You might be thinking: OK, she's definitely there, she describes things like she's there, but what is she actually doing? To which I would answer: good question, and one I'm not entirely certain of myself. This past week has kind of been for getting my sea legs and figuring out where everything is. Tomorrow, I'm supposed to meet the nun I'll be working with this summer, visit the secondary school where I'll be teaching, and start taking Luganda lessons. Lacey, one of the directors of Ford, said that I'll probably be teaching English and science and doing some counseling. I was ready to start the day after I got here, but I'm beginning to learn how to wait. Everyone tells me that you can't go in with the intent of changing the world; you do what you can and accept what you can't. And despite all the amazing things I've already seen, I've been anxious to start my actual job. I feel guilty for being here almost a week without actually doing anything. But I guess I have been doing things-- I've been learning and listening and watching, and I'll need those experiences later on. Classic case of over-thinking. That's what happens when you have time on your hands.
In the mean time, I've been wandering all around the area, getting a feel for it. I went to the trading center at Nkozi and the bigger one down the road (I can't remember the name at the moment), where they sell everything from produce to cell phones; I walked to the equator; I found a beautiful hill that overlooks campus; and I attended Martyrs Day, Uganda's national holiday that brings hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to the shrine at Namungongo, in Kampala. This was an unreal experience; Curtis and I were the only Muzungus (white people) in the enormous crowd. That is, until an usher herded us to the "VIP shade" area, where a lucky couple of hundred people got to sit under an overhang on chairs while the rest of the tightly-packed audience sweated it out under the blazing sun. In the shade, we found a few other Americans amongst citizens of many different African countries. Initially, I was very uncomfortable: why did the only whites get the best seats in the house, when this was a holiday for Ugandans? Dennis, a friend from UMU, helped explain it to me. In Uganda, the guest is esteemed above everything. Those who come from far away are treated with astounding hospitality, given the best of everything; this is the custom, the culture. Ugandans are honored when travelers visit from far away, and try to make that clear in their hospitality. I still felt a little uneasy, but this helped explain the situation. Martyrs Day mass was a 5-hour long affair, and I was certainly glad for the shade during the equatorial afternoon sun.
The best thing I did so far was to visit one of the villages in Nnindye with several folks from the outreach program at UMU, which has a partnership with Ford and ND. The village was electing new leaders for several of its committees, like agriculture and finance, and UMU was helping with the logistics. In Africa, politics are huge. Especially in Uganda, where so many people enthusiastically strive to improve the country's infrastructure. When it comes to the future of government, there is so much hope in the air; it's very different from the jaded hue of American politics. The elections in the village of Luteete took place on a patch of grass outside someone's compound. The elders sat on benches, while the other candidates, including an audience of women and children, watched from the ground. There didn't seem to be a particular timeframe for the meeting. It started when everyone got there, and ended when they'd said all they wanted to say. Ballots were cast by nominating leaders and raising hands in support of them. Though the events all transpired in Luganda, I gathered that most of the speeches touched on the importance of good leaders for the community. In the end, several incumbents were sworn back in, and a few new faces joined the ranks of the leaders, including a very young man and woman.
That's all for now. Here are a few pictures of the things I've written about. I hope they help to give you an idea of what it's like here.
UMU campus, main quad. It's not usually cloudy, but when it is, the clouds are awesome.
Banana trees are everywhere. The bananas are smaller and sweeter than the kind in the States.
My room! I actually really like sleeping underneath mosquito netting- it's like being in a tent.
Voting for new leaders in Luteete.
Agnes, one of the UMU outreach workers, helped translate the meeting for us. She also took us under her wing on our first day and made sure we knew where to get food, mosquito nets, etc.
With some new friends at UMU: Grace, Moses, and Josinta. Ugandans don't smile for pictures, but they laugh a lot the rest of the time.
The path up to the hill. A lot of children ran down to greet us along the way-- apparently it's a big deal to see a muzungu!
The view from the hill behind campus. Check out Lake Victoria.
Typical market stall at the trading center.
awesome pictures so far katie! i honestly didn't know what uganda would look like, i'm glad you've provided some snapshots!
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