How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria...er, Aubrey

            It looks as though I will need to watch "The Sound of Music" because I am living at a school that is funded by nuns and next door to a convent.  I just got back from my site visit and I had a great time.  It was, however, a bit of a reality check.  I have been spoiled at my homestay (which we all knew) and it was strange to be isolated from Americans for three days.  Overall, I loved my site though and I am really excited to move in two weeks!

            Peace Corps finally told us our sites on Monday, and we could all hardly contain our excitement while we waited for the announcements.  We were given where we would work, a brief description of our responsibilities, our counterpart’s name and contact info and instructions for how to get to site.  Bethany and I are going to be working at different Coordinating Centers, which are both under the same PTC – so we have the same supervisor.  I guess this caused some confusion with site announcements because I was given her counterpart’s info as well as instructions on how to get to her site.  Thankfully, I realized we had the exact same instructions and was able to clarify with Mary (the head trainer).  She said she would give me the right information the next day…she didn’t.  I asked her for the information and she said she forgot to bring the paper (even thought I was leaving the next day!!).  She said that I should just take a bus to Budaka and my counterpart would meet me there.  So I said, “I’m supposed to take a bus to Budaka, get off and someone will just be there to meet me.  I don’t have any contact information, how will they know when I will get there?”  Mary assured me that it would be fine and someone would just be there, and I could ask Bethany for the supervisor’s contact info if I had any questions.  To me this didn’t seem like the greatest idea – heading off to a small town with not a clue as to whom I was meeting and where exactly I was supposed to meet up with him.  But hey, this is the Peace Corps.  Ryan, Caroline, Bethany and I all decided to travel together since we were heading in the same direction.  We stopped off in Jinja on the way with some other volunteers in the east and ate lunch.  Jinja is a pretty touristy town; hence we had some great American food!  I was also able to get a hold of my supervisor who gave me my counterpart’s contact info.  After lunch, we took a taxi heading towards Mbale and one by one we got off at our designated sites.  We all sort of looked like lost puppies, and it was quite entertaining.  I was the third stop and I got off in Budaka.  I got off the taxi, and looked around as boda boda drivers kept shouting “MZUNGU MZUNGU” and “Where are you going!?!.”  I tried my best to walk with a purpose, but really I was thinking, “WTF am I doing right now?”  I called my counterpart who said, “I see you, walk towards the red motorcycle and I will meet you there.”  I looked around trying to spot this person who could supposedly see me, but there were too many men on cell phones to pick him out.  Of course he could spot me though, I don’t exactly “blend in” being the only white person in this town.  I finally met my counterpart, Cosmas, within the next few minutes, and I started to relax and feel more comfortable.   

            Cosmas first took me to the Budaka Coordinating Center where I will be working as a Primary School Teacher Trainer.  A Coordinating Center overlooks schools in its catchment area (12 to 200 schools) and provides training and support for teachers.  The Budaka CC has 25 schools in its catchment area, including the “model school” in which the CC is located at.  I will be working closely with Cosmas, who is the Coordinating Center Tutor (CCT).  I will help him organize and provide in-service training to teachers through workshops, create a resource room using local materials and ensure schools are following the curriculum set by the Ministry of Education. Since the CC is located at the Budaka Primary School, I will also be teaching a few classes.  Cosmas showed me around the school, introduced me to a few teachers and gave me a basic run through of my responsibilities.  Afterwards, he took me to see where I would be living.  Usually Peace Corps Volunteers will live in teacher housing at their CC, but Budaka CC did not have any accommodations for me.  So, I am living 4km away (yup, I have to get a bike!) at St. Clare’s All Girls Primary School (more commonly known as Namengo Girls) in teacher housing. 

            My house is way bigger than I expected.  I have a sitting room, huge bedroom, a “washroom” and a kitchen.  I have a bathing area attached to my house, and then a pit latrine.  It's a little awkward to have to go outside to get to my bathing room - I can't walk outside in just my towel.  I also usually have to make two trips: 1. Carry in my bucket of water; 2. Carry in my change of clothes, towel, soap, shampoo, and conditioner.  I need to get some sort of shower caddy - college dorm style!   I do not have running water, but I do have electricity (occasionally).  I wish you could all see the wiring of my house; it looks like a four year old set it up!  I would not be surprised if it started a fire one day or if I electrocute myself.  Other volunteers from different organizations have stayed in the house before, so there were a lot of paintings on the walls as well as some furniture.  I really liked the house, but I cannot wait to thoroughly bleach the place when I move in. 

            Cosmas did not actually know I was coming for site visit, so he was not able to show me around the next two days.  He felt bad, but it worked out really well in the end.  I was able to hang out at Namengo and meet my neighbors, the teachers and a lot of the students.  They want me to teach P6 and P7 math a few times while I am there, and Cosmas thought it was a great idea – so I’m pretty excited about that.  I met with so many people during site visit, I’m not sure I kept all of the names straight.  I also got a lot of tea!  Everyone insisted that I take tea, and it’s seen as rude to refuse.  I think I made a good first impression because they were all sad to see me leave and said they were excited for me to come back and move in.  I think I am really going to like my site, and I cannot wait to officially move in! 

            The ride back home was interesting, as it always is when riding a taxi.  I met up with Ryan and Caroline because their sites are relatively close to me.  We piled in a taxi and thought we had filled it to capacity.  Wrong.  Just because a taxi is made for 15 passengers, this is the village and anything goes.  The driver kept stopping to pick up more people and cram them in.  At one point a lady got on and moved to sit next to Ryan, he looked at her and gave a face like “You honestly think you can squeeze in here?”  Well, turns out she could because the conductor insisted.  Another man came on with a live chicken that he put under my seat.  I kept accidentally kicking it and it would flap its feathers and peck me.  I could not stop laughing - I was crammed in between two Ugandans, my overstuffed backpack on my lap and a chicken pecking me.  Not to mention, we had 23 people crammed in this van.  I really wish I had been able to move to take a photo.  I forgot how much I loved public transportation in Africa.  Also, taxis will usually turn off the car when sitting in traffic (to save gas, I think?), but they won’t turn off the engines to fill up for gas!  When I asked about this, I was assured that it was fine because there is always a fire extinguisher on every corner.  Right… 

            I am so excited that this is the last week of official training and we get sworn in next week.  We take the LPI on Friday, and hopefully I’m a little calmer this time around.

Here are some photos of my house.  I made a video, but it was not uploading because the internet is too slow. 

My dinner one night - posho and greens.   

Sitting Room

The "washroom" - I'm not so sure what I am supposed to wash in here

Kitchen

My bedroom

View from the front of my house

My digs for the next two years

St. Clare's Primary School

The kids filling up the jerry cans from the borehole

They wanted to take a real picture