PICTURES!!!!!

Due to some unforseen luck, the internet at SIT today was usually fast, so I was able to upload all of the pictures I've taken so far. This album will be a lot more complete after we all get home and exchange pictures. We kind of trade off taking pictures so that we don't all have to walk around with cameras all the time, so there are a lot of days that I don't have any pictures of on my camera. Without further ado:

Click here to see all of my pictures so far!

Malariaaaaa!

Is not so fun, but not as bad as most Americans imagine it to be. Here, it is kind of similar to how we view the flu. Maybe a little worse, but people here get it all the time and slowly build up resistances. Its way too expensive for people to stay on antimalarials their entire lives, so they just wait til they get it and then go try to get some medicine and sleep til they feel better. They know how to treat it, so if you have decent access to medical care (which I do) then it's not really life threatening at all.

I went to the "hospital" on Saturday, but since we had just finished our rural homestay, we were in a pretty rural area, so the best medical facility they had was a clinic with no ac or fans, pit latrine toilets, an approximately 20 person capacity, and chickens running around the courtyard. Oh, and I got my meds in a small, unlabled, paper bag. We got the only private room because we were white, which is nice but also makes me feel super guilty. Of course, there were 2 of us sharing a single bed as we sweated out our fevers, so it was toooo nice. Haha. On the plus side, the lab work, doctors consultation, day staying in the hospital bed, and prescription drugs came to a grand total of about $10. The whole experience though, gives me a whole new level of appreciation for the accountability and sterility of the medical care system in the US, which is a nice change since all I read about lately in the news is how much US health care sucks.

The first 2 days were pretty rough with a fever and nausea that came and went in cycles. So frustrating because my fever would almost completely go away and then 2 hours later be well above 100. Now I'm feeling pretty fine, just completely exhausted. As in, for every 2 hours or so that I nap, I get about 30 minutes of awake time before I crash. This is a little bit of a problem because my practicum proposal is due on wednesday and I still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not too worried though because there are 7 other people right now in the group who have malaria, who are all also getting behind in their planning.

We're not really sure why so many people got it at the same time, but since we've been traveling, people have been staying outside later in the night, which is when malaria mosquitos come out, so I guess it makes sense. Everyone has been really good about taking their malaria prophylaxis, but it turns out the malaria parasites are becoming resistant to all these meds, so that's fun.

The only thing that is still really bothering me now is the food. Steamed, mashed plantain with greasy beans is not easy to force yourself to eat when you have no appetite. I would love some vegetable broth right now. And maybe some gummy worms:-)

Anyways, just wanted to post a quick update to let everyone know I am alive and doing pretty well. I'm happily resting under my mosquito net with some books and my ipod. Really not too bad. I know I'll be fine and there's not much I can do about it, so I'm just kinda waiting it out and trying to enjoy the sleep. When I get a chance I'll write about my adventures on my rural homestay. For now: Nap time!
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Eastern Uganda!

Hmm. Where to start? It's been a while since my last update. Nothing too crazy has happened since last week.

We finished up our gender in-depth study last Thursday in a day that was pretty manageable. We talked to a bunch of Congolese refugees about their challenges building a new life. It was pretty sad to hear their stories, but it was also a nice change to see people who really had some hope for their own futures.
Today we did our group presentation, which is about 90 minutes of telling the group what we learned. We had a challenge figuring out how to structure it because all of the other in-depth study groups had much more academic experiences than us (grassroots, entreprenourship, etc) but we settled on each telling the story of the person we met that stood out to us, which turned out to be really effective. I talked about the 19-year-old girl with a 3-year-old baby, not even a mattress in her rented room, and a UTI that her husband had refused to give her the money to get treated for the past 2 weeks.

Friday and Saturday were mostly just relaxing and doing some logistical stuff for my practicum. Then, sunday we left for our Eastern excursion. We stayed sunday and monday night in this gorgeous hotel overlooking one of the Sipi Falls waterfalls. It was possibly the only 5-star hotel in the world that has pit latrines, but by this point that doesn't bother me at all. If you follow the news, you may have heard about the incredibly deadly mudslides recently in that region from the heavy rains. We were assured though that we had nothing to worry about because the land near where we were staying had been better planned for farming that wouldn't make the soil as succeptible to landslides. Sunday night we went on a hike to the bottom of the waterfall and had a great time sliding around in all the mud left over from the rains. Then, monday morning we split up into small groups and I ended up visiting a rural women's merry-go-round/ community aid group. It was a nice change to meet women who really were empowered to support their families and contribute to their community, while keeping the support of their husbands. Later in the day we went on an incredible hike to another one of the Sipi Falls waterfalls, which was HUGE. When we got there, our crazy transportation coordinator (the same one who told us that if we got malaria, we should just shower and we'd be fine) led all brave enough students down the slippery rocks to the bottom of the waterfall, which was tall enough that if you got directly under the fall, the water pressure would probably kill you. It was completely worth it though, because the view from behind the waterfall looking up was one of the most awesome things I've ever seen. Finally, on our way back from the waterfall, we detoured by a coffee farm and got to participate in making coffee. Lots of fun.

Right now, I'm on my way to our rural homestay, where I will be for 3 days. I am bringing a hen as a gift cuz I figure how many times in my life will it be appropriate to give livestock as a present. Some people are really nervous but both my partner and I are ready to dive in head first. So excited!
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Hazard #828 that is not an issue in the US, but should be actively avoided in Uganda:

Getting your earring caught in your mosquito net as you climb into bed. Lemme tell ya, NOT an easy situation to get out of.

This week has been incredible but it wore me out completely, which is why I am currently on track to be asleep by 9pm tonight. So instead of a Uganda post, I will do a quick plug for a cause that is very important to me in the US:

I am on the steering committee for Relay for Life of Washington University, which raises money for the American Cancer Society. Though I am not there this semester, I am trying to stay as involved as I can because the fight against cancer is too important for me to miss out on just because I'm a few time zones away. Right now we are in the middle of a challenge to raise $48k in 48 hours. So, as this blog has shown, there are infinite causes in the world where donating money can change lives, but if this is something that you can spare some of your money for, I would really appreciate it. Also, I think you would be hard pressed to find a person whose life hasn't somehow been touched by cancer, so this is a great way to make a difference in everyone's lives, now and in the future.

If you want to donate money, read more about Relay, or read my specific reasons for relaying, just go to relay.wustl.edu and search for me. Thanks so much!

Peace:-)
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Have you ever...

Been yelled out by about a dozen sex workers in a brothel and then thought you were being shot at with a machine gun? Because as of today, I have.

This week of gender intensive study has already has been one of the most intense weeks of my life, but today really topped it off.

In the morning we went to a slum, talked to a few women and children who were being neglected by their husbands/fathers (women pretty much totally depend on men here because it is next to impossible for a woman to make enough money support a family), including a 19-year-old with a 3-year-old baby whose husband wouldn't give her money to go to a clinic and get medicine for a UTI she'd had for 2 weeks. While we were talking to her, our guide from the Slum Aid Project straight up asked her what she had done to make her husband neglect her because obviously he wasn't doing it for no reason... With that question, I got an image in my head of the whole Wash U gender studies department chasing after our guide, throwing books at her... We also got to see the slum's large gin distillery where some women worked to support their families making 120-140 proof gin out of molasses. They offered to let us taste it, but I declined since the smell was so strong I am gagging a little bit just thinking about it. Then, before we left we distributed another 150ish pounds of condoms.

Then, in the afternoon we went to by far the smelliest place I have ever been in my entire life. It was one of those places where you spend the whole time debating which is the lesser of the evils: breathing through your nose, breathing through your mouth, or just not breathing for as long as possible. We ended up down an alley, back into a little courtyard with many-doored halls coming off of it. Will, the only guy in our 6 person group, just leaned over to me and said "are we where I think we are?" To which I just replied "uhh... Yep..." We had been told that the sex workers knew we were coming, had talked to students before, and would be happy to see us. However, as soon as we sat down, the sex workers in the courtyard started yelling at us and our guide in Luganda, though it didn't take a genius to figure out what they were saying. We (muzungus) come in to talk to them, take time away from their clients, and then don't end up helping them at all. For about 15 minutes the tiny (I'm a horrible judge, but I'm guessing around 10x10ish) courtyard was complete pandemonium with about a dozen sex workers shouting insults at us, our SIT teacher translating for the one person who would tell us her story, our Slum Aid Project guide trying to get the women to calm down, and us trying to get the point across to our guide that we definitely wanted to get out of there if we were not wanted. One woman, in English, demanded that if we wanted to talk to them we should each pay one of them and go to their rooms to talk. We pretty much ignored the comments like that, though I noticed at some point Annie and I had protectively grabbed onto Will's arms by instinct, as he, for obvious reasons, was the target of some particular comments that made him even more so uncomfortable than the rest of us. Then, about 15 minutes into our visit we heard loud explosions from very nearby that sounded like gunshots. The sex workers started screaming and running for shelter while us students jumped on top of each other in confusion. At some point it occurred to me that though the noise continued, I didn't see any bullets or people being hurt, but everyone was panicking and I didn't know what was going on so this revelation wasn't much consolation. When the noise stopped, somebody realized that it had been from the transformer on a power line right above the courtyard. By this point, all of us had pretty shot nerves and one of the students started crying, prompting teasing from the emerging sex workers. After that, we pretty much demanded to get out of there immediately, and at first the sex workers blocked our way but then let us out when our guide promised to stay behind and talk with them. I realize by this point I have portrayed the sex workers as pretty mean, and they were to us, but I think it was kind of deserved. They are almost all mothers trying to make enough money to support their children and pay school fees. All of them were forced into this work when their husbands left them with no money and no business or technical skills. I don't blame them at all for wanting money from us, and honestly, after the fact, am ok with how they treated us because it gave them some power and dignity over us, which we can take and move on from and probably gave them a feeling of empowerment. To cap it all off, on our way out, we passed a man walking down the alley wearing a shirt that said "women are not for life, just pleasure" Whyyyyy would anyone ever make a shirt that said that!?

After these past few days, my group revolted and pretty much refused to go through a whole other day of this tomorrow. We are all exhausted and emotionally completely spent, so hopefully tomorrow will just be a lot of processing. This was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime string of experiences, but I'm about ready for a break. Luckily, next week is the Eastern excursion, which means passing lots of time in the vans, hiking, and some other nice things. More on that later. For now, some much needed rest.
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What did you do today?

I talked to a bunch of sex workers in the slums who had been abandoned by their babies' fathers and didn't know of any organizations that could help them (and until we got super upset, the organization we were with wasn't planning on leaving them with any information). This included a woman whose husband had died 3 weeks ago and was already doing sex work to feed her 2 teenage children who didn't know how she got the money.

Then, I was given good luck from a spirit speaking through a witch doctor, whose medical herbs I'm pretty sure contained some illegal substances. And finallly, I helped distribute about 150 pounds of condoms. Definitely the most intense/ bizarre day since the prison in Rwanda.

Yesterday I spent all day walking around a different slum talking to victims of domestic abuse, most of whom had been counciled by the Slum Aid Project (the organization we were with) to stay with their husbands because they had no real hope of economic independence.

Side note: also yesterday when I got home my 22-year-old host brother, Jack, was hanging around the house. I then found out that despite having just made a family tree for school (with info from my host parents), he was only actually my half brother. Turns out, of the 8 siblings, 2 are adopted from an uncle who died, and 2 are from 2 separate mothers before my host dad met my host mom. Random...

I also decided for the millionth time in my life that having money sucks. It doesn't suck as much as not having money. However, the responsibility of meeting so many people I could help individually but not being able to help all of them is utterly overwhelming. Also, knowing that the first (and sometimes only) things people see when they look at you are money and visas depressing. It makes it impossible to ever trust that someone is not just talking to you because they expect something from you, which makes it pretty much impossible to really just make a human connection.

And its definitely not something I have blown out of proportion in my mind. This was what my host dad and I discussed at dinner tonight, and not only did he confirm my frustrations, but he added that people in this community keep asking him to let them speak to the muzungu in hopes that I will give them money.

This is the first time in my life where I've ever really felt like a complete outsider because of my race. It's definitely an experience I need to have, but at the moment that isn't much consolation.
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Luganda ease and grilled cheese

This is gonna be pretty short because I am exhaaaaausted but I am getting pretty behind in my blogging and if I don't start catching up, I will never find time to write a long update on everything.

Last thursday, friday, and saturday were pretty boring. Why? Because on saturday we had our ACTFL test in Luganda, and spent the entire 2 days before that cramming. Theoretically, in 3 weeks I learned about 150 words and 5 tenses in a language that is spoken in approximately 15 square miles of the entire earth. I would put the actual stats slightly lower, but I do know enough to barely get by/ win people over because at least I am trying.

Sunday, my biggest accomplishment was finally making grilled cheese for my family. I want to make sure they like cheese before I go to the trouble of making a whole meal. There had a been a lot of confusion over the past few days, as my family is not really familiar with the concept of sandwiches or food that cannot be an entire meal. I ended up describing it as an alternative to a roll when taking tea. I taught my host mom how to make one using the chapatti pan over coals and she loved it. Then she took over and made the rest-- side note: women here are very protective over their kitchen as their domain, mostly because they have so little power everywhere else-- anyways, I bought real butter. (as opposed to Blue Band fat spread that does not need refrigeration) for this endeavor, and used a slightly above average amount on the first one because I wanted to make sure they would like it, so on the rest my mom ending up using a ridiculous amount of butter. Anyways, 5 sandwiches, 10 slices of cheese, and a stick and a half of butter later we had some pretty awesome grilled cheese. It was a nice little bonding thing.

Oh, and also yesterday was my dad's birthday (happy birthday dad!! MLL) and so I put my host dad on the phone with him for a while, which my host dad got a huge kick out of. Pretty much any of my friends are invited to come visit and stay with them, by the way. Also, if I decide to stay here they will give me a little land on which to build a house upcountry. So tempting:-) maybe I just won't come home... I really am starting to really find my stride here and feel more and more connected with Uganda every day.
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