This is turning into a photoblog. I promise some substance once the term is over and things calm down.
Scouting trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/ScoutCampingTrip
Biology Tour of Entebbe: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Entebbe
We had visitors from the UK and some of the hostel girls came over to help us make the house look nice: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Girls
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
More Photos
I'm on a roll.
Eveline's Graduation: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/EvelineSGraduation
Interhouse music, dance and drama: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/MusicDanceAndDrama
Interhouse athletics competition: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/InterhouseAthletics
Girls' netball/volleyball national competition (which I didn't go to, but love the pictures of the girls at the equator): http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/GirlsNetballAndVolleyball
Eveline's Graduation: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/EvelineSGraduation
Interhouse music, dance and drama: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/MusicDanceAndDrama
Interhouse athletics competition: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/InterhouseAthletics
Girls' netball/volleyball national competition (which I didn't go to, but love the pictures of the girls at the equator): http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/GirlsNetballAndVolleyball
Monday, June 28, 2010
Mundane Thoughts
After more than a year in Uganda, most things don't seem very astounding. A man carrying a bed on a bicycle? Common. Squeezing 8 people in a car? I'm sure there's room for another person. A 3 o'clock meeting that starts at 4? Perfectly on time. Washing clothes by hand, fetching water, and occasional power outages? That's just life.
So, I haven't really felt like I had much to say. My adventures out of school have, mostly, been documented with photos (http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda) which seemed more explanatory than anything I could write.
But, there are other, cultural differences that aren't visible on the surface that I'm struggling with understanding. I've been nervous about posting them because I don't want to offend anyone. So, please, don't be offended. These are just my mental wanderings. They'll probably change tomorrow.
TIME MANAGEMENT
As the saying here goes: "Whites keep time; Africans have time". Most people I've met are very poor about 'keeping time'. This means people leave for a meeting around the time it is supposed to begin. This can be relatively frustrating, but becomes less so when you don't bother about keeping time yourself. My challenge has been balancing school, which does run on time, with the rest of life, which doesn't.
Having now gotten used to 'having time', I really enjoy it. I'm not stressed or hurried. When I take a taxi to the next town, I bring a book and don't look at my watch. If the drive takes 30min, I'm happy. If it takes 45min, I don't mind. If it takes 1 hour, I just get to read more of my book.
The downside is that it's challenging to organize things, because people just meander over, and to get everyone sitting down at once can be a bit challenging, and can take going around and collecting them. Two or three times.
The upside is that it's really easy to make time for things. If a student asks a question, I can answer it and not worry about the class I'm headed to. If I'm a couple of min late, no one minds, and I can just go over a couple of min.
MONEY
Is not a personal possession here. If I have money and you don't, I really should give it to you. And you'll, probably, pay me back. I think this has 3 possible causes.
1. The culture is very community/family-oriented. Things aren't done for the individual, but for the group. So keeping money would be extremely selfish
2. Most people live hand-to-mouth. If a teacher is making 500,000/= ($250) a month, he/she will take it all out as soon as they're paid (which is another topic - they're not always paid on time). There is a limited idea of saving money. Most of the money will go to pay school fees or to start a project such as a new plot in the garden, build a house, buy land, etc. This leads to the third point:
3. Banks don't play a large role in money management. They're main function seems to be a way to pay civil servants, who then remove all the money. This is partly the culture, and partly the unfriendliness of banks. To withdraw money costs 35 cents at an ATM and $1 from the cashier. The lines to withdraw money can be 2+ hours long, especially when civil servants have just been paid. Getting a loan is also a challenge, with interest rates at 25%. So, things like land, crops and buildings are good ways to save money. And friends are good places to get loans, with exceptional interest rates.
As a side note, I have two of these loans out at the moment. Both to teachers who want to buy land. One for $250 and one for $500. They're both paying me back at $50 a month, which is nice for me - I can cut down on my trips to the bank.
BEING A 'MUZUNGU'
This one I don't know if I could ever get used to. I've been thinking about how to explain the feeling, and this is my best analogy:
Imagine Martians came to visit earth. They look and act like people in all ways, but they've got green skin. And they're really friendly, and have helped us by giving us lots of fossil fuels and some new meds that even fight the common cold (by pure luck, they're ahead of us technologically, but they're not actually any smarter). Let's imagine many of them come and want to live in our communities to learn about us, teach us about them, and maybe share some technology. Now, what would the reaction be when some walked down the street? How would people treat them? Would they stare? Would them come up to say hi? Would the kids get extremely excited every time they walked by? Would people invite them over for dinner? Would people ask them how they themselves can go visit Mars?
Okay, so this analogy isn't extremely accurate, but it helps me imagine it from a Ugandan's point of view. Even though someone is the hundredth person to ask me if I can take them to the US, or to tell me about the horrible poverty, or just to randomly greet me and want to know where I'm from, etc. they've probably just asked me for the first time, and don't mean to be annoying. Usually.
The guys still get me though. The things they think work on girls are outrageous. And the speed at which they think relationships form is astounding. I meet someone on the bus and they want to be my best friend. I stand in line with someone at the bank and they want to get together for a weekend. I greet someone in town and they want to marry me. Beats me where these ideas come from, but I've gotten tired of arguing, so I try to avoid greeting young (anything less than 40) men in town, unless I know them.
A side note for worry-warts like my Dad: The men may be annoying, but they are not threatening in any way. I think some of them do it just to tease me and see how I react.
TEACHING
A major part of why I came to Africa with the Peace Corps was because I wanted to teach math/science. I was hoping to figure out if being a teacher is something I could pursue as a career. Answer: yes. Most days. When my kids act up, or I mark 100+ failing papers I think about abandoning that idea. But, on the whole, I love sharing knowledge with kids, and I love having an excuse to keep learning new things everyday and to come up with ways of explaining it.
However, there are some things I don't like about teaching here:
1. No textbooks. Think about this for a sec; how do students study without a textbook? Answer: the teacher gives it to them, bit by bit. Now, there's nothing I hate more than giving students notes to copy, but there's not much choice; they need to have good, clear notes.
2. Large class sizes. 60+ students are hard to teach. More tests to grade, more names to learn, more students to manage in a classroom. But, the biggest challenge is a lack of personal time with students. Especially in math. Sometimes I've got 5 students who've already figured out the problem and 5 students who can't even figure out the first step. Keeping the bright kids engaged and the slower ones from completely zoning out is a serious challenge.
3. Very fact-oriented curriculum. I hate this one. With a passion. Who said that students should focus on learning all the characteristics of cockroaches, butterflies, termites, etc. and not focus on critical thinking? Because it really is a shame. And not any fun to teach
4. Uniforms. I'd never been to a school with uniforms, and I don't like them. They idea is good - everyone is on the same level, but clothes are such a good way to express individuality. I've got a class full of kids in white shirts, black ties, and shaved heads. They all look the same. I love it when we have events on weekends, and the students come in their usual clothes. They seem more like people.
5. An office, or desk, or something. I would never have thought of this before, but having a desk is such a wonderful thing. You can keep papers on it, and textbooks. Your students know where to find you. You can keep a planner on the desk and not forget things. Instead, I carry everything to and from school everyday, which limits what I want to bring, and often means I'm going home for something I forgot.
So, I haven't really felt like I had much to say. My adventures out of school have, mostly, been documented with photos (http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda) which seemed more explanatory than anything I could write.
But, there are other, cultural differences that aren't visible on the surface that I'm struggling with understanding. I've been nervous about posting them because I don't want to offend anyone. So, please, don't be offended. These are just my mental wanderings. They'll probably change tomorrow.
TIME MANAGEMENT
As the saying here goes: "Whites keep time; Africans have time". Most people I've met are very poor about 'keeping time'. This means people leave for a meeting around the time it is supposed to begin. This can be relatively frustrating, but becomes less so when you don't bother about keeping time yourself. My challenge has been balancing school, which does run on time, with the rest of life, which doesn't.
Having now gotten used to 'having time', I really enjoy it. I'm not stressed or hurried. When I take a taxi to the next town, I bring a book and don't look at my watch. If the drive takes 30min, I'm happy. If it takes 45min, I don't mind. If it takes 1 hour, I just get to read more of my book.
The downside is that it's challenging to organize things, because people just meander over, and to get everyone sitting down at once can be a bit challenging, and can take going around and collecting them. Two or three times.
The upside is that it's really easy to make time for things. If a student asks a question, I can answer it and not worry about the class I'm headed to. If I'm a couple of min late, no one minds, and I can just go over a couple of min.
MONEY
Is not a personal possession here. If I have money and you don't, I really should give it to you. And you'll, probably, pay me back. I think this has 3 possible causes.
1. The culture is very community/family-oriented. Things aren't done for the individual, but for the group. So keeping money would be extremely selfish
2. Most people live hand-to-mouth. If a teacher is making 500,000/= ($250) a month, he/she will take it all out as soon as they're paid (which is another topic - they're not always paid on time). There is a limited idea of saving money. Most of the money will go to pay school fees or to start a project such as a new plot in the garden, build a house, buy land, etc. This leads to the third point:
3. Banks don't play a large role in money management. They're main function seems to be a way to pay civil servants, who then remove all the money. This is partly the culture, and partly the unfriendliness of banks. To withdraw money costs 35 cents at an ATM and $1 from the cashier. The lines to withdraw money can be 2+ hours long, especially when civil servants have just been paid. Getting a loan is also a challenge, with interest rates at 25%. So, things like land, crops and buildings are good ways to save money. And friends are good places to get loans, with exceptional interest rates.
As a side note, I have two of these loans out at the moment. Both to teachers who want to buy land. One for $250 and one for $500. They're both paying me back at $50 a month, which is nice for me - I can cut down on my trips to the bank.
BEING A 'MUZUNGU'
This one I don't know if I could ever get used to. I've been thinking about how to explain the feeling, and this is my best analogy:
Imagine Martians came to visit earth. They look and act like people in all ways, but they've got green skin. And they're really friendly, and have helped us by giving us lots of fossil fuels and some new meds that even fight the common cold (by pure luck, they're ahead of us technologically, but they're not actually any smarter). Let's imagine many of them come and want to live in our communities to learn about us, teach us about them, and maybe share some technology. Now, what would the reaction be when some walked down the street? How would people treat them? Would they stare? Would them come up to say hi? Would the kids get extremely excited every time they walked by? Would people invite them over for dinner? Would people ask them how they themselves can go visit Mars?
Okay, so this analogy isn't extremely accurate, but it helps me imagine it from a Ugandan's point of view. Even though someone is the hundredth person to ask me if I can take them to the US, or to tell me about the horrible poverty, or just to randomly greet me and want to know where I'm from, etc. they've probably just asked me for the first time, and don't mean to be annoying. Usually.
The guys still get me though. The things they think work on girls are outrageous. And the speed at which they think relationships form is astounding. I meet someone on the bus and they want to be my best friend. I stand in line with someone at the bank and they want to get together for a weekend. I greet someone in town and they want to marry me. Beats me where these ideas come from, but I've gotten tired of arguing, so I try to avoid greeting young (anything less than 40) men in town, unless I know them.
A side note for worry-warts like my Dad: The men may be annoying, but they are not threatening in any way. I think some of them do it just to tease me and see how I react.
TEACHING
A major part of why I came to Africa with the Peace Corps was because I wanted to teach math/science. I was hoping to figure out if being a teacher is something I could pursue as a career. Answer: yes. Most days. When my kids act up, or I mark 100+ failing papers I think about abandoning that idea. But, on the whole, I love sharing knowledge with kids, and I love having an excuse to keep learning new things everyday and to come up with ways of explaining it.
However, there are some things I don't like about teaching here:
1. No textbooks. Think about this for a sec; how do students study without a textbook? Answer: the teacher gives it to them, bit by bit. Now, there's nothing I hate more than giving students notes to copy, but there's not much choice; they need to have good, clear notes.
2. Large class sizes. 60+ students are hard to teach. More tests to grade, more names to learn, more students to manage in a classroom. But, the biggest challenge is a lack of personal time with students. Especially in math. Sometimes I've got 5 students who've already figured out the problem and 5 students who can't even figure out the first step. Keeping the bright kids engaged and the slower ones from completely zoning out is a serious challenge.
3. Very fact-oriented curriculum. I hate this one. With a passion. Who said that students should focus on learning all the characteristics of cockroaches, butterflies, termites, etc. and not focus on critical thinking? Because it really is a shame. And not any fun to teach
4. Uniforms. I'd never been to a school with uniforms, and I don't like them. They idea is good - everyone is on the same level, but clothes are such a good way to express individuality. I've got a class full of kids in white shirts, black ties, and shaved heads. They all look the same. I love it when we have events on weekends, and the students come in their usual clothes. They seem more like people.
5. An office, or desk, or something. I would never have thought of this before, but having a desk is such a wonderful thing. You can keep papers on it, and textbooks. Your students know where to find you. You can keep a planner on the desk and not forget things. Instead, I carry everything to and from school everyday, which limits what I want to bring, and often means I'm going home for something I forgot.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Pictures
yeah, it's been a while. Things have been busy here, and since a picture's worth a thousand words, I though I'd save myself the effort of trying to explain and just show the pictures:
National Football Competition, Gulu: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Football
My parents' visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/VisitorsFromAfar
The requisite bird watching that goes with my father being present: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Birds
Beginning of 2nd term: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/School
National Football Competition, Gulu: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Football
My parents' visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/VisitorsFromAfar
The requisite bird watching that goes with my father being present: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Birds
Beginning of 2nd term: http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/School
Thursday, June 10, 2010
News From Uganda
Mom again, recently returned from visiting Becky. She’s quite well and settled in her Ugandan life. During the term she’s busy with lesson plans and teaching, and her computer wasn’t working which limited the blogging and other communication. At the end of the term in early May she went with the girls’ soccer team to the national tournament, and they did very well. The tournament was followed by a week of Peace Corps training in Kampala, and then touring around the country with us. She’s posted many of the photos of our trip.
The spring term has started and she’s back to teaching, helping with the track and field team, and other extra-curricular activities. All of Tara’s kittens have found good homes – some nearby enough for Becky to visit. Now Tara is on kitty birth-control, since surgery is very risky.
The spring term has started and she’s back to teaching, helping with the track and field team, and other extra-curricular activities. All of Tara’s kittens have found good homes – some nearby enough for Becky to visit. Now Tara is on kitty birth-control, since surgery is very risky.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
The school year has begun and is in full swing. I am teaching S1 south biology, S2 north biology and math, S3 west biology and A level biology (S5 and S6). I'm also trying to become more involved in extra-curricular activities. Soccer is beginning this term and we're in the middle of inter-house competitions (think Harry Potter). The girls are excited to be playing, but I'm hoping to begin real training soon. If anyone knows any good ball control drills that can be done with only one or two footballs, I'd love some ideas.
There is also another volunteer teacher now, Alan. He's from the UK and graduated from university in 2009, so he's kinda in the same situation as I am. He's only here for a month (he leaves Sunday) but it's been nice to have another 'muzungu' around. With two of us it's easier to get things started. We've put up a question box for students. They put in a question, we answer it. Questions have varied from "what is the shortest letter in the English language?" to "if America is the superpower, why are they scared of Russia?" to "what is homosexuality and why is it practiced?" to "why are girls shy around boys?". They've been a lot of fun to answer. I've also started trying to get some clubs started or more active. Monday I met with students interested in debate - we're going to have a debate next Monday on whether traditional or modern living is better. Tuesday I met with students interested in chess and/or scrabble. No one showed up. Wednesday was reading. Some students showed up and I suggested meeting two days a week at lunch to read bits of a book, discuss them, and slowly progress through them. We're meeting Mondays and Wednesday and beginning with The Old Man and the Sea. I'm curious to see how that goes. Today is writing. Tomorrow baking and arts and crafts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Also, Alan knows how to swing dance (Jive, to be specific) so we got a bunch of the students learning Jive yesterday. Pairs dancing is a very western thing, and so most students didn't even have a concept of lead-follow, turning, etc. But, they have a fabulous sense of rhythm. I took some photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Dancing#. They picked it up pretty quick. We're going to try again today, before Alan goes and I'll have to teach lead and follow (which could be a disaster).
Oh, and the kittens are growing at an astonishing rate and are starting to cause trouble. I've been slowly adding more photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/TaraSKittens03#
There is also another volunteer teacher now, Alan. He's from the UK and graduated from university in 2009, so he's kinda in the same situation as I am. He's only here for a month (he leaves Sunday) but it's been nice to have another 'muzungu' around. With two of us it's easier to get things started. We've put up a question box for students. They put in a question, we answer it. Questions have varied from "what is the shortest letter in the English language?" to "if America is the superpower, why are they scared of Russia?" to "what is homosexuality and why is it practiced?" to "why are girls shy around boys?". They've been a lot of fun to answer. I've also started trying to get some clubs started or more active. Monday I met with students interested in debate - we're going to have a debate next Monday on whether traditional or modern living is better. Tuesday I met with students interested in chess and/or scrabble. No one showed up. Wednesday was reading. Some students showed up and I suggested meeting two days a week at lunch to read bits of a book, discuss them, and slowly progress through them. We're meeting Mondays and Wednesday and beginning with The Old Man and the Sea. I'm curious to see how that goes. Today is writing. Tomorrow baking and arts and crafts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Also, Alan knows how to swing dance (Jive, to be specific) so we got a bunch of the students learning Jive yesterday. Pairs dancing is a very western thing, and so most students didn't even have a concept of lead-follow, turning, etc. But, they have a fabulous sense of rhythm. I took some photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/Dancing#. They picked it up pretty quick. We're going to try again today, before Alan goes and I'll have to teach lead and follow (which could be a disaster).
Oh, and the kittens are growing at an astonishing rate and are starting to cause trouble. I've been slowly adding more photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda/TaraSKittens03#
Friday, January 22, 2010
Kittens!!!
Okay, so this is long overdue, but I was hoping my internet would come back so I could post all the pictures, but it didn't, and then I spent the week visiting PCVs in northern Uganda and haven't been near a computer. Anyways...
Tara (my 9 month old cat) just had kittens! 6 of them! Under my bed! They're adorable, and she's back to her tiny self. Actually, way too tiny, if you ask me. I am feeding her as much as she'll eat. There are three black kittens and three tabbies. At least 4 of them are already spoken for (2 to PCVs, one to a teacher at my school, and one to a young friend of mine, as long as it's okay with his mom). I could go on about how beautiful they are, but I'll let the pictures speak for me:
http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda
Tara (my 9 month old cat) just had kittens! 6 of them! Under my bed! They're adorable, and she's back to her tiny self. Actually, way too tiny, if you ask me. I am feeding her as much as she'll eat. There are three black kittens and three tabbies. At least 4 of them are already spoken for (2 to PCVs, one to a teacher at my school, and one to a young friend of mine, as long as it's okay with his mom). I could go on about how beautiful they are, but I'll let the pictures speak for me:
http://picasaweb.google.com/becky.uganda
Eclipse!
Okay, so it wasn't a complete solar eclipse, but it was still pretty darn cool.
Around 8:00am if you looked outside you noticed something weird. Nothing you could quite put your finger on, but the light seemed to almost be playing tricks with your mind. It seemed like I'd been transported to DC in the winter; the light was unusually dim. If you went outside and either squinted at the sun or (if you were a bit more intelligent) got a basin of water and looked at the reflection of the sun through that you'd see a faint shadow in front of the sun. By 8:30 the shadow was in the middle of the sun and continued it's slow progress across. By the time I finished washing my clothes and mopping the house around 11 the sun was back to it's usual intense self.
Oh, for those who are interested in such things, here's the map of the eclipse another PCV (with a degree in astronomy) sent me:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2010/ASE2010map/ASE2010_031E_034E_Uganda.pdf
Around 8:00am if you looked outside you noticed something weird. Nothing you could quite put your finger on, but the light seemed to almost be playing tricks with your mind. It seemed like I'd been transported to DC in the winter; the light was unusually dim. If you went outside and either squinted at the sun or (if you were a bit more intelligent) got a basin of water and looked at the reflection of the sun through that you'd see a faint shadow in front of the sun. By 8:30 the shadow was in the middle of the sun and continued it's slow progress across. By the time I finished washing my clothes and mopping the house around 11 the sun was back to it's usual intense self.
Oh, for those who are interested in such things, here's the map of the eclipse another PCV (with a degree in astronomy) sent me:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2010/ASE2010map/ASE2010_031E_034E_Uganda.pdf
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Holiday Travels
Sorry, again, that it has been so long. This time I at least have the excuse of a internet modem gone wacky. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It took a holiday in December. Even now it works for 2-20 hrs, then the computer can no longer detect it. So, I pull it out, fiddle with it, restart the computer, and cross my fingers. Which works about half the time.
So, I at least haven't been slacking completely, and was still writing, even if I wasn't posting anything. I'll go from oldest to youngest.
Nov 7th
The goats have been causing serious mischief around here. They ate my corn, greens, sweet potato and sunflower. They’re eating Matron’s corn and they started eating the tomatoes the students just planted in the school garden. Having attacked the students’ garden was a bad move on their part. They were dragged and carried to a vacant classroom where they’ve been locked up until their owner comes to pay. Maybe their owner will consider tying them up? Maybe. I told the students they should eat one if they catch it five times. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
Nov 11th
Today on the way home I had the joy of taking a taxi that got a flat tire about a quarter of the way home. Luckily, they had a spare (a good idea around here), but no jack. Within a minute they had hailed another taxi which did have a jack. Meanwhile, the driver had found some big rocks, and I'm standing there thinking, oh good, he'll put them behind the tires to make sure the vehicle doesn't start rolling into one of the 20 kids who had come to gawk. Then he goes and sticks one under the flat tire. I become very puzzled. He jumps in the vehicle and drives up onto the rock. The other guy arrives with the jack and starts to put it into place, having very little work to do, now that the tire is already 3 inches off the ground. They both remove the tire and then the driver tightens the bolts as the conductor removes the jack. In the end I think the longest part of the delay was getting all the passengers out and then back into the vehicle.
Also, a girl on the bus misplaced her money in all of the fuss. She'd had 2,500Ush which was her fare home and a lot of money for a villager (just to give you an idea corn flour is 1,200/kilo, rice is 1,600/kilo, tomatoes are 2 for 100, onions 1,500/kilo). This became the talk of the taxi on the way back with everyone wondering what would happen to her when she got to her destination. I kept quiet for most of it, but couldn't help saying that if we contributed 500Ush (25cents) we'd easily be able to cover her fee. Some seemed skeptical, as they were staying on longer and there was a hope to recover the money. But I chipped in 500, and another Ugandan followed suit. Charity is rare here, as everyone has such big families, that while they may be generous it doesn't usually extend beyond their 'family' (which is a very loose term), so this young man's gesture surprised me.
Dec 16th
So it's the holiday here and things are a bit quiet. I took this as an excuse to join up with some (okay, many) volunteers down near Masaka for a friendly competition with JICA volunteers (the Japanese form of Peace Corps). There were about 40 PCVs, 20 JICA volunteers and a good number of curious Ugandans. We competed in two sports: soccer and baseball. Can you guess the outcome? We creamed them in soccer; they creamed us in baseball. We're sad representations of American sports culture. We also played a little football, frisbee, and someone even turned up with a slack line. For a moment I thought I was back at CC (for people not lucky enough to have experienced a slack line it's a one inch strip of webbing that you suspend 2+ feet above the ground and then walk along. Weird? Maybe. Fun? Yes).
In the spirit of sharing cultures we cooked one meal and JICA cooked the other. So, what do Americans and Japanese cook to give a taste of their county? Well, we cooked burritos and they cooked curry. Okay, so they also cooked Tamkatzu (sp?) which is a kind of breaded pork that is really good and definitely Japanese.
Dec 22nd
Do you know what sound a goat makes? Baaa? That's a sheep. A goat sounds like a kid. And not the animal kind. Goats on their way to market sound like little children crying their hearts out. Most market days I hear a couple being carried in baskets on the back of bicycles. Today, however, is different. Christmas is Friday and everyone wants to sell their goat to buy chicken for their family, or has sold something else and wants to buy a goat for their family. Which means I've been listening to a steady stream of crying children go by my house all morning. I love vegetarians.
Dec25th
I woke up early, which is not unusual for me, and certainly not on Christmas (I mean, what kid isn't always waiting at the top of the stairs by 6am, wondering about the presents at the bottom?). I did not sweep, mop, or go for water. I put on some Christmas music, made a cup of coffee, and sat down to finally open my presents after having stared at them sitting in a drawer for the last month or so. A chocolate bar, earrings, some good books wrapped in bits of a topographical map of Denver (which was way too much fun to put together), celestial seasons tea, and a beautiful skirt. I then took out my presents for my neighbors and wrapped them in the paper I'd just unwrapped from my own gifts. Reuse at it's finest. After dancing around in my new skirt for a while I called up my family who were just finishing up Christmas Eve dinner. 3 aunts, 3 uncles, 5 cousins, 1 bro, 2 parents. 24 min. Not really time for serious conversations, but I was grinning from ear to ear just saying Merry Christmas to them all.
Madam Bena wasn't coming to get me till 12 so I putzed around the house, made gingerbread and experimented with mango-ginger spice bread (which actually didn't turn out too bad), and tried to figure out what to do with my now-not-so-short hair. Somehow the last few days have been cool, cloudy, and occasionally rainy. Kinda weird given it's supposed to be hot and dry in December, but I'm not complaining. It also meant I could stand the idea of wearing my hair down. When Madam Bena arrived the gingerbread had just finished cooking and we wandered over to her place where I chatted with her various family and friends, smiled back at children who couldn't decided whether to be curious or nervous, and ate some delicious food. One girl's trousers were giving her trouble; they kept falling down. I asked another girl to bring me some banana fibers so I could make her a belt, called the girl over, all set to try and help her. I had barely put the fiber through 1 belt loop when she started crying; she would have nothing to do with it.
I left their place in a light mist which turned to full on rain by the time I was halfway home so I ran the rest of the way but was secretly delighted to get soaked. I found a small neighbor sitting in my mango tree trying to keep dry. He was inside my house as soon as I opened the door. So, in-between trying to catch water in buckets, we played cards. I don't know what game we played, and we never really stated the rules, but somehow we managed to agree on what was allowed and what was not.
When the rain eased up I headed to Mr Okots', Evelyns' and then Madam Rita's (where I found Mt Okot just finishing tea). Just for the curious I figure I should tell you something about all these people I'm talking about. Madam Bena is the school secretary. Mr Okot is a history teacher/in charge of the boys' hostel/one of my closest neighbors. He also has 7 kids he looks after: Jennifer who just finished S.6; Denis who was in my S.5 biology class; Oscar who just finished S.4; Barbara who was in S.3; Dorine who's studying in Jinja and was in P.5?6?; and the twins Michael (P.5) and Dick (P.4) who both stay in the hostel at a nearby primary school. Madam Everlyn is the school's bursar. She's from Kenya and has three kids: Patience (9?), Gemima (5?) and Sammy (1). She's also looking after her youngest brother, Bishop, who's the same age as Patience. We always have a lot to talk about, partly because I think she's just a very strong, opinionated woman and partly because we are both foreigners in this town. Madam Rita is an English teacher/in charge of the girls' hostel. She looks after 4 kids: Jeremiah (P.2), Fred (P.7), Mercy (S.3) and Gladys (S.1?) all of whom I just adore.
Needless to say, I had a great time at all of their houses, and was glad I had decided to stay around for Christmas.
Jan 1st (from Sipi Falls)
I have finally acquired a thermometer. I would never have guessed how hard it would be to find a thermometer to measure air temperature. I guess if the temperature never varies more than 20 degrees, all you really care about is whether it's hot, warm, or cold. Thanks to a very kind PCV who was not using his, I now have a small thermometer that informed me that while I was almost shivering, wearing fleece pants and a fleece jacket, warming up my hands with a cup of hot coffee, and thinking about the hat in my tent, it was a balmy 60 degrees outside. And to think I use to walk around Colorado wearing flip flops when it was 30 degrees. I've gone soft.
Jan 2nd
This morning I heard a small "kodi" at my door and found a boy who I had never seen before standing there and very politely greeting me, wishing me a happy new year and then telling me something that I couldn't understand the least of. After me getting him to repeat himself about ten times, and asking about 20 random questions I ascertained that his family's cow has escaped, that it was the one that was standing over there, looking remarkably like my neighbor's, and that he had come to get it back. Feeling slightly nervous, I stood there awkwardly for a while, not wanting to say he could, but not knowing what else to say, and partially thinking he would just go, get the cow, and leave (as I really couldn't give him my permission, especially as there may be some fees they would have to pay if it really had escaped and had been on the school grounds for a while, as that's what we do with the goats that are always sneaking in). Well, he just stood there, and I just stood there, wondering what in the world he wanted. Finally I just said "balamuse" (greet them, the traditional goodbye which means give my greetings to the people at home/there), and he immediately headed off towards the cow. I guess he was just wanting for me, the elder to end the conversation, while I was wanting for him, the one who knew what was going on and had started the conversation, to end the conversation. A nice early morning stand-off.
Jan 3rd
A quote from Fred, commenting on why he didn't cry when he broke his arm.
"I broke my arm myself. Now who was I going to cry for?"
The setting for this was that Michael, one of Mr Okot's kids, just broke his arm. Well, they told me it's dislocated, but he can still bend his elbow just fine...
It's been interesting for me to see how different medicine is here. They've been taking him to see an old lady who obviously knows what she's doing, and seems to be setting the arm by pushing and squeezing it, and (this is my speculation) feeling the bones and making sure they are where they're supposed to be. The first couple times we took him 4 of us had to hold him down while she did this. After the second day she told us to get him some Valium. 5 cents for 4 pills. Each time we go he's in less pain, and now he doesn't even need anyone to hold him. And his arm is getting better; it's less swollen, and less painful.
I'd still take modern medicine.
So, I at least haven't been slacking completely, and was still writing, even if I wasn't posting anything. I'll go from oldest to youngest.
Nov 7th
The goats have been causing serious mischief around here. They ate my corn, greens, sweet potato and sunflower. They’re eating Matron’s corn and they started eating the tomatoes the students just planted in the school garden. Having attacked the students’ garden was a bad move on their part. They were dragged and carried to a vacant classroom where they’ve been locked up until their owner comes to pay. Maybe their owner will consider tying them up? Maybe. I told the students they should eat one if they catch it five times. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
Nov 11th
Today on the way home I had the joy of taking a taxi that got a flat tire about a quarter of the way home. Luckily, they had a spare (a good idea around here), but no jack. Within a minute they had hailed another taxi which did have a jack. Meanwhile, the driver had found some big rocks, and I'm standing there thinking, oh good, he'll put them behind the tires to make sure the vehicle doesn't start rolling into one of the 20 kids who had come to gawk. Then he goes and sticks one under the flat tire. I become very puzzled. He jumps in the vehicle and drives up onto the rock. The other guy arrives with the jack and starts to put it into place, having very little work to do, now that the tire is already 3 inches off the ground. They both remove the tire and then the driver tightens the bolts as the conductor removes the jack. In the end I think the longest part of the delay was getting all the passengers out and then back into the vehicle.
Also, a girl on the bus misplaced her money in all of the fuss. She'd had 2,500Ush which was her fare home and a lot of money for a villager (just to give you an idea corn flour is 1,200/kilo, rice is 1,600/kilo, tomatoes are 2 for 100, onions 1,500/kilo). This became the talk of the taxi on the way back with everyone wondering what would happen to her when she got to her destination. I kept quiet for most of it, but couldn't help saying that if we contributed 500Ush (25cents) we'd easily be able to cover her fee. Some seemed skeptical, as they were staying on longer and there was a hope to recover the money. But I chipped in 500, and another Ugandan followed suit. Charity is rare here, as everyone has such big families, that while they may be generous it doesn't usually extend beyond their 'family' (which is a very loose term), so this young man's gesture surprised me.
Dec 16th
So it's the holiday here and things are a bit quiet. I took this as an excuse to join up with some (okay, many) volunteers down near Masaka for a friendly competition with JICA volunteers (the Japanese form of Peace Corps). There were about 40 PCVs, 20 JICA volunteers and a good number of curious Ugandans. We competed in two sports: soccer and baseball. Can you guess the outcome? We creamed them in soccer; they creamed us in baseball. We're sad representations of American sports culture. We also played a little football, frisbee, and someone even turned up with a slack line. For a moment I thought I was back at CC (for people not lucky enough to have experienced a slack line it's a one inch strip of webbing that you suspend 2+ feet above the ground and then walk along. Weird? Maybe. Fun? Yes).
In the spirit of sharing cultures we cooked one meal and JICA cooked the other. So, what do Americans and Japanese cook to give a taste of their county? Well, we cooked burritos and they cooked curry. Okay, so they also cooked Tamkatzu (sp?) which is a kind of breaded pork that is really good and definitely Japanese.
Dec 22nd
Do you know what sound a goat makes? Baaa? That's a sheep. A goat sounds like a kid. And not the animal kind. Goats on their way to market sound like little children crying their hearts out. Most market days I hear a couple being carried in baskets on the back of bicycles. Today, however, is different. Christmas is Friday and everyone wants to sell their goat to buy chicken for their family, or has sold something else and wants to buy a goat for their family. Which means I've been listening to a steady stream of crying children go by my house all morning. I love vegetarians.
Dec25th
I woke up early, which is not unusual for me, and certainly not on Christmas (I mean, what kid isn't always waiting at the top of the stairs by 6am, wondering about the presents at the bottom?). I did not sweep, mop, or go for water. I put on some Christmas music, made a cup of coffee, and sat down to finally open my presents after having stared at them sitting in a drawer for the last month or so. A chocolate bar, earrings, some good books wrapped in bits of a topographical map of Denver (which was way too much fun to put together), celestial seasons tea, and a beautiful skirt. I then took out my presents for my neighbors and wrapped them in the paper I'd just unwrapped from my own gifts. Reuse at it's finest. After dancing around in my new skirt for a while I called up my family who were just finishing up Christmas Eve dinner. 3 aunts, 3 uncles, 5 cousins, 1 bro, 2 parents. 24 min. Not really time for serious conversations, but I was grinning from ear to ear just saying Merry Christmas to them all.
Madam Bena wasn't coming to get me till 12 so I putzed around the house, made gingerbread and experimented with mango-ginger spice bread (which actually didn't turn out too bad), and tried to figure out what to do with my now-not-so-short hair. Somehow the last few days have been cool, cloudy, and occasionally rainy. Kinda weird given it's supposed to be hot and dry in December, but I'm not complaining. It also meant I could stand the idea of wearing my hair down. When Madam Bena arrived the gingerbread had just finished cooking and we wandered over to her place where I chatted with her various family and friends, smiled back at children who couldn't decided whether to be curious or nervous, and ate some delicious food. One girl's trousers were giving her trouble; they kept falling down. I asked another girl to bring me some banana fibers so I could make her a belt, called the girl over, all set to try and help her. I had barely put the fiber through 1 belt loop when she started crying; she would have nothing to do with it.
I left their place in a light mist which turned to full on rain by the time I was halfway home so I ran the rest of the way but was secretly delighted to get soaked. I found a small neighbor sitting in my mango tree trying to keep dry. He was inside my house as soon as I opened the door. So, in-between trying to catch water in buckets, we played cards. I don't know what game we played, and we never really stated the rules, but somehow we managed to agree on what was allowed and what was not.
When the rain eased up I headed to Mr Okots', Evelyns' and then Madam Rita's (where I found Mt Okot just finishing tea). Just for the curious I figure I should tell you something about all these people I'm talking about. Madam Bena is the school secretary. Mr Okot is a history teacher/in charge of the boys' hostel/one of my closest neighbors. He also has 7 kids he looks after: Jennifer who just finished S.6; Denis who was in my S.5 biology class; Oscar who just finished S.4; Barbara who was in S.3; Dorine who's studying in Jinja and was in P.5?6?; and the twins Michael (P.5) and Dick (P.4) who both stay in the hostel at a nearby primary school. Madam Everlyn is the school's bursar. She's from Kenya and has three kids: Patience (9?), Gemima (5?) and Sammy (1). She's also looking after her youngest brother, Bishop, who's the same age as Patience. We always have a lot to talk about, partly because I think she's just a very strong, opinionated woman and partly because we are both foreigners in this town. Madam Rita is an English teacher/in charge of the girls' hostel. She looks after 4 kids: Jeremiah (P.2), Fred (P.7), Mercy (S.3) and Gladys (S.1?) all of whom I just adore.
Needless to say, I had a great time at all of their houses, and was glad I had decided to stay around for Christmas.
Jan 1st (from Sipi Falls)
I have finally acquired a thermometer. I would never have guessed how hard it would be to find a thermometer to measure air temperature. I guess if the temperature never varies more than 20 degrees, all you really care about is whether it's hot, warm, or cold. Thanks to a very kind PCV who was not using his, I now have a small thermometer that informed me that while I was almost shivering, wearing fleece pants and a fleece jacket, warming up my hands with a cup of hot coffee, and thinking about the hat in my tent, it was a balmy 60 degrees outside. And to think I use to walk around Colorado wearing flip flops when it was 30 degrees. I've gone soft.
Jan 2nd
This morning I heard a small "kodi" at my door and found a boy who I had never seen before standing there and very politely greeting me, wishing me a happy new year and then telling me something that I couldn't understand the least of. After me getting him to repeat himself about ten times, and asking about 20 random questions I ascertained that his family's cow has escaped, that it was the one that was standing over there, looking remarkably like my neighbor's, and that he had come to get it back. Feeling slightly nervous, I stood there awkwardly for a while, not wanting to say he could, but not knowing what else to say, and partially thinking he would just go, get the cow, and leave (as I really couldn't give him my permission, especially as there may be some fees they would have to pay if it really had escaped and had been on the school grounds for a while, as that's what we do with the goats that are always sneaking in). Well, he just stood there, and I just stood there, wondering what in the world he wanted. Finally I just said "balamuse" (greet them, the traditional goodbye which means give my greetings to the people at home/there), and he immediately headed off towards the cow. I guess he was just wanting for me, the elder to end the conversation, while I was wanting for him, the one who knew what was going on and had started the conversation, to end the conversation. A nice early morning stand-off.
Jan 3rd
A quote from Fred, commenting on why he didn't cry when he broke his arm.
"I broke my arm myself. Now who was I going to cry for?"
The setting for this was that Michael, one of Mr Okot's kids, just broke his arm. Well, they told me it's dislocated, but he can still bend his elbow just fine...
It's been interesting for me to see how different medicine is here. They've been taking him to see an old lady who obviously knows what she's doing, and seems to be setting the arm by pushing and squeezing it, and (this is my speculation) feeling the bones and making sure they are where they're supposed to be. The first couple times we took him 4 of us had to hold him down while she did this. After the second day she told us to get him some Valium. 5 cents for 4 pills. Each time we go he's in less pain, and now he doesn't even need anyone to hold him. And his arm is getting better; it's less swollen, and less painful.
I'd still take modern medicine.
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