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.