Home Sweet Home

Me and Ivan

I just wanted to let you all know that I arrived home last Sunday... tired but incident-free. I already want to go back...

Safe and Sound in Masaka

I just wanted to let you all know that I am safe and sound in Masaka. For those of you who don't know, there was a series of bombings last night in Kampala after the World Cup. The latest count is 64 dead and over 200 injured. A few of my friends - Ugandan, Dutch, and American - were in Kampala for the weekend but all arrived back in Masaka safely before the bombings occurred. Ray, Michael, Chelsea, and I leave Uganda on Saturday and are consulting with the Morehead Cain Foundation and the Foundation for Sustainable Development as to the best way to handle the situation. 

Gaining New Perspective

Another choice pickup line from a boda man today, “Madam I have been waiting for you.” To all you boys reading my blog: you better step up your game when I get home.

The bad and the ugly: I spotted an NC State shirt and a Duke shirt this weekend. The State t-shirt was being sported by a boy in Nzizi and the Duke shirt was worn by a man in Kigali. This only solidifies my theory that people are embarrassed to go to these schools. People give the shirts away because they are ashamed to be seen wearing them. Then the shirts end up in developing countries. I haven’t seen a UNC shirt yet. Take that, dookies.

Rwanda: a stressful trip, but well worth it. The journey included an 8 hour bus trip from Nnyendo (the town right outside Masaka) to Kigali, a 3 hour bus to and from Gisenyi, and the 8 hour bus ride home to Masaka. It was a lot of transportation for a Saturday-Tuesday trip but I would make the same decision to go a thousand times over.

Kigali: I wanted to wait until I saw another African capital before passing full judgement on Kampala. Now that I’ve seen Kigali, I feel comfortable saying that Kampala is certainly not my favorite city. Compared to Kigali it’s dirty, crowded, and really rather ugly. I could actually picture myself living in Kigali. The French helps; I really enjoyed being able to speak French again. Kigali, at least the part we were in, was clean, open, and friendly. Rwandans in general are extremely friendly. I found no need for maps because if I asked people where a hotel or a bank was, they would lead me there themselves (Not that a map would EVER help me in Kampala). The people seem well adjusted to mzungus; they don’t stare or call out when we walk by. That’s probably because there are A MILLION of them around. I actually ran into my friend Sarah in a shopping mall in the city center. Unlike the other group of girls from Chapel Hill, I had absolutely NO idea that she was even in Africa, let alone Kigali. We found a neat little mzungu hang out called Bourbon Coffee. I had the most incredible muffin of my life here. This may be because it was the first non dry baked good I’ve had in 7 weeks, but I still think it could make top 5 in the States. I also had a fabulous chapatti vegetable wrap. I’m honestly not sure what I’m going to do without chapatti when I get back home. I’m making it my mission to learn how to make them when I get back. 

View of Kigali from the Genocide Memorial


Gisenyi: a town on the border of the DR Congo, about three hours from Kigali. My French was really put to the test here, as no one at the Auberge de Gisenyi (our $6/night hotel) spoke any English. It’s amazing how easily it comes back. I hope my Italian doesn’t go down the drain because of all this French. I dipped my toes in Lake Kivu, APPARENTLY one of the deepest lakes in the world. (You may want to check that claim.)

Hotel des Mille Collines: The real “Hotel Rwanda,” probably as close to a 5 star hotel as I've seen here, has a gorgeous bar and pool area where we stopped for a drink. Afterward, we wandered up to the top floor for a beautiful view of Kigali. It was nearly impossible to picture people hiding out there during the genocide.

The Genocide Memorial: haunting, eye-opening, shocking, moving, horrifying… People who have been to both compare it to the Holocaust museum in DC. Before coming to Africa, I really didn’t know much about it. I didn’t realize how much (or how little, depending on how you look at it) of a role the international community played in the tragedy. The UN had all the information it needed to stop the slaughter of 1 million innocent men, women, and children, but it did precious little. The memorial was very well done; it started out with a brief description of Rwandan culture, tradition, and history and went into warning signs. It takes you through the genocide, its effects, and lasting impacts. The next section covers other genocides such as the Holocaust and the Balkans. Finally, the memorial takes you to the children’s room. Thousands and thousands of children were murdered in the genocide and the last part of the memorial shows large photographs of a few of the victims, their names, favorite drinks or foods, favorite toys, and finally, how they were killed- hacked with a machete, shot in the head, thrown in a latrine… I didn’t see many people walk out of that room with dry eyes.

Chicken Gardens

A Chicken Garden

We finished our second kitchen garden today. Ugandans often can't get the word "kitchen" out, so it usually ends up as "chicken" garden... sometimes it gets a bit confusing. We will probably get at least one more finished tomorrow, maybe two, and we'll polish of the last ones off next week. The process for building them is much simpler than I expected. We can finish one in under two hours start to finish, including the nursery. The families prepare the land ahead of time, which really helps move things along.

We're heading to Rwanda this weekend, spending a couple days in Kigali and one in Gisenyi on the shores of Lake Kivu. I am looking forward to experiencing another African country... I keep hearing great things about Rwanda.
 
2 weeks left... where has the time gone?

Getting the Ball Rolling

Bungee Jumping over the Nile River

We met up with Patrick in Jinja

The week after rafting and bungee jumping was probably not the best time for me to neglect my blog... sorry Mom. I am, in fact, not dead, but instead quite addicted to adrenaline. Skydiving anyone?

I traveled to Jinja for the second weekend in a row, this time with all the other FSD interns. On Saturday, we rafted 30 kilometers of the mighty Nile River. If you Google Bujagali Falls, you will see our second rapid of the day (and our first class 5). We only flipped once the whole day... on Silverback rapid. As our Canadian raft guide so eloquently put it, "the river bitchslapped us." I'm not being dramatic when I say I’ve never been so close to death. Flipping was terrifying; when I was under water, I couldn't figure out which way was up and which was down. When I finally discerned that, I couldn't get there; the river kept pushing me under. Just when I thought I was going to die, I made it to the surface, but not without a lung or two full of Nile. The next thing I knew, someone was pulling me into a raft.

Sunday was bungee jumping day. 44 meters from the top of the tower to the surface of the Nile. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd have done it all day. For some reason I wasn't nervous until I shuffled my toes to the very edge of the platform, looked out, and processed what I was about to do. By that time, the kiwis were saying "3-2-1-bungee," so fortunately I didn't have TOO much time to dwell on the task at hand. The fall, though short, was incredible... "a quick drop and a sudden stop." I got another lovely lungful of Nile because I forgot to hold my breath... too many other things to concentrate on.

Chelsea and I were both sick on Monday- some type of sinus infection- so we skipped work, slept, and watched movies with Benna. The day off was most definitely needed.

Today we traveled to Nzizi (the community where we are planting our kitchen gardens) to conduct our preliminary workshop. The day was slow, but, well, that's Ugandan time for you. I've learned that you can't judge the day's success until it is over. Sometimes the smallest things can make the day worth it. Today, there were two such moments: the first was when the women clapped when we talked about how the garden was meant as a WOMEN'S project and the second was when the families told us (through a translator) how excited they were to have us helping them build these gardens.

Hitting the Halfway Mark...

Project: along with our FSD and TASO supervisors, Michael, Ray, Chelsea, and I decided on a project for the rest of our time in Uganda. The official title is something along the lines of “empowering HIV positive women by establishing household kitchen gardens as a source independent income.” Working alongside the Projects and Counseling departments at TASO, we will identify four or five families in the Nzizi community and facilitate the construction of a kitchen garden for each one. Kitchen gardens are an extremely beneficial addition to a household because they provide:

· Extra produce to sell in the market- this is a consistent source of income for women. When women have an income independent from their husbands, it gives them confidence and thus more authority within the household.

· Nutritious dietary supplements to the family’s meals- this is especially important for HIV positive people, as balanced diets are essential for antiretroviral success.

· A supplement to livestock feed- one plant, coriander, has been shown to increase milk production in dairy cows.

· Medicine- one type of plant is used as natural insect repellant while another is used to cure rashes.

Once the beneficiaries have been identified, the garden expert that we are working closely with will teach a workshop on how to construct and maintain a kitchen garden. It is extremely important that the beneficiaries are the ones doing most of the construction. This way, they are able to pass on their knowledge to future beneficiaries, and the project will continue to evolve, even after we leave. (Before construction even begins, the women are required to sign a contract promising to give a pre-determined portion of garden proceeds back to TASO. This money will then be used as the start-up sum for the next garden.)

In other news, Chelsea and I made the long trek to Jinja this past weekend to visit our friend Patrick. Jinja, the second largest city in Uganda, is famously known as the source of the Nile. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Uganda; people flock to the city two hours east of Kampala for some of the best white water rafting in the world, bungee jumping, beautiful waterfalls, and of course, the source of the Nile. Getting to Jinja requires a three hour taxi ride from Masaka to Kampala then switching taxis in the capital’s anarchic taxi park to get on a two hour taxi to Jinja. Ugandan taxis (which are more like large vans) are not for the faint of heart; be prepared for overcrowding, reckless driving, sudden stops, yelling, badgering taxi park vendors, on-board chickens, no air conditioning, and extremely cramped and uncomfortable seats. The “coastas,” smaller and less luxurious coach buses, are cheaper and less hectic, yet much more difficult to find and fill up. Despite our public transport adventures, we made it safely to our destination. We didn’t participate in any of the high thrill attractions Jinja has to offer; we decided before we left Masaka that we would save all that for another weekend. Instead, we walked around town and visited Bujagali falls, more a series of rapids than a waterfall, but magnificent all the same. We happened to run into a group of six girls from UNC at our hostel, so we all watched the USA England game together at a bar and restaurant called Two Friends, which turned out to be quite the muzungu hangout. We left Jinja in the afternoon, but not before I left my mark… literally. I burned my calf on a boda boda’s exhaust pipe on the way to Bujagali Falls. It’s a second-degree burn, so the doctor in Masaka prescribed me antibiotics. Anyways, it’s actually much less painful than my caterpillar wound was at this stage.

As you all know, the World Cup is now upon us! It’s really cool being in Africa for the whole thing; when Ghana won, it seems that all of Africa rejoiced. Ugandans celebrated as if it were the Cranes who defeated Serbia. I’ve been able to catch at least a few minutes of almost all the games.

Jinja (part two) this weekend with all the interns… rafting all day Saturday and hopefully bungee jumping on Sunday.

Death by Caterpillar

If I don’t make it back home, rest assured that I died in an extremely noteworthy manner. Not many people can say they died at the hands of a Ugandan caterpillar. Personally, I think it would be an epic way to go out. Friday night, after our muzungu heavy barbeque at café frick, a few of us were hanging out at this neat little outdoor bar… Uganda’s version of bob’s perhaps? I felt something on my ankle, and without looking, swept it off. Terrible idea. I felt sharp stinging, but since it was so dark, it took me a while to notice the quarter inch spines sticking out of my finger. Turns out they had no intention of coming out either… I had to pull them out one by one. I ended up pouring half my drink out on my finger to aid in the process. Another terrible idea. The swelling has gone down, but it’s still bumpy, red, and itchy. The reaction is also spreading down my finger. No worries, though, I’m determined to survive this one.

Pick up lines: I’ve heard some good ones, mostly from boda drivers. “Madam, do you want me?” “Would you like to ride with me?” “You are beautiful; can I have your number?” “Do you have a husband?” My favorite was when I was getting on a boda with a crowd of male observers lurking nearby. Even in a skirt, I can’t bring myself to ride a boda side saddle, so it’s almost guaranteed that I’m going to show some skin while getting on. I braced myself then jumped on, provoking raucous cheers, whistles, and marriage proposals. Honestly, the girls whining about the gender imbalance issue at Carolina in the NY Times article should probably just come to Uganda.

I have just made it sound like all boda drivers are rude and insensitive. That’s not true at all. Most are very friendly and receptive to bargaining. We’ve befriended a couple of them and they are more than willing to pick us up when we call them.

Electricity: Power outages are so common and outdoor lighting is so rare that most Ugandan cell phones have built in flashlights. It always seems to go out at the most opportune moments like when I’m in the shower. The water stops every once in awhile too. My favorite day was when the power AND the water were out at the same time. It’s actually not as bad as I’m making it sound... I think I have Outward Bound to thank for that.

Banks: will make me appreciate Bank of America forever. We waited for an hour and a half to get our dollars changed to shillings.

Masaka scandals: Two Catholic nuns were arrested yesterday in a village not five minutes from our house when police discovered their 2 acre marijuana plot. They tried to convince investigators that the plants were for their pigs.

Work: Yesterday was a slow day on outreach. We weren’t drawing blood for CD4 testing so the only people that came in were those coming for HIV confirmation tests. Though yesterday’s outreach wasn’t as productive as last week’s, I did get to prick my first patient. After a couple of hours, patients stopped coming into the lab so I went outside to sit with Chelsea and her counseling supervisor. We ended up teaching several schoolchildren how to play duck duck goose and London bridges falling down for the rest of the afternoon. Despite the monstrous language barrier, they caught on quickly and would have played all day.

Someone suggested that a description of a day in my life in Uganda would be well-received. I think I’m finally settled in enough to provide an accurate representation of my activities here. On weekdays (when there is not a public holiday, which, contrary to what my host family says, seems to happen quite often here) I wake up around 7:15. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and usually consists of tea, a banana, bread with blueband (apparently Uganda’s only brand of butter), and a fried or hardboiled egg. I was too scared to try the porridge as it looked like liquefied grits. I’m getting pretty tired of Aljazeera during breakfast; too much arguing for early in the morning. Chelsea and I leave for work just after 8 and I’m settled into lab work by about 8:30. (Tuesdays are different at TASO because we do outreach in surrounding villages.) Lunch, which is most often matoke (surprise!) and rice, isn’t until 2:00 so I have to pack a snack or else I annoy people with my grumbling stomach. I leave work around 4:30 and meet up with the other FSD TASO interns. Sometimes Chelsea and I will boda into town for errands, walk to café frick to get on the internet, or head home for tea and rest. On Thursday through Sunday night we watch la Tormenta with Mama Allen and whomever else may be around. Dinner is usually between 9 and 10 and I think I’ve described the food in a previous post. After dinner we watch music videos with Dinah or go to our room to read before bed. On weekends, we don’t do much during the day. We usually spend most of Saturday at Frick catching up on emails, Skyping, etc. and most of Sunday sleeping, reading, or learning how to play Ugandan cards with John and Joseph. Whether it’s a barbecue, poker, a concert, clubbing, or going to a bar or restaurant, we can usually find something fun to do at night. I had my first experience clubbing in Uganda this past Saturday. A big group of us went to Ambience discotheque; the best part was the music selection. So far, I am very impressed with Ugandan music. 

The World Cup starts next weekend, so I have a feeling I may alter my daily activities accordingly. I wonder if it’s acceptable to skip work…? (Just kidding.) ((Sort of.))

I can’t believe I’m already 3 weeks in… it’s been going by so quickly since I’ve adjusted to life here. I’m looking forward to Jinja (part 1) this weekend to visit Patrick.

Ogamba Ki

Thursday (Martyrs Day) was a public holiday in Uganda so Chelsea and I decided to go into town. It was my mission to find a skirt that I could wear out on the weekends. Chelsea and I went down a road we’d never been on, which ended up being a great idea because we found many more clothing stores than on the main road. Because I'm a muzungu, I get followed by the salesperson every stall I go in. It’s pretty funny when a 30 something man tries to pick out clothes he thinks I’ll like. I feel like a bargaining pro now. I pulled the “This is all the money I have, nnyabo,” which was partly true, and I got the skirt for about half of what she was asking. I always have to bargain because people here automatically give me the “muzungu price.” I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get back to the states. I’ll have to catch myself when I try to bargain in US clothing stores. It’s also going to be a shock when I have to pay more than 30 cents for a coke.

Though I’ve adjusted to the food and eating schedule here, (late lunches and dinners nearly killed me at first) my cravings for American food are kicking into high gear. It’s been mostly baked goods that I miss... ovens are rare so people don't seem to have an appetite for them. I could have killed for a swiss roll yesterday. My craving for partially hydrogenated goodness was somewhat satiated when I bought a chapati in town. I’m not really sure what is in them, but I haven’t gotten sick yet so it can’t be anything too bad. From what I can gather, it’s a bit like the galette in France (a more substantial crepe like thing.) As of last week, I officially have no calcium in my diet. I was putting milk in my tea, but it made me sick so I had to cut it out. 

Handshakes and hand-holding: greetings are very important in Uganda, as evidenced by the long, drawn-out handshakes. It’s not uncommon to lock hands for a couple of minutes while each person introduces himself. I think I finally got the gist of it. Hand holding is interpreted differently here as well. It is not uncommon for friends (men and women) to hold hands walking down the street. My superiors at TASO will often grab my hand to lead me somewhere.

I am lucky with my lab placement at TASO. I’m the only intern in the department so there is always something for me to do. Hopefully I can stay here for a week or two more before switching to another department. I work with Richard and Barbara. Richard always calls her “Bahhbala” and each time it sounds more and more ridiculous. Bahhbala and I talked quite a bit on Wednesday. She was shocked that white people wash their hair so frequently and couldn’t believe that I played soccer. Girls don’t play anything other than tennis or volleyball here.

Chelsea, Michael, Ray, and I started discussing our independent project today. We have a few ideas; one of which is forming a peer support group for middle school aged kids to talk about living with HIV. Another idea is to educate women on how to create and care for for a kitchen garden. We will be talking with our supervisor about our ideas next week, so I will keep you all updated on that.

WORLD CUP IN LESS THAN A WEEK!

Grasshopper

I ate a grasshopper today.
 
That is all.

Becoming a Ugandan Legend

Someone asked me what has been the coolest thing to have happened to me thus far. I’m pretty sure I have some legitimate candidates.

1. Saturday night Cynthia (FSD’s international program coordinator) took us (FSD interns) to the Radio and Weasel concert downtown. (Youtube them.) The openers started around 9:00 but they were all pretty terrible. Closer to 1:00, we all got to meet Radio and Weasel while they were hanging out in their van before going on stage. Apparently they liked Chelsea and me enough to ask for us to come on stage. So during their second song we danced on stage with them in front of everybody. We didn’t realize this at the time, but we were the only ones who got to go up.

2. I had my first day of work on Monday. Timothy, our main supervisor at TASO, (The AIDS Support Organization) guided us through an extensive orientation. Somehow, I had even less of an idea of what I would be doing for the next 7 weeks after this orientation. Go figure. Anyways, the cool part happened after I asked if I could start out working in the lab. There are two lab techs, Richard and Barbara. In the morning I watched them do various tests: tuberculosis, Cryptococcus, HIV confirmation, etc. After lunch I got to do my own HIV confirmation tests. It’s difficult to describe how it made me feel. It’s rare to feel so humbled and so empowered simultaneously.

Tuesdays at TASO are outreach days, and I, along with a few other interns, was lucky enough to be able to go. 30+ TASO workers (doctors, counselors, pharmicists) were driven to a village (the name escapes me) about 40 miles away. The idea is to be able to give care to those who cannot afford to make the long trek to Masaka. It’s a pretty desolate community. I’ve described Uganda as dusty in previous posts, but I have never seen a dustier road in my life. The trees were literally brown from all the traffic swirling up dust. We arrived at the medical center (a kind term for the place) and began to set up. Chelsea and I were the only two white people so we garnered quite a bit of attention. I labeled and organized over 60 samples, ran some confirmation tests, and recorded the results from pregnancy tests. I never thought I would be allowed to get so involved. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to do this in the states. Because I was so busy with the HIV patients, I didn’t see the man who was brought into the hospital with severe injuries sustained in a road collision. We found out on the way home that he died. Pretty scary to think about: he was two rooms over from me. While in the clinic, I got to see every patient waiting to get their blood drawn. Some looked terrified, others hopeless, very few hopeful. It’s hard to understand the impact that HIV has here. In some communities, the rate of infection is over 60%. Everyone is touched by it. I really saw that when I walked around the village after we finished with the patients. There are SO many kids here; everywhere you look they are running around in dirty rags playing with tires and sticks. Many have lost their parents to HIV and several are HIV positive themselves. However, it seems that TASO is making a difference. One man introduced himself to me and said that he has been living with HIV for 22 years and proud of it. He really seemed to put life back into the community.

Only Drunks Drive Straight on Ugandan Roads

Day 7, May 26

We had trainings inside all morning because it was pouring… language lesson, discussion about religion and culture, a talk on personal health. The interns were responsible for cooking dinner for 40 tonight. We planned the menu, who was going to make what, and decided on the budget. The big event of the day was going to the market to get all of our ingredients. The idea was that we would get our first experience bargaining in Lugandan. I was in the fruit group and we were very successful… 2000 shillings ($1) under budget. Norah, a woman from Masaka, was actually with Lyndsie, G, and I when we were buying the food, so it wasn’t difficult to get good prices. We got started cooking the food relatively late, so a lot of the food was gone by the time I got to eat, but I still was full by the end. Tonight it really hit me how Ugandans have such a strong sense of community. They all know each other and loved taking the time to learn each of our names so that we could be a part of their community too.

Day 8, May 27

We arrived at our host family’s house today. I may be biased, but I think Chelsea and I have the best housing situation. Our host sister, Dinah, is our age and speaks nearly perfect English. She is going to University next year in Kampala. Cynthia, FSD’s international program coordinator, is also living at the house. She’s from Houston and will be here for another 16 months. She will be staying here until her flat in town is ready. It’s really nice having her around… she’s been great during orientation. Our host mom (Mama Allen) is good at English; she seems so excited to have us here. The family has a house boy (Beka), a house girl (Bena), two goats, and about 100 chickens. We live in a gated compound which is a five minute walk from the hospital (where we will be working with TASO) and a 4 minute boda boda (motorcycle) ride from town. I had my last running water shower for 7 weeks last night. Though we have running water in the house, the only way to have a warm shower is to have a bucket shower. It was tough to get used to and the first time I tried it, I took forever. Apparently there is a technique that I have not yet mastered. Hopefully I will make that happen by the end of these 7 weeks. As for meals, we take heavy tea around 7 and dinner around 10. The tv is always on… tonight we watched la tormenta, a Spanish soap opera dubbed in English. It was horrible but hysterical. Apparently it is all the rage here… usually one of the first topics of conversation when families get together. They also love watching music videos (American and Ugandan.)

Day 9, May 28

We had our last day of orientation today. Chelsea and I took our first boda boda to the FSD office in town… actually a much smoother trip than it would have been in a car because the motorcycle can swerve around all the potholes. I can now say that I have straddled an African man on a motorcycle. When we got to the FSD office, all the other interns reported watching la tormenta and music videos the night before just as we had… it really is a big part of their culture. Another intern, Laura, said that her family has two pictures as some type of centerpieces in their house: one is of Jesus Christ and the other is a Titanic movie poster. She asked if they had seen the movie… they hadn’t. Go figure. Luke said his family tried to give him Vaseline because his skin isn’t shiny enough. We crammed into a taxi (a rather large white van) and drove through the rural part of Masaka to visit the traditional healer. I’m not really sure what I think about it. It was quite the ritual, complete with a small dark medicine hut, cleansing, chanting, summoning spirits, etc. I’ve never seen anything like that before. Many people trust the healer more than they trust doctors at the clinic. After two long trainings on how to work with our host organizations at the office, Chelsea and I headed into town on Mission Impossible: the goal was to get more skirts, and we made a pact to not pay over 8000 ($4) shillings. The first place we went to tried to charge us the muzungu price. They were charging 13000 for each, which was disgustingly overpriced. We just walked away. Friday is the biggest market day so we decided to walk straight there. I bargained two skirts down to 5,500 each and another to 4000 ($2). SUCCESS. Tonight was much less awkward with our host family. We watched la tormenta again. Our host dad hasn’t eaten with us yet. He usually takes a nap right after his tea. I haven’t really figured out when he has dinner. We gave Dinah, Mama Allen, Bena and Beka their gifts. They absolutely loved them. It was the best gift receiving I’ve ever witnessed. Phew.

Reflections:

Food: Matoke: it’s served at every single lunch and dinner. It’s one of those dishes that you (better) learn to love. Sweet potato: sweet? Yes. Orange? No. it’s grayish white and extremely unappetizing, but is actually very tasty. Irish potatoes: seasoned with some type of orange sauce. Gnut sauce: still not sure what it is, but it makes the matoke eatable. Rice: white or seasoned, pretty much what we’re used to in the States. Pumpkin: orange on the inside, green on the outside. Go figure. Pork: don’t eat it (possibility of lurking tape worms) so effectively, I’m a vegetarian for 7 weeks. Peas and carrots: spicy, and I’m a wimp, so by vegetarian I really mean all carbs all the time. Fruit: one of my favorite things about Uganda. A pineapple costs about $.50 so it’s also served at almost every meal. It puts the pineapple we get in the states to shame. Mangoes, papayas, watermelon, and passion fruit are also common. Tea: apparently I like it now! Secret ingredient? Ginger.

Weather: 70 to 90, very humid. The temperature hovers around 80/85 on a sunny day and gets cool and breezy at night. Apparently it’s like that basically year round. As you move west into the mountains is gets colder.

Critters: Mosquitoes: you will all be pleased to know that I don’t think I’ve gotten more than 2 bites the whole time I’ve been here. Geckos: all over the walls in our house (that’s for you, Mom and Nanna.) Grasshoppers: also all over the place. They are actually considered a delicacy here, but I haven’t had one yet. Apparently they taste like popcorn?

Music: American hip hop is big here, as is Ugandan artists’ versions of it. We are going to a concert tonight in Masaka. Two hip hop artists, Radio and Weasel will be here. I’m actually really excited. We’ve been watching some of their music videos at the house. I haven’t tried, but maybe they’re on youtube? Some of it’s pretty catchy.

Mosquito no pass: Ugandans’ term for “grinding.” Thought that was pretty funny.

Communication and culture: Luganda isn’t too hard, but it will take time to soak all our lessons in. The people here really appreciate it when I try to speak Luganda to them. They are eager to help us get better too. Two nights ago Chelsea and I brought out my Luganda phrase book and practiced with Beka and Bena. They really got a kick out of it. Jon, a boy our age helping out with FSD for the summer, has been with us during the entire orientation process. He’s fantastic. We played monopoly (a Sanskrit version) together the other day during some down time. He bought all the property and kicked my ass. I was explaining my last name to him today and he was having trouble keeping all the countries straight (USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Austria, Czech Republic, etc) together, so I drew out our family tree. He drew his out after me. It was fascinating comparing families and origins. In Uganda, people don’t understand having fewer than three children. It’s embedded deep within tradition to have large families. They will say, “Your poor father” if you say you only have 1 or 2 siblings. Ugandans also don’t understand having no religion. Most people here are catholic, muslim, or protestant. Other than not having one, they are very tolerant of all religions.

White people: we get called “muzungu” all the time walking down the street. Literally it means “foreigner” but basically it means white person. It’s not offensive at all, they just want an excuse to talk to us. It seems they like trying to use their English in front of us.

Osibye Otya

I just successfully bought my first item at the market... the interns are making dinner tonight and three of us are in charge of buying fruit for the fruit salad. I bought my pinapple for 1000 shillings ($.50). I'm now in an internet cafe called Love in Action... I'll let you make your own conclusions about that.

Masaka is wonderful! I already know my way around the main part of town. Not that it's too terribly difficult, but i still feel pretty accomplished. Yesterday we visited Saint Judes, a sustainable agriculture "training farm" outside Masaka. It's a model for all the sustainable agriculture in the area. I'll add more details about that later, but a highlight learning how to use gas from cow dung to power a stove! We also saw some rain water collection tanks.
I'm trying to cram as much Luganda into my head before I begin my stay with my host family tomorrow. I've met them all already actually. Dinah (host sister) works with FSD. She is 19 as well. Our host parents own stores in town and they couldn't tell us enough how excited they are to have us stay with them.

Wasuze Otya!

With John, Ray, and Joseph

First of all, my most sincere apologies for being such a terrible blogger. We’ve been all over the place, and I haven’t had the chance to sit down and process what’s been going on.

Day 1: We arrived in Entebbe and met all the other volunteers. We spent the night at the airport guesthouse, a much nicer accommodation than I was expecting.

Day 2: Drove in a pink and green Japanese bus to Kampala. NOTE: Ugandans do not believe in pedestrian right of way, nor do they believe in crosswalks, stop signs, street lights, speed limits, or any other type of road regulations. Also, Ugandan taxis make NY taxi drivers seem like little old ladies in champagne colored Cadillacs. We met up with Jordan and Cynthia (international program coordinators) and walked to the mall to change money and buy cell phones. (Here’s my number… I can’t remember what the code is for Uganda… I think it involves adding 256 and taking off the 0 but don’t hold me to it: 0787962609.) We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and watched part of the Inter Milan game. Afterwards I had the most delicious ice cream in the world... no kidding! Our first few language lessons have shown me that Luganda will be tough to pick up. I am already getting tired of these long skirts. John and Joseph - two boys who are helping with FSD - spent the day with us. Joseph and I enjoy speaking French together.

Day 3 Impressions of Kampala: busy, hectic, loud…  Potholes in the sidewalks, dust everywhere, child beggars following you around. We saw the capital, the market, the taxi park (probably the most concentrated mass of humanity I have ever seen). The contrast between the greenery and the dusty roads is very interesting. We also went to the Nderre traditional African dance performance and buffet. The performance was incredible.

Day 4: Drove to Masaka and stopped at the equator. I like Masaka much more than I like Kampala. It’s much more laid back and easier to get around. One of the girls working with FSD is actually my and Chelsea's host sister so she took us to meet our host parents today. They are lovely people! Drinking a Moonberg (Ugandan beer purchased for 2000 shillings- $1.00) on the porch of hotel zebra… weather is gorgeous. I think I could get used to this...

We will continue with orientation until Thursday when we move in with our family. I really like it here. Though it’s intimidating knowing very little of the language and culture, the people are very friendly and are interested to learn about us. I’ve been very impressed with FSD as well. Anita, Sara, and Cynthia have been great.

Tulabagane (we’ll meet later), Molly

9000 miles later...

I'm in Africa! Unfortunately it was dark when we arrived, so it's been difficult to orient ourselves. We're in the Entebbe Airport Guest House. If any of you have seen Hotel Rwanda, it looks like the hotel from the movie. We met up with 7 other FSD volunteers from the US... they all seem quite nice. It's 10pm here and FSD is picking us up at 10am tomorrow to go to Kampala.