Monday 31 December 2007

Happy new year!

Hoping everyone has a.......

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

Another sunny day here - low to mid 70's but can feel like 80 in the sun. Plans are to have some wine this evening but none of us know if we'll be able to stay awake until midnight.....maybe the two who are well under 40 can but the rest of us (nearly 50 and the over 50's) may not.

I have added more photos to the album and still have more to upload--a slow process with mobile internet.

http://flickr.com/photos/anniedanny


Comments on comments

All the comments to my posts are appreciated. Hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Yes, I missed seeing my granddaughter and the rest of my family for christmas but did have a nice time with Danny and friends. Looking forward to seeing them all in May.

Aubrey--I didn't really learn to cook anything at the VSO 'cooking class' except for chapatis (a bread). We were put to work peeling and slicing mostly. The food was fantastic - pumpkin, matoke, beans, various vegetable dishes, g-nut sauce (peanut sauce), salads. They also cooked beef and chicken but I've learned that when they are cooked the traditional Ugandan way the meat is so tough it rips your teeth out! As for my favourite Ugandan foods, I'd have to say the fresh pineapple and avocados. I enjoy matoke with bean sauce but dooubt that I'll miss it when we return home.

Most of the food at our holiday accommodation is good but the staff is on 'African time' - it can take 1 - 1.5 hours to get your meal after ordering. So we've learned to order well ahead of any hunger pangs.

Wednesday 26 December 2007

A few pics....

Lake Bunyonyi




Our cottage
 






















Orphans who entertained us on Christmas day



















More pics here: http://flickr.com/photos/anniedanny/

Lake Bunyonyi - Christmas Holidays

Crater Bay Cottages

http://www.traveluganda.co.ug/crater-bay-cottages/index.html
As I mentioned before, Danny and I are spending the holidays on Lake Bunyonyi which is near Kabale in SW Uganda--fairly close to the Rwandan border. Unlike other lakes in Uganda it is crocodile and hippo-free. Swimming, canoeing - regular or dugout - are frequent activities here. The lake is 25km long and 7km wide. There are 29 islands dotting the lake and depths range from 44 - 900m. Since the elevation here is more than 8,000 feet it rarely gets hot and seems to hover in the low to mid-70's during the day. In the evening a jacket is required and at night several blankets for sleeping. The elevation and temps also means mozzies are rare!! I have yet to encounter a mosquito which is pure bliss for me as mozzies have become the bain of my existence.

We are in a thatched roof round cottage (banda) which overlooks the lake. The room is small but sufficient and has the bonus of a HOT shower - a luxury for us. There is a restaurant on the premises which has good food, though nothing spectacular. The staff are all very friendly and helpful. We arrived on Sunday the 23rd, and on Monday we hired a guide in a dugout canoe.

Christmas Day

We spent the day on Bushara Island with fellow volunteers/friends. A buffet lunch was offered which included turkey and stuffing, as well as Indian food. Entertainment lasted several hours and was performed by local singers, drummers, dancers as well as children from a local orphanage. They sang traditional songs in the local language.

Photos

I've taken many photos since we've been here so expect them to be uploaded to my Flickr album sometime during our stay.

Thursday 13 December 2007

The hardest part.......

.....of living in Uganda isn't the mosquitoes, the erratic electricity, the bad roads, the bad drivers, the maddeningly slow internet, the cold showers, the lack of quality goods, the lack of modern appliances in our house, or even having to hand wash our laundry. Hands down, the hardest part is not being able to communicate with my adorable granddaughter--in person or by webcam. What could be better than that pretty, smiling face saying 'hi nana'?

Holidays, internet, frustration!

School holidays

Schools and colleges are on the long holiday now and classes will begin again in mid-February. At our college there are workshops this week and next for PTC teachers (called tutors here) from many neighbouring districts.

For our Christmas holiday we will spend 10 days at Lake Bunyoni. I expect to feel quite sad not being with all of my family this time of year.

We are planning a trip to the US in May. We are quite frustrated just now as we have discovered that Emirates will not let us purchase our tickets online from Uganda. Credit cards can't be used on their website if you live in any African country unless in South Africa. To fly with Emirates we have to go on the long, rough journey to Kampala and pay in cash!! Apparently we can use the Expedia site with other airlines, but we prefer Emirates. Still deciding what to do.....

Home internet connection

During our stay in Kampala the internet connection via our mobile modem was much faster than we expected. We were amazed that I could upload some 1.2-1.3 mg photos in 3-5 minutes each. Not the same at home, unfortunately. It is slower than dial-up and I’ve been unable to upload any large photos. The speed we experienced in Kampala made me optimistic that I could upload small videos to YouTube. However, I’ll have to resort to my previous plan to make videos, burn them to a DVD and mail them to friends and family.

Electricity

We are expecting normal electricity service to resume early next week. I won’t be surprised if this doesn’t happen. Weekday electricity seems like a luxury now.

Public displays of affection

In Uganda it is taboo to show affection to the opposite sex in public. However, it is common to see the same sex holding hands, draping an arm around each other, etc. This is common among both women and men.

Saturday 8 December 2007

Summary of Kampala visit....

  • big, modern shopping malls
  • great restaurants
  • spending, spending, spending
  • taxi park = pickpocket central
  • hot, sweaty, crowded, dirty, dusty
  • hot sun, sun, sun--little rain
  • discovering that you can purchase almost any American/European brand of food, toiletries, etc....even those horrid Twinkies!
  • a week in a really crappy hotel
  • a week in a comfortable hotel with blissfully hot showers
  • meeting volunteers we'd never met
  • seeing volunteers we know
  • partying with volunteers!
  • the VSO BBQ
  • drooling at the sight of washers, big fridges, ovens, etc...
  • boring lectures
  • interesting lectures
  • constant electricity!
  • beer, wine, ice cream, gorgeous food, gaining weight
  • waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting....

Now for a wee rant!

We hoped the electricity in our area would be sorted by the time we came back...but no. It's still off during the day and tonight it didn't come back on until after 8p.m. Arghh....

The road....emmm....dirt track that goes to our campus from the main road is currently 3km of mud, potholes big enough to swallow a car, and slippery. I'm not looking forward to riding our motorbike down this road!

Friday 7 December 2007

Finally back home!

We returned from Kampala last night--our motorbike in the back of a pickup truck. A couple of new volunteers were going in our general direction, so a VSO driver delivered all of us.

The campus is quite quiet with all the students gone for school holidays. Schools are closed until mid February.

Nice to be back although unpacking and (hand)washing all these filthy clothes will take some time. The Kampala pollution, dirt, dusty roads combined with sweat makes cleaning the clothes a bigger challenge than normal.

Wednesday 5 December 2007

International Volunteers Day

As designated by the United Nations in 1985, today is....

International Volunteers Day

Sunday 2 December 2007

Still in Kampala

I have uploaded new photos of our recent 2 week adventure in Kampala.

Courses finished on Friday with a Ugandan cooking course at the programme office garden. There were 8 or 9 dishes and it was all fantastic.

Saturday was even more shopping and an evening BBQ at the VSO office. It has been so good for Danny and I to meet and bond with the other volunteers that we hadn't already met.



We are still at Lweza Conference Centre at least until tomorrow morning. One of the staff is expected to drive us and our new motorbike via pickup truck back to our house, as well as a new volunteer who will be placed near our area. This might not be until Wednesday. Since we have been here a full 2 weeks now we are quite anxious to get back home. 

I took quite a few pics on our walks near Lweza which is outside of the city in a somewhat rural area.










Thursday 29 November 2007

Kampala and training

A few more detrails on Kampala and training.....

Danny and I spent last week in Kampala at a hotel while he had his motorbike training with three other volunteers. I became very familiar with the shops in Kampala while he engaged in this. Kampala is huge with many modern areas, shops, houses. It is filled with mini-bus taxis and boda boda motorbike taxis who couldn't care less if they knocked down a pedestrian. Traffic rules are just meaningless here. To add to the usual congestion, CHOGM delegates, guests, heads of state packed the city.

This week we are housed at a conference centre on the edge of Kampala for more VSO training...much of it placement-related as well as history, culture, cooking, etc. Accommodation is good, not posh, and we are so thrilled to have a hot shower! Meals are provided which are fairly good, but with little variety.

A bit of course-skipping by several of us has taken place with outings into the city for shopping and dining.

Tuesday 27 November 2007

We have our own internet!!

WOOHOO!!!!! We are now connected to the internet via mobile phone signal so we'll have it anywhere we go that gets a signal. We are surprised at how fast it is.

YEAH!!!!!

Sunday 25 November 2007

Kampala

We have been in Kampala all week and yesterday Danny passed his motorbike test. So we will soon have our own transportation!!

Kampala is crowded, dusty, and hot but the shopping is great as is the food. We highly recommend The Great Wall Chinese Restaurant on Kampala Road -- also the Indian restaurant (forgot the name) on the very top floor of the Garden City Shopping Centre. Kampala has slums but also has some very posh areas and posh shops.

This afternoon we are heading out to a conference centre in the 'sticks' for a week of VSO 'training'. At least we'll have hot showers.

We hope to have our internet connected at home by the time we return, but if not this will be my last post for about 2 weeks.

Hope all the Americans had a great thanksgiving.

PS. I made a correction to our postal address in the sidebar -- I had spelled the town incorrectly -- it is Mbarara.

PPS. Planning a trip to America in May!

Monday 19 November 2007

New photos uploaded!

Finally! Uploaded a bunch of pics to our Flickr photo album today (see sidebar for link). We are in Kampala and the internet is quicker here.

Danny will be on the motorbike tomorrow for rough road training.

We will be in Kampala all this week but next week will be out in the country with NO internet...boo hiss...

A day in the life......

No two days are the same but typically…..
A gong is sounded outside at 6a.m. to wake the students. We pull back the mozzie net and tumble out of bed generally between 6.45 and 7. Breakfast might consist of fresh pineapple, tea, toast made in a frying pan (I guess we’ll buy one of the crappy toasters and hope it actually works!), and sometimes I have Temmy’s Corn Flakes (made in Egypt) –a crunchier version than Kellogg’s. Another option is Quaker Oats porridge. Mmmmmm…

In order to keep the laundry from becoming a massive job, I do the washing at least 4 days a week and I start this job first thing after breakfast. When I’m done with the laundry, sweeping, and other cleaning I take a (cold!) shower and change into appropriate clothing (not shorts). Sometimes I join Danny for the 11a.m. tea and banana break in the staff room. At this time of the day the tea is made up in big kettles with full fat unpasteurized boiled milk and a small amount of tea. We do eat lots of the small, sweet bananas, but neither of us drinks the milky tea – it makes Danny ill, and I don’t like the taste.

We sit outside at the nurse’s house/sick bay and have Runyankole language lessons for about an hour either just after the 11a.m. tea or after lunch.

Danny has been working tirelessly in the computer room attempting to make the antiquated computers function reasonably well. He wasn’t going to let anyone know about his computer expertise, but being a nerd at heart he couldn’t tolerate seeing a computer lab in such a mess. He’s been roped into teaching basic computer skills classes and I’ve been assisting. Four or five students at each computer! It’s simply amazing to both of us how well they cooperate and never argue or get annoyed because someone else is hogging the keyboard. The cooperation displayed leaves us in awe. Most of the students have never used a computer before, so when Danny used the term ‘left click’ they were baffled.

The education department is encouraging colleges to buy better computers as well as connecting the internet. Too bad they don’t want to give the money to the colleges to accomplish this! They generally cut budgets instead of increasing them. Anyway, Danny is helping to get bids and trying to look for funding for this.

Danny has also been teaching two physics classes one day per week. His job doing outreach in the primary schools has yet to take place, but will likely happen after the Christmas holidays and school begins again in February.
Danny's computer class

Lunch is served in the staff room – and to the students – at 1.30p.m. It doesn’t vary – rice, matoke, beans, and boiled cabbage. If the price of matoke has risen they serve porsho (maize) instead. Danny eats this every day but I just can’t! So I will eat lunch with the staff 2 or 3 times a week.

I have been teaching basic computer skills to the wife of one of the teachers. We spend about an hour every evening beginning at 7p.m. while Danny works on the computers. Interest in my computer tutoring has been expressed by the wife of another teacher and by one of the Deputy Principals.

Evenings – we watch a bit of the news, Danny partakes of Ugandan beer and I sip on South African wine. We have been re-watching 5 seasons of Still Game but will soon – thanks to an angel—have DVD’s to watch. Unless we have DSTV the programming is severely limited – unless one is fluent in the language or is a fan of a Spanish soap opera badly-dubbed with American accents.

Water from the tap is not potable, so we boil then filter it. We keep bottles of this ‘cleaned’ water, one of which is with our toiletries. We use this to wet and rinse our toothbrushes. It doesn’t seem an inconvenience anymore, we’ve become used to it. Making sure the mozzie net is tucked in all the way around the mattress is still a bit of a pain in the butt though.

It’s incredible to both of us how the concept of schedules/timetables/punctuality seems to be foreign here. Often the computer classes have 5 or 6 more students than are supposed to be there. Danny isn’t given a class list—they don’t like to use a lot of paper here. Students don’t have books—they learn by taking notes. They can use the books in the library – most of which are quite old and all are donated.

Saturday 17 November 2007

Taxi nightmare

As I described in a previous blog there are several modes of transport, one of which is a taxi—a 15-seat minibus. On our trip to Bushenyi for a meeting with other VSO volunteers we decided to travel by one of these. The main taxi area in Mbarara is a huge car park, which holds dozens of these all going to different areas. As soon as you walk into this area you are bombarded with offers of transport. “Are you going to Kampala?” “Are you going to Kasese?” “Where are you going?” When you select a taxi you barter with the person in charge over the price. We are always told a higher price than Ugandan passengers but we never agree to the first price quoted. The person who brings another passenger to a taxi is rewarded (cash?). The taxis do not leave until they are full—no schedule.

On this particular trip we waited nearly an hour and a half before we eventually departed. These taxis are checked on departure to be sure they are not overloaded. However, as soon as they leave they encourage more passengers. On this trip there were about 5 or 6 more people than there were seats. For quite a while there were 5 people in our row, which was meant for 3.

Men hawking cheap goods swarm on the occupants who are waiting for the taxis to depart. The items are cheap jewellery, combs, lace, mobile phone covers, fruit, assorted junk, etc. As muzungus we drew more attention than everyone else (wealthy is ‘tattooed’ across our faces). The hawkers are much more persistent with us. It got highly annoying as there was barely a few seconds break between hawkers.

By the time we departed Mbarara and jammed in a few more passengers we had both decided that we wouldn’t do a journey like that again. We’d rather spend more and get a special hire—our own private taxi.

On the way into Mbarara we often catch a lift from someone on campus who is on their way there. If not, we walk the 3km down to the main road and catch a taxi (mini-bus). This is not a problem as there is no waiting, we just flag one down that is passing and isn’t over-full, and we get to town within 20-25 minutes. The cost is only 2,000Ush each.

On the return trip home we have contracted a favourite special hire driver and an agreed rate—20,000 Ush to our front door. He is a safe driver, helps load and carry our purchases, and is very reliable and friendly.

Photos

The internet is quite slow today so I will save my photos for uploading until we get to Kampala. The connection has a chance of being quicker there......

Kampala, (lack of) electricity, language

Trip to Kampala
Tomorrow morning we leave for Kampala, the capital, via long-distance coach. Danny has a week of motorbike training on rough Ugandan roads and if…emmm…I mean when, he passes the test will be given a Ugandan motorbike licence and his own motorbike. The motorbike will be delivered to our house via truck – we won’t be returning from Kampala on a bike with a large suitcase and two backpacks!! While Danny is training to be a Hell’s Angel I’ll be shopping or at an internet café.

The following week we will be at the VSO Conference Centre outside of the city for In-Country-Training Part 2. The programme consists of sharing experiences and problems from our first six+ weeks in Uganda. There will be lessons in history, government, culture, and generally how things work here. A BBQ and socializing as well!

The continuing saga of (cue spooky organ music)….the LAUNDRY
When we came here I packed lots of Persil Non-bio tablets. Biological detergents make Danny itch and I am allergic to anything perfumed. I learned pre-departure that Persil can be bought here, which it can. But it’s not non-bio and is scented. I also learned that the most popular detergent here is Omo, which cleans the clothes but wears them out quickly because it is rough.

My first experiences at hand-washing everything has taught me:
1.Persil is way too gentle for hand-washing.
2.Therefore, the laundry doesn’t get clean.
3.Omo is made for hand-washing.
4.Conclusion: The clothes will wear out sooner but at least they will be clean.

Electricity
Electrical lines are being repaired in ours and neighbouring districts. Therefore, the power has been out every weekday from about 7a.m. until sometime between 6-9p.m. since the 1st of November. It is predicted to be finished by the end of the month. I’ll believe it when it happens. Just when we were counting ourselves lucky that we hadn’t been without power very often. Argghhh….

Many are convinced that the actual reason we have been without electricity is that it’s being diverted to Kampala where CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) will be for a week this month. CHOGM is a meeting of all the heads of state of every country in the British Commonwealth. The Queen, Prime Minister, Prince Chuckie will, of course, be attending. Kampala has been getting ready for this for many months and built a posh hotel just for the occasion.

Odds and ends…..
-Women are addressed as madame, which I find complimentary.
-How to pronounce Mbarara—Im-ba-rahr-ah with no pauses or emphasis on a single syllable.
-I can’t recall seeing anyone lose their temper since we’ve been here. Showing anger in public is taboo.

Recently been having a serious craving for Lime Doritos!!!!! And we’ve got great guacamole to have with them as well – made from locally grown avocados and lemons.

Weather
We very quickly began taking the gorgeous weather for granted. In Scotland we would usually drop everything and go outside to sit or for a bike ride or hike with weather like this. How do you appreciate it if it’s good all the time? It usually gets cooler at night which gives us a bit of a change and feels cooler after a heavy rainfall. One would assume that being on the equator would make the temperature roasting hot all the time. Due to the elevation – we are at about 1400 metres – it rarely gets too hot.

Local language
A few words/phrases of Runyankole, the language of the southwest, we’ve learned:
-Thank you - Webare (way-bar-ay)
-Good morning - Oriere ota (ori rota)
-Good afternoon – osiibirota (o-see-bur-ota)
-Goodbye –osiibagee (o-see-ba-jee)
-Have a good evening – oraire gye (ora rejee)
-Did you sleep well/have a good night? – oriere gye (ori rejee)
-What do you want? – noyenda ki
-I want milk – Ninyenda amate

Saturday 10 November 2007

No photos this week

The internet is being torturously slow this week so I am unable to upload any photos. Gots loads of them as well!

A feast for the senses....

emm…well, not always a feast

See
  • green hills dotted with cows and goats
  • bright purple or pink school uniforms worn by barefoot children
  • blue sky à a few white clouds à black clouds à downpour à blue sky
  • brown mud houses
  • acres and acres of tall, dark green matoke plants
  • tshirts displaying UK sports teams, US cities, or foreign companies reddish-orange soil
  • bicycles being pushed up hilly roads laden with tonnes of green matoke
  • local markets on the sides of the roads featuring every colour—red tomatoes, green matoke, yellow bananas, green/gold pineapples, purple onions, green peppers, green avocados, orange carrots, brown aubergines, red chilli peppers, pale green cabbage, etc……
  • bright, multi-coloured dresses, shawls, skirts, shirts
  • big, brown eyes of smiling kids
  • vivid dreams due to the anti-malaria medication
  • buildings painted bright yellow with the MTN logo (mobile phones)































Hear
  • drumming all night in a local village signalling an upcoming wedding
  • chatter in the local language – Runyankole
  • lovely singing of the college students – although we can’t understand a word of it (yet)
  • thick Ugandan accents when speaking English
  • rain beating down, boom of thunder
  • the comforting, familiar accents on BBC World Service radio
  • the buzz of a mozzie when we are safely in bed with the mozzie net tucked around us
  • crickets as soon as it becomes dark
Smell
  • pleasant smell of smoke from kitchens
  • frequent BO (not mine!)
  • goatmeat being roasted on kebab skewers
  • common choking odour of burning oil from ill-maintained vehicles
  • popcorn machines on the sidewalks outside the shops in Mbarara
  • lovely aroma of the bakeries in Mbarara
Taste
  • small, sweet bananas
  • tea flavoured with tea masala—a powder made with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg
  • tender, juicy African steak
  • sweet, juicy Ugandan pineapples
  • sweet, thick mango juice
  • smooth, creamy, fresh avocado
Feel 
  • warm/hot sun
  • coolness after rain
  • frequent dust in the eyes
  • cold shower—how good it feels to be done!
  • itch of mozzie bites
  • someone constantly wanting to shake your hand
  • our ultra-soft fleece blanket on chilly nights
  • lumpy pillows



Top 10, Culture, Imported Products, Internet at home!

Note: I intended to post this last Saturday but there was no electricity in Mbarara, so the internet cafés were closed. However,

Woohoo!! We will (relatively) soon have GPRS internet at home. This entails using a USB modem that works on the signal from the mobile network – same as our phones. It’s quite expensive in relation to Ugandan salaries and is slower than the old dial-up connections. But waiting a week for a couple of hours of internet connection is just too much to bear!

We will be in Kampala, the capital, for 2 weeks beginning Nov 17th. Danny has a week of motorbike training and the following week there will be In-Country-Training for both of us. Internet cafes are on nearly every corner, so I will be posting during that time.

Top 10 ‘events’ during our first month in Uganda (not in any particular order):
1. children running up to us to shake our hand, hug or touch us
2. finally figuring out the best way to wash our laundry by hand
3. weekly treat of fattening European food in Mbarara
4. discovering cheddar cheese, porridge oats, peanut butter, chocolate milk, and Cadbury in the supermarket
5. meeting up with fellow volunteers
6. getting our house (mostly) furnished
7. friendly welcomes by so many people – getting big smiles in return for a wave – kids always waving at us
8. discovering the scrumptious fruits and veg here
9. feeling less and less uncomfortable being the centre of attention when walking through crowded Mbarara
10. figuring out the currency here with so many zeros! Basically knowing where to shop for what items and what a fair price is.

While I do the ironing—a massive job since every item of clothing, towels, linens, socks, knickers, require ironing—I listen to audio books. I recently finished listening to Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which was recommended and downloaded for me by my SIL, Christie. It was an entertaining and thought-provoking book and certainly made ironing and housework much pleasanter chores. Current book is Star of the Sea about a voyage in 1847 from Ireland to NYC and the history of the some of the passengers.

You may wonder why everything must be ironed. If you weren’t wondering, skip to the next paragraph. When laundry is hanging out to dry the mango flies might lay eggs on them. The heat of the iron kills the eggs. If the eggs remain on the items and they get next to your skin, they burrow under your skin and later hatch. They can be felt squirming around under the skin and must be removed by sterile knife or razor. Cringe! Didn’t want to know all that, did ya?! Personally, I’d prefer to iron everything.

Cultural differences
During a discussion with the Principle and a couple of teachers we were asked if there were people in Britain who had no home. They are under the impression that everyone in Britain and America are rich. We enlightened them with facts about the welfare system which horrified them, especially regarding government money be given to unwed, unemployed mothers. We informed them that the minimum wage was about £5.25 an hour and upon converting this to Ugandan shillings they assumed that everyone must be very rich. I explained that people making this wage were poor because everything was much more expensive in Britain, but this fact did not seem to change their view. The Principle suggested they cut back to eating one meal per day, like is mainly done in Uganda. Right. Not likely!

We have asked various staff members how many children they have and 5 seems to be the most common answer. Soon after our arrival a second child was born to the wife of the art teacher. They now have a boy and a girl, but he says they would like to have a total of 5 or 6. This baffles me, but I'll bypass that discussion for the time being. It is thought odd that Danny only has one child and I only have two.

Many times we have been greeted with ‘you are welcome’ which means ‘welcome to the college’ ‘welcome to Uganda’, ‘welcome to our village’ etc. I’ve found this a charming way to be greeted.

The pleasant aroma of smoke is nearly constant. Every staff house has a separate building that is used by most as the room where they cook using charcoal or wood. We haven’t used ours but opted to use the 2 gas burners that VSO purchased for us. We are considering getting a charcoal or wood burner so that we can bake bread and have a BBQ (not goat!).

Behind the outdoor kitchens are outhouses for each house. A couple of years ago the World Bank granted the college money to upgrade staff houses which included the addition of indoor bathrooms. Some people though seem to prefer using the outhouses. Hmmm…..not us!

The curtains in our house are backwards – with the lining facing inside. We noticed that all the houses are like this, the design is apparently supposed to be seen from outside the house. I’m deciding whether to be rebellious and turn them around.

A former volunteer told us that hygiene standards always lessen when living as a volunteer. Yup, they certainly do.

Western products
Some of the familiar products I've discovered in Mbarara thus far:
Nutella
Cadbury sweets and hot chocolate
Snickers
Kit Kat
Coke, Pepsi, Fanta
Pringles
American Garden Creamy Peanut Butter (never heard of it, but it was made in NY and tastes similar to Skippy)
Knorr soup mix
Quaker Oats
McVitties Biscuits
Corn Flakes
Trix cereal
Weetabix (Yuck! Tried this for the first time and it’s horrid!)
Rice Krispies
Persil detergent (unfortunately it’s not the non-bio that we need)
Listerine
Macleans toothpaste
Crest toothpaste
Carex hand soap
Savlon & Dettol liquid

Laundry Fun

Okay, everybody who thinks laundry is a chore and American expats in the UK who whine about how tiny their washer is or that they don’t have a dryer…… this is my routine first thing in the morning at least 4 days per week:

-fill halfway 2 large plastic basins and 1 medium basin from tap in shower room (as there isn’t a tap outside)
-haul to back porch
-add more water using another container as they would otherwise be far too heavy to lift and carry w/o totally doing my back in
-add detergent to 1 of the large basins
-add a few kettles of boiling water to warm the water
-soak, scrub, wash, rinse, rinse……hang on line
-iron

Saturday 27 October 2007

Other volunteers, food, wishlist

Cluster Meeting – fellow volunteers
Last weekend – Oct 19-20 – we attended a cluster meeting of VSO volunteers in our area. Including Danny and I there were 8 of us. The weekend meeting was held in Bushenyi, a small town about 70km from our campus. The hotel, meals and our transportation were paid for by VSO. The weekend was simply brilliant and it was such a boost for us to bond with others in similar situations. We shared stories, advice and beer. Three of the other volunteers arrived at their placements about a week before us.

The colleges and schools have the longest break of the year during the Christmas season – a good time for those in the education sector to take a holiday. We discovered at the meeting that three of the volunteers planned on a trip to Lake Bunyoni, which is where Danny and I planned on as well. The lake is safe for swimming as it is devoid of hippos, crocodiles and the parasites which cause Bilharzia. Canoes, kayaks and mountain bikes are offered for rent. Not confirmed yet but we booked a cottage for 10 days.

Work
Danny has been teaching physics one day per week and the rest of the time he has been fixing, sorting, and upgrading the college computers in the ‘computer lab’. Next week he will begin teaching computer classes and I will be assisting. There are 8 or 9 usable computers, many with 32k RAM – a blast from the distant past!

A teacher’s wife has requested my assistance in learning to use a computer – basic Word, Excel, etc. She works as a secretary and currently uses a typewriter.

We are still trying to find a language teacher. VSO will pay for a private tutor. College admin seems to think picking up words and phrases here and there from staff members in a noisy staff room is sufficient. But we need a good foundation on the rules of the language. I could function well on learning the very basics – hello, how are you, how much does it cost, thank you, good afternoon, may I take your photo, etc. But Danny will need more advanced lessons as he will need to converse in local communities trying to convince parents of the value of school attendance by their children.

The WEATHER here is absolutely brilliant! It seems to hover around the upper 70’s to low 80’s (about 24-27C). Just after a downpour it cools off considerably. Both Danny and I keep anticipating that it will be getting cold soon…..emmm……no. No change. Same all year except that some months are wetter than others.

Most difficult adjustment
By far the hardest part of this culture shock for me is trying to understand the accents. One does tire of asking people to repeat themselves!

TV
We bought a small colour TV on one of our initial shopping sprees but it took quite a while to set up. The outdoor antenna we purchased at the same time was, of course, shoddily constructed. Danny has fixed it and with lots of help we finally have TV, all two of the non-satellite channels. The picture is never perfect, but good enough. There are some English-speaking programmes which include CNN International for an hour several times per day, as well as BBC World News and occasional movies and documentaries.

We brought the set of 5 seasons of DVD's of our favourite programme Still Game, which is a sitcom about some pensioners in Glasgow. At the rate we’ve watched them we’ve already exhausted them and are rewatching.

Pigging out!
Saturdays have become our day to treat ourselves and do our shopping. At the Agip Motel and Restaurant which caters to foreign tourists we get a gorgeous breakfast. An English breakfast costs 11,000sh (just over £3) each and consists of a plate of 5 or 6 fruits, juice, tea or coffee, eggs, bacon, sausage, liver (no thanks), cereal, pancakes. Needless to say we waddle out of the restaurant. The menu is massive and by the time we leave in 2 years we’ll probably have tried most, if not all, they offer.

I had vaguely noticed that in Mbarara there is a dairy factory that makes cheese, yoghurt, milk, etc. So I have finally found some lovely cheddar cheese. At Hot Loaf Bakery they sell only white bread, rolls, cakes, but there is a slightly sweet white bread shaped like a French loaf that, together with the above, makes gorgeous grilled cheese sandwiches!

Another of my food discoveries with which I’m well chuffed is Quaker White Oats – and have had a gorgeously, creamy porridge on several mornings.

Email and Wishlist
Apologies to everyone for being so slow in replying to emails. It’s difficult to keep up with them since internet time is limited but I’ll work on this and plan on a bigger chunk of time on Saturdays. The cost is a whopping 50 shillings/per minute or 3,000 per hour. (85p or $1.70/hour). Ok….not much.

Danny and I are grateful for all the well wishes and positive feedback!

Thanks to the many generous folks who have offered to post us items. Shipping fees from the UK seem to be quite dear and I’m sure it’s even more from the US, but I can easily reimburse anyone via Paypal. Our UK wish list at the moment is:

Maltesers
Galaxy plain chocolate bar
Airwaves gum – black package
Scottish Oat Cakes
Hob Nobs – chocolate or plain (or both!)
Quick-drying bath towels (like those used for camping/backpacking)

PHOTOS
Last week I posted to the blog in the expectation that my photos would be uploaded soon after. Not. Trying again this week.

Friday 19 October 2007

Locals, transport, language

Locals, transport, language

About a third of a mile down the dirt road from the college is a small village with a handful of shops in mud huts. The shops are all tiny with an inventory to match. One has beer, pop, aspirin, plastic basins, etc. The shop next door offers a few vegetables. Across the narrow road is a seamstress with a pedal-powered sewing machine. The farmer sells goat meat and chops it up using a machete on a blood-stained block of wood after the customer selects the desired section of goat. English is limited. The young female shop clerks giggle when they don’t understand our English. Barefoot children run around wearing torn clothing.

One of the college’s teachers walked with us to the village one afternoon soon after our arrival and when the kids saw us their faces beamed with big smiles and a wee boy about 2 years old ran up to me and hugged my leg! I’m anxious to take photos here but think it wise to wait until they know us better and I’m able to ask ‘may I take your photo’ in their language. It’s not necessary to ask children for permission but always ask adults.

Transportation
Boda boda – motorbike taxis which are unsafe. Drivers rarely wear helmets and passengers are not provided with one. VSO instructs volunteers never to use one but many still do. Motorbikes get chased to the side of the roads by passing cars and trucks. There must be hundreds of them in Mbarara, and they are common transport all over Uganda.

Taxis – 15 seater mini-buses with cheap fares. There is no schedule—they depart the main taxi station when they are full.

Special taxi – same as a taxi in the US or UK. Much higher fare than the above modes, of course.

Buses – long distance transportation somewhat like Greyhound

We have quickly learned how to be pedestrians here. Never, never assume a car or motorbike will slow down or stop if you walk in front of them. Pedestrians must be extremely cautious and run.

Rain!
This is one of the rainy seasons but most of the time there is lovely sunshine. However, without warning the sky will suddenly blacken, open up and the rain comes down in buckets. Sprinkles seem to be a rarity.

The language in southwest Uganda is Runyankole. VSO provides language training at the in-country-training, but since we came on our own outside the group we were not provided with any. We have to find a teacher on our own and VSO will pay the fees. So far we know two words – agandi which means ‘hello, how are you’ and wongi which means ‘excuse me, I didn’t understand what you said’.

Everyone on campus speaks English and classes are taught in English. Primary school classes are taught solely in English after primary 3. In markets where we bargain there can be limited English – merchants always know ‘how are you’ ‘fine’ ‘how much’ and amounts of money.

I guess we’ll get used to being the centre of attention when we walk down the street. Although we are often spoken to politely or asked ‘how are you’, and 99 times out of 100 will get a friendly reply when we ask ‘how are you’, I can now empathize with the female volunteer who stated on her blog that she’d love to feel anonymous just for a day.

It’s depressingly unfortunate that our internet time is going to be limited. The internet is slow but at the internet café we use it’s not as slow as I expected. Uploading photos is time-consuming and high quality photos will probably be impossible to load. A webcam is out of the question so it’s packed away for the duration, unless there is a miracle. Neighbouring Kenya seems to be currently improving with a faster connection.

We listen to the BBC World Service on the short wave radio we bought in Michigan. It uses rechargeable batteries or can be cranked up to recharge the batteries that were included. Very handy. I brought loads of rechargeable batteries and two chargers.

Electricity
Pre-departure research informed us that electricity would be roughly every other day. This is apparently the case for large cities, like the capitol of Kampala. Fortunately that is not true for our area. We’ve been told that when electricity goes out it is generally on weekends. During our 2 weeks here it went out on a Sunday evening and came back on Monday morning. It was then out for a short time on Tuesday. It also went out for about 10 minutes a few nights ago. All the college buildings have back-up generators, but not the housing.

Mosquitoes
There are tons of mozzies here! I’ve had a lot of bites already because somehow the wee bast***s are getting into the house after dusk. The anopheles mosquito that can carry malaria only comes out late at night, at which time we are in bed with the mozzie net tucked snugly around us. Our research on malaria shows us that those who take Mefloquine (the one we take) rarely get malaria. Thus far we’ve been taking the weekly pills for about 6 weeks with few side effects—no horrific nightmares like we were expecting but my dreams are more vivid and Danny feels a bit queasy for a few hours after taking his dose.

Sunday mass
Since we are part of the college community we attend the services and gatherings we are invited to. There are quite a few Catholics on campus, including our next-door neighbour who is one of two Deputy Principals and in charge of Outreach Services—one of Danny’s main areas of responsibility. We attended mass one Sunday with the DP and his wife as several of the college students were getting confirmed. The Bishop performed the mass that lasted nearly 3 hours. It was conducted in a wee bit of Latin, but the rest was in the local language, Runyankole. Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyway, the mass was unlike any I’ve experienced…..happy clappy, lots of singing, some dancing, lots of speeches, applauding. We were introduced to an overflowing church in English. After mass there was non-stop hand shaking and many parishioners wanted to meet us.

As ‘special guests’ we were invited to attend lunch with the Bishop and about a dozen others. I was absolutely famished by this time as it was nearly 2pm! Lunch was delicious—rice, matoke, 2 items of food whose identity I’m still clueless about, spinach, beans, beef in a gravy, cabbage, chapatti, a fruit I couldn’t identify.

The Bishop informed us that the Archbishop for Western Uganda was educated at St. Andrew’s in Scotland. It’s kind of cute how everyone says Scot-land as 2 words.

You may be wondering about volunteering opportunities for me. It appears that due to our location it will need to be on-campus. I offered to tutor anyone who required help using computers—students or staff. The computer room for the college has ancient computers, old versions of software, a miniscule amount of memory on them….in other words, they are complete rubbish. There is only one secretary for the entire college and she uses a decent desktop and laptop. I have offered her my help in figuring out some of her software questions, and it appears I’ve volunteered myself to help her when she has a large amount of typing. Ah well…looks like at least half of each day will be housework anyway. Laundry takes ages, the floors are always needing swept, the house must be kept very clean to keep the critters to a minimum, water is always being boiled for something – to filter for drinking water, to do any washing, cleaning, laundry, dishes, etc.

A cleaning woman costs about 25,000sh/month for full-time. This is a pittance! Unfortunately, it doesn’t look likely that I can get someone to only do laundry—it’s all or none. And I don’t want a full-time maid. We’ve been told that since the cleaners earn so little that they generally supplement their income by helping themselves to their employers’ belongings. No thanks.

New photos have been uploaded to my Flickr album (see sidebar for link).

A personal note: Eugene in Dunoon—please send us your email address via the email posted in the sidebar of this blog. We fondly remember the Scottish-themed bon voyage meal at your home.

Saturday 13 October 2007

Lots of odds and ends....

To be honest, on the taxi trip from the airport to the capitol the sight of endless dismal, dreary, run-down buildings made me seriously question our decision to come here. Danny found it interesting, but I felt a bit panicky. This reaction concerned me because according to the 'culture shock timeline' this isn't supposed to happen for a few weeks. However, I'm now glad we are here and feel certain we will settle in well. We are slowly making our house quite cozy by cleaning, painting, furnishing. We are gradually accepting the fact that nothing will work as it should and that neatly packaged items needing assembly will be covered in dirt when the box is opened. This certainly makes one realize just how completely spoiled we are. The scenery surrounding us is beautiful. The open markets with all the gorgeous fruits and bright-coloured clothing are attractive as well. The best part though is the beautiful smiles on the kids with big, brown eyes who seem so thrilled to see us. Many photos are on my agenda!

Money
During our induction at VSO just after our arrival we were given in excess of 1.5 million shillings for pay advance and to get us started furnishing our house. Yes, million. However, since the exchange rate is currently 3500 sh per UK pound and 1800 per US dollar…. Some random prices—280,000 for a small, beat-up, used, refrigerator; 3,000 for a box of tissues; 500-1,000 for a fresh pineapple; 1,000 for a newspaper, 110,000 for an electric kettle….you get the idea. Most people can ill afford a computer. The cost is comparable to UK and US prices, but the wages are pennies compared to western countries. A primary school teacher makes about 200,000 a month. A low-priced laptop would cost a teacher about 5 or 6 months pay. School children all wear uniforms and most don't wear shoes.

We are slowly becoming used to the currency. Danny continues to convert shillings to pounds in order to judge a price. All the zeros in prices are difficult to deal with but with all the shopping we've done so far I'm slowly getting a grasp of prices.

Food:
Matoke: a type of banana that tastes nothing like sweet bananas--the type westerners consume. It’s mashed then cooked in the skin and has a texture similar to potatoes. It’s a bit bland but very good with gravy. A huge variety of fruits and vegetables that are very low-priced, even when we pay the muzungu (non-Africans) price. A huge bunch of sweet bananas (the type westerners eat) are only 500 sh (about 14p or 28 cents). Pineapples are so sweet and juicy—it’s like having dessert!

Staff and volunteers are offered sweet bananas and tea in the mornings, a milky, sweet tea at 11, a hot lunch, and plain tea in late afternoon. Lunch consists of the same fare every day with small variations—rice, matoke, beans in a gravy, boiled cabbage, potatoes, occasional boiled beef. We were told that volunteers often gain weight while here. Hmm…could be the very high carb diet! This government-owned college is sorely strapped for cash, so these dishes are obviously filling and cheap. Danny and I enjoy the food although it will quickly get monotonous. The students are fed the same fare but only rarely are they fed meat. There is no shortage of overweight Ugandan women, and I haven't noticed many overweight men.

Amazingly I found good peanut butter in a small supermarket in Mbarara. The label says 'American-style' and my reaction was 'yea, right', but it's true. Other western foods can be purchased here as well. I plan to make a list for future volunteers.

A day out
Friday was a public holiday so Danny and I spent the day in Mbarara on our own without having to consider the staff driver and other passengers. We walked the 2 miles down the dirt track to the main road and boarded what is called a taxi -- a 15 passenger minibus-- a common sight on the roads as the fare is dirt cheap.

We spent over an hour in the internet cafe, then walked to the Agip Motel and Restaurant which is featured in tourist books and is recommended for European meals. We had a lovely lunch of beef stir fry for Danny and a club sandwich made with chicken and lots of bacon for me. I had begun fantasizing about the bacon rolls I'd recently become addicted to so this was a real treat. We plan to have a meal at this restaurant every weekend. As this is a popular spot for safari tours and other tourists to stop, there were mostly muzungus (whites) eating there. After being the centre of attention everywhere we went and rarely seeing another white person, it felt quite strange to suddenly be surrounded by white people! An odd culture shock.

After some shopping we made our way to the main taxi area and boarded what we thought was the taxi back to the college. Miscommunication resulted in a 30 minute trip becoming a 2.5 hour trip as we were in the wrong minibus. We learned a hard lesson but now we know. Can't wait for Danny to get his motorbike!

Education in Uganda
Primary school education is now free in Uganda. However, only about 50% of children attend. Many cannot afford the uniforms and most of the ones than can don't even have shoes. So kids in bright purple or pink uniforms walked barefoot in the evenings is a common sight. The school day in primary school is from 8-5, but primary (grades) 1-3 attends until 1. Secondary schools charge tuition so attendance is even less.

Safety
We feel safe quite safe on the campus. Any thefts are opportunitistic--leaving valuables within reach of an open window and villagers' children are tempted. Rarely there have been break-ins when something highly desirable is seen through a window. There is a guard at the entrance to the campus, but local villagers work in the kitchens, gardens, and clean for some staff and their children wander the campus as well. The children have very little in the way of material goods so are especially curious to see the belongings of muzungus (us). Our house was surrounded by them on our first weekend here as whites are such a rarity and they were extremely curious about us. Many like to shake our hands just so they can touch us.

Unless we go out in the dark we are quite safe in this area and in the towns.

The college
There are 400 students at any time and there are no fees for tuition, food, housing. Books are not issued as neither the college nor the students can afford them. Most of the books in the library were donated and many are old US textbooks. Science labs are sorely lacking in equipment. The college vehicles all display USAID on the side. Although the students range in age from 18-22, most look to be about 15 or 16 to us. There is a shortage of teachers and the college cannot afford to hire more due to recent severe cutbacks in funding. We can easily foretell our favourite charity on our return home.

Danny's duties include the outreach programme which entails assisting primary teachers/headteachers, giving workshops, finding ways to get children to attend school, and teaching occasional physics classes to the college students. He has taught a couple of classes already and was impressed by how well-educated the students are.

A few odds and ends....
In the town of Mbarara we've seen numerous herons and pelicans---incredible since we are many hundreds of kilometres from the sea. We inquired of staff why this occurred and were informed that these birds don't eat fish, they eat rubbish.

It is rare to see anyone wearing eyeglasses. Is it because they all have perfect eyesight or because they can't afford eye exams and glasses?

Very rarely have we seen anyone smoking, and as I recall, it's only been whites.

I am sorely missing my washing machine. One of the major causes of my whining is doing laundry by hand with 2 plastic basins. Yes, the image of me using a washboard to do laundry sent some friends and family into hysterics. As I was squatting down on our back porch one morning washing clothes I was thinking how a photo of this would give many a good laugh. At that moment Danny walked past and commented 'I should get a photo of this!' Will add more pics later but these are schoolchildren walking past our college, and the other is our wee house.

Friday 12 October 2007

Our new abode....

Except for a brief time at VSO's main office on our arrival in Kampala, we have had no internet access. We have no transportion of our own just yet as Danny won't receive his motorbike until he has completed a week of training on Ugandan roads. This will take place immediately prior to a week of training in Ugandan culture/history at a centre near Kampala in about a month.

The trip to our residence seemed quadruple the actual distance of 180 miles. It took 5 hours by a pickup truck which contained our 4 massive suitcases, 2 backbacks, a queen-sized hard foam mattress, a 2-burner gas cooker, water filter and tank, medical kit, mozzie net, etc. I can honestly say I have never seen driving done in the fashion it is done here! The normally patient, laid-back, take-your-time Ugandans become extremely impatient when on the road. I am positively gobsmacked that I haven't yet witnessed a road accident. Money for maintaining roads is obviously unimportant. The paved roads are loaded with gigantic potholes and the dirt roads are nothing but potholes.

Danny and I have been warmly welcomed at our new home. Ugandans are polite, courteous, helpful, always shake your hand in greeting and ask how you are. Children always wave at us and adults will wave back if we initiate a greeting. I almost feel like a celebrity as we get attention wherever we go, but have never felt threatened by it--we're a curiosity. Unlike South Africa and other countries, Uganda has no history of black-white racism, no chip on their shoulders against whites. So feelings here are quite different. The staff here is simply fantastic. The principle who is head of the college is quite a character--funny, interesting, entertaining and personable. At the weekly assembly 2 days after our arrival on campus, we had our chance to be formally introduced to the student body. Right. Me. On the stage in front of over 400 people. Not my cuppa tea! The anticipation was much worse than the event. Due to the sea of smiling, welcoming faces all vying for our attention, it wasn't a horrific experience for me. Danny, of course, was in his element!

The college:
Bishop Stuart Primary Teachers' College teaches 400 students aged 18-22 to be primary school teachers. More in a later post.

The campus...
....is located about 10 miles from the moderate-sized town of Mbarara. The main road to town is paved but the campus is 3km off the main road on a dirt track. The ride down this road is much like being put into a washing machine! Beautiful rolling hills surround the campus as well as occasional tiny villages of mainly muc houses, and endless fields of matoke, a staple of the Ugandan diet. The students live in dorms and most of the staff live on campus in semi-detached houses.

Our house....
.....has 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, shower room, and toilet room. Yes, we have a flushing toilet!! We have no hot water tank so any hot water must be boiled in the electric kettle. You may deduce from this this means cold showers! Och, ya get used to it. Keep in mind it doesn't get cold here. All the rooms in the house are tiny but the fact that is has 2 bedrooms means we have one room just for clothes, storage and ironing. The house was furnished with a table and 2 chairs. That's it. Therefore....

Shopping:
Thus far we have made 3 trips into town with staff drivers to buy everything to furnish a house. Since we are muzungus (foreigners) we are obviously wealthy. Most shops don't have pricetags-except supermarkets-so one must bargain. We are, of course, overcharged on everything.

Unlike Kampala, the capitol, there are no shopping malls in Mbarara. There are endless small shops and w/o a guide it would be difficult to know where to go. Our purchases have included: upholstered chairs, end tables, small fridge, small tv, dishes, pots, pans, towels, sheets, pillows, iron and ironing board (yes, everything must be ironed), etc etc etc....

The items for sale here are of extremely poor quality. Very few can afford high quality goods. As far as I can tell most items are made in China, but they are items that would never be sold to the US or UK. The poorest quality are sold to African countries. During all the cleaning, frustrations of shopping, sorting, assembling poorly-made items there could be heard tortured moans of 'my kingdom for Ikea!'.

Misc....
We must sleep under a mozzie net. All water used for drinking and cooking must be boiled and filtered. Clothes are washed by hand!

The climate is gorgeous....in the 70's and 80's all the time.

Our postal address:
c/o
Bishop Stuart Primary Teachers' College
PO 152
Mbarara
Uganda

We both have mobile phones and coverage is good. I have sent and received text messages to the UK w/o trouble. Since the US system charges for incoming texts, I haven't sent any. If anyone would like our mobile numbers, just email me.

The campus has no phone lines. Everyone uses mobiles. I believe the phone lines were laid but are too expensive to connect. We hope to make it to an internet cafe weekly by going in with staff drivers. When Danny gets his motorbike we'll be able to go more often, and knowing Danny, he'll find a way to network the campus!

Next visit to internet cafe.....electricity, food, currency, BBC World Service.....

Wednesday 3 October 2007

We're here! First impressions...

Arrived safely around 8am Monday morning. The flight left about 1.5 hours late. Entebbe Airport is tiny!

If I had to describe Ugandans in one word I would say FRIENDLY.

Not a lot of time to post, so briefly....Monday we were quite exhausted and took a long nap. The hotel VSO put us in was very pleasant, clean, had good food - I had goat stew last night! - and the staff go out of their way to help you.

Tuesday we spent all day at the VSO office getting our own personalized induction since we are 'out of cycle'.

Today we are being taken shopping for a mattress and a cooker and this afternoon we have a 4 hour trip to our new home near Mbarara. We'll be travelling by a VSO vehicle.

Next post.....the currency, the roads, the drivers.....

Thursday 20 September 2007

Final plans

Today we received our passports with Uganda residency visas as well as our airline confirmation for Sept 30th. Everything regarding letting out the house, utilities, packing up the house, cars, etc has been done. We've had all our immunizations and got our supply of anti-malarials which we've already begun taking. Just the final packing and a few odds and ends to complete.

We are now in the process of saying goodbye to our friends and Danny's relatives and it's been difficult and sad. Both Danny and I are excited about going but are beginning to get a bit nervous as it's sinking in that we really are going.

Probably won't post again until after we arrive in Uganda for our in-country-training.

Friday 14 September 2007

Motivation for going.....

The reactions we've received when describing our upcoming placement have varied from "are you insane?" to "you two are saints" and everything in between. When describing how 'un-modern' our accommodations will be I've garnered looks of horror....okay, maybe not quite horror but definitely distaste.

I made a few comments in the beginning of this blog regarding my motivation but thought I'd do so again.

So, why have I agreed to this venture with Danny aside from the fact that he wants to do it and has much to contribute to any education system?

  • adventure
  • help people much less fortunate than myself
  • experience a culture firsthand which is vastly different from any in which I've lived
  • learn how spoiled, pampered and wealthy I really am
  • leave my safe and secure environment and expand my view of the world
  • live in a place long-term in order to examine/change my own values
  • learn that simplicity really is the best way - see that I have way too much 'stuff'
  • return home with a much greater appreciation of what I have

Wednesday 12 September 2007

Back from holiday and in high gear!

We returned from Michigan today and enjoyed a very full and fantastic 3 week visit with family along with a relaxing time on our own in the northern area of the state. We left quite a pile of money at REI, another outdoor centre, and a few other shops in order to stock up on Uganda-appropriate clothing and supplies.

Our calendar is quite full for the next couple of weeks with all the things we need to finalize and sort out as well as visiting with friends and Danny's family before we leave. Our friends/future tenants are all set to move into our house. Danny also has motorcycle tests and a few more immunizations.

Some family members from both sides of the family have promised to visit us in Uganda and go on a safari.

Since returning home I've been hit with the realization that we're really going to do this. !!Although I find the image of my pre-departure to-do list more daunting than the images of washboards, pit toilets, malaria-carrying mozzies, and lack of other conveniences.

Countdown: 18 days to departure

Monday 20 August 2007

We have a departure date

We were just informed that we are flying to Uganda on September 30th. Yikes! This is really happening.

No stress here. We arrive back from our holiday on the 12th. Plenty of time to do a million things!

Wednesday 8 August 2007

More courses

Next week Danny is attending a 3-day course entitled 'Organisational Development'. The course is for 'volunteers who will be working with or supporting an organisation with emphasis on facilitating change and developing organisational capacity'.


The day after this course ends he will be participating in the motorcycle training course since a motorcycle will be his means of transport between the various schools.

A few days after he returns home we will depart for a 3-week holiday to visit with my family, attend my nephew's wedding and also to kayak, bike, and hike around Sleeping Bear Dunes in northern Michigan. When we return we'll be doing the chaotic final prep for our departure.

Saturday 4 August 2007

Departure date?

We've been informed that our flights are booked for 21 Sept. However, we cannot be ready by that date due to a holiday which has been booked for many months. Danny also needs a 4-day motorbike course and will not be able to attend one before that departure date.

So we will leave later, possibly by the 1st of October. Our friends who will be renting our house while we are away are anxious to move in by then as well.

I am having trouble arranging for a TB test and BCG vaccination as I can't have any other type of vaccination within 3 weeks of a BCG. The test and vaccination are not given locally so I will have to travel to get them, and will have to take place in the last two weeks of September.

Friday 3 August 2007

SKWID Course

Over 4 days Danny attended the Skills for Working in Development Course as well as the Health and Security Workshop. As is usual, the courses were held in Harborne Hall in Birmingham.

The H & S Workshop which lasts for 4 hours covers:
Daily Routines
Water Use & Treatment
Personal Security, Safety
Psychological Adaptation
HIV/Sexual Health
Medical Plenary

SKWID covers topics such as:

VSO’s Approach to Development
Diversity and Disadvantage
Effective Communication and Building Relationships
Issues and Strategies
Communication
Overcoming Language Barriers
Volunteer Roles
Exploring Participatory Approaches
Building Bridges
Preparing and Practising Facilitation
Networking and Mobilising Resources
Guidelines on deciding negotiation strategies
Corruption and Conflict
Conflict Management
Dealing with differences and managing conflict

Danny found the course to be long and tiring, but overall he enjoyed it. The group work and role-playing was enjoyable and thought-provoking. Of course, the group enjoyed socializing in the bar at the end of each evening.

Monday 30 July 2007

Mbarara, Uganda

No contract or definite departure date yet, but almost definitely our home for the next two years will be in a village just a few km west of the town of Mbarara which is the main municipality of the Mbarara District. It is located in southwest Uganda (see map in the sidebar). Danny will be working for a primary teaching college in education management. His duties vary and include supporting headteachers and teachers in the district, involving the community in education issues, and developing a resource centre for schools.

Links and maps are in the sidebar.

Mbarara District and Mbarara Town

Population:
  • Mbarara Town: 70,000

  • Mbarara District: over 1 million

Typical foods:

  • Fruits: mangoes, pineapples, bananas (endless varieties), pawpaw, jackfruit, passionfruit, avocadoes, dudhi (melon), oranges, lemons, tangerines. A variety of vegetables are grown as well. Vanilla is a big export product.

  • Matoke: a staple dish in Uganda which is a type of plantain banana. It is cooked in a peanut sauce with fish, meat or entrails.

  • Stews, beans, smoked or dried fish, beef, potatoes, yams

  • Junk food and chocolate can be found! I've been clued in to the ease of finding Pringles, Nutella, and Mars Bars but I will try to ignore them except for occasional treats.
Crime:
  • Mbarara Town and surrounding areas seem to be relatively safe. Crime is generally of the type you will find in most cities in most countries--purse snatching, robberies, house break-ins. We are advised not to go out in the dark or travel on roads in the evenings.
Living conditions:
  • Electricity is generally available every other day unless you have your own generator.

  • Water must be filtered and boiled

  • Clothes driers are obviously not used in most homes. All clothing must either be thoroughly ironed or not used or worn for 48 hours. The reason for this is that when you hang your laundry out to dry mango flies will lay eggs on them, which will then burrow into your skin after making direct contact. Ironing will kill the eggs or when left for 48 hours they die on their own. Yuck.

  • Toilets. Apparently a flushing toilet is not that common outside of posh hotels. It's considered to be nearly a luxury to have your very own pit toilet. We will be given our own home or flat and will have running water-possibly only from an outside tap, and whether a pit or proper flushing toilet is a surprise we'll have to wait for.

  • We will have a refrigerator but will need to limit the amount of times it's opened on off-electric days. There are bottled gas refrigerators which would solve that problem.

  • In many areas it is expected that we will give a housekeeping job to a local woman. Hmm... do something good and get a maid!

  • Shopping. It seems that Mbarara will have nearly everything we need. If we can't find it there we can probably find it in the capital, Kampala. Street markets will have a huge variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

  • We will have access to the internet and even if it is broadband it will likely remind us of the early days of dial-up connections.

  • Mobile phones are common and we will use these instead of landlines.

  • Uganda is in the process of switching from analog television to digital.

Climate and Critters:

  • Mbarara District has a pleasant, tropical climate. Temperatures range between a night-time low of 14C (58F) to a maximum daytime temperature of 30C (86F). Sounds brilliant to me! The rainy season falls between mid August to December and mid February to May.

  • Daily applications of sunscreen and Deet are mandatory. It is recommended that we wear light-coloured clothing including 100% cotton loose trousers, long-sleeved loose fitting tops. Wrap skirts or dresses are favoured by women and bright colours are common in many African countries. Wearing shorts by either sex is frowned on unless they are long shorts (3/4 or capri pants). Due to the elevation there aren't as many mosquitoes, but it only takes one to give you malaria. We will, of course, be taking anti-malarial medication faithfully.
Location:
  • Mbarara Town is located at an elevation of 1,480 metres (4,850 feet)

  • The equator is about 40 miles(?) north of Mbarara Town

  • Mbarara Town has a university and several colleges

Republic of Uganda:

  • Chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (since seizing power 26 January 1986)

  • Independence: 9 October 1962 (from UK) It is still a member of the Commonwealth.

  • Capital: Kampala

  • Major airport: Entebbe

  • Population: approx 30 million in 2007

  • Size: 236,000 sq km - slightly smaller than the US state of Oregon

  • Religion: Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census)

Landscape, Location, Attractions:

  • Uganda's great natural beauty led Winston Churchill to call it 'the pearl of Africa'.
  • Uganda is in East Africa and straddles the equator.

  • The country is bordered by Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo. Lake Victoria forms much of the border between Uganda and Tanzania. See map in sidebar.

  • Uganda has rain forests, mountains, lakes and the origin of the Nile

  • Gorilla and chimpanzee tracking on guided trips

  • Uganda has ten national parks, ten wildlife reserves and seven wildlife sanctuaries, some of which are acclaimed as being amongst Africa's best. The country's main wildlife attraction for foreign visitors is the rare mountain gorilla, found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, both in the southwest of the country.

  • Safaris

  • Wildlife: gorilla, chimp, baboon, elephant, crocodile, lion, hippo, giraffe, cheetah, buffalo, and a variety of birds

Language:

  • English is the official language of Uganda and is used in government, business and in education.

  • There are many tribal languages and we will be learning basic phrases of the language in our area. We can expect that many of the people we deal with in the markets, etc. will not be fluent in English. It also aids us in making local friends and endears us to them when we make an effort to learn their language.

Danger in Uganda:
  • VSO does not send volunteers to dangerous areas and if an area becomes dangerous, volunteers are evacuated.

  • 99+% of VSO volunteers return home alive and well. The majority of volunteers who die during their placement are due to road accidents.

  • Rebel insurgents are in northern, northeastern, northwestern, and western Uganda at the DRC border. The southwest is safe except for occasional trouble at the Rwanda-Uganda border.

  • A brief history of the Uganda Civil War.

Many people have visions of volunteers as those who go to war-torn areas, areas of extreme famine, or sites of natural disasters. However, we are not with the Red Cross or any other emergency relief organization. Danny will be working for a local employer who provides a reasonable living allowance and housing. VSO provides support and pays for all medical needs for both of us.

Thursday 26 July 2007

More about vaccinations

Today I had jabs for hepatitis A, tetanus, and typhoid. As is always true with tetanus, my arm will be very sore later today. As I recall it feels similar to being hit with a sledgehammer....or what I imagine it would feel like. The typhoid has been the only one which actually was painful while being injected. The jabs I still need to get are my 3rd rabies, 2nd hepatitis B, and BCG (TB), although when we arrive in our country we will need a hep A booster and the 3rd hep B. Next appointment I will also be given the cholera vaccine but it is ingested orally.

Danny is off to Birmingham today for the second training course, so he still has to receive the 3 jabs I got today.



Monday 23 July 2007

A new British citizen

Today was my British citizenship ceremony. There were 4 speakers, one of which was the registrar whose role was to administer the oath and pledge. I was only allowed 3 guests even though we had a room full of empty chairs, so it was Danny and our dear friends next door, Margaret and Peter.

It was a bit strange.....actually very strange, as the only person being granted citizenship at the ceremony. All the other Americans I know have had large ceremonies, but they are all in large cities.

The ceremony took place in Dunoon Castle in the same room in which Danny and I got married seven years ago.


I am now a dual US-UK citizen, and will have two passports.

Thursday 19 July 2007

Jabs, jags, shots.....immunizations

We've been feeling like pin cushions - 5 vaccinations so far- and no reactions other than sore arms and Danny had slightly swollen glands with one of them. We also had blood drawn for grouping. The requirements for Uganda are:

  • Series of 3 rabies
  • Yellow Fever
  • Series of 3 Hepatitis B
  • Hepatitis A
  • DPT (diphtheria, polio, tetanus)
  • Meningococcal Meningitis
  • Typhoid
  • Cholera


Since BCG (for TB) was routinely done on children in the UK when Danny was a child, he doesn't need to get one. However, for some reason American children were not vaccinated, so I need to get one. Oh joy.

We've ordered our anti-malarials after quite a bit of research as to which side effects are the lesser of the evils. Any are better than full-blown malaria though.

Our placement has not been definitely confirmed yet. Still waiting, and waiting.....

Saturday 7 July 2007

Courses for Volunteers

Just thought I'd explain about the courses that volunteers and their partners attend as those who are not involved in this process will not have a clue what I'm writing about.

The course we attended last weekend was called P2V - Preparing to Volunteer. This is the first course in a series of courses. All new volunteers must take this course as well as accompanying partners such as myself. It gives an overview of what volunteers do, why and where they are needed, HIV/AIDS, the fear volunteers have that they won't make a difference, an idea of why there is such crushing poverty.....an amount of information that more than fills the 77 page course booklet. There are group activities, case studies, videos, role-playing by the trainers, etc.

The P2V course is not specific to the various professions involved in volunteering. So our group consisted of aspiring volunteers in education, the environment, business, medical, as well as three of us who are non-volunteering, accompanying partners. Some in our group already have definite placements. Countries of placement are Ethiopia, Namibia, Ghana, Viet Nam, and I believe a couple of others including our possible placement in Uganda. Country-specific training does not take place until we actually arrive in our country to begin our placement.

Since I am only asked to attend the above course and the 4.5 hour Health and Security Workshop, I was booked to leave this course early and attend the HSW which was following that same day. This course is the first section of the course called SKWID (Skills for Working in Development) which is for volunteers only. It was nonsensical for me to travel all the way back to Birmingham later to take a 4.5 hour course. Our P2V course happened to end early so I did not need to miss any of that course. A quick lunch and I began the workshop with a whole new group of volunteers.

The Health and Security Workshop was quite informative. It focuses on how to keep yourself healthy while abroad, focusing on clean water, malaria, HIV/AIDS etc. Personal safety was also discussed and how to deal with certain situations and keep yourselves out of danger. I didn't spend much time with this group but all had defnite placements in countries such as Uganda, Guyana, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, The Gambia, Cambodia, Mongolia.....

For those who have been accepted by VSO, you will find the password for the Volzone in your acceptance packet. The Volzone is filled with information such as full course outlines. Go to:
Volzone - Pre-departure - Training and Self-briefing. There are PDF files for all courses.

Monday 2 July 2007

P2V & HSW courses

Danny and I completed the P2V (Preparing to Volunteer) course this weekend. There was an incredible amount of information to absorb and it was completely exhausting. However, most of us managed to revive ourselves every evening in the on-site bar. I found the format quite effective although the words 'get into groups' began to elicit universal groans after about the 20th time! The trainers were brilliant and my course recommendation was to add a day to the training and to stop earlier in the day. 9:00 am to 8pm was simply too much to cope with. Input overload!

Our group of 18 participants were incredible....articulate, funny, lovely and immensely likable people. Emails have been exchanged and I hope we do stay in touch. I was one of three accompanying (non-volunteering) partners.

As an accompanying partner I am only invited to attend the P2V and the Health and Security Workshops. Since the HSW was beginning just after the P2V I was booked to attend that, and Danny will attend it in combination with the SKWID (Skills for Working in Development) later. So while I dragged my exhausted self into the next course, barely having time for a quick lunch, Danny did research in the library on Uganda.

VSO courses are held in Harborne Hall in Birmingham, an 18th century residential hall and former nunnery. We were given small but adequate rooms, cafeteria-style meals, and there is also a bar on the premises. The only time I left the building at all was to a local pub for a couple of hours one evening. The building has a bit of shabbiness about it with the carpets in need of cleaning, but I found the building to be so full of character I barely noticed what needed improving.

Since our journey home is long and I didn't finish my second course until 6:00 pm, we were booked to stay an additional night. So we are free this evening.