Sunday, April 12, 2009
Yesterday was my first safari experience! And, I must say, it was AMAZING!!! We had a VERY early start…loaded the vans at 4:45 a.m. Our driver, Paul, was the BEST! We traveled for 2 ½ hours…the car ride was filled with sleeping, talking, and staring out the window at the beautiful scenery. Half way through our drive, we came across a lady who was lying in the middle of the road. She was shaking and seemed to be unconscious…a few people ran out to move her to the side of the road. We think she had a seizure. I hope she is okay.
We arrived at the park and it was pouring down rain. I was bummed…gray, cloudy, and rainy weather is not particularly the most helpful for spotting animals. Anyway, we headed out and saw our first animals, baboons by the side of our path. We pushed our roof up so we could take pictures but quickly shut it when the baboon jumped on top of the other jeep in front of us. We all screamed…baboons are not the safest animals. Paul drove us to a big lake where we spotted hippos. I was hoping they would come out of the water but apparently they only come out at night. I saw their eyes and nose. We spotted some giraffes and zebras too. We got out and walked in the bush to get a closer look. I didn’t realize we could do that…but I am so glad we did. They were so cool! Definitely one of the highlights. Unfortunately, my camera’s battery died soon after…so I didn’t get as many pics as I wanted.
We saw some birds along the way and then drove 2 hours to the other part of the park. Along the way, one of the jeeps had some problems with the tire and engine. We were all so hungry because we ate breakfast so early…Paul was nice and let us eat some biscuits he had. More driving and sleeping and we arrived at the park! We took a bathroom break, divided up our PB&J sandwiches by jeep, and ate and drove at the same time since we were a bit late from the car trouble. We all sat up on top of the jeep…Jenny, Mindi, and I sat in the front. We had the BEST view…could see for miles…plus, dodged sharp, prickly branches that were everywhere. They would pop out of the middle of nowhere and we would scream, “AH, PAUL!” And he would abruptly stop and figure out the best way to avoid getting hit…we got a few cuts and bruises from the branches and uncomfortable seat, but it was definitely worth it. On the path, we saw topees, impalas, and some other animals I forget the names of. Finally, we reached an open field where we saw herds of topees, zebras, a giraffe family, and some water hogs (simone from Lion King! They are so cute and run funny). I felt like a researcher or photographer discovering the heart of Africa…sitting on top of a jeep and going up and down over open pasture, animals grazing, and green mountains in the background. I don’t know how else to describe except for AWESOME! We drove in our jeep for a couple hours. I was hoping to see an elephant or cheetah, but saw none…they are unusual to see.
We drove back to the camp, took a pit stop and headed home. Jenny, Mindi, and I switched places with Sophie, Suzy, and Roanna…I got to sit on the back of the car while we drove on the dirt road…we all sang songs from the Lion King, ha! So fun and totally worth it, but had lots of tangles afterwards. Once again, I fell asleep….and 3 hours later, we were home. All of us were tired…so the rest of the night, after dinner, we bummed around. A few of us girls practiced some songs we are planning to sing at the talent show in Rulindo this week, the community we will be living in this week…leading focus groups and forming a case study for our class. And, we had a movie night in the living room. Then, I went to bed and had a great rest! So tired.
On Sunday, I went to Christian Life Assembly (CLA) with Wes, Jess, Joy, Tessa, and Jordan. We walked through the rain which was fairly difficult to accomplish with slippery flip flops. They had great worship songs…praise songs we sing back home and the service was in English. Soon after we got there, Joy was feeling sick-nauseous. So I went with her to the bathroom in hopes that she would feel better. She still felt sick so I found someone who talked to his friend who had a car…they drove us home. Very nice men…they speak English very well and actually used to live in Uganda.
At 1:00, Brenda and Ida made a delicious Easter meal of ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, salad, bread, and chocolate chip cookies. It was so good! Aryn bought us little Rwandan basket ornaments filled with chocolate candies. Very sweet. The whole day we have had a movie marathon, played scrabble and a special kind of Pictionary, sleeping, etc…it has been a very relaxing day. I miss spending Easter with my family, but have enjoyed this African Easter as well. The safari was a great present!
Tomorrow my group drives to Rulindo and will be living at the university until Friday. We will be leading 1 to 2 focus groups every day and analyze the data we collect for a case study. This week we will interact with the students at school and participate in the talent show, they will do something for us as we do something for them. Next week, we will have a poster presentation in the community and present the data gathered. We leave for Uganda that Friday. Only three weeks left until I come home…time is going quickly and I can’t believe my time in Rwanda is almost over, but I have enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to traveling to Rulindo this week.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
On This Day, 15 Years Ago....
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
15 years ago, on this day, April 7, 1994, the Rwandan genocide began. After previous decades of intense ethnic conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus, the government militia led a massacre of nearly 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. During this time, family members turned against family members, friends turned against friends, and neighbors turned against neighbors. For 3 months, nearly 1 million Rwandans were killed.
Although Rwanda is now a peaceful country that is seeking reconciliation, many wounds remain and are in need of healing. As I write this, I am listening to the voices of the Rwandan people coming from the stadium down the road. They remember loved ones who were lost and pray for the unity of their country.
Today, the streets were bare of traffic except for the crowds of people who gathered at churches and memorial sites. When I looked in their eyes as I passed them on the streets, I saw their hearts mourning…I mourn with them. I ask that you take time to mourn with their country and pray for them as they begin this memorial week. This country is still healing, forgiving, and praying for peace in their hearts.
Genocide has left an impact on Rwanda.
Pray for healing, Pray for forgiveness, and Pray for peace….
15 years ago, on this day, April 7, 1994, the Rwandan genocide began. After previous decades of intense ethnic conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus, the government militia led a massacre of nearly 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. During this time, family members turned against family members, friends turned against friends, and neighbors turned against neighbors. For 3 months, nearly 1 million Rwandans were killed.
Although Rwanda is now a peaceful country that is seeking reconciliation, many wounds remain and are in need of healing. As I write this, I am listening to the voices of the Rwandan people coming from the stadium down the road. They remember loved ones who were lost and pray for the unity of their country.
Today, the streets were bare of traffic except for the crowds of people who gathered at churches and memorial sites. When I looked in their eyes as I passed them on the streets, I saw their hearts mourning…I mourn with them. I ask that you take time to mourn with their country and pray for them as they begin this memorial week. This country is still healing, forgiving, and praying for peace in their hearts.
Genocide has left an impact on Rwanda.
Pray for healing, Pray for forgiveness, and Pray for peace….
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
T-Shirt Contest, Sleepover, World Cup Qualifier Game....Super Fun Weekend!!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
This weekend was so much fun! I felt like I really got to know Kigali well…and we had a lot of good group bonding time. On Friday, after classes, most of the group and I went to market in search for who could find the funniest t-shirt. All of us muzungus were running around market, sorting through piles and piles of t-shirts (they have the most random t-shirts here), and finally deciding on the one that we thought would be the grand winner. Clint, Dwight and Brenda’s son, was the judge. I found a light blue shirt…it had a huge smile on the front with braces and underneath the mouth it read, “Brace Yourself.’’ I thought it was funny…unfortunately, it was not the winner but makes for good memories. Everyone bought shirts with funny sayings about an old, 60 year old woman and monkeys…etc. It was fun to see what all people could come up with. Anyway, the contest took place after dinner. Everyone put on their shirts and displayed them for Clint. Mindi won the contest…a jar of nutella was her prize! After the contest, we had fun playing group games. Have you ever heard of Fishbowl? It is so much fun…it involves 3 rounds of describing words, charades, and using 1 word phrases…2 teams, whoever gets the most points wins. We played 2 rounds before we called it quits. It’s hilarious to see people’s facial expressions…and acting, we have some really good actors. Good times! All the girls wanted to have a girl’s night, so we kicked the boys out of the house, ate tons of nutella (Mindi was nice to share), talked, and watched a chick flick, “The Wedding Date.” It was late and we were all tired from our day of shopping, playing games, and having fun…so we all got situated in the living room. There were a lot of us trying to fit in the small living room...we slept on the floor and couches. It wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping position, but, surprisingly, I was able to catch a descent amount of zzzzzzz’s.
Saturday was Pancake Day! Every Saturday, the girls join the guys at the Jackson’s house to eat pancakes…we woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and warm pancakes. It reminded me of the many sleepovers we had at my house and at friends…good memories. I played Jack Johnson “Banana Pancake” song….thought it was fitting. In the morning, most of us hung out at the house…it was Rwanda’s monthly holiday, Umuoganda. On this day, all transportation, stores, and jobs do not work in the morning. All persons are required to help clean or do some type of service in the community. Everything is closed until 12. The streets were so peaceful…traffic was much less. It was nice to have a relaxing morning.
For lunch, Roanna, Suzy, and I walked to market to find some fresh fruit. Roanna was able to buy some mangos and oranges…me and Suzy were craving apples but had no luck. We rode a mutatu to a grocery store close to where we live and found some lunch….but no apples. We walked back to the house, ate lunch, and hurried off to the World Cup Qualifiers game between Rwanda and Algeria. The streets were already packed about 2 hours beforehand…so we decided we should probably go. We met up with some other people in our group, went through security (ha, that was interesting…felt very violated. No worries, it was a woman security guard), and went to find our seats. We had descent seats that had a good view of the field. Soon after getting situated, it started to down pour. HUGE raindrops and small pieces of hail started to fall from the very dark sky. Luckily, Wes brought an umbrella. It was hilarious….everyone in the stadium dodged down the stairs to hide beneath the stadium roof. But we brave souls, decided to wait it out. Wes, Roanna, Jenny, a random Rwandan couple, and I were crammed under Wes’ umbrella. We were all getting soaked and, after a good 10 minutes of heavy down pour, decided to make the run. We scrambled to the stadium stairs, the part without the roof, and were smashed against the wall. My side got completely drenched…the umbrella was dripping water on me. We were all laughing, shivering, and getting up, close, and personal…let’s just say it was a bonding experience, ha!
After the rain let up, everyone was pushing and shoving through the crowd to find seats. We ran through a section, I hopped over a rail with a skirt on…I call that talent, and found seats in a section closer than we were before! Good deal…we were seated in the middle of the field and had an awesome view. I was sitting shoulder to shoulder between a stranger and Wes…it was quite crowded! For the remaining 1 ½ hours we sat in our seats and talked until the teams came out and we all cheered for them. Rwandan fans are definite supporters…dancing, shouting, clapping, blowing horns, painted faces, dressing up, etc…it was one big party. The game was so much fun. It turns out that neither teams scored, it was a tie. I was surprised that they didn’t go into overtime…thought they would, but they didn’t! The whole time I had to squint because, although our seats had a great view of the field, it also had a great view of the sun…I squinted the whole game. My eyes started to water from all of my squinting…but, I still had fun. When the game was over, crowds and crowds of people gushed out of the stadium…we walked home, which isn’t far from the stadium, and dodged cars, taxis, and people that were flooding from the gates. We got home and had pizza night! In the evening, we played a Disney game called “Scene It” and then a bunch of us girls went star gazing outside. Africa’s skies are beautiful…the stars are so bright. We were able to enjoy the breathtaking view until T.J., one of our guard dogs, sprinted towards us and hoped over 4 girls, landed on Suzy, and ran away. I saw the dog coming and thankfully had enough time to stand up…for those of you who don’t know, I am very afraid of dogs. We put the dogs in the back so they would stop bothering us…the dog took the blanket I was using with him…
Sunday morning, I visited an Anglican church with Danielle, Joy, Roanna, Suzy, Sandy, and Jenny. It was a mixture of English and Kinyrwandan. I enjoyed having a more English service…it is difficult to sit through 3 or 4 hour services of foreign languages…it was nice to understand what was going on. I liked the church and will probably go back again. After church, we walked into town and had lunch and coffee at Bourbon, which is a Rwandan coffee shop that is so good! Actually, they are opening the first Bourbon Coffee Shop in D.C. soon. We sat and talked for awhile and then read for a bit. It was very relaxing. A few of us visited the Craft Coop. across the street. I found some nice crafts including a pair of traditional Rwandan earrings…they are kind of hard to describe but they are basically threaded circles of all sorts of colors. Women wear them everywhere. I was happy with my purchases and we were all done shopping…so we headed for home. I took a quick nap which felt nice…I have been really tired lately, and got some reading done. In the evening, we spent some time singing songs together-so many good guitar players and singers in this group-and loading pics. I finally got the white water rafting photos…I had to laugh to myself as I flipped through the different pics…I hope to load them onto Facebook soon so that all can see what we went through, ha!
Today, I had classes in the morning to afternoon. After school, Suzy, Roanna, and I went to PHARP, which is an organization that leads a sewing class for victims of genocide. They are great seamstresses…many of the girls on my team have already had dresses and skirts made! We visited the class to teach them English for the next 2 weeks. We will meet 3 times a week for 1 hour. Today, we kind of played it by ear. We had no idea how much English they knew so…we basically, did an introduction of greetings, clothing, colors, etc…we thought these topics may be helpful considering that they work with fabric daily. Our lesson went well…it was fun to hear the women recite the words we presented. Some girls seem to be very good at learning languages while others get very nervous speaking. It was a good experience and I look forward to see them again. We meet on Wednesday. Anyway, I think that is a fairly good update as to what we did in the past week. I’ll try to update more frequently in these last couple of weeks! Crazy how fast time flies by….but, until then, ta ta for now!
This weekend was so much fun! I felt like I really got to know Kigali well…and we had a lot of good group bonding time. On Friday, after classes, most of the group and I went to market in search for who could find the funniest t-shirt. All of us muzungus were running around market, sorting through piles and piles of t-shirts (they have the most random t-shirts here), and finally deciding on the one that we thought would be the grand winner. Clint, Dwight and Brenda’s son, was the judge. I found a light blue shirt…it had a huge smile on the front with braces and underneath the mouth it read, “Brace Yourself.’’ I thought it was funny…unfortunately, it was not the winner but makes for good memories. Everyone bought shirts with funny sayings about an old, 60 year old woman and monkeys…etc. It was fun to see what all people could come up with. Anyway, the contest took place after dinner. Everyone put on their shirts and displayed them for Clint. Mindi won the contest…a jar of nutella was her prize! After the contest, we had fun playing group games. Have you ever heard of Fishbowl? It is so much fun…it involves 3 rounds of describing words, charades, and using 1 word phrases…2 teams, whoever gets the most points wins. We played 2 rounds before we called it quits. It’s hilarious to see people’s facial expressions…and acting, we have some really good actors. Good times! All the girls wanted to have a girl’s night, so we kicked the boys out of the house, ate tons of nutella (Mindi was nice to share), talked, and watched a chick flick, “The Wedding Date.” It was late and we were all tired from our day of shopping, playing games, and having fun…so we all got situated in the living room. There were a lot of us trying to fit in the small living room...we slept on the floor and couches. It wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping position, but, surprisingly, I was able to catch a descent amount of zzzzzzz’s.
Saturday was Pancake Day! Every Saturday, the girls join the guys at the Jackson’s house to eat pancakes…we woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and warm pancakes. It reminded me of the many sleepovers we had at my house and at friends…good memories. I played Jack Johnson “Banana Pancake” song….thought it was fitting. In the morning, most of us hung out at the house…it was Rwanda’s monthly holiday, Umuoganda. On this day, all transportation, stores, and jobs do not work in the morning. All persons are required to help clean or do some type of service in the community. Everything is closed until 12. The streets were so peaceful…traffic was much less. It was nice to have a relaxing morning.
For lunch, Roanna, Suzy, and I walked to market to find some fresh fruit. Roanna was able to buy some mangos and oranges…me and Suzy were craving apples but had no luck. We rode a mutatu to a grocery store close to where we live and found some lunch….but no apples. We walked back to the house, ate lunch, and hurried off to the World Cup Qualifiers game between Rwanda and Algeria. The streets were already packed about 2 hours beforehand…so we decided we should probably go. We met up with some other people in our group, went through security (ha, that was interesting…felt very violated. No worries, it was a woman security guard), and went to find our seats. We had descent seats that had a good view of the field. Soon after getting situated, it started to down pour. HUGE raindrops and small pieces of hail started to fall from the very dark sky. Luckily, Wes brought an umbrella. It was hilarious….everyone in the stadium dodged down the stairs to hide beneath the stadium roof. But we brave souls, decided to wait it out. Wes, Roanna, Jenny, a random Rwandan couple, and I were crammed under Wes’ umbrella. We were all getting soaked and, after a good 10 minutes of heavy down pour, decided to make the run. We scrambled to the stadium stairs, the part without the roof, and were smashed against the wall. My side got completely drenched…the umbrella was dripping water on me. We were all laughing, shivering, and getting up, close, and personal…let’s just say it was a bonding experience, ha!
After the rain let up, everyone was pushing and shoving through the crowd to find seats. We ran through a section, I hopped over a rail with a skirt on…I call that talent, and found seats in a section closer than we were before! Good deal…we were seated in the middle of the field and had an awesome view. I was sitting shoulder to shoulder between a stranger and Wes…it was quite crowded! For the remaining 1 ½ hours we sat in our seats and talked until the teams came out and we all cheered for them. Rwandan fans are definite supporters…dancing, shouting, clapping, blowing horns, painted faces, dressing up, etc…it was one big party. The game was so much fun. It turns out that neither teams scored, it was a tie. I was surprised that they didn’t go into overtime…thought they would, but they didn’t! The whole time I had to squint because, although our seats had a great view of the field, it also had a great view of the sun…I squinted the whole game. My eyes started to water from all of my squinting…but, I still had fun. When the game was over, crowds and crowds of people gushed out of the stadium…we walked home, which isn’t far from the stadium, and dodged cars, taxis, and people that were flooding from the gates. We got home and had pizza night! In the evening, we played a Disney game called “Scene It” and then a bunch of us girls went star gazing outside. Africa’s skies are beautiful…the stars are so bright. We were able to enjoy the breathtaking view until T.J., one of our guard dogs, sprinted towards us and hoped over 4 girls, landed on Suzy, and ran away. I saw the dog coming and thankfully had enough time to stand up…for those of you who don’t know, I am very afraid of dogs. We put the dogs in the back so they would stop bothering us…the dog took the blanket I was using with him…
Sunday morning, I visited an Anglican church with Danielle, Joy, Roanna, Suzy, Sandy, and Jenny. It was a mixture of English and Kinyrwandan. I enjoyed having a more English service…it is difficult to sit through 3 or 4 hour services of foreign languages…it was nice to understand what was going on. I liked the church and will probably go back again. After church, we walked into town and had lunch and coffee at Bourbon, which is a Rwandan coffee shop that is so good! Actually, they are opening the first Bourbon Coffee Shop in D.C. soon. We sat and talked for awhile and then read for a bit. It was very relaxing. A few of us visited the Craft Coop. across the street. I found some nice crafts including a pair of traditional Rwandan earrings…they are kind of hard to describe but they are basically threaded circles of all sorts of colors. Women wear them everywhere. I was happy with my purchases and we were all done shopping…so we headed for home. I took a quick nap which felt nice…I have been really tired lately, and got some reading done. In the evening, we spent some time singing songs together-so many good guitar players and singers in this group-and loading pics. I finally got the white water rafting photos…I had to laugh to myself as I flipped through the different pics…I hope to load them onto Facebook soon so that all can see what we went through, ha!
Today, I had classes in the morning to afternoon. After school, Suzy, Roanna, and I went to PHARP, which is an organization that leads a sewing class for victims of genocide. They are great seamstresses…many of the girls on my team have already had dresses and skirts made! We visited the class to teach them English for the next 2 weeks. We will meet 3 times a week for 1 hour. Today, we kind of played it by ear. We had no idea how much English they knew so…we basically, did an introduction of greetings, clothing, colors, etc…we thought these topics may be helpful considering that they work with fabric daily. Our lesson went well…it was fun to hear the women recite the words we presented. Some girls seem to be very good at learning languages while others get very nervous speaking. It was a good experience and I look forward to see them again. We meet on Wednesday. Anyway, I think that is a fairly good update as to what we did in the past week. I’ll try to update more frequently in these last couple of weeks! Crazy how fast time flies by….but, until then, ta ta for now!
Monday, March 30, 2009
God Brings a Healing Heart...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
We had our first week of classes this past week. I am taking two courses, a Social Context and Development class and a Peace Building course. I really enjoy my teachers. My Peace Building teacher is Rwandan and my Social Context professor is from the U.S. He has been in Rwanda numerous years as the country director. I am enjoying these classes and am learning so much about Rwanda’s history and development.
We had two field trips this past week to visit genocide memorials. On Monday, we visited a site that had 15 large burials plots….there were 75,000 victims at this memorial. Inside, we were able to see numerous pictures, informative side notes, and watched some videos of victims describing their experience. The first floor focused on Rwanda’s genocide, the 2nd on genocides that have occurred in other parts of the world, and 3rd floor was dedicated to all the children who were killed in genocide. I was only able to see the 1st floor and part of the 2nd because we ran out of time. There was so much to look at and read about…I learned a lot and am continuing to learn so much about Rwanda’s history.
On Thursday, we visited the church memorial. During the 1994 massacre, people fled to churches with the hope of escaping death. Unfortunately, those who fled to churches became genocide victims as well. In this church, 10,000 people died…only 2 children were found alive, they were buried beneath the many dead bodies. When I walked in the church, I saw the bullet holes in the doors and roof…old benches were piled high with clothing of the victims. Down below were skulls and jewelry of victims. We walked outside where large burial plots were built. Beneath the ground were more skulls, bones, and caskets filled with remains.
After visiting the memorials, I tried to place myself in the situation of the Tutsis and Hutus…I can not imagine. I interact with victims of the genocide every day and I sit and I walk on streets that were once filled with bloodshed. Rwanda has a sad history filled with much pain, but I am constantly amazed at the way in which God has brought peace to these people…I am living in a country that has been healed and is constantly healing. I recognize the damage of sin and see the need for forgiveness. I am inspired and hope to use this experience to change my life in the way that I act and show love to others. I pray and hope that God grants me peace in my heart to be a servant unto others, listen to His call for my life, and to live with forgiveness in my heart.
We had our first week of classes this past week. I am taking two courses, a Social Context and Development class and a Peace Building course. I really enjoy my teachers. My Peace Building teacher is Rwandan and my Social Context professor is from the U.S. He has been in Rwanda numerous years as the country director. I am enjoying these classes and am learning so much about Rwanda’s history and development.
We had two field trips this past week to visit genocide memorials. On Monday, we visited a site that had 15 large burials plots….there were 75,000 victims at this memorial. Inside, we were able to see numerous pictures, informative side notes, and watched some videos of victims describing their experience. The first floor focused on Rwanda’s genocide, the 2nd on genocides that have occurred in other parts of the world, and 3rd floor was dedicated to all the children who were killed in genocide. I was only able to see the 1st floor and part of the 2nd because we ran out of time. There was so much to look at and read about…I learned a lot and am continuing to learn so much about Rwanda’s history.
On Thursday, we visited the church memorial. During the 1994 massacre, people fled to churches with the hope of escaping death. Unfortunately, those who fled to churches became genocide victims as well. In this church, 10,000 people died…only 2 children were found alive, they were buried beneath the many dead bodies. When I walked in the church, I saw the bullet holes in the doors and roof…old benches were piled high with clothing of the victims. Down below were skulls and jewelry of victims. We walked outside where large burial plots were built. Beneath the ground were more skulls, bones, and caskets filled with remains.
After visiting the memorials, I tried to place myself in the situation of the Tutsis and Hutus…I can not imagine. I interact with victims of the genocide every day and I sit and I walk on streets that were once filled with bloodshed. Rwanda has a sad history filled with much pain, but I am constantly amazed at the way in which God has brought peace to these people…I am living in a country that has been healed and is constantly healing. I recognize the damage of sin and see the need for forgiveness. I am inspired and hope to use this experience to change my life in the way that I act and show love to others. I pray and hope that God grants me peace in my heart to be a servant unto others, listen to His call for my life, and to live with forgiveness in my heart.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Living in the Land of a Thousand Hills...
Monday, March 16, 2009
On Saturday, we left bright and early for
Due to little space at the guest house, the girls are separated from the boys. We, the girls, are staying at a retreat center that is run by nuns…it is a 15 minute walk from the guy’s house. The girls are split up in groups of two. Our rooms are in a row, similar to motel style, and share a common end bathroom and shower. We have classes at this compound. The guys are living at the guest house…this is where we spend most of our time and eat all of our dinners. Our professor and his family lives at this house…it reminds me of home. Plus, we have a patio that overlooks a beautiful view of the city.
Since being here, we have relaxed and got situated in our rooms. Today, we had our first Peace building Class as well as orientation. We met some Rwandans, our field assistants or “hired friends,” and they showed us downtown and the transportation system. It is very developed here…they have supermarkets, coffee shops that look like Starbucks, and super clean roads. It almost looks like a city in the U.S…but inA Long, Short Summary of My Practicum Experience in Ethiopia
Sunday, March 15, 2009
For the past 3 ½ weeks I was in
Suzy and I lived in the FH compound with the other FH staff. Each person had their own room…kind of like an outside dormitory with a shower and bathroom at the end. We had a really good cook named Tenanye. For breakfast we’d drink tea and eat pasta or rice with bread. Sometimes she served Fer Fer, a traditional dish that is a mixture of injera pieces, meat, and a spicy sauce…I was not a fan. Then, for lunch and dinner we ate injera, sheep meat (which I did not like or eat much of…ate some unknown parts), vegetables, and shiro which is like a lentil sauce. Every day after lunch we had a coffee ceremony which was sooo good. Ethiopian coffee is served in small coffee cups, is very strong, and has a lot of sugar. Definitely the best coffee I have tasted…it is so sweet and fresh. Fresh coffee is green, then it is roasted, grinded into fine grounds, and dissolves in hot water until the right consistency. Everyone had coffee ceremonies either in the morning or afternoon.
We formed close relationships with many of the staff and learned so much from them! They are awesome people who have a desire to serve God in all that they do. Every morning, we woke up early for staff prayer and devotions. During this time, I learned the importance of prayer and how powerful it is. They have left their families who live hours away to serve this rural, remote community in poverty…I could not imagine how hard that would be.
During our time, we worked mainly with CDP (Child Development Project). This involved leading a girl’s group, talked with classrooms in the school, and did home visits with some of the sponsor children. We also had the chance to visit some of the agriculture and water sites. I learned so much about the community…and was especially drawn to the inequality issue. In this community, women are seen as inferior, men superior. Early marriage is a major issue. At the age of 12 and 13 young girls are dropping out of school to marry. Boys typically marry around the age of 18. We saw many young mothers who looked around the age of 14 and already had children. We talked about the importance of education and waiting for marriage in our girl’s group.
Inequality is also seen in the gender roles. At young ages, girls carry heavy jugs of water from the river to their hut numerous times during the day. They also may be expected to carry heavy piles of sticks on their backs, cook, clean, take care of their siblings, etc. While the men herd the cattle which mainly involved sitting around and talking with their friends. When walking through the village, we often saw men getting drunk and playing cards. At some of the home visits we met with two sponsor girls. The girls did not talk much, as they are taught not to communicate or express themselves, and did not smile…you could see in their eyes that they had no joy or hope in their life. Very sad….
In Sogue live the Gumuz and Highlander people. There has been much tension between the two people groups over the past couple years. It has been a conflict of racial tension and a struggle for resources. Last May, a massacre erupted between the Gumuz and Highlanders…in four days, 200 boys and men were killed while the girls and women were raped or physically abused. The government stepped in and settled the dispute. Although both groups live peaceably now, unspoken tension remains. However, Sogue is very safe and we enjoyed our stay.
The night before we left Sogue, we had a camp fire…which means butchering a sheep and cooking the meat for dinner. Suzy and I made an American meal for them to share a little bit of our culture with the staff…it was difficult to find ingredients and cook over coals, so we decided to grill bread for sandwiches and made a salad. At the camp fire, they presented us with traditional dresses and shawls. They were beautiful! Zeldanesh, a staff member, showed us how to put them on…we were told we had to put them on before we could continue with our farewell ceremony. Suzy and I bought the staff a clock. Who knows if they’ll use it, but they appreciated our gift. We talked about what we learned and what a blessing it was to stay with them. That night, we shared in devotions, worship, dancing, and eating lots of good food. It was so much fun and I felt so special. I miss them!
For the last week, Awake, our supervisor, showed us around several places. We traveled for TWO days in jet packed car…we sat 4 people in the backseat, so squished. We also stopped every few hours for macchiatos, fruit, corn, etc...let’s just say we never went hungry with Awake and all became addicted to coffee. We were all tired and were so thankful when we finally arrived in Zuway, the other FH program in
The last three days were spent traveling and exploring
We visited the FH headquarters and were able to see some of the markets. On Wednesday night, Awake took our group out to a cultural restaurant for our last hoorah! It was so cool. We ate traditional food-injera and other special dishes, had a coffee ceremony, listened to music and watched the many cultural dances which were so cool! The dancers wore different Ethiopian dresses for each dance…each dance represented a different part of
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Moving into the Next Stage...Going to ETHIOPIA!!!
Hello Everyone!
So, this past week was our last week spent in Kampala. It was very busy with completing school assignments...we ended classes on Friday! I also had the opportunity to visit the slums in mid week with some other friends. It was a very eye opening experience...I am glad I went. We met with Jess, a woman who works with African Hearts Organization. She helps provide first aid to the street kids as well as fulfills several other duties. On Friday, we went to market with Grace, our cook, and ate at an Indian Restaurant downtown. I discovered my dislike for Indian food...too spicy for my taste buds! Saturday was Valentine's Day. The girls got up early to wake up the boys with blaring Backstreet Boys song, "As Long as You Love Me" and burst into their room with cards we made and a poem we wrote. We also made breakfast, which included bacon!, and eggs, which I made, to celebrate! Later we delivered the heart sugar cookies. The morning was relaxed and then me, Roanna, and Jenny went into to town...found a cute milkshake place and shared a vanilla milkshake. Then, we came home to eat dinner and head out to a worship service. Turns out what we thought to be a 6:30 service actually began at 5:15...so, we basically sang 10 minutes of worship songs and then it ended. We got to talk to Pastor Francis who was so funny...hope to return to the church. Afterwards, we went to a snack place and got some juice....then headed home. Sunday, a bunch of us went to Aero Beach in Entebbe. It was soo much fun...felt like I was in the Bahamas. They blasted fun music while we swam, played frisbee, a volleyball game with some Ugandan dudes, and relaxed...caught some sun rays and am a little darker with some sunburn too. Sandy, Suzy, and I left early to go back and make dinner...it was our night to cook. We were slightly delayed due to traffic and a mutatu incident...I'll talk about that later, but anyway, we got home and grilled chicken with toasted sandwiches, chips, and frozen chocolate bananas. Then, I packed for Ethiopia and joined our group for our last worship time together. Today is very busy. Everyone has left for their practicums except for my group...the house is very empty and we are busy packing, etc. We leave at 2 and our flight is around 5 I think...we'll get into Ethiopia around 7 or so. I will be staying there for 3 1/2 weeks working with Child Development...working with kids, organizing a girl's group, and other things. I gotta go but I will write in a few weeks! Bye
So, this past week was our last week spent in Kampala. It was very busy with completing school assignments...we ended classes on Friday! I also had the opportunity to visit the slums in mid week with some other friends. It was a very eye opening experience...I am glad I went. We met with Jess, a woman who works with African Hearts Organization. She helps provide first aid to the street kids as well as fulfills several other duties. On Friday, we went to market with Grace, our cook, and ate at an Indian Restaurant downtown. I discovered my dislike for Indian food...too spicy for my taste buds! Saturday was Valentine's Day. The girls got up early to wake up the boys with blaring Backstreet Boys song, "As Long as You Love Me" and burst into their room with cards we made and a poem we wrote. We also made breakfast, which included bacon!, and eggs, which I made, to celebrate! Later we delivered the heart sugar cookies. The morning was relaxed and then me, Roanna, and Jenny went into to town...found a cute milkshake place and shared a vanilla milkshake. Then, we came home to eat dinner and head out to a worship service. Turns out what we thought to be a 6:30 service actually began at 5:15...so, we basically sang 10 minutes of worship songs and then it ended. We got to talk to Pastor Francis who was so funny...hope to return to the church. Afterwards, we went to a snack place and got some juice....then headed home. Sunday, a bunch of us went to Aero Beach in Entebbe. It was soo much fun...felt like I was in the Bahamas. They blasted fun music while we swam, played frisbee, a volleyball game with some Ugandan dudes, and relaxed...caught some sun rays and am a little darker with some sunburn too. Sandy, Suzy, and I left early to go back and make dinner...it was our night to cook. We were slightly delayed due to traffic and a mutatu incident...I'll talk about that later, but anyway, we got home and grilled chicken with toasted sandwiches, chips, and frozen chocolate bananas. Then, I packed for Ethiopia and joined our group for our last worship time together. Today is very busy. Everyone has left for their practicums except for my group...the house is very empty and we are busy packing, etc. We leave at 2 and our flight is around 5 I think...we'll get into Ethiopia around 7 or so. I will be staying there for 3 1/2 weeks working with Child Development...working with kids, organizing a girl's group, and other things. I gotta go but I will write in a few weeks! Bye
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
So....I walked through a Forest....
Sunday, February 8, 2009
This past week has been very busy. On Thursday, my rural visit group-Anna, Suzy, Wes, and Eli plus Ryan-met Paul to spend the day with him and celebrate his first birthday party! He has never done anything special on his birthday…so we decided to bake him a chocolate cake, buy him lunch, and sing “Happy Birthday” to him a few months after…his special day is actually in November. Anyway, early Thursday afternoon we met up with Paul in the taxi park. It took some time until we finally found each other, but once we were all together…we jumped on a mutatu for a 40 minute drive to Entebbe. We were going to the beach for the day…it was actually Lake Victoria but felt like a beach. On the mutatu, I met a nice woman who lived in Entebbe.
Once we arrived in Entebbe, we got out of the car and headed to the zoo…we added another event for the day because Paul said there was one close by. However, the zoo cost $20,000 shillings, too expensive for us! Then, we saw a place for boat rides…again, it was too expensive. So, we decided to stick with our original plan and go to the beach. Since it was rather far away, we caught a ride on a mutatu and headed to Lake Victoria. The beach was awesome! We ate delicious cake, swam in the water, and hung out for the afternoon. I was kind of cold and didn’t really feel like going in the water, but the others convinced me to swim for a little…so I went into the murky water filled with dirt, snails, and mushy ground. Thanks to Ryan I got dunked a couple of times…the guys tried to get Anna in the water too, but she held strong. Ha, it was funny to watch! After swimming, we hung out on the beach and talked with Paul while he had his fish and chips…our treat J It was good to see and talk with him again…it might be the last time we get to see him before practicum. Oh yea, I forgot to say that I found out I am going to ETHIOPIA for practicum…I am so excited! I will be traveling to another country that is supposedly gorgeous! It is known for coffee and silver…it is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Suzy, Tessa, Roanna, and Eli are coming too…but I think our group will be split up. We find out more details on Tuesday. I’m excited to find out more details because, as of now, all I know is the country and people who are going to the same country. Next Monday, we will be traveling to our practicum site…
Anyway, back to my Thursday, once it was past 4:00 we had to head back to Kampala to see the comedy show with our professor. We traveled on mutatu and did not get back to the taxi park until 6. Our class already left for the show by the time we got back to Kampala so we decided it best to go straight to the theater. We walked to the theater and met up with our group. We walked around the theater’s market then went to get seats for the 7’o clock show. Unfortunately, we waited 1 ½ hours until the show actually started. Sandy and I had fun passing time just joking around…they also had a Ugandan soap opera show playing on at the same time. That was actually really interesting…the story was about an abortion and then another episode was about a lady having a baby. These weren’t the most uplifting stories. Anyway, finally around 8:30 the show started. I was kind of annoyed because I was tired from the busy day, cold from my wet cloths, and really hungry because we missed dinner. The show went until 10:00. It was pretty funny…kind of reminded me of a Ugandan SNL. After the show, we were to head home on the bus. However, our bus drivers accidentally locked the keys in the bus and were trying to get inside with a clothes hanger through the window. After much waiting, Eli gave it a try and got it! I was so excited….ready to go home. Once home, which was close to 11:00, I heated up some leftovers and started some homework….it was a late night.
On Friday, we had class in the morning and afternoon. Then, right after school, Tessa, Roanna, Suzy, Jenny, and I quickly packed our bags, ate dinner, and headed to Jinja for our camping adventure. We left around 5:30 and headed to the taxi park. There, we caught a bus going to Jinja…we were all stuffed in the backseat. Our bus got stuck in a jam, typical, so our hour or so ride turned into a 2 hour ride. We didn’t get to Mabira Forest until 8:15 at night…it was pitch black, in the boonies, and we had no idea where we were going. I was a little nervous and somewhat scared. A nice man on the bus thought we were going to the Rainforest so he told us to go up the street to the right. We headed up the road but it looked really sketchy…so, Roanna called the front desk of the campsite we were staying at and asked for directions. The owner said he would send someone to meet us. Apparently, we were going the wrong way, as we predicted, and had to turn around and cross the street. On the other side, we found the correct road. We started walking and a nice group of ladies helped us find our way…they led us to the woman who was taking us to our banda, our cabin. I was glad we met up with some women because I would not feel comfortable or trust a man leading us in the dark to somewhere we didn’t know.
After walking through the mud and trees, we found our banda. It was a fairly nice room…we had 2 bunks for the 5 of us. It was a small room, but just right for the weekend. Our latrine was nearby and we had a wash bucket to bath…no one took showers the whole weekend. Friday, we talked in our room for a little bit and then got ready for bed. Because there were only 4 beds, Suzy and Roanna decided to sleep together. However, a few hours into the night, Jenny-who was sleeping in the bunk above me-creeped down, scared me, and asked if she could sleep with me. There was a lot of noise outside…lots of things falling on our roof and making a lot of noise, we later found out that we had a fig tree growing up above us. I was having trouble sleeping too so I didn’t mind the company. That was interesting…small bed for 2 people with a bad smelling mosquito net falling down all the time, kind of annoying. I didn’t get much sleep that night.
Saturday, we woke up around 9, got ready, and went to market to get food for the day. We brought fruit from home and then bought some bananas, mandazi-a bread donut for breakfast and chipatis for lunch. Plus, a few huge water bottles. After we were all set, we headed on our journey…what we were anticipating to be a 3 or 4 hour hike but turned out to be a 2 hour hike. Hiking through a forest is very different than hiking a mountain back home…it took me awhile to adjust. The ground was very wet and muddy, the forest was dense with trees and bushes…and there were animals making sounds that we didn’t recognize. In the forest live monkeys, bush pigs, and large snakes…at one point, we heard I think either a monkey or bush pig? make a noise that sounded like we were in its territory…we walked fast and clapped our hands and started to talk/sing loudly to quiet the animal. Some of the girls didn’t get scared…but I sure was! We also had to walk through some parts that were somewhat swampy…gushy mud that literally engulfed my whole shoe, it started to leak into my sneaker. At the end of our hike, we ended up on this dirt road leading back to our campsite. On the road we met these two men who were like, “Hello, do you have money? Our country is poor and your country is rich…can we have some money?” We said no and instead offered chapatti, but they just walked away smiling.
We walked back to our banda and, along the way, passed children who would run up to us saying, “Muzungu, how are you?” and then they would either wave, hold our hand, or run up to give us a hug. They were very cute! For a break, we ate lunch outside and then read our books for lit. class and took naps. In late afternoon, we headed out on another hike. This one, in my opinion, was much more enjoyable. I knew what to expect, the sun was shining, and we didn’t hear near as many animal noises. Our group talked a lot more on this hike and had fun looking at the huge trees that were some of the forest’s main features. This time, our hike was about an hour to hour and ½. We, once again, appeared at the market place. We were swarmed by the market sellers as we bought another water bottle…they were shoving beef and chicken sticks in our faces…not the most comfortable. Anyway, we passed through all of the children again and returned to our banda to finish our books and play cards. We also collected firewood for a camp fire.
Around 7, we headed to the dining area which was outside for dinner. Fairly quickly to when dinner was supposed to be, we got our food…I ordered an omelet and then we all shared rice and chips. We sat around the table talking for awhile and then headed back to camp to start our fire. Unfortunately, the wood was too wet and wouldn’t light. So, we lit our lantern and talked in our banda til 10…we made ourselves stay up until then, ha! Got ready for bed in our lovely smelling latrine and caught some zzzs. Leopards also live in the forest and usually come out at night. I always got nervous when waiting for others outside of the latrine…kind of scary. Saturday night, Jenny and I slept together again…we switched beds though because of the mosquito net. I was worried I wouldn’t get much sleep again but, fortunately, I got a descent amount!
Sunday morning, we got up around 8, packed our things, and headed out. We bought some more mandazis and caught a mutatu going to Kampala. We were packed in the bus. There was a 12 year old girl riding in the seat in front of me. I felt so bad for her…she was sick on the ride-looked like she was holding back her throw up-and the conductor kept making her squish into a small corner so that we could fit more people in the vehicle. She looked so uncomfortable and I felt bad for the way he was treating her. He was mean. Thankfully, someone got off and she sat on the seat for the rest of the trip. The time went by quickly, no jams today! We returned to the taxi park in about an hour and then got on a mutatu going to Muyenga. We arrived home around 11 and it felt wonderful! Kampala has become my Ugandan home…it’s nice to be back. We all took showers since we were gross, smelly, and I hadn’t showered since Thursday night! It felt so good to get warm and clean again. After putting some laundry in the washer, I was able to enjoy a cup of coffee and finish my homework. Later in the afternoon, Eli, Jess, Joy, Danielle, and I went to le Petite Village for coffee. The bakery/coffee shop was closed so we decided to try the restaurant beside it…very nice place! The rest of the day I have been reading and writing for school…this week is very busy. It is our last week of classes in Kampala and we have some last minute books to read and papers to write. Dinner tonight was good…each dish group makes a meal every Sunday night…tonight we had kabobs on the grill! Then, we started watching “Good Will Hunting.” Anyway, those are my stories from this weekend. Hope you enjoyed reading….I miss you all and hope everyone is doing well! Love, Kristen
This past week has been very busy. On Thursday, my rural visit group-Anna, Suzy, Wes, and Eli plus Ryan-met Paul to spend the day with him and celebrate his first birthday party! He has never done anything special on his birthday…so we decided to bake him a chocolate cake, buy him lunch, and sing “Happy Birthday” to him a few months after…his special day is actually in November. Anyway, early Thursday afternoon we met up with Paul in the taxi park. It took some time until we finally found each other, but once we were all together…we jumped on a mutatu for a 40 minute drive to Entebbe. We were going to the beach for the day…it was actually Lake Victoria but felt like a beach. On the mutatu, I met a nice woman who lived in Entebbe.
Once we arrived in Entebbe, we got out of the car and headed to the zoo…we added another event for the day because Paul said there was one close by. However, the zoo cost $20,000 shillings, too expensive for us! Then, we saw a place for boat rides…again, it was too expensive. So, we decided to stick with our original plan and go to the beach. Since it was rather far away, we caught a ride on a mutatu and headed to Lake Victoria. The beach was awesome! We ate delicious cake, swam in the water, and hung out for the afternoon. I was kind of cold and didn’t really feel like going in the water, but the others convinced me to swim for a little…so I went into the murky water filled with dirt, snails, and mushy ground. Thanks to Ryan I got dunked a couple of times…the guys tried to get Anna in the water too, but she held strong. Ha, it was funny to watch! After swimming, we hung out on the beach and talked with Paul while he had his fish and chips…our treat J It was good to see and talk with him again…it might be the last time we get to see him before practicum. Oh yea, I forgot to say that I found out I am going to ETHIOPIA for practicum…I am so excited! I will be traveling to another country that is supposedly gorgeous! It is known for coffee and silver…it is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Suzy, Tessa, Roanna, and Eli are coming too…but I think our group will be split up. We find out more details on Tuesday. I’m excited to find out more details because, as of now, all I know is the country and people who are going to the same country. Next Monday, we will be traveling to our practicum site…
Anyway, back to my Thursday, once it was past 4:00 we had to head back to Kampala to see the comedy show with our professor. We traveled on mutatu and did not get back to the taxi park until 6. Our class already left for the show by the time we got back to Kampala so we decided it best to go straight to the theater. We walked to the theater and met up with our group. We walked around the theater’s market then went to get seats for the 7’o clock show. Unfortunately, we waited 1 ½ hours until the show actually started. Sandy and I had fun passing time just joking around…they also had a Ugandan soap opera show playing on at the same time. That was actually really interesting…the story was about an abortion and then another episode was about a lady having a baby. These weren’t the most uplifting stories. Anyway, finally around 8:30 the show started. I was kind of annoyed because I was tired from the busy day, cold from my wet cloths, and really hungry because we missed dinner. The show went until 10:00. It was pretty funny…kind of reminded me of a Ugandan SNL. After the show, we were to head home on the bus. However, our bus drivers accidentally locked the keys in the bus and were trying to get inside with a clothes hanger through the window. After much waiting, Eli gave it a try and got it! I was so excited….ready to go home. Once home, which was close to 11:00, I heated up some leftovers and started some homework….it was a late night.
On Friday, we had class in the morning and afternoon. Then, right after school, Tessa, Roanna, Suzy, Jenny, and I quickly packed our bags, ate dinner, and headed to Jinja for our camping adventure. We left around 5:30 and headed to the taxi park. There, we caught a bus going to Jinja…we were all stuffed in the backseat. Our bus got stuck in a jam, typical, so our hour or so ride turned into a 2 hour ride. We didn’t get to Mabira Forest until 8:15 at night…it was pitch black, in the boonies, and we had no idea where we were going. I was a little nervous and somewhat scared. A nice man on the bus thought we were going to the Rainforest so he told us to go up the street to the right. We headed up the road but it looked really sketchy…so, Roanna called the front desk of the campsite we were staying at and asked for directions. The owner said he would send someone to meet us. Apparently, we were going the wrong way, as we predicted, and had to turn around and cross the street. On the other side, we found the correct road. We started walking and a nice group of ladies helped us find our way…they led us to the woman who was taking us to our banda, our cabin. I was glad we met up with some women because I would not feel comfortable or trust a man leading us in the dark to somewhere we didn’t know.
After walking through the mud and trees, we found our banda. It was a fairly nice room…we had 2 bunks for the 5 of us. It was a small room, but just right for the weekend. Our latrine was nearby and we had a wash bucket to bath…no one took showers the whole weekend. Friday, we talked in our room for a little bit and then got ready for bed. Because there were only 4 beds, Suzy and Roanna decided to sleep together. However, a few hours into the night, Jenny-who was sleeping in the bunk above me-creeped down, scared me, and asked if she could sleep with me. There was a lot of noise outside…lots of things falling on our roof and making a lot of noise, we later found out that we had a fig tree growing up above us. I was having trouble sleeping too so I didn’t mind the company. That was interesting…small bed for 2 people with a bad smelling mosquito net falling down all the time, kind of annoying. I didn’t get much sleep that night.
Saturday, we woke up around 9, got ready, and went to market to get food for the day. We brought fruit from home and then bought some bananas, mandazi-a bread donut for breakfast and chipatis for lunch. Plus, a few huge water bottles. After we were all set, we headed on our journey…what we were anticipating to be a 3 or 4 hour hike but turned out to be a 2 hour hike. Hiking through a forest is very different than hiking a mountain back home…it took me awhile to adjust. The ground was very wet and muddy, the forest was dense with trees and bushes…and there were animals making sounds that we didn’t recognize. In the forest live monkeys, bush pigs, and large snakes…at one point, we heard I think either a monkey or bush pig? make a noise that sounded like we were in its territory…we walked fast and clapped our hands and started to talk/sing loudly to quiet the animal. Some of the girls didn’t get scared…but I sure was! We also had to walk through some parts that were somewhat swampy…gushy mud that literally engulfed my whole shoe, it started to leak into my sneaker. At the end of our hike, we ended up on this dirt road leading back to our campsite. On the road we met these two men who were like, “Hello, do you have money? Our country is poor and your country is rich…can we have some money?” We said no and instead offered chapatti, but they just walked away smiling.
We walked back to our banda and, along the way, passed children who would run up to us saying, “Muzungu, how are you?” and then they would either wave, hold our hand, or run up to give us a hug. They were very cute! For a break, we ate lunch outside and then read our books for lit. class and took naps. In late afternoon, we headed out on another hike. This one, in my opinion, was much more enjoyable. I knew what to expect, the sun was shining, and we didn’t hear near as many animal noises. Our group talked a lot more on this hike and had fun looking at the huge trees that were some of the forest’s main features. This time, our hike was about an hour to hour and ½. We, once again, appeared at the market place. We were swarmed by the market sellers as we bought another water bottle…they were shoving beef and chicken sticks in our faces…not the most comfortable. Anyway, we passed through all of the children again and returned to our banda to finish our books and play cards. We also collected firewood for a camp fire.
Around 7, we headed to the dining area which was outside for dinner. Fairly quickly to when dinner was supposed to be, we got our food…I ordered an omelet and then we all shared rice and chips. We sat around the table talking for awhile and then headed back to camp to start our fire. Unfortunately, the wood was too wet and wouldn’t light. So, we lit our lantern and talked in our banda til 10…we made ourselves stay up until then, ha! Got ready for bed in our lovely smelling latrine and caught some zzzs. Leopards also live in the forest and usually come out at night. I always got nervous when waiting for others outside of the latrine…kind of scary. Saturday night, Jenny and I slept together again…we switched beds though because of the mosquito net. I was worried I wouldn’t get much sleep again but, fortunately, I got a descent amount!
Sunday morning, we got up around 8, packed our things, and headed out. We bought some more mandazis and caught a mutatu going to Kampala. We were packed in the bus. There was a 12 year old girl riding in the seat in front of me. I felt so bad for her…she was sick on the ride-looked like she was holding back her throw up-and the conductor kept making her squish into a small corner so that we could fit more people in the vehicle. She looked so uncomfortable and I felt bad for the way he was treating her. He was mean. Thankfully, someone got off and she sat on the seat for the rest of the trip. The time went by quickly, no jams today! We returned to the taxi park in about an hour and then got on a mutatu going to Muyenga. We arrived home around 11 and it felt wonderful! Kampala has become my Ugandan home…it’s nice to be back. We all took showers since we were gross, smelly, and I hadn’t showered since Thursday night! It felt so good to get warm and clean again. After putting some laundry in the washer, I was able to enjoy a cup of coffee and finish my homework. Later in the afternoon, Eli, Jess, Joy, Danielle, and I went to le Petite Village for coffee. The bakery/coffee shop was closed so we decided to try the restaurant beside it…very nice place! The rest of the day I have been reading and writing for school…this week is very busy. It is our last week of classes in Kampala and we have some last minute books to read and papers to write. Dinner tonight was good…each dish group makes a meal every Sunday night…tonight we had kabobs on the grill! Then, we started watching “Good Will Hunting.” Anyway, those are my stories from this weekend. Hope you enjoyed reading….I miss you all and hope everyone is doing well! Love, Kristen
Monday, February 2, 2009
Exhilarating + Scary + VERY Bad Sunburn = White Water Rafting on the Nile River
Sunday, February 1, 2009
On Saturday, around 7 a.m., our group left for Jinja to white water raft the NILE RIVER!!! I was very nervous yet very excited to face the class 5 rapids that day. During our bus ride, it rained and looked gloomy outside…but when we arrived at Adrift Rapids, the sky was clear and weather was much warmer. Perfect day to go rafting! When we first got there, our group met with one of the lead guides named Josh. He was Canadian and very funny…all of our guides were funny. People from all over the world went rafting with us…a couple from Ireland, four Indian U.N. Peace Keepers, three guys from Australia, a group of students from Ghana, as well as a guy from Ireland and France (Steven and Peter) -they were in my boat. The rafting guides were from all over too…our guide, Clarkie, was from the U.K. He is actually a white water rafting instructor in Norway, but he’s a guide in Uganda for a couple months. He had a really cool accent as well as many of the other people.
Nine people rode in each raft. Joy, Jess, Mindie, Jenny, Steven, Peter, and Clarkie were in my raft. We called ourselves the French word for “warriors”…but I don’t know how to say or spell it so that’s all I am going to say. Anyway, before we started, everyone was given a banana to eat so that we would have enough energy to row 31 kilometers, that’s 19 miles!!! Then, we all geared up with life jackets, helmets, and oars…we took a quick group pic and began our journey. We left at 10:30 in the morning.
Clarkie was a great instructor. At the beginning of the trip, we were in calm waters so that we could practice for the rapids. One of the things we had to practice was if and when the raft flips over. I didn’t enjoy practicing this part because, when Clarkie flipped our raft, I got trapped underneath. I kept swallowing water as it kept smacking me in the face. I felt like I was going to die…I was very scared. Fortunately, I felt someone’s hand and dunked myself underwater to the other side. After much coughing and people reassuring me that I was okay, my team got back on the raft. I thought to myself, “what a great way to start the day…feeling like I’m going to die.” I was very scared and hesitant to face what we were about to encounter that day. I don’t have the best luck with water sports…as my family knows, ha!
So, we approach our first rapid of the day. We followed Clarkie’s instructions and rowed when told and held on and took cover when huge waves crashed on top of us. Mindie fell out of the boat and, of course, I did as well. However, this time, I knew to hang on to the rope tightly. It was actually kinda funny now looking back on it…in slow motion, my legs flew up into the air and I began to fall into the water. As I was falling out, Clarkie quickly grabbed me by my life jacket and pulled me back into the raft. Mindie was rescued too. Boy, was my adrenaline pumping! Soon after the rapid we had to pull off to the side…one of the rocks poked a hole in one of the rafts so they had to get a new one. Also, Sophie’s arm got twisted in the rope and, as it turns out, she had to go to the hospital for her very bad sprained (as the Jinja doctor said…but we’re not too sure if her diagnosis was correct) or broken arm.
After our break, we continued on with our day. I think we went over 4 more rapids, one being Big Brother which was a huge rapid…many people fell off, but our raft stayed afloat, thank goodness! This time, since I stayed in the boat, I was able to enjoy the experience more because I had no, “I feel like I’m going to die” feelings. Staying in the boat, I think, is much more fun. During the middle of the day we stopped for lunch. It was so good because we were all hungry…sandwiches, potato salad, and lots of fresh fruit…mmm!
Finally, we were re-energized and continued on with the day. The next couple of rapids were sooo crazy and so much fun! We went over a 14 foot waterfall…which many people got stuck on top of the rocks or flipped on the way down…our boat did neither, we made it down, first time…and everyone was in the boat! Depending on where you float and how your boat comes down the falls determines what happens. When we landed at the bottom, all of this water gushed into our raft. We had about a foot or more of water in the back…had to paddle hard to move away from the falls. Our boat was the first to go so we pulled off to the side and watched everyone else have a go…it was so funny to watch, people’s facial expressions were priceless! While we waited for everyone to experience the falls, people from the village were bathing in the water. They would jump in and watch our group go over the rapids…some talked to us as well. I’m sure they enjoy watching groups go down the rapids everyday.
We drifted through lakes in between rapids which was fun too…a good chance to talk with the people on our boat and do flips into the water, go for a little swim! On our last rapid, we had a choice of going 3 routes…the 1st was a class 3-not likely to flip, the 50/50 which may flip, and “the bad place” which was a guarantee flip. My raft chose the bad place, but some of us didn’t want to go. Anyway, before we went over the big rapid, we had to go through a level 1 rapid, pull off on land to walk our raft to the other side until we reached our destination-to load back on the raft and experience our last rapid of the day. Between the level 1 and level 5 rapid was a class 6, which is a deadly…that’s why we had to walk our raft around the class 6. I didn’t want to go to the bad place because I didn’t like the trapped feeling...usually it’s just 7 or 8 seconds but it feels like a lifetime. So, I found a raft that was going on the 50/50. We were the last group to go. Actually, the 50/50 felt like the bad place. We went through huge waves that crashed on top of us…only 3 of us stayed on the boat. While we were going through the rapids, we drifted too far right and were actually in what they call, “the other place.” Usually, this doesn’t happen…it is not good for rafts to go over this part of the river because it is very shallow and has lots of rocks below. Our instructor recognized the situation and kept yelling to us, Sandy, Anna, and me, on the boat to “MOVE LEFT!” It was kind of confusing as to what all was going on and it’s difficult to explain, but basically all of us were flopping all over the boat holding on to the rope for our dear lives. I also decided to chuck my oar and hold the rope in one hand and my nose in the other…I really thought I was going to be thrown off the raft. Luckily, the three of us and our instructor stayed on! I was amazed and flying high…although kinda scary, it was a fun ride….wave after wave after wave.
After the rapid, all of us reunited on our raft again. The kayakers picked up all the people who fell off the raft. We paddled all the way back to the ending spot…Sandy and me led the way. My arms felt like they were going to fall off…we were paddling fast to beat the storm that was coming our way. Finally, we reached land and all got off the boat. All of us piled on the bus and headed back to camp. Once we got back, a bunch of us hoped in the showers. The water was very spastic…always mixed between hot and VERY hot, but it felt good. Jenny and I showered together with our bathing suits on…the whole time we were shouting “OW, that is hot!!! Turn the knob to the right….NOOO, too hot, turn it to the left!!!” We were laughing the whole time and, once clean, felt refreshed again.
We were all very hungry and started getting dinner ready. Since we are all poor college students, we brought our own food…sausage, bread, potatoes, chips, fruit, and biscuits-which really taste like cookies. We had to go get charcoal to start the fire…this took awhile considering that the camp was out in the middle of nowhere. While we were waiting on our cooked sausages, we ate lots of biscuits with peanut butter and nutella…we were all starved! Finally, at around 8 or 9, dinner was ready. The sausages were really good…we all ate outside and talked with the Australian dudes. We laughed a lot and had fun…they were very outgoing. Then, around 10 or so, we all gathered into the lounge and watched the movie that taped us going over the rapids. It was so funny…facial expressions were great! Plus, I thought to myself, “I can’t believe I just did that!” Very cool and glad I rafted the Nile River. We were all tired and went to bed. I slept on the 4th bunk which was very high. All of us girls were in the same cabin. Not too long after we went to bed, the drunken Australians knocked on our door mistaking it for their room. Thankfully, Peter and Ben heard them knocking and came out to talk to them…we locked our door.
On Sunday, we woke up around 8 a.m., got ready, and ate breakfast out on the dock/lounge. This morning, Wes, Eli, Jordan, Ryan, Jess, and Sandy bungee jumped over the Nile. Wes forgot to close his eyes when being dunked into the water so, unfortunately, his eyes got bruised…kind of looks like purply-blue eye liner.. Bungee jumping looked like a lot of fun and I was tempted to try…but did not get up the nerve to go for the plunge. As it was early in the morning and feeling sore, I was not as tempted to jump off a high tower. I somewhat regret not going but Jenny, Ben, and I promised each other that if we have the opportunity again we will go! At least I saved 55 dollars! After everyone was done jumping off this super high platform, we headed home on the bus. The ride felt like forever. Since being home, I haven’t done much except for finish some homework and hang out. I know this is a really, really long post, but just trying to give lots of details so that you could have an idea as to what this weekend was like, and so that I can remember my trip down the Nile River. Oh yea, and I got really, REALLY burned…right now, my legs are bright red! That’s what you get when rafting for 7 or 8 hours…
On Saturday, around 7 a.m., our group left for Jinja to white water raft the NILE RIVER!!! I was very nervous yet very excited to face the class 5 rapids that day. During our bus ride, it rained and looked gloomy outside…but when we arrived at Adrift Rapids, the sky was clear and weather was much warmer. Perfect day to go rafting! When we first got there, our group met with one of the lead guides named Josh. He was Canadian and very funny…all of our guides were funny. People from all over the world went rafting with us…a couple from Ireland, four Indian U.N. Peace Keepers, three guys from Australia, a group of students from Ghana, as well as a guy from Ireland and France (Steven and Peter) -they were in my boat. The rafting guides were from all over too…our guide, Clarkie, was from the U.K. He is actually a white water rafting instructor in Norway, but he’s a guide in Uganda for a couple months. He had a really cool accent as well as many of the other people.
Nine people rode in each raft. Joy, Jess, Mindie, Jenny, Steven, Peter, and Clarkie were in my raft. We called ourselves the French word for “warriors”…but I don’t know how to say or spell it so that’s all I am going to say. Anyway, before we started, everyone was given a banana to eat so that we would have enough energy to row 31 kilometers, that’s 19 miles!!! Then, we all geared up with life jackets, helmets, and oars…we took a quick group pic and began our journey. We left at 10:30 in the morning.
Clarkie was a great instructor. At the beginning of the trip, we were in calm waters so that we could practice for the rapids. One of the things we had to practice was if and when the raft flips over. I didn’t enjoy practicing this part because, when Clarkie flipped our raft, I got trapped underneath. I kept swallowing water as it kept smacking me in the face. I felt like I was going to die…I was very scared. Fortunately, I felt someone’s hand and dunked myself underwater to the other side. After much coughing and people reassuring me that I was okay, my team got back on the raft. I thought to myself, “what a great way to start the day…feeling like I’m going to die.” I was very scared and hesitant to face what we were about to encounter that day. I don’t have the best luck with water sports…as my family knows, ha!
So, we approach our first rapid of the day. We followed Clarkie’s instructions and rowed when told and held on and took cover when huge waves crashed on top of us. Mindie fell out of the boat and, of course, I did as well. However, this time, I knew to hang on to the rope tightly. It was actually kinda funny now looking back on it…in slow motion, my legs flew up into the air and I began to fall into the water. As I was falling out, Clarkie quickly grabbed me by my life jacket and pulled me back into the raft. Mindie was rescued too. Boy, was my adrenaline pumping! Soon after the rapid we had to pull off to the side…one of the rocks poked a hole in one of the rafts so they had to get a new one. Also, Sophie’s arm got twisted in the rope and, as it turns out, she had to go to the hospital for her very bad sprained (as the Jinja doctor said…but we’re not too sure if her diagnosis was correct) or broken arm.
After our break, we continued on with our day. I think we went over 4 more rapids, one being Big Brother which was a huge rapid…many people fell off, but our raft stayed afloat, thank goodness! This time, since I stayed in the boat, I was able to enjoy the experience more because I had no, “I feel like I’m going to die” feelings. Staying in the boat, I think, is much more fun. During the middle of the day we stopped for lunch. It was so good because we were all hungry…sandwiches, potato salad, and lots of fresh fruit…mmm!
Finally, we were re-energized and continued on with the day. The next couple of rapids were sooo crazy and so much fun! We went over a 14 foot waterfall…which many people got stuck on top of the rocks or flipped on the way down…our boat did neither, we made it down, first time…and everyone was in the boat! Depending on where you float and how your boat comes down the falls determines what happens. When we landed at the bottom, all of this water gushed into our raft. We had about a foot or more of water in the back…had to paddle hard to move away from the falls. Our boat was the first to go so we pulled off to the side and watched everyone else have a go…it was so funny to watch, people’s facial expressions were priceless! While we waited for everyone to experience the falls, people from the village were bathing in the water. They would jump in and watch our group go over the rapids…some talked to us as well. I’m sure they enjoy watching groups go down the rapids everyday.
We drifted through lakes in between rapids which was fun too…a good chance to talk with the people on our boat and do flips into the water, go for a little swim! On our last rapid, we had a choice of going 3 routes…the 1st was a class 3-not likely to flip, the 50/50 which may flip, and “the bad place” which was a guarantee flip. My raft chose the bad place, but some of us didn’t want to go. Anyway, before we went over the big rapid, we had to go through a level 1 rapid, pull off on land to walk our raft to the other side until we reached our destination-to load back on the raft and experience our last rapid of the day. Between the level 1 and level 5 rapid was a class 6, which is a deadly…that’s why we had to walk our raft around the class 6. I didn’t want to go to the bad place because I didn’t like the trapped feeling...usually it’s just 7 or 8 seconds but it feels like a lifetime. So, I found a raft that was going on the 50/50. We were the last group to go. Actually, the 50/50 felt like the bad place. We went through huge waves that crashed on top of us…only 3 of us stayed on the boat. While we were going through the rapids, we drifted too far right and were actually in what they call, “the other place.” Usually, this doesn’t happen…it is not good for rafts to go over this part of the river because it is very shallow and has lots of rocks below. Our instructor recognized the situation and kept yelling to us, Sandy, Anna, and me, on the boat to “MOVE LEFT!” It was kind of confusing as to what all was going on and it’s difficult to explain, but basically all of us were flopping all over the boat holding on to the rope for our dear lives. I also decided to chuck my oar and hold the rope in one hand and my nose in the other…I really thought I was going to be thrown off the raft. Luckily, the three of us and our instructor stayed on! I was amazed and flying high…although kinda scary, it was a fun ride….wave after wave after wave.
After the rapid, all of us reunited on our raft again. The kayakers picked up all the people who fell off the raft. We paddled all the way back to the ending spot…Sandy and me led the way. My arms felt like they were going to fall off…we were paddling fast to beat the storm that was coming our way. Finally, we reached land and all got off the boat. All of us piled on the bus and headed back to camp. Once we got back, a bunch of us hoped in the showers. The water was very spastic…always mixed between hot and VERY hot, but it felt good. Jenny and I showered together with our bathing suits on…the whole time we were shouting “OW, that is hot!!! Turn the knob to the right….NOOO, too hot, turn it to the left!!!” We were laughing the whole time and, once clean, felt refreshed again.
We were all very hungry and started getting dinner ready. Since we are all poor college students, we brought our own food…sausage, bread, potatoes, chips, fruit, and biscuits-which really taste like cookies. We had to go get charcoal to start the fire…this took awhile considering that the camp was out in the middle of nowhere. While we were waiting on our cooked sausages, we ate lots of biscuits with peanut butter and nutella…we were all starved! Finally, at around 8 or 9, dinner was ready. The sausages were really good…we all ate outside and talked with the Australian dudes. We laughed a lot and had fun…they were very outgoing. Then, around 10 or so, we all gathered into the lounge and watched the movie that taped us going over the rapids. It was so funny…facial expressions were great! Plus, I thought to myself, “I can’t believe I just did that!” Very cool and glad I rafted the Nile River. We were all tired and went to bed. I slept on the 4th bunk which was very high. All of us girls were in the same cabin. Not too long after we went to bed, the drunken Australians knocked on our door mistaking it for their room. Thankfully, Peter and Ben heard them knocking and came out to talk to them…we locked our door.
On Sunday, we woke up around 8 a.m., got ready, and ate breakfast out on the dock/lounge. This morning, Wes, Eli, Jordan, Ryan, Jess, and Sandy bungee jumped over the Nile. Wes forgot to close his eyes when being dunked into the water so, unfortunately, his eyes got bruised…kind of looks like purply-blue eye liner.. Bungee jumping looked like a lot of fun and I was tempted to try…but did not get up the nerve to go for the plunge. As it was early in the morning and feeling sore, I was not as tempted to jump off a high tower. I somewhat regret not going but Jenny, Ben, and I promised each other that if we have the opportunity again we will go! At least I saved 55 dollars! After everyone was done jumping off this super high platform, we headed home on the bus. The ride felt like forever. Since being home, I haven’t done much except for finish some homework and hang out. I know this is a really, really long post, but just trying to give lots of details so that you could have an idea as to what this weekend was like, and so that I can remember my trip down the Nile River. Oh yea, and I got really, REALLY burned…right now, my legs are bright red! That’s what you get when rafting for 7 or 8 hours…
Monday, January 26, 2009
Livin' the True African Lifestyle...Rural Visit
Sunday, January 25, 2009
This weekend, our group was split up into groups of 5 to experience a rural home visit with our field assistants. My field assistant’s name is Paul. We actually learned later that he is known as Jimmy in his village, Mitch at church, and Paul in Kampala. So, he basically has 3 first names. Anyway, we began our travels on Friday at around 11 or so…our trek to Ilowya, the village, which was supposed to take 5 hours ended up being longer than expected. We took a very late lunch break at 4 in the afternoon. We stopped at a hotel restaurant, ordered right away, and waited for over an hour until we finally got our food. We had to eat quickly so that we wouldn’t be late for dinner at his family’s house. When we were driving on the way to his village we saw baboons. It was so cool! We watched the big and small baboons interact along the road…a mother was carrying her baby on her stomach. We threw bananas out the window so we could watch them eat. We took lots of pictures.
Finally, we arrived at the house and met Paul’s family. He has around 32 brothers and sisters, but not all of them were at home. His father has a couple wives. Everyone in his family was very kind. When we stepped out of the mutatu, his mother and sisters started screaming, ran to us, and greeted us with warm hugs. They were so happy for visitors. Once we unloaded the car, we got situated in our rooms. The girls, Suzy, Anna, Monika-Paul’s “sister,” and I stayed in a bedroom towards the back of the house. The 4 of us slept in the same bed…it was quite the crunch. Also, two other women slept on a floor mattress in our room. The guys, Wes and Eli, stayed with Paul in the room beside us.
Friday evening, Paul gave us a tour of his home and its surroundings. Behind the house were two huts, one for cooking and one was a house for the chickens and other animals, I think? They also have cows in the pasture behind. It got dark quickly and we went inside to talk with his father while we waited for dinner. There was no electricity. His father shared many interesting stories. Apparently, he was involved with the government and was highly wanted by rebels. The place where we stayed was battlegrounds during the war in the late 1980s. We had tea and bread with butter prior to our meal. At around 10 or so, dinner was served. We ate around lamplight. The women did not eat with us, as it is traditional that only the men eat and are served the food and the women who prepare the meal eat separately. Before we could eat our meal everyone washed their hands in a water basin. The meal included rice, meat, spaghetti stuff, millet bread, posho, and other food dishes I don’t remember. The same foods were prepared for all the meals except for breakfast. I liked the rice, spaghetti dishes, and fruits but did not care as much for the other things…but I tried every dish! Then, we went to bed. We used the latrines for brushing our teeth and going to the bathroom. Friday was a difficult sleeping night. Besides sharing a double bed with 4 other girls, the women talking, bats squeaking, rats’ pitter pattering on the floor, and pounding of rain on the tin roof kept me awake for most of the night. However, I was able to catch a couple zzz’s early in the morning.
We woke up early and got ready for the day. After breakfast, tea, bananas, and bread with butter, Paul gave us a tour of his community. We saw the huts that he and his brothers built, his old school, a woman digging for cassava, a barber shop, medical center, world vision center, um…and I think there were other places too. We pretty much saw everything in his village. It was a lot of fun…and a lot of walking. We went home to rest and eat lunch. We ate outside picnic style with his family. They had lots of fresh fruit-mangos, pineapple, jack fruit, apples, and oranges…all so good! I took a quick nap before heading to our next day event, the soccer game. Around 4 we left to go see his village and his neighboring village play a game of futbol as they call it here. I had a lot of fun…African soccer games are very different than American. These guys play barefoot or in sandals and use wooden sticks as goalie boxes. I began to take pictures during the game and all of these kids started crowding around me to see…I began to take pictures of them. The kids here always say, “Hey muzungu….” and always look at us with blank faces. People in the village aren’t used to seeing white people…we met a man around the age of 50 or so who has never seen a white person before. They are always so excited to see us.
Anyway, after I began taking pictures of the kids, they continued to follow me and ask for me to take their pictures…I’d take the photo, show it to them, and they would laugh with huge smiles on their face. Priceless moments…We left during half-time because it started to get dark and we didn’t want to go home and not be able to see. When we arrived home, we sat on the outside front porch and ate our tea and bread. Paul told us traditional riddles, proverbs, and stories that he was told as a child. We talked for a long time and I was beginning to get very tired. I feel asleep and wanted to go to bed…but had to stay up for dinner. Finally, around 10:30 dinner was served. Again, we washed our hands and shared the meal of rice, noodles, meat, and millet bread. After the meal, Paul had a prayer for us and a worship song for us to sing. This was my favorite part of the night. We, the visitors, sang a worship song we knew and then they, the hosts, sang and danced for us. It was awesome! They were screaming, clapping, and dancing to the beat of drums and singing. All of us enjoyed the entertainment and clapped along with them. We went to bed soon after that. Saturday night I slept like a rock because…I HAD EARPLUS, the best thing EVER!!! I love earplugs, they work wonders.
Sunday morning, I woke up early and got ready for church and packed up my things. Before breakfast, we slaughtered a chicken…this is an honor for all guests, to cut off a chicken’s head. Paul and Eli held the chicken so that Wes, the brave soul, could cut the neck. I wasn’t as grossed out as I thought I would be. After the chicken is dead, they stuck it in hot water so that the feathers are easier to remove. Then, the insides are removed and the chicken is skinned. This was our lunch for today. We had breakfast and sat in the living room until everyone was ready to leave for church. I loved this time of the day…Anna and Eli played the guitar and we all sang worship songs.
We went to Paul’s church and worshipped with his community. There were few families there, but the service was very good. The people welcomed us with open arms and expressed their love for God. There was lots of jumping, shouting, praying, dancing, and singing for two hours. They asked us to introduce ourselves and one of our songs…we sang “God of Wonders.” They really enjoyed our form of worship. After church we attend a funeral rite close by. The funeral rite was a celebration to honor and remember the person who died. However, the individual passed away 1 year ago…I believe that this was the last funeral rite ceremony for this person. During these celebrations, children and Adults come together to sit and talk in circles while sitting around a pot of millet beer with big, long straws. To fill up the pots, people continued to poor boiling water into the pot, there was a millet foam on top…it didn’t smell very good. We didn’t stay there for very long because we needed to get back for lunch. We ate with Paul’s family for the last time, took a family photo, and headed back to Kampala. It was a long bus ride…very, very bumpy, but we got home safe and sound.
Although I enjoyed this weekend very much, I was ready to get a shower and change into some clean clothes. However, after seeing and living in the rural village for a few days, I recognize the many blessings I have in my life. After seeing so much poverty this weekend, I almost feel guilty for everything I have. Children walk around the streets with dirt on their faces, holes in their shirts, and no pants to wear. It makes me question, why do I have the life I have and they theirs? It doesn’t seem fair or right. Yet, at the same time, I recognize that, despite the little that they have, they are filled with pure joy. And seeing these people filled with true happiness has made me recognize the many things I take for granted in my life and how much I need to be more appreciative for the many blessings I have.
This weekend, our group was split up into groups of 5 to experience a rural home visit with our field assistants. My field assistant’s name is Paul. We actually learned later that he is known as Jimmy in his village, Mitch at church, and Paul in Kampala. So, he basically has 3 first names. Anyway, we began our travels on Friday at around 11 or so…our trek to Ilowya, the village, which was supposed to take 5 hours ended up being longer than expected. We took a very late lunch break at 4 in the afternoon. We stopped at a hotel restaurant, ordered right away, and waited for over an hour until we finally got our food. We had to eat quickly so that we wouldn’t be late for dinner at his family’s house. When we were driving on the way to his village we saw baboons. It was so cool! We watched the big and small baboons interact along the road…a mother was carrying her baby on her stomach. We threw bananas out the window so we could watch them eat. We took lots of pictures.
Finally, we arrived at the house and met Paul’s family. He has around 32 brothers and sisters, but not all of them were at home. His father has a couple wives. Everyone in his family was very kind. When we stepped out of the mutatu, his mother and sisters started screaming, ran to us, and greeted us with warm hugs. They were so happy for visitors. Once we unloaded the car, we got situated in our rooms. The girls, Suzy, Anna, Monika-Paul’s “sister,” and I stayed in a bedroom towards the back of the house. The 4 of us slept in the same bed…it was quite the crunch. Also, two other women slept on a floor mattress in our room. The guys, Wes and Eli, stayed with Paul in the room beside us.
Friday evening, Paul gave us a tour of his home and its surroundings. Behind the house were two huts, one for cooking and one was a house for the chickens and other animals, I think? They also have cows in the pasture behind. It got dark quickly and we went inside to talk with his father while we waited for dinner. There was no electricity. His father shared many interesting stories. Apparently, he was involved with the government and was highly wanted by rebels. The place where we stayed was battlegrounds during the war in the late 1980s. We had tea and bread with butter prior to our meal. At around 10 or so, dinner was served. We ate around lamplight. The women did not eat with us, as it is traditional that only the men eat and are served the food and the women who prepare the meal eat separately. Before we could eat our meal everyone washed their hands in a water basin. The meal included rice, meat, spaghetti stuff, millet bread, posho, and other food dishes I don’t remember. The same foods were prepared for all the meals except for breakfast. I liked the rice, spaghetti dishes, and fruits but did not care as much for the other things…but I tried every dish! Then, we went to bed. We used the latrines for brushing our teeth and going to the bathroom. Friday was a difficult sleeping night. Besides sharing a double bed with 4 other girls, the women talking, bats squeaking, rats’ pitter pattering on the floor, and pounding of rain on the tin roof kept me awake for most of the night. However, I was able to catch a couple zzz’s early in the morning.
We woke up early and got ready for the day. After breakfast, tea, bananas, and bread with butter, Paul gave us a tour of his community. We saw the huts that he and his brothers built, his old school, a woman digging for cassava, a barber shop, medical center, world vision center, um…and I think there were other places too. We pretty much saw everything in his village. It was a lot of fun…and a lot of walking. We went home to rest and eat lunch. We ate outside picnic style with his family. They had lots of fresh fruit-mangos, pineapple, jack fruit, apples, and oranges…all so good! I took a quick nap before heading to our next day event, the soccer game. Around 4 we left to go see his village and his neighboring village play a game of futbol as they call it here. I had a lot of fun…African soccer games are very different than American. These guys play barefoot or in sandals and use wooden sticks as goalie boxes. I began to take pictures during the game and all of these kids started crowding around me to see…I began to take pictures of them. The kids here always say, “Hey muzungu….” and always look at us with blank faces. People in the village aren’t used to seeing white people…we met a man around the age of 50 or so who has never seen a white person before. They are always so excited to see us.
Anyway, after I began taking pictures of the kids, they continued to follow me and ask for me to take their pictures…I’d take the photo, show it to them, and they would laugh with huge smiles on their face. Priceless moments…We left during half-time because it started to get dark and we didn’t want to go home and not be able to see. When we arrived home, we sat on the outside front porch and ate our tea and bread. Paul told us traditional riddles, proverbs, and stories that he was told as a child. We talked for a long time and I was beginning to get very tired. I feel asleep and wanted to go to bed…but had to stay up for dinner. Finally, around 10:30 dinner was served. Again, we washed our hands and shared the meal of rice, noodles, meat, and millet bread. After the meal, Paul had a prayer for us and a worship song for us to sing. This was my favorite part of the night. We, the visitors, sang a worship song we knew and then they, the hosts, sang and danced for us. It was awesome! They were screaming, clapping, and dancing to the beat of drums and singing. All of us enjoyed the entertainment and clapped along with them. We went to bed soon after that. Saturday night I slept like a rock because…I HAD EARPLUS, the best thing EVER!!! I love earplugs, they work wonders.
Sunday morning, I woke up early and got ready for church and packed up my things. Before breakfast, we slaughtered a chicken…this is an honor for all guests, to cut off a chicken’s head. Paul and Eli held the chicken so that Wes, the brave soul, could cut the neck. I wasn’t as grossed out as I thought I would be. After the chicken is dead, they stuck it in hot water so that the feathers are easier to remove. Then, the insides are removed and the chicken is skinned. This was our lunch for today. We had breakfast and sat in the living room until everyone was ready to leave for church. I loved this time of the day…Anna and Eli played the guitar and we all sang worship songs.
We went to Paul’s church and worshipped with his community. There were few families there, but the service was very good. The people welcomed us with open arms and expressed their love for God. There was lots of jumping, shouting, praying, dancing, and singing for two hours. They asked us to introduce ourselves and one of our songs…we sang “God of Wonders.” They really enjoyed our form of worship. After church we attend a funeral rite close by. The funeral rite was a celebration to honor and remember the person who died. However, the individual passed away 1 year ago…I believe that this was the last funeral rite ceremony for this person. During these celebrations, children and Adults come together to sit and talk in circles while sitting around a pot of millet beer with big, long straws. To fill up the pots, people continued to poor boiling water into the pot, there was a millet foam on top…it didn’t smell very good. We didn’t stay there for very long because we needed to get back for lunch. We ate with Paul’s family for the last time, took a family photo, and headed back to Kampala. It was a long bus ride…very, very bumpy, but we got home safe and sound.
Although I enjoyed this weekend very much, I was ready to get a shower and change into some clean clothes. However, after seeing and living in the rural village for a few days, I recognize the many blessings I have in my life. After seeing so much poverty this weekend, I almost feel guilty for everything I have. Children walk around the streets with dirt on their faces, holes in their shirts, and no pants to wear. It makes me question, why do I have the life I have and they theirs? It doesn’t seem fair or right. Yet, at the same time, I recognize that, despite the little that they have, they are filled with pure joy. And seeing these people filled with true happiness has made me recognize the many things I take for granted in my life and how much I need to be more appreciative for the many blessings I have.
Field Trip with a Cup of Joe on the Side...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Today was FIELD TRIP DAY!!! Woohoo…brings me back to elementary school days. We were to leave at 8:00 but our bus got stuck in a traffic jam, so we got off to a late start. Finally, we arrived maybe around 9 something and our professor, Peter was waiting in our car. He’s so cute…mmmhmmm (he always does that). Anyway, our field trip today was to the Kasubi Tombs…where the King’s of Buganda, one of the regions in Uganda, are buried. It was so cool. Our tour guide was very intelligent and knew a lot of information about the history behind each king. First, he showed us the huts-but they really look like houses-that the kings’ wives live in. These wives may not actually be the king’s wife but are representations of them. When a king’s wife dies, she is replaced by another woman who is a descendent of the king or who is of the same clan. We saw some of the women working today. Then, we entered the largest hut in the WORLD!!! I never went inside a hut before but it was awesome. 4 kings are buried there. We sat on matted floor which the wives weaved, and learned about the traditions in regards of the kings. When a king died, people believed him to have disappeared into the forest…he left his spirit behind, but never technically died according to the people. Therefore, half of the hut, which was blocked off, was designated to the kings…they were buried in the forest. The tour guide did a great job explaining the information…I thoroughly enjoyed it. After we went to the gift shop, we had to run back to the bus because it was pouring rain.
After lunch-carrot soup, bread, and fruit J- a Joy, Jess, Jenny, Mindy, and I went to Café Pap…kind of like a Starbucks, so good and so cool! It was kind of like a taste from home…mmm, iced mocha was so good. They had cool designs on all of our coffees. Anyway, on our way over there…we got lost. The mutates can be very confusing because there are so many people everywhere as well as dozens of cars, etc. going every which way, you really have to be aware of your surroundings. Anyway, this was the first time we were finding the coffee shop on our own without any boys…I think we managed well. I was grossed out though…stepped in a puddle of rain/dirty water/urine on the way, ew! I got over it…once we got to the shop and ordered our food I went into the bathroom, stuck my foot up on the sink, and washed my foot and sandal with soap, water, and antibacterial hand gel…hopefully that got the job done. For the next hour and a half us group of girls had an awesome talk…I am really getting to know people a lot better and I am thankful for these opportunities. We headed home. After a while of walking we, once again, got lost. Thankfully, we talked to this old man who showed us the way and told us that he is thankful we are here with them and will be praying for us. Such a cute old man…Ugandans are so kind! We got home with some extra free time to work on the homework I didn’t do, had dinner, and then headed back into town for the inauguration of Obama, our new president! Basically, the whole group went together although we had to part ways in between. We had no idea how to get to the place we wanted to go, Magic Square or something like that? We followed the crowd and realized we were going the wrong way so we had to turn around and go against traffic…boy, were we booking it! Finally we got there in time and watched the inauguration. So cool! Ugandans are so happy for us and are proud for an African to be our president…they always said to us as we walked by, “Obama, Obama…yay!” After about an hour or more, we left the place and went into the city. Our group split up. I rode a mutatu with Peter and Sophie.. We went to Kabalagala, this would be my first night in town. We walked around for a bit and stopped in at this ice cream/burger place, pretty nice. Our other friends, Roanna, Jess, Jess, Joy, and Eli joined us as they saw us driving by in their mutatu. We had fun eating and talking.. Since home was not that far, we walked all the way home and our day was complete.
The city-close to Parliament is where we were- it is very different from Muyenga, especially at night…alongside the sidewalk homeless people sat with few blankets to keep them warm, selling something, sleeping, and looked so frail that they couldn’t move. Little children, boys and girls, would come up to me with hope and sadness in their eyes that said, “Give me money or something to eat…” It hurts my heart to see such brokenness. I think about these children, skin and bone, dirt on their hands and feet, bad hygiene all over their body and in their clothes, they have no home…no place to go. What am I to do? I want to give them money, but know that I shouldn’t…I wish I had food to give to them, but I have none. I fear for these little girls who wander the streets alone and who are surrounded by men who are cruel and abusive…I could not imagine living such a life. So many people are suffering from poverty and continue to pursue on. They struggle to make ends meet but work hard in efforts to provide for themselves and family. I knew that we lived in a broken world, but seeing it is heart wrenching and makes me ask the question, why…
Today was FIELD TRIP DAY!!! Woohoo…brings me back to elementary school days. We were to leave at 8:00 but our bus got stuck in a traffic jam, so we got off to a late start. Finally, we arrived maybe around 9 something and our professor, Peter was waiting in our car. He’s so cute…mmmhmmm (he always does that). Anyway, our field trip today was to the Kasubi Tombs…where the King’s of Buganda, one of the regions in Uganda, are buried. It was so cool. Our tour guide was very intelligent and knew a lot of information about the history behind each king. First, he showed us the huts-but they really look like houses-that the kings’ wives live in. These wives may not actually be the king’s wife but are representations of them. When a king’s wife dies, she is replaced by another woman who is a descendent of the king or who is of the same clan. We saw some of the women working today. Then, we entered the largest hut in the WORLD!!! I never went inside a hut before but it was awesome. 4 kings are buried there. We sat on matted floor which the wives weaved, and learned about the traditions in regards of the kings. When a king died, people believed him to have disappeared into the forest…he left his spirit behind, but never technically died according to the people. Therefore, half of the hut, which was blocked off, was designated to the kings…they were buried in the forest. The tour guide did a great job explaining the information…I thoroughly enjoyed it. After we went to the gift shop, we had to run back to the bus because it was pouring rain.
After lunch-carrot soup, bread, and fruit J- a Joy, Jess, Jenny, Mindy, and I went to Café Pap…kind of like a Starbucks, so good and so cool! It was kind of like a taste from home…mmm, iced mocha was so good. They had cool designs on all of our coffees. Anyway, on our way over there…we got lost. The mutates can be very confusing because there are so many people everywhere as well as dozens of cars, etc. going every which way, you really have to be aware of your surroundings. Anyway, this was the first time we were finding the coffee shop on our own without any boys…I think we managed well. I was grossed out though…stepped in a puddle of rain/dirty water/urine on the way, ew! I got over it…once we got to the shop and ordered our food I went into the bathroom, stuck my foot up on the sink, and washed my foot and sandal with soap, water, and antibacterial hand gel…hopefully that got the job done. For the next hour and a half us group of girls had an awesome talk…I am really getting to know people a lot better and I am thankful for these opportunities. We headed home. After a while of walking we, once again, got lost. Thankfully, we talked to this old man who showed us the way and told us that he is thankful we are here with them and will be praying for us. Such a cute old man…Ugandans are so kind! We got home with some extra free time to work on the homework I didn’t do, had dinner, and then headed back into town for the inauguration of Obama, our new president! Basically, the whole group went together although we had to part ways in between. We had no idea how to get to the place we wanted to go, Magic Square or something like that? We followed the crowd and realized we were going the wrong way so we had to turn around and go against traffic…boy, were we booking it! Finally we got there in time and watched the inauguration. So cool! Ugandans are so happy for us and are proud for an African to be our president…they always said to us as we walked by, “Obama, Obama…yay!” After about an hour or more, we left the place and went into the city. Our group split up. I rode a mutatu with Peter and Sophie.. We went to Kabalagala, this would be my first night in town. We walked around for a bit and stopped in at this ice cream/burger place, pretty nice. Our other friends, Roanna, Jess, Jess, Joy, and Eli joined us as they saw us driving by in their mutatu. We had fun eating and talking.. Since home was not that far, we walked all the way home and our day was complete.
The city-close to Parliament is where we were- it is very different from Muyenga, especially at night…alongside the sidewalk homeless people sat with few blankets to keep them warm, selling something, sleeping, and looked so frail that they couldn’t move. Little children, boys and girls, would come up to me with hope and sadness in their eyes that said, “Give me money or something to eat…” It hurts my heart to see such brokenness. I think about these children, skin and bone, dirt on their hands and feet, bad hygiene all over their body and in their clothes, they have no home…no place to go. What am I to do? I want to give them money, but know that I shouldn’t…I wish I had food to give to them, but I have none. I fear for these little girls who wander the streets alone and who are surrounded by men who are cruel and abusive…I could not imagine living such a life. So many people are suffering from poverty and continue to pursue on. They struggle to make ends meet but work hard in efforts to provide for themselves and family. I knew that we lived in a broken world, but seeing it is heart wrenching and makes me ask the question, why…
"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands..."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
This morning, I went to church with Paul, my field assistant or what we call our “hired friends.” Suzy, Wes, Eli, and Anna are also in my group. Paul was supposed to pick us up at 9:30 a.m., however, he came around 10…this is typical in the African culture. Time is not an issue. Anyway, we walked for a bit until we caught a taxi that drove us to Kibali Church Center Community, the name sounded something like that. It was a large church…we came at the end of the first service. We stayed for THREE HOURS!!! Quite a long time, but it was very interesting to see and I am glad I went. I was intrigued by the brothers who were dancing in the aisle, they were so cute. It was a young boy about the age of 8 or 9 and his little brother who was maybe 2 years old. They were singing, smiling, and jumping up and down together…they were fun to watch. Actually, the whole church was singing, shouting, and dancing with joy…the community truly had hearts for God.
Towards the beginning of the time we were there, and the end of the 1st service, we gave offering and tithes at the front. Members formed long lines for prayer and to give their offering, music was playing in the background. During this time, a young woman met with the pastor. He placed his hand on her head and began to pray. The woman began to convulse and started to scream and yell. She threw herself on the floor…she ran into a bunch of chairs. A couple of the men had to pick her up, as she could not get up herself, and led her up the stairs of the stage. They laid her down and held her to the floor…they continued to pray for her. My eyes were amazed…I just saw a demon being cast out of a person’s body!
After that incident, my mind was filled with lots of questions…Where does the demon go? How does someone get a demon? Does it cause physical pain?...the list continued. My mind was buzzing with questions and had no answers. Thankfully, when we returned home after church, Paul ate lunch with us and I was able to ask him all of my questions. Apparently, witch craft and demons are a familiar reality here in Uganda. Usually, it is the result of some type of bondage. An example he used was a woman who never married. That is looked down upon in their culture and creates many anxieties for women who struggle to find someone. Typically, Paul said, when demon’s are cast out of a person…they are cast into the wilderness as they need to be sent somewhere. When a demon is cast out of a person’s body, there is an empty space that needs to be filled. Demons could possibly reenter the body if it would not be sent somewhere else…therefore, the demon must be cast somewhere, such as in the wilderness, and the Holy Spirit fills the void.
Although casting out demons is not something I typically think about or see in the U.S., I think it remains there but perhaps in different ways. Everyone has their ups and downs; life is filled with good and bad times. Yet, it is the times when we are down where we become most vulnerable. If we do not rely on God and place our trust in Him, we may falter and provide opportunities for sin to take hold of our lives. Addictions, bondage, and or other forms of brokenness may allow our struggle to begin. I am not saying that Christians will not struggle…because struggle and joy is a part of life. Yet, if we walk with God beside us, He will give us strength to continue on. He is our Protector, Savior, and source of comfort...we can not do it alone. I think this is a good reminder to walk humbly and praise the Lord for who He has created us to be. Joy, happiness, compassion, and humility all come from the Lord…and no one else.
This morning, I went to church with Paul, my field assistant or what we call our “hired friends.” Suzy, Wes, Eli, and Anna are also in my group. Paul was supposed to pick us up at 9:30 a.m., however, he came around 10…this is typical in the African culture. Time is not an issue. Anyway, we walked for a bit until we caught a taxi that drove us to Kibali Church Center Community, the name sounded something like that. It was a large church…we came at the end of the first service. We stayed for THREE HOURS!!! Quite a long time, but it was very interesting to see and I am glad I went. I was intrigued by the brothers who were dancing in the aisle, they were so cute. It was a young boy about the age of 8 or 9 and his little brother who was maybe 2 years old. They were singing, smiling, and jumping up and down together…they were fun to watch. Actually, the whole church was singing, shouting, and dancing with joy…the community truly had hearts for God.
Towards the beginning of the time we were there, and the end of the 1st service, we gave offering and tithes at the front. Members formed long lines for prayer and to give their offering, music was playing in the background. During this time, a young woman met with the pastor. He placed his hand on her head and began to pray. The woman began to convulse and started to scream and yell. She threw herself on the floor…she ran into a bunch of chairs. A couple of the men had to pick her up, as she could not get up herself, and led her up the stairs of the stage. They laid her down and held her to the floor…they continued to pray for her. My eyes were amazed…I just saw a demon being cast out of a person’s body!
After that incident, my mind was filled with lots of questions…Where does the demon go? How does someone get a demon? Does it cause physical pain?...the list continued. My mind was buzzing with questions and had no answers. Thankfully, when we returned home after church, Paul ate lunch with us and I was able to ask him all of my questions. Apparently, witch craft and demons are a familiar reality here in Uganda. Usually, it is the result of some type of bondage. An example he used was a woman who never married. That is looked down upon in their culture and creates many anxieties for women who struggle to find someone. Typically, Paul said, when demon’s are cast out of a person…they are cast into the wilderness as they need to be sent somewhere. When a demon is cast out of a person’s body, there is an empty space that needs to be filled. Demons could possibly reenter the body if it would not be sent somewhere else…therefore, the demon must be cast somewhere, such as in the wilderness, and the Holy Spirit fills the void.
Although casting out demons is not something I typically think about or see in the U.S., I think it remains there but perhaps in different ways. Everyone has their ups and downs; life is filled with good and bad times. Yet, it is the times when we are down where we become most vulnerable. If we do not rely on God and place our trust in Him, we may falter and provide opportunities for sin to take hold of our lives. Addictions, bondage, and or other forms of brokenness may allow our struggle to begin. I am not saying that Christians will not struggle…because struggle and joy is a part of life. Yet, if we walk with God beside us, He will give us strength to continue on. He is our Protector, Savior, and source of comfort...we can not do it alone. I think this is a good reminder to walk humbly and praise the Lord for who He has created us to be. Joy, happiness, compassion, and humility all come from the Lord…and no one else.
Baby's Home and King's Palace
Friday, January 16, 2009
This morning I woke up, had devos, and ate the typical breakfast…scrambled eggs, sweet sweet pineapple, mmm…and coffee. We got the bus at 8. Today we only had one class with Peter…class with Susan was cancelled due to a conference she had to attend. So only 1 ½ hour class today, yay! Class was very interesting today…we learned about Uganda and the many nations/tribes within the country, clans, and family. Very interesting….next week we go on some fun field trips. After class was over, it was around 11 or so, Roanna, Jordan, Mitch, Tessa, Jenny, Mindy, Suzy, and I went to the babies home close by. It was awesome! For the first hour or so, we played with the little kids on their trucks and toys. I played with a boy who was bouncing on a large, squishy toy cow…I think? I pretended to steer him left and right as well as bump him up and down…he was laughing and smiling…so was I. All of the children were fun…there were so many! I noticed that numerous kids had warts or tumors on their bodies…sad to see children having to cope with such things. After play time, we had to gather all the kids for lunch…this was a task. I had 2 babies hand in hand, placed them behind a stroller to push as well as had 2 babies in the stroller. I helped steer…this was quite the challenge as other kids continued to run into the stroller and fit through doorways. We helped serve and feed the kids lunch…mashed up potatoes, beans, and rice mixture. I sat beside an adorable little girl named Flores…such a good baby…just sat there and ate. My pants got very dirty which mashed up food and slobber… After lunch the babies were to go potty and then we cleaned and dressed them for nap time. Two babies got in an argument and started to through the their toilet training seats filled with urine at each other…I was kind of grossed out but also felt for them in my heart. These children have no families to go back to, many had bodily malfunctions and were not receiving the nutrients necessary. The women working there are strong and I admire their love and care for so many children…I hope to visit again, sometime soon.
After the baby house, we got lunch at a close by restaurant/bar…I ate posho, which is mashed corn meal-very bland and sticky, and beans…you dip the posho in with the beans. It is pretty good, I must say. Then we traveled to the other side of town to the King’s Palace. We got a tour of everything surrounding his palace but were not allowed inside, that is just for the royal family. Our tour guide was very kind and told us the history behind the palace. Apparently, a man named Amin? killed all of the Ugandan kings and gained superiority. He took over the country, Buganda, and killed thousands of Bugandans out of jealousy for their fast developing community. Bugandans were taken from their homes and placed in a tunnel close to the palace…there, mostly men and some women and children, suffered and died from starvation. The tunnel had rooms in which people were placed…crammed. Down below was electrical water…if people went out of the room, they would fall into the water and die. No one survived that they know of…very sad story, very sad history. Uganda is a country of much death and sadness in the past. However, right now it is in the best condition of all its years.
Our guide walked with us down to where we caught a mutatu and, once again, we went through the typical…finding the taxi park, weaving our way around the crowd for a VERY long time, and finally catching a mutatu going to Muyenga, our home town…I’m sure we’ll get it faster as we practice more. Okay, gotta go but I will write down my next exploration experiences….soon to come!
This morning I woke up, had devos, and ate the typical breakfast…scrambled eggs, sweet sweet pineapple, mmm…and coffee. We got the bus at 8. Today we only had one class with Peter…class with Susan was cancelled due to a conference she had to attend. So only 1 ½ hour class today, yay! Class was very interesting today…we learned about Uganda and the many nations/tribes within the country, clans, and family. Very interesting….next week we go on some fun field trips. After class was over, it was around 11 or so, Roanna, Jordan, Mitch, Tessa, Jenny, Mindy, Suzy, and I went to the babies home close by. It was awesome! For the first hour or so, we played with the little kids on their trucks and toys. I played with a boy who was bouncing on a large, squishy toy cow…I think? I pretended to steer him left and right as well as bump him up and down…he was laughing and smiling…so was I. All of the children were fun…there were so many! I noticed that numerous kids had warts or tumors on their bodies…sad to see children having to cope with such things. After play time, we had to gather all the kids for lunch…this was a task. I had 2 babies hand in hand, placed them behind a stroller to push as well as had 2 babies in the stroller. I helped steer…this was quite the challenge as other kids continued to run into the stroller and fit through doorways. We helped serve and feed the kids lunch…mashed up potatoes, beans, and rice mixture. I sat beside an adorable little girl named Flores…such a good baby…just sat there and ate. My pants got very dirty which mashed up food and slobber… After lunch the babies were to go potty and then we cleaned and dressed them for nap time. Two babies got in an argument and started to through the their toilet training seats filled with urine at each other…I was kind of grossed out but also felt for them in my heart. These children have no families to go back to, many had bodily malfunctions and were not receiving the nutrients necessary. The women working there are strong and I admire their love and care for so many children…I hope to visit again, sometime soon.
After the baby house, we got lunch at a close by restaurant/bar…I ate posho, which is mashed corn meal-very bland and sticky, and beans…you dip the posho in with the beans. It is pretty good, I must say. Then we traveled to the other side of town to the King’s Palace. We got a tour of everything surrounding his palace but were not allowed inside, that is just for the royal family. Our tour guide was very kind and told us the history behind the palace. Apparently, a man named Amin? killed all of the Ugandan kings and gained superiority. He took over the country, Buganda, and killed thousands of Bugandans out of jealousy for their fast developing community. Bugandans were taken from their homes and placed in a tunnel close to the palace…there, mostly men and some women and children, suffered and died from starvation. The tunnel had rooms in which people were placed…crammed. Down below was electrical water…if people went out of the room, they would fall into the water and die. No one survived that they know of…very sad story, very sad history. Uganda is a country of much death and sadness in the past. However, right now it is in the best condition of all its years.
Our guide walked with us down to where we caught a mutatu and, once again, we went through the typical…finding the taxi park, weaving our way around the crowd for a VERY long time, and finally catching a mutatu going to Muyenga, our home town…I’m sure we’ll get it faster as we practice more. Okay, gotta go but I will write down my next exploration experiences….soon to come!
Exploring the City!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
This morning I woke up to loud singing and shouting…it was the military marking through the street with proud voices…I’m not exactly sure why. Today we had school again. It was more interesting today in both classes. For my last class, we had a guest speaker come talk to us….we were talking about oral literature and basically said riddles, Ugandan and American, the whole time. Pretty good day in classes except for my terrible stomach ache…it hurt earlier today when we were looking for lunch and came back during class…it keeps coming and going so I am resting now. Anyway, lunch is always fun…an adventure for sure! Today, I went with Jenny, Joy, Peter, and Eli to a restaurant for lunch…it was a pretty nice place. We were seated in a bamboo walled, thatched roof, cemented floor hut, kinda? Our waiter was very nice, very kind. We ordered drinks and were told that lunch would not be ready until 12:30….that is typical here, food is not always prepared when you arrive. So, we decided to take a trip to the cathedral up the road. Man, was that a hike…it was all hill and we were booking it so we’d make it back in time. We took lots of pics, very pretty building…that was when my stomach started to hurt. So, I spent most of my time in the squatty potty…first experience here! I had to pay 100 shillings to pee in a hole in the ground. It smelled, there was no toilet paper…thank goodness I brought my own, and the door didn’t lock. I was wearing my backpack and was careful not to let anything touch the walls or floor…so, overall it took awhile and I am determined to avoid those things as much as possible…I’m sure I’ll see it again though. Anyway, we went back to the lunch place and ate the staple food matooka, which is mashed green bananas, and cassava, which is kinda like a potato mixture…both were very bland and I didn’t care for either. I also had some chicken in a marinated broth…that tasted okay. Anyway, we arrived to class a little late due to our lunch situation…had class…and came home. Tonight we have our first Owning Poverty night, the devotional time, which I am looking forward to. Tomorrow we have no school and will spend the day exploring the city…I think we may go to the mosque, visit a baby’s home, and other fun things…we shall see what that day will hold.
So far, at moments, time flies by and other times it goes slow. Overall, I am glad I am here…I will have many adventures to share I’m sure. Okay, that is enough blabbing for today…I hope and can’t wait to hear from you all!
This morning I woke up to loud singing and shouting…it was the military marking through the street with proud voices…I’m not exactly sure why. Today we had school again. It was more interesting today in both classes. For my last class, we had a guest speaker come talk to us….we were talking about oral literature and basically said riddles, Ugandan and American, the whole time. Pretty good day in classes except for my terrible stomach ache…it hurt earlier today when we were looking for lunch and came back during class…it keeps coming and going so I am resting now. Anyway, lunch is always fun…an adventure for sure! Today, I went with Jenny, Joy, Peter, and Eli to a restaurant for lunch…it was a pretty nice place. We were seated in a bamboo walled, thatched roof, cemented floor hut, kinda? Our waiter was very nice, very kind. We ordered drinks and were told that lunch would not be ready until 12:30….that is typical here, food is not always prepared when you arrive. So, we decided to take a trip to the cathedral up the road. Man, was that a hike…it was all hill and we were booking it so we’d make it back in time. We took lots of pics, very pretty building…that was when my stomach started to hurt. So, I spent most of my time in the squatty potty…first experience here! I had to pay 100 shillings to pee in a hole in the ground. It smelled, there was no toilet paper…thank goodness I brought my own, and the door didn’t lock. I was wearing my backpack and was careful not to let anything touch the walls or floor…so, overall it took awhile and I am determined to avoid those things as much as possible…I’m sure I’ll see it again though. Anyway, we went back to the lunch place and ate the staple food matooka, which is mashed green bananas, and cassava, which is kinda like a potato mixture…both were very bland and I didn’t care for either. I also had some chicken in a marinated broth…that tasted okay. Anyway, we arrived to class a little late due to our lunch situation…had class…and came home. Tonight we have our first Owning Poverty night, the devotional time, which I am looking forward to. Tomorrow we have no school and will spend the day exploring the city…I think we may go to the mosque, visit a baby’s home, and other fun things…we shall see what that day will hold.
So far, at moments, time flies by and other times it goes slow. Overall, I am glad I am here…I will have many adventures to share I’m sure. Okay, that is enough blabbing for today…I hope and can’t wait to hear from you all!
New Days Bring New Experiences...
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Today was our first day of school. I had to get up early to eat breakfast at 7:30 this morning and leave for school at 8. Last night I could not sleep…haven’t slept well since I’ve been here. I always wake up early in the morning, like 4 or so. Anyway, this morning a dumb mosquito was buzzing around my ear…my mosquito net doesn’t fully cover my bed. So, to escape the pesky mosquito I hid under my covers…but I was already sweating. I stayed there for awhile til I could handle it no longer…I ended up getting up around 6:30. We arrived at school late, typical lifestyle here. My first professor, named Peter, taught our African religion and culture class. He was really nice but the whole time was lecture…3 hours of lecture filled with lots of confusing names, places, and trying to follow his accent was quite tiring…towards the end I couldn’t keep up. At 11:00 or so, we went to find lunch. After walking around for awhile, we went to the Shell where they have ice cream and lunch stuff. I had a thick tortilla thing…called a chapati or something like that, very goo!. Then we had to return to school for our next class, African Literature, with Professor Susan. I enjoyed discussion…but, again, zoned out towards the end. We had class til 3:30…2 ½ hours long. After class we went exploring in Kampala city…the center of town. Wes, Danielle, Mindy, Jenny, and I walked together throughout town…it was sooo busy! It had rained earlier today so we were walking in mushy gush…ya know, mud, trash, and probably some other little surprises if you know what I mean. Oh, this was interesting…on our way to market we passed this 9 year old boy preaching the gospel on the sidewalk. He had a lot of umph behind his speech….shouting words, using expressive actions and everything. He was very short as you could imagine and had to stand on the top curve of the sidewalk so people could see him. We were lost for awhile…trying to find the indoor market.
Finally we found it, but I didn’t like it at all. It was very crowded and the men were ridiculous…as we passed by they would touch our arms or grab our wrists and say, “Muzungo-that’s what they call white people-you have beautiful eyes….hello, my love….oh hey, how are you…” etc. I was so uncomfortable…tight spaces and upfront men. In the culture here, it is natural to touch or stroke a person’s arm, especially a muzungo’s arm. And I understand that, but in our culture that is not normal and, in my mind, kind of disrespectful. I guess it’s a matter of adapting to different cultures. The men may obviously say some, what I would consider, inappropriate comments…but I just give them the cold shoulder. It was just an interesting experience is all.
Today was our first day of school. I had to get up early to eat breakfast at 7:30 this morning and leave for school at 8. Last night I could not sleep…haven’t slept well since I’ve been here. I always wake up early in the morning, like 4 or so. Anyway, this morning a dumb mosquito was buzzing around my ear…my mosquito net doesn’t fully cover my bed. So, to escape the pesky mosquito I hid under my covers…but I was already sweating. I stayed there for awhile til I could handle it no longer…I ended up getting up around 6:30. We arrived at school late, typical lifestyle here. My first professor, named Peter, taught our African religion and culture class. He was really nice but the whole time was lecture…3 hours of lecture filled with lots of confusing names, places, and trying to follow his accent was quite tiring…towards the end I couldn’t keep up. At 11:00 or so, we went to find lunch. After walking around for awhile, we went to the Shell where they have ice cream and lunch stuff. I had a thick tortilla thing…called a chapati or something like that, very goo!. Then we had to return to school for our next class, African Literature, with Professor Susan. I enjoyed discussion…but, again, zoned out towards the end. We had class til 3:30…2 ½ hours long. After class we went exploring in Kampala city…the center of town. Wes, Danielle, Mindy, Jenny, and I walked together throughout town…it was sooo busy! It had rained earlier today so we were walking in mushy gush…ya know, mud, trash, and probably some other little surprises if you know what I mean. Oh, this was interesting…on our way to market we passed this 9 year old boy preaching the gospel on the sidewalk. He had a lot of umph behind his speech….shouting words, using expressive actions and everything. He was very short as you could imagine and had to stand on the top curve of the sidewalk so people could see him. We were lost for awhile…trying to find the indoor market.
Finally we found it, but I didn’t like it at all. It was very crowded and the men were ridiculous…as we passed by they would touch our arms or grab our wrists and say, “Muzungo-that’s what they call white people-you have beautiful eyes….hello, my love….oh hey, how are you…” etc. I was so uncomfortable…tight spaces and upfront men. In the culture here, it is natural to touch or stroke a person’s arm, especially a muzungo’s arm. And I understand that, but in our culture that is not normal and, in my mind, kind of disrespectful. I guess it’s a matter of adapting to different cultures. The men may obviously say some, what I would consider, inappropriate comments…but I just give them the cold shoulder. It was just an interesting experience is all.
And, My Trip Begins...
Monday, January 12, 2009
*Olliotia (this means “hello” in Luganda…but not sure if I spelled it right)
Uganda is a beautiful country that is filled with gorgeous, fresh green nature…our backyard is awesome…so big and the sunsets with colors of blazing orange. We are hot, all the time…it is probably about 90 degrees or higher. For me this year, winter = summer. By the end of the day, I feel sooo gross and need to take a shower.
The house is very nice. We have guards that stand by the gate and let us in. The house is very big…I live on the bottom floor with 5 other girls. Our room is of bunk beds and we have a bathroom with 3 showers, 3 sinks, and 1 toilet. The kitchen, dining area, and patio are on the bottom floor. Upstairs is where the other 6 girls and guys live as well as a comfy lounge and balcony. Our place is gorgeous, very clean, and good living. We have 1 cook, Grace, and 1 maid, Howa. They are native to the land and are very nice. I look forward to getting to know them. We also have a leader who lives at the house with us and is very fun.
Yesterday and today was a lot of orientation stuff. Today was exciting…we went to “the surgery” which is the doctors office to meet our doctor. He was a British man with an accent and an upfront honest person…definitely held nothing back. He made us laugh…and sometimes made us feel awkward, never knew what he was going to say. We also went into Kampala today. Our group was broken up into 4 smaller groups…we were all assigned Ugandan students who led us around and taught us how to use transportation…we call them “hired friends.” I was assigned to the group of Paul. He is very nice…Kampala is a crazy city. Boda bodas-motorcycles that are very dangerous, mutatus-buses, and cars go in all directions…plus, lots of crowded people walking around. We walked and used the mutatus to visit our school. I had to keep my hand over my bag so that nothing would be taken. Our school is very plain, but has a great view of the city. I took pictures J Then, we went to a next door ice cream place for a quick break…I got passion fruit juice, very good! We stayed there for a while because it began to pour down rain…we had to take cover. Anyway, after the rain stopped we caught a bus and drove home to a delicious meal.
Tomorrow we start our first day of classes beginning at 8:30 to 3:30 with a 2 hour break in between. I think during lunch and after school we will go exploring, I’m excited. Then, tomorrow night, we have a class where we can learn Luganda if we want, but it is not required. Also, every Wednesday night we will have worship/devotions together as a group. I like my group and am enjoying getting to know people. Life here is different but good. People are so different…this country is very poor and it is sometimes hard to see, but that is the reality here…as it is in much of the world.
*Olliotia (this means “hello” in Luganda…but not sure if I spelled it right)
Uganda is a beautiful country that is filled with gorgeous, fresh green nature…our backyard is awesome…so big and the sunsets with colors of blazing orange. We are hot, all the time…it is probably about 90 degrees or higher. For me this year, winter = summer. By the end of the day, I feel sooo gross and need to take a shower.
The house is very nice. We have guards that stand by the gate and let us in. The house is very big…I live on the bottom floor with 5 other girls. Our room is of bunk beds and we have a bathroom with 3 showers, 3 sinks, and 1 toilet. The kitchen, dining area, and patio are on the bottom floor. Upstairs is where the other 6 girls and guys live as well as a comfy lounge and balcony. Our place is gorgeous, very clean, and good living. We have 1 cook, Grace, and 1 maid, Howa. They are native to the land and are very nice. I look forward to getting to know them. We also have a leader who lives at the house with us and is very fun.
Yesterday and today was a lot of orientation stuff. Today was exciting…we went to “the surgery” which is the doctors office to meet our doctor. He was a British man with an accent and an upfront honest person…definitely held nothing back. He made us laugh…and sometimes made us feel awkward, never knew what he was going to say. We also went into Kampala today. Our group was broken up into 4 smaller groups…we were all assigned Ugandan students who led us around and taught us how to use transportation…we call them “hired friends.” I was assigned to the group of Paul. He is very nice…Kampala is a crazy city. Boda bodas-motorcycles that are very dangerous, mutatus-buses, and cars go in all directions…plus, lots of crowded people walking around. We walked and used the mutatus to visit our school. I had to keep my hand over my bag so that nothing would be taken. Our school is very plain, but has a great view of the city. I took pictures J Then, we went to a next door ice cream place for a quick break…I got passion fruit juice, very good! We stayed there for a while because it began to pour down rain…we had to take cover. Anyway, after the rain stopped we caught a bus and drove home to a delicious meal.
Tomorrow we start our first day of classes beginning at 8:30 to 3:30 with a 2 hour break in between. I think during lunch and after school we will go exploring, I’m excited. Then, tomorrow night, we have a class where we can learn Luganda if we want, but it is not required. Also, every Wednesday night we will have worship/devotions together as a group. I like my group and am enjoying getting to know people. Life here is different but good. People are so different…this country is very poor and it is sometimes hard to see, but that is the reality here…as it is in much of the world.
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