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.