and then go back home for the night. We had gotten accustomed to hearing their voices as they called out- sometimes they sounded like children screaming. We always knew when the owner was coming to collect them at the end of the day by the sounds we heard. The owner would bring his dog, who would lay by the road while the man untied them all. Then the dog would run behind them, herd them up and follow them home. The goats would always start making this horrible screeching sound as soon as they saw the dog. This was often our entertainment for the evening (no- we don’t get out much!) We will miss agribition this year and our favourite event there is the stock dogs (where the dogs herd the sheep through a course and into a pen). So we figure this is the Uganda version of stock dogs- we are pretty easy to please and enjoy free entertainment (which is easy to come by around here- you just have to look out any window or sit on the balcony- ask Tanya about that!)

Anyway, back to the vacant lot. It seems as though someone is going to start building something on there at some point. This week two guys have started to work on leveling and landscaping the ground for construction (we assume). At home this would involve front end loaders, graders, etc. In Uganda, it means two guys with large hoes. They have made quite a lot of progress this week, but it is going to take a loooong time to clear that whole lot and get it ready for construction. I am told that it takes a few years (3-5 years, depending who you ask) to build a home in Uganda so I have no idea how long this will take. I am glad that our apartment is within walking distance to the guest house so we can come and check the progress on our next visits to Uganda.