My Bike

I bought a bike and have started riding around the tea estate and out to our closest village, Kyarusozi. This will definitely give me a little more freedom and independence. I can only move about when the weather is nice, and I have to be home by dark, but I'm much happier. Relying on your feet as your only mode of transportation is quite limiting. I have a new found appreciation for my car and miss it terribly, even though I know the evils it causes to our environment. 

My new bike! It's really too small for me but I am getting used to it. There are no gears so rather than biking, I am coasting down the hills, pedal like mad at the bottom, then walking up the other side. It still cuts my commute times in half. 

Yes, I ride in dresses, and remember, showing your knees is taboo here, so I must be careful the wind doesn't blow up my skirt! I have not seen any other ladies riding bikes, only the men have bikes out here. I'm afraid I'm making a spectacle of myself, but I'm showing them that women can do anything men can do, including riding a bike. I should just wear pants too! Ah, maybe I'll be a rebel in baby steps. They still freak out at seeing a white person. Now they all stare in amazement at the white lady on a bike (they really can't believe I know how to ride). In a few months they can gasp in shock at the white lady on a bike wearing pants. Oh my, what will be next!

Oh yeah, that picture was taken at Hamukuku Primary School where I have started giving Life Skills lesson to the oldest classes of children. It is a very nice school, they keep it very clean. It is small, only about 30 students per grade at the P6 and P7 level (equivalent to our middle school). The kids in school grades here are all ages. Many children either start late or drop out then restart, so you'll find kids as old as 17 or 18 still in the primary levels. Sadly, that means that the majority never finish secondary school (high school), only 30% finish for boys and 12% for girls. It is no wonder there is a perpetual cycle of poverty. Only 12 out of 100 girls finish high school!!! The country needs to invest more resources into its youth and make school mandary and free. 

Back to the bike story... on my second day of riding my brakes were jangling and my seat fell off. Yeah, quality products are hard to come by in this country. Thankfully, there is a bike repair shop in Kyarusozi. It cost 500 shillings to tighten the brakes and 3,000 shillings to put new screws on the seat, totally about $1. Hopefully my bike will hold together and I will not have to give this guy too much business, but at least his prices are good. 

Of course, everywhere I go I am flocked by kids. I wonder if I will miss the attention when I get back to the states. Here, I am a celebrity... or an oddity. Either way, the kids are always happy to see me and that makes the rough days a little better.