Worst Christmas Tree Ever!

I know I shouldn't criticize... but seriously, have you ever seen balloons as Christmas ornaments? 

These are pictures from the children's Christmas party hosted by the tea estate for the families of the company's management class (there were more parties in the worker camps but I did not go to those; I'm sure there were no balloon trees in the camps so I should feel quite privileged). 

It was a cute party, and all of the kids were dressed up and excited to see Father Christmas (they don't call him Santa Claus over here). 

So, this is a strange custom. Myself and this man (I have no idea who he was) were the guests of honor of this children's party. Of course, I had no idea I would be the guest of honor. I just stopped by the party to watch the kids for a minute or two; you know, get a little holiday spirit. Anyway, when I showed up I was asked to say a few words to the kids. Yikes! What the heck am I suppose to say!!! Well, rather than talking, I launched into a round of "If you're happy and you know it," and the kids knew the song! Yeah, I was a hit, thank God. Anyway, being the guest of honor also meant I couldn't skip out nonchalantly, I was stuck for the duration. After the meal, this man and I had to cut the cake with the youngest child at the party. This picture makes me think of a wedding picture of a couple whose child came before the "I do's". Hahaha, and the frosting on that cake was so hard that we could not even cut into it, what a mess!

After the party it was time to teach the kids the fun of "selfies". They loved it!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas from Uganda

Merry Christmas!

Obviously I am not having a white Christmas, but the reds and greens on the tea estate are amazing. 

I am truly thankful to find myself in such a beautiful location and surrounding by such a kind and welcoming community. I am also blessed to have the love and support from my family and friends back home. Thank you for the care packages, gifts, emails, and text messages. I miss you all. Happy Holidays! I wish you an abundance of joy and peace in the New Year. 

Side note, canna lilies are planted in the tea fields to correct the acidity in the soil. Any place the tea bushes are not growing well, they plant canna lilies. You can see the fields in the background have many patches of these flowers. To have a field full of red flowers is a bad sign for the tea company, but for me, they are gorgeous. 

World AIDS Day

December 1st was World AIDS Day. The day is dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness, trainings on prevention, strategies for mitigating the effects of the virus, and sensitization to eliminate discrimination against those infected. Prior to coming to Uganda, I did not know such a day existed! I am extremely thankful that HIV/AIDS has not been an issue in my life. I simply never gave it a second thought. However, it seems everyone over here has, in some way, been touched by this deadly virus. They either have it themselves, or they have lost a parent or loved one to it, or they know of someone in such a situation. It is sad how common place HIV/AIDS is in this country. Much of my time here will be spent teaching adolescence the importance of abstaning from sex, being faithful to one sexual partner, and consistently adhering to condom use (the ABC's of HIV prevention). 

In this picture, two of our Peer Educators are demonstrating the proper use of a condom by putting one on the handle if a pair of leaf clippers (these are the clippers the tea pickers use in the field, they are just like regular hedge trimmers but they have a plastic box attached to the blades that collects the leaves that have been cut). I can't believe that on  World AIDS day we came to the event with hundreds of condoms to distribute to the audience, but we forget the penis model for demonstrations. Yes, we have penis models carved out of wood to show young people how to properly put on a condom. I'm so glad our Peer Educators are inventive. They did not miss a beat when a person from the audience asked to be shown how to use a condom. 

My Bike

I bought a bike and have started riding around the tea estate and out to our closest village, Kyarusozi. This will definitely give me a little more freedom and independence. I can only move about when the weather is nice, and I have to be home by dark, but I'm much happier. Relying on your feet as your only mode of transportation is quite limiting. I have a new found appreciation for my car and miss it terribly, even though I know the evils it causes to our environment. 

My new bike! It's really too small for me but I am getting used to it. There are no gears so rather than biking, I am coasting down the hills, pedal like mad at the bottom, then walking up the other side. It still cuts my commute times in half. 

Yes, I ride in dresses, and remember, showing your knees is taboo here, so I must be careful the wind doesn't blow up my skirt! I have not seen any other ladies riding bikes, only the men have bikes out here. I'm afraid I'm making a spectacle of myself, but I'm showing them that women can do anything men can do, including riding a bike. I should just wear pants too! Ah, maybe I'll be a rebel in baby steps. They still freak out at seeing a white person. Now they all stare in amazement at the white lady on a bike (they really can't believe I know how to ride). In a few months they can gasp in shock at the white lady on a bike wearing pants. Oh my, what will be next!

Oh yeah, that picture was taken at Hamukuku Primary School where I have started giving Life Skills lesson to the oldest classes of children. It is a very nice school, they keep it very clean. It is small, only about 30 students per grade at the P6 and P7 level (equivalent to our middle school). The kids in school grades here are all ages. Many children either start late or drop out then restart, so you'll find kids as old as 17 or 18 still in the primary levels. Sadly, that means that the majority never finish secondary school (high school), only 30% finish for boys and 12% for girls. It is no wonder there is a perpetual cycle of poverty. Only 12 out of 100 girls finish high school!!! The country needs to invest more resources into its youth and make school mandary and free. 

Back to the bike story... on my second day of riding my brakes were jangling and my seat fell off. Yeah, quality products are hard to come by in this country. Thankfully, there is a bike repair shop in Kyarusozi. It cost 500 shillings to tighten the brakes and 3,000 shillings to put new screws on the seat, totally about $1. Hopefully my bike will hold together and I will not have to give this guy too much business, but at least his prices are good. 

Of course, everywhere I go I am flocked by kids. I wonder if I will miss the attention when I get back to the states. Here, I am a celebrity... or an oddity. Either way, the kids are always happy to see me and that makes the rough days a little better. 

Pictures around the Tea Estate

I am currently in Fort Portal. I was able to visit with a few of my fellow volunteers last night and decided as a much deserved break, I would stay the weekend in a proper hotel. Hot showers!!! I feel like a new person this morning. The hotel also has an amazing restaurant with fabulous food, even pizza and ice cream. I just may survive the full 27 months if I am able to give myself a hotel weekend every other month or so. 

Plus they have free wi-fi and it is strong enough for me to use my computer to update my blog. On the tea estate, for some reason, I can get on the internet using the apps on my iPhone, but I cannot actually open a web page or connect to the internet with my computer. Thank goodness the apps work because that is how I am able to receive and send emails and use the WhatsApp app to text my family and friends (those of you that don't yet use WhatsApp and have a smart phone, get the app and add my Ugandan number to your contacts +256 0780 235 981 and we can text using data, not airtime, its free as long as you are connected to wi-fi on your phone). Anyway, that also means the last few posts on my blog have been done from my iPhone, and typing full stories on an iPhone requires a lot of patience. This morning I am happily typing on a full keypad so I thought I would catch up on some photos that were taken with an actual camera and uploaded to my computer (another drawback of using the app on the iPhone is I can only post pictures taken with my iPhone, and I'm still working with the iPhone 4... I'm way behind the technology and the iPhone 4 camera is not the best.

This is the clinic. I think I will do very little work here, or I hope I will do very little work here. Truthfully, the nurses do a wonderful job with the resources available to them and they don't much need my help. With the language barrier, I think I create more work for them then I could possible do good. I tried to give a health talk on the female reproductive system this past Saturday and it took my interpreter and two nurses to convey what I was saying. My interpreter is just a 21 year old girl whose first language is Richiga, not Rotooro, so much gets lost in translation. One of the nurses who tried to help is from the east and speaks Teso, but she is much older so did a little better than my interpreter. Unfortunately, the audience was still confused. Finally, a second nurse happened by and pretty much took over the presentation. See what I mean, what work can I actually do here! I think one of the issues Ugandans face in the challenge of development is not having a universal language. I quick internet search tells me there are 41 languages spoken in this country. Crazy!

This is where I hope to do the majority of my work, in the labor camps. The tea estate houses approximately 4000 people (1000 employees and their families). As you can see in this picture, there are a lot of kids, and there are kids caring for kids while the parents work in the tea fields all day. I count one adult, six children, and two babies in this shot. And there were many more children running out of the scene when I took out my camera; most people here do not want there picture taken. I can hardly blame them, their living conditions are harsh. Their homes are crowded, they average four people to a room, and there is no electricity or running water. They have outdoor kitchens, pit latrines, and cement rooms for bucket bathing. Campsites in America would seem like luxury accommodations compared to the facilities here. 

Here you can see the layout of the camp, the sleeping quarters are to the left and the kitchen to the right. The latrines and bath houses are behind the kitchen. People have to carry water in jerry cans from a tap in the center of the camp. The estate employees are actually considered better off than many villagers because the company does pump in water. Outside of the estate people may have to walk quite a distance to a well or may rely on rain water. Sanitation is a definite issue that I hope to work on. Malnutrition is another issue. The clinic wants to establish kitchen gardens and cooking classes in the villages to encourage better feeding practices. 

The kids just break your heart. Most do not go to school, are poorly dressed and do not wear shoes, are chronically ill, and eat only portage and potatoes. I haven't seen inside the sleeping quarters yet, but maybe I don't want to. The estate has "peer educators" that live in the camps, so I hope to partner with them to encourage better child care practices. Right now they all look at me as a source of money and I am trying to convince them that the Peace Corps is not charity. It is an organization that teaches people how to help themselves, to better their own lives and stop the reliance on hand outs which leads to the perpetual cycle of poverty. Decades of international aid sent to Africa proves that charity will never solve poverty. The old saying about teaching a man to fish is so true, but they are not hearing me yet. They just want money and who can blame them. 

I must sign off and start my day. Let me try to end on a positive note... in my own home garden I have green beans and spinach spouting! If I can grow them, I should be able to teach these guys to grow them. Then we can have cooking classes and see how many Ugandans will actually eat them. There's not much in the way of spices out here, and no butter, so... ops, stay positive, they will love them!

An Introduction

Last weekend I was invited to the Introduction ceremony of the tea estate's IT Manager to one of the women from the factory's tasting room. This is not an "introduction" in its literal meaning. This is a traditional Ugandan ceremony that joins a couple in matrimony. It is legally binding and the two live as man and wife after the ceremony. Many couples here also have a church wedding, but that could take place years following their introduction. For this couple, their wedding is scheduled for next June. 

The event was quite elaborate with traditional costumes, dances, and rituals. Of course the entire ceremony was spoken in Rotooro so I didn't understand any of it. The group I went with kept me up to speed for the most part, but really, it was like listening to the Peanut's adults talk for six hours. Yes, six hours! I've discovered that one of the things Ugandan love to do is talk. Oh boy, give them a microphone and they will talk and talk and talk. 

The original intent of the ceremony was the introduction of the man to the girl's family to negotiate a price for the hand of the daughter. Usually there were livestock  offered along with a sum of money. In more affluent families I suspect this is all for show and good fun; "you are worth three cows, my dear". The sad truth, so I've been told, is that some girls are married off against their will for financial gain. This is usually a young girl to an older man and it is not due to greediness of the girl's family, but due to desperation. Thankfully the ceremony I witnessed was not such a case. 

In the first part of the ceremony, a group of young girls were paraded out so the groom, best man, and the men of the groom's family could "look" for the bride. The looking entailed the men walking by each if the girls and shaking their heads to say she was not the one. Then they gave them little gifts and sent them away. Obviously the bride was not among those girls. 

Then another group of girls, these ones a bit older, were paraded out. Again the groom and his party "looked" for his intended bride. She was not in this group either so gifts were given out and the girls were sent away. 

Finally the bridal party was paraded out and the groom identified his choice. Gifts were given and everyone danced. 

These professions dancers absolutely amazed me. It was a wonder how they kept their hips moving so their grass/fur wraps kept movement to the beat if the music. 

After the entertainment came lunch and then the bridal party returned wearing their wedding costumes. 

The men did a crazy half dance/half march toward the women. The groom was the one with flowers on his lapel, walking right behind the closest man wearing a gown. I beleive that man was the groom's father because was the one that did all of the talking during the negotiation part if the ceremony. 

Here come the men dancing up to the women. There were more speeches and then papers to sign. Then the happy couple cut the cake and everyone brought up gifts. 

And that, my friends, is a Ugandan Introduction. 

Home from Training

I've just returned from two weeks of  training in Entebbe with the other volunteers from my cohort. It was good to see everyone and for the most part, they all seem happy with their sites. The training was good, mostly relevant for what I'll be doing over the next 22 months, but tonight, I'm happy to be home. Well, happy to be back at my home-away-from-home, home. 

Here is a picture of a typical road in Kampala, taken from the window of a bus. It took us nearly two hours just to get out of the city. I will never get used to Kampala and will try my hardest to stay away from there for the remainder of my stay in Uganda. Unfortunately, all roads lead to Kampala so to get anywhere in this country you must pass through the city center. Nothing bypasses the city. That's means you have to take a bus or a taxi into the city, change buses or taxies, or figure out how change from bus to taxi or taxi to bus, then fight your way back out of the city. And remember, a taxi in Uganda is a mini van stuffed to the gills with people, luggage, sacs of potatoes, chickens, etcetera... not a comfy sedan all to yourself. And it has a route it sticks to, so you may be walking the final stretch to get to your destination. 

Today, I actually had a hassle free commute. I took a taxi from Entebbe where our training was held to Kampale, then a quick walk from where the taxi dropped me off to the bus park, bussed it five hours to Rogumbe, then hung out for about an hour for a driver from the tea estate to pick me up. Rogumbe to home was about a 45-minute drive and the driver brought me right to me door. Ah, such luxury! All told, nine hours and I'm back in my comfy little cottage surrounded by tea fields. 

I promised you a picture of the butcher, here it is. I took this while I was waiting for the estate's driver to pick me up in Rogumbe. I'm not exaggerating, the carcasses are just hung outside, apparently no covering or refrigeration is needed. I have no intention of buying meat over here. I have eaten it when someone else has prepared it, like at training venues or in restaurants, and I haven't gotten sick, but I won't buy and cook it for myself. Not doing the chicken either because they don't come pre-plucked! Sounds like I'll be doing lots of beans or egg dishes for my dinners. 

Kyarusozi

Here are a few pictures from Kyarusozi, a trading center right outside of the gates to the tea estate. Every Friday is market day so this is where I will go for my produce each week. This area is also where three of the four schools that I will teach at are located (the fourth one is located on the tea estate). Today I went to talk with the head teacher of one of the primary schools. I took these two pictures on my walk home from the school. All of the schools I have visited have been very welcoming; free help, why wouldn't they be. Hopefully I will start health classes with their students next semester. 

As you can see from the picture, it is not much of a town. Well, it is not a town so I've been told many times, it is called a trading center. The people who live here are very poor and are only able to sustain themselves by selling products and services to the workers from the tea estate. There are a few shops, a tailor, a beauty salon, a bike repair shop, but not much else. So far I have not found any restaurants, just guys making rolex (chapati with fried egg) and mondazi (fried dough) on the side if the road. It seems that most weeks I will be able to ride with the clinic car into Fort Portal to do some shopping and get my fill of muzungu food. I think I am too spoiled to make due with the few items I can find here. 

In this picture, the venders have started to set up for market day. I tried to get a picture of the butcher but he wanted me to pay him for his picture. He was quite rude about it, a grumpy old man, so I kept walking. He probably took one look at me and knew I was not going to buy any if his dusty fly covered meat anyway. Therefore, he was not willing to humour me with a picture. Oh well, I'd rather make friends with the ladies who sell pineapples and bananas. 

Honestly, these people here are a bit intimidating. Most do not speak English and when I try to communicate, it seems as if they are yelling at me. The Rotooro language sounds harsh to my ears - rapid sharp notes - and they talk loud and forcefully. The majority of the venders are not what you would call soft-spoken. Ha, I guess a soft spoken vender would not make many sales and would soon be out of business. 

Another thing that I find intimidating is the bargaining. I hate it. I want an item to have a price tag and I will pay that price. If I think it is too expensive, I simply leave it on the shelf. Here you ask the price, "sente zingaha?" And whatever they tell you, offer them half. Then you argue for about 15 minutes, then you pay something inbetween the two initial offers. Or if you are me, you pay way more than should have and walk away knowing that you have been cheated. I know they are fighting to survive so I will try not to get too upset. After all, I can afford their hiked up prices, and if it's too crazy, I can just walk away. Chances are I didn't need the item that badly anyway. 

I'm sure you can tell, I'm not impressed with Kyarusozi! Oh well, tomorrow I leave for two weeks of training with the other 45 volunteers at a training center near Kampala. It will be good to see the other volunteers again and compare stories about our sites. I'm sure some have nicer surroundings than I do, but many will have much worse. Kyarusozi may not be much to look at but the tea estate is awesome!

Omuceeri n Ebihimba

You know you're a city girl when you buy fresh beans at the market and are surprised to find that two days later, they have sprouted!

Eck, now what do I do with them? In the states, I always bought canned beans and they never grew tails! A quick internet search taught me that you can still cook them and they may actually be better for you than dried beans. They are easier on the digestive system in this form since the complex sugars have begun to break down during the sprouting process. I also learned that sprouted beans have an increased protein content and a decreased carbohydrate content. This is great news for me since I will be eating mostly vegetarian during my stay here; I can't stand the open air butchers with their slabs of meat hanging in dirty wooden shacks on the side of the road. I'll get a picture soon, you just won't believe it. They even leave the tails with fur on the body to prove what type of animal you are getting. I prefer my meat neatly trimmed and wrapped in cellophane, thank you (that was the city girl talking again). 

Back to my accidentally sprouted beans; I made the best beans I have tasted, ever! I ate two bowls, they were so good. I'll give you my recipe, but it really isn't a recipe because I do not have measuring cups or spoons here, I just added things and did lots of taste tests during the cooking process.

 

Ingredients:

-cooking oil

-garlic

-red onions

-carrots

-hot red chilly pepper

-tomato paste

-beef seasoning/bouillon 

-sprouted beans

-salt and pepper

Heat cooking oil in large pan (maybe 2 tbsp). Add garlic (minced, I used a whole head because I love garlic) and onions (finely diced, here they grow tiny red ones, not much bigger than the garlic, I used about twice as much onion as garlic). Sauté that a few minutes. Add carrot (two small ones, finely diced). Sauté a few more minutes. Add tomato paste (one small can), beef seasoning, and water (sorry, no measurements, I just kept adding till it looked right). Bring to a simmer then add the sprouted beans. Add enough water to completely cover beans. Bring to a boil then simmer for an hour or two, until the beans are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. As I was making mine, it tasted a bit bland so I got a red chilly pepper from the garden next door, with permission of course. I don't really know what kind of pepper it was, but it was hot. One tiny pepper, seeded and minced, for the entire pot of beans was perfect. Red pepper flakes or ground Cheyenne pepper would work the same I suppose, depending on how spicy you like your food. Serve over rice. 

Whala. You have omuceeri n ebihimba (rice and beans, Ugandan style). 

My House

Finally, I have moved into the house I will call home for the next 23 months. I absolutely love it. I've lucked into much better accommodations than most of the volunteers. I have electricity and running water, though both have gone out numerous times during my first three days. I don't have hot water so I have been boiling water for bathing; I much prefer hot bucket baths to cold showers. I am blessed beyond belief to have a gas stove and oven, I can bake bread and cookies and casseroles! And, wait for it... I have a frig with freezer!!!! It's a tiny college dormroom type frig with freezer, but I'm thrilled I can buy dairy products and make ice cubes. Hahaha, it's the little things in life, can you image giving up your frig in the States!?

Here is the before picture. I was a bit miffed when I first saw it, but that's how the locals live. Can you see the little girl on the left? She lives on the other side of the duplex with her mom and two brothers. Cute kids. The mom is the worker at the executive guest house that is next door. She is very nice and I think will be a big help in getting me adjusted to my new surroundings. 

Here is my house now. Nice, huh? I'll take beautiful glass windows over wooden shutters any day, even though I ended up spending most of my moving in allowance on curtains. The workers even put up a bamboo fence to keep the kids out. The fence is still only half finished... may take another month for that to be done at the rate these guys work. Before and after pictures of the yard  will come later. Right now it is all dirt but I plan to grow my own vegetables and maybe put some flowers around the porch. It will be awesome. 

Here is the view from the front door. As you can see, I still need furniture, but I have enough to be comfortable. I don't have a before picture of the interior. Essentially it was empty, they completely built the kitchen from scratch, and of course the windows weren't there, the floor was torn up, and the ceiling had water damage; it was vacant for years and just left to rot. Anyway, all better now. The bathroom is the door on the left (yes, western style toilet, no pit latrine for me) and the bedroom is on the right. There are actually two bedrooms on the right, so guests are welcome. I was able to get beds, now I just need a table and maybe some better chairs for the living room. Oh yeah, and a rug, cement floors are cold... I still cannot believe how cold it gets here. We've entered rainy season so it's damp and chilly. I'm told it will stay that way until January so I must invest in blankets and socks. 

This awesome tree behind my house is home to a family of owls. How lucky am I, lizards and owls and tons and tons of birds. 

Now I guess I need to get to work, start earning my keep around here. I still have not started any projects. I can't figure out how to get the ball rolling and the culture seems to be very non-confrontational. Nobody has asked me to do anything yet (none of the Ugandans that is, Peace Corps staff is a different story) and I get the impression that I could easily let two years slip by without making any significant impact. I need to get aggressive about doing something that qualifies as supporting Peace Corps goals. 

Save that for another day though, right now I think I'll take a stroll through the tea fields, look at the birds, and greet some locals in Rotooro... because greetings are all I know, my language skills are bad! After the "hi, how are ya", I keep walking. 

Strange Critters

Check out these guys... we have birds, moths, and lizards in the States, but not like these!

These storks are lovingly referred to as trash birds. And by the way, Uganda does not hide it's trash, huge piles like this one are everywhere. 

Best looking moth I've run into yet!

Sorry this one is a bit out of focus, but my iPhone camera does not do well when I try to zoom. This lizard lives in the tree in front of my house. I've seen him several times. I just love his colors, teal head, brown body, and a tan and blue tail. How strange. I'll try to get a better close up when I have time to just sit under the tree with my phone/camera at the ready. I know lizards eat bugs, but I wonder if he would like a banana... I could try to make friends :)

Ndali Lodge and Crater Lake

During Welcone Weekend (seasoned volunteers welcome new volunteers with a weekend party), a group of us went to Ndali Lodge for an afternoon of relaxation. The lodge overlooks one of the many crater lakes in the western region of Uganda. It was beautiful, but way out of budget on a volunteer's salary! Thankfully the owners do not mind day visitors, especially the ones that purchase drinks from the bar during their stay. I tried a rum drink made with hybiscus nectar, orange bitters, and soda water called a Pink Sparkler. Wow, it was awesome, I wonder if we can find hybiscus nectar in the states?

Ndali Lodge, Fort Portal, Uganda

A crater lake. I'm not sure how many are in the area, from what I gather, many. It was nice to look at, but the banks were too steep for me to get down to the water's edge. I guess that's just how it is when a crater fills up with water!

PCVs settling into the deck that overlooks the lake. I could have spent an entire afternoon up there sipping rum drinks. 

Some volunteers did venture down to the lake, but the path was too steep for me. My fear of heights is getting worse as I get older. If there is no railing, I'm not going. The picture really does not do the trail justice... it was steep! I was much happier on level ground admiring the gardens around the lodge. 

Ha, reminds me of FL. This picture could have been taken in Dad's yard. 

My Rotooro language group, minus Coy, who was there, not sure why he missed the picture, maybe he was sleeping off some of the previous night's festivities... good times had by all :)

More Pictures

I may have this internet challenge under control. Apparently, apps on my iPhone work even though the connection is too weak to open a web page. I happen to have an app for Google Blogger! Unfortunely, this means that I can only upload pictures that I have taken with my iPhone and cannot share pictures taken with my camera that have been saved to my computer. I'm a bit upset that I can't use my new MacBook and am relying my four-year-old iPhone, but oh well. Keep fingers crossed the iPhone lasts 23 more months!

So, more pictures!

This is Dokas on the left and Teddy on the right. Dokas is the one stuffing me full of fats and starches at the guest house. Of course she is naturally very thin and does not understand my life-long battle with weight. Also, to add to the misunderstanding, Ugandan view overweight people as attractive because they think it is a sign of health and wealth. If someone here says you are fat, they are complimenting you! The other lady, Teddy, is my language tutor and translator. She is 21 years old, finished school through level Senior 4 (10th grade), and has no prior experience with language instruction or translation. She just happens to be the sister of one of the clinic staff and knows fairly good English. Fairly good... I still have to speak very slow and in simple terms to be understood, so wish me luck! I really miss talking at a normal pace and being easily understood. 

These are two girls from the nearest village, Kyarusozi. Every time they see me they run at me full speed yelling "muzungu, muzungu, muzungu".  They are very cute. I'm not sure why they get so excited to see me. I think maybe they are hoping for candy or money; people here seem to think all muzungus (white people) give away money. I can only assume these kids have been taught that by their patents. I suppose most charity organization do give money to churches or communities, but the PC is not charity. We are here to teach them how to help themselves. I haven't given these children  anything yet but they still run to me and want to hold my hand. 

Well, I hope I can do something to help this village as a volunteer. Kyarusozi is what they call a trading center, not really a village and certainly not a town. They have a market every Friday, and there are a few shops, schools, and churches, but that's it. Overall, the people around here are terribly poor and they live in unsanitary conditions. The tea farmers are rich in comparison because at least they have a steady paycheck every other Friday, which, by the way, they spend on booze and women in Kyarusozi. 

Side note - I think I accidentally volunteered to teach an empowerment/esteem class to sex workers next month. PC research reveals that prostitudes are pressured (offered more money) to have sex without condoms. They seemed to think I could give a good talk on not compromising your health for a few extra shillings per trick. Me? Huh? I guess if we can't convince them to not be hookers, the least we can do is convince them to use a condom every time. I'll let you know how that goes!!!

That's all the pictures I have on my phone, the others I wanted to share are on my computer. At least I now know I can post whenever I pick up the wi-fi on my phone. 

Mwikara kurungi banywani bange!

(Stay well my friends)

Pictures

Yeah, I may have found a way to upload pictures! Here is the baboon I was talking about. Stay turned for more pictures if this post actually uploads properly. 

Internet Connections, Baboons, and other Ugandan Challenges

It seems like quite a while since I have been able to update this blog. I've been at me site for almost six weeks and in some ways, the time has flown in a whirlwind of activities, and in other ways, I feel as though time is standing still and I have accomplished very little so far.

My greatest challenge has been the ability to sign onto the internet. I've tried different carriers, bought computer modems and data packages, and convinced the estate management that I needed access to their wi-fi to do my job; all with very little success. In the US, that would have taken a day or two and I would be happily surfing the internet; in Uganda it took a month and I'm still unable to connect!

The time problem was mainly because I had to go to town for the modems and data packages. "Going to town," entails a full day of travel, which is so trying on its own that I am only able to manage it once a week, or every other week. If I am lucky, I can catch a ride with the clinic's driver when he makes a run to pick up supplies or transport a patient to the hospital. This means I have to plan my day around his schedule and of course, he does not speak English. Coordinating schedules with a language barrier can be added to the list of challenges I have encountered.

Back to the internet problem, I've discovered that I am so far out into the hills that the signal strength is too weak to use a commercial carrier. With that not an option, I requested to use the estate's internet and management wanted a formal request from Peace Corps. I requested that Peace Corps requests, and after a week, the IT manager signed me onto the wi-fi. Strange, but he would not give me the password, he required that I give him my laptop and he entered the password. I'm not sure why the hassle but the password is saved and my computer tells me I am online. Only problem is the connection is so slow that web pages time out before they can be opened. In other words, it's useless. Agh!

Right now I am using the clinic's computer which I hate to do. They need it for their work and I feel a little guilty about using it to update my blog. I could do Peace Corps research for my volunteer projects, but would prefer privacy when typing personal emails or updating my blog. Well, I may have to get over that.

So, other than internet connection and transportation issue... my house is still not complete! I'm in a guest house with kitchen staff serving me fried dough and potatoes every day! Yes, another challenge, my clothes are getting tight!! Six weeks with no control over my own diet is too much. I've tried communicating the preference for healthier food, but between the language barrier and the cultural prejudices (veggies are for poor people and it is insulting to serve them to a guest unless they are drowned in some kind of fattening sauce), I've resigned myself to eat whatever is put in front of me. Oh yeah, the house, the workers keep telling me the house will be ready on Sunday. Five weeks in a row, they say Sunday. I think there may be a language issue again and the only word they know is Sunday.

My last challenge that I will gripe about in this post is the baboons. One of the issues in Uganda is malnutrition and my supervisor at the clinic wants to start a project to encourage mothers to plant vegetable gardens to supplement the diets of their children. The problem is actually very sad and much more complicated than I can explain here, but the simple solution would be to grow veggies, cook them, and eat them, right? We can deal with the cultural issues and personal taste preferences later. Well, I've been to the worker villages and every time I bring up the idea of gardens and hear, "eh, the baboons." They can't grow vegetables even if they wanted to. The baboons either eat or destroy everything that is planted.

OK, I have just sat here for 30 minutes trying to upload a picture of a baboon that was crossing the street in front of the guest house I am staying in. Since you do not see a picture, I'm sure you can guess, my internet challenges are continuing even though I am on the clinic computer. I have learned that I am not a patient person by nature and these challenges are extremely frustrating! My next post will contain many pictures, I promise... well, I hope.

Road Block on the Estate

Life on the tea estate will be very different than anything I could have imagined. It is a one hour walk to the nearest store (I do not have a car so if I want to go anywhere, I walk, and nothing is close!), there is very limited internet access (which means fewer blog posts than I would like), and I must learn to share the road with cows (I sure hope they can't smell fear like dogs can, because they totally freak me out!).I've been on the estate for a week now and all is fine. My house is still not ready so I am in a guest house. I have kitchen staff catering to my every need. It is very nice, but I am ready to settle down and unpack my bags. I'm told, maybe next week. Once I am in my house, I will post before and after pictures. I don't want to show pictures of my house as it is now, because it's quite a mess. They are replacing windows, the front door, the flooring, fixing the roof and replacing the ceiling (yes, it was leaking and there was terrible water damage), tiling the bathroom, building a kitchen (original cooking area was outside), and painting.  A lot if work! Thank goodness   they did not plop me down in the house "as is".

There is not much to report on the work front. I am just visiting villages and observing the daily happenings at the clinic. I'm not quite sure what my role will be... feeling a little inadequate at the moment, but once I'm truly settled in, I'm sure I will be up for the job. The first three months are suppose to be observation and assessment anyway. In November, all of the volunteers will regather for another week of training, and then we are expected to start work. 

I must practice patience! 

Wabale kusoma. (thanks for reading) 

Which reminds me, I start with a language instructor next week so I'll have more Rutoore for you! Actually, my instructor is a teenage girl, maybe 16, 17, I'm not sure. She has finished Senior 4 (10th grade for us) and does not have money to continue her education. So, as far as I can understand, she has returned home and does odd jobs to earn money. She speaks ok English, but we may have difficulties understanding each other at first. The Peace Corps will pay a tutor up to five hours per week at 6000 shillings per hour. That's about $10/wk. Not much in US standard, but here it will easily buy a weeks worth of groceries, so not bad for five hours of work. I would like to find out what the tealeaf-pickers make, just to compare and to understand a little more about how they manage. Once I start teaching in the villages, I'll have pictures and stories from the workers for you. 

Jinja

For the past week, we have been in Tech Immersion. Which means being paired up with a seasoned volunteer to experience the true life of a Peace Corps volunteer. My Tech Immersion has been in Jinja. We are on our final day! A free day, so time to upload my pictures!

Main Street in Jinja. This town is in the east, right on Lake Victoria, where the Nile River starts. It is hot, dry, crowded,  dirty, and noisy (can you tell I was not impressed?). In this picture, on the right, do you see the mini van with the blue and white checks down the side? That is a Ugandan taxi, called a matatou. It is a bit of a joke here to see how many people you can fit into a matatou. My highest count has been 22, plus two chickens. Mind you, it is a mini van that should seat maybe 15. Squishing in, sitting on other's laps, leaning over top of people, and holding stranger's children are all acceptable behaviors in a matatou. These are not taxies, in the American sense, they are more like buses. They drive a set route and pick people up/ drop people off along the route. They have "stages" similar to our bus stops. Unlike American buses, the matatous have a conductor to set the price, depending on how far along the route you will travel. They see white people, and the price often doubles. One of the important lesson while in Uganda is to learn the correct prices of things, and haggle with the seller when you are given the muzungu (white person) price.

My tech immersion leader was Stephanie, and our group consisted of myself, Tyler, Kelly, Anita, Harmony, and Anna. We each had to prepare and present a topic. Mine was Maternal Nutrition, given to new and expecting mothers at a health clinic. Tyler gave WASH, Kelly gave HIV/AIDS, and Anita gave Tippy Tap, all to a group of children and young adults at an orphanage in the deep village. Harmony gave her presentation on Preventing Malaria to 20 children at a Primary school. And Anna gave a talk on Leadership to 15 young men at a community center.

This is a shot from my presentation. I had to work with a translator, which is very difficult. It is hard enough to connect with your audience, but imagine trying to do it when you do not speak the language! Most educated Ugandans speak English, but I suspect my audiences over the next two years will not be educated. Peace Corps volunteers work mainly with the very poor villagers that survive hand to mouth and only speak their own tribal language.
In this picture, the three with G's on their fronts, are Kelly, Harmony, and Tyler. They were acting as my "food group super heroes". In Uganda, they do not teach the food pyramid. They teach three food groups, Go (carbs), Glow (fruits and veggies), and Grow (protein). Malnutrition is a big problem here because people load up on carbs and eat very little of anything else. Rice, potatoes, maize, and millet are cheap and readily available. They also believe that fruit is for kids and meat is for men. This means I will be giving lots of talks to young women about their personal nutrition. Especially expecting and breastfeeding mothers.

These are pictures from the orphanage in the village. They gave us an awesome musical welcome.

Typical home in the village. Thank goodness, mine is not typical. I'll have pictures of my house soon. I'm told it's still being worked on so I may be in a guest house for a couple of days.

Can you see this boy's shirt? It's Boy Shouts of America! There are a lot of donated American clothes over here... our charity shop rejects I suppose, or church cloths drives.

Here is our Tech Immersion group with a few of the community members where Anna gave her presentation on Leadership. 

Of course, the week was not all work. These next couple of pictures are from the Source of the Nile. This is where Lake Victoria flows into (turns into) the Nile River. We took a boat ride to the mouth of the river and some actually got out of the boat to stand in the head waters. Not me... the water is contaminated and we are told there is a 30% change of contracting schistosomiasis (disease caused by  parasitic worms in the water... caused by open deification... so no, I was not getting in).

Where the water is moving, that is the Source of the Nile! They have tourist shops set up and many boaters will take people out. I'm told that during the dry season you can walk out there. Obviously, this is not the dry season. The water was moving pretty good and the motor on our little boat was struggling.

Of course, in true Repeta fashion, I found a bar overlooking the Nile and enjoyed a few beers as the sun went down.