Sorry!

Hello Hello! Sooo sorry that I haven’t posted anything in ages. It got a little busy around here, especially now because of finals and stuff.

The weekend after our safari, we had quite the adventure. We went white water rafting down the Nile River! We conquered class 4 and 5 rapids, which America doesn’t even have anywhere. What a rush. We were in large rafting boats with about 10 people in each raft. Each raft had a rafting guide, all of who were SO fun. We hit about 6 sets of rapids, 3 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon. Before each set, we’d stop and prep, learning which way should be paddling and what path we wanted to take down the rapid. Then we’d go! There were waves like 10 ft high that would come and splash down over you. On rapid, someone fell out so we had to get her… then we were on the wrong side of the rapid… and then wound up going off a waterfall. When we got to the calm water, the guide looked at us, shook his head and said “yeah, I’ve never gone down that route before.” Not exactly what you want to hear from your experience rafting guide, but hey, we lived to tell the story, and that’s all that matters.

The following weekend was Easter weekend. Instead of sticking around here on our 4 days weekend, myself and two other students headed back to Soroti to see our rural homestay families in the village. I was thrilled to see Doreen again, along with the rest of the family. I felt so at home there in my lil hut, taking baths out of a bucket under the stars, and getting fed the chicken gizzard once again! My family was SO happy and honored that I came back to see them, because it shows that I like and respect not only them, but the entire village.

It is a tradition in Soroti, and maybe other places, that the youth of the church travel around the village all night long the evening before Easter. They go around visiting each home all throughout the night, singing, clapping, and gathering gifts that would be sold in church on Easter morning. I just gave some shillings, but other people gave chickens, potatoes, peanuts, flour, eggs and any other staple item they had to offer. The group of kids got to our compound around 2 am or so, so we got up and sang and clapped with them….this was right after I scared the crap out of all of them when I came out of the hut. They are usually shocked to see a white person anywhere, none the less in a hut at 2am in the dark on Easter evening. Since I was awake, I surprised my family and called them for Easter. It was around 7pm in Jersey and my extended family was all over, so I got to talk to so many people. It was great!

During the week, we’ve had a few day trip to the US Embassy in Kampala, as well as the Ugandan Parliament. We sat in on a parliament meeting, which wound up being on a pretty big topic about a TV station getting shut down because they are run by the opposing political party. It’s an issue we had read about in the news, so it was amazing that we got to here it actually debating in Parliament. The Embassy was okay too, but it was just a bunch of well-paid Americans who don’t really understand the issues in Uganda “on the ground” as we say. They are in their offices trying to give money and aid to people, while the real issues that we have got to see first hand aren’t being addressed. We got a really weak, sugar coated presentation that was like an American advertisement basically. Apparently they were completely unaware of the fact we had just spent 3 months studying these issues and also critiquing what the American government is doing about it. It also threw us off to step inside this gorgeous building and be blasted by air conditioning and have a restroom with real toilets… and even toilet paper! It was like twilight-zoning back to American for an afternoon.

Speaking of America, I’ll be home in 18 days!! I’m so excited to come home, but I’m also fairly nervous about the readjustment. I’ve just seen so much, and I’m afraid that being back in the States is going to be really hard.

I had my last final today, , getting my hair braided in an hour, a farewell dinner with our Mukono homestay families on Thursday night, then Saturday morning we pack up and move out for good. We then head to Rwanda for 10 days to study the genocide, among other things. Afterwards, we debrief at Lake Bunyonyi, a resort type place. Then we head back to Entebbe, spend a few days on the beach debriefing the entire semester, and then fly home! So I’ll see you soon! These next few weeks are going to be quite a challenge, so please keep me and the group in your prayers!

WiLd SaFaRi AdVeNtUrE!!

So this past Friday into Saturday, we went on a safari adventure!! A group of about 15 USP students set out on a 9 hour drive to the western part of Uganda near the border of Congo. Our destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park. After getting on the road at 6 am, with a few pit stops on the way, we arrived at the park. As we drove to the visitor’s center, once inside the park, we were surprised to find elephants crossing our path! We were like little kids in a candy shop! Screaming and squealing over the baby elephants, we started taking pictures like it was our job. We were just so excited to see animals the second we arrived!

We continued to the visitor’s center, where we secured a camp site for the night. We set up our tents, then headed to a canteen (restaurant type places here in Uganda) and had dinner. We went to bed early, since we had to wake up at 5am the next morning.

Around 4:45am, we were all woken up by a typical African rain storm… aka torrential downpour with lots of wind. What an experience that was! I’ve never felt so vulnerable to the weather before in my life! The rain eventually stopped after a half hour or so, and we got up and prepared for an exciting day.

At 6am, we set off on our “game drive” where we took our coaster (a small bus) into the depths of the park with a hired safari guide. On this 3 hour drive, we saw TONS of elephants of all sizes, a bunch of wart hogs running around with their tails sticking straight up, herds of water buck and water buffalo, and a ton of birds. We even spotted a leopard resting up in a tree. Another group that was out saw a pack of lions, but we didn’t have time to get there because we needed to head back for a water tour.

So we got back and immediately loaded a boat that was to take us out on Lake Edward. On this ride, we saw masses of hippopotamuses, both in and out of the water. They are such funny animals. We also saw these huge lizards called monterreys, some 3 foot fresh water crocodiles, flocks of birds, cranes, pelicans, and some more water buffalo. The ride also took us past a fisher village that was allowed to live in the park because they were there long before it became a national park. As we passed, it seemed like the whole village was out on the shore of the lake. The guide told us that the men had just returned from an overnight fishing trip, so they were all down there to welcome them back and help them unload. The men and some young boys were untangling nets, while the women sat around and socialized. It was a very neat thing to see. The scenery was also breathtaking, as we were almost completely surrounded by the Rwenzori Mountains. It was beautiful.

We returned from our ride, made some PB&J, packed up our tents, and began our long ride back home. We laughed as we realized it was only noon and yet we had done and seen SO much! On the ride home, 4 of us took out our braids from when we went to Soroti. Our hair had been in a good month or so, and was absolutely awful and disgusting to take out. I think there is still fake hair lying all over the bus. Ew! But it feels great to finally be able to wash my hair, thank God.

I hope you all are well. It’s hard to realize that I will be home in little over a month. Please start praying for my return, as I am well aware that it’s going to be a very difficult transition.

This weekend, we are white-water rafting on the Nile River, doing some class 5 rapids that aren’t even allowed in the United States. So pray for my parents, because I think they are more worried than I am, haha. Love you all!

Last two days in homestays...

My last full day at my homestay was very eventful, as usual. First, Florence took me into the garden to dig up sweet potatoes. That was fun, but only because I did it for like 5 minutes. I couldn’t imagine doing it for much longer. We then headed to Peter’s school where he teaches. After about an hour walk, we arrived at the school, only to find all the students outside in an “assembly.” Turns out, they were publicly disciplining a boy for fighting in front of his parents and the whole school. And this “discipline” was getting hit with a bamboo stick. I found this absolutely ridiculous and simply not okay… but that was just the beginning.

The kids got let out of the assembly, and the second they saw me, a crowd started forming around me. Most of the young children there have never even seen anyone white before. They all just stood around me staring, and finally I got sick of it and just needed to break the ice. So I took out my camera and video taped them, while having them all wave at the camera. All of a sudden, someone rang a bell and all the kids dropped to their knees. Then another bell, and they all stood up. Then one last one, and they all began sprinting to class. Then began round two of inappropriate discipline. All the kids who were “late” had to drop to the ground, and they couldn’t go into class until one of the teachers came around and gave them a whack on the butt. I just couldn’t believe that was how things were still done. According to some of my peers here, they heard from their homestay parents that beating isn’t allowed anymore. So I don’t really know the deal with it, but I do know that I was definitely surprised to see it.

I then sat in on Peter’s P7 class (primary 7, similar to our about 8^th grade), went to a P3 class full of little guys learning the English alphabet, and then went to a P1 class of pre-school aged kids. It was really cool to experience school there. It made me realize how fortunate we are to attend school for minimal costs and what great schools we have. Most kids were sitting on the floors, they don’t have text books at all, class sizes are around 50 with only one teacher, and the building is just cement without water or electricity. Plus, every child needs to pay “school fees” similar to our private school tuition. So there is no such thing as free education. Their public schools here are considered the poor schools with a bad education, and even in that case, families are still paying out the butt for their kids to go there. So next time you complain about having to school, take a second to remember how fortunate we are to even get an education.

I came back, rested, washed clothes with Florence, and just kinda sat around all night. For dinner, we had goat meat, which wasn’t too bad. The chicken gizzard equivalent on the goat is the heart. So you better believe, as the honored guest, I got served the goat’s heart. And I ate it! It’s amazing what you are capable of doing when you have no other choice!

The next day was pretty somber. Doreen and Daddy Peter stayed home from school so they would be there to say goodbye to me. We had no idea when I was getting picked up so we were all a little anxious all day. I really didn’t want to leave. Doreen kept freaking out every time she thought she heard a car. She insisted she was going to cry when I left, but I didn’t really believe her. I guess I just didn’t think I could make such an impact in only 4 ½ days of being there.

So we tried to go through the day normally. Doreen taught me how to make “chipote” which you all definitely want me to make for you because it so good. It’s basically fried dough, like everything else they eat here haha. When Florence served me lunch, I found out that she has secretly slaughtered another chicken to surprise me. They had made me go away on a walk with Doreen to another house earlier that morning, but I just went along without thinking much of it. Turns out, during that time, Florence was preparing chicken for me again. What an honor! So we sat down to eat, and sure enough, 5 minutes later, my ride came to pick me up.

Saying good bye was AWFUL! I started going around giving everyone hugs and kisses and saying good bye. Then I got to Doreen, who was standing underneath the hut so I couldn’t see her face. I go to give her a hug, and I see that she is hysterically crying. So of course, I couldn’t hold it in and started bawling too. Then I went back to hug Florence, and she was crying and trying to cover her eyes. And then little Aaron started crying too. Oh man, it was terrible to leave. Going into this homestay, I NEVER could have anticipated how much I’d fall in love with my family. I will seriously miss them so, so much.

So on Sunday, we woke up, had some millet porridge, and walked a while to church. Church was okay. It was all in Ateso language, so I never really knew what was going on. There were SO many children there, all free to just run around as they pleased. At one point a jet flew overhead, and I think pretty much every single kid ran out in the middle of the church service to go see it. I couldn’t help but laugh. After church, I helped make some lunch and learned to make passion fruit juice from scratch. Do we have passion fruits in America? If we do, I’ll definitely make you some juice! It’s sooo good! Later in the day, we walked to a woman’s compound who sold a lot of produce that she grew herself. Again, this woman thanked me profusely for coming to Uganda and visiting her home. It’s so difficult to deal with these situations, because in reality, I am the one that is SO thankful for them hosting me. So I just thanked her back for having me as much as I could. Tough situation. She showed me her lemon tree, and gave us a ton. I finally saw how pineapples grow (so strange) and then she sent us on our way with three 10ft long reeds of sugar cane! I LOVE sugar cane. Hopefully I can find some in America to show you all and teach you how to suck the juice out of it. It’s so fun to eat!

The next day, everyone was at school except for little Aaron, myself, and Mommy Florence. In the morning, we went out to the fields and I learned how to dig in the garden. Pretty serious work. I dug up cassava, carried it back, then learned how to peel it. Later, we went out again, and I learned to cut down “speargrass” with a sickle, this hooked shaped sharp tool. They harvest speargrass to use for the roofs of their huts. I spent the afternoon sitting and talking with Florence about marriage and family in the village, then went and rested and wrote in my journal. Whenever it gets hot after lunchtime, they would always make us go rest. I’m not complaining because lord knows I needed it, but its funny that they knew we’d be tired.

Okay so Monday night was my big night!! It was the night they were serving me chicken, a sign of honoring your guests here in Uganda because chicken meat is the most rare and expensive. The first step of this process was catching the chicken. This was hysterical! Catching a chicken is NOT very easy. So Daddy Peter, Monica, and myself ran all over the yard chasing the chicken we picked out until it got tired and we cornered it. Then Monica caught it, carried it around and played with it for a while, then it was time… time for the slaughter. They offered to let me do it… and how to you pass up such an opportunity?! I just HAD to. So first Doreen helped me start plucking out the neck feather. Then I put one foot on the chickens feet, and the other on its wings… and Doreen told me to just start cutting off its head. It was the craziest thing because the chicken just laid there and let me murder it. I don’t get it, but whatever. I’m glad it didn’t start freaking out. So anyway, the knife, as most knives are here, was SO dull. So I got about halfway through the neck and into the bone and then I started to freak out a little. I started yelling “Mommy help me! Come over here and do it! Ahhh. Help me” all while laughing. Everyone in my family started hysterically laughing, as did I. So Florence came over and finished off the job for me, all while making fun of me for getting scared.

So then we ripped the rest of the feathers out, roasted it over a fire to burn off the really small feather, then I watched Florence gut the thing. Yummy. She cut it into pieces and started cooking it. An hour later, we were eating it! Talk about fresh! I had the honor of eating the chicken’s gizzard, which is served to the guest or person you killed the chicken for. It’s incredibly rude not to eat it, so I ate it without giving any thought to it. It wasn’t so bad.

That night was so beautiful. It got dark and I saw more stars than I’ve ever seen in my whole life. About an hour later, an almost full moon came up, illuminating the whole compound. It’s amazing how much light the moon gives, when it’s pitch black all around you. And I would take my baths outside in the little grass room thing with a gas-lit lantern underneath all the stars and moon. It was just so beautiful.

After these few days with them, I realized how much their simple lives just make sense. They pee anywhere and everywhere- and why not? It’s a human need and it just goes into the ground so why use the latrine? They eat with their hands because silverware is expensive and pretty much pointless for the food they eat. They nap at the hottest part of the day because it’s too hot to do anything else, but they get up with the sun so they can get work done while it’s still cool and not waste daylight. They bathe twice a day, if not three times, because its hot, dirty, sweaty, and deodorant is too expensive. They work hard in the garden so that their family has food to eat everyday. Like everything has a purpose and a reason, and it’s all just so simple. This Friday in my Faith & Action class, we are learning about ideas for simple living, trying to integrate the things we’ve seen here and make a difference in our own living habits. I’m really looking forward to this class because I’m just craving ways to take home everything that I’ve learned here.

For visuals for all the things I’ve done… go to this link… http://messiah.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020673&l=aced7&id=55300263

Enjoy!

Soroti Homestays!!!

Hello hello! Well, I am now back on campus after our 10 day adventure. It was simply amazing! A lot went on so I think I’m going to just divide it into a few entries and update a new one everyday.

After a 7 hour or so drive, we arrived in Soroti district in the western central part of the country. We stayed overnight at Margaret’s house. Margaret helps out with USP and is the director of Honours College housing. Her husband is a Reverend and teaches here at the University. Both grew up in Soroti, so it is purely thanks to them that we had this opportunity to go to a rural homestay. Then throughout the day on Saturday, we each got delivered to our homestay.

I was one of the first to leave, and this time was alone without a partner. I was a little anxious to be alone, but also really excited to be able to have complete control over how my homestay went. We took a short drive on small dirt paths deep into the bush… and then pulled into an open space. In front of me were four decent sized huts made of dirt bricks and grass roofs. My new family flooded around the car to meet me. Immediately, my homestay mom, Florence, gave me a hug… at that point I knew it would all be fine. My family was (and is) so sweet.

Florence and her husband, Peter, are in their early 30’s. They have a daughter, Monica, age 9, and a son Aaron, age 3. Also living with them for the time being was Florence’s niece, Doreen, age 16. Let me just say that words can not describe how much I love Doreen. She was amazing. We shared the hut while I was there, so she was my roommate, and we talked about anything and everything. She is so smart, had great English, and was so eager to not only learn about me, but also teach me everything about the way they lived. She was SO great at helping me try things and teaching me how to wash, cook, peel, dig, and everything else I did.

But Doreen also breaks my heart. I soon found out that she was orphaned around 2^nd grade when her mom died of AIDS. She never knew her dad, so she and her older sister were left to live with my homestay family. Now the sister supports Doreen and pays her school fees- but apparently the sister wants to go back to school herself. So if that happens, Doreen has to drop out of high school and won’t ever finish. It’s awful. I don’t know what I can do for her or how I can help right now, but you better believe I’m going to figure something out.

After we said our hellos, I helped wash some dishes and chatted with the girls. Then Florence said she was going to a burial. I was very interested in seeing one, so I asked to come. It was about an hour walk in the sun (because they definitely don’t have cars, only bikes that the men usually ride). The burial/funeral was really sad… it was a 40 year old man who died of AIDS, leaving behind 3 kids and his wife. I couldn’t help but start crying along with all the other women there. We walked up for a final viewing, then right after, they closed up the casket and buried the body right in the back yard. Not to my surprise, the Reverend leading the service saw me arrive, and thanked “the white” for attending. We get specially recognized all the time, with is fairly frustrating for us because we as Americans realize we aren’t that different. We see ourselves as punky college kids, but the Africans here have such high regard for us- and a high regard that we don’t usually even deserve. I didn’t even know this man or his family, so I was pretty frustrated that they thanked me for coming.

Before dinner, the Doreen and Monica took me to fetch water from the “swamp” as they called it. It was really just an underground spring where many people in the surrounding area got water. We carried our jerricans (big plastic jugs) down, filled them, and then I carried it back on my head!!! The girls can all balance it on their heads, which is incredibly difficult. I had to hold it with one hand to balance, but it was still awesome. Carrying things on your head is just so smart! It’s so easy.

Later we had dinner- pork, rice, and at-top. At-top is this funny textured, globby “bread” made of millet and cassava flour, mixed with boiling water. Cassava is root that is the most common food in that area. As all the other foods here, its white and starchy without nutrition- but it fills their bellies, so I guess it’s good enough. We all ate with our hands, which is SO much fun. And since everyone knows my knife cutting skills SUCK, it was a blessing to be able to just use my fingers. The women also all ate on the floor in my family, which is very traditional. I’m still not sure how I feel about the gender differences here, so I’ll leave that topic for another time.

Their compound consisted of 4 huts- one was where the family slept, one was a guest house, one was the kitchen, and one was the sitting room with 2 chairs and a couch inside the hut. There was a “long call” latrine about 25 yards away (I’ll leave you all to figure out what “long call” means on your own) The compound is covered with animals- chickens, chicks, goats, turkeys, sheep, roosters, cats. And each one has its purpose, which is cool to see.

Before bed, Florence gave me a great mosquito net, so I felt very safe haha. We all prayed together, and then Florence, Doreen, and Monica taught me a song in their language, Ateso. Doreen and I talked for a while, before I fell asleep.

The best part about this whole trip was that a bunch of us put our watches and clocks in a bag and left them on the bus at Margaret’s. It was our challenge to ourselves to not care what time it was. So most of the whole homestay, I had no idea was time it was. What a freeing experience!

Look for Day 2 tomorrow…. So much more to come!

The Last King of Scotland...

Hello!

A bunch of us went to see the movie "The Last King of Scotland" this evening. It is a movie set in Uganda about the rein of the dictator Idi Amin, who killed over 300,000 Ugandans while in power. He was an awful guy. It was a very stirring movie. But what was cool is that it was shot in Uganda... like I have been to the places in the movie. The clips of the people, the food, the dress, the language, the landscape etc. are all pretty accurate of what I see here. So basically what I am trying to say is... if you have the chance to see it in America... GO! It was playing around the time I left to come here, so I'm not sure if it is still in theaters. The movie will give you such a great visual of what I see here. A gentle warning, thought... there are some brutal parts in the movie. Def deserves the "R" rating. So be warned. But let me know if anyone does see it, or has seen it because I'd love to talk about it with you.

Some cool things:
1. alot of it is taped in Kampala, the capital, where we go all the time.
2. our doctor that we go see was in the movie... this funny British guy
3. a professors wife here was an extra, along with one of our fellow honours college students
4. the airport scene was taped in Entebbe- where we landed when we arrived
5. you can hear the name "mzungu" used a bunch... the name they call all us white folk
6. in one scene Idi Amin is eating food with his hands... and its all the exact food I eat every single day, along with the rest of Uganda.

Be well, everyone. Talk to you soon!

I'm still alive!!!

Hello hello!
So writing these journals is becoming a bit more difficult these days. I find that I'm often too overwhelmed to sort through my thoughts and organize them into an entry. But I'll do my best...

We've taken some very interesting field trips lately. Last Friday, we visited an African Traditional Healer, also called a Diviner. He is the man that people go to when they are ill and want to be healed by the "spirits." Apparently, it was very controversial that we visited this place, because when we talked to our Christian Ugandan peers, they were so confused on why we would ever want to go there. In terms of education, Uganda focuses much less on learning just for the sake of learning, mostly out of necessity. In the U.S., most of us get liberal arts degrees, with the ultimate goal of higher education being to produce very well rounded graduates. Uganda Christian University is just starting to offer courses like we get in the US i.e. philosophy, general psych, ethics, world views, and basic bible courses. So we visited the traditional healer to get a better understanding of the traditional religion in Uganda. It was the chance of a lifetime, as we got to ask him very provoking questions about spirits and gods and such. It was very interesting.

This past Friday, we visited Kasubi Tombs. It is the place in Kampala where all the former kings of Uganda are buried. It was in a huge hut, which was where the king used to reign from. That wasn't quite as cool, but hey, it was a free tour for us, so whatever. There are pictures of it at http://messiah.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019495&l=ab81e&id=55300263 . go check it out.

We spent the rest of the day in Kampala hanging out. We grabbed some American food (ALWAYS a treat) and then my roommate and I headed to a mall type place, and just got some coffee and hung out. We actually ran into this British missionary couple that we had met previously when we were in Jinga. We wound up chatting with them for over 2 hours. We had so much to learn from each other's stories. It was really neat. They actually hate Americans, but the man, Ken, was pleasantly surprised with us. It was nice to break down some stereotypes haha.

This coming weekend is pretty the climax of our whole trip... we are headed 6 hours northeast for our rural homestays in the village of Soroti. Here we will be living with another family in a hut, with no electricity or running water. If we are realllly lucky, we will get to slaughter a chicken and eat the gizzards! Apparently, the gizzards are the best past and they always offer it to honored quests if present... luckily, we are the honored guests!! Can't wait! In all seriousness thought, we are truly lucky to have this opportunity. No other study abroad program in the U.S. has the opportunity to do rural homestays in Africa. It truly is a once in a lifetime experience. And plus, these people live this way every single day... the least we can do is go with a good attitude, ready to learn and respect their way of life without complaining.

We will then be headed to Sepi Falls, another resort type place, to debrief our homestays. I will be home Monday, March 11th, and will then update my journal about homestays. So keep your eyes open.

Last but not least, I got my hair done!!! I had a women come and braid the whole thing they was they do it here. It's actually twists. There are also pictures of that when you go to the Facebook link. Its sooo cool- i look kind of Jamaican. They are actually twisted, not braided, because I thought it looked cooler. Now I don't have to wash my hair at all while in Soroti!

Well thats all for now. Life is getting much easier here, in terms of the culture. I miss everyone at home alot. But apparently, its boring there and I'm not missing anything except freezing cold weather! So I'm glad I'm here. Be well, everyone. Love yous

so much to learn...

hello hello-
so i was reading through some of my previous blogs... i realized that i like to tell entertaining stories. part of that is deliberate, because basically no one will read this if its boring and lame, so i do my best to make things interesting. but after all that ive been experiencing, i also want to expose some other things about my trip...

i know i talk alot of funny things that happen, like getting peed on or having to eat massive amounts of smashed plantains. but my experience here is significantly more than that. my program is very strategically planned out to deal with some really tough issues here. each week we talk about a new one in class, and then directly apply it to the things we are seeing right in front of our faces everyday. today we addressed poverty, digging through all the many complex issues of the problem. we talked about economic development and all the factors that go into making a country successful- as well as how truly complicated it is. we've talked about american styles of teaching in our universities, in contrast to the methods that will be used while we are here. we are using a very hands on style of learning- integrating our academics with real life situations, applying what we learn in the classroom and executing it in real life. some things are easy to read about in theory while sitting in class at Messiah College in precious little Grantham, PA... but try applying them to real life. sometimes they just dont fit together.

basically what im trying to say is that my experience here is WAY more than a safari adventure or camping trip on steroids. yes, i'll have plenty of funny, crazy stories to tell you when i get home, but ill also have serious issues to grapple with. i dont want everyone to think that im this brave, honorable woman for coming to Africa, because its not true. I'm here to learn, I'm here to be changed. and yes it is an adventure- but im also just another college student here in Uganda. I live with real Ugandans- who all live real lives- who all live like this every single day. they are people, with feelings and opinions. and im no better than them bc im american or have been blessed with some sweet technology.

so all in all, i just wanted everyone to know that im not just playing around here in Africa. i am learning more than i ever anticipated to learn, both experientially and academically. so im psyched to share new ideas with you when i get home! until then, be well. and keep those comments coming. i love reading them.

mmm...cheeseburgers

hello hello!
Well, things have been going really, really well here now that we are back from homestays. We have gone into Uganda's capital, Kampala, a few times which has been such a treat. Yesterday, My friend Liz, also from Messiah, and I went and met up with our friend Marc, who just graduated from Messiah. He is in Uganda for 4 months working with Food for the Hungary while his fiance is in Spain. It was SO great to see him and just hang out. He took us to this INSANE market place that was so crowded and so crazy. It was a blast. i found some cool second hand clothes and some jewelry.

Last Saturday was also such a treat. We went into Kampala for my friend Kara's birthday. We went to lunch and all bought cheese burgers! Its amazing how good a burger can taste when you havent eaten any american food in over a month. It was heavenly. Later that night, one of the USP students here made an American dinner for all of us to celebrate the end of homestays (our just celebrate that we actually lived through them!) So Saturday, all of my 3 meals were American... the french toast and eggs i made for my host family, the cheeseburger, and country fried steak for dinner! that may have been the best day here! haha.

Today we are leaving for an Honours College Retreat... on campus we live with all African students who are in the honours programme here (yes british spelling) They are highly intelligent Africans with so much to offer us, so we as a group are all going on a retreat to Jinga (aka the source of the Nile where i went with my host dad two weeks ago) It should be a really great weekend. I hope you are all well... lemme know how everyone is doing.
-Kate

Cooking in Uganda... easier said than done

What a busy last few days. I spent this last week still with my host family, traveling to their home each evening after my classes. On Thursday night, I made them dinner… pasta with tomato sauce. Who would have thought I’d learn to cook in Africa? Boy did I take the microwave and stove top for granted at home in America! I made sauce from scratch… have I ever made sauce from scratch? Nope. But I did on Thursday! And it came out pretty good. I loaded it with veggies (eggplant, onions, peppers, garlic, tomatoes) because I rarely get to eat any. Well, it turns out the Ugandans aren’t a huge fan of vegetables. For us, the vegetables are SO cheap here. I would think they would have eaten them all the time. But they really only use them for flavoring on their meats, they don’t eat them like we do. I think that they don’t find them filling enough and it would be too expensive to feed such large families on vegetables.

So they picked at the pasta, and choked down the sauce. I was a little angry because the 18 year old, Prose, who does all the cooking for the family everyday, had such an attitude that night. And she picked at the sauce, smelled it, made a face, put it down and didn’t eat it. If I had no self control, I would have yelled something like “Oh my God, Prose, I eat your gross plantains every day and I don’t EVER make a face!!!” But of course, I didn’t yell such a thing… I just laughed. Sometimes there’s nothing I can do but laugh here… because if I didn’t laugh, I’d probably cry haha. So we USP students spend as much time as we can laughing off the tough situations. The adults were fairly polite about it, even though I could tell they didn’t like it… and the kids just made me laugh because they were trying so hard to choke it down with a smile.

It’s very interesting because in America, we have such a variety of foods that we are very accustomed to liking and disliking foods, and also learning to fake that you like things to be polite. But Ugandans have pretty much the same basic 10 or so foods… and they like them all. So being exposed to something they don’t like is a tough situation for them, and they are fairly open about disliking it. It’s kind of funny actually.

But luckily… I decided to redeem myself by cooking breakfast for them on Saturday morning before I left. What a success!! I made French toast and scrambled eggs (also had never made French toast before then.) Now you in America are thinking to yourselves “oh those are pretty easy things to make.” No. It wasn’t. Let’s go through the process here… first it took an hour or so to go get the ingredients on Friday night. I had to buy eggs, which are fresh brown ones that they put in a plastic bag when you buy them. Kinda weird. Then milk….which comes in a bag. And my family didn’t have a refrigerator so I had to create my own. I put cold water in a bucket and put the milk in it, then left it outside over night so it would stay cool. It turned out fine. I also had to get bread, cinnamon, and vanilla. After buying all the stuff, I walked the 20 minutes home with my bags. Not fun. Then Saturday, we had to start up the charcoal “stove” type thing and let that get hot. Then I had to cook the toast in a pot… because frying pans are hard to come by. A pot… that’s not very easy to make French toast in for the record… and without a spatula. Then the bread started falling apart… because the bread here ALWAYS falls apart. It’s perpetually stale and really hard. But so it goes.

So the final product… a whole loaf of French toast “pieces” covered in margarine so they wouldn’t stick to the pot and a load of scrambled eggs. I served it and they LOVED it. They love sweet things… and didn’t care the French toast pieces were all broken, because we ate with our hands anyway. So at least they liked one meal! And I was pretty glad to eat some American food.

Our departure on Saturday was bittersweet… I was DEFNITELY ready to leave and be home in my dorm room and get some alone time. But I also had a very fulfilling two weeks, where I learned more than I could have ever anticipated. Mzumba prayed for us before we left, and they family kept thanking us for the gifts we gave to them the night before. It’s amazing how much they appreciate such small things. All in all, I’m glad I’m back at school, but I’m very thankful for my experience. I’m sure I will continue to go back there to visit often throughout the semester.

Saturday was a very eventful, exciting day… but I’ll save that for another entry. Be well!

better and better everyday...

So its amazing what a couple days can do. I now actually look forward to heading to my host family each evening after classes. I learned how to shred cabbage, I ironed closed for Maama Irene, I didnt get mad when baby Enoch peed on me. Things are looking up!

I also started taking my Luganda class, so I've been learning alot of converstation words, like thank you, hello, good bye, good night, etc. My family LOVES it! They appreciate any effort we make to learn the language or cultural norms. Maama Irene is so sweet and loves answering our questions.

It's interesting because Africans don't feel the need to always be talking, like Americans do. We are taught that its polite and good skill to be able to carry on petty chit chat conversation, and silence often makes us feel awkward. But Africans don't work that way. Theres something here called the "african presence." It refers to how its meaningful to africans just to be present with other people, especially those they care about. So sitting in the living room in silence is perfectly acceptable and actually often preferred. It's okay if theres nothing to say or talk about.

I've learned some other values that I like here also. There is an African saying that "a guest is NEVER a burden." Ugandans LOVE having people over or stopping by to visit. It's never considered a hassle and their doors are always open. Since Mzumba (Luganda for Reverand and what we call my host dad) is a pastor, he knows so many people. There are always guests in our house. Its so great and I've got to talk with so many neat people.

Family here is also sooo insanely important. You die for you family here. And extended family is just as important at your nuclear family. Actually, I don't even think the concept of nuclear family exists here. They call their nieces and nephews, sons and daughters and treat them as they would their own children. I found out that the little boy Timothy is just staying with my host family for the holidays. He will go back home when school starts up again. This is very common. Many children up to early adulthood will go stay with extended family for the holidays. They call them "holiday makers" and even thought technically they are visiting, they get treated as part of the family and are expected to work and contribute as such also.

Everytime Sarah and I arrive home in the evenings, Maama Irene greets us saying "Kulikayo, Kate! Kulikayo Sarah!" Literally translated, its something like "thank you for coming back safely" but it has the same connotations as "welcome back" We answer "Kaala, Maama" which is thank you, mother/elder woman. Ugandans thank people for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. its so funny. There are a ton of Luganda words for "thank you" that all get used for different purposes. They also say "sorry" are the time, like when you sneeze or if you trip or something. Even if they have nothing to do with what happens, they say sorry. Its so cute... and very polite. We should all take a lesson from the Ugandans.

There are many lessons to learn here. I'm beginning to really value their way of life. At first, it just frustrated me (ie that they didnt use diapers and Enock peed on me for the first time) but now I'm starting to understand the reasons and values behind how they live, and its just fascinating. I'm excited for all the things I am going to learn this semester!

This Saturday I'm headed to the "Source of the Nile" with my host family and another family. Its in Jinja in Uganda on Lake Victoria which actually is the source of the Nile River. I'm not quite sure what we do there or what it actually is, but I'm psyched to find out. Ill tell you all about it next week. Be well, and keep the prayers coming.

homestay!!!

Well, I’m alive! So that’s good. This weekend was unbelievable. I often need to sit back and remind myself that yes, I AM in Africa and this is my life right now!

We began our homestays on Saturday, where we live with a host family for two weeks. It might be a loooong two weeks. My general feelings are benevolent towards the whole experience, overall, but there certainly were times of serious frustration. Thankfully I am paired up with Sarah, another USP, which certainly helps out the situation.

Let’s begin with my host family… I am staying very near school at the home of Rev. Henry and Irene. We call Henry either Reverend or “Mzumba” which is Reverend in Lugandan. They are a young couple (prob around 25-30) with one chubby, precious six month old son, Enock. Also living in the house is Mzumba’s mother, JaJa Sarah (JaJa is grandmother) and his younger brother, Elijah. Elijah is 15 and reminds me so much of my brother, Mike. Careful Michael! I might replace you with an African brother! The couple also cares for their nephew, Timothy, a lively 5 year old who rattles off Lugandan at us even though he knows we don’t understand him. They also have live-in help. From what I can gather, its partially because Mzumba is a pastor and it’s also because they have a young child. The help’s name is Drosa. She is 18 years old and loads of fun. She does most of the cooking and cleaning, so we learn everything from her.

The family is very friendly and very kind, but Mama Irene is fairly quiet. Very often, long silences occur. We ask a lot of questions, but their English vocabulary isn’t anywhere close to as extensive as ours, so we often just give up because we don’t understand one another. Mzumba’s English is great, and he is very lively and outgoing, but he is not around that often. He has a course he is finishing up this week, and we barely saw him yesterday because he had to be at church all day.

Speaking of church, that was quite an experience! The Christian religion here is predominantly Anglican. So yesterday we attending the English service at the Anglican Church of Mukono where Mzumba pastors. It was great to watch him in action! I will talk about the church service is a future entry.

So we helped make dinner yesterday… what a fiasco! We started preparing for dinner at 4pm… but we don’t eat until about 9 o’clock. The meal schedule is most commonly 7am breakfast, 10am tea (bread or the similar is usually served) then a 2 or 3 pm lunch, 6 or 7 pm tea with some snack, and 9 or 10 o’clock dinner. It’s difficult to adjust to, especially since I usually want to be in bed by 10pm! But back to dinner… the staple food of Uganda is called “matooke” (ma-toke-ay). It basically mushed up banana, but it’s more of a bitter plantain than the sweet bananas we eat. So we had to peel these suckers… not so easy. Drosa gave Sarah and I these huge knives, and demonstrating the peeling once. She did it so quickly and graceful, and was left with a perfectly peeled banana. (you cant peel these things like our bananas- they are unripe, sappy, and have a tougher outside) Then she told us to do it. Sarah and I looked at each other, then made our pathetic attempts. Basically when I was done, barely any banana was left because I had peeled too much of it off. Plus, we were also going as slow as dirt compared to Drosa. However, after peeling about 15, I finally was getting the hang of it. Plus I have two weeks to perfect this wonderful skill.

We weren’t done yet, however. We then had to peel the Irish potatoes. This made me laugh because at Thanksgiving this year, Mom asked me to peel the potatoes. Long story short, I ended up in tears because I couldn’t figure out how to do it. Well, mom… I can now peel a potato! With a 6 inch knife too! Be proud!

There’s so much to say, there is no way I’ll ever be able to describe it to you. But here are a few more funny things… we pee in a “latrine” aka an outhouse with cement floors with a 3 by 6 whole in the cement where you go “squatty-potty” style. Good times. The six month old Enock… yeah he’s cute, but they rarely use diapers. So I’ve been peed on about 4 times now. Mama Irene gives us a shirt to put on our lap, but its goes right on through to our skirts. I was getting very frustrating about this after a while. Like put the kid in a diaper on the kid, will you please! And poop! Oh my gosh. They just take the baby, put him on the cement floor in squatting position, and let him poop on the floors. Then they wipe it up and that is that.

All in all- I’m starting to appreciate America much, much more. And to my dear family- I love you and trust me, I miss you. This host family can NEVER compare to you… even you Mikey, even you ;)

Oh, and to my dearly beloved extended family- i absolutely hate to do this to you, but the 34 comments on my last post makes my my blog incredibly slow and difficult for me to access. I'm sorry to break up all the fun, but let's save that space for comments to me. Since you all have blogger name now- you can write on your blogs! and then we can comment on yours! Please don't think I'm mean, it's just that the internet is very testy here and i need all the help i can get to access it. Love you all, and keep the funny comments coming!

homestays...

Tomorrow morning at 9am, we leave to go to our homestays. i will be staying with a family for two weeks in the area, while also walking back and forth to school for class. it should be a very unique experience. im kinda nervous, but i think it should be fine. look for posts all about it soon! probably monday or tuesday. be well!

My biggest adventure yet...

I’m never going to complain about having to do laundry again! I did my laundry for the first time today with the help of some Ugandan women in my hall. What a chore! We have to wash all our clothes by hand. It’s such a bummer because our clothes get about 10x’s more dirty here because of all the dirt and such… but then they also get about 10x’s LESS clean because of hand washing. According to the Ugandans, we are awful at washing our clothes. They let the clothes soak over night, then scrub each article on their knuckles, then wash it again, then rinse it about 3 times all with different buckets full of water. We do it outside in buckets because letting water run is wasteful. So after washing and rinsing thousands of times, we ring everything out and hang in on the line.

But it doesn’t end there. Beside the fact that our clothes are perpetually stretched out and very crispy from drying on the line, we also need to iron all our clothes. This is partially to look clean and nice, but it also to kill bugs. Yes bugs. There’s this silly fly called the Mango fly that can lay its eggs in your clothes. So to kill the larva and prevent them from crawling into your skin as you wear your clothes, we must also iron.

So since I have about zero mom skills and suck at being a girl, this is proving to be slightly challenging. I guess when I come home though, I will have a much greater appreciation for the appliances of the U.S!

Attack of the wild beasts...

Okay maybe not beasts... but close...

Now last night, we had quite a self-induced extravaganza. A handful of us girls were hanging out in one of the huts, when something large scurried by. Assuming it was a cockroach, we all got a little grossed out and started searching for ways to kill it. However, after it ran into the bathroom, we got a good look at the thing and realized it was a ridiculously GIGANTIC cricket! (About 3 inches long and 1 inch tall- thing cricket on steroids) Logically, we started screaming and jumping up onto the beds to escape the vicious beast. You probably heard us scream back in the states…

But see, the night before my hut (myself and 3 other girls) dealt with a bat flying around and squeaking all night long. We weren’t too happy about that. One girl, who has now earned the nickname “Brave Amanda” helped everyone relax about the bat and ran into the bathroom (out of the safety of her mosquito net fortress) to get another roommate earplugs so she could sleep. So because of her heroic performance the previous night, we instinctively started screaming for her to come next door to save us from the deadly cricket. So she shows up with a sneaker and her game face… however that game face quickly disappeared after she caught a glimpse of this thing. But her name is Brave Amanda for a reason… and that girl did exactly what we called her over to do! After a few stomp attempts and a little hopping around (from both Amanda and the cricket), the beast was finally squished in the floor.

Luckily, I caught some of this adventure on video. I’m pretty sure we will die laughing every time we watch this thing. Remind me to show it to you when I get home. You are sure to get a laugh!

the Ssese Islands...

Wow! What an amazing weekend! We ventured off to the Ssese Islands in middle of Lake Victoria to a quaint little beach “resort.” After a 2 hour van ride through the cities and a 3 hour ferry ride to the island, we finally arrived. Tired and gross, the staff eagerly greeted us with tea already served! (tea breaks are VERY important here) We then got taken to the Tahitian-looking huts where we stayed for the weekend.

Now about the island… words can hardly express the beauty these eyes have seen. The view from our huts into the lake was breathtaking, with the mountains in the background, perpetually covered by a foggy haze, making for an AMAZING sunset. The birdlife was so diverse and fascinating, along with some other creatures I will talk about in a second entry J .

The main source of survival on the Ssese Islands is fishing. So all around the shores are these small fishing villages. On Saturday, a village native called Thompson took us on a nature hike all over the islands, including through these villages. Brown, homemade huts made of branches and mud scattered the area, filled in by cloth lines, animal pens, and of course TONS of children. The excitement seen in these children’s eyes at the sight of us Mzungos is one that neither words nor pictures could capture. The men communed around a bamboo container filled with homemade alcohol made of millet. The all sipped out of the same container with these long bamboo shoots they used as straws. It was fairly comical by American standards.

We continued on our hike through the grassy fields and into the dense jungle in the middle of the island. Pretty much every time I looked up, I expected to see Tarzan swinging through the trees! Vivid green plants and trees surrounded us as we trekked through. Taking pictures of these the things I saw can barely capture the beauty. I think it is going to be difficult to express to you all what I’ve seen when I finally get home.

It stormed that first part of each day, but I think it may have been the first time I actually found rain beautiful. We spent our mornings in meetings and playing cards on our porches as the rain came down all around us. Saturday evening, the resort has traditional African dancers come in to give us quite a show!

Sunday we had our own church, and spent the afternoon laying out in the sun and reading our books for class. My roommate had us pause for a second as she joyfully reminded us that THIS is our semester! While our fellow college students are in class, freezing to death, and depressed b/c of gray stupid winter… WE are laying out on the beach! How fortunate we are!

We got up early this morning to start are trip back to school and finally got to exchange our money in Kampala. The Ugandans use “shillings” instead of dollars, and most of the money is in terms of thousands. One of our dollars is about 2000 shillings. A coke is 500 shillings, which costs us about 25 cents. So now we are all excited to go into town and buy chocolate and peanut butter b/c the cravings are nearly uncontrollable. (rice and beans just doesn’t cut it sometimes)

This week we finally start a regular schedule of classes and can begin some sort of routine here. I think we are all ready for this to happen. I’m proud to say that I survived my first week in Africa!

getting adjusted... i guess : /

hello everyone!

Well, each day here gets a little easier. We all seem to be adjusted better and better as each day passes.

I’m pretty homesick, but its tolerable. It’s just insane here. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s just that each day takes so much out of you b/c you have to always be on your toes… always learning the culture, always chatting with strangers, always being open to new things. It’s just so tiring.

There are a bunch of girls in my Uganda Studies Program group that like to run, so we've been getting up early in the mornings when it's still very cool to go running. We got up at 6:45 this morning (yes i somehow actually woke up that early) and went exploring. I went with my awesome roommate who is an Missionary's Kid from Hong Kong. She grew up in Taiwan and Hong Kong and goes to Bethel University in Minnesota. Shes great. I also went with Liz Monachello, a cross country runner from Messiah. Shes great too and lives in my dorm.

S0 anyway, our run. Wow. Talk about intense. Our campus is in the side of a hill, so you basically feel like you are running up hill like all the time. Theres just so way around it. No wonder athletes from Uganda are so good. So today we started off on this very steep incline to the top of what they call "Monkey Hill". And yes! We saw monkeys! They were just jumping in the trees above us as we ran. It was amazing. We followed a road into town, where of course we got stared at like we at 3 heads. One- they rarely see people running. Two- they rarely see girls running. Three- they NEVER see white girls running. They call us "mzungos" here, which means "light skinned." They yell it out to us when they see us on the streets, especially the children. They often run after us b/c they are just so fascinated by out white skin. Its pretty comical.

We got cell phones today! And you can call them!! You can go online they said to www.NobleCom.com and buy calling cards that are about 9 cents a minute! That’s not too shabby at all… this is the number…. You dial (011) then (256) then 78-251-4012. So its 011-256-78-251-4012. Go we will have to set up a time for you to call so I can make sure I have the phone on, have time, and that my roommate doesn’t have it b/c we share. So I think that’s great!!

I get up so early here!! I surprise myself sometimes. It's just that you get so much done in the mornings b/c its cool outside. Running any other time is brutal. Right now, its 9:30am and we are sitting the shade. Its about 75 in the shade. Talk about beautiful!! We go to bed around 10 or 11pm just because we get so worn out from the day. It's pretty neat though to get up early and have such a long day. I feel like i get alot accomplished.

I have my first class today at 11am, which is African Literature. We shall see how that goes. Well, the laptop is dying again. I must be off. Be well. I miss you all!

first few days...

Well here we are in Uganda!! It is currently 9:10 pm and a bunch of us are sitting in a lounge type place where you can access wireless internet.

Our group is outstanding! There are about 30 of us from all across the United States. Each person is so unique and comes from such a different background, but yet we are all united by our interest to be here in Africa. Its so great to be surrounded by people who think outside the box and crave to try something different.

We flew out of Dulles Int Airport in D.C. Our first flight was 6 1/2 hours to Amsterdam. It was sooo comfortable, with each seat having its own television and a TON of things to choose from to watch. Our second flight into Entebbe, Uganda was 7 1/2 hours. We were all quite disappointed to see that there were no TVs in the seats :( (spoiled Americans). But we made it!

We arrived in Entebbe around 9 pm on Saturday night (1 pm your time), waited an excessively long time for our Visas, and then headed to a convent to spend the night bc campus was about 1 1/2 away from the airport. Our first night in Africa was quite an adventure... a 3 inch cockroach in the bathroom, cold showers, sleeping under a mosquito nets, lizards all over the screens to our windows. Welcome to Africa, eh?!

We woke up early for breakfast, then had our own church service. It was amazing to watch our group come together as people stepped up to lead worship, play any song they knew on the guitar, or share a Bible passage that was on their hearts. We left for campus around 2pm, and took the 1 1/2 hour drive through the cities of Entebbe, Kampala, and into our town, Mukono. The University here is simply beautiful. Its so green and full of exotic plant life. Its basically built into the side of a hill and the view is breathtaking from our dorms...

Speaking of dorms... yeah it was quite a surprise when we got our room assignments. The dorms are the most simple thing you can imagine. Small, dirty, chipping paint, cold showers, toilets that only flush when they feel like it, no mirrors, no shelves. We just have a closet with one drawer in it. Everything we own is stuffed into it. It quite comical to see. Our bunk beds are short and small, and of course, we all have our mosquito nets for when we go to bed. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to waking up with that silly white net in your face.

This evening, we went into the town of Mukono. People who have traveled to Mexico say that it reminds them of cities there. There are people all over, motor bikes racing by, unregulated traffic, shops up and down the road with the craziest things... and then us... a trail of 30 white kids... the ONLY white kids mind you. Everyone finds us quite amusing and proceeds to stare us for extended periods of time. I guess you cant blame them. We stand out like sore thumbs.

Our cafeteria is oh so simple... rice, beans, potatoes at times, and a veggie if we are lucky. For breakfast this morning (at 7 am, good Lord that was early) we received two pieces of bread, one buttered, one not, and a cup of this liquid that took us all day to figure out what it was... turns out, they call it African tea. Its a combo of tea and fresh cows milk, served hot with a ton of sugar in it. It was sooo good!

We've met a handful of Ugandans... all of which are incredible friendly and helpful. They laugh at many of the questions we ask them, but never cease to answer them anyway. Chickens are running around all over, goats are tied to trees, monkeys scurry across the lawn in the mornings, and there are more kinda of birds than I've ever seen! And the stars... holy smokes, they are AMAZING! The sky is so clear that you can see every single one. And you only need to stare at the sky for about 15 seconds before seeing a shooting star. Its beautiful.

Okay- the laptop is starting to die. Please continue to check this and share the site with people i may not have directly contacted myself. Miss you all!

getting ready...

Here's where i will be journaling my time in Uganda. Check it often to see what I'm up to!