How Was the Night?

HOW WAS THE NIGHT?

February 19, 2009

The night here is long and dark. The sun sets below our horizon about 710pm and by 730pm we are ensconced in total darkness. By 6am the darkness slowly begins to recede and although by 7am it is light, the sun remains obscured behind the mountain. First greetings from Ugandans in the morning are usually, how was the night? Initially my thoughts have been I think the night was fine, but I now realize that the question is really how did I sleep, did I survive the darkness and the chill of the night air and am I feeling well today?

The night wonders of nature and its beauty are exaggerated in the crispness of the air and sky here in eastern Uganda. The billions of stars are visible in incredible clarity. The Milky Way is prominent. Some familiar constellations are visible such as Orion and the Big Dipper. Venus has been glowing brightly in the eastern sky in early evening. The Southern Cross and the false Southern Cross are seen later in the evening. Our latitude here is about 2 degrees north.

As a month passes, you can really watch the phases of the moon, not only by looking at them in the sky, but by the brightness of the moonlight on the lawn and road. The banana leaves turn a silvery glow as do the roofs which are made from iron sheets. As you can imagine, the full moon light is stunning. One night we watched the moon rise from behind one of the highest mountains here, Nusu. We watched as the glow brightened behind the mountain top, and then as if pushed from below, a white crescent emerged only to be followed by a spectacular full moon. The noises of buzzing or singing insects is everywhere and I think I have heard some spring peeper like sounds. A beautiful background chorus to hear on my way to a pit stop-literally! So what can you say about the wonders of the night sky when asked, how was the night? Quite amazing…

As for the wonders of human nature, there are many answers to, ‘how was the night?’ The guest house where we are staying is situated just off the main street of the village, so without choice we see and hear a steady stream of pedestrian, animal and vehicular traffic. In addition to people of all ages this line of traffic may at any time of day or night include cows, goats, an occasional bull, bicycle bodas, motorcycle bodas, matatus, a rare private car or the giant of all, a blue construction truck barreling to its next delivery of rocks, stones, and almost anything that will fit in the truck and all its accompanying sounds. Our front veranda makes the ideal vantage point to observe this slice of life and part of day passing. Early morning (and at any time of day) there is a parade of jerry cans swinging lightly on the way to the water hole and then slower, a bit steadier and balanced on the way back. The jerry cans come in all sizes, depending on the carrier, but they start with the very young children carrying even the smallest container.

‘How were the noises of the night’? Saturday night produced a rumbling truck load of loud, singing and shouting party goers. Dogs start barking and somehow send a message in domino effect down the road until all dogs are joining in the alarm or answer- the dog chorus goes on for minutes. Every night there is the metallic echo of bolting or unbolting the door to go outside-perhaps for a short call in the middle of the night. One Friday we were in the unfortunate location to be right next door to an all night church meeting with singing and music ALL through the night. Another all night occasion was the neighbor who was chopping wood and playing a static-y radio through the night. We discovered the next morning that he had built a kiln of bricks to be dried by the heat of the firewood he had been chopping. We sort of wished we had a brick to throw at him! By 4 am the roosters are beginning their own chorus of sounds up, down and across the valley. Our local cock is as annoying as any snooze alarm which just will not quit. The cock-a-doodle-doos usually come at 20 minute intervals, just about when you might be dozing off again. This seeming echo effect goes on through the morning hours. By 5 am someone on either side of us rises to cut wood to burn or chop banana plants for their animals. In case we have slept through the roosters crowing, the first taxi comes down the road honking his horn at 6 am, alerting those who might be interested in taking the first matatu into Mbale that it is time for departing. Voices begin getting louder and louder from homes, radios and the road. There is no volume control here in Uganda, only loud! We know that there will soon be hints of color. The air is crisp and cool with the oranges and pinks of sunrise, quickly followed by the white clouds and blue sky. The sun appears about 710am, having scaled a fairly high mountain before becoming visible. So how was the night? Restful

The best sight and sounds of the morning? Seeing the eager students of Arlington Academy of Hope rushing, walking and running to school in their school uniforms of red and gray. Classes start at 730 am and we are a twenty minute walk (for me) up the hill to school. So now that we are fully awake and preparing for the day, really, how was the night? It was great!