June Update FINALLY!

I am at my new site (YEAH! FINALLY!). I moved here on March 27. Peace Corps drove me and most of my stuff (minus my furniture) to my new site working with a diocese affiliated with the Anglican church of Uganda. I am in a village, no longer a busy town. What a difference! I am in Mpigi district, the first district to the southwest of Kampala. With a new district comes a new language, Luganda. It is a Bantu language like Runyankore, so hopefully I will pick it up quickly. I have several eager teachers, but one in particular who helps me on a daily basis. I can honestly say I have met my match with her – she is spunky, funny, and a stickler on pronunciation (a very good thing to help me learn!).

I will be working with an Anglican diocese on many different projects and it seems to me (very honestly and with transparency from the Reverends) that I will be extremely busy. I am very excited about that. My first impression from this place was “this is what I imagined Peace Corps to be.” It just took me six months, and sometimes very painful/trying times to get here. I will be working with the Mother’s Union and Family Life Program workers doing a variety of things and visiting the various groups established throughout the diocese. On a recent visit to one of the parishes that I have visited several times, I participated in building an outdoor water storage tank mainly for animals and the gardens. I was so captivated by a few of the men who were making the dirt frame which included dirt, cow dung, and a locally produced mixture to prevent termites (that included chili). The scene reminded me of images of movies where people were squashing grapes to make wine. Bare feet and all. It was such a beautiful experience. As the men were collectively doing the final touches on the frame, the women were preparing lunch. Each had an assigned role to help the collective good.

I can get very simply things in my nearest “town”, more like a small trading center. If you blink, you would probably pass it! I now have to plan when I take trips Kampala to stock up. I have been staying with the bishop and his wife while my house is getting finished. It has been an incredibly wonderful time to learn Luganda and integrate into my new community. The market has very limited produce now so I have a few options: take what I can get (tomatoes, small onions, occasionally pineapple), do without, stock up in Kampala, or GROW my own. I brought back seeds when I was in America so they will be necessary here (thank you Tom!). Mama, as I call the bishop’s wife, has several gardens on the property and I will have a vegetable garden in some of the space.

My house is right next to my supervisor and a stone’s throw away from the bishop. I am very grateful that they are so close because if anything ever happened, I would have two sets of surrogate parents to help me or take care of me if I were sick. I’ve have had minor illnesses (I’ve had many mystery colds or fevers here!) since being here and they all have been so concerned. Of course, the first worry is malaria, but it is reassuring that if I need to go to a hospital or clinic they would take me. My house, is very simple and small. It is perfect for one person! The bedroom is quite large so I will have plenty of space to continue doing yoga. I won’t have running water, so I will collect my water in jerry cans or pay someone. I have gotten better conserving water since my arrival in Uganda, but I imagine without running water I will get even better! I have a pit latrine, but indoors so at night I don’t have to go outside. The pit is really nice, has a big PVC pipe that goes through the roof to keep it ventilated and I even have a “seat,” a sit on. A carpenter is busy making me some simple pieces to make it home. It is amazing how inexpensive it is to make a table and two chairs! And I even bargain that too! Once I am settled, I will somehow get pictures online!

My village is absolutely beautiful! I have a 360 view of lush mountains, banana plantations, very little development. I have been inspired to start drawing/sketching, especially with the magnificent sunsets that I’ve seen. If anyone is stressed out with life, I highly recommend disconnecting with “things,” go rural or country, and just be. It is an incredibly wonderful experience. At first I was really itching to “do” something, but now I find myself staring outside, listening to the different birds (cocks trying to mate with hens is a regular experience!), cows, etc. What a simple life. And I don’t miss life in town and having access to things. I could daily check my email if I wanted to before, now it is whenever I go to Kampala (maybe every 2 weeks). I don’t mind that at all!

Of the many things I will be doing here, one that is not on the job description is yoga. I have a DVD player so I’ve been doing that almost everyday. Slowly the youth that were staying here on school holiday became interested. The first day two girls joined, then five, and finally upwards of ten. It is one of my favorite times of day because they all are so eager to do it, but boy are they surprised by how difficult some of the poses can be. The school term is starting this week so most everyone returned (they all board at their schools), so it will only be me and Kutessa.

Kutessa is one of the youth being sponsored and she has made my integration into my village so wonderful. We walked the main dirt road to my trading center, stopping along the way to introduce me to people as Nayiga (my local name), not muzungu. She is also teaching me Luganda. And once I am in my house, she will wash my clothes. I used to enjoy doing my laundry (hand wash, mind you) in Mbarara, but now that she is willing to do it, I am fine with that. I am going to pay her some small money and teach her some saving skills. She is really happy about that.

My “program” or schedule for the next month will be quite busy. It is really refreshing to have different things to do and easily working outside of the office. My relationship with all the relevant co-workers has been wonderful, what it should be. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure I will have communication issues, given the cross-cultural factors, but nothing like what I was dealing with before. I am hoping to concentrate in two different parishes with the Family Life and Mother’s Union Programs. I’ll be working with various groups – youth, women, PLWA (People Living with AIDS), etc. In the summer months I will be teaching creative writing to a university student and then in the fall I’ll teach English composition. I am super excited about teaching at the university, it will be fun and not at all what I expected, but will be very fulfilling. A few times a month I will travel to the referral hospital and help out in the ART clinic (Anti-Retroviral Therapy). I went recently to meet the staff and it was a very powerful experience in the small time I was there. I am not sure exactly what I’ll do, but it will be very busy. Finally, I’ll be teaching life skills at the secondary school. I feel so alive and feel like I will be making a small contribution to my community. I have no intention of doing anything big or dramatic, but I do think that I will contribute something to my community in the time here. Already the relationships I have established have made my time here.

Recently, my friend, Sarah came to my site to teach me and a few others in my village how to build fuel-efficient stoves. It was so much fun – making stoves with banana stems, mud and getting really dirty. Next time she has a training I am hoping to bring a counterpart with me so we can build them with community members (if they ask). I talked with Anton at the end of the day, and I am sure my day sounded just like what one images a day in the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer to be. Not everyday is exciting, but this one was. Sarah and I had a little mud fight afterwards with the people around the compound watching us and probably at first thinking we were strange, but once they saw us laughing and having fun they knew we were joking around.

This past Tuesday was a national holiday, Uganda Martyrs’ Day commemorating some noble Christians who refused to revoke their religious beliefs and were ordered to be killed by the Baganda King (Kabaka in Luganda) Mwanga who felt that the Christians were putting Jesus above him and his authority to rule. The killings started in 1885 and by January 1887, 45 individuals were killed. 25 of the total killed were burned on June 3, 1886 (June 3 is the national holiday now) where the Protestant shrine is located in a place called Namugongo and on the same day one man was killed at the present Catholic shrine, just a kilometer away. I was priviledged to go with the bishop and a few others to celebrate at the Protestant shrine. We drove past the Catholic shrine and oh my goodness, there were so many people! Many people come on pilgrimage to visit the shrines on the holiday. Newspapers estimate that about 1.2 million people came. The images reminded me of a carnival – different stands selling food, collectables of the day, clothes markets, food stuffs markets, anything really. At the Protestant ceremony, there was a visiting bishop from Nigeria who gave a very powerful and emotional speech. There were various choirs that performed and different readings from the Bible. As an outsider, it was such a treat to bear witness to how the national holiday is celebrated.

It is weird to think I have been in Uganda about 10 months now, the time really goes quickly. The days, though, tend to pass slowly but the weeks and months go. The summer months are when a lot of families visit, so I’ll be meeting some friends’ families and even get to do a trip with them. I feel very integrated – recently I’ve bought fabrics and am slowly getting them made into styles that Ugandan women wear, though I am trying to alter them slightly. And I even have the “Luganglish” down – blending American English with the English spoken here to make myself understood. The “hmmms,” “somehow,” “yesterday but ones,” “very much sos,” etc. have become a regular in my vocabulary. I am sorry if I have used Luganglish (Anton, especially since you heard it while you were here!) on anyone who has called! I have become “used” to it and it takes a while to snap out of it.

Finally PICTURES from Uganda!

The huge, ugly birds that eat trash. These are said to have come to Uganda during the Amin years.

The main street in Mbarara town.
My washer, or rather the place where I wash my clothes.

Grasshopper season in Uganda!

Trying grasshoppers with my counterpart one night after work. At first I was quite scared/nervous about trying them but I LOVE THEM.

Again, isn't Uganda pretty?

Julie, me, Sarah B, and Megan for a night of fun!

All of the trainees and some of the PC staff on a "field trip" in Kampala.

At the "source of the Nile" in Jinja on a fun Saturday during training.

The girls in my language, Runyankore, group -- Megan, Jen, Julie, Diana, Sarah B, and lastly ME!
My kitten, who isn't so little anymore, Akankunda.

My kitchen at my home. :)
Isn't Uganda pretty?

The taxis in Uganda have quite elaborate tassels but this one took the cake.

Sarah O, me, Sarah B, and Megan on a fun weekend during training.
On a field trip during training to learn about sustainable gardening techniques. These are cassava plants, a staple food for many Ugandans.

A mural we saw depicting HIV/AIDS messages like "AIDS kills."

Changes

In two years, things are bound to change. For every volunteer, their experiences and the changes that they go through are different. For me, an upcoming change will be changing sites. For the majority of volunteers, their site placement works out well. There is meaningful work, relationships with the organizations work, the volunteer is safe, housing is safe/secure, and the volunteer is happy. Various reasons will cause a volunteer to change sites. For me, the equation wasn't right. I am not going to dwell the on the reasons why my site was change, but rather focus on the knowledge that wherever I go, there is meaningful work in Uganda for me to do. I am not giving up and do not regret the first few months at site. I have learned a lot and feel very grateful for the opportunity that I had to work with my assigned organization.

I am though looking forward to the changes that come my way. A new organization, a new community, maybe a new language (HOPEFULLY NOT!), and many new things. The change will be hard and it will be emotionally tiring but I know that when I first got to my site after swearing-in as an official PCV, I felt the same way and in about two to three months, I felt "at home." I am still a Peace Corps Volunteer and I am still living in Uganda. I am excited to "dive" in, make new Ugandan friends, learn my new community, and have meaningful work. The expression, "what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger" is so true and and I feel like that will be my mantra throughout my Peace Corps service.

On a lighter note, in January the people in my group spent about two weeks in Kampala for IST (In-Service Training). The first part was for on-going language learning, which proved a little difficult because people living in the Kampala area mainly speak Luganda, not the language I have been learning. So when there were activities to go and speak with the locals, finding someone who spoke Runyankore proved to be a bit tedious. The second week was for technical training where counterparts or supervisors came to participate in the sessions. The sessions I think had valuable lessons, but it reminded me of how lucky I am to be done with training. Over 8hrs learning stuff that could take much less time, have the day so structured where every minute is mapped out (including "fun" time), reminded of me why I was glad to be a volunteer instead of a trainee. The pool and not cooking for two weeks were two very nice treats.

Sadly, my group has a bad track record of medical issues -- almost everyone got sick at least once during the 10 weeks of training. It seemed like when one person had food poisoning, two more would drop. Bacterial dysentery. Diarrhea. Mysterious dots/bites on your body. When we are together it seems everyone gets sick and two weeks in Kampala was no different than training. After being at site for three months, cooking for myself, boiling my drinking water, and being healthy.... I got sick. Well, by sick I mean weird mysterious bites on my arms, face, ears that the PCMOs could not diagnose. It first started on my right arm and then each day I woke up it seemed like more dots would appear. They didn't itch, they just were a bother. The Ugandans thought they were mosquito bites. It was a medical mystery. It took about a week after I returned home for the dots to "disappear."

It was great to see the people in my group because outside of the girls who learned Runyankore, I hadn't really seen anyone since October. Catching up with people and getting to know people in a less stressful setting (TRAINING) was so much fun. We quickly become a family and support each other. Going out was also really fun. Each time I am in Kampala, I get to know the city in a new way by staying somewhere new, trying a new restaurant, and finding my way. Over IST, some of us went out dancing. For those of you who don't know, I LOVE DANCING. Thankfully there is a club in Mbarara so on occasion we have weekends to meet up and hang out. Unfortunately, the music at said club isn't so good. Anyway, back to Kampala -- dancing in Kampala was WAY fun. My normal bedtime at site is around 9pm but on the night we went dancing, I didn't get back until about 4am.

I am home visiting my family on an unexpected trip. It has been wonderful to be with my family again after 8 months of being away. Some days have been sensory overload as I get "readjusted" to life in America. A few situations have come up where I have freaked out. Little things like picking out a lint brush with way too many options. Things that people probably take for granted, I haven't had in my life for the past 8 months. I like the simplicity of life -- I don't feel connected to things, rather I feel connected to people. One day I hung out at my sister's house, did some laundry and dishes for her. She came home and was like "you washed the dishes" and I was like "yeah, I do that everyday." It was just funny because in America it seems like there is a machine or tool to do everything.

Another day I got to visit my other sister's classroom and hang out with her kids. I have been writing to them from Uganda and it was a great opportunity to meet them. I think it rejuvenated my desire to write to them. I got to show pictures, teach a little bit of Runyankore and play an AIDS interactive game. The game went so well and the children were so captivated. It was awesome to teach them more about HIV/AIDS and what it does to the body. I hope that they enjoyed the time as much as I did.

Thanks to my family, I learned that I talk in code, in language that is not understood by non-Peace Corps Volunteers. My bad. So I will try to make a list of acronyms and/or words that are in my everyday vocabulary that wouldn't necessarily be in yours. If there are some that are not on the list please DO let me know and I will try to correct my ways. :)

PCV -- Peace Corps Volunteer
PCT -- Peace Corps Trainee
COS -- Close of Service
IST -- In-Service Training
MST -- Mid-Service Training
PCMOs -- Peace Corps Medical Officers
OVC -- Orphans and Vulnerable Children (Orphans in Uganda are children under 18 that have lost at least one parent; double orphan is one that has lost BOTH of their parents)
ARVs -- Anti-Retro Virals (medicines that are given to HIV+ people)
VCT -- Voluntary Counseling and Testing
NGO -- Non-Governmental Organization (health volunteers are placed with NGOs, health centers, and/or hospitals)
jerry can -- thick plastic container (usually either 10 or 20 liters) that people use to collect water
muzungu -- foreigner, term of "endearment"
pit latrine -- a hole in the ground where people use the bathroom
load shedding/sharing -- electricity is not 100% in Uganda, so this is the term people use when electricity is turned off
air time -- there are no cell phone plans in Uganda, it is pay-as-you-go, so a PCV would say "I need to buy more air time" meaning there is no more money on the phone to make calls or send text messages

It is 2008 and I have been in Uganda for almost six months and at site for almost three. The pace of life is really slow and I am mostly enjoying slowing down. I still walk much faster than most Ugandans, but two years later, I am sure my step will be significantly slower. I love where I am… I am fortunate to be near town so I have easy access to many comforts from home. I could check my email everyday if I wanted to, but the Peace Corps stipend doesn’t exactly provide for email everyday. Plus that just doesn’t seem right. I have realized PC Uganda is a pretty nice place. Housing for volunteers is a wide spectrum, but I am very lucky that I have running water, electricity, and a flush toilet. Health volunteers are placed with organizations which tend to be in towns or trading centers, so housing generally reflects that.

I love going to the produce market to get my fruits and vegetables. It kind of reminds me of the San Francisco farmer’s market, but on a MUCH smaller scale. The weird thing is there are about four rows of produce and it seems like everyone is selling the same things. I have found one stall I like to go to for most of my things, but some are still best to buy outside of the market – pineapple, kabaragaras (little, sweet bananas), passion fruit, avocadoes. Since Thanksgiving I have yet to buy beef or any live chicken. Fortunately if I ever want meat, there are plenty of places in town that I could order meat from.

Work has been an interesting one. Some days have been busy and eventful, other days I have passed the day reading. This is normal at the beginning and I think that is why they have another in-service training around the 3 month mark at site because volunteers often feel really down/low with work. I am hoping that 2008 will be a good year with my organization with potential funding coming in soon. I do have plans for a secondary project and hopefully will also volunteer some time at a children’s hospital that is going to be built in Mbarara.

I have gone on a few home visits with some people from my organization and that was incredibly wonderful. Transport is an issue – we are not allowed to ride boda-bodas and my organization does not have a car (not yet least!) so the only home visits we can do are within walking distance. There are plenty of people in town that need support. I think there are at least 2,000 registered OVCs in Mbarara with my organization. I am sure there are more though. I visited a few families in my part of town. One day was really humbling. We visited a family where the grandmother is the head of the household. She is caring for six orphans, whether they are biologically hers I don’t know. The family eats one meal a day at 4pm, probably so they don’t go to bed too hungry. She sells charcoal and firewood which is an inconsistent business and probably does not earn a lot of income from it. She does not keep any records nor does she know how to so she could be losing money. The children though, radiated with joy and happiness. They were so happy to see a muzungu, let alone a muzungu that speaks their language. And of course they all knew where I lived. I think maybe one or two of the children were in school. School fees limit the other children from going to school. Universal Primary Education was implemented several years ago but it is just a support and even government schools still have school fees. And of course families have to provide scholastic materials (uniforms, pens, books, etc) and that can be a huge burden as well. I remember writing about the need especially for young girls to be in school in my thesis, but the reality is when a family cannot earn enough to support the fees how are they going to go to school? Some schools provide bursaries (scholarships) but again, that is not a guarantee. Anyway, this family was in dire need of anything basic that you could think of. Mattresses, bed nets, blankets, shoes, toothbrushes. At this point without funding there isn’t much we could do, but I did see a huge potential for educational workshops with them on life skills (especially if the girls are not in school and more at risk for being sexually exploited), basic business skills, other ways the family can earn income, and HIV/AIDS knowledge. We don’t ask why the children are orphaned or vulnerable, so I have no idea whether it was because of AIDS, malaria, war, etc.

If anything, these first three months have opened my eyes to the situation around me. Even though I am near town, there are still plenty of people who struggle to survive each day. There are many orphans – it seems like anyone that I talk to is taking care of an orphan. I hope with a little bit of facilitation I can, with people from my organization do important work that could somehow help these families that are registered with my organization. There are lots of income-generating activities that are possibilities, including poultry, tailoring, craft making, etc. Who knew that I would come to Uganda and potentially do these things? Earning income is incredibly important because it then makes families less vulnerable to a whole host of issues but it also brings about self-worth of an individual. Of course, there are other positive aspects of earning income. If and when we do some IGA activities with different people we will need to do some simple business trainings. I am sure in time I actually will be doing health work but I do work within the OVC track so we want to ensure children are less vulnerable.

I have tasted one of the delicacies in Uganda! They are available only one month out of the year and my coworker, Lestedio, since I got to site in October was so excited about the upcoming grasshopper season. That’s right, I tried fried grasshoppers. Miria, my counterpart, came over after work one night and showed me how to prepare them. Just a little bit of salt and onion and let the natural oils do their thing. When I first was informed of the aforementioned delicacy, I have to say I was disgusted. How could an insect be a delicacy? But after seeing grasshoppers sold for a week or so I had the desire to try them. When in Uganda…. And believe it or not, they were actually really good. They were crunchy (surprise surprise) but had a nice taste to them. Kind of like eating really crisp French fries. The season is over now, and I am really glad I tried them. Come next December I won’t be hesitant to buy them to cook again with Miria.

Other news is that I have a kitten. A fellow PCV’s cat had kittens and I took one. She is really cute, her name is Akankunda (little love) but she has proved to be more work than I expected. Really, I didn’t think about it too much, just thought the idea of company and hopefully preventing rats was a good thing. Turns out she LOVES my mosquito net. She also had a nice run-in with fleas and diarrhea (worms she probably got when she was outside). Of course I had flea bites all over me. One day I just went to the local pharmacy, walked up to the animal side and told the guy my kitten’s problem. 11,600 shillings later, I had the solutions. I had to spray my couch and bed to kill any potential fleas, have given my kitten numerous baths with the insecticide treated shampoo and had to force feed the medicine down her. That was sad but she had to have it. Thankfully she is much better now, but still proves to be lots of work. I am hoping that as she gets older she will mellow out. She can be really cute though and likes to cuddle up with me when I go to sleep. Plus I am hoping that she can be outdoors more and will hunt food for herself. I have given her lots of random food – she loves grasshoppers, eggs, small silver fish, even corn flakes in milk. No rats though. She did come in the house the other day with a flying critter that was half alive and she was having fun for about 30 minutes pouncing on the critter and playing with it until finally it was dead. I was proud. Hopefully she can fine-tune her pouncing skills if she ever needs to do some serious hunting.

Recently one of the past weekends my neighbors invited me over after I was finished with my usual Saturday laundry. I was in shorts and a t-shirt, typical outfit for laundry, but they said they know how Americans dress so changing wasn’t necessary. I ended up staying over at their house for about four hours just talking, showing pictures of home and otherwise enjoying a cross-cultural exchange. As usual Ugandan hospitality, I was offered African tea (black tea with milk and sugar) and small bananas called kabaragaras. They insisted I stay over for lunch and since I had nothing better to do on a Saturday and was honestly enjoying my time, I couldn’t refuse. Lunch was matooke, fish, and some fresh avocado. Matooke is not one of my favorite foods here in Uganda, but being that it was served, I ate it. Believe it or not, it was actually okay. Especially with the yummy broth from the fish it was quite tasty. The afternoon was just simply wonderful and it felt like the home stay experience I should have had. Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful for my home stay family for housing me for 10 weeks and adjusting, somehow, to American culture, but I struggled A LOT with food. Now that I am cooking for myself and buying all the produce I want, I have realized it should not have been an issue. But that is behind me... back to my neighbors. Recently before Christmas it was the second Eid holiday, this time celebrating pilgrimage to Mecca. My neighbors are Muslim, as are most of the Ugandans where I am staying, so they invited me over to celebrate. I ended up going to work that day and forgot about going over, but they saved me food from the celebration for my dinner. Since that Saturday my relationship with them has been wonderful. They come over often to say hi to Akankunda, if I have any sweets to share, and lately sharing crayons and paper to color. Children still come to my bedroom window but they are slowing learning that they need to go to the front door or else I won’t talk to them.

The holidays passed without any huge issue. Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas at all. I was at my friend’s site and it was a hot day. It was just another day. I definitely liked the simplicity of it, no excess plastic, no obnoxious figures in the yard. I did play some Christmas songs on my iPod so it felt a little like Christmas. One day during the Christmas holiday was spent in Kampala and it was so nice to swim in a pool and have a BBQ with lots of food. You could get anything your heart desired in Kampala, if you had the wallet big enough.

Well that’s it for now, no additional exciting news for me. I am eventually going to send pictures home and my sister will be able to put pictures online.

In peace & love!

Taking baby steps as a PCV....

Being at site is a great feeling. I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer and have been at my site for almost three weeks now. The freedom that I have each day is wonderful, granted I go to my work everyday, but the time that I go is very flexible, I cook my meals and I am starting to run regularly here. The first weeks though have been quite the adventure, especially getting my gas stove hooked up and functioning. I bought the gas tank, regulator, and tube from the petrol station only to discover that the tube did not fit to the regulator or my stove I bought in Kampala. Without a car to drive or the ability to hop on a boda-boda (motorcycle taxis), solving the problem was a bit of an issue. Somehow, after many trips and a few days, my supervisor helped figure it out and now, a couple weeks later, I am fully able to prepare all of my meals.

Using my language has been tough because almost everyone speaks English. I definitely use my Runyankore, but English is so widely used. My organization is aware that I need to continue my language studies and are eager to help me further my studies. When we do outreaches to the villages, speaking in Runyankore will be vital so I hope that I will not loose what I have learned thus far. On a happy note, I did pass my LPI so at least I do not have to think about taking another "test."

Each day has been interesting to say the least. Of the many things that happen each day, here are some highlights -- men of all ages insisting that they love me after first glance (mainly the boda-boda drivers) and that I should take them as my husbands, people telling me that they want a visa to America, being hissed at (like the sound a snake makes) perhaps it is some mating call here but it certainly is not attractive, "muzungu, muzungu," and the latest one is people not believing that I am not 16, that I did graduate from college and yes, my friend Jen, a fellow PCV is AMERICAN not Japanese, Korean, or Chinese. Right now it is the rainy season so I know that if it is blazing hot in the morning, later in the day it will rain. Ugandans do not fair well with the rain, so whenever it rains, I can always use it as an excuse for being late. People understand. There is water everywhere, drains often are overflowing, and of course there is mud because most streets are dirt roads with just a small glimpse of concrete from a paving years and years ago.

But the western part of Uganda is absolutely beautiful! I look forward to using my weekends to travel to various places, hike the different mountains, go camping and basically see all the wonderful things that Uganda has to offer. Transport of course, will be an experience all on its own, from the goats or chickens that are somehow strapped into the matatus (think old Toyota 14 passenger vans that drivers fight 20 people in) or the even better buses that are always over-packed as well. Perhaps one of my secondary projects will be talking to drivers about how to drive. People typically drive too fast and just honk their horn if there is someone they want to pass without slowing down as if the honk validated their speed. Note to all drivers: SLOW DOWN. Moving a little slower isn't such a bad idea. Smell the roses, look at the sky and slow down. Wherever I can, I hope to use my bike and of course I will stick out all the more -- first the muzungu factor, then the female riding a bike factor, and to top it off, wearing a helmet. No one wears a helmet, but with the conditions of the roads, especially the dirt roads, it would be stupid not to wear one (and go against PC rules).

Now to what I came here for -- working with an organization on HIV/AIDS. In my three weeks, I solved all the problems and saved everyone from poverty and AIDS. My work is done and I can come home. JUST KIDDING. If anything, these first three weeks have been trying to develop working relationships with the people at my organization, meet important local officials (a must in Uganda), and befriending my neighbors. I have done some work, including helping design a brochure, develop a database system to input the information on the OVCs we serve, and start doing a needs assessment which potentially can turn into a staff development workshop on needs assessing. There is a lot of potential to do lots of programs and I look forward to working on various projects that will be very holistic. Projects will take a long time and probably move at a much slower pace than I would like, but I know in the two years I will be here, great work will happen. My organization is eager for my input, my analysis, and suggestions on how to develop into a more sustainable organization. I am the first PCV assigned to them, and they want me to make a lasting impression so even after I am go, "Nabassa" will be remembered. Nabaasa, is my Runyankore name which means, the one who is able. I am also hoping that I can start visiting other PCVs and their organizations to see what they are doing and get ideas for my organization for projects that would be related to services they do.

In peace & love,
Caitlin

About to be an official PCV

So this is the last week of "training" and by the end of the week I will be sleeping at my house and starting the adjustment process again but at least I will be "home." And on Thursday, I will be an official Peace Corps Volunteer. Only two years left! (But I'm not counting!) Tomorrow is the infamous LPI and at this point, my head is so full with Runyankore I know I am going to pass! Yeah right... not really at all, but even if you don't meet the standard that PC requires, you still go to site. I am planning on getting a tutor anyway, so I am not too stressed about "failing" because you don't really fail. I just hope I don't disappoint my teacher. We shall see, and this will pass soon enough.

I am definitely ready to be done with training. I have fully enjoyed the homestay experience, through the good times and bad, but it is mainly the independence that I am ready for. I am ready to cook what and when I want to, to not be so structured in my days (thank you PC for mapping out every minute of our day~!), to being able to fully use my language (there aren't too many Runyankore speakers where I am), to not be living out of a suitcase. The first months at site are definitely going to be challenging and we shall see what comes my way. It will be hard to see all of us go in different parts of the country, but that is the beauty of the experience. We go through an intense 10 weeks together and by the end of it you think you have known each other for much longer than that, but its only been those 10 weeks. Being in a new place and being pushed to the extremes in every situation you get to know each other quickly, and you come to depend on each other quickly.

On a lighter note, two fun things happened recently... the other night my host sister saw a poisonous snake go across the back of our compound. It was quite the commotion. My host dad took my head lamp, strapped on some shoes and headed in the direction of the snake with a big stick. All I hear is a thumping noise while my host sisters, my host mom and some other people are huddled together, fearing this snake. At least I was a bit fearing. My host dad saved the day killing the snake. It was this little thing, but poisonous enough. My host sister knew it was poisonous because of the color... be weary of black and green snakes regardless of the size. I will miss being around so many people if and when I encounter a snake at my home.

Second story... I milked a cow!! My friend Sarah's family owns a cow and before we ate dinner I milked the cow. It was the weirdest sensation ever and I barely got any milk out, but I can check that off my list of things to do in Uganda.

Well that's it for now, I can't think of anything more exciting. My head is tired from studying and packing things up again. Hopefully within a week at site I can write about my house and what things will be like for me. I'm not sure about my work yet, but I have hopes that it will be fulfilling.

In peace & love~

A Rite of Passage

One could call getting sick a rite of passage in Peace Corps. We are ending week six of training and at this point more people have been sick than not sick. And this week was my week to get sick! A high fever and several trips to the pit latrine before 7am gave me a wonderful thing called BACTERIAL DYSENTERY!!! Yeah! Thankfully on Thursday the PCMO's gave me some drugs and now I feel worlds better. But this is not really the highlight of the story.... oh noooooo.....

After going to the latrine for the 100th time it seemed, I pulled out the wonderful medical kit hoping some pepto would help calm my stomach. There I am sitting on the floor, feeling horrible and then a BAT, yes a bat (the ugly gray creature that looks like a mouse but flies) fell to my floor. I immediately crawled into my bed thinking my mosquito net would protect me and called my host brother in to help remove the bat. It was a really comical situation and my host brother and I had a nice laugh. My host brother was unable to remove the bat and I left knowing that the bat was somewhere in my room, probably in my dirty laundry bag. When I got home just a few hours later to rest, the bat was gone. I am hoping that is the first and only time I have a bat encounter. We'll see though.

That is enough for now, just a funny story to keep everyone entertained.

In peace & love!!