Family and friends have persistently inquired as to what tea fields look/smell like. So here I am, sharing my secret garden with you - what I have fondly termed as the green carpet of Uganda.
Fort Portal rests on the mountain side; and everywhere you look, the mountain seems to have hiccupped little rolling hills, each softly coated in rows upon rows of green tea. At three feet tall, the tea bushes are woven together; deceivingly giving the appearance of one monster of a bush. The leaves and small pods are plucked by machines and workers to be made into the tea that I drink at 0630 when I am mumbling about killing the neighbor’s rooster.
Narrow paths crisscross the fields. As I run down these paths, my shoulders brush gently along the bushes on either side. My feet fall soundlessly as the soft soil muffles each heavy step of my run. From afar, I am invisible from the waist down, as if wearing one endlessly flowing green skirt. My breathe catches as I trudge up another hill - the mountain air taunting my weak lungs. I inhale deeply and gag as three gnats fly straight up my nose. So much for smelling the tea fields.
Fort Portal rests on the mountain side; and everywhere you look, the mountain seems to have hiccupped little rolling hills, each softly coated in rows upon rows of green tea. At three feet tall, the tea bushes are woven together; deceivingly giving the appearance of one monster of a bush. The leaves and small pods are plucked by machines and workers to be made into the tea that I drink at 0630 when I am mumbling about killing the neighbor’s rooster.
Narrow paths crisscross the fields. As I run down these paths, my shoulders brush gently along the bushes on either side. My feet fall soundlessly as the soft soil muffles each heavy step of my run. From afar, I am invisible from the waist down, as if wearing one endlessly flowing green skirt. My breathe catches as I trudge up another hill - the mountain air taunting my weak lungs. I inhale deeply and gag as three gnats fly straight up my nose. So much for smelling the tea fields.
3 comments:
Thanks for the imagery - especially the bit about gnats in your nose. It sounds so beautiful!
Love,t
You look so happy, like Africa suits you and serving fills your heart. Thank you for the pictures both visual and literal. We have decided you should become a writer, bag that military stuff. Love you.
Dear Katie,
I am here with you Mom and I was so excited to see and hear all about your adventures. There is no question that you are one of God's angles...Your words and pictures are so enchanting. I am thinking of you and wishing you days filled with wonderful memories...
Love,
Anne Marie
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