Home Makeover: Uganda Edition

This title probably conveys a more dramatic change than what actually took place, but Becky and I were pretty pleased with ourselves with what we accomplished. I'll repost the pictures that I first took from our bare, waiting-room-like living room so you can fully appreciate the change.

On Friday we both felt more than a little dissatisfied with the un-lived-in feel still clinging to our house, so we resolved to spend Saturday changing it. After we met with a lady that will start as our house helper on Monday (which was my first interview to employ someone, and it felt weirdly blue-blooded), Becky and I attempted to find the fabric market. Neither of us had ever been. Apparently the boda drivers hadn't either, or at least didn't understand what we were talking about. We ended up at a very nice, but distinctly tourist focused craft market. Not exactly what we were looking for, but we came out with lovely placemats in any case. Also, I learned that if you really love your coffee, you can not only drink it, but also wear it in the form of jewelry. A coffee bean necklace may be the next addition to my jewelry box.

After calling for some directions from a fellow teacher, we ended up in the right part of town. We then proceeded to circle the block a time or two on foot, discovering an extensive vegetable market and several stalls selling lovely burkas and Korans, if you're into that kind of thing. Finally, after insisting to a random stranger several times that didn't need any pumpkins or papayas, he said he could take us to his sister's fabric shop down the block. This was after Becky had said, just for the heck of it, that we were German, not knowing this guy would ask so many questions about why we were speaking English to each other and why we sounded like we were from the UK. (?) Next time our assumed identities need to include an English speaking home country. 

Anyhow, we came to the shop, and they did have lovely West African wax dyed fabric. But after the shop owners had pulled out a dozen or so examples, only a few of which we had even been interested in, we decided to look in his family's other shop around the corner. While enjoying the drum group performing across the street, we picked this seashell fabric that fit with our emergent color scheme.

We also wanted some fun scraps to make pieced throw pillows for our couch, so we asked our guide if we could get any. He took us up to the tailor section upstairs in the market and showed us a bag full of very shiny, slippery, fancy fabric scraps from the formal dress popular here. When we asked if there were any cotton scraps, he said that was in a "different department" which happened to be just a few sewing tables down the aisle from where we were. After some negotiating, and taking Thomas's number for next time we need "anything at all," Becky and I left with a wall hanging, potential pillows, and intense thirst. It was really hot on Saturday.

Once home, we rearranged furniture and hung things on the walls. It's nothing that drastic, and we do still have the plastic packasport in place of a coffee table, but it feels at least a little more homey.

The Obligatory Before Picture that always comes in makeover shows:

Of course the batik on the left only stayed up for a few hours
 after this picture was taken, since it was held up with sticky-tack.
After that there was nothing on the wall.