Thursday, July 21, 2011
Leaving
We should be leaving in an hour. Wanted to drop a quick message. Check back and I'll write more after I get home about our trip and the last couple of days.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Week 7
Right now Meagan is sitting at the kitchen table writing her next blog entry on the Mac and Ginger is sitting to my right hand writing her notes for the day and both of us have our feet stretched out on the wooden coffee table. I’m sitting with my laptop in my lap, listening to Dave Matthews Band. We spend a lot of time sitting together, independently writing up our notes, occasionally stopping to verify someone’s name or a quote with the others.
I’m not sure what I’m going to miss the most about my time here, especially since I’m feeling homesick lately. I will probably need time back home to process everything. Physical distance and the distance of time help me see what I cannot when near. But I know I will miss living with Ginger and Meagan. We’ve spent so much time sitting, working together, in grad school and now here, and we are all entering times in our lives that are pulling us to different parts of the US. Meagan will be in New Orleans and Ginger will be in Oregon and from this point on in our careers research will largely be done alone. Just sitting and working with two women who I adore on a person level and implicitly trust on a professional level is something I’m trying to appreciate while I can.
I’m a bit maudlin today as we also reported our recommendations back to the foundation and I think it went quite well. We were able to document how Ginger and Meagan’s recommendations from last year have been implemented and have helped. The curriculum has become more gender balanced and inclusive of children who already are HIV+, for whom HIV education focused solely on prevention is not helpful. There are also drafts of children’s books now which were recommended from the first summer and countless other small ideas that came from their evaluation. I had a few small ideas to contribute too so who knows if they will be helpful in the coming years.
As Reverend Obed asked us about our personal sense of satisfaction beyond our professional input, I think we all got a little emotional talking about getting to be part of this organization. We are naturally critical by training and in the day to day we do focus on the weaknesses of SAS we want improved, but when you step back, it is rather inspirational. But enough sap; little less conversation, little more action!
We are also preparing for a trip to the West, which will serve as a treat to ourselves for working all summer without pay. We are going to Kabale, then Bwindi Impenetrable Forest where we will do a nature hike, then to Mhagahinga National Park where we will climb up Mt. Sabyinyo. Its peak is the international border for the DR of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda so we will be in three counties at once atop it. After that we go to Lake Bunyonyi and will probably be exhausted and manage little more than the dug-out canoe ride to the island our hotel is on. We get back Monday evening, have two days packed with work, then leave Thursday at 11:30 pm.
I’ll try to write before I leave about the trip and be sure to check out the absurd number of pictures we will upload
The last few days have been jam packed with focus groups, observations, and interviews. It’s also been interesting politically. Last Friday South Sudan became a country and Monday the taxi drivers held a strike to protest unfair fees. There were still taxis out because the President agreed to meet the Taxi Union officials early in the strike, but the fewer taxis made prices go up and made boda boda fees almost double.
Monday I had the longest matatu ride of my life, figuratively and literally. It took me 2 hours to travel a few miles. I got on a matatu and it took forever to leave, then proceeded to stop at every possible point to pick up more passengers, sometimes passing the point and reversing back, only to eventually take off again without success. Then traffic jams made things worst and because I was in the front seat I was squished, sharing a row with three others instead of the usual two. Then the conductor thought it would be a good idea to over charge me. I had a 10,000 shilling bill and he gave me 5000 back when I should have gotten 8000 back.
Now 1000 shillings is less than 50 cents, but it is more about the principle than the price. The conductors think they can overcharge white people because we don’t know better and because they assume we are all rich and can afford it. That day I had had enough though and seeing the correct change available in his hand as he avoided my gaze spurred me to action. I got off the taxi and walked right in front of the man, demanding my balance. He gave me a 1000 bill and still refused to look at me as he called the names of the stops the taxi was about to go, attracting new customers. So I took a step back, blocking entrance to the van. That got him looking at me. I said balance and he put another 500 shillings in his hand for me to take, but didn’t extend it. To get the little gold coin I would have to step closer, allowing patrons on. I looked at his hand and then put mine across the door way, more obviously blocking entrance and said “balance sebo (sir)” in a patient, even tone. He made a smacking, tisking sound with his mouth, a common expression of disgust or disapproval here, and gave me another little gold coin.
By this point he was charging me 3000 for a 2000 ride and had tried to charge me 5000. I was happy with the situation and walked away knowing I had still been overcharged but not wanting to escalate matters further. When I told Ginger and Meagan about it they laughed, saying I was becoming a real Ugandan.
Earlier in the week the store owners shut their stores in protest and the electricity has been cutting out more than usual, the fruit of some tension between the government and the power companies. The newspapers are full of articles about the weakening shilling and the rising power of the dollar. After a focus group a mentor told us that most of the expensive apartments are sold in dollars, not shillings. Our neighbor told us her place was $650 US last year but rose to $800 this year and since our place is furnished it goes for $900 US a month! We also had to pull US dollars for our trip because the national parks take dollars if you are not a Ugandan.
It is odd to think about how much the US dollar impacts things here and how the citizens are holding their government responsible. Part of me thinks, what can the President do to control global markets? However a Kenyan doctor I interviewed that worked I humanitarian aid said in her home the price of fuel goes down when the global crude oil rate goes down. She said in Uganda it never goes down once it has risen. As the fuel price rises, so does the cost of food.
Only the well-off farmers also handle their own transportation. Instead middle men traders buy the food for low prices using the cost of gas as an excuse for why they can’t pay more. Transporting traders, not farmers, set the price. The doctor said few farmers are trained in keeping track of their inputs to get a profit and so they accept the traders’ prices. Earlier this summer I spoke with a sociologist who also farmed. He carefully kept track of things, but still only got 2 million shillings out of his crop after investing 3 million into it. He is a Ph.D., so it isn’t only about education and tracking. Many farmers are going under and that combined with the unpredictable weather in which season are shifting means crops are spoiling.
The humanitarian monitoring measures say there is a food shortage and that food prices are higher than ever recorded, though the UN recording only started in 1990. As a result people have been shifting to food that is filling but less nutritional en mass over the last two months. Basically it is a horrible situation, but opportune for me. Because I can see how this plays out on the ground. That said, all the people I’ve been trying to talk to are out of town because of this situation too, but I’m managing where I can. I was talking to a lady about it on the matatu today. You never know when you will find a helpful insight!
Well this is not everything I wanted to write about but the power is out and I’ve run out of juice. I’ll catch you on the flip side!
I’m not sure what I’m going to miss the most about my time here, especially since I’m feeling homesick lately. I will probably need time back home to process everything. Physical distance and the distance of time help me see what I cannot when near. But I know I will miss living with Ginger and Meagan. We’ve spent so much time sitting, working together, in grad school and now here, and we are all entering times in our lives that are pulling us to different parts of the US. Meagan will be in New Orleans and Ginger will be in Oregon and from this point on in our careers research will largely be done alone. Just sitting and working with two women who I adore on a person level and implicitly trust on a professional level is something I’m trying to appreciate while I can.
I’m a bit maudlin today as we also reported our recommendations back to the foundation and I think it went quite well. We were able to document how Ginger and Meagan’s recommendations from last year have been implemented and have helped. The curriculum has become more gender balanced and inclusive of children who already are HIV+, for whom HIV education focused solely on prevention is not helpful. There are also drafts of children’s books now which were recommended from the first summer and countless other small ideas that came from their evaluation. I had a few small ideas to contribute too so who knows if they will be helpful in the coming years.
As Reverend Obed asked us about our personal sense of satisfaction beyond our professional input, I think we all got a little emotional talking about getting to be part of this organization. We are naturally critical by training and in the day to day we do focus on the weaknesses of SAS we want improved, but when you step back, it is rather inspirational. But enough sap; little less conversation, little more action!
We are also preparing for a trip to the West, which will serve as a treat to ourselves for working all summer without pay. We are going to Kabale, then Bwindi Impenetrable Forest where we will do a nature hike, then to Mhagahinga National Park where we will climb up Mt. Sabyinyo. Its peak is the international border for the DR of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda so we will be in three counties at once atop it. After that we go to Lake Bunyonyi and will probably be exhausted and manage little more than the dug-out canoe ride to the island our hotel is on. We get back Monday evening, have two days packed with work, then leave Thursday at 11:30 pm.
I’ll try to write before I leave about the trip and be sure to check out the absurd number of pictures we will upload
The last few days have been jam packed with focus groups, observations, and interviews. It’s also been interesting politically. Last Friday South Sudan became a country and Monday the taxi drivers held a strike to protest unfair fees. There were still taxis out because the President agreed to meet the Taxi Union officials early in the strike, but the fewer taxis made prices go up and made boda boda fees almost double.
Monday I had the longest matatu ride of my life, figuratively and literally. It took me 2 hours to travel a few miles. I got on a matatu and it took forever to leave, then proceeded to stop at every possible point to pick up more passengers, sometimes passing the point and reversing back, only to eventually take off again without success. Then traffic jams made things worst and because I was in the front seat I was squished, sharing a row with three others instead of the usual two. Then the conductor thought it would be a good idea to over charge me. I had a 10,000 shilling bill and he gave me 5000 back when I should have gotten 8000 back.
Now 1000 shillings is less than 50 cents, but it is more about the principle than the price. The conductors think they can overcharge white people because we don’t know better and because they assume we are all rich and can afford it. That day I had had enough though and seeing the correct change available in his hand as he avoided my gaze spurred me to action. I got off the taxi and walked right in front of the man, demanding my balance. He gave me a 1000 bill and still refused to look at me as he called the names of the stops the taxi was about to go, attracting new customers. So I took a step back, blocking entrance to the van. That got him looking at me. I said balance and he put another 500 shillings in his hand for me to take, but didn’t extend it. To get the little gold coin I would have to step closer, allowing patrons on. I looked at his hand and then put mine across the door way, more obviously blocking entrance and said “balance sebo (sir)” in a patient, even tone. He made a smacking, tisking sound with his mouth, a common expression of disgust or disapproval here, and gave me another little gold coin.
By this point he was charging me 3000 for a 2000 ride and had tried to charge me 5000. I was happy with the situation and walked away knowing I had still been overcharged but not wanting to escalate matters further. When I told Ginger and Meagan about it they laughed, saying I was becoming a real Ugandan.
Earlier in the week the store owners shut their stores in protest and the electricity has been cutting out more than usual, the fruit of some tension between the government and the power companies. The newspapers are full of articles about the weakening shilling and the rising power of the dollar. After a focus group a mentor told us that most of the expensive apartments are sold in dollars, not shillings. Our neighbor told us her place was $650 US last year but rose to $800 this year and since our place is furnished it goes for $900 US a month! We also had to pull US dollars for our trip because the national parks take dollars if you are not a Ugandan.
It is odd to think about how much the US dollar impacts things here and how the citizens are holding their government responsible. Part of me thinks, what can the President do to control global markets? However a Kenyan doctor I interviewed that worked I humanitarian aid said in her home the price of fuel goes down when the global crude oil rate goes down. She said in Uganda it never goes down once it has risen. As the fuel price rises, so does the cost of food.
Only the well-off farmers also handle their own transportation. Instead middle men traders buy the food for low prices using the cost of gas as an excuse for why they can’t pay more. Transporting traders, not farmers, set the price. The doctor said few farmers are trained in keeping track of their inputs to get a profit and so they accept the traders’ prices. Earlier this summer I spoke with a sociologist who also farmed. He carefully kept track of things, but still only got 2 million shillings out of his crop after investing 3 million into it. He is a Ph.D., so it isn’t only about education and tracking. Many farmers are going under and that combined with the unpredictable weather in which season are shifting means crops are spoiling.
The humanitarian monitoring measures say there is a food shortage and that food prices are higher than ever recorded, though the UN recording only started in 1990. As a result people have been shifting to food that is filling but less nutritional en mass over the last two months. Basically it is a horrible situation, but opportune for me. Because I can see how this plays out on the ground. That said, all the people I’ve been trying to talk to are out of town because of this situation too, but I’m managing where I can. I was talking to a lady about it on the matatu today. You never know when you will find a helpful insight!
Well this is not everything I wanted to write about but the power is out and I’ve run out of juice. I’ll catch you on the flip side!
Holliday on the way
7/13/11
Today was recommendation day. It went surprisingly well, and all of our suggestions were well received. We also spent a lot of time talking about how things have changed over the past three years. I think they were impressed that we have learned to like matoke and use public menas to get around. Most whites are tucked away in their cars with their spaghetti. We will have a few loose ends to tie up when we get back from our trip, but by and large we are finished working. It is nice, and I’m really looking forward to the trip out west.
We uploaded all of the pictures from this week. Some of them are of letters that we received from students. Most of them are what you would expect, but some are extremely sad. Some of them asked us for help. It is hard to know what to do, but I think we will at least leave a letter for the class.
7/12/11
I’ve spent the entire day transcribing a focus group and there’s still 25 minutes to go out of an hour and 15 minutes. It is so slow and tedious. The fact that it was held under a mango tree doesn’t help either.
Moses helped though, and I’m really starting to enjoy his company. Things are moving forward in arranging his studies in Germany, and he is asking us a lot of questions about traveling and living in a Western country. We told him to try the moving sidewalks. I think he’ll be impressed by them.
7/11/11
We had two focus groups today, and I got asked hard questions again. One that keeps coming up is “Where does HIV come from?” Sometimes I wonder how children fit these types of diseases into their world view and what it would be like to grow up in a world where disease and premature death was common.
7/10/11
Eritrean day! We went over to Rose’s house and had lunch and coffee. For roughly three hours we had lunch and coffee. It was delicious though, and I didn’t even mind watching the wedding video of the wedding that we ourselves attended. Then Rose was nice enough to take us to a shop where we could buy the spices necessary to cook Eritrean food. I need someone to volunteer to taste it for me in the U.S. including the njarra. We’ll see how it goes. I was so tired by the end of the day. I’m feeling better, but I still have a lot of sleep to catch up on it seems like.
7/9/11
Feeling better but still not well. We spent the whole morning at home writing and entering tests. At least the power is holding out for us today. We made a plan to go out with Rose tomorrow. I’m excited about our Eritrean day. We decided against going to Jinja which makes me sad, but I’m just not feeling well enough. Plus I find myself wanting to spend time with people rather than see places. Our trip out west is going to be enough scenery.
7/8/11
Still have a cold. Nicole has been really great in helping me get along. I feel bad that she can hear my sniffling in the night since it is my week to move back into the room with the king size bed. At least she is so far away from me that I can stretch my arms all the way out and still nto touch her.
7/7/11
What a frustrating day, and so much time lost. We met with Seith, who is going to be our guide, but we had to make a deposit on our trip. The only issue is the city wide protest that is going on. Everyone has closed down their shops and I couldn’t draw out any money. I had a really American moment getting frustrated that I couldn’t pull money out of the ATM when I wanted to. I tried three different ones. Two of them had errors messages when I left them (I think I might of broken them), until the third one finally worked.
Other than that we’ve been going to the Foundation everyday this week. I think it has been extremely helpful in showing them what we have been doing.
Today was recommendation day. It went surprisingly well, and all of our suggestions were well received. We also spent a lot of time talking about how things have changed over the past three years. I think they were impressed that we have learned to like matoke and use public menas to get around. Most whites are tucked away in their cars with their spaghetti. We will have a few loose ends to tie up when we get back from our trip, but by and large we are finished working. It is nice, and I’m really looking forward to the trip out west.
We uploaded all of the pictures from this week. Some of them are of letters that we received from students. Most of them are what you would expect, but some are extremely sad. Some of them asked us for help. It is hard to know what to do, but I think we will at least leave a letter for the class.
7/12/11
I’ve spent the entire day transcribing a focus group and there’s still 25 minutes to go out of an hour and 15 minutes. It is so slow and tedious. The fact that it was held under a mango tree doesn’t help either.
Moses helped though, and I’m really starting to enjoy his company. Things are moving forward in arranging his studies in Germany, and he is asking us a lot of questions about traveling and living in a Western country. We told him to try the moving sidewalks. I think he’ll be impressed by them.
7/11/11
We had two focus groups today, and I got asked hard questions again. One that keeps coming up is “Where does HIV come from?” Sometimes I wonder how children fit these types of diseases into their world view and what it would be like to grow up in a world where disease and premature death was common.
7/10/11
Eritrean day! We went over to Rose’s house and had lunch and coffee. For roughly three hours we had lunch and coffee. It was delicious though, and I didn’t even mind watching the wedding video of the wedding that we ourselves attended. Then Rose was nice enough to take us to a shop where we could buy the spices necessary to cook Eritrean food. I need someone to volunteer to taste it for me in the U.S. including the njarra. We’ll see how it goes. I was so tired by the end of the day. I’m feeling better, but I still have a lot of sleep to catch up on it seems like.
7/9/11
Feeling better but still not well. We spent the whole morning at home writing and entering tests. At least the power is holding out for us today. We made a plan to go out with Rose tomorrow. I’m excited about our Eritrean day. We decided against going to Jinja which makes me sad, but I’m just not feeling well enough. Plus I find myself wanting to spend time with people rather than see places. Our trip out west is going to be enough scenery.
7/8/11
Still have a cold. Nicole has been really great in helping me get along. I feel bad that she can hear my sniffling in the night since it is my week to move back into the room with the king size bed. At least she is so far away from me that I can stretch my arms all the way out and still nto touch her.
7/7/11
What a frustrating day, and so much time lost. We met with Seith, who is going to be our guide, but we had to make a deposit on our trip. The only issue is the city wide protest that is going on. Everyone has closed down their shops and I couldn’t draw out any money. I had a really American moment getting frustrated that I couldn’t pull money out of the ATM when I wanted to. I tried three different ones. Two of them had errors messages when I left them (I think I might of broken them), until the third one finally worked.
Other than that we’ve been going to the Foundation everyday this week. I think it has been extremely helpful in showing them what we have been doing.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
The last full work week
7/4/11 – 7/8/11
Happy 4th of July! We decided to just work because it isn’t that exciting to celebrate the holiday here and it isn’t worth going to the embassy across town. At least I don’t think so. I do like America though, mainly because as precarious as the situation seems in America, it is always less so than it is here in Uganda. There have been several days of protest here in the city, and I’m hoping things hold together long enough for us to conclude our trip. I’m not really concerned about running into trouble outside of the city because most of the issues revolve around the strength of the US dollar versus the strength of the Ugandan shilling and inflation of fuel prices. Since people in the village don’t really rely on fossil fuels, it doesn’t really concern them the way it does in the city.
I’m afraid that I don’t have that much to write about because we are scrambling to get as much done as possible this week. We finally got all the data entered at student number 3335. That’s a lot! Now we have the luxury of deciding on how to limit the data collection for the post test that will occur in December. We had our first focus group on Wednesday, and it went incredibly well. We had a lot of good discussion from the students about their concerns surrounding HIV/AIDS, prevention, and management. The group was mostly girls, so we ended up getting several questions about mother to child transmission. It is hard to keep the adults from jumping in and giving their two cents! Meagan did a school observation, and the students all wrote letters for us. A lot of them are really cute and filled with pictures, but some are really sad and pleas for help. We were thinking that we would leave a letter for them if anyone would like to add anything. I think it would be nice for them to know that people are thinking about them.
Lastly we put down a deposit on our trip to the West. Look out Bwindi Impenetrable Forrest, Mgahinga National Forrest, and Lake Bunyonyi! We are supposed to do a nature walk in Bwindi that has several species of butterflies and birds indigenous specifically to the Albertine Rift Valley. Then we will hike to the top of a dead volcano in Mgahinga that stands at the border point between Rwanda and the Congo. Lastly, we will stay in a geodome on an island in Lake Bunyonyi that you get to by dugout canoe. I’m not sure what a geodome is exactly, but it sounds fun. I’m so excited to celebrate the conclusion of our project (for now) with Meagan and Nicole.
I’ll probably make one more post before we leave town on Thursday. We have one more focus group, descriptive statistics for the remaining tests, a couple school observations, and then a meeting with the Foundation to give our initial recommendations. We also have to start catching up with our friends and saying goodbye. I’m not looking forward to it.
Happy 4th of July! We decided to just work because it isn’t that exciting to celebrate the holiday here and it isn’t worth going to the embassy across town. At least I don’t think so. I do like America though, mainly because as precarious as the situation seems in America, it is always less so than it is here in Uganda. There have been several days of protest here in the city, and I’m hoping things hold together long enough for us to conclude our trip. I’m not really concerned about running into trouble outside of the city because most of the issues revolve around the strength of the US dollar versus the strength of the Ugandan shilling and inflation of fuel prices. Since people in the village don’t really rely on fossil fuels, it doesn’t really concern them the way it does in the city.
I’m afraid that I don’t have that much to write about because we are scrambling to get as much done as possible this week. We finally got all the data entered at student number 3335. That’s a lot! Now we have the luxury of deciding on how to limit the data collection for the post test that will occur in December. We had our first focus group on Wednesday, and it went incredibly well. We had a lot of good discussion from the students about their concerns surrounding HIV/AIDS, prevention, and management. The group was mostly girls, so we ended up getting several questions about mother to child transmission. It is hard to keep the adults from jumping in and giving their two cents! Meagan did a school observation, and the students all wrote letters for us. A lot of them are really cute and filled with pictures, but some are really sad and pleas for help. We were thinking that we would leave a letter for them if anyone would like to add anything. I think it would be nice for them to know that people are thinking about them.
Lastly we put down a deposit on our trip to the West. Look out Bwindi Impenetrable Forrest, Mgahinga National Forrest, and Lake Bunyonyi! We are supposed to do a nature walk in Bwindi that has several species of butterflies and birds indigenous specifically to the Albertine Rift Valley. Then we will hike to the top of a dead volcano in Mgahinga that stands at the border point between Rwanda and the Congo. Lastly, we will stay in a geodome on an island in Lake Bunyonyi that you get to by dugout canoe. I’m not sure what a geodome is exactly, but it sounds fun. I’m so excited to celebrate the conclusion of our project (for now) with Meagan and Nicole.
I’ll probably make one more post before we leave town on Thursday. We have one more focus group, descriptive statistics for the remaining tests, a couple school observations, and then a meeting with the Foundation to give our initial recommendations. We also have to start catching up with our friends and saying goodbye. I’m not looking forward to it.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Banange!
7/2/11
So this is probably the longest entry that I’ve made for any one day, but its because it was probably the best day that I’ve had. I’m really going to be sad when we leave.
Today I overheard Annette, the lady who washes our clothes, telling Gerald the gardener, that we weren’t going to be coming back. He didn’t understand at first. He said, “yes, they go away and then come back after some months for June and July.” She said no and explained it again. The day started off emotional. Meagan and I left the house with every intention to finish writing and get caught up in preparation for next week. I think we are going to be super busy next week. Anyway, so we walked to Mulago hospital, and took a different route. We got a little lost, but a long the way we heard people singing as they were planting their crops for the season. It was lovely to walk beneath the banana trees listening to hymns and catch glimpses of the city between the leaves. Meagan and I spent the time reflecting back on this summer and the past summer, talking about things that we would have done differently and things that went surprisingly well, our development as researchers, and our development as anthropologists. A running analogy that we have been using is the act of blowing on a dandelion in hopes that some seeds will settle and grow. We have more dandelions than we know what to do with. I told her, “Now I know why they’re considered weeds.” But as always, we concluded that the experience has been positive, and that we still have a lot to learn (seeing as how we can still get lost and still need to ask for directions in a place that we are fairly familiar with).
We got to Mulago and the café was closed. Damn. So we took a boda to 1000 Cups, again took the wrong direction. This time we knew where we were and decided to walk the remainder of the way. As we walked we heard music coming from one of the schools where the Foundation has implemented the program, and we peeked around the corner to see what was going on. A construction worker (who had nothing to do with what was going on) saw us and coaxed us into going up around the fence to see, and we happened to come upon a group of traditional dancers and musicians practicing for an event. The director then spotted us and coaxed us to come to the front to watch the performance. We were so embarrassed and I’m sure it was clearly visible, but we managed to breathe and sit in chairs while they performed traditional dances and songs using traditional instruments from different tribes in Uganda. They were incredible dancers, drummers, musicians, singers. It is hard to convey because you could tell that they were actually enjoying what they were doing, and it wasn’t just a dance or a song. It was truly an artistic expression of an emotion and an experience and a culture.
Given that Meagan and I were already feeling sentimental, we burst into tears, increasing my level of embarrassment to astronomical levels. We couldn’t even look at each other. I don’t think that they could see us crying from the distance, thank God. Afterwards, we spent time talking with the musicians and dancers. We explained who we were. We even happened to have the children’s books that the Foundation has been working on per our suggestion. They wanted to take them away to read, but we had to explain that they were originals, and we didn’t have any copies to leave with them. They suggested that we hold an event so that they could come and perform for us. I’m certainly inclined, but they also said it would be ok if we come and watch them rehearse again during the week. You can count on that. It is an experience that you dream about when you are studying, and then while you’re in the midst of it you think to yourself, “I really am an anthropologist. I really can do this…well.”
Then we decided to continue to 1000 Cups. It was coming to 11:00, we left at 8:30 and still hadn’t accomplished anything that we had intended to do. Since we were on a roll of whimsical endeavors, we stopped in a dress shop, and spent another period of time since Meagan decided that she wanted to have a dress made. We picked some nice fabric and designed a dress. Then when we walked up we saw some our friends Frank, Ruby, and Joan. We got a smoothie and socialized. We also had to explain to Joan that we were leaving soon and that we weren’t coming back. She said, “but you come back in June.” We had to tell her that we weren’t coming back next June.
By the time that we were through, it was time to go home because Grace was preparing lunch for us - my favorite dish that she makes, Thai chicken for my birthday. Also avocados and gooseberries. I still hadn’t accomplished anything workwise, so I sat down to do a little writing. Got distracted again with phone calls from home, and then I needed to take a shower. Meagan and I switched rooms, and we made pizza. We’ve been making our own sauce, using pita bread for crust, and putting goat cheese and olives on top. I’m starting to like it better than any other kind.
We then went to join our friends for the evening. We got stuck in a jam on a matatu, and I had everyone laughing because I could understand some of the Luganda that was going on. I’ve been trying to learn a new word everyday. Today was “Banange!” which doesn’t really have a direct translation, but is something along the lines of “Oh my God!” Ladies use it a lot when they are gossiping and talking about the prices of things. They wanted to me to speak a bunch, but I’m just not there yet. I’m only just beginning to understand, which is an accomplishment in of itself to me. I’m really excited about how much easier it is getting to understand what is going on, even if I don’t understand every word.
We met with a good group of our friends to talk and dance and laugh. Our Ugandan friends like to make jokes about how white people dance. They say that the white people are always dancing to the next song. I thought that was pretty funny. They make these jokes because they are often surprised that we can at least keep up with them dance wise. I did do my impression of what they were talking about, dancing to the next song that is, and they were rolling laughing. I’ve also started doing impressions of them in my best Ugandan accent, which they love equally as well.
7/1/11
Mentor meeting went well, and we got a lot of good feedback from them as well. It was nice to see a lot of them again. Many familiar faces.
6/30/11
We have been talking about taking a trip out west, so we spent the day discussing and planning this trip. For me traveling (I guess it’s pretty obvious by now) is one of the best gifts, and planning those trips is a close second.
We also did some shopping, ate pizza, met some British missionaries who were working with orphan children. All around a great birthday.
6/29/11
More writing and trying to crank out the statistical results for our pretest to hand back to the Foundation on Friday. Meagan has spent a number of hours combing through and fixing errors that we’ve caught. All in all it has gone pretty well, and its exciting to start seeing certain trends emerge from the numbers. None of the trends are that surprising, but it is reaffirming to see those trends emerging in the numbers. It also means that we have been doing good work so far in past summers, before I was confident about what I was doing.
I have finally gotten all of my field notes written up, and I feel like I need to add some things that I forgot on our trip…so here is our trip to Hoima and Gulu revisited…
6/28/11
…except my visit to the UNCST. I don’t really want to revisit that.
6/27/11
By now, maybe you have seen the videos that we took at one of the schools that we went to. We spent a long time sitting and talking with the administration there. They were very good and warm people. Sometimes the Acholi get described as fierce and belligerent, and as with anyone I’m sure that’s true in the appropriate context, but everyone we’ve met has been warm and welcoming. This particular school was fortunate because they had an administrator who was also a nurse. That means she could provide counseling to many of the students for their health needs, but she was explaining some of the challenges that their school faces. Namely that many of the students are orphans, but still live in their homes with their remaining brothers and sisters. These “child-run households” mean that older children manage the home while the younger children are able to go to school if they are lucky. The head teacher said, “we have become the parents of the parentless.” The administration doesn’t know how to provide for these children. I wouldn’t presume to know the best way either, but its clear that the needs, despite the fact that the town is swamped with NGOs, are not being met.
I think that I’m still trying to process the experience, and I keep thinking about a speech that I made at a fundraiser for the Foundation in October. I spent my time trying to translate my experience into terms that were understandable to the audience, and why a program that offers education, counseling, and guidance is important. I said, “I’m appealing to you as parents, or as grandparents as the case may be, to support a program that in turn supports children in a place where an entire generation of parents has been lost.” (or something very close to that). At the time I was drawing on an experience that I had in a school where the majority of the students were refugees from the Congo or the northern part of Uganda. I still believe the statement to be true, but now that I have been to Gulu, it feels even more true, if that is possible.
6/26/11
The local tribe in this area are the Acholi. Their language is totally different from Luganda. I don’t think that it is even in the same Bantu language group that includes most of the languages in East Africa. Anyway I felt like I was at square one in terms of accent and phrasing. All of my Luganda words useless, which made it a little more challenging to get around seeing as how the map in our travel guide was wrong. It had two roundabouts on the map when there was only one in the city.
Later when we were discussing what was so eerie about Gulu I kept thinking about the one roundabout with the sculptures of the children in the middle reading books. There were many children going to school, but there were very few parents visibly caring for the multitude of children. I think Nicole articulated it best when she said, “it was obvious that people were missing.”
6/25/11
I woke up with the sun before the alarm. When the alarm started going off, I stopped it and replaced it with my own alarm noises for Meagan and Nicole’s enjoyment. They laughed at it, and at least it is more pleasant than some electronic buzzing irritating you out of sleep. I really don’t like alarms incase you didn’t notice.
On the way to Masindi, we saw a troop of baboons. That’s were Nicole’s thumb picture was taken. Past Masindi we went through small town after small town, each with its own set of speed bumps. We crossed over the Nile at a place called Karuma Falls, which also is surrounded by a forest conservation area. That is where we fed the baboons from our car. Later we read in our travel guide an explicit statement to not feed baboons because it makes them aggressive and they end up biting people. We aren’t very good tourists.
6/24/11
In the car we asked Rev what it was like to live here in the 70s and 80s. He told us that where we were driving, it was not possible to travel there in that time because it was controlled by rebel groups. It is hard to think of a place has only been passable for about twenty years. I forgot how beautiful the landscape is in the country side on the way to Hoima.
As we were about to leave for lunch after the mentor meeting. Rev realized that the car was dead because he had left the lights on. Seeing as how we would have to walk into town anyway to find someone to help us, we walked in to town to get lunch first. Luckily we packed peanuts in our bag to snack on along the way because it was almost 3:00 pm, and we hadn’t had a meal since that morning at 6:00 am. We’ve gotten much better about preparing for things that are likely going to happen. We stopped in a tiny restaurant, and the people were extremely nice to us. I wonder if they had ever served white people before. Not because the service was unusual or anything by Ugandan standards, but because the restaurant was so small, it only two tables in it. One inside, one outside. The man running the restaurant helped Rev get a jump.
At the hotel, I finally finished the book Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Anne Kidd Taylor. It is about relationships between older mothers and daughters. I really recommend it if you fall into one of those categories. Meagan, Nicole, and I have been passing around books, so I passed in on to Meagan. She asked if it was good and I said “yes, it almost made me cry.” Meagan goes, “ok, so then I probably will cry.” Rev sat in on the conversation, and also thought it was funny.
So this is probably the longest entry that I’ve made for any one day, but its because it was probably the best day that I’ve had. I’m really going to be sad when we leave.
Today I overheard Annette, the lady who washes our clothes, telling Gerald the gardener, that we weren’t going to be coming back. He didn’t understand at first. He said, “yes, they go away and then come back after some months for June and July.” She said no and explained it again. The day started off emotional. Meagan and I left the house with every intention to finish writing and get caught up in preparation for next week. I think we are going to be super busy next week. Anyway, so we walked to Mulago hospital, and took a different route. We got a little lost, but a long the way we heard people singing as they were planting their crops for the season. It was lovely to walk beneath the banana trees listening to hymns and catch glimpses of the city between the leaves. Meagan and I spent the time reflecting back on this summer and the past summer, talking about things that we would have done differently and things that went surprisingly well, our development as researchers, and our development as anthropologists. A running analogy that we have been using is the act of blowing on a dandelion in hopes that some seeds will settle and grow. We have more dandelions than we know what to do with. I told her, “Now I know why they’re considered weeds.” But as always, we concluded that the experience has been positive, and that we still have a lot to learn (seeing as how we can still get lost and still need to ask for directions in a place that we are fairly familiar with).
We got to Mulago and the café was closed. Damn. So we took a boda to 1000 Cups, again took the wrong direction. This time we knew where we were and decided to walk the remainder of the way. As we walked we heard music coming from one of the schools where the Foundation has implemented the program, and we peeked around the corner to see what was going on. A construction worker (who had nothing to do with what was going on) saw us and coaxed us into going up around the fence to see, and we happened to come upon a group of traditional dancers and musicians practicing for an event. The director then spotted us and coaxed us to come to the front to watch the performance. We were so embarrassed and I’m sure it was clearly visible, but we managed to breathe and sit in chairs while they performed traditional dances and songs using traditional instruments from different tribes in Uganda. They were incredible dancers, drummers, musicians, singers. It is hard to convey because you could tell that they were actually enjoying what they were doing, and it wasn’t just a dance or a song. It was truly an artistic expression of an emotion and an experience and a culture.
Given that Meagan and I were already feeling sentimental, we burst into tears, increasing my level of embarrassment to astronomical levels. We couldn’t even look at each other. I don’t think that they could see us crying from the distance, thank God. Afterwards, we spent time talking with the musicians and dancers. We explained who we were. We even happened to have the children’s books that the Foundation has been working on per our suggestion. They wanted to take them away to read, but we had to explain that they were originals, and we didn’t have any copies to leave with them. They suggested that we hold an event so that they could come and perform for us. I’m certainly inclined, but they also said it would be ok if we come and watch them rehearse again during the week. You can count on that. It is an experience that you dream about when you are studying, and then while you’re in the midst of it you think to yourself, “I really am an anthropologist. I really can do this…well.”
Then we decided to continue to 1000 Cups. It was coming to 11:00, we left at 8:30 and still hadn’t accomplished anything that we had intended to do. Since we were on a roll of whimsical endeavors, we stopped in a dress shop, and spent another period of time since Meagan decided that she wanted to have a dress made. We picked some nice fabric and designed a dress. Then when we walked up we saw some our friends Frank, Ruby, and Joan. We got a smoothie and socialized. We also had to explain to Joan that we were leaving soon and that we weren’t coming back. She said, “but you come back in June.” We had to tell her that we weren’t coming back next June.
By the time that we were through, it was time to go home because Grace was preparing lunch for us - my favorite dish that she makes, Thai chicken for my birthday. Also avocados and gooseberries. I still hadn’t accomplished anything workwise, so I sat down to do a little writing. Got distracted again with phone calls from home, and then I needed to take a shower. Meagan and I switched rooms, and we made pizza. We’ve been making our own sauce, using pita bread for crust, and putting goat cheese and olives on top. I’m starting to like it better than any other kind.
We then went to join our friends for the evening. We got stuck in a jam on a matatu, and I had everyone laughing because I could understand some of the Luganda that was going on. I’ve been trying to learn a new word everyday. Today was “Banange!” which doesn’t really have a direct translation, but is something along the lines of “Oh my God!” Ladies use it a lot when they are gossiping and talking about the prices of things. They wanted to me to speak a bunch, but I’m just not there yet. I’m only just beginning to understand, which is an accomplishment in of itself to me. I’m really excited about how much easier it is getting to understand what is going on, even if I don’t understand every word.
We met with a good group of our friends to talk and dance and laugh. Our Ugandan friends like to make jokes about how white people dance. They say that the white people are always dancing to the next song. I thought that was pretty funny. They make these jokes because they are often surprised that we can at least keep up with them dance wise. I did do my impression of what they were talking about, dancing to the next song that is, and they were rolling laughing. I’ve also started doing impressions of them in my best Ugandan accent, which they love equally as well.
7/1/11
Mentor meeting went well, and we got a lot of good feedback from them as well. It was nice to see a lot of them again. Many familiar faces.
6/30/11
We have been talking about taking a trip out west, so we spent the day discussing and planning this trip. For me traveling (I guess it’s pretty obvious by now) is one of the best gifts, and planning those trips is a close second.
We also did some shopping, ate pizza, met some British missionaries who were working with orphan children. All around a great birthday.
6/29/11
More writing and trying to crank out the statistical results for our pretest to hand back to the Foundation on Friday. Meagan has spent a number of hours combing through and fixing errors that we’ve caught. All in all it has gone pretty well, and its exciting to start seeing certain trends emerge from the numbers. None of the trends are that surprising, but it is reaffirming to see those trends emerging in the numbers. It also means that we have been doing good work so far in past summers, before I was confident about what I was doing.
I have finally gotten all of my field notes written up, and I feel like I need to add some things that I forgot on our trip…so here is our trip to Hoima and Gulu revisited…
6/28/11
…except my visit to the UNCST. I don’t really want to revisit that.
6/27/11
By now, maybe you have seen the videos that we took at one of the schools that we went to. We spent a long time sitting and talking with the administration there. They were very good and warm people. Sometimes the Acholi get described as fierce and belligerent, and as with anyone I’m sure that’s true in the appropriate context, but everyone we’ve met has been warm and welcoming. This particular school was fortunate because they had an administrator who was also a nurse. That means she could provide counseling to many of the students for their health needs, but she was explaining some of the challenges that their school faces. Namely that many of the students are orphans, but still live in their homes with their remaining brothers and sisters. These “child-run households” mean that older children manage the home while the younger children are able to go to school if they are lucky. The head teacher said, “we have become the parents of the parentless.” The administration doesn’t know how to provide for these children. I wouldn’t presume to know the best way either, but its clear that the needs, despite the fact that the town is swamped with NGOs, are not being met.
I think that I’m still trying to process the experience, and I keep thinking about a speech that I made at a fundraiser for the Foundation in October. I spent my time trying to translate my experience into terms that were understandable to the audience, and why a program that offers education, counseling, and guidance is important. I said, “I’m appealing to you as parents, or as grandparents as the case may be, to support a program that in turn supports children in a place where an entire generation of parents has been lost.” (or something very close to that). At the time I was drawing on an experience that I had in a school where the majority of the students were refugees from the Congo or the northern part of Uganda. I still believe the statement to be true, but now that I have been to Gulu, it feels even more true, if that is possible.
6/26/11
The local tribe in this area are the Acholi. Their language is totally different from Luganda. I don’t think that it is even in the same Bantu language group that includes most of the languages in East Africa. Anyway I felt like I was at square one in terms of accent and phrasing. All of my Luganda words useless, which made it a little more challenging to get around seeing as how the map in our travel guide was wrong. It had two roundabouts on the map when there was only one in the city.
Later when we were discussing what was so eerie about Gulu I kept thinking about the one roundabout with the sculptures of the children in the middle reading books. There were many children going to school, but there were very few parents visibly caring for the multitude of children. I think Nicole articulated it best when she said, “it was obvious that people were missing.”
6/25/11
I woke up with the sun before the alarm. When the alarm started going off, I stopped it and replaced it with my own alarm noises for Meagan and Nicole’s enjoyment. They laughed at it, and at least it is more pleasant than some electronic buzzing irritating you out of sleep. I really don’t like alarms incase you didn’t notice.
On the way to Masindi, we saw a troop of baboons. That’s were Nicole’s thumb picture was taken. Past Masindi we went through small town after small town, each with its own set of speed bumps. We crossed over the Nile at a place called Karuma Falls, which also is surrounded by a forest conservation area. That is where we fed the baboons from our car. Later we read in our travel guide an explicit statement to not feed baboons because it makes them aggressive and they end up biting people. We aren’t very good tourists.
6/24/11
In the car we asked Rev what it was like to live here in the 70s and 80s. He told us that where we were driving, it was not possible to travel there in that time because it was controlled by rebel groups. It is hard to think of a place has only been passable for about twenty years. I forgot how beautiful the landscape is in the country side on the way to Hoima.
As we were about to leave for lunch after the mentor meeting. Rev realized that the car was dead because he had left the lights on. Seeing as how we would have to walk into town anyway to find someone to help us, we walked in to town to get lunch first. Luckily we packed peanuts in our bag to snack on along the way because it was almost 3:00 pm, and we hadn’t had a meal since that morning at 6:00 am. We’ve gotten much better about preparing for things that are likely going to happen. We stopped in a tiny restaurant, and the people were extremely nice to us. I wonder if they had ever served white people before. Not because the service was unusual or anything by Ugandan standards, but because the restaurant was so small, it only two tables in it. One inside, one outside. The man running the restaurant helped Rev get a jump.
At the hotel, I finally finished the book Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Anne Kidd Taylor. It is about relationships between older mothers and daughters. I really recommend it if you fall into one of those categories. Meagan, Nicole, and I have been passing around books, so I passed in on to Meagan. She asked if it was good and I said “yes, it almost made me cry.” Meagan goes, “ok, so then I probably will cry.” Rev sat in on the conversation, and also thought it was funny.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Gulu and Hoima
6/28/11
Just getting ready for the week and the mentor meeting on Friday. Got our approval from the UNCST. It feels like a dream. Also we should have the pictures up soon, so be on the look out. Cheers!
6/27/11
Rev was pushing to get home for some reason, so we squeezed two school visits in and headed home. The children and the school staff were very helpful. They gave us some more tests as a parting gift. The people at the hotel seemed sad that we were leaving. It was fun to meet people so quickly. The trip home was relatively uneventful except that I was worried that Rev was going to loose his bumper because it was coming loose. We also bought a ton of mangoes, more than we can possibly eat for 2,000 shillings (less than a dollar). I thought we were buying like five, but it was more like fifty.
6/26/11
Sunday we were free to roam around Gulu on our own. It was fun to do a lot of walking after spending so much time in the car. Not much going on in Gulu, however. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.
I got to meet two of the mentors in the area and interview them. They both went very well. Gulu is definitely different from the rest of the country. People just want to get on with their lives so badly and live peacefully and healthy. P.S. also met someone named Simba. I thought that was fun.
6/25/11
I woke up with the sun, around 6:45. The restaurant for breakfast was still locked. No such thing as a 6:00 am continental breakfast here. We went for a meeting with another organization that works with HIV positive people in Hoima. SAS is looking to partner with them as well. We got lost looking for the office, but we were only lost for roughly 45 minutes. That just doesn’t seem like a very long time to me anymore.
The meeting went well, and it seems like they might be interested in partnering with SAS in the future. We continued on our way to Gulu via Masindi eating mangoes like apples and stopping to take pictures of the baboons and the Nile River as we crossed over. Rev was a good sport to stop from time to time to let us be tourists.
We crossed the path of a rat, which is supposed to be bad luck. We had a good laugh about superstitions as I explained how people in America sometimes derive meaning out of what is probably a coincidental experience. I told him about the time Summer Brooke saw a hawk snatch a squirrel in Marion Square in Charleston, which she interpreted as an omen that Auburn would beat LSU in football that year (she predicted correctly).
Gulu itself feels sort of like a town out of an old Western movie. It is the last town before people cross the border into Sudan, and has been plagued by guerilla war for a while. It is just now safe enough for children to go back to school. The hotel was nice although it didn’t have power. Again, it isn’t something that bothers me anymore. They ran a generator at night at least. On the other hand we all had to share a double bed, which was rather trying. Poor Nicole, who is the tallest among us, had the biggest challenge.
6/24/11
We made it to Hoima without a hitch. Along the way we saw lots of Ankole cows, which I love. Their horns arc and sway so gracefully as they graze. We arrived at Meeting Point first which is an organization that SAS collaborates with in Hoima. Meeting Point is a networking organization for HIV positive people. SAS tries to employ HIV positive people as mentors to teach in the classroom in an effort to empower people living with HIV.
We went to observe two schools in Hoima. One was an Islamic school, which was interesting. One of the teachers told me that there is an Arabic word for AIDS. I didn’t know that. The Islamic religion in Uganda is something that I haven’t had much exposure to, and doesn’t often come up in the context of HIV spread, so it was nice to visit a school and talk with some of the teachers.
At Meeting Point we got a chance to talk with some of the mentors that were around. It was good to see some of the same ones from last summer. They’re really a great collection of people. When we got in the car to go check in the hotel, the car wouldn’t start. The lights had gotten left on after driving through the fog into Hoima. I was just thankful that we made it into town before we started having car troubles. At least we were able to get a jump easily and deal with it.
The hotel didn’t have water for the day/night that we stayed there, so we had to use jerry cans and wash basins to get clean. I’ve gotten really good at washing in a wash basin.
Just getting ready for the week and the mentor meeting on Friday. Got our approval from the UNCST. It feels like a dream. Also we should have the pictures up soon, so be on the look out. Cheers!
6/27/11
Rev was pushing to get home for some reason, so we squeezed two school visits in and headed home. The children and the school staff were very helpful. They gave us some more tests as a parting gift. The people at the hotel seemed sad that we were leaving. It was fun to meet people so quickly. The trip home was relatively uneventful except that I was worried that Rev was going to loose his bumper because it was coming loose. We also bought a ton of mangoes, more than we can possibly eat for 2,000 shillings (less than a dollar). I thought we were buying like five, but it was more like fifty.
6/26/11
Sunday we were free to roam around Gulu on our own. It was fun to do a lot of walking after spending so much time in the car. Not much going on in Gulu, however. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.
I got to meet two of the mentors in the area and interview them. They both went very well. Gulu is definitely different from the rest of the country. People just want to get on with their lives so badly and live peacefully and healthy. P.S. also met someone named Simba. I thought that was fun.
6/25/11
I woke up with the sun, around 6:45. The restaurant for breakfast was still locked. No such thing as a 6:00 am continental breakfast here. We went for a meeting with another organization that works with HIV positive people in Hoima. SAS is looking to partner with them as well. We got lost looking for the office, but we were only lost for roughly 45 minutes. That just doesn’t seem like a very long time to me anymore.
The meeting went well, and it seems like they might be interested in partnering with SAS in the future. We continued on our way to Gulu via Masindi eating mangoes like apples and stopping to take pictures of the baboons and the Nile River as we crossed over. Rev was a good sport to stop from time to time to let us be tourists.
We crossed the path of a rat, which is supposed to be bad luck. We had a good laugh about superstitions as I explained how people in America sometimes derive meaning out of what is probably a coincidental experience. I told him about the time Summer Brooke saw a hawk snatch a squirrel in Marion Square in Charleston, which she interpreted as an omen that Auburn would beat LSU in football that year (she predicted correctly).
Gulu itself feels sort of like a town out of an old Western movie. It is the last town before people cross the border into Sudan, and has been plagued by guerilla war for a while. It is just now safe enough for children to go back to school. The hotel was nice although it didn’t have power. Again, it isn’t something that bothers me anymore. They ran a generator at night at least. On the other hand we all had to share a double bed, which was rather trying. Poor Nicole, who is the tallest among us, had the biggest challenge.
6/24/11
We made it to Hoima without a hitch. Along the way we saw lots of Ankole cows, which I love. Their horns arc and sway so gracefully as they graze. We arrived at Meeting Point first which is an organization that SAS collaborates with in Hoima. Meeting Point is a networking organization for HIV positive people. SAS tries to employ HIV positive people as mentors to teach in the classroom in an effort to empower people living with HIV.
We went to observe two schools in Hoima. One was an Islamic school, which was interesting. One of the teachers told me that there is an Arabic word for AIDS. I didn’t know that. The Islamic religion in Uganda is something that I haven’t had much exposure to, and doesn’t often come up in the context of HIV spread, so it was nice to visit a school and talk with some of the teachers.
At Meeting Point we got a chance to talk with some of the mentors that were around. It was good to see some of the same ones from last summer. They’re really a great collection of people. When we got in the car to go check in the hotel, the car wouldn’t start. The lights had gotten left on after driving through the fog into Hoima. I was just thankful that we made it into town before we started having car troubles. At least we were able to get a jump easily and deal with it.
The hotel didn’t have water for the day/night that we stayed there, so we had to use jerry cans and wash basins to get clean. I’ve gotten really good at washing in a wash basin.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tests Complete
6/23/11
Doing some last minute things before we leave tomorrow. We won’t be back until Tuesday evening, which means that we’ll be out of touch till Wednesday or so. I’m really excited! Especially for Gulu. We are supposed to get there on Sunday, which I hope will give us time to see the city and maybe the surrounding areas before we meet with mentors and schools.
6/22/11
I’m really proud of myself today. I walked to town and saw three people that I knew along the way on the street. Augustine, who’s house we went to a few weeks back for a birthday party, a SAS clinic employee, and Andrew, the youngest of Dr. Muhumuza’s siblings. I found him stranded o the side of the road in the middle of a driving lesson because the car over heated. Since I was walking I couldn’t be of much use except to lighten the mood and make jokes. He told me that he had been trying to get in touch with me. He said that he had heard that I had lost a lot of weight. =? I’m not sure who is discussing my weight to Andrew, but I think it is Rachel, another one of the ten siblings. I guess it is a compliment, in a way, after not seeing someone for a year. Either way it makes for a great story in the classroom when I’m teaching about beauty and weight. Here it is desirable to be on the thicker side.
We’ve been generating the statistics for the tests. Not sure what to make of it yet, but I’ll let you all know when we’re finished.
6/21/11
Today I met a deaf student on the matatu. Talk about really peaking my interest. I watched him negotiate the situation so cleverly, asking the conductor where the taxi was going, tell him where he needed to get off, and then explaining that he only had 500 shillings even though the fair is supposed to be 1,000 shillings. Obviously we didn’t speak, but we wrote notes to each other back and forth in my notebook. I’m always impressed with the acceptance and incorporation of people with disabilities here in Uganda. It just simply isn’t a big deal. I think part of it is because it is so common to have a disability of some sort, that you just aren’t special because you have one; however, people who are disability free have so much more patience because they are accustomed to interacting with all kinds of people. There is just a much more integrated community here, whether it’s age, or disability. Maybe gender is an exception. There is some segregation socially by gender, but it isn’t any more than any other place that I’ve been or lived.
We met at the Foundation to make plans for traveling with Rev and Beatrice, the older sister to Dr. Muhumuza. Looks like we are going push on straight from Hoima to Gulu without a break in between. Rev is going to drive us all around which should be interesting. I always love getting to meet with Beatrice. She is stately to say the least, commands respect when she enters the room, always dressed trendy, but still true to the African fashion, is a member of parliament to the dismay of many men. Isn’t thwarted when they try to poison her food, and enjoys well landscaped gardens. I admire her as a multidimensional woman.
Lastly, from there we dropped by SAS clinic where the Foundation used to be housed to catch up with our acquaintances there. One of our friends, Florence, got married this year and is now eight months pregnant. I don’t feel like I’ve changed that much in a year, so it is weird to see people again and they’re totally different (and enormously pregnant). She was giving us a hard time, the way that many people do, because we are getting rather old to still be unmarried according to Ugandan standards. Especially Meagan and Nicole, not me so much. They also know that Americans wait longer to get married and have less kids, so they think it is funny to make jokes and watch us squirm and blush. Its ok, I joke right back about having large numbers of children (which is a changing trend between the younger and older generations of Ugandans. Younger Ugandan women want fewer children than before. Like four instead of twelve. This is often a source of unspoken tension between younger and older generations of Ugandan women and ripe for making jokes). This is about how the conversation goes:
Pregnant Florence: “So Ginger, when are you getting married.”
Ginger: “I don’t know. Not soon.”
Pregnant Florence: “Maybe I should anoint you.”
Ginger (grimace): “No way. “
(Everyone laughs)
Ginger: “But I think by the time I come back next year, you should be having another. I want lots of nieces and nephews.”
Florence (grimace): “No. I taking a break after this one.”
(Everyone laughs)
6/20/11
We finally finished entering tests! But we’ve discovered that are likely more waiting for us in Hoima and Gulu! In my mind I keep thinking, “Please stop sending us data. I’m begging you.” What a luxury, right? Anyway, Moses helped us with the last of the tests, numbering somewhere around 2,400. Meagan wins the bet, although we still haven’t settled on what she wins exactly.
Moses also got some good news today. He got accepted to a language program in Germany. This means that he can get a visa to go there as a student and live with Sonja. It’s really fun cheering on their relationship. He was so excited that he couldn’t do anything but sit there an smile. So much so that he was getting late for his German class, so we pushed him out the door. Good thing he has us Americans making him keep time.
That night we relaxed and watched a bootleg movie. One of my favorite things to do. It was the best-worst movie ever, so bad that it was comical. I won’t tell you which one it is, but if you’re in need of a laugh let me know and I’ll recommend it to you.
Doing some last minute things before we leave tomorrow. We won’t be back until Tuesday evening, which means that we’ll be out of touch till Wednesday or so. I’m really excited! Especially for Gulu. We are supposed to get there on Sunday, which I hope will give us time to see the city and maybe the surrounding areas before we meet with mentors and schools.
6/22/11
I’m really proud of myself today. I walked to town and saw three people that I knew along the way on the street. Augustine, who’s house we went to a few weeks back for a birthday party, a SAS clinic employee, and Andrew, the youngest of Dr. Muhumuza’s siblings. I found him stranded o the side of the road in the middle of a driving lesson because the car over heated. Since I was walking I couldn’t be of much use except to lighten the mood and make jokes. He told me that he had been trying to get in touch with me. He said that he had heard that I had lost a lot of weight. =? I’m not sure who is discussing my weight to Andrew, but I think it is Rachel, another one of the ten siblings. I guess it is a compliment, in a way, after not seeing someone for a year. Either way it makes for a great story in the classroom when I’m teaching about beauty and weight. Here it is desirable to be on the thicker side.
We’ve been generating the statistics for the tests. Not sure what to make of it yet, but I’ll let you all know when we’re finished.
6/21/11
Today I met a deaf student on the matatu. Talk about really peaking my interest. I watched him negotiate the situation so cleverly, asking the conductor where the taxi was going, tell him where he needed to get off, and then explaining that he only had 500 shillings even though the fair is supposed to be 1,000 shillings. Obviously we didn’t speak, but we wrote notes to each other back and forth in my notebook. I’m always impressed with the acceptance and incorporation of people with disabilities here in Uganda. It just simply isn’t a big deal. I think part of it is because it is so common to have a disability of some sort, that you just aren’t special because you have one; however, people who are disability free have so much more patience because they are accustomed to interacting with all kinds of people. There is just a much more integrated community here, whether it’s age, or disability. Maybe gender is an exception. There is some segregation socially by gender, but it isn’t any more than any other place that I’ve been or lived.
We met at the Foundation to make plans for traveling with Rev and Beatrice, the older sister to Dr. Muhumuza. Looks like we are going push on straight from Hoima to Gulu without a break in between. Rev is going to drive us all around which should be interesting. I always love getting to meet with Beatrice. She is stately to say the least, commands respect when she enters the room, always dressed trendy, but still true to the African fashion, is a member of parliament to the dismay of many men. Isn’t thwarted when they try to poison her food, and enjoys well landscaped gardens. I admire her as a multidimensional woman.
Lastly, from there we dropped by SAS clinic where the Foundation used to be housed to catch up with our acquaintances there. One of our friends, Florence, got married this year and is now eight months pregnant. I don’t feel like I’ve changed that much in a year, so it is weird to see people again and they’re totally different (and enormously pregnant). She was giving us a hard time, the way that many people do, because we are getting rather old to still be unmarried according to Ugandan standards. Especially Meagan and Nicole, not me so much. They also know that Americans wait longer to get married and have less kids, so they think it is funny to make jokes and watch us squirm and blush. Its ok, I joke right back about having large numbers of children (which is a changing trend between the younger and older generations of Ugandans. Younger Ugandan women want fewer children than before. Like four instead of twelve. This is often a source of unspoken tension between younger and older generations of Ugandan women and ripe for making jokes). This is about how the conversation goes:
Pregnant Florence: “So Ginger, when are you getting married.”
Ginger: “I don’t know. Not soon.”
Pregnant Florence: “Maybe I should anoint you.”
Ginger (grimace): “No way. “
(Everyone laughs)
Ginger: “But I think by the time I come back next year, you should be having another. I want lots of nieces and nephews.”
Florence (grimace): “No. I taking a break after this one.”
(Everyone laughs)
6/20/11
We finally finished entering tests! But we’ve discovered that are likely more waiting for us in Hoima and Gulu! In my mind I keep thinking, “Please stop sending us data. I’m begging you.” What a luxury, right? Anyway, Moses helped us with the last of the tests, numbering somewhere around 2,400. Meagan wins the bet, although we still haven’t settled on what she wins exactly.
Moses also got some good news today. He got accepted to a language program in Germany. This means that he can get a visa to go there as a student and live with Sonja. It’s really fun cheering on their relationship. He was so excited that he couldn’t do anything but sit there an smile. So much so that he was getting late for his German class, so we pushed him out the door. Good thing he has us Americans making him keep time.
That night we relaxed and watched a bootleg movie. One of my favorite things to do. It was the best-worst movie ever, so bad that it was comical. I won’t tell you which one it is, but if you’re in need of a laugh let me know and I’ll recommend it to you.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Week 4 Pictures
We've posted the pictures from week, and we have some videos! We have made plans to travel at the end of the week. Very exciting - Hoima then Gulu.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
A Barn Burning Weekend
6/19/11
Happy Father’s Day! We went to church today. It was only two hours instead of four this time, but that was partially because we got delayed two hours by the rain. There was a guest pastor from Nigera who was pretty entertaining. We dropped by Mary’s house because we knew that she would be expecting us on Sunday even though we hadn’t discussed it. I’m starting to feel like I have to drop by and see her the way that I feel like have to make sure that I call my mother at least once every week.
She made us stay for lunch. Meagan and I agree that we are starting to acquire a taste for something called ghee, which is along the lines of fermented butter added to beans. Needless to say it has a strong flavor that is reminiscent of blue cheese. She has finally learned to give us what she calls “baby sized” portions of food for lunch. It is the first time that I haven’t walked away painfully full.
Afterwards we went out into the yard to take a photograph. It was like taking a family photo. Largely because we had to take at least 20 photographs to make sure that everyone looked normal with their eyes open in the picture and so that everyone would have a picture on their personal camera. Her children Julius, Judith, and Julian are in the pictures with us (Mary as well). I really enjoy feeling connected to another family here. Especially this morning I was feeling a little homesick, enough to curl up with bo bear (yes he’s here with me) while I was writing up my field notes.
6/18/11
We had a “barn burning” day as Nicole calls it. We entered so many tests, somewhere around 750. We’re up to 2000 students entered, 64,000 data points, and we probably have one more full day of work before we’re done. I’m getting excited in a nerdy way about generating the statistics. I can already see some of the trends (some good, some not so good) having spent so much time with the data.
6/17/11
Having some more issues with the database and the student tests. We actually have so much data that it is difficult for my computer to process all of the information. Never in a million years would I think that I didn’t have enough computer power to deal with the data collection and analysis portions of our evaluation.
Nicole and I went to dinner with one of our friends from the coffee shop and his girlfriend, Frank and Ruby. We went outside of the city which is always a nice change. It was actually really beautiful because the sun was going down over the hills lighting up the crops of sweet potatoes and corn. Stocks of hand made bricks here and there between the hills. The heat of the day finally lifting while the woker’s dust settles. It’s enough to make anyone feel romantic, even me.
Given the ambience, I plucked up the courage to ask Nicole if she liked Africa. She said yes. It was a relief knowing that she had been working up to this trip for several years now.
6/16/11
Oh man, what a day. We went to the UNCST. I dropped off all the paperwork (for the second time). The secretary said that we should have approval by Monday or Tuesday, which I know means Thursday or Friday. So here’s hoping.
Meagan did an observation at a school while our test was being administrated. I think we will post it in picasa, or somewhere so you can actually see what we’ve been working on for three years. It was encouraging to me at least.
Happy Father’s Day! We went to church today. It was only two hours instead of four this time, but that was partially because we got delayed two hours by the rain. There was a guest pastor from Nigera who was pretty entertaining. We dropped by Mary’s house because we knew that she would be expecting us on Sunday even though we hadn’t discussed it. I’m starting to feel like I have to drop by and see her the way that I feel like have to make sure that I call my mother at least once every week.
She made us stay for lunch. Meagan and I agree that we are starting to acquire a taste for something called ghee, which is along the lines of fermented butter added to beans. Needless to say it has a strong flavor that is reminiscent of blue cheese. She has finally learned to give us what she calls “baby sized” portions of food for lunch. It is the first time that I haven’t walked away painfully full.
Afterwards we went out into the yard to take a photograph. It was like taking a family photo. Largely because we had to take at least 20 photographs to make sure that everyone looked normal with their eyes open in the picture and so that everyone would have a picture on their personal camera. Her children Julius, Judith, and Julian are in the pictures with us (Mary as well). I really enjoy feeling connected to another family here. Especially this morning I was feeling a little homesick, enough to curl up with bo bear (yes he’s here with me) while I was writing up my field notes.
6/18/11
We had a “barn burning” day as Nicole calls it. We entered so many tests, somewhere around 750. We’re up to 2000 students entered, 64,000 data points, and we probably have one more full day of work before we’re done. I’m getting excited in a nerdy way about generating the statistics. I can already see some of the trends (some good, some not so good) having spent so much time with the data.
6/17/11
Having some more issues with the database and the student tests. We actually have so much data that it is difficult for my computer to process all of the information. Never in a million years would I think that I didn’t have enough computer power to deal with the data collection and analysis portions of our evaluation.
Nicole and I went to dinner with one of our friends from the coffee shop and his girlfriend, Frank and Ruby. We went outside of the city which is always a nice change. It was actually really beautiful because the sun was going down over the hills lighting up the crops of sweet potatoes and corn. Stocks of hand made bricks here and there between the hills. The heat of the day finally lifting while the woker’s dust settles. It’s enough to make anyone feel romantic, even me.
Given the ambience, I plucked up the courage to ask Nicole if she liked Africa. She said yes. It was a relief knowing that she had been working up to this trip for several years now.
6/16/11
Oh man, what a day. We went to the UNCST. I dropped off all the paperwork (for the second time). The secretary said that we should have approval by Monday or Tuesday, which I know means Thursday or Friday. So here’s hoping.
Meagan did an observation at a school while our test was being administrated. I think we will post it in picasa, or somewhere so you can actually see what we’ve been working on for three years. It was encouraging to me at least.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Prepping and Planning
Instructions for posting to the blog:
1. Click the link that says comments
2. Type your comment into the comment box.
3. Select the profile of your choice. If you do not have an account, select anonymous
4. Click “Post Comment”
5. Type in the code at the bottom. This is a safety measure. Hit post comment.
Now that I have posted the instructions, I expect more comments.
6/15/11
Prepping and planning all day long. We have set some tentative dates for traveling to Hoima and to Gulu with Reverend. And it is all going to be the week before we meet with the mentors (July 1) in Kampala to give them the results from these tests. Mmmmmmk. So we are going to have to really push to get the statistics generated. Yikes! That is also the same week as my birthday.
Today Meagan told me that she is ready for my birthday. That’s funny because I am too. And it is hard to describe what it is about the day that is so exhausting. Everything takes such a long time. For example we took pictures to go with the paper work that we have to resubmit to the UNCST (because they don’t have them on file), and we got the express ones that are supposed to take 15 minutes, but we waited for 30. I always have to budget twice as much time as I think it should take.
However, I’m really looking forward to traveling, and I think it’s going to be a great experience.
6/14/11
Today we entered data into the database like crazy all day long. We are up to student number 745 (approximately 23,000 data points), and it looks like we are only about 1/3 of the way through. We’ve decided to take bets on how many we think there are. I’m at 2500. Meagan is 2300. Nicole is 2800. When we reach the 1000 mark we decided that we are allowed to adjust the bets. We haven’t decided exactly what the winner gets, but I think it is going to be a massage and a half day alone at the house.
6/13/11
Did another observation at a primary school with four first grade classes. I learn a lot of Luganda this way. I feel like I need to be sitting in the first grade classroom all the time. It’s hard to do observations in the younger classrooms because our presence causes such a disturbance, but it is really cute the way they steal glances at us and then turn back to giggle with their friends.
Been in communication with my favorite person at UNCST. They say that they can give us temporary approval to start our research so long as we resubmit the paper work to the president’s office. Honestly, it feels a little like a trap, but we’ll continue to follow along.
6/12/11
We cooked tacos today and hosted Joan for her birthday. Her kids came along too, and it was good to see them again. I hadn’t seen them in two summers. I think they had a good time – Louis the oldest one said that he wanted to come back next Saturday.
Other than that we started catching up and getting ready for the week. Got a lot to do. Got a lot to do. Only five more working weeks.
1. Click the link that says comments
2. Type your comment into the comment box.
3. Select the profile of your choice. If you do not have an account, select anonymous
4. Click “Post Comment”
5. Type in the code at the bottom. This is a safety measure. Hit post comment.
Now that I have posted the instructions, I expect more comments.
6/15/11
Prepping and planning all day long. We have set some tentative dates for traveling to Hoima and to Gulu with Reverend. And it is all going to be the week before we meet with the mentors (July 1) in Kampala to give them the results from these tests. Mmmmmmk. So we are going to have to really push to get the statistics generated. Yikes! That is also the same week as my birthday.
Today Meagan told me that she is ready for my birthday. That’s funny because I am too. And it is hard to describe what it is about the day that is so exhausting. Everything takes such a long time. For example we took pictures to go with the paper work that we have to resubmit to the UNCST (because they don’t have them on file), and we got the express ones that are supposed to take 15 minutes, but we waited for 30. I always have to budget twice as much time as I think it should take.
However, I’m really looking forward to traveling, and I think it’s going to be a great experience.
6/14/11
Today we entered data into the database like crazy all day long. We are up to student number 745 (approximately 23,000 data points), and it looks like we are only about 1/3 of the way through. We’ve decided to take bets on how many we think there are. I’m at 2500. Meagan is 2300. Nicole is 2800. When we reach the 1000 mark we decided that we are allowed to adjust the bets. We haven’t decided exactly what the winner gets, but I think it is going to be a massage and a half day alone at the house.
6/13/11
Did another observation at a primary school with four first grade classes. I learn a lot of Luganda this way. I feel like I need to be sitting in the first grade classroom all the time. It’s hard to do observations in the younger classrooms because our presence causes such a disturbance, but it is really cute the way they steal glances at us and then turn back to giggle with their friends.
Been in communication with my favorite person at UNCST. They say that they can give us temporary approval to start our research so long as we resubmit the paper work to the president’s office. Honestly, it feels a little like a trap, but we’ll continue to follow along.
6/12/11
We cooked tacos today and hosted Joan for her birthday. Her kids came along too, and it was good to see them again. I hadn’t seen them in two summers. I think they had a good time – Louis the oldest one said that he wanted to come back next Saturday.
Other than that we started catching up and getting ready for the week. Got a lot to do. Got a lot to do. Only five more working weeks.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Fruitful Weekend
6/11/11
We took a taxi from the taxi park today, which was a huge accomplishment for me and Meagan. Look back a pictures from previous years and you’ll understand why. Moses hosted us at his home in Kygera outside of the city. It was so nice to get out of the city for a while and breathe the fresh air. He even cooked lunch for us. It was delicious.
We tested our focus group questions with a group of high school students that Moses works with. It went really well all around even though it was raining and even though people kept coming in to join the conversation. We had Moses lead the discussion while we simply observed and answered questions as necessary. I think my accent is getting better because I spent several minutes answering a question about the transmission of HIV from other primate species to humans. They said that they could understand everything that I said. Yay, for having acquired good African English.
Coming back we got super lost in the rain. I guess every day has its ups and downs. The funniest part of getting lost was that I was giving Nicole advice on how to get back to a familiar place by walking up the hill to the main road, but it turns out that we were on the wrong hill. The suggestion doesn’t help if you are on the wrong hill.
Nicole in particular had a trying day with lots of new experiences. First time to the taxi park, first time out of the city, a chicken got in her purse while we were at lunch, the boda that she and Meagan were on broke down while on the way back, lost in the rain, but she tolerated all of it well which is a good sign for the remainder of our time here. I suspect more trails are to come.
Luckily…and this was a huge relief….Gerald had fixed the water to our apartment and we had running water in the bathrooms, so we could all take hot baths and wash away the coldness of the rain and the weariness from the day. We stayed in an drank tea and reflected on the day. Tomorrow Joan is coming over with her kids, and we are throwing a small party for her for her birthday. I got excited and bought Roald Dahl books as presents for the children too. I’m looking forward to giving all the gifts, but now I’ve started to read the books and I’m hoping that I can finish them before giving them to the kids. I forgot how much I enjoyed his books as a child.
We decided to try and make tacos. I hope they go over well.
6/10/11
Today we attempted to go see our contact person at the UNCST. I say attempted because we never ended up getting in touch with that person which is to be expected. But the fact that we even made it there is an accomplishment because we got all the way downtown to the building and learned that their office had moved to another location which was within walking distance of us. The cosmic joke of our battle with the UNCST continues…We stopped at a place that I like and got a banana split at 11:00am to recharge and then try to find the new office in Ntinda.
We took the taxi back home, and walked to the office. We actually found it with minimal trouble. When we got there our contact person was gone already at noon on Friday. Not a surprise. Luckily, we did get her contact information, which is what I was after anyway.
We got home and there was no water. And we have a reservoir tank, but for some reason the connection is bad. I asked Gerald, who acts as the grounds keeper and maintenance man. We had another “Let me do some technology” moment. Gerald ran a hose up to the tank and created a siphon. I filled the Jerry cans and carried them back to the house. I really needed to bathe before we went out for the evening, so it was worth it to me even though it was a lot of work. It is amazing when you don’t have running water how much work it takes just to live and do house hold chores like bathing, washing clothes (which are already being washed by hand), cooking and washing dishes, flushing toilets, washing your hands, brushing your teeth, you get the idea. In short it gets old fast, and if all I had to do was maintain a house that wouldn’t be so bad, but it’s hard to wrangle with the UNCST all over town and then come home and tote water around.
Anyway, small vent, we met up with some of our friends for the evening and went to a birthday party. It was a lot of fun and we danced and celebrated and caught up with people that we haven’t seen since last year.
6/9/11
Big day planned for today. We sat and came up with a work plan and timeline now that we have a better idea of what is happening and how long things are going to take. On Saturday we planned to meet with a group of high school students to test out our questions for our focus groups. We picked up some scissors which I’m really excited about because it seems like no one uses them here. They are a really great tool, and something you don’t realize that you’re going to miss until you don’t have them. I spotted some sheep skin slippers at the craft store that I’m eyeing since I wore a hole through the soles of the other ones that I used to have.
We took a taxi from the taxi park today, which was a huge accomplishment for me and Meagan. Look back a pictures from previous years and you’ll understand why. Moses hosted us at his home in Kygera outside of the city. It was so nice to get out of the city for a while and breathe the fresh air. He even cooked lunch for us. It was delicious.
We tested our focus group questions with a group of high school students that Moses works with. It went really well all around even though it was raining and even though people kept coming in to join the conversation. We had Moses lead the discussion while we simply observed and answered questions as necessary. I think my accent is getting better because I spent several minutes answering a question about the transmission of HIV from other primate species to humans. They said that they could understand everything that I said. Yay, for having acquired good African English.
Coming back we got super lost in the rain. I guess every day has its ups and downs. The funniest part of getting lost was that I was giving Nicole advice on how to get back to a familiar place by walking up the hill to the main road, but it turns out that we were on the wrong hill. The suggestion doesn’t help if you are on the wrong hill.
Nicole in particular had a trying day with lots of new experiences. First time to the taxi park, first time out of the city, a chicken got in her purse while we were at lunch, the boda that she and Meagan were on broke down while on the way back, lost in the rain, but she tolerated all of it well which is a good sign for the remainder of our time here. I suspect more trails are to come.
Luckily…and this was a huge relief….Gerald had fixed the water to our apartment and we had running water in the bathrooms, so we could all take hot baths and wash away the coldness of the rain and the weariness from the day. We stayed in an drank tea and reflected on the day. Tomorrow Joan is coming over with her kids, and we are throwing a small party for her for her birthday. I got excited and bought Roald Dahl books as presents for the children too. I’m looking forward to giving all the gifts, but now I’ve started to read the books and I’m hoping that I can finish them before giving them to the kids. I forgot how much I enjoyed his books as a child.
We decided to try and make tacos. I hope they go over well.
6/10/11
Today we attempted to go see our contact person at the UNCST. I say attempted because we never ended up getting in touch with that person which is to be expected. But the fact that we even made it there is an accomplishment because we got all the way downtown to the building and learned that their office had moved to another location which was within walking distance of us. The cosmic joke of our battle with the UNCST continues…We stopped at a place that I like and got a banana split at 11:00am to recharge and then try to find the new office in Ntinda.
We took the taxi back home, and walked to the office. We actually found it with minimal trouble. When we got there our contact person was gone already at noon on Friday. Not a surprise. Luckily, we did get her contact information, which is what I was after anyway.
We got home and there was no water. And we have a reservoir tank, but for some reason the connection is bad. I asked Gerald, who acts as the grounds keeper and maintenance man. We had another “Let me do some technology” moment. Gerald ran a hose up to the tank and created a siphon. I filled the Jerry cans and carried them back to the house. I really needed to bathe before we went out for the evening, so it was worth it to me even though it was a lot of work. It is amazing when you don’t have running water how much work it takes just to live and do house hold chores like bathing, washing clothes (which are already being washed by hand), cooking and washing dishes, flushing toilets, washing your hands, brushing your teeth, you get the idea. In short it gets old fast, and if all I had to do was maintain a house that wouldn’t be so bad, but it’s hard to wrangle with the UNCST all over town and then come home and tote water around.
Anyway, small vent, we met up with some of our friends for the evening and went to a birthday party. It was a lot of fun and we danced and celebrated and caught up with people that we haven’t seen since last year.
6/9/11
Big day planned for today. We sat and came up with a work plan and timeline now that we have a better idea of what is happening and how long things are going to take. On Saturday we planned to meet with a group of high school students to test out our questions for our focus groups. We picked up some scissors which I’m really excited about because it seems like no one uses them here. They are a really great tool, and something you don’t realize that you’re going to miss until you don’t have them. I spotted some sheep skin slippers at the craft store that I’m eyeing since I wore a hole through the soles of the other ones that I used to have.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Flu, Banana Bread, UNCST prep
We are also working on getting the pictures up from this week, so be on the look out.
6/8/11
Meagan is feeling way better, which is good because I’m hitting the three week mark where I’m needing some space. I went to Mulago hospital after talking to Dr. Bagenda and Dr. Muhumuza who both suggested that we should go down to my favorite place, UNCST (Uganda National Council for Science and Technology) to check on the status of our IRB approval (imagine a grimace on mine and Meagan’s face). The UNCST is the equivalent of going to the Mississippi DMV. It’s horrible, and I have to mentally prepare at least two days in advance before I go so that I exercise enough patience while I’m there. I’ll let you know how it goes (or doesn’t go most likely) on Friday.
So I went to the hospital to print things in prep for going to the UNCST, make copies, and hang out at the coffee shop. In one short sentence that sounds kind of weird to want to hang out at the hospital, but Mulago is a complex of buildings used for clinical practice, research, and teaching. One of the facilities does research primarily on HIV and mother to child transmission, which accounts for roughly 10% of the new cases in Uganda each year. This is such a sad statistic because it is largely preventable, but issues like poverty and access to medication are large contributors. They are large contributors to the HIV epidemic in general. Anyway, what I love about this research facility in general is that they recognize the social factors that contribute to HIV and have allowed women with whom they conduct research to open a coffee shop and a souvenir shop. All the profits go to those women, so I like to be a conscious consumer and spend my money there.
6/7/11
Lot’s of commotion today. Grace’s “house girl” (housekeeper) “ran away” (she quit and left without telling anyone), so Grace brought her 18 month old to the house. She was full of energy the whole day. Moses came over to help us with the tests. We made a significant dent today. I think we only have like 300 more to grade and then we have to enter them into the database. Meagan was still sick, which makes me nervous because we have been sharing the big bed, so I called a friend to take her to the doctor.Luckily, we can see the doctor for free, and we happened across Dr. Grace when we got to the SAS clinic. She wrote Meagan a prescription, I also got a refill for anti-malarials, and we were on our way in no time. Hopefully it will help.
For good news, the banana bread pan has been located. It got moved to the other house that the Muhumuza’s use when they come to Uganda. I’m not sure why it got moved, but it’s good to know that it’s around somewhere. I don’t know that we could find another one.
6/6/11
Meagan has caught a cold, so she stayed home in bed today. We picked her up some medicine and then headed out in the city. Nicole went to one of the schools by herself today, which was a success. I think she is starting to get the hand of it. I went to another school where they are trying to start the program for a teachers meeting. I got to see the children’s books that SAS is developing, which was one of our suggestions from the previous summer. It’s always good to know that our ideas are turning out to be useful.
We dropped by 1000 Cups afterward and saw Joan. Her birthday is coming up, so we decided to have her and her kids over on her Birthday. I wonder what we’ll make for them? Last year, we made cheese burgers for our friends which was a big hit, but we’ll have to cook something for the kids that they’ll like.
I made spaghetti and tomato sauce for everyone tonight. It went over well. I’m getting really good at manipulating the stove, which can be pretty tricky since only one pot has handles, and it’s a gas stove, but there’s no pilot lights. It doesn’t want to stay on all the time, and sometimes the grates slide off.
Also our banana bread pan is missing! We can’t find it, although I can’t imagine that someone would want to take it since it is such an oddly shaped pan and very few people have ovens. I’m sure it got put somewhere.
6/8/11
Meagan is feeling way better, which is good because I’m hitting the three week mark where I’m needing some space. I went to Mulago hospital after talking to Dr. Bagenda and Dr. Muhumuza who both suggested that we should go down to my favorite place, UNCST (Uganda National Council for Science and Technology) to check on the status of our IRB approval (imagine a grimace on mine and Meagan’s face). The UNCST is the equivalent of going to the Mississippi DMV. It’s horrible, and I have to mentally prepare at least two days in advance before I go so that I exercise enough patience while I’m there. I’ll let you know how it goes (or doesn’t go most likely) on Friday.
So I went to the hospital to print things in prep for going to the UNCST, make copies, and hang out at the coffee shop. In one short sentence that sounds kind of weird to want to hang out at the hospital, but Mulago is a complex of buildings used for clinical practice, research, and teaching. One of the facilities does research primarily on HIV and mother to child transmission, which accounts for roughly 10% of the new cases in Uganda each year. This is such a sad statistic because it is largely preventable, but issues like poverty and access to medication are large contributors. They are large contributors to the HIV epidemic in general. Anyway, what I love about this research facility in general is that they recognize the social factors that contribute to HIV and have allowed women with whom they conduct research to open a coffee shop and a souvenir shop. All the profits go to those women, so I like to be a conscious consumer and spend my money there.
6/7/11
Lot’s of commotion today. Grace’s “house girl” (housekeeper) “ran away” (she quit and left without telling anyone), so Grace brought her 18 month old to the house. She was full of energy the whole day. Moses came over to help us with the tests. We made a significant dent today. I think we only have like 300 more to grade and then we have to enter them into the database. Meagan was still sick, which makes me nervous because we have been sharing the big bed, so I called a friend to take her to the doctor.Luckily, we can see the doctor for free, and we happened across Dr. Grace when we got to the SAS clinic. She wrote Meagan a prescription, I also got a refill for anti-malarials, and we were on our way in no time. Hopefully it will help.
For good news, the banana bread pan has been located. It got moved to the other house that the Muhumuza’s use when they come to Uganda. I’m not sure why it got moved, but it’s good to know that it’s around somewhere. I don’t know that we could find another one.
6/6/11
Meagan has caught a cold, so she stayed home in bed today. We picked her up some medicine and then headed out in the city. Nicole went to one of the schools by herself today, which was a success. I think she is starting to get the hand of it. I went to another school where they are trying to start the program for a teachers meeting. I got to see the children’s books that SAS is developing, which was one of our suggestions from the previous summer. It’s always good to know that our ideas are turning out to be useful.
We dropped by 1000 Cups afterward and saw Joan. Her birthday is coming up, so we decided to have her and her kids over on her Birthday. I wonder what we’ll make for them? Last year, we made cheese burgers for our friends which was a big hit, but we’ll have to cook something for the kids that they’ll like.
I made spaghetti and tomato sauce for everyone tonight. It went over well. I’m getting really good at manipulating the stove, which can be pretty tricky since only one pot has handles, and it’s a gas stove, but there’s no pilot lights. It doesn’t want to stay on all the time, and sometimes the grates slide off.
Also our banana bread pan is missing! We can’t find it, although I can’t imagine that someone would want to take it since it is such an oddly shaped pan and very few people have ovens. I’m sure it got put somewhere.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
A Week Gone by Already
A Week Gone by Already
6/5/11
Today we went to church with Mary and then had lunch afterwards. I have to say I’m all churched out. The service lasted for four hours with singing, dancing, and two sermons. I felt guilty after two and a half hours because I had to sit down for a while. Otherwise I enjoyed the service, and I could tell that Mary was pleased with our attendance.
Lunch was wonderful as usual, and we even managed to eat two whole plates of food between the three of us and ask for seconds. Her daughter Julian came with her new infant. He was really cute and happy. We all took turns passing him around. We didn’t get home till 6:30, which made for a long day. Amazingly, I’m the last one up. Nicole and Meagan have already gone to bed. It’s Meagan’s turn to not feel well. Tomorrow we’ll jump right back into the work week. The various stacks of tests are taunting us.
6/4/11
We went with Moses to watch his kids play football. He runs a nonprofit for children from the slums to play football (soccer). He does well with them, and often times they end up getting scholarships to go to school that they would not get otherwise. The name of their team is Sparta after the German team. Nicole stayed behind because she still wasn’t feeling good. It was a shame too because I think she would have liked it, but there is nothing worse than not feeling well and being stuck in a place. The team remembered us from last year, and they won.
There was also a Ugandan game, so we watched that. Uganda also won, so everyone was in high spirits
6/3/11
To day was a public holiday for Martyr’s Day. It gave us a chance to start tackling the stacks of tests that are now all over the table. Meagan and I had Nicole laughing. The dialogue went like this. Meagan, “What is this a stack of?” Ginger, “Things that stack well.” And that is how our analysis is beginning. Nicole was good enough to help us grade tests for three hours and we still only made a minimal dent. We also learned that we don’t have all the tests from all the districts, and Mary wants to administer the test to the new school that we visited on Wednesday. We are going to have to figure out a way to off load some of this burden. The only problem is that we can tell that the tests were not always administered correctly, so we are hesitant to also have people grading them on top. Surely there is a solution somewhere in there.
We went out to try and catch up with some of our friends for the evening, but it ended up being a short night. I wasn’t feel that great, and neither was Nicole, so we decided to come back early.
6/2/11
I had scrambled eggs with cheese this morning. Purchasing cheese while we were in Amsterdam was a great investment because the cheese here is just so bad.
We had another day at the Foundation. This time we met with Echiba. I always really like interacting with him because he always is enthusiastic about the Foundation. We went with him to a new school where they are trying to start the program. Did some more catching up and planning for the summer. I think things are pretty well established now that we have had roughly two days of catching up and planning.
Today we went to our pizza place. It was a lot of fun to go back, and we ate entirely too much food. We went home because it was coming to almost three in the afternoon, and everyone was getting tired. Even though we are jumping right back in, I forget how taxing it can be just to try and get one or two things done in a day. It was nice to come home and spend the rest of the afternoon reading and writing. I feel like I’m writing all the time, but it still isn’t enough. The electricity has been flickering more this year, which makes it more difficult.
6/1/11
Whew… our first real day of work. Everyone seemed excited and ready to get going. We stopped by Mary’s first. She was so happy to see us. It is funny how it is all coming back. Getting around and negotiating. It was nice to give her apricot preserves as a gift. I hope she likes them. The most exciting news is that mary has a new boyfriend and is planning to get remarried within the year. I would love to be able to attend, and admittedly the wheels are already turning on how this might be a possibility. I’ll just have to see.
Meagan and Nicole continued with Mary while I split off and met with Rev at SAS. It was good to catch up and make plans for the summer. A lot of things have happened since we’ve been gone. The good/bad news is that we had some tests that SAS was supposed to administer in Feb, and it was much more successful than we expected. Now we have over 1,000 tests to grade and enter into a database. Thank goodness we know that Moses will be able to help us like he did last year, and he already knows what he is doing.
After getting the test home, which are now stacked all around the living room, I rejoined Meagan, Nicole, and Mary at a school where the program is just getting started. It is a huge school by our standards. I sat in on the 3rd grade class, and there was roughly three hundred students in the room.
We walked all the way home so that we could talk about the day, and when we got home we had Ugandan gin and homemade juice and watched Seinfeld in celebration of a successful day.
5/31/11
Another slow day. Starting to get really restless. Our friend Pharouk dropped by to catch up. Some of his family lives in Britain so he has this really weird accent that is a mix of British and African English.
5/30/11
Today was a slow day and I’m anxious to be getting things done. I know that it takes time to get things moving. We walked to town, dropped by the post office, and then stopped at our favorite Indian restaurant. We shared one plate between the three of us and it was enough. I noticed that when we walked by city square, no one was sitting in the park except for police men. That was sad to me. Even for someone like me who has spent minimal amounts of time in Kampala, I have memories associated with that place, and now it is unusable.
Nicole took her first boda ride, which is always a big deal. At first she was a little nervous, but then I think she really enjoyed it.
6/5/11
Today we went to church with Mary and then had lunch afterwards. I have to say I’m all churched out. The service lasted for four hours with singing, dancing, and two sermons. I felt guilty after two and a half hours because I had to sit down for a while. Otherwise I enjoyed the service, and I could tell that Mary was pleased with our attendance.
Lunch was wonderful as usual, and we even managed to eat two whole plates of food between the three of us and ask for seconds. Her daughter Julian came with her new infant. He was really cute and happy. We all took turns passing him around. We didn’t get home till 6:30, which made for a long day. Amazingly, I’m the last one up. Nicole and Meagan have already gone to bed. It’s Meagan’s turn to not feel well. Tomorrow we’ll jump right back into the work week. The various stacks of tests are taunting us.
6/4/11
We went with Moses to watch his kids play football. He runs a nonprofit for children from the slums to play football (soccer). He does well with them, and often times they end up getting scholarships to go to school that they would not get otherwise. The name of their team is Sparta after the German team. Nicole stayed behind because she still wasn’t feeling good. It was a shame too because I think she would have liked it, but there is nothing worse than not feeling well and being stuck in a place. The team remembered us from last year, and they won.
There was also a Ugandan game, so we watched that. Uganda also won, so everyone was in high spirits
6/3/11
To day was a public holiday for Martyr’s Day. It gave us a chance to start tackling the stacks of tests that are now all over the table. Meagan and I had Nicole laughing. The dialogue went like this. Meagan, “What is this a stack of?” Ginger, “Things that stack well.” And that is how our analysis is beginning. Nicole was good enough to help us grade tests for three hours and we still only made a minimal dent. We also learned that we don’t have all the tests from all the districts, and Mary wants to administer the test to the new school that we visited on Wednesday. We are going to have to figure out a way to off load some of this burden. The only problem is that we can tell that the tests were not always administered correctly, so we are hesitant to also have people grading them on top. Surely there is a solution somewhere in there.
We went out to try and catch up with some of our friends for the evening, but it ended up being a short night. I wasn’t feel that great, and neither was Nicole, so we decided to come back early.
6/2/11
I had scrambled eggs with cheese this morning. Purchasing cheese while we were in Amsterdam was a great investment because the cheese here is just so bad.
We had another day at the Foundation. This time we met with Echiba. I always really like interacting with him because he always is enthusiastic about the Foundation. We went with him to a new school where they are trying to start the program. Did some more catching up and planning for the summer. I think things are pretty well established now that we have had roughly two days of catching up and planning.
Today we went to our pizza place. It was a lot of fun to go back, and we ate entirely too much food. We went home because it was coming to almost three in the afternoon, and everyone was getting tired. Even though we are jumping right back in, I forget how taxing it can be just to try and get one or two things done in a day. It was nice to come home and spend the rest of the afternoon reading and writing. I feel like I’m writing all the time, but it still isn’t enough. The electricity has been flickering more this year, which makes it more difficult.
6/1/11
Whew… our first real day of work. Everyone seemed excited and ready to get going. We stopped by Mary’s first. She was so happy to see us. It is funny how it is all coming back. Getting around and negotiating. It was nice to give her apricot preserves as a gift. I hope she likes them. The most exciting news is that mary has a new boyfriend and is planning to get remarried within the year. I would love to be able to attend, and admittedly the wheels are already turning on how this might be a possibility. I’ll just have to see.
Meagan and Nicole continued with Mary while I split off and met with Rev at SAS. It was good to catch up and make plans for the summer. A lot of things have happened since we’ve been gone. The good/bad news is that we had some tests that SAS was supposed to administer in Feb, and it was much more successful than we expected. Now we have over 1,000 tests to grade and enter into a database. Thank goodness we know that Moses will be able to help us like he did last year, and he already knows what he is doing.
After getting the test home, which are now stacked all around the living room, I rejoined Meagan, Nicole, and Mary at a school where the program is just getting started. It is a huge school by our standards. I sat in on the 3rd grade class, and there was roughly three hundred students in the room.
We walked all the way home so that we could talk about the day, and when we got home we had Ugandan gin and homemade juice and watched Seinfeld in celebration of a successful day.
5/31/11
Another slow day. Starting to get really restless. Our friend Pharouk dropped by to catch up. Some of his family lives in Britain so he has this really weird accent that is a mix of British and African English.
5/30/11
Today was a slow day and I’m anxious to be getting things done. I know that it takes time to get things moving. We walked to town, dropped by the post office, and then stopped at our favorite Indian restaurant. We shared one plate between the three of us and it was enough. I noticed that when we walked by city square, no one was sitting in the park except for police men. That was sad to me. Even for someone like me who has spent minimal amounts of time in Kampala, I have memories associated with that place, and now it is unusable.
Nicole took her first boda ride, which is always a big deal. At first she was a little nervous, but then I think she really enjoyed it.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Pictures
We have the pictures posted from this past week under my picasa picture albums instead of Meagan's. Hope you enjoy them. Look for a blog post soon. Click on the link that says my pictures and they will be under week 1.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Catching up
5/29/11
Today we ran some errands in town and started to get in touch with our old friends. We went to 1000 cups and had coffee. Joan was there, and started screaming when she saw us. She is one of my favorite people here, and I think about her often while I’m in the States. I was really happy to see her, and it was the first time that I really felt emotional about being back again. We browsed the craft market so that Nicole could get a look at the different items. I had my eye on a couple of things as well. I hoping for a leather bag, and maybe some bark cloth.
That night we had Moses and Richard over for dinner. It was great to catch up with them as well. We were able to discuss the political situation with them in the country and get a feel for the situation. I wanted to discuss it with them in particular because as we were walking to the coffee shop and got stopped briefly by the police. They didn’t want us to be taking pictures in a certain area, and it wasn’t a problem, but it was a tad unsettling, especially for Nicole I think since she was the one taking the pictures.
Dinner went over well, and we gave them some gifts from Sonja and from Meagan. She had been looking for baseball t-shirts to give them from the states because they couldn’t find them here in Uganda. Even Richard was smiling when he tried it on. That is a rare occasion. I’m glad we got a picture of it.
5/28/11 Continued….
The wedding reception was a blast, and I am so glad that we saw our friend Rose by chance. We scrambled around to get a gift and settled on a pitcher with some glasses for juice, and some preserves that I brought from home. We had several different kinds but decided on peach. It would be hard not to like peaches right? I was also going to say in our note that peaches were a traditional fruit for us to eat in the summer time, but did you know that they are indigenous to China? We wanted to look it up before we said that they were native to America. Apparently, the Chinese have been infiltrating American culture for hundreds of years. Too bad people are only just getting upset about it now.
Anyway, I think the gift went over well. Meagan ended up being the one to give it to them. She had to walk right up to them front and center. She was really embarrassed. I’m glad I wasn’t the one who had to do it. Anyway, I’m telling the storey out of order. We took a matatu into town, which was Nicole’s first ride in one. It went pretty smoothly, and I find that I’m not having very much trouble stepping by into Uganda culture, using the few Luganda words and gestures that I know. Seems like last year I had to mentally prepare myself before resuming normal activities. Also I have Meagan sharing the responsibilities with me which is wonderful and takes loads of pressure off. Again, a tangent.
So we found the place relatively easy (good feeling) and we arrived long before the wedding party. The invitation said 6:00, someone called and said 7:00, we arrived at 7:30, and the wedding party didn’t arrive until 8:30. =) I wasn’t really surprised, I figured we would be there early, but I didn’t realize that we would be about an hour early. The reception hall was elaborately decorated with all kinds of things the color of Tennessee orange. When the wedding party arrived, it was interesting to see the melding of traditional and contemporary cultures. The bride was in a Western white wedding gown, but a lot of the female guests were wearing traditional Eritrean attire. I is a long white dress with a patterned trim and then a white scarf that goes over the head. There is also a traditional way of wear the hair braided back like corn rows, but the braid them over a piece of material so the rows are long and sort of conically shaped. You’ll have to look at the pictures. The gold jewelry is also impressive.
Dinner was served in the traditional manner with njaara (the spongy bread) with lots of saucy meats, and you eat it with your hands. Someone sitting by us insisted that we eat a dish because it was “white people food”, and I realized that it was a version of lasagna. It was actually pretty good. We did our best to eat everything on our plates, but it was difficult to say the least. I wish that we could get away with sharing a plate without getting raised eyebrows. Meagan got what she thought was a potato and it turned out to be a whole egg. The incidences of whole eggs has become a running joke for us, if you can recall the story of the eggroll from last year where we thought we were getting a Chinese egg roll, but we ended up with a whole egg rolled in mashed potatoes and fried.
We had cake and dancing even though there wasn’t supposed to be any dancing. It was a Pentecostal wedding. There was lots of fireworks and confetti. At one point something caught on fire up on stage. Meagan gave our gift to the bride and groom. I was giggling because she had to walk right up to the front and give the gift directly to the bride and groom. She was so embarrassed.
Today we ran some errands in town and started to get in touch with our old friends. We went to 1000 cups and had coffee. Joan was there, and started screaming when she saw us. She is one of my favorite people here, and I think about her often while I’m in the States. I was really happy to see her, and it was the first time that I really felt emotional about being back again. We browsed the craft market so that Nicole could get a look at the different items. I had my eye on a couple of things as well. I hoping for a leather bag, and maybe some bark cloth.
That night we had Moses and Richard over for dinner. It was great to catch up with them as well. We were able to discuss the political situation with them in the country and get a feel for the situation. I wanted to discuss it with them in particular because as we were walking to the coffee shop and got stopped briefly by the police. They didn’t want us to be taking pictures in a certain area, and it wasn’t a problem, but it was a tad unsettling, especially for Nicole I think since she was the one taking the pictures.
Dinner went over well, and we gave them some gifts from Sonja and from Meagan. She had been looking for baseball t-shirts to give them from the states because they couldn’t find them here in Uganda. Even Richard was smiling when he tried it on. That is a rare occasion. I’m glad we got a picture of it.
5/28/11 Continued….
The wedding reception was a blast, and I am so glad that we saw our friend Rose by chance. We scrambled around to get a gift and settled on a pitcher with some glasses for juice, and some preserves that I brought from home. We had several different kinds but decided on peach. It would be hard not to like peaches right? I was also going to say in our note that peaches were a traditional fruit for us to eat in the summer time, but did you know that they are indigenous to China? We wanted to look it up before we said that they were native to America. Apparently, the Chinese have been infiltrating American culture for hundreds of years. Too bad people are only just getting upset about it now.
Anyway, I think the gift went over well. Meagan ended up being the one to give it to them. She had to walk right up to them front and center. She was really embarrassed. I’m glad I wasn’t the one who had to do it. Anyway, I’m telling the storey out of order. We took a matatu into town, which was Nicole’s first ride in one. It went pretty smoothly, and I find that I’m not having very much trouble stepping by into Uganda culture, using the few Luganda words and gestures that I know. Seems like last year I had to mentally prepare myself before resuming normal activities. Also I have Meagan sharing the responsibilities with me which is wonderful and takes loads of pressure off. Again, a tangent.
So we found the place relatively easy (good feeling) and we arrived long before the wedding party. The invitation said 6:00, someone called and said 7:00, we arrived at 7:30, and the wedding party didn’t arrive until 8:30. =) I wasn’t really surprised, I figured we would be there early, but I didn’t realize that we would be about an hour early. The reception hall was elaborately decorated with all kinds of things the color of Tennessee orange. When the wedding party arrived, it was interesting to see the melding of traditional and contemporary cultures. The bride was in a Western white wedding gown, but a lot of the female guests were wearing traditional Eritrean attire. I is a long white dress with a patterned trim and then a white scarf that goes over the head. There is also a traditional way of wear the hair braided back like corn rows, but the braid them over a piece of material so the rows are long and sort of conically shaped. You’ll have to look at the pictures. The gold jewelry is also impressive.
Dinner was served in the traditional manner with njaara (the spongy bread) with lots of saucy meats, and you eat it with your hands. Someone sitting by us insisted that we eat a dish because it was “white people food”, and I realized that it was a version of lasagna. It was actually pretty good. We did our best to eat everything on our plates, but it was difficult to say the least. I wish that we could get away with sharing a plate without getting raised eyebrows. Meagan got what she thought was a potato and it turned out to be a whole egg. The incidences of whole eggs has become a running joke for us, if you can recall the story of the eggroll from last year where we thought we were getting a Chinese egg roll, but we ended up with a whole egg rolled in mashed potatoes and fried.
We had cake and dancing even though there wasn’t supposed to be any dancing. It was a Pentecostal wedding. There was lots of fireworks and confetti. At one point something caught on fire up on stage. Meagan gave our gift to the bride and groom. I was giggling because she had to walk right up to the front and give the gift directly to the bride and groom. She was so embarrassed.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Oh man, its been a long trip. Much longer than we expected….
5/27/11
Our last two days in Amsterdam were wonderful. On Tuesday, we actually gave ourselves some down time. We had a picnic in the park picked up a few items that we knew we would need in Uganda. We made a friend at the hostel who was Australian and he joined us at the park. I’ve never been to a park that got so much use. It was like the whole city was having a picnic together. That night we splurged and had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant recommended by Anne and Char called the Supper Club. It was wildly fun and the food was divine. We were so full that we walked all the way home so that we could sleep comfortably.
On Wednesday, our friend Sonja came from Germany to spend the day with us. We originally met her last summer while we are in Uganda. She and her boyfriend, Moses, has started a nonprofit in Uganda for slum children to play soccer. Moses also worked for us some last summer. In any case, they have become very close friends, and it was wonderful to see her again. We were crying over each other on the tram from the train station back to the hostel (approximately 15 minutes in).
I also think Nicole had a great time meeting Sonja. We were reminiscing about our adventures in Kyngera for the soccer party and Bulisa when we got stuck in the game park at the Nile, slept in a hut where goats were coming through the windows, and ran out of gas on the way home. It is actually one of my favorite memories from last summer.
We sat and drank coffee, walked around, picked up some last minutes items. All around it was a perfect last day in Amsterdam. We gave Sonja “a push” as they say in Uganda, and saw her off from the train stations. Again the tears were plentiful. That night we had snacks for dinner and spent most of the time repacking our now large disarray of souvenirs, gifts for people in Uganda, dirty clothes, clean clothes, electronics, etc. It was a lovely night, and I spent some time out on the balcony over looking the street. We were directly across from a musical hall, so I watched the people enter the hall dressed elaborately for the show.
And that’s how it ended, in what I feel was a European fashion. Sitting, enjoying the evening from a balcony, listening to beautiful music, and watching the people on the street while conversing with the people in your direct presence.
The next day we decided to spring for a taxi to take us all the way to the airport. Which turned out to be a really great investment given the amount of luggage that we had accumulated now that Meagan had her bags and Nicole purchased another bag while we were there. We didn’t have that much trouble at the airport, although they charged us for having two bags which is crazy, and I have every intention of writing a letter of complaint to every relevant party in that endeavor. I might call too, but I haven’t decided.
The flight itself was fine, although as we were taking of it was announced that we would also be stopping in Kigali on the way. We didn’t really have a choice, so we went a long with it. Getting through the Entebee airport was actually easy. I couldn’t believe how quickly we got through; however, when we called Rev to see where he was, he thought that we weren’t coming until the following day. Thankfully, he was still able to come and get us after a couple of hours. It gave us time to relax and take a soda.
At about midnight we left the airport and headed to Kampala. There were numerous road blocks along the way, which was interesting because the president was recently re-elected. I’m sure it wasn’t by an honest democratic vote, and there has been some civil unrest due to inflation. The men where in fatigues and wanted to be able to see in the car. I’m not sure what they were looking for, although I would suspect that they aren’t really looking for anything. The whole performance is more like a symbolic act of control rather than a specific action toward a specific goal.
There was a nice smokey haze over the neighborhoods from people burning their trash. It was a nice welcome to Kampala. We got to the compound with bottoming out only a few times. The poor car was laden with bodies and luggage. Of course no one was at the house because they didn’t think that we were coming till the next day. After knocking on the door for some time, we decided to stay at a hotel for the night. It was a relief to finally get into bed. By this time, it was coming to 2:30 and we had be traveling since 7:30 the previous morning.
We managed to drag ourselves out of bed at 9:00 a.m. to meet with Rev who had been by the house again without any luck. We took a quick breakfast, which was exciting because it was the first time that Nicole got to try some of the fruits that we rave about constantly.
We finally met up with Grace at the house. She was pretty upset, which I knew was going to happen. It was really nice to see Grace and Annette again. I brought her some Tony’s and I can’t wait to give it to her. She already had some fresh juice made for us. They got a few things in order and left us to take naps. I have since slept several hours, took a shower, unpacked, and had some dinner. I finally feel like I can recompose myself. I was so tired of living out of a suitcase, and having so many things. Nicole and Megan took a brief trip to the store. We decided that we would let Nicole have the single bed to herself for the first couple of weeks so that she has time to adjust. She is pretty excited though. The double bed is so large that Meagan feels far away even though I know she’s in it, so I think we’ll be ok sharing.
It’s good to be back. It doesn’t feel like I have been away for very long. I feel myself falling back into the pace of things more quickly this time. It is nice to have Meagan, who is experienced and confident, helping to run things. It is also nice to have Nicole, who is new but eager and easy to travel with. She is so smart, I know that she won’t have any trouble and then she’ll have the “I love Africa” bug the way that we do. She’s already ruined on the bananas, mangos, and pineapple.
The power and the water just went out. Welcome to Uganda.
5/28/11
We got invited to a wedding reception by our Eritrean friends. Very exciting. I'll report back to tomorrow on how it went.
Our last two days in Amsterdam were wonderful. On Tuesday, we actually gave ourselves some down time. We had a picnic in the park picked up a few items that we knew we would need in Uganda. We made a friend at the hostel who was Australian and he joined us at the park. I’ve never been to a park that got so much use. It was like the whole city was having a picnic together. That night we splurged and had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant recommended by Anne and Char called the Supper Club. It was wildly fun and the food was divine. We were so full that we walked all the way home so that we could sleep comfortably.
On Wednesday, our friend Sonja came from Germany to spend the day with us. We originally met her last summer while we are in Uganda. She and her boyfriend, Moses, has started a nonprofit in Uganda for slum children to play soccer. Moses also worked for us some last summer. In any case, they have become very close friends, and it was wonderful to see her again. We were crying over each other on the tram from the train station back to the hostel (approximately 15 minutes in).
I also think Nicole had a great time meeting Sonja. We were reminiscing about our adventures in Kyngera for the soccer party and Bulisa when we got stuck in the game park at the Nile, slept in a hut where goats were coming through the windows, and ran out of gas on the way home. It is actually one of my favorite memories from last summer.
We sat and drank coffee, walked around, picked up some last minutes items. All around it was a perfect last day in Amsterdam. We gave Sonja “a push” as they say in Uganda, and saw her off from the train stations. Again the tears were plentiful. That night we had snacks for dinner and spent most of the time repacking our now large disarray of souvenirs, gifts for people in Uganda, dirty clothes, clean clothes, electronics, etc. It was a lovely night, and I spent some time out on the balcony over looking the street. We were directly across from a musical hall, so I watched the people enter the hall dressed elaborately for the show.
And that’s how it ended, in what I feel was a European fashion. Sitting, enjoying the evening from a balcony, listening to beautiful music, and watching the people on the street while conversing with the people in your direct presence.
The next day we decided to spring for a taxi to take us all the way to the airport. Which turned out to be a really great investment given the amount of luggage that we had accumulated now that Meagan had her bags and Nicole purchased another bag while we were there. We didn’t have that much trouble at the airport, although they charged us for having two bags which is crazy, and I have every intention of writing a letter of complaint to every relevant party in that endeavor. I might call too, but I haven’t decided.
The flight itself was fine, although as we were taking of it was announced that we would also be stopping in Kigali on the way. We didn’t really have a choice, so we went a long with it. Getting through the Entebee airport was actually easy. I couldn’t believe how quickly we got through; however, when we called Rev to see where he was, he thought that we weren’t coming until the following day. Thankfully, he was still able to come and get us after a couple of hours. It gave us time to relax and take a soda.
At about midnight we left the airport and headed to Kampala. There were numerous road blocks along the way, which was interesting because the president was recently re-elected. I’m sure it wasn’t by an honest democratic vote, and there has been some civil unrest due to inflation. The men where in fatigues and wanted to be able to see in the car. I’m not sure what they were looking for, although I would suspect that they aren’t really looking for anything. The whole performance is more like a symbolic act of control rather than a specific action toward a specific goal.
There was a nice smokey haze over the neighborhoods from people burning their trash. It was a nice welcome to Kampala. We got to the compound with bottoming out only a few times. The poor car was laden with bodies and luggage. Of course no one was at the house because they didn’t think that we were coming till the next day. After knocking on the door for some time, we decided to stay at a hotel for the night. It was a relief to finally get into bed. By this time, it was coming to 2:30 and we had be traveling since 7:30 the previous morning.
We managed to drag ourselves out of bed at 9:00 a.m. to meet with Rev who had been by the house again without any luck. We took a quick breakfast, which was exciting because it was the first time that Nicole got to try some of the fruits that we rave about constantly.
We finally met up with Grace at the house. She was pretty upset, which I knew was going to happen. It was really nice to see Grace and Annette again. I brought her some Tony’s and I can’t wait to give it to her. She already had some fresh juice made for us. They got a few things in order and left us to take naps. I have since slept several hours, took a shower, unpacked, and had some dinner. I finally feel like I can recompose myself. I was so tired of living out of a suitcase, and having so many things. Nicole and Megan took a brief trip to the store. We decided that we would let Nicole have the single bed to herself for the first couple of weeks so that she has time to adjust. She is pretty excited though. The double bed is so large that Meagan feels far away even though I know she’s in it, so I think we’ll be ok sharing.
It’s good to be back. It doesn’t feel like I have been away for very long. I feel myself falling back into the pace of things more quickly this time. It is nice to have Meagan, who is experienced and confident, helping to run things. It is also nice to have Nicole, who is new but eager and easy to travel with. She is so smart, I know that she won’t have any trouble and then she’ll have the “I love Africa” bug the way that we do. She’s already ruined on the bananas, mangos, and pineapple.
The power and the water just went out. Welcome to Uganda.
5/28/11
We got invited to a wedding reception by our Eritrean friends. Very exciting. I'll report back to tomorrow on how it went.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Pictures
The pictures are up and we have a ton of them! Click the link to Meagan's pictures. I was the one who messed up and accidentally put them in two folders, but I'm going to hand it back over to Meagan after this point. Cheers and enjoy.
Last night in Amsterdam
We are packing up our things and buying last minute items. Our flight to Uganda leaves tomorrow at 10:30. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, but I'm ready to settle into our cozy apartment in Bogolobi and eat some passion fruit. We have done many things in the past couple of days that I need to write about. We are going to go ahead and get the pictures up. We've already had complaints. I'll explain everything later.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
It's Sunday and I need some rest
Yesterday we went to the flower market. I was surprised that it was actually more seedlings and bulbs than actual flowers. All kinds of tulips that I've never seen before. We also walked to another market that had tons of stuff. We had a picnic in the park for dinner. People were really congregating in the park. It was like a party. I enjoyed it a lot, and it has probably been my favorite meal so far. Just bread, cheese, fruit, raw veggies, salami, and wine and chocolate. The weather was just perfect and warm enough to sit in the grass comfortably in the sun. They have really good fresh rasberries here, and I ate a package yesterday and today. I think I'll get one tomorrow too. We went to the harbor then stopped for a beer. We all good time dancing at a disco especially because the Dutch don't seem to be very good dancers. We were showing up everyone. =)
Got up at 8:00 to go to Haarlem. It was lovely, although we weren't paying attention at first. We missed our train stop and ended up all the way at the ocean. We rode back and got off at Haarlem. It is more of what I think of as a typical European city with a huge cathedral, open square in front, and cafes along the edges of the square. The weather wasn't as nice today, so I ordered some hot chocolate and soup. Yummy. The church was closed (weird right?) as were most of the shops. We did tour a wind mill which made the whole trip. They are designed so smartly. One person can manage this huge and super heavy piece of equipment that is also a building. And for all different purposes: milling, grinding, and drawing water among other uses. They are also designed to be broken down and reassembled in a different location with ease. Huge wooden pegs that look like you could slay a vampire with them. I was really excited about it. There are still 1,100 working windmills in The Neatherlands. Our tour guide was this really sweet old Dutch man. If we wouldn't have been so tired, we probably would have gotten back on the train and gone back to the ocean, but we've really run out of steam.
Tonight we cooked a meal at the hostel, and we are having some much needed down time before we start again tomorrow. Gosh I'm tired.
Got up at 8:00 to go to Haarlem. It was lovely, although we weren't paying attention at first. We missed our train stop and ended up all the way at the ocean. We rode back and got off at Haarlem. It is more of what I think of as a typical European city with a huge cathedral, open square in front, and cafes along the edges of the square. The weather wasn't as nice today, so I ordered some hot chocolate and soup. Yummy. The church was closed (weird right?) as were most of the shops. We did tour a wind mill which made the whole trip. They are designed so smartly. One person can manage this huge and super heavy piece of equipment that is also a building. And for all different purposes: milling, grinding, and drawing water among other uses. They are also designed to be broken down and reassembled in a different location with ease. Huge wooden pegs that look like you could slay a vampire with them. I was really excited about it. There are still 1,100 working windmills in The Neatherlands. Our tour guide was this really sweet old Dutch man. If we wouldn't have been so tired, we probably would have gotten back on the train and gone back to the ocean, but we've really run out of steam.
Tonight we cooked a meal at the hostel, and we are having some much needed down time before we start again tomorrow. Gosh I'm tired.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
First day in Amsterdam
We have dropped back by the hostel for a brief respite before going back out again. Amsterdam is really a lovely city, and we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I forget how charming and walkable Europe is. It seems like simply because the cities in Europe are so old and people have been living in the cities for so long that humans have left their mark even in the air. I don't mean smog, pollution and the like but the way a drawer smells when you haven't opened it in a long time. The smell of human presence, and I find it very soothing. You never feel alone. People like to sight Amsterdam as a city of vices, similar to New Orleans, but I find that viewpoint, also similar to people's views of New Orleans, to be that of a simpleton. It is very rich town with offerings of history, art, canals, and the most gorgeous tulips among other things. We have seen some curious sights in the red light district, but it isn't nearly as tacky as I thought it was going to be. Europeans are always so subtle. Tonight we plan to have a picnic of cheese, wine, and fruit in the Vondle Park. Tomorrow, I think we will go to Haarlem, a suburb of Amsterdam and the original town which the American city of Harlem is named after. It is know for its architecture and cathedrals. On Monday we plan to go to the Van Gogh Museum and the house of Anne Frank. I have already bought some tulip bulbs that I think I'm going to have to sneak through customs into the states. We are hoping that our friend Sonja will join us on Wednesday in the city. On a practical note, Meagan's luggage still has not arrived. I hope for her sake that it gets here soon. Other
Friday, May 20, 2011
Holly Moley we made it!
Just briefly, we made it to Amsterdam safe and sound. Already been a little tricky, but not too bad. More later when I've had a nap.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
And thus, the conclusion in a three part trilogy....
(I wish I could make the type scroll)
Over the past year I have spent countless hours reflecting on my past experiences in Uganda, fulfilling my current obligations to our ongoing evaluation of the SAS program, and anticipating the new challenges and surprises that I will inevitably encounter as I spend my third summer in Uganda. At this point, it really does feel like a three part trilogy. For those friends and family who have been keeping up with me for the past two summers, hopefully you will share my excitement in seeing the people with whom I have built lasting relationships such as Grace who is our mother/housekeeper, Mary (who is also our mother) and her three children, Rev Obed at SAS, Dr. Bagenda. at the University, and Joan from the coffee shop. I'm sure that there will also be a new cast of characters to introduce.
I can already introduce one, Nicole Smith, who has decided to come with us for the summer as a member of our research team. She is the one on the left and Meagan is on the right in the picture. Nicole and I began our Master's degree at Memphis in the same year, and she was one of my very best friends while I was there. This past school year she has started a PhD in Medical Anthropology at the University of Kentucky and survived. She is interested in humanitarian aid and disaster relief in Africa, so we offered to have her come along with us to see what it is like. Meagan has also transitioned this year as she has successfully completed her Master's at Memphis in Medical Anthropology and has recently been accepted to a doctoral program in the Department of Public Health at Louisiana State University. She is moving down to New Orleans as I type. I have also spent the year in transition. I have decided to matriculate this September at Oregon State University in the Department of Public Health in their doctoral program (p.s. I'm looking for a place to live in or around Corvallis, OR if anyone has any real estate they need to rent). All in all I am enthusiastic about our research team, and I feel extremely privileged to be working with such a talented group of ladies who are also close friends.
Meagan and I have had a successful year working with SAS in the U.S. We have raised all of the funds to cover our trip through numerous and generous donations. If you are one of those people, thank you. Meagan and I also participated in a larger fundraiser for the SAS Foundation that has allowed the foundation to expand to several new locations in Uganda, particularly in Northern Uganda, which has experienced unrest for decades for political reasons. Being caught in between Sudan and Congo lends itself to turmoil. You might be familiar with the organization Invisible Children that has been working in this area to rehabilitate child soldiers escaping from the Lord's Resistance Army or LRA. It has rates of HIV as high as 10% of the population, some of the highest rates in the country. Let me go ahead and prepare you by saying that we are planning to travel to this area. It will be a new experience for all three of us. I am already looking to it with some trepidation. Every year, I have had an experience where I have come away a different person. In the summer of 2009, it was interviewing a 20 yr old prostitute in the poorest slum of Uganda. I was 23 at the time. In the summer of 2010, it was the bombing at the Rugby Club in Kampala the night of World Cup Final. A place where we frequented, but not on that night. I acclimate to the poverty in Uganda, but I never grow accustomed to the suffering that I see around me while I travel. I do not know this for sure, but I suspect that the suffering in Northern Uganda is more that any that I have been exposed to at this point. If you pray, start saying your prayers for this event, if you meditate, focus on this area, and if you don't do either of these things, just send me your best juju. Luckily, I'll have Meagan and Nicole. The three of us have already been through so much together that I have no doubts about our abilities to support each other in this particular experience and throughout the entire summer.
We will be leaving Thursday, May 19th. Feel free to call me in between now and then. We will be staying in Amsterdam for a week before continuing to Uganda. Trying to take advantage of the fact that we are passing through Europe, and this will probably be the last time for a while. We are planning to meet up with our German friend Sonja while we are there. You might remember her from last summer as the lady who started a non-profit soccer team for children in the slums of Kampala. We will be in Uganda from May 26th to July 21, and make it back to the States on July 22nd. Of course, I will be keeping up with the blog all through that time. I encourage you to leave me posts. It is always nice to be reminded of home and people who care about me. Also, feel free to ask me as many questions as you like, with the disclaimer that you have to be prepared for the answers. I will answer any and all questions.
For now I will leave and get back to organizing myself and this trip. Have a lot to go in the next week and a half. Much love.
Over the past year I have spent countless hours reflecting on my past experiences in Uganda, fulfilling my current obligations to our ongoing evaluation of the SAS program, and anticipating the new challenges and surprises that I will inevitably encounter as I spend my third summer in Uganda. At this point, it really does feel like a three part trilogy. For those friends and family who have been keeping up with me for the past two summers, hopefully you will share my excitement in seeing the people with whom I have built lasting relationships such as Grace who is our mother/housekeeper, Mary (who is also our mother) and her three children, Rev Obed at SAS, Dr. Bagenda. at the University, and Joan from the coffee shop. I'm sure that there will also be a new cast of characters to introduce.
I can already introduce one, Nicole Smith, who has decided to come with us for the summer as a member of our research team. She is the one on the left and Meagan is on the right in the picture. Nicole and I began our Master's degree at Memphis in the same year, and she was one of my very best friends while I was there. This past school year she has started a PhD in Medical Anthropology at the University of Kentucky and survived. She is interested in humanitarian aid and disaster relief in Africa, so we offered to have her come along with us to see what it is like. Meagan has also transitioned this year as she has successfully completed her Master's at Memphis in Medical Anthropology and has recently been accepted to a doctoral program in the Department of Public Health at Louisiana State University. She is moving down to New Orleans as I type. I have also spent the year in transition. I have decided to matriculate this September at Oregon State University in the Department of Public Health in their doctoral program (p.s. I'm looking for a place to live in or around Corvallis, OR if anyone has any real estate they need to rent). All in all I am enthusiastic about our research team, and I feel extremely privileged to be working with such a talented group of ladies who are also close friends.
Meagan and I have had a successful year working with SAS in the U.S. We have raised all of the funds to cover our trip through numerous and generous donations. If you are one of those people, thank you. Meagan and I also participated in a larger fundraiser for the SAS Foundation that has allowed the foundation to expand to several new locations in Uganda, particularly in Northern Uganda, which has experienced unrest for decades for political reasons. Being caught in between Sudan and Congo lends itself to turmoil. You might be familiar with the organization Invisible Children that has been working in this area to rehabilitate child soldiers escaping from the Lord's Resistance Army or LRA. It has rates of HIV as high as 10% of the population, some of the highest rates in the country. Let me go ahead and prepare you by saying that we are planning to travel to this area. It will be a new experience for all three of us. I am already looking to it with some trepidation. Every year, I have had an experience where I have come away a different person. In the summer of 2009, it was interviewing a 20 yr old prostitute in the poorest slum of Uganda. I was 23 at the time. In the summer of 2010, it was the bombing at the Rugby Club in Kampala the night of World Cup Final. A place where we frequented, but not on that night. I acclimate to the poverty in Uganda, but I never grow accustomed to the suffering that I see around me while I travel. I do not know this for sure, but I suspect that the suffering in Northern Uganda is more that any that I have been exposed to at this point. If you pray, start saying your prayers for this event, if you meditate, focus on this area, and if you don't do either of these things, just send me your best juju. Luckily, I'll have Meagan and Nicole. The three of us have already been through so much together that I have no doubts about our abilities to support each other in this particular experience and throughout the entire summer.
We will be leaving Thursday, May 19th. Feel free to call me in between now and then. We will be staying in Amsterdam for a week before continuing to Uganda. Trying to take advantage of the fact that we are passing through Europe, and this will probably be the last time for a while. We are planning to meet up with our German friend Sonja while we are there. You might remember her from last summer as the lady who started a non-profit soccer team for children in the slums of Kampala. We will be in Uganda from May 26th to July 21, and make it back to the States on July 22nd. Of course, I will be keeping up with the blog all through that time. I encourage you to leave me posts. It is always nice to be reminded of home and people who care about me. Also, feel free to ask me as many questions as you like, with the disclaimer that you have to be prepared for the answers. I will answer any and all questions.
For now I will leave and get back to organizing myself and this trip. Have a lot to go in the next week and a half. Much love.
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