Heavier things

Today was a pretty intense day. It's 10pm and I'm already in bed at the hotel (which has a shower!) instead of watching the optional movie.

I'm not sure exactly where we went, but it was somewhere near the Tanzanian border because we all got automatic texts on our phone welcoming us to Tanzania and giving us the phone number for the Uganda embassy. Even my blackberry doesn't do that...

But I digress... Today we visited a refugee settlement (which differs from a camp in that it is much more permanent) that has around 50k refugees from all over Eastern Africa including Rwanda, Sudan, The Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea (though when talking to them we found out that the nationalities live separately and have very little contact with each other). We got to pick which group to go talk to, and since they all seemed equally interesting and distant to me I picked Ethiopia cuz I figured that it might be nice to actually know something about Ethiopia since I frequent those restaurants in the US so often---

Side note: pretty much everybody else here seems to have a strong background in African history and politics. I am constantly kicking myself for not having done more reading before I got here, considering that the only courses I'd ever taken relating to africa were The AIDS Epidemic and African Civilization to 1800---

Ok. Back to the point: talking to the ethiopian refugees was definitely the most powerful experience I've had in uganda. They had a lot to say about their feelings of complete helplessness because the kids only had minimal access to education, and the adults had no access to education, books, or other methods of self-education. Also, the refugees had little access to ways of making a living so most of them just sat around all day doing nothing and living off of the small amount of food they received for free. Many of them were successful businessmen in Ethiopia but when they fled (for political reasons) their money was all taken by the Ethiopian government. It was really horrible to see the conditions they were living in and the general state of idleness that blanketed the settlement. One of the men we were talking to (the chairman of the village, I think) said that it often felt similar to jail, except that in jail people were at least given opportunities to increase their chances of success once they were released. The Ethiopians in particular also expressed frustration that they were being forgotten while the rest of the world focused their aid onto much more prominent issues with larger numbers of IDPs (internationally displaced persons) such as the Sudanese.

The refugees in general were pretty disgruntled with their current situation and a few outright said that they felt hopeless, but when we asked if there were any positive things about the settlement they did say that they were thankful they had a safe place to be. I am glad that they seemed to be completely honest with us without making us feel like we would have to push to get any substantial answers.

There was one woman off to the side who we asked to breifly just tell us about life as a woman in the settlement. She very matter-of-factly told us that her husband got a job in Kampala (which is at least a 5 hour drive... I'm not great at all this geography yet) and can't come home very often. She decided that she needed to make a little money to feed her children so she openned a small dry goods kiosk in the settlement. Her husband, however, does not like the fact that she is making her own money, and every time he comes home he beats her. Our guides (all men) translated this story for us and then explained in less academic terms that this was common because it is a characteristic of PTSD, basically using this excuse as justification for this woman's husband.

The refugees were not like any other people I have ever talked to in how honest and assertive they were about their frustrations with those in power/ anybody with money (as I sat there guiltily holding my backback with camera, ipod, blackberry, and bottled water inside). When we asked them if they had any questions for us, expecting inquiries about American perspectives, they instead asked us why this was still happening to them after years of complaining and basically why we weren't doing anything about it. At least I don't think that the people we were talking to actually expected us to be able to provide an explanation-- though they did ask for money later, to which we honestly explained we had been instructed that we were not allowed to leave anything behind (so that future visitors would not be swarmed). Other groups did not have such lucky experiences. Some refugees were very resistant to having us as visitors because visitors always come and ask for information but never do anything in return to make refugees' lives better. It was sort of a "why should we help you if you won't help us" attitude. A lot of students had trouble taking it as a general frustration instead of personal attack. While I didn't take it personally, I still left feeling guilty and like a generally horrible person.

We spent about an hour on the bus afterwards discussing whether it made more sense for us to just go talk to them or whether we should have done some sort of service project instead. While I think most of the other students would not agree with me, I think that just talking was the best thing to do. We are here to learn about issues and really understand the lives of the people living in Uganda so that we can come back home, finish getting all grown up and out of college, and then, with a true understanding of the needs of these people from their level, coordinate action to improve their lives and do infinitely more good than we would by spending a few hours helping build a house or plant seeds.

Another nagging thought: there are just so many idle people here who are contributing far less to the community than they take out of it. It just doesn't seem like it makes a lot of sense to pump all this aid money into the economy if it's just going to end up going out again to the large, international companies that provide all of Uganda's many imports. More on that later though. I don't think I know enough about it yet to be able to defend that thought. Just a first impression.

With that thought, I am going to go try to sleep this off a little bit and mentally prepare myself for the Rwandan genocide memorial on Wednesday (we travel all day tomorrow). Sorry to post such a depressing note, but that's kind of the place I'm in right now. I don't have any pictures. I think we objectified the refugees enough for one day...
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ZEBRAS

ZEBRAS ZEBRAS ZEBRAS ZEBRAS ZEBRAS ZEBRAS ZEBRAS!!!!
(And the extremely rare national symbol of Uganda: the crown crane)

Soooooo coool!!!!

That is all.
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Happy Valentine's Day!

About 10 minutes ago I was in both the northern and southern hemispheres posing for a very touristy picture. It was a short stretch break during our drive to our week long western excursion. It's something between a 5 to 7 hour drive, but people here are horrible at estimating time or distance so who knows. I snagged an awesome seat on the bus in the front row next to the driver. The scenery here is incredible. Uganda is called the pearl of africa because the soil is so fertile and the climate provides lots of sun, rain, and warmth. I am still trying to upload pictures so you can see, but haven't been able to find any strong enough internet to handle file transfers.

Apparently the city we'll be in when we are in rwanda has free wireless internet for everyone, so I'm hoping that means the internet situation will be better than I've seen. Also, I find it pretty entertaining the rwanda has figured out how to provide free wireless throughout a city cost-effectively before anywhere (that I know of) in the US.

Yesterday I did my first real homework assignment we've gotten, which was to walk around our village with a host parent or local leader, map it out with key points of interest, and then write about the things that stuck out to us. I got lucky because my host father is on the village council. Kisota Zone (my village) is mostly residential is almost entirely residential but it was still so interesting to notice the diversity of the people living there. Besides one small, wealthy neighborhood and the slums, Uganda does not really have geographical separation of socioeconomic classes. You get a large, well maintained house with walls around it right next to a small 2 or 3 room house with bars on the windows. I think that mostly it is good that there isn't such a SES separation or concern with how others perceive ones status here. However, I really dislike the giant walls with razor wire on top and iron gates built around many of houses. It really feels like the houses are separate from the community around them.
The really interesting thing to me is that many people have gardens by their homes or rented plots to grow food in large fields. Yet, none of these are sectioned off to stop others from stealing food. My host dad says that theft like that isn't really an issue at all. Yet I would assume that these houses turned fortresses are protected for a reason... I'll investigate and get back to you on the deal w that.

In other news, I am quickly getting over my fear of bugs. Liza and melissa: have no fear. Next year I can deal with any puny cockroaches (compared to here) that may appear in our apartment:-) however my standards of cleanliness have significantly decreased out of necessity, so you have that to look forward to as well...

Alright. That's all for now. Gonna return to my ipod and watching banana trees and cows with giant horns and go by...
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Ndi muizi. Nsoma eby'enkulakulani ne Luganda.

(I am a student. I study development studies and Luganda)

What a night! I just got back from a graduation party for who I think is a good family friend of my host dad's cousin. The party itself was really nice- almost like a small wdding reception. Apparently graduating from college here is a bigger deal than in the US, which makes sense since scholarships here are virtually non-existant, even primary school is not compulsory, and public pre-college schooling is pretty bad (think 70 or 80 students per teacher and bribes to get teachers to pay extra attention to particular students).

We were told that the party started at 5, but taking "ugandan time" into account, we left the house a little after 6. We still, however, were the first ones there and the actual program didn't start til around 8. The program lasted about 3.5 hours and included congratulatory speeches from about 15 different people (including a really awkward one from his uninvolved father who thanked the people who raised his son), a half hour speech by the graduate thanking everyone who was there (including me because I was his new friend and people kept asking him why there was a white person at his party), and dinner (all delicious except all of a sudden there seems to be an abundance of millet in my life, which, if I get an abundance of some food would probably not rank very highly on the list). Also, they had a giving of gifts, where the main ones announced were a bible in their tribal language, a large goat (I asked what they do with it and was told that basically all they raise goats for is meat. I guess that makes sense but it seems like an awful lot of patience and work for just a few meals), and 2 friesian cows.

The best part of the night though was that I finally met a real live Ugandan who is roughly my age and who I connected with. And it turns out she is the daughter of my host dad's cousin and lives just a few houses down the street from me. I'll be out of Kampala all next week (more on that later) but we agreed to go out when I get back. It'll be nice to have someone to show me around and to hang out with. Plus, I can ask her awkward cultural questions that I'm not sure it's appropriate to ask adults about.

Today in Luganda class (which will not even help me get around IN uganda because only this small part of the country speaks it and I will probably be somewhere else for the majority of the semester) we had to go to the market and bargain in Luganda for some food. I overpaid (osela) but ended up with the single (emu) greatest avocado (ova) in the world.
I also saw all the meat stands, which made me feel better about being vegetarian. That's right. After a brief stint as an omnivore, I'm back to the veggies. Lemme tell ya, there is nothing quite like market meat stands, cages stuffed with lives chickens, and cows and goats just kinda wandering around to make you swear off meat forever.

I tried to upload pictures again today and failed again (also in the process lost my usb drive which had the only copy of this really good blog post that I was waiting to post and will never accurately be able to recreate). The internet here may just be too slow for that, but I haven't given up yet so let me know if you have any ideas. We'll be in rwanda for a few days next week and apparently the whole city we'll be in has free wireless internet (crazy how Rwanda has that before basically anywhere in the US) so maybe that will work? Fingers crossed!
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Laundry

Today I gained a newfound appreciation for washing machines. In the process I was laughed at and then outshined by a 2 and a half year old. I have clean clothes though, so the raw knuckles were worth it-- pretty sure that means I do not have the proper laundry technique. Good thing I have 13 more weeks to get the hang of it...

Today I also got my first sunburn. Ick. The bright side is that it is only my shoulders and not my face. Was totally worth it though because I got it from walking around lost for about half an hour trying to find the Family Planning Association of Uganda, only to eventually figure out that they changed their name 3 years ago to Reproductive Health Uganda. I'm starting to solidify my proposal for the practicum/ independent study project that I will spend the last 6 weeks of the semester on, and that organization is near the top of my list so I was assigned to go check them out.
Side note: almost everyone here is so helpful and open. I have had no problems any of the times I've showed up at a nonprofit without an appointment and wanting to talk with someone. I would like to take a moment to thank CITYterm for teaching me how to handle these situations without seeming like an idiot or offending somebody.
Anyways, I am thinking for my practicum/ISP I am going to focus on women's sexual empowerment in relation to family planning and use of contraception. The average woman in uganda has 7 children, which makes uganda one of the fastest growing countries in the world. One thing that lecturers have discussed is that because of gender inequality, men are the ones who really have most of the say over how many children a woman has. I am still working on what Im actually going to DO with that for 6 weeks, but I'll keep you posted. If you're really interested I'll even let you read my 20-40 page, 1.5 spaced final paper on the issue.

We fiiiiinally have internet at school, but I couldn't utilize it today because I had to rush home to get the laundry done before dark. I'm gonna try to get there early tomorrow so I can try to write another update to catch up on everything that's happened the past few days, and to figure out where to upload my pictures.

A little bit of housekeeping: I would like to formally apologize for the informal nature of this blog, the fact that I ramble and sometimes fail to finish a thought before moving on to something else, and my likely repetition of stories that I forget I've already posted. In fact, this exact same apology may appear a few more times before the end of the semester.

Thank you so much to everybody who has been commenting on my blog. It is so nice to feel at least a little in touch with all of you. I am so happy I'm here, but that doesn't mean I'm not missing everything/body back home (or, for all you study abroaders, all over the world). Not missing the weather though. I hear the east coast and stl have been getting slammed with snow recently. Not to brag, but its in the 80s and sunny with a breeze pretty much every day here.

Stay warm!
Lily
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I live with the Kisembo family off Kisoto road on the taxi route to Kisaasi in the Kawempe district.

Note: this post is from 2/2. I just didn't have internet access until now. Can't figure out how to upload my pictures but as soon as I have time to figure it out, I will post them. This is the post:

I had to repeat that about 1000 times before I could get all of the words right. Serious, I am the worst language student ever. I have been practicing with my home stay family though, so I am getting better. I keep getting tripped up by words that I recognize from Spanish, which is not something I expected. For example, “si” means “not” in Lugandan, and the root word “tu” refers to “we.” We started grammar today (flashback to espanol uno in 6th grade) in my Luganda class, so that should be fun. Hopefully I’ll come back able to formulate at least a few sentences…

But enough about academics (I’m ready to finish up orientation already and get to some substance!). I have a lot of time to write because I am at school waiting to meet with the Academic Director to talk about my final project (yes, already!).

I moved in with my home stay family on Sunday, and have really enjoyed the time I’ve spent with them so far. The house is not, as I was told, just a few blocks from my school. It’s only about 30 minutes away though by walking/ taxi, which isn’t bad considering that some people have commutes up to 2 hours each way. It still won’t be fun though once the rainy season starts, which should be sometime soon. It’s a little bit outside the city center so it is a lot quieter and cleaner, and the air is a lot fresher than the area where the school is.

I have 8 siblings, though only 3 of them are still in school and 2 of those are in boarding school. So really, it’s just me, my host mom (Eva), my host dad (Julius), and the cutest 2.5 year old in the whole world (Jeremiah, or Jerry).

I’m kind of sad that Jerry doesn’t speak much English but we’ve already had some bonding time and he has started following me around the house sometimes. I brought sparkly pipe cleaners to play with. At first he didn’t know what to do with them so he just waved them around in the air and danced. Then, his sister and I showed him how to make hats and other designs. We made fake glasses for him, which he refused to take off. Hopefully I will get a picture of him soon so you can understand just exactly how adorable this kid is.

One of the other children, 16-year-old Daphne, leaves for boarding school tomorrow. It has been really nice to have her around these past few days. She has been so helpful explaining everything to me and just being someone my own age-ish that I can talk to. She told me that at boarding school they have to wake up at 4am to do chores and get ready for the day. The days are super structured, but it seems like they pack a lot in. It doesn’t seem like she is very happy there, but the alternatives are local day schools, none of which provide as good an education. I gave her the magazines I had left from the plane ride over here, which she seemed to enjoy. Oh, except I kept Glamour cuz I want to send in my picture with it to be in the front of the magazine in the “where has Glamour been” section☺

Julius is a fantastic father. Most fathers here are really hands off and absent from the home. Many students have barely talked to their host fathers at all. One of the first things that happened once we got seated at the house, was that Julius gave me a speech (well, a discussion with him doing most of the talking) about how he thinks that women should be considered equal in Uganda, and the ways in which he feels they need to be empowered. One of these ways is that the husband should take equal responsibility for the household. In all honesty, Eva does a lot more housework than him, but I think he is fantastic compared to most households in Uganda. He makes breakfast every morning and clearly has been extremely involved in raising his children. He is super social, and the first day instead of just dropping me off at school, he came in with me and said hello to all of the other students. I am the 13th student they have hosted, so clearly they are good at it.

Eva is very quiet (or as she told me the first day “I do not have many words”). She is very nurturing though and has been very patient with my complete incompetence in the ways of Ugandan life. For example, she had to show me the technique for bathing with just a basin of water and a drain. The whole experience was highly amusing and only a little awkward. I have also already learned how to handwash mass amounts of dishes in a very short amount of time. She has started to teach me cooking, including lighting the charcoal pot where we cook everything. So far I have helped with Matoke (the signature Ugandan dish of kind of sticky mashed bananas cooked in banana leaves, which only tastes good if you put a lot of g-nut or bean sauce on top of it) and Chapati (a lightly fried pita-like dough, which I am utterly pathetic at rolling into an evenly shaped circle). I will get better at it though.

Speaking of which, I ended up in one of the family’s of lower socio-economic status as compared to my classmates, though it is still definitely middle class for Uganda. We have electricity… most of the time. It goes out for periods of 20 minutes or so every once and a while but we just light lanterns. We don’t have running water (which means no sink, no bath/shower, and no toilet), which I thought was going to be pretty rough, but I am actually managing without much trouble. It’s kind of nice to live so uncomplicatedly. It still takes a lot of effort, but I am getting better at just sitting without feeling like I need to be accomplishing something. My stress levels are pretty much nonexistent in that sense. I got my iPod to work again though so I do allow myself about 10 minutes of movie watching before I go to sleep at night under my mosquito net, which, by the way, startles me less and less every day when I wake up.

Some one liners:
-One person in my program already got malaria. It has a 7 day incubation period. This means she got it the first day here.
-To talk about something coming up, like when driving, people here say “in the future.” For example, “after you pass the mango tree, you can see in the future the street you should turn on.” I LOVE this.
-The vans here that serve as buses/taxis all have names on their rear window. Today I saw one that said Puff Daddy. I also saw one that said Hezbollah.


Ok. Just realized how absurdly long this is getting. As interesting as Uganda sounds, you all have interesting things to be doing too so get off the computer and go outside and play! Oh, except that it is winter where you are (it’s 80/85ish here). So don’t go outside, but go do something fun!

Also, THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!! I finally got a cell phone with free incoming calls. SO get a skype account and hit me up at 0701080373.

Off to find an internet café and get this posted!

Long time no talk?

Ok. I think it may have only been like 2 days but it seems like its been a lot longer since I last updated. Just a quick note to let everyone know I'm alive and happy. I'm staying with my homestay family and they don't have a computer, the school internet is broken, and I can't seem to find an internet cafe anywhere. I'm writing blog entries though on my flash drive so as soon as I find access to internet I will post them all. Meanwhile, it turns out I can email in blog posts to from my blackberry. However, this is about as long as I have patience to type on this.

I got a phone though! The country code is 256 and the phone number is 0701080373, so get a phone card or get on skype and gimme a ring:-)

Hope everything is fabulous in the usa!
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