Boy or Girl?

            One of the many things that I find amusing in Uganda is that there is not a distinction between “men’s” and “women’s” clothing.  This is not to say that men walk around wearing dresses, but you will find them wearing lacey women’s tops, hot pink shoes, or women’s dress pants.  There have been many times I have tried not to laugh at a grown man’s bedazzled shirt.  For example, Emma, the little boy next door, has a favorite pair of pink, short overalls – clearly made for a girl.  The other day, however, his wardrobe went to a whole new level.  He was wearing a royal blue dress.  I kept doing a double take and asking myself, “Is he a boy?”  I spent the whole day trying to determine the answer.  Sure his name is Emma, but I was pretty sure that was short for Emmanuel.  Plus, his sister’s name is Kevin – so the idea of sex-based names was sort of thrown out the window.  I really wished I could just take a peek under his dress without being a perv.  Well, this morning, the mystery was finally solved.  He was outside taking his bath and I confirmed in a non-creepy way that he is in fact a boy.  Phew!  Another one of Uganda’s mysteries solved. 

             You know that saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”?  I have never seen an idiom hold so true as I have here in Uganda.  Whenever I go to the trash pit, it is a free for all.  The kids coming running to see what sort of goodies they can dig out of my trash bag.  Peanut butter jars, empty bottles, boxes, paper – you name it, they want it.  Last week, I threw away my trash and minutes later Dennis came knocking on my door.  He was holding up my old, used razor blade and said, “You shave your face!?” while pretending to shave his chin with the razor.  I laughed and reassured him that I do not shave my face, but mzungu girls shave their legs.  I also told him that he shouldn’t be playing with the razor and he should go throw it back in the trash pit.  He looked at me with some confusion and asked, “You mean like this?” and proceeded to shave his legs with the razor.  I snatched it from him and said, “No, really, you should not be playing with this.  You could cut yourself and it’s unsanitary to use some else’s razor blade.”  Of course, this went way over his head – safety is not a big thing here among kids.  Youngsters often run with knives (literally!).  I took the razor back and decided I would throw it away in Mbale.

                       Chelsea and I have been really committed to “Active April” – Chelsea wants to look good for her boyfriend that comes in two weeks.  I am just along for the ride for moral support.  This past weekend, we decided to climb Wanale Cliff, which is just behind Mbale – it’s almost like the backdrop to the city.    

You can see Wanale Cliff in the background of this photo

           There is no designated hiking trail, but Ryan gave us “directions.”  His directions consisted of routes like “take the shitty road on the right that goes up” and “there is a sort of fork in the road, go left.”  Of course we missed this so-called fork in the road because it was actually a left turn, so we went in a round about way to find a path for this cliff.  Thankfully, Ugandans are extremely helpful when you ask for directions.  So we were led to a path that we could take up the hill.  A lot of the times we were walking through people’s property and gardens, but everyone just waved hello to the mzungu and told us which way to turn.    

            Wanale Cliff hike started off relatively easy because it was just a wide dirt road. Towards the end, however, the hike was very steep and we had to climb up a lot of rocks – we took breaks every three minutes.  The whole time we kept saying, “Going down is going to be extremely interesting.”  Of course, Ugandans who live on this cliff were running up and down no problem.  Two men were carrying matoke on their heads and they didn’t even look like they were breaking a sweat.  Also, a grandma was booking it up the cliff no problem.  I swear Ugandans are of a different breed.  We were both drenched in sweat and near the end, it did not feel like we were getting any closer to the top.    Two kids, about 8 years old, followed us the last leg and I am sure they were thinking, “Man, these white girls are slow!”  We finally reached the top and it was beautiful.  You could see far out past Mbale, green grass was everywhere, and there was a stream and a waterfall.  Well worth the hike!  We brought a bag of salt & vinegar chips and bread and peanut butter to make sandwiches.  A sandwich always tastes the best after a long hike!

            We decided we wanted to go to this rock at the edge of the cliff to eat because it had a great view and looked awesome.  When we got there, we realized that we had to jump over a crevice.  We debated, “Is this a bad idea?  What if we fall and get stuck?  Or just drop to our death.”  Well, one of the little kids just looked at us and hopped up on the rock ledge no problem.  Needless to say, we felt pretty lame.  Nevertheless, we practically crawled across in fear of falling through.  The kids stared at us like vultures while we were eating and they kept inching closer and closer, but we didn’t want to give them any food until after we were done.  We knew it would be like pigeons, they’d come for more and bring their friends.  Do not worry, we gave them all our left overs when we were done - we are not that big of jerks. 

            Unfortunately, our great lunch was cut short because it started to pour rain.  Of course we didn’t have our rain jackets and it was freezing.  The rain eased up after we moved and we decided that we really wanted to finish our salt & vinegar chips.  We were munching away and we could see rain clouds coming in the distance.  We also heard thunder and saw lightening – not the greatest thing to see/hear at the top of a cliff.  Chelsea and I were discussing how we should probably head back, but we really wanted to finish our chips.  However, after Chelsea mentioned that you should get into a ditch if lightening gets really close, we decided it was probably time to make moves.  Thankfully, going down was actually a lot easier – minus all the slipping and sliding in the mud.  Also, we dodged the storm so we didn’t have to lie in any ditches. 

            This week I am helping Chelsea cut cloth for RUMPS and I am hanging out with Eva, Janet and Isaac.  (They are also helping me cut!).  Next week we have mid-service training and then I am off to Egypt.  So, it may be a while until you hear from me, again – but I will be sure to post when I get back.

This lady was really excited to take a picture with Chelsea

The hike started off so easy...

Halfway to the top!  Mbale and beyond

Nap time!

Looks safe, right?

We made it!

                    

                 Crossing the crevice! Eek

                   

                  Getting a little too close to the edge for comfort there, buddy!

The slices of bread were cut a little unevenly in our bag of bread.  Oh Uganda...

The lunch spot

            A while back, Eva and Sara brushed out my hair because they love to play with it.  I am sure you can all imagine what my curly hair looked like after it was brushed out - a lion's mane.  Afterward, Sara told me that I looked like Princess Mia from the "Princess Diaries" before she got pretty.  Sara, Eva, Janet, Isaac, Osborne, Oswald, and Jimmy decided they wanted to draw me.  Take a look at all their lovely portraits of me - real self esteem boost!

At least I have boobs and arm muscles!

Does this picture make me look fat?

Sara, this is why you're my favorite.  I don't look too awful. 

Look at that cleavage!  Osborne, gold star. 

And, my personal favorite.  Thank you, Isaac.

Why I Will Find A Job

           Now that I have passed the year mark, everyone seems to love to ask what I will be doing once I finish my service.   A few of us have started thinking about it, but the idea of entering the “real world” gives most of us anxiety.  Chelsea and I were recently talking about how we will have to update our resumes before we apply to grad school or for jobs.  We were joking around about what we would actually put for our Peace Corps description – “Ate a lot of waffles, pooped in my hand, and oh yeah, I started a library or something.”  Even though we were joking, it got me thinking about the qualities of a Peace Corps Volunteer that make us unique and desirable prospective employees or grad students:

Innovative:

• Out of toilet paper?  No problem.  PCVs are all too familiar with this dilemma and we have developed some alternatives:

1.     Newspaper

2.     Paper (some love using the cover page of students’ exams)

3.     Socks

4.     $30 Dermalogica face wipes (I’ll let you all take a guess as to who this was.)

• Dental hygiene products have multiple uses!  Dental floss can be used as a clothesline and toothpaste can be used to hang up pictures.
• Kiddie pools make great bathtubs 

Trilingual:

We have learned our local language, but that’s not all!  PCVs in Uganda have truly mastered “Uganglish.”  We use phrases like “eh, soddy!” and “thank you for your work.”  Our phrases are accompanied by a weird accent that we believe helps Ugandans understand us better.  You might be thinking this is like speaking English with a Spanish accent when you go to Mexico.  Unfortunately, you’re probably right.  Nevertheless, we still do it because Ugandans really do understand us better.

Good Communication Skills:

• PCVs can really talk about poop and we don’t spare any of the dirty details.
• PCVs can spend the whole day talking about food and we usually do. 
• We gossip, a lot.  Peace Corps is like high school all over again.  In the bush, with not much to do, there is nothing we love more than to discuss hot hook ups and break ups.
• In large groups, we are very good at utilizing the f bomb.

Punctual:

We arrive to meetings forty-five minutes late and we are still early.

Easy Going:

It’s raining?  Don’t worry; we will have no problem not showing up to work today.  We have a date with our couch and some episodes of Friends.  And you know what?  We probably won’t show up for work tomorrow either.

Economical:

PCVs won’t let anything go to waste.  The other night I made fried rice for dinner and I knocked my plate off of the table.  Rice spilled everywhere – the floor, the walls, and all over me.  Did I still eat it?  Yes!  My friend, Lauren, asked me if I at least recooked it a little.  Nope!  That would have wasted my precious propane (and my time!).  I just scooped it up with my hands, threw it on my plate, and enjoyed.  I only found one hair, which I think is pretty good.  I’m sure there was some dirt, ants, and lizard poop mixed in – but I’m a fan of the adage “what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”    

First-Aid Experience:

• Experts in jigger and mango fly removal.
• Diagnosticians: PCVs love to call each other and rattle off symptoms in order to get a diagnosis.  Sometimes, we prefer this to calling our medical staff because we fancy ourselves as doctors.
• We know the antibiotics you should take for the following ailments: bacterial infections, malaria, amoebic dysentery, and schistosomiasis.  

Committed:

PCVs are not afraid of a challenge – we will give more than 100%:

• Recently, two girls in my group had a contest to see who could go the longest without bathing.  After 18 days, they called a truce.  I am pretty sure Ryan wishes that he had been a contestant because a bath every 18 days is “clean” for him.    
• A PC training group before mine had a rolex-eating contest.  (A rolex is two eggs rolled up in a chapatti.  A chapatti is like a tortilla, but it’s made from oil and flour).  The contest was to see who could eat the most in 24 hours.  I believe the winner ate 21.  I might have this wrong because it’s word of mouth, but I do know someone definitely ate 18.  So that’s 18 chapattis and 36 eggs in 24 hours…
• Ryan, Caroline and I had a contest one month to see who could save the most money.  In an effort to win, Ryan rode his bike to and from Mbale (30km each way) to save 4,000 shillings.  That’s less than $3.  I wish I could say he won, but Caroline blew us both out of the water.       

Work Well with Others:

Rats, spiders, bats, cockroaches?  There is no problem – we can live and work in harmony with these creatures.

As you can see, I don’t think that I will have a hard time finding a job when I get home.  Who wouldn’t want to hire a returned PCV? 

In other news, Chelsea wrote another blog post: "Text from Uganda part deux."  Here is a little preview:

• “It is not a good sign when my younger brother, upon hearing how much money I make, says sheesh you broke as a joke”
• “The kids were being brats and throwing trash under my door.  So I said no coloring today.  One said, “no, just beat me.” Haha
• “lmao! Who is afraid of butterflies? you are fantastic.”
• “My house has been infested by giant moths.  this is unreasonable.”

        To read more: http://ugandareadthis-iaintlion.blogspot.com/2012/04/texts-from-uganda-part-deux.html  As you might have already guessed, a lot of these texts were written by me.  Prize for the person who guesses all of the ones that I sent!

True Confessions

           One year ago, I came to Namengo Girls for “future site visit.”  I was reading through my site visit blog post and I realized that I seriously played down my experience.  I did not want to freak out all of you back home and have you thinking that I was going to be miserable for the next two years.  Now that I have been at site for almost a year, and I can honestly say that I love it, I will tell you how I actually felt about future site visit.

            Let me just start of by saying that I did not have a “great time” like I led you all to believe.  I was honest about one thing in my blog: future site visit was a reality check.  For eight weeks, I was in the company of 43 other Americans and I was living in a really nice homestay.  I was completely thrown for a loop when I arrived at Namengo Girls and saw where I would be living for the next two years.  I think the best word to describe my future site visit experience is “terrifying” – it was a three-day anxiety attack.  First of all, my house was pretty dirty when I arrived.  The walls were black in some parts, there were tiny bugs everywhere, and there were tons of termite mounds.  The electricity looked like an 8-year old had hooked it up because there were stray wires everywhere.  The house was barren because I did not have any of my things with me except for a few changes of clothes – it did not feel like “home.”  My neighbors and fellow teachers came to greet me, but it was really overwhelming and I couldn’t keep their names straight.  Also, I had to completely rely on Sauya for my food, drinks, and bathing water – I felt pretty helpless as I sat on my couch waiting for my dinner to be delivered. 

            Cosmas, my counterpart, was not aware that I would be in town for future site visit.  He picked me up when I arrived, but he had prior engagements for the next three days.  Therefore, I had nothing to do.  I awkwardly roamed around the school compound and introduced myself to students and teachers.  All of the students stared at me – they were probably wondering whom this crazy mzungu was and why she was staying at Namengo.  There was a lot of awkward small talk.  Fortunately, I had at least brought a book to read.  Unfortunately, I was reading the Stieg Larson series at the time.  Nothing like a book with rape, murder, and kidnapping to make me feel super safe in an unfamiliar environment…NOT!  I do not think I slept a wink during those three nights – I kept hearing strange noises and I was unsure about the security of my flimsy, wooden, front and back doors.  I was also sleeping in a bed with someone else’s sheets and I was unsure of their cleanliness.

            I went through a ton of airtime those three days texting Ryan, Caroline and Bethany.  Most of our texts were “GET ME OUT OF HERE!” or “Is it Saturday, yet?”  We all felt the same way and we could not wait until it was finally time to leave.  I could not get away fast enough on Saturday.  Jennifer and Annette (teachers), however, insisted that I take lunch before I left.  Of course, lunch was late to arrive and then it started to pour rain.  I thought I was going to be stranded another night and I was going to have a full-blown panic attack.  The rain finally let up and I made a mad dash for the Budaka taxi stage.  Caroline, Ryan, and I all met up so we could travel back together.  I wish there was a photo of us reuniting – the look of relief on our faces was probably priceless.  Misery really does enjoy company because for the next four hours we discussed our awful and awkward experiences at future site visit.  We kept saying, “Thank god it’s over!” and “What are we going to do when we actually have to live there.”  We kept trying to reassure each other and ourselves that it would be different when we actually had our things with us.  In the back of our minds, however, I think we were all thinking, “What did I just sign up for?  I want to go home, now!”  Rest assured, though, I am now very happy at Namengo Girls and I do not want to come home. 

            As you might recall, a couple of weeks ago, Cosmas and I held a Learning Aids Workshop for the five model schools in Budaka.  On Wednesday, we went to each of the five schools in order to check to see if they were actually using learning aids and developing resource rooms.  My supervisor, Noel, and his colleague, Bernadette, even came from St. Aloysius Core PTC in order to check out our work.  (PTC = Primary Teachers College.  All the Coordinating Centers work under a PTC).  Noel provided an evaluation form for Bernadette and me so that we could all three evaluate the resource rooms and learning aids.  (Cosmas did not evaluate because he didn’t think he would be objective).  We started at Budaka FHP, which is where our Coordinating Center is located, so it is supposed to hold the main resource room for the schools in the district.  I was pretty impressed with the teachers’ work because a month ago, the room was completely bare.  The teachers had a ton of learning aids and some of the activities were pretty creative.  As soon as we started our observations, however, I realized that this was going to be a long day.  Noel and Bernadette critiqued every single learning aid.  Here are some of the critiques:

-       “Your letters in the title are too squished together.  And the title is not in the center”

-       “Why did you put the article ‘a’ before ‘fish?’  You should just write ‘Fish’ because ‘A Fish’ is confusing.”

-       “You did not write in a straight line, this should be redone.”  (This was an elaborate learning aid of the human heart, and the line was only slightly crooked.  It looked perfectly fine to me). 

-       “There are too many questions on this activity, students will get confused.”

-       “There are too little questions on this activity.” 

-       “The colors you used here are no good – they are not friendly for students.” 

            The whole time I was glaring and thinking, “Are you serious right now?!”  I was really annoyed and the observing process was taking an hour and a half instead of the allotted 30 minutes.  The teachers were clearly proud of their work and wanted to show it off, but they were being critiqued on very minor details.  Needless to say, I was starting to get in a bad mood.  I was also hungry.  Not a very good combination.  (Thankfully, the headmaster, Chris, gave me some biscuits and a soda!). 

            Noel had a car, so we were able to drive to the other four schools, which was great.  We visited Kabuna down the road, which had developed a sub-par resource room.  A lot of the learning aids had spelling errors and it looked like the teachers had pulled a few things together at the last minute.  I do not think any of these learning aids were actually used in the classroom either.  Also, the resource room was tiny and all of the teachers were inside to observe.  I was so hot and I was profusely sweating – I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.  There was, however, this really awesome list of PIASCY Questions in the Resource room:

            No, there was not an answer key – so you will just have to answer these questions yourselves.  (PIASCY = Presidential Initiative on AIDS Strategy for Communication to Youth).

            Afterwards, we went to Namirembe Primary, which had a pretty decent resource room.  By that point, it was 3:00 and I had not eaten lunch, yet.  I was so hungry and I just wanted to get to Namengo Girls because they were providing lunch.  Namengo, of course, had the best resource room with the most creative learning aids.  (Okay, I’m probably not the most objective observer!)  Sister Goretti prepared a delicious lunch for us too – rice, matoke, chicken, potatoes, greens and fish.  We also got another soda!  (Yes, this is considered very exciting.  My life is a little pathetic).  The good meal gave me the extra push I needed for the last school, Butove.  We did not get there until 5:00 (way behind schedule!) so we went quickly because the teachers were anxious to leave.  Overall, I was impressed that most of the schools were serious about creating and using learning aids – hopefully they keep it up!

            Chelsea came over on Thursday because she wanted me to help her cut cloth for RUMPS (Re-usable Menstrual Pads).  She is doing this as a secondary project for girl students in upper primary, which is great.  A lot of girls do not come to school when they have their period because they do not have access to disposable pads (they are very expensive).  Also, there is no health education in Uganda, so most girls do not understand what is going on with their body.  Chelsea is going to be teaching girls how to make their own re-usable menstrual pads out of inexpensive, local materials and teach them about the menstrual cycle.  I helped her cut out over 200 pieces of cloth that will be used as the base of the pad.  (Chelsea will teach the girls how to sew it all together at her workshop).   I was glad I could help because it’s a great project – I don’t think I’m mature enough to actually lead this type of workshop because I’d probably laugh every time I said “menstruation” or talked about sex.  After we finished cutting, we decided to go for a run.  (This month is Active April after all of the eating we did in Kampala!).  People are usually pretty excited when they see me running and kids love to follow after me.  On Thursday, there were TWO mzungu running – kids were going nuts.  

            Students are taking their exams, now, so I am done with work for this term.  The books from the Libraries for Life project are arriving in ONE month, so I have a lot of work to do to get my school organized.  We need to build more bookshelves and get more tables and chairs for the library.  Hopefully we can get that all done before the books get here!
            I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!  I just watched Ice Age and The Lion King with my neighbors' kids.  I'm banking on being invited to a really good Easter dinner tonight :)  

An awesome learning aid for religious studies.  This was made from banana leaves.

Kabuna Resource Room

Namirembe Resource Room

Namengo Girls Resource Room

Butove Resource Room

 

Biscuits and soda.  When I get this at school...it's a GREAT day.  (Told you, pathetic!)

Kids watching "The Lion King"...again!