As we enter our 6th week in Uganda my feelings are changing. This is a hard place to live but in most ways it has become our home. Every minute my feet are on this soil the roots grow deeper. I no longer feel afraid of the things here that used to terrify me. We know what to eat and how to get around. We have a routine. More so, we have friends. There are people here that I have come to trust and care for. When I think about leaving them it give me a lump in my throat. The only way I can talk myself out of tears is to remember that I can come back and that many of them now have facebook or e-mail. If I were rich I would bring a few of the teachers to America so that they could continue their training. I am constantly impressed by the caring nature that some of them possess.
We were devastated to hear that Exams will begin right after Easter, meaning that we will only have the kids until the 13th. I can't express how disappointing this is for all of us. Our time will be cut short by over two weeks. It makes it hard to feel as if we have made a difference in their lives. There are only 31 days until we leave Uganda and I fear it will pass too quickly...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
We're going on a bear hunt! (well not really)
On Saturday we went for a hike at Ruboni Community Camp. We did what is called a "Forest hike" that is really half forest and half jungle. The views were stunning! I can never quite capture on camera how amazing it is but here is a shot at it.
This next picture is of a very large type of banana plant. As I was taking this picture Safari ants began to bite me. I got only 5 bites in total but they hurt quite a bit.
From this point on the hike became more challenging than I would prefer but we made it through. Great experience altogether. I took these last photos because I thought I thought my mom would like them.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Catching up...
Let's see what can I say about the last 10 days...
School
School has been going well for the most part. I have been working with the P6 class which is made up of 12 to 14 year olds. I really enjoy this class because there are only 16 of them but most of them struggle academically. Some of them struggle in a way that indicates deeper problems than just being behind. I made my own running records to test their reading levels and have begun to work independently with the three lowest. Giving up students to leave for this type of intervention work is new for some of the teachers and they don't all love the idea. King James understands the need and has been supportive as have a few of the staff. We are all hoping that everyone comes around so that this work will be continued when we leave. I don't want to say a lot about it but we are also hoping to change the views of some select staff that believe in physical punishment for the students. I was aware before I got here that it happened but seeing it... hearing it... watching a student (a 13 year old), cry through an entire exam after being beaten was more than I could handle. I said something, I said what I felt. The teacher has said they are willing to view my "methods" so I hope we can make more headway on that front.
I have been enjoying showing the students and staff how to play math games with playing cards. They all really love them and it is showing the teachers how the cards (or lack of) can be used as a reward/punishment. The favorites so far include "big rectangle", math war, and garbage. They also like to play a Ugandan card game that no one knows that name of. I know how to play as Janet has taught me but the kids seem to have some different rules. It has been nice to spend more time with the students and staff just having fun. It hard to think about how much leaving them will hurt.
Home Life
For the last two weeks we have had very little power and running water. It always seems like if we have one we won't have the other... we frequently have neither. I never thought I would have to ration my toilet flushes but here we are. In the evening there is always no water. We have to get water in Jerry cans and bathe in a bucket. After we are slightly clean from our bucket baths we dump the water into the back of the toilet so we can flush it. It's sort of a bummer. I have also discovered that my bed is full of tiny bugs. They don't seem to be harmful but sleeping with bugs all over you is hard. The mosquitoes have been getting worse and several people we know have come down with malaria in the last week. Edson also got stomach worms from drinking unclean water.
We have made all of our plans to go on safari, chimp tracking, swimming, and hiking. We are all super excited about it and the place we will be staying looks super nice. I'll write more about that when the time comes. Next Sunday is our half way point so I will try to post again then. Enjoy these pictures!
School
School has been going well for the most part. I have been working with the P6 class which is made up of 12 to 14 year olds. I really enjoy this class because there are only 16 of them but most of them struggle academically. Some of them struggle in a way that indicates deeper problems than just being behind. I made my own running records to test their reading levels and have begun to work independently with the three lowest. Giving up students to leave for this type of intervention work is new for some of the teachers and they don't all love the idea. King James understands the need and has been supportive as have a few of the staff. We are all hoping that everyone comes around so that this work will be continued when we leave. I don't want to say a lot about it but we are also hoping to change the views of some select staff that believe in physical punishment for the students. I was aware before I got here that it happened but seeing it... hearing it... watching a student (a 13 year old), cry through an entire exam after being beaten was more than I could handle. I said something, I said what I felt. The teacher has said they are willing to view my "methods" so I hope we can make more headway on that front.
I have been enjoying showing the students and staff how to play math games with playing cards. They all really love them and it is showing the teachers how the cards (or lack of) can be used as a reward/punishment. The favorites so far include "big rectangle", math war, and garbage. They also like to play a Ugandan card game that no one knows that name of. I know how to play as Janet has taught me but the kids seem to have some different rules. It has been nice to spend more time with the students and staff just having fun. It hard to think about how much leaving them will hurt.
Home Life
For the last two weeks we have had very little power and running water. It always seems like if we have one we won't have the other... we frequently have neither. I never thought I would have to ration my toilet flushes but here we are. In the evening there is always no water. We have to get water in Jerry cans and bathe in a bucket. After we are slightly clean from our bucket baths we dump the water into the back of the toilet so we can flush it. It's sort of a bummer. I have also discovered that my bed is full of tiny bugs. They don't seem to be harmful but sleeping with bugs all over you is hard. The mosquitoes have been getting worse and several people we know have come down with malaria in the last week. Edson also got stomach worms from drinking unclean water.
We have made all of our plans to go on safari, chimp tracking, swimming, and hiking. We are all super excited about it and the place we will be staying looks super nice. I'll write more about that when the time comes. Next Sunday is our half way point so I will try to post again then. Enjoy these pictures!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
I have decided to make an on-going list of things I will miss and things I will not miss about living in Uganda. This one will be added to and changed the entire time I'm here so keep checking back.
Things I will miss/ things I am grateful to have in Uganda...
-The staff at Rwentutu (we have only been at the school for two weeks and already I am so attached to the teachers. I know it will be hard to say goodbye when the time comes which is why I have helped them all set up e-mail and facebook.)
-Our sweet and charming students
-Janet and Edson, who keep us alive and show us the ropes
-The Rwenzori mountains and the scenery of Uganda in general
-G-nut sauce, jackfruit, and Chappatti!!!
-The way people talk
-Having fits of insanity laughter with Luke, Laura, and Emily
-Seeing wild animals everywhere everyday
-Curiosity and questions about America and the rest of the world
-Watching King James dance
-"Yes please"
-Goats
-Love notes from the children
-Fabric and clothes!
Things I will not miss...
-The garbage that covers the beautiful country side
-Frequently not having power and/or running water in our house. (Lately it has been both for days at a time).
-Lack of toilet seats in the house (even though I can see them in pictures from the last group, where did they go?)
-General lack of customer service anywhere you go. (You can't expect a menu, any food to be prepared, change for bills of any size, or for anyone to care when you have a problem. For example when an ATM didn't give me any money, only a receipt saying it did, the bank asked me what I was going to do about it.)
-Everything here takes forever, always.
-Being told I'm big, by everyone, constantly.
-Religious pushiness
-Being looked at constantly. Along with that, the way everyone treats us like we have an endless supply of money that they want to get their hands on. It's cheap to live in Uganda if you're black, if you're anything else it's unbelievably expensive.
-Market shopping
-Eating the same food all the time
-Never really feeling clean
-Cockroaches and rats in the house
Things I will miss/ things I am grateful to have in Uganda...
-The staff at Rwentutu (we have only been at the school for two weeks and already I am so attached to the teachers. I know it will be hard to say goodbye when the time comes which is why I have helped them all set up e-mail and facebook.)
-Our sweet and charming students
-Janet and Edson, who keep us alive and show us the ropes
-The Rwenzori mountains and the scenery of Uganda in general
-G-nut sauce, jackfruit, and Chappatti!!!
-The way people talk
-Having fits of insanity laughter with Luke, Laura, and Emily
-Seeing wild animals everywhere everyday
-Curiosity and questions about America and the rest of the world
-Watching King James dance
-"Yes please"
-Goats
-Love notes from the children
-Fabric and clothes!
Things I will not miss...
-The garbage that covers the beautiful country side
-Frequently not having power and/or running water in our house. (Lately it has been both for days at a time).
-Lack of toilet seats in the house (even though I can see them in pictures from the last group, where did they go?)
-General lack of customer service anywhere you go. (You can't expect a menu, any food to be prepared, change for bills of any size, or for anyone to care when you have a problem. For example when an ATM didn't give me any money, only a receipt saying it did, the bank asked me what I was going to do about it.)
-Everything here takes forever, always.
-Being told I'm big, by everyone, constantly.
-Religious pushiness
-Being looked at constantly. Along with that, the way everyone treats us like we have an endless supply of money that they want to get their hands on. It's cheap to live in Uganda if you're black, if you're anything else it's unbelievably expensive.
-Market shopping
-Eating the same food all the time
-Never really feeling clean
-Cockroaches and rats in the house
Rwentutu staff party!
Today we had pretty much all of the Rwentutu staff over for a lunch party. We made a lot of food including: Beans, rice, matoke, pineapple, chappatti (that we made ourselves!), beef, tapioke, cookies, guacamole, Pringles, and chicken (which we killed to honor our guests). It was a lot of work and very expensive but it was really fun. We listened to music and played on the computers making facebook accounts for the staff. It was really nice to get to know them more.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
King Fisher Lodge
Yesterday we visited King Fisher Lodge which is a safari lodge about 50 minutes south of our home. We took a taxi bus called a mutatu which costs 7,000 sh (about $3) a person. It is on the edge over looking the park and the view of the rift valley is amazing. It is like looking out at the ocean to which there is no end in sight.
We swam although it was cloudy and the water was cold. Swimming costs 10,000 sh ($4.50) for the day even if you only go in once. The food there was pretty good. I had their version of a club sandwich which was chicken, pork chunks, avocado, cabbage, and something like mayo. Along with that we had chips (french fries), fruit salad, and banana fritters with honey. The sandwich and chips was about 16,000 and the fruit salad 5,000.
We had a really great time and felt truly relaxed. On the way home we were lucky enough to catch a bus that only cost 5,000 per person and we had much more room. As we drove home we saw a hippo! I was unable to get a picture :(
Religion
In some ways we were prepared for the high level of religious participation here. In other ways I feel slightly misled about it. For starters we were told that the school "Rwentutu Christian Community School" is only named that because they support good values. Along with that we were told there is no religious curriculum at the school which is not at all true. The children have CRE (Christian Religion Education) classes every day, all school chapel service every Wednesday, and God is mentioned regularly during other classes. For the most part this doesn't bother me that much I was just a little surprised given that we were told there was no religion in the curriculum.
Beyond that everyone asks us about our own religion. Curiosity is one thing, judgement is another. A person we know here, who I will not name, has come to our house both Sundays to ask us why we did not go to church. I told him that God is forgiving and would forgive us for not attending but he does not agree. It is very uncomfortable and we are concerned it will happen every week. Luke did attend church this morning and was grilled by this man about homosexuality in the car on the way home. I felt sorry that Luke had to deal with this because he is sensitive to all people and I'm sure was uncomfortable hearing such unkindness.
I have never enjoyed people that practice in this way. I believe, as a Quaker, that your relationship with God and the Bible is your own and no one has the right to judge you for the way you practice (or don't practice for that matter). I believe that if we are to be judged it is on the content of our character rather than how we follow the rules of an organized religion. Some people go to church every Sunday and then beat their wives when they get home. The man I spoke of says the bible teaches homosexuality is a sin and yet he is willing to kill a pig. In the bible it also says that touching the flesh of a pig is a sin.
I was kindly reminded that I can be just as stubborn and slow to change my views, which I'm afraid can be true. So I will try my best to be patient and understanding. I also understand that this man may genuinly fear for our souls and believes that he is really trying to help us. One thing I was prepared for was picking my battles and I will continue to try to do that. In America I do this all the time with hot botton issues in which people seldom change their minds. It's better to just avoid the issue if at all possible.
Anyhow it is neither here nor there. I just thought it was an interesting point to mention. I am happy that Edson and Janet do not judge us or if they do they keep it to themselves. We have asked Edson to talk to the man about it so hopefully it will not be an issue again.
Beyond that everyone asks us about our own religion. Curiosity is one thing, judgement is another. A person we know here, who I will not name, has come to our house both Sundays to ask us why we did not go to church. I told him that God is forgiving and would forgive us for not attending but he does not agree. It is very uncomfortable and we are concerned it will happen every week. Luke did attend church this morning and was grilled by this man about homosexuality in the car on the way home. I felt sorry that Luke had to deal with this because he is sensitive to all people and I'm sure was uncomfortable hearing such unkindness.
I have never enjoyed people that practice in this way. I believe, as a Quaker, that your relationship with God and the Bible is your own and no one has the right to judge you for the way you practice (or don't practice for that matter). I believe that if we are to be judged it is on the content of our character rather than how we follow the rules of an organized religion. Some people go to church every Sunday and then beat their wives when they get home. The man I spoke of says the bible teaches homosexuality is a sin and yet he is willing to kill a pig. In the bible it also says that touching the flesh of a pig is a sin.
I was kindly reminded that I can be just as stubborn and slow to change my views, which I'm afraid can be true. So I will try my best to be patient and understanding. I also understand that this man may genuinly fear for our souls and believes that he is really trying to help us. One thing I was prepared for was picking my battles and I will continue to try to do that. In America I do this all the time with hot botton issues in which people seldom change their minds. It's better to just avoid the issue if at all possible.
Anyhow it is neither here nor there. I just thought it was an interesting point to mention. I am happy that Edson and Janet do not judge us or if they do they keep it to themselves. We have asked Edson to talk to the man about it so hopefully it will not be an issue again.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Some random notes...
First of all we are starting to adjust to our home and the school. Along with that our home and the school are adjusting to us.
School
The kids love us and are more comfortable around us which is nice. I am most excited about the relationships we are forming with the teachers at the school. Yesterday morning we invited them to come to a lunch party at our house on the 10th. They are all really excited and the invitation seemed to help them relax around us. We ate lunch together at school yesterday and today which was nice. Honestly some of their questions lead me to believe that the other teachers didn't spend as much time with them as I had thought. It makes the trip to school every day even better knowing that we have friends there; people that are looking forward to seeing us as friends.
Travel
Getting around is always interesting here. We are driven around by Edson in Semu's car. However many people here travel by bodaboda which are motorcycles driven by young men. They sit in groups on the road side everywhere. We are told that many of them do drugs and they drive dangerously (this we have seen first hand). Today we were driving home from school and saw a crowd so we stopped to look. Two bodabodas had crashed and there was a man dead on the road. We knew he was dead by the way his face was covered and no one was touching him. They told us that the other had been taken to the hospital. We do not take the bodabodas.
Another part of daily travel is being stopped by the police. They park on the side of the road and flag people over. Most of the time they see that there are white people in the car and let us go. Once we had to give them money for water which Edson said will only happen once from that particular set because they know us now. We have also been stopped by immigration men. They wanted to see our passports which we did not have. I offered him my drivers license, he laughed and said that he is not a traffic officer. We now carry our passports all the time.
Ps If you don't like speed bumps don't come to Uganda. There are so many you wouldn't believe me if I told you.
Food
We are learning to live with the food here. Most of our meals consist of potatoes, rice, G-nut (which is a sauce we love), melon, pineapple, beans, tomatoes, onions, eggs, Matoke (green bananas, sorry I hate it), sweet bananas, passion fruit, bread, chapoti (a flat bread), and tea. We have a very few things that are treats but they include: Nutella, short bread cookies, Fanta soda, chips, pancakes, and tonight me made guacamole!
Animals
Our days are filled with goats, chickens, turkey, cows (the kind with the huge horns!), a few gross cats and dogs, rats, and lots of bugs. I love goats now!
Talking
Many people here speak English but it is strange British/Ugandan English. What's funny is that we are all changing the way we speak so that we can fit in and be understood. It hasn't even been 2 full weeks, I can't imagine how strange I will sound 8 weeks from now. For example, just now as I brought laundry in I said "my clothes are not yet dry." We use shall a lot. We say "have you heard?" meaning "do you understand? We say "yes please" as a general filler and greeting. "What is your program?" means what is your plan or schedule. "Will you take it?" meaning do you want it. When you say hello to people they frequently respond with "I am fine."
There are many others and I will certainly be adding to this post. That's all for now!
School
The kids love us and are more comfortable around us which is nice. I am most excited about the relationships we are forming with the teachers at the school. Yesterday morning we invited them to come to a lunch party at our house on the 10th. They are all really excited and the invitation seemed to help them relax around us. We ate lunch together at school yesterday and today which was nice. Honestly some of their questions lead me to believe that the other teachers didn't spend as much time with them as I had thought. It makes the trip to school every day even better knowing that we have friends there; people that are looking forward to seeing us as friends.
Getting around is always interesting here. We are driven around by Edson in Semu's car. However many people here travel by bodaboda which are motorcycles driven by young men. They sit in groups on the road side everywhere. We are told that many of them do drugs and they drive dangerously (this we have seen first hand). Today we were driving home from school and saw a crowd so we stopped to look. Two bodabodas had crashed and there was a man dead on the road. We knew he was dead by the way his face was covered and no one was touching him. They told us that the other had been taken to the hospital. We do not take the bodabodas.
Another part of daily travel is being stopped by the police. They park on the side of the road and flag people over. Most of the time they see that there are white people in the car and let us go. Once we had to give them money for water which Edson said will only happen once from that particular set because they know us now. We have also been stopped by immigration men. They wanted to see our passports which we did not have. I offered him my drivers license, he laughed and said that he is not a traffic officer. We now carry our passports all the time.
Ps If you don't like speed bumps don't come to Uganda. There are so many you wouldn't believe me if I told you.
Food
We are learning to live with the food here. Most of our meals consist of potatoes, rice, G-nut (which is a sauce we love), melon, pineapple, beans, tomatoes, onions, eggs, Matoke (green bananas, sorry I hate it), sweet bananas, passion fruit, bread, chapoti (a flat bread), and tea. We have a very few things that are treats but they include: Nutella, short bread cookies, Fanta soda, chips, pancakes, and tonight me made guacamole!
Animals
Our days are filled with goats, chickens, turkey, cows (the kind with the huge horns!), a few gross cats and dogs, rats, and lots of bugs. I love goats now!
Talking
Many people here speak English but it is strange British/Ugandan English. What's funny is that we are all changing the way we speak so that we can fit in and be understood. It hasn't even been 2 full weeks, I can't imagine how strange I will sound 8 weeks from now. For example, just now as I brought laundry in I said "my clothes are not yet dry." We use shall a lot. We say "have you heard?" meaning "do you understand? We say "yes please" as a general filler and greeting. "What is your program?" means what is your plan or schedule. "Will you take it?" meaning do you want it. When you say hello to people they frequently respond with "I am fine."
There are many others and I will certainly be adding to this post. That's all for now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)