Wednesday, February 25, 2009

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)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

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!

Monday, February 16, 2009

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)