Day 13 - How does a Canadian dance?

We’re back on the country road to Chegere SACCO.  This is the same place we went and couldn’t get there the second day due to the road.  That was the marketing cooperative and today we’re heading to the SACCO in the same town. 

The roads are better than they were but still not good – but the good news is that we were able to get through.  This is a new SACCO just formed in 2011.  Some of the same board members of the marketing coop are on the SACCO board so I’ve met them before.  That reminds me, I don’t think I told you that when we were at the marketing coop it was the first time I experienced eating with my hands.  It was a bit of a challenge because you put what they refer to as ‘soup’ on rice and pocho (a mixture made of maize flour and water) with a piece of some kind of meat.  It would be easier if you left out the soup as that’s what makes it messy. 

This is a great group; and they have such great senses of humour.  When we were on a break we headed outside because it gets so hot inside.  Once again it’s a very small cement room with no windows but just an open door for a bit of light and there are about 11 of us crowded in there.  For something different I put in the memory stick with my music on it.  Before you knew it we were dancing.  They wanted to see how Canadians dance and then showed me how they dance.  Solomon proceeded to jump up and down vigorously and we were all laughing so hard it was difficult to go back inside and finish our work.  When we did finish they wanted to do a presentation to me which was honey from one of the women’s bee hives.  It turns out it was the whole honey comb still attached to the stick that they use.  They cut it into small pieces and we all had a piece to chew on with the wax intact. It was very good and we were all very sticky. They put the rest into a container and put a label on it and we took it away with us.  They label the honey because they are interested in exporting it. 

We’re off onto the terrible road again to go back to Lira – luckily we made it.  Tomorrow we leave at 5:30 for Murchison Falls which is a game reserve about 2 ½ hours away.  We’ll meet the others there and go on a game drive as well as a boat trip on the Nile River to the falls.  So, I better get to bed.