Recapping the last few months

Sep 5th-6th I joined some fellow PCVs in Jinja for a weekend of bridge (yes, the card game)
Sep 7th The term began
Sep 25th-27th I traveled to Kenya
Oct 12th Senior 4 students began exams
Oct 24th-31st I was in Kampala for a Peace Corps training on life skills
Nov 5th Exams for S1, 2, 3 and 5 begin
Nov 9th Senior 6 students begin exams
Nov 27th Term ends, students get their report cards and everyone goes home
Nov 28th – Feb I’m still working on this bit but it will probably include some long drives, good food and tall mountains

Kenya: A good friend of mine’s father passed away. She’s the school’s bursar and a lecturer at Busoga University (who is also doing her masters and raising three kids…). So a group of people from the area went to Kenya for his funeral. First off her place is a long ways away. Migori – it’s basically in Tanzania. So we left at 7am, and arrived at 8pm. Many thanks to my aunt who sent me The Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - it was a great read and kept me entertained throughout. The scenery was pretty spectacular, changing from arid to cool and moist and back again. After arriving we stayed up for a while, greeting people and watching the dances. Most people started trickling home around 11pm, and I crashed in my sleeping bag on a wonderful patch of flat ground. I was gently woken around 1am for some supper and tea and then promptly fell back asleep.

Sunrise was early and beautiful. Her place is far away from any town so it was quiet and peaceful and flat. It reminded me of the southwest a little, though the plants were completely wrong. We tried to help in bits and pieces with the cooking and serving of food, but often as not we were politely turned away. Around 10am or so the ceremonies began with singing, dancing and rejoicing that Mr. Aketch’s soul had moved on. Prayers and testimonies were given by friends, relatives, and a politician or two. Unfortunately, we had to leave early to avoid traveling at night. I wish we could’ve stayed longer, the place was beautiful and the people very kind. We reached Kisumu around 7:30, scrounged some dinner (a lot harder than it sounds; we ended up with fries and bananas). Sunday was church, with a very interesting preacher...from Tucson, AZ. Go figure. Then a little shopping before heading back home.

Life Skills: we stayed in a nice hotel with good food, friendly people, and a pool! I went swimming about twice a day. We had some interesting discussions about what could and should be talked about, especially with Ugandan students. Should we talk about condoms? How about masturbation? How young? What can be done to discourage girls from dropping out of school? (My school has more girls in S1 but more boys in S4) We also played a lot of games that are supposed to encourage various life skills. If you know me, you know I had a lot of fun.

Exams: went well. I’ve finished marking Senior 5: the lowest mark was 24/80 and the highest 56/80 so not great, but not too bad either. I’ve started marking Senior 2 biology: two students got 19/20 on the multiple choice section! The short answers seem to have been more challenging, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

A Busy Week

So here's what I had wanted to post a while ago, but got foiled by incompatible systems...

Last Monday (Sep 7th) was the beginning of term and we jumped right into exams.
Thursday the Kabaka tried to travel to Kayuga, was impeded by Museveni and sparked riots throughout Kampala.

Friday we had a meeting about starting a garden at school.

Saturday was for laundry, cleaning, and gingerbread (I’d found molasses from the local waragi man!). Okay some explanation is needed there. Waragi is the local home brew made from millet and molasses and probably a bunch of other things that I don’t know about. It would been interesting to learn but I don’t like hanging around there too much (I don’t want to spoil my reputation…).

Sunday I went to church with Mr. Mbiro and attempted internet – which was out of power. I came back in time for chemistry with Barbara, bread, and more gingerbread. Then I stayed up late marking S2 papers and preparing my lesson.

Monday found us beginning classes and discussing the arrest of the librarian on charges of defiling an S2 girl (turned out he was innocent and had just offered the girl a place to sit when his neighbor wasn’t there. He was still in jail for 3 days), and a good rain for the first time in a while. I also picked up my package from Aunt Barby (t-shirt, book, National Geographic, puzzle, cat toys and Sees candy!).

Tuesday was laundry, digging, school, and then market day and a lot of wandering around town. I stayed up late watching The Wedding Planner and eating a Sees Candy Lollipop. Mmmm….

Wednesday I had my first math lesson (wonderful), got three banana suckers (used to grow new banana trees) from the head teacher, and had just sat down with Eva (a student) to talk biology when it started the hail! This turned into a downpour which lasted over an hour. We took refuge in the girls’ hostel where Matron (who runs the hostel) taught me some Lusoga.

Friday was math, after which a student walked up to me and handed me his assignment. In Braille. So, now I’m trying to learn Braille which is like learning code, so a lot of fun. We have two teachers at my school who are blind and they are both helping me to translate what my student writes and to learn how to read, write, and type Braille. At lunch I volunteered to join a poultry project. The garden project is underway - Madam Rebecca says the man with the plow will come tomorrow; Mr. Dhimbuzzi says some S5 students are interested and proposed Saturday for making a nursery bed; construction has begun on the chain link fence that they’re putting in near the guesthouse. This will hopefully the crops from the goats as we start a vegetable garden. I tried internet again with no luck, but had a wonderful evening with Madam Everline and Madam Hope. I found Peter at Christine’s when I came back, so I have now begun Braille lessons. It’s been quite the time, and we’re still not off ‘Stand fast’ from the riots last weekend.

9/19 –
We are now officially off ‘standfast’ and everything is calm. The plow man has still not come and many teachers went for burial today so there was no discussion with S5 students; the chain link fence has been put off until the chicken house is completed (hopefully Monday). So the gardening project is delayed, but should be back on track next week.

I'm okay

Last weekend there were some riots in Kampala surrounding a disagreement between Museveni, the president and the Kabaka, or king, of Buganda - the kingdom that Kampala is located in. This is just to let everyone know that I am fine and never felt I was in any danger. As I am in a different kingdom, the only affect I saw were some interesting discussions in the staff room.

I had written a longer post, but vista and XP are not compatible...

I hope you're all well.

Short Update From Mom

For those who’ve seen the news about riots in Kampala . . . they’re far away from Becky. The tribe/kingdom involved is not the one in her area, so her fellow teachers and townspeople don’t seem at all concerned. School has started, and addition to Biology, Becky is now teaching one class of 9th grade Algebra. Internet appeared in town, but then disappeared when the facility didn’t pay their electric bill, so news will be slow while she’s teaching.

The last few months...

First off, thank you so much to everyone who’s sent me letters; it’s wonderful to receive them and hear what you're up to. Though, talking to my Mom, I think only about 40% actually make it here. So, if I haven’t responded to your letter, it’s not because I don’t love you, but because I haven’t gotten it. Send me an email if you’re curious, that seems to be the most reliable means of communication. And we now have internet in town! So, I’ll have more regular email, and when the fiberoptic cable makes it here from Kenya I’ll have faster and cheaper email.

I’ve been pretty bad about actually posting anything. I have, however, kept some updates on the computer that my school is so kindly letting me use…

7/28 – Our visitors from England have come, and gone. The expansion to the guest house (where I live) was finished just in time, the windows were put in on Sunday, the paint on Monday, along with lights and a thatch ceiling. Tuesday was a hectic day of cleaning, ironing and preparing the place. Wednesday at 6 AM some girls from the hostel brought over beds and mattresses. Then came making the beds, hanging the mosquito nets, and preparing lunch. By 1:00 PM, 18 students and 5 teachers from our link school in England had arrived.

They were here for one week, during which time they visited the local primary school and health center, painted a mural, helped put in a cement floor in the technology block (which formerly housed S.1 students, until the new block opened for them a couple weeks ago). They’re hoping to move the tailoring room and computer lab over within the next year, as well as bringing in a welding shop and carpentry shop. Soon you won’t have to leave school for anything; all we need is a garden. They also observed classes, talked with the S.5 and 6 students, and partook of silly games such as: sack race, three-legged race, egg race, banana eating competition, and so on.

8/3 – I came a across pink chicks today. I’m not talking rosy pink, but full on Easter-egg pink. I guess it scares away potential predators. I would’ve thought it would attract attention. Although pink isn’t very appetizing-looking. I also got a lemon from a young girl who lives nearby, and had a wonderful evening walk. During the walk a bicycle man got mad at me for not getting a ride from him. I don’t know enough Lusoga to be able to point out that getting a ride would defeat the whole purpose of the journey. I did find some nice side paths. It’s hard to find much here that isn’t straight out and back. So it’s a small side loop, but it’s a loop, and it’s off the main road.

Oh, and grading is depressing. Especially when students are getting scores of 20-60%. That’s about average here (they don’t have grade inflation like we do…), but I can’t be nonchalant about a student completely missing half the questions on topics we covered half a dozen times in class.

8/15 – The term has finally come to an end, the students have gotten their reports, and I’m on holiday for three days and am using the time to visit Jinja (internet, ice cream and friends), Mabira Forest (relaxing) and Kampala (shopping). Tuesday I’m heading back to begin extra holiday lessons for the S.4, 5 and 6 classes. Unfortunately, I’ll only be there for a week before we have training for Peace Corps: one week of technical training and one week of language training.

Tara (my adorable kitten) is growing quickly – she’s now comfortable both in and out of the house, especially at night. During the day she stays pretty close to the house, but at night she wanders all over the campus. I’ve been trying to keep her inside as I’m worried she might get into trouble, but after seeing her scare off a goat 10 times her size I’m starting to think she can take care of herself.

We’ve also been undergoing a change of housemates. Madam Rita (English teacher, Hostel Mistress, and mom extraordinaire) and her kids (Fred, Jerry, and Gladys) moved across campus to a new house closer to the girls’ hostel and Madam Rhoda moved in with her two girls. I really miss Madam Rita and her kids, but luckily they’re not too far away.

8/20 – So, I finally bought a hoe and have started my garden. Thanks to my wonderful parents and a very kind PCT, I now have a large selection of seeds: tomatoes, lettuce, squash, soybeans, corn, spices, and even some flowers. If you add in the beans, g-nuts (peanuts), green pepper and pumpkin seeds I have, I’m going to have a diverse garden (hopefully). I hoed up a chunk of land outside my house this morning (to the amusement of many students and local children), bought some papyrus mats, and am hoping to make a fence this evening, finish hoeing tomorrow, and plant the seeds tomorrow night. If I’m really lucky it’ll rain tomorrow night, and not tonight…

8/24 – The fence is finished, with a lot of help from my neighbors. And by a lot, I mean I basically did nothing. In the end I paid a gentleman to make the whole fence – about 30m around. For $5. The mats and wood for poles cost $12. So now I’ve planted corn, pumpkin, squash, sunflower, carrot, lettuce, arugula, and am hoping to add tomatoes, beans, g-nuts, and maybe even a couple banana trees when I get back. And I want to start a spice garden, but that might have to wait for a bit.
Everyone at school is finding it hilarious that I’ve started a garden, and even more entertaining when they see the size. One teacher asked if it was a demonstration garden. Here, when they say they’re going to plant cassava, or beans, or whatever, they mean an acre or two. So my tiny plot with a dozen different things is, unusual. But then, I’m not trying to feed a family of 8, nor planning on selling it in the market.

Not too much else, things are quiet here over the holidays.

Thoughts

So, here's what I've been pondering the last month or so:

It’s well known that culture shock has stages. Upon arriving in Uganda I was stuck by how different everything was – a developing country in the tropics looks a lot different than DC or Colorado. There’s the small girl who at home would be playing with her dolls but here is carrying around her baby sister. Or the gaggle of kids that are out to collect firewood. How many kids do you know who are willing to spend the day collecting firewood to make supper and grasses to make brooms to sell? How bout a group of 10 kids running away from a kitten in terror? Or a two year old kneeling to greet you. Not to mention the everyday differences: local markets instead of grocery stores, basins and good ‘ol elbow grease instead of washing machines, skirts instead of trousers.

Even when I’m shopping the man who will try to sell me an old sheet for $5 will sell me a handmade basket for 75 cents and think he’s ripped me off. I miss every other social clue (sometimes I’m sure everyone here thinks I’m a bumbling idiot), and often find my self asking “what did you say?”, “what do you mean by that”. It’s one thing to say we all speak English, but another to realize how many colloquialisms are in a language. Here if someone offers you something, and you say “that’s okay, don’t worry about it” they’ll hand it right over. “How’s home?” has come to mean “how’s your family?”. And a ‘yes’ can be indicated by the raise of an eyebrow.

Yet, after spending time with Ugandans I came to the firm conclusion that people are the same everywhere. We all laugh and cry; people gossip; some are talkative, some are quite; parents worry about their kids; kids shrug off their parents; students think teachers want them to fail; teachers feel bad when their students fail.

Now, however, I’m realizing that we’re not all the same. Many things are similar, but there are core beliefs that everyone holds, and while they vary person to person, they vary a lot between cultures. Sometimes it’s little things, like realizing the word for ‘wife’ in Lusoga is ‘cook’. Or that it’s assumed that, as a Muzungu, I must 1) have lots of money and 2) want to give it to everyone who asks. This is a misconception brought about by the fact that most Muzungus who come here bring a lot of money, and are more than happy to give it away (not that I blame them, there really are a lot of people here who need the money, I just hate the stereotype).

Other things are a bit harder. Like sending children, “go to town and get me tomatoes” or “you, student, go pick me a chair”. It really bothered me at first because that’s not how we treat children, or students, at home. And, yet, aren’t a lot of our kids spoiled? We treat our children as equals, and yet they aren’t. We still expect them to listen to us, do as we say, and not argue, too much.

In some ways I think it ties back to language. At home every child knows that the proper way to ask for something is “may I please have____”. In Lusoga it’s simply “mpaku ____” where ‘mpa’ means ‘give me’ and ‘ku’ makes it polite. Here the please is implied. And when you think about it, how much choice does a child have if their parent says “will please carry this?” We may insert the words ‘will you’ and ‘please’ but they’re basically just formalities. Yet, having grown up in America, it’s really hard for me to get used to not hearing ‘please.’ It’s so small, but it can really bother me. Just give me time though. By the time I come back I won’t be saying please and will annoy everyone.

But, outside of language, more is expected from children here. We don’t expect our children to cook, clean, and iron, while we relax from a hard day and catch up on the news. Yet, doesn’t that encourage independence? How many students at home make it all the way to university before learning how to cook or clean? And we have it easy. Cooking does not involve lighting a fire or a charcoal stove; washing clothes just requires pushing a few buttons; water comes out of the tap fresh and ready to drink. Our children can read textbooks, pass exams, navigate a computer and the internet, but can they live on their own?

Children here can wash clothes, fetch water, take care of the baby (ever seen a 6-year-old looking after her baby brother?), and yet they can’t read a textbook (which is written in their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th language) and so call themselves ‘backwards’ and ‘poorly educated’.

Who’s to say they’re not forwards and we’re backwards?

That’s a bit of what I’ve been pondering, as well as how to help students to not fail their exams. Anyone with suggestions about how to teach 50+ students who have no time to study, no textbooks, and who understand only about 75% of what I say….I’m wide open to suggestions. We’re covering insects (butterflies, house flies, mosquitoes, and bees) and hopefully some ecology next term. I’m also picking up one stream of mathematics, also S.2, which should be a lot of fun. I think I’m finding that while I prefer studying biology, I prefer teaching mathematics. At least there I’m on solid ground and there’s less memorization involved.
P

Kitten! and other exciting things

So, it’s been a while. I’ve had limited internet access, but I’ve also been at a loss for what to write.

So, the basics. I have a kitten! She’s almost 3 months (born April 4th), and her name is Tara. She is extremely friendly, though has decided that my mosquito net is perfect for ‘chasing’ especially at night, and that books are great for scratching, or sleeping on. Which is adorable, except when I’m trying to use them for lesson plans. I’m so glad to have her though; I never realized how lonely it is to be by yourself so much. My neighbors think I’m a little crazy, though the youngest, Jerry, just adores her. He loves animals of all kinds, and she’s a small tiger to him. He’s still a little nervous around her, but they’re both getting used to each other.

The other news is that the school has a guitar. I just got a tuner in Kampala, and some sheet music and a book with some chords. I’ve managed G, C, D, A, and E so far. It takes me about a min to go from one chord to the next, but with those five chords I can play Wagon Wheel, which my neighbors will soon be very sick of. It’s a really calming to be able to play when I have downtime, and is a little bit of home.

My house is currently ‘under construction’. They’re putting a sizeable addition onto the back portion (a sitting room, bathroom, and two bed rooms) as well as an outdoor kitchen and a latrine (which I love, by the way. I’m sick of how much water the flush toilet wastes). I’ve never seen a building go in so fast, the whole thing from start to finish is going to take less than a month, and that includes digging the pit latrine, by hand. The rush is due to the fast-approaching arrival of 15-20 secondary students and their chaperones from our link school in England. They’ll be in country for a couple of weeks and will spend a week or so at the school; going to classes, doing some projects, eating Ugandan food, and getting to see the area. It’s the talk of the school. That and the athletic competitions, Minister of Education’s visit, netball tournament, mock exams, and the head teacher’s trip to the U.K. It’s been pretty busy, to say the least.

Athletics: each term has a different ‘sport’. 1st term was ball sports (netball, football, and volleyball), 2nd term is athletics (track and field) and 3rd term is music and drama (because the candidate classes – S.4 and S.6 – sit exams in November, and I guess music and drama take less time from studying…something like that). For each sport there are interhouse competitions (we have 6 houses, kinda like Harry Potter houses). Houses send their best students to each race; the winners go to district competitions and from there to national competitions. For sports like football, I think they pick the best players to represent the school, though I’m not sure as that was back in Feb/Mar before I got here. Anyways, this meant a field-day-esq event with 100m, 200m, 400m, 5km, 10km, 4X100m relay, 4X400m relay, javelin, long jump, high jump, discus, and some other events I don’t remember. It was a lot of fun, but scary to see the students after the long races. They couldn’t stand on their own, and had to be carried to the table to report their placement. The students barely train for the events, most don’t eat lunch, and they’re running in the hot sun. These are tough kids.

Minister of Education: there are two new blocks that just got built for the S.1 students in our school. With USE (see earlier posts), the number of students is increasing rapidly, and so the school got government money to build new blocks. Friday (6/26) the Minister came and was part of a big opening ceremony for the new buildings. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend due to an All Volunteer Conference (which was awesome, so while I was really bummed to miss out, it was worth it). So, I have no clue how the whole thing went. I was sorry to not see the minister. She’s been in office forever (since Obote, if not Amin, which is 20+ years) and is supposed to be really good.

Netball tournament: just like the football tournament, though closer (Mbale, opposed to Fort Portal). So, netball: the best way I have found to describe it is ultimate Frisbee with a basket ball, on a basketball court, except the hoops don’t have back boards. At least, that’s what I understand so far. I still haven’t gotten to play, and don’t know all the rules. A lot of the football girls also play netball, so they haven’t been playing football at all. I talked to one of the girls, and I’m hoping to start up with them this week, now that netball will be over. Maybe 2-3 days a week for a couple hours? We’ll see how it goes.

Mock exams: They’re for S.4 and S.6 to start preparing them for the exams in November. Kinda like we take PSATs, except that they’re written by teachers. So, a lot of the teachers are busy writing the exams, and all the candidate classes (I’m not sure whether S.5 students take mocks, hmmm…) are busy studying. My neighbors – Barbara, Jennifer, Oscar, and Dennis work so hard. They’re up at 5 studying, mop at 6, go to school around 7, come home 5/6ish, clean, cook, and go for night preps (studying) around 7/7:30, and then got to sleep around 10/11. And the candidate classes study on the weekends, so they have almost no free time. They make me feel lazy.

All Volunteer Conference: 3 full days of sessions on everything from HIV/AIDs to TAP (technology against poverty) to alternative discipline to grad school and everything in between. Many of the sessions were run by PCVs, which meant they were very applicable to what we’re doing. And just talking to the PCVs who’ve been here a while about their experiences and how they’ve dealt with various situations was very helpful. We also got to stay at this posh hotel with a swimming pool. And hanging out with other PCVs is always a good time. The people here are wonderful.

Anyways, this post has gotten really long, and I’ve been sitting as this computer for way too much time. Hellos to everyone! Please do send me letters/emails/whatever, I feel out of touch with what everyone’s up to.

Becky Starts Teaching

It will be a couple more weeks before Becky gets reasonable internet access so I thought I’d update the blog with some general facts.

Becky has now been teaching for two weeks. She has a couple of classes of introductory biology (9th grade), ecology (12th grade), and genetics (13th grade – it’s a school based on the British system). The Ugandan school system has required some adjustments, but she seems to be enjoying the teaching. Teaching and class planning and preparation have kept her very busy.

Becky’s also settling into her house. She’s been shopping for things such as shelves and glass jars with lids to store food. Cooking is mostly on a propane stove, but she found a charcoal burner which she uses for baking bread (in a Dutch oven) and other things that take a long time. This week’s culinary accomplishment was making peanut butter with a friend – starting with “g-nuts” which were dried, roasted, and smashed with a mortar and pestle. A mortar and pestle are now on her shopping list.

Barbara

SESEMAT Training

So I’ve spent the last 10 days or so in Iganga for SESEMAT training. I actually have no clue what SESEMAT stands for, but it’s put on by the Ministry of Sports and Education in partnership with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) which is the Japanese equivalent of Peace Corps. There were 148 teachers from all over the area that were there for the 3rd in a 6-cycle training. They were kind enough to let me jump in during the 3rd cycle, as the 1st cycle isn’t being offered till the next holiday (August). We split up into subject groups early on and spent most of the time going over various topics in the curriculum. We discussed the material, tried out some hands on activities and then came up with a lesson plan for the material. We got to try out the lessons on some willing volunteers from local schools who came for some experimental lessons on their holidays. We tried the lesson once, then met and critiqued it – discussing what went well, ideas for improvement, etc. Then, another teacher gave the improved lesson to a new group of students in the afternoon.
The two main topics we covered were genetics and support and movement. I learned so much about bones – I’m not sure I’ve ever looked at vertebrae that closely. We looked at the articulating surfaces where the ribs join, and it was a lot of fun trying to piece together the skeletons (mostly goat and chicken, I think). Then we went out and looked at this plant, Mimosa pudica, or sensitive plant. When you touch it, it moves! It folds up its leaves, so it looks like an unappetizing, dried-up plant. Pretty cool.
Genetics was another matter though. It’s not taught until 11th/12th grade here, so it becomes a big challenge to teach DNA structure, Mendelian genetics, and even some non-Mendelian genetics all within about 4 weeks or so. It’s been interesting to see the differences in the structure of biology education here versus the US. A big one is the focus on content opposed to concepts. But sometimes more challenging is how different the structure of the curriculum is. My learning of biology was based on knowing the structure of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids (DNA), moving from there to cell structure and function, and then onto reproduction, genetics, evolution, ecology. Or something like that. Here there’s more focus on classification, structures of plants and animals, reproduction, nutrition, the bigger picture biology in some ways. Which makes sense in a very agriculturally-based society, it’s just hard for me to adapt and figure out new ways of teaching material. I’ve realized that I default to how I was taught, which isn’t useful when teaching students with completely different educational backgrounds.
It’s not that one system is better than another – they’re just different. Okay, I like the concept-based approach, but I’m really interested to learn more about how the curriculum is organized. It’s just challenging to restructure how biology ideas are organized in my head….
Anyways, I haven’t had much luck with internet due to busy days, and the inadvisability of traveling at night. I’m borrowing another PCV’s computer who is being kind enough to let me use his internet. I’m headed back to site today, and am honestly looking forward to getting home. Which is a nice feeling.
The term starts on Monday, though the students will be in beginning of term exams for a week or so. So, my co-teacher and I will start lesson planning on Monday. Then things should start getting pretty busy. I’m looking forward to having classes to teach. That’s about it for now. Hopefully it won’t be so long until the next post…

I have a home!

So, it’s been a long time. I’m finally at site, and loving it! I’m at a large secondary school of over 1,000 students in S.1 through S.6. It’s near the main road and a town, so it’s not far from transport, or food. I have a mango tree in my front yard, a view of the soccer pitch, wonderful neighbors, electricity, a flush toilet, and ‘running’ water. The tank that supplies my water is refilled everyday by three men who bicycle 15+ 20L jerry cans from the bore hole, and then pull them up about 4m using a rope and dump them into the tank. So, I’m trying to avoid using the tap for anything but flushing the toilet and bathing. Though, I’m going to get another jerry can and try to just use the water for the toilet. As I don’t want to do them out of a job, I may just ask them to fill a jerry can a day. Then at least they don’t have to lift it all the way up there.

I love my house and my neighbors. I’m living in the guest house, which has been built through additions over the years. There are two other teachers living in the main section of the house (my section was a later addition, I think). One, Christine, teaches Christian religious education (CRE) and history, and has become my morning running buddy. She is from Teso (Soroti and Kumi area) and speaks 5 languages! The other teacher, Rita, has 3? children at home at the moment, two young boys (Fred and Jerry) and a girl in S.5?, Gladys (sp?). Just across the way is Mr. Okot who lives with his two daughters, Jennifer (S.5?) and Barbara (S.3?), twin sons Michael and Dickens (Dick) and a nephew (who’s name I feel horrible for not remembering, but I think he’s in S.5 or S.6). Oh, and Derek, a boy who’s family lives in town and who goes to school in Jinja, but he’s home for the holiday. He loves books, doesn’t matter what they’re about – history, health, biology, Lusoga - he just sits and reads and asks questions. And he speaks very good English (he said his father got him a dictionary when he was younger and he’s been doing ten words a day since, which made me feel bad about my 5 Lusoga words a day). The catch with there being about 40+ languages/dialects within Uganda and teachers going where they’re put by the government is that most teachers don’t speak Lusoga (Lawrence speaks Luwo, and Christine Ateso). So, Derek has been very helpful in teaching me some Lusoga. As have Rita and Christine, who do speak Lusoga, though not fluently.

The school is on holiday at the moment, though some of the teams – netball, soccer (both girls teams!!!!) and chorus are around practicing. The soccer team left early this morning for a tournament, and the netball girls go sometime in June. Also, the S.4, S.5, and S.6 classes (who are rapidly approaching the national exams given in November of S.4 and S.6) are around for optional study session. At least, some of the students are. So, the school isn’t too quiet, and I’m getting a relaxed introduction to teachers, students, staff, and the town.

The town is relatively decent-sized. There are some gas stations, a small food market,and a large market (think flea-market, with food, clothes, household items, etc.) on Tuesdays. Everyone has been so nice, though I’m much more comfortable talking to the women. The conversations rarely last long (my Lusoga needs a lot more work before I can hold an intelligent conversation), but I’m slowly getting better. The children help a lot – I have a following of 5-25 every time I walk through town, and one of the shop keepers sits me down when I visit and teaches me a few new words. Friday she gave me an avocado. That’s something I’ve noticed here. Even people who don’t have much will give so much. My first night at site I was served a delicious meal, and given tea, coffee, bread and butter – just to start me off. The other night Fred came over with some greens Rita had made. Gladys brought me a chapatti she made one night, and another night Fred brought me mushroom soup he’d made from a mushroom he found (he knows what he’s doing – it was delicious!). Elizabeth, the office assistant, sent me a bag of avocados from her tree and Evely (sp?), the school accountant, is providing me with milk from her cow. Which, after much protestation, I’ve been assured I will not be paying for (it should be about 20 cents/day for the 500mL).

Speaking of which, I made cheese! Okay, so it was completely by accident, but it tasted almost like ricotta and was delicious. The milk come fresh every evening, and I usually boil it, have a cup with some spices (pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, basically Chai, yummy!) and then make oatmeal with the rest the next morning. Well, I wasn’t in the mood for tea, so I left the milk during the day, and then without thinking about it, poured in the new milk and put it on the stove to boil. Not long after starting to cook it had completely separated. I tasted it, and it didn’t taste sour, so I pulled out the PC/U cookbook and looked up how to make cheese – first steps accomplished! I just let it cook a little longer, drained it through cheese cloth (luckily such strainers are common for making passion fruit juice), squished it a bit, and ate it with greens and avocado. Delicious!

That’s about it for now – more later. There’s a SESEMAT training in Iganga in May, so I’ll have a more reliable internet connection, at least for a little bit. I hope everyone is well, and many apologies for not writing more. Oh, and many, many apologies for my horrible grammar...

I have an address!

Rebecca Poore
P.O. Box 136
Busembatia, Uganda

Becky's Arrived at Her Posting

Becky is at her posting, and we spoke with her on Saturday. She’s living on campus, in a guest house. There are several other rooms in the guest house, with other teachers as residents. There’s a space in front of her house with marigolds growing. Becky asked about planting a vegetable garden, but roaming cows, goats and chickens create a problem. There is a chance for a fence sometime in the future.

Becky arrived at school just in time for the delivery of report cards, and the students leaving for a month. She’ll spend the time before they return settling in and taking two weeks of training along with other Ugandan teachers in her district.

Becky’s assignment will primarily be to teach S-2 (9th grade) biology, which will include nutrition, plants and animals, transport of water and nutrients, and some other things. There is a standardized curriculum with standardized tests. She’ll be teaching four classes. Also, she has a part of the classes for S-5 (12th grade) covering ecology-related topics, with an ecology project, and S-6 (13th grade – it’s a British-system school) covering evolution.

The school was private, but is now public. The S-5 and S-6 classes are small – about 15-20 students. These students started before universal education started and pay higher fees. Some of these students are up to 30 years old, having interrupted school to work and save money to pay the fees. The S-1 and S-2 students have come up under the universal education program, pay only about $5 per term, and will continue to pay these lower fees through S-6.

The school is very near town and Becky is starting to learn the local shops. One of the staff, an accountant, will take her into town on Tuesday for the full tour. One of the goals is to get a Post Office box; stay tuned for a new mailing address. Also, Becky hopes to find the local internet café.

Food is an area of even more interest now that Becky’s cooking for herself. Milk, about a pint, is delivered daily, for 20 cents. From, she’s told, a “good cow.” Milk has to be boiled before drinking. She’s made yogurt, which “kinda-sorta worked.” Some food is very inexpensive: greens and bananas 5 cents, avocados and tomatoes, 10 cents. Oil and butter are somewhat more expensive. Sugar, and anything containing it (candy, cake, etc.), are much more expensive and are a real treat.

The economy is pretty much cash, and banks are expensive to use. Becky’s stipend goes into a Ugandan bank. An ATM transaction is 35 cents (more if you use a teller inside), which is relatively high compared to local prices. And interest rates on loans can reach 25%.

Barbara (Becky's Mom)

Winding down training, and a trip to Jinja!

So, it's been a while. The internet in town has been down for about 2 weeks now (I think they were switching internet providers), though it just came back Friday! I'm in Kampala at the moment - the Country Director (CD) is having a small Seder at his house tonight, which should be fabulous. Matzoh, haroset, horseradish, and good company; what more could you want? And for those who pay attention to these things, I know that Seder was supposed to be Wednesday night, but it’s more convenient for everyone to come to Kampala on the weekend.

Let’s see, what we’ve been up to the last couple of weeks….we had so many interesting technical sessions recently. One was on starting a Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) which was very helpful, and seems like a great program. They have great return rates (30-60% in a year) and offer people low interest rate loans (10%, whereas the interest rate for loans from banks is around 25%). Most VSLAs also have an emergency fund which is kept separate and added to equally and can be accessed any time for doctors fees, funeral fees, transport fees, etc. Basically, a small, local insurance agency.

Another was on building a “Rocket Stove” which cooks food more efficiently, and uses wood which is much cheaper than charcoal. (see the picture, and my mom’s post – she described it well. Many thanks, Mom!). Let’s see….oh, we also had a couple PCVs who are currently teaching in secondary school come and talk to us about teaching here in general, and specifically about alternative disciplines. There aren’t many secondary teachers here yet, as the program only started a year ago, so it was really nice to finally talk to PCVs working in the same area.

We also got to talk with representatives from two non-profits here in Uganda: Straight Talk and Raising Voices. Straight Talk focuses on HIV and AIDs youth education through radio, newsletters, clubs, and face-to-face interactions. Raising Voices focuses on violence against women and children. They’ve been working in Uganda for over 8 years, and have seen significant changes in the social climate in terms of violence against women. They’ve only recently expanded to children, and some of the numbers he gave us were astonishing: almost all children in Uganda have been subject to at least some form of violence, 20% of girls have been raped, and ~15% of boys have been sexually abused. Both groups sound like they’re doing amazing work, and had some really good advice for interacting with students and encouraging teaching of life skills as well as specific knowledge to both students and teachers. I could go on about both, but their websites are probably more helpful: http://www.raisingvoices.org/ and http://www.straight-talk.or.ug/

There were many other tech talks, but this is starting to get really long….we learned about the National Curriculum Development System, sports in school, how to smoke a latrine (very practical), and sundry other useful topics.

Outside training, we’ve been getting some good group bonding time. We had a ‘sleepover’ last week, with about 12 girls all crashing at Amy’s house for the night. We cooked pasta, made guacamole, no-bake cookies, and watched a movie. Then, yesterday, we spent a day traveling to different sites in the Jinja area – Mbarara Forest, Sezibwa Falls, the source of the Nile, and Jinja town itself. I really liked Mbarara Forest. We went for a nature walk and I finally got a chance to pull out my binocs and bird book. Unfortunately - it was almost noon - so the birds were hard to find. We did see a Black-and-white-cassqued Hornbill, but I ended having much more luck with birds at the Nile. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable about the birds. He could ID almost every call we heard. I can’t wait to go back for a more extended visit. The Nile was fabulous – there was a strong, cool breeze over the water, and lots of birds – Egrets, Cormorants, Herons, Pelicans. It was nice to just sit and enjoy being outside (which is weird to say as I spend so much time outside here…). It was so tempting to just jump in, but the current was strong, and there’s a lot of schistomiosis here, so it sounded like a bad idea all around. Jinja town was really nice, though it’s very obviously a tourist town – extremely clean, and filled with foreigners. It was slightly unnerving, actually. I think I’m beginning to understand why everyone says hello, or at least acknowledges our presences in some manner. We really do stand out.

As per questions (from my Dad, but I figured they were good questions): 1. Our instructors here are almost all Ugandan, though PCVs and NGO workers who come to give talks usually are not. 2. We have had very limited contact with the US Embassy. I think because both sides are too busy, but also because PC wants to keep us as unconnected from the rest of the US government as possible.

That’s about it, I’m off to the Seder, and this is getting long. I finally managed to get some pictures uploaded, yay! I hope everyone’s well. Hellos to all!

A bit of News

Talked to Becky on the phone this morning. Internet has been out for a couple of weeks in her small town, so she hasn't been in touch with anyone. Posting information will be coming next week -- probably Wednesday the 15th. Then the following week it's time to move! Monday to Kampala for meetings, Tuesday a meeting with her counterpart from her posting, and Wednesday on to the real adventure.

On Saturday, Becky will head to Kampala with one of her fellow Trainees to join the Peace Corps Country Director at his seder. She's looking forward to the seder, and being in the big city. Look for a long posting from her on Sunday.

Her one interesting story was that they built an oven. She sounded very excited. A PCV came in to help. They used the bricks (see posting below) locally made, then used mud as mortar. The mud was mixed with their feet -- "It doesn't get much better than that!" Banana logs serve as molds for the plumbing of the oven. Evidently, they will disintegrate over the next 2-3 weeks, and leave space for the fire, ventilation, etc. All-in-all sounded like quite the event.

Barbara

Bricks and Ants

My Mom took me to see where they’re making bricks. I guess we own a small plot of land in the marshy area, down past our house. There is good clay for making bricks there and it’s a source of secondary income – helps to pay the school fees. She said each brick was worth about 130 USh (about 5 cents) and with labor, costs about 70 USh to make. They dig up the clay (when it’s dry so there’s no H2O in the pit) then mix it to the right consistency with their feet, (I think that’s what my Mom said) pack it into tight mold, and stack a huge pile so that there is space (oven like) to start a fire underneath to bake the bricks. The whole structure is covered in mud, cooked, and then people drive up, take what they need, pay, and are off. Very different from good ol' Home Depot. I got to see the huge pile of cooked bricks – about 10,000 my Mom says.

While we were hanging around there, I accidentally stood across a line of ants – there are these black ones that determinedly go from A to B (seemingly random locations) and all over you if you happen to interrupt. Unfortunately, they bite. Not like the red ants in the SW, but annoying. My Mom apologized profusely (as if it was her fault . . . ?) but I asked about their names (and have, of course, forgotten it since). She was surprised we only have one word for ant. I said people don’t really like them, avoid them, and have no desire to differentiate, except for red ants (ouch!) and scientists. She told me some are delicacies, as well as grasshoppers, termites, and others. They found it hysterical when I made a face and said most Americans feel similarly. Sometimes it’s a lot of fun to share cultures – everyone with us got a hoot out of it, and the faces I made.

From a letter postmarked March 22

Week 7

News from this week....We now have ~100 baby chicks in the backyard (they're adorable, and coupled with a session on chicken raising yesterday, I'm seriously thinking about getting some - fresh eggs would be nice. however, a cat is top priority). One of our cows died, which is a big deal around here (they're worth ~$500), so now there's no milk, but everything still goes on. It has been so hot here this week, I think it's been the lack of rain. It finally poured this morning (while Angela and I were running - it was glorious!) and everything has cooled down. Just in time for our pool party today. We were graciously invited to the ambassador's house to relax and use the pool. Mr. and Mrs. Browning were very friendly, and we had fun swimming and hanging out. 'Finals' are coming up soon - there's a language oral exam (LPI) and a Qualifying Project. The qualifying project is a potential secondary project we're interested in starting at our site. I'm leaning towards a community gardens, but am hopeing some inspirational idea will hit me in the next few days.

I'm off to check out the bookstore, but I hope you are all well. Sorry about not responding to any emails - I can't seem to get onto gmail and the internet is down in town :(

Kampala

So, the last week or so has kinda flown by, I can't believe we've already been here 5 weeks! First off, apologies on the vagueness of locations and names - the Peace Corps (PC from now on. I'm a PCT - PC trainee, hopefully soon to be a PCV - PC volunteer, currently in PST - pre-service training. The PC likes their TLAs) anyways, for security reasons they've asked us to not include locations/names on publicly-available sites. If you want to know the names of places just send me an email/letter.

We're finally settling into a routine. I'm up at 6, off to school around 7. On my bike I get there 7:20-7:30, depending on how many people I say hi to. Walking 7:50-8:00, for the same reasons (it's a great time to practice language). It's so nice and cool in the morning, and quiet. People here seem to be most active later in the day, and our town really comes alive at night. This week we've been focusing on language. We took our mock LPI (hmm...language proficiency interview? it's an oral language test, in 'conversation' form). We've been working up to it all week. Thursday some community members came and spoke with us in the language we're learning. I'm really lucky that Lusoga is very similar to Luganda - the main language spoken in the central part of the country, where we are staying. It's akin to Spanish and Portugese, sort-of. Some PCTs are learning non-Bantu languages, so there is no similarity and it's impossible to practice in the community. So, having native speakers come in was very helpful.

I had thought I was doing okay, but hearing the language spoken at normal speed, and not by someone who is carefully enunciating for my benefit, I've got a lot of work to do. So, that was good practice for the practice LPI, which wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. It was a 20-30 min talk with our language instructor where he basically tried to see what tenses we could use, and how many different vocab words we can include in our responses. Turns out that when I'm asked what foods I like, I'm supposed to use it as an opportunity to show how many food words I know. Slightly awkward, but I guess it's better than a written test.

So that's been most of training, besides occasional technical talks: Ugandan grading system, NTCs (National Teacher's Colleges, blame Uganda for that one) and PTCs (Primary Teacher's colleges - for primary school teachers), mental health, nutrition (included a bit on body image - telling someone they've gained weight is a compliment here. My family has not shied from the idea that they're trying to fatten me up, and succeeding with all the good food). After training we've been getting into the habit of nightly runs. 6/6:30 - 7:00ish it's just cooling down and there's a nice breeze. There's a regular group of 3 us now, though it varies. Especially the last few days. Wednesday my host sister, Martha, joined me for a short run beforehand, and then Thursday my host 'siblings' Badil and Angela (actually a niece) came along. I should mention that Angela is 13, about 2/3 my height, and was wearing flip-flops. We went up this huge hill near my house - I was impressed with her gumption and running skills. Friday, 4 neighborhood boys joined us, so 9 in total - 3 muzungus and 6 Ugandans - it was so much fun, and interesting to hear how the comments of people on the roads changed. Much fewer cries of 'Muzungu!' and much more poking fun at those running with us. I'm not sure what they were saying, though....

Now we're back in Kampala. We came yesterday for a tour of the Bugandan Kings' Tomb (central region), and the National Museum. The National Museum had a lot of the native cultures in Uganda. They had cases showing traditional pottery, clothes, weapons, weaving, woodworking, and much more. My favorites were the the barkcloth clothes. They take strips of bark from the ficus tree and then pound them into this thin, yet strong, brown fabric. The exhibit said that an 18" stip of bark would make a 7' wide cloth. Though now, thinking back on it, it's weird that the units weren't in metric. They also had a map with the locations of the major groups within Uganda: buganda, busoga, acholi, nyoro, ntoro, teso, and many more (and I'm sure I misspelled the ones I listed). They also had a section on paleoanthropology in the area. Not too in-depth, but it was fun to look at various skulls, especially the really tiny ones. There were some about the size of my fist!

We got permission to spend last night here, which was quite the adventure. We had managed to scrounge up a hotel - 2 rooms, 7 beds, 14 people. We got there and it was so much nicer than we were expecting. There was plenty of space, a shower!!!, and a balcony. This weekend happened to be the party for those COSing in April (Close of Service - the group heading home). Which may have been part of why they were cool with us staying in Kampala - there were a decent number of PCVs around to make sure we didn't get into trouble. They had a nice dinner, and we joined them towards the end of it, in time to see the slide show of their time here. It's a lot to look forward to. You can tell they had a blast, and really bonded together. It's going to be hard to leave everything behind in two years...

It was a fun evening, though. We had some quality bonding time in the hotel before heading out. Lots of make-up, hairstyling, and accessory selection (I felt sorry for the few guys in the group). It was nice to get to really relax and hang out with the group, especially not having to worry about walking home before dark, or class the next day. They insisted on doing my make-up and hair, and did a really good job. It was cool to learn something to do with my shorter hair, besides a pony tail.

After meeting up with the PCVs in town, we got our introduction to nightclubs in Kampala. Okay, so just one, but that's enough for me. It was a lot of fun - I've missed getting to dance here, and while it was miles away from swing dancing, dancing is dancing. There was a surprising amount of American music, which was a treat when it came on, with everyone singing along to whatever was played, even if it was something they turned their nose up at before. Just in case anyone's worried about our safety - we were always keeping tabs on our numbers, traveling in groups, and taking taxis. And, dancing in Uganda is much cleaner than in the US, at least, there's more space between dancers. Though maybe that's because everyone's pouring sweat...

Today I'm on my own. Everyone was headed for an American breakfast, but I had filled up on the granola I found (it's the little things that really get me here - granola, yeast, American music, someone playing a guitar....). So, I'm doing internet, a couple of errands, and then heading back home to the pile of laundry that awaits me. It's kinda soothing to tackle the pile though, and a good arm work-out wringing out each item between wash, rinse, rinse, and dry. So, about it from here. Mail has started arriving, and it's been so great to get letters from people! Please do keep in touch and let me know what you're up to!

PCV Visit summed up

Hello!

Well, I'm back in Kampala after an exciting four days of traveling and visiting in western Uganda. We (me and two other Trainees) left early Monday morning, meeting up with the volunteers we were going to visit after 6 hrs of travel - 1 hr to Kampala by taxi, 1 hr waiting to leave, and another 4 hr by bus. Another trainee continued on - another 5 hrs, but as some of that was due to being stuck behind a herd of elephants, we didn't feel too bad for her. We had a delicious lunch in town - authentic Indian food: naan with vegetable curry and mango juice, mmmm.... before continuing on to their town - about an hour away by 'small car'. This means a Camry-sized vehicle with, usually, 9 people crammed inside. They tend to wait around until they are full, but for a 6,000 instead of 5,000 Ush ($3 vs. $2.5) they were willing to leave with only 7 people. It was a beautiful drive up to their site: beautiful views at the top of each hill, windows rolled down, and good conversation. We stopped in a small town along the way to pick up bananas and passion fruit. They just told the driver what we wanted, he gave a holler when we got into town, and soon swarms of people were offering bananas and passion fruit. We picked what we wanted, payed (it's so nice to be with people who know what things should cost), and were on our way.

They live in a small town, a little ways up the hill. They share a 'compound' with two houses and a small yard. We were introduced to everyone around - they're near a non-profit organization that places orphans with families, and a church. We went and greeted at the organization, where they were having a meeting. The meeting was basically over, but they were giving speeches. We walked in right at the beginning of a relatively long one. Something I've noticed here is that it's very easy to sit through long speeches when you can't understand a word of it. My mind just wanders and I can think about other things, and not worry about focusing on what is being said. We also got to watch all the food arrive. I mentioned that they eat a lot of food here, and this was no exception. There were 12 people at the meeting, and 2 people bringing in food, who I assume were going to eat as well. They brought in one 10L pot, another, a 8L pot, a covered plate....in the end there were 10 pots, two plates, and 4 small baskets with millet bread in them. oh, and two cases of soda. Quite the feast. Having basically just eaten lunch, and having traveled all day, we begged off dinner, and went back to a delicious fruit salad: pineapple, passion fruit, and bananas with some almonds. So good. Then we crashed :).

The next day I went with one PCV to a life skills lesson at a local secondary school, the S.6 class, so seniors. The class was about HIV and AIDs, and was really interesting to listen to, especially the questions from students, which were much more direct and insightful than I had expected. After that, we went with the other PCV to help on a bakery she is starting with a local women's group. She has just gotten the funding okayed and so we went and bought paint in town. It was great fun to be hanging out with other Muzungus, listening to an ipod, and being busy with my hands. Not surprisingly, I ended up with paint-covered hands and paint on my feet, arms, face, and hair. It was a good time.

Then, dinner prep, and some quality reading time on a mat under a tree. Dinner: beans, rice, guacamole, salsa (both made fresh), cheese, and tortillas! oh, and skittles for dessert. We were quite spoiled with food during our visit, and thoroughly enjoyed it. A British couple working at a nearby secondary school joined us, and since neither of the PCVs we were visiting work in education, they said they were more than happy to show me their school.

So, Wednesday morning I met up with them around 10 (after a lovely morning run and yogurt with oats, wheat bran, bananas, raisins, and cinnamon for breakfast. it was wonderful). The school is in mid-term exams, but they were happy to show me around and discuss their impressions on their school and the Ugandan secondary education in general. I ended up spending most of the day with them, picking their brains for what they've learned, as teachers in general, and teaching/living in Uganda. A lot of it centered around lack of money to pay full-time teachers, as well as the lack of qualified teachers to hire (this of course being a never-ending cycle...). Also, the use and role of libraries in the school. It's challenging to teach proper use of a textbook, dictionary, or any other reference when you only have 5-15 copies for 50-100+ students. And without the knowledge of how to really use a text or do research, learning out of the classroom is much more challenging. We also discussed differences between US and British education systems, which is especially interesting as the Ugandan system is based of the British system.

What else....oh, we made banana bread! (and, yes, this puts me at loaf 4 since arriving, I really need to find some new recipes... I did find some yeast, so hopefully I can make some yeast bread soon!). I learned a much more efficient baking technique: take a large pot, place a brick, rock, etc. on the bottom, cover it (with another pot or a lid if the pot is deep enough), and heat it up. Lower the heat underneath (remove coals, add sand/ashes, or turn down the gas :) and put the item to be backed on the brick. Wait. Remove yumminess. Eat.

We had a wonderful evening kyaai (pronounced Chi, aka tea) at a family's house across the way. They're good friends of the PCVs we were visiting and wanted to meet us, or at least we were a good excuse for kyaai. Kyaai consisted of tea, hot cocoa, hot water or milk, which ever you preferred as well as g-nuts (peanuts), boiled eggs, and bread, and banana bread :). Quite yummy. Though the best part were the three adorable kids. One was 7 months, and just loved the banana bread. The young boy had so much energy and was running around, giving high fives, sitting/climbing on laps, handing out g-nuts, etc. The young girl was much more shy, but quite enjoyed braiding our hair.

After late, a late night stroll into town for Rolexes: Chapat's (fried tortillas) rolled with a fried egg and tomatoes. Stopped at a restaurant for a table, cold sodas, and an avocado to put in our rolexes. delicious. oh, and I've discovered a new soda: Stoney's. It's by cola-cola and is similar to ginger ale, but with 10X the ginger. Beats me why they don't sell it in the US.

So, I'm realizing how long this post is turning out to be. Apologies. Also, I wish I could be sending pictures, but the internet is so slow, I haven't even tried up loading any yet. Someday. Also, sorry about the typos, spelling errors, and many grammar errors.

That's about the end of the trip. We were up early today, took a nine-person small car into town, hopped a bus, and now are hanging out in Kampala eating junk food, checking emails, and soon heading back to homestay and training tomorrow.

I hope you guys are all doing well. I'm sorry for any emails I haven't responded to, or letters. Which, by the way, don't seem to be coming. The mail is VERY slow. My mom sent a letter 6ish weeks ago, and I still haven't got it. I'm trying to respond to everyone via letters, which only take ~11 days to get home (at least, the one I know of..). That gives me the chance to not be so hurried about writing them. I've figured out the mail system, so hopefully I'll get better about sending them off. If you want, send an email, and I'll write back (seems to be the most efficient at the moment).

All the best,

Becky

News from Kampala and Elsewhere

Becky did get to Kampala on Saturday, but only for half a day. No time to update her blog. Here’s what I learned on the phone later that day. They all had a good time in Kampala. Learned about the transportation system, which is good since she leaves on Monday to visit a current volunteer. A combination of taxis, for local travel (they sound more like vans which hold 12-16 people) and big buses for longer trips. Traffic is chaotic, with no stop lights, and lots of motorcycles. The highlight seems to have been the pizza and ice cream for lunch, and the opportunity to buy peanut butter and chocolate.

Some more information about Becky’s host family: They live on a small farm, and grow a lot of their own food, and extra to sell in the market. They have cows for milk and chickens for eggs. The milk is boiled, as is the water, and stored in ceramic jugs to keep it cool. Her host Dad is a teacher and commutes to Kampala. Becky has made banana bread several times – her host family loves it and she’s teaching her host Mom how to make it. Tricky with no oven, but Becky is perfecting her Dutch oven camping technique.

Monday Becky is off to western Uganda to stay for several days with a current Peace Corps volunteer who’s working on health issues. She’s looking forward to seeing another part of the country, learning how a volunteer lives, and learning about the health issues (e.g. nutrition, sanitation, malaria) which will be helpful in her assignment.

Barbara (Becky's Mom)

Training Begins

Mulia Mutya? (trans: how are you all?)

I've made it through basic greetings and introductions (name, where I'm from, what I do, etc...) and we're starting on daily activities. There is no 'hello' as far as I can ascertain, which means when you greet someone it's more than just a 'hi'. The full greeting asks how your evening was, how everyone at home is, thanks you for the work you do, and asks if there's any news. It really stresses how much people here seem to care about everyone, even strangers.

Many thanks to my mom for posting what I've been up to when I'm unable to get to internet. A couple of corrections...there are four 'children' at home - the two grandkids, and then two kids: a son who's 30? and the youngest, who's 18. She just finished up high school and has been anxiously awaiting her scores (there's a national exam at the end of Primary 7 (P.7), Senior 2 (S.2), and Senior 6 (S.6). Which is equivalent to elementary, middle, and high schools. I think). She's hoping to go to University to study medicine. Another daughter (22) is studying accounting, and is home on weekends. So it's a busy house, but I'm really enjoying it. They almost always have music on - either the radio or TV, and are often dancing or singing along. Anytime I join in they get a good laugh out of it :). They've been teaching me to cook - matooke (steamed plaintain), veggies, and hopefully chapati soon! Yesterday I made banana bread! It was a little burnt on the bottom, as I haven't figured out how to modulate the temperature yet. My host mom showed me how to pour ash over the hot coals, which helped immensely.

Training is going well. We have 2 hours of language everyday, and then lectures on various topics: composting, gardening (my personal favorite), Ugandan history, bicycle repair, AIDs and HIV, various health topics, the education system, the police system, and many others I can't remember. Saturday we're going to get a tour of Kampala (peanut butter! ice cream! fast internet!) and learn about the public transportation system. Then Monday we're off on our own to go visit current volunteers (PCVs) for 4 days. I'm excited to see how they've morphed American and Ugandan living styles. Which, by the way, I'm really enjoying. I'm going to be spoiled by the food - which is probably the healthiest food I've ever eaten - matooke, rice, beans, a spinach-type green, eggplant, tomatoes, a peanut (g-nut here) sauce, and occasionally meat or fish. Oh, and some fruit for desert. Very yummy (which I think might be the spices and oil...). Hopefully I can pick up some good tips before I leave. And living 2-3? miles from school is great - I can bike and just think, or walk and practice my greetings, or meet other trainees and have some quality American time. Also, I tend to leave around 7am, which is sunrise. And they have pretty spectacular sunrises here.

I'm out of time, but hopefully I can send more from Kampala, and get back to more people via email. Apologies for being so bad with responding...

love to all,
Becky

Becky Has a Phone!

Becky is happily ensconced with her host family. There is a Mom, Dad, and two granddaughters, 13 and 18. Mom and Dad raised seven children, the youngest of whom is 18. None are at home. They speak British English – she’s learning to say “trousers” since “pants” are underwear, etc. They are trying to help Becky learn Lusoga which is the language of the eastern part of the country where she will be posted. The house has electricity but no running water. Food is good and plentiful. Lots of bananas!

The training center is about 2½ – 3 miles her house. Walking time depends on whether she’s along, walking with others, or visiting with others along the way. She also has a bike, which makes the trip easier. Women don’t normally ride bicycles, but Becky gets by as a girl.

One thing Becky has noticed is the respect given to elders. Her host Mom is in her early 50’s, in a country where the average life expectancy is in the 40’s. When she asks something of her granddaughters, they do it quickly.

Barbara (Becky's Mom)

Internet Cafe!

Hello to everyone! I wish I had time to write everyone emails, but this will have to suffice. Apologies in advance for spelling and grammar....

We've been in Uganda almost 4 days now, where we've been living at a sort of conference center just outside of Kampala. It's quite posh with dorm-style living, electricity, and showers. We get 3 delicious meals a day, plus morning and afternoon tea. I'm quite enjoying trying all the new foods. We get bananas at least once a day, and fruit with every meal. The main starches are matooke (fried? bananas - sometime with veggies, sometimes mashed) potatoes, rice, noodles, and chapatii (I think that's the Swahili spelling, I'm not sure what it is in Luganda). Topings are meat or curry vegetables (which are my favorite). Oh, or this delicious sauce that's made from g-nuts (ground nuts, but very similar to peanuts) and mushrooms. Tastes very much like peanut butter, and is very yummy. I most certainly won't go hungry here :).

There are 32 PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) in my group. We're from all over the US, all different ages, backgrounds, and interests. For anyone who says they're too old to do the Peace Corps I know at least 6 people who would disagree. And two are RPCVs (Returned PCVs) who were previously stationed in Africa. Everyone here is very nice, and I've really enjoyed the last week getting to know everyone. Tomorrow we're off to our homestays in a town outside of Kampala (see my mom's post...sorry).

The last couple of days we've been getting lectures about Uganda, the culture, the language, PC goals, the thousands of acronyms that seem to be a part of daily life here.

So, as I can't share it all - here's what I found most interesting:

in 1996 Presedent Museveni (sp?) announced UPE - Universal Primary Education for all Ugandana. But, there was no funding...so, in 1997 he said 4 kids from each family could go. Now, with familys of 8 this seems slightly unfair. now imagine a husband with 4 wives, or a husband with 5 wives. needless to say, before the year was out, all Ugandan children could go to Primary school. This caused a huge influx of students, and the teachers didn't know how to deal with it. The end result was a lot of students, few good teachers, and even fewer teaching materials. The primary ed volunteers are working with local teacher colleges and coordination centers that organize training for teachers in 15-45 primary schools each. They'll be helping come up with innovative teaching methods.

That started in 1997, in 2004 those students graduated and wanted to go to secondary school, so in 2007 secondary school was opened to all Ugandans. Secondary schools now face a serious shortage of teachers, esp. in math/science/IT. So, Uganda asked the Peace Corps for teachers. and that's why I'm here :). I still don't know what I'll be teaching, or where, and probably won't for a while, but it's nice to know more about the school system. Of course, this being the PC, it's all subject to change and I could be at at teacher's college...who knows!

I've got to run, so sorry for any and all grammar mistakes. Hugs to all from Uganda!

Becky has landed!

Becky had three minutes this morning to call home and say she had arrived in one piece. Sounded cheerful. News acquired (not bad for three minutes) includes:

• The training goes for ten weeks, until April 22
• For now, she's in [a town 12? miles from Kampala...apologies, I sense that the PC doesn't want us to give out locations, I'm not really clear on why]
  
• The food is good -- bananas, rice and veggies and eggs for breakfast
• Lots of birds (including black kites and ibis) and cool plants
• Becky has already gone for a run, and loves the climate
• Language training has begun, and she's learning a lot
  

Barbara (Becky's Mom)

My job and other such details

So, I don't know much about my official placement yet. What I do know is that I will be teaching math/science at the secondary level where I will be paired with a counterpart assigned by the Ministry of Education. I will also help with teacher training programs, leadership/life skills education, and AIDs education. I will be living in a rural area, somewhere in the southern part of the country.

I leave on February 12th for 'staging' in Philadelphia. This will include signing forms, and a 4 hour welcome including:
• Background to Peace Corps history, mission & goals
• Anxieties and aspirations for service
• Managing Risk (personal responsibility for safety)
• Policies
• Reflection on commitment to service
• Logistics and departure/arrival information

We'll then have the rest of the evening to get to know each other before we begin the 36hr journey to Uganda at 10 the next morning. (we have a 6:15pm flight out of JFK, which I know is a ways from Philly, but I'm still puzzled by the 10am departure).

Once we arrive in Uganda, an intensive 9-10 week training program begins. I'm not sure what this will include, besides learning a whole new language.... I'm hoping for Ugandan history/politics/culture, teaching strategies, the Ugandan math/science curriculums I will be teaching, personal safety, and what ever else comes up.

During training I will be living with a host family, which I'm really looking forward to and should help with learning the language. I'm also hoping to pick up some good recipes. From what I've heard there are a lot of bananas, beans, rice, and a bread called chapati (sp?). Bananas are already one of my staple foods, but I rarely do more than put them on granola, or eat them with peanut butter. Learning how to cook them will add some needed variety.

Once we've been there a while they'll decide who's going where, so I'll get more details about my specific placement and job then.

I do not know whether I'll have water/electricity/internet. I do know that I will have limited access to any form of communication during training. (I think this is more due to the intensity of training then the actual lack of internet access)