So here it finally is, my first blog post! I know it has taken forever (about three months since I stepped foot in Africa), but alas your prayers are answered! Enjoy, and feel free to comment or ask questions, but be warned that they will most likely not be answered in a timely fashion, and possibly not at all. No offense, but internet is slow and not readily available for me.
>UGANDA I figured it best to start with a short info session on the country for those who don’t know much about Uganda (ie me 3 months ago):
-it is about the size of Oregon
-has a population around 30million (which I believe is close to that of Los Angeles)
-equatorial and therefore tropical, having only two seasons: wet and dry (each occuring twice a year).
-temperature is fairly moderate and is usually in the 80's, but this can differ by maybe +-10*F depending on time of day, weather, and where in the country you are.
-EXTREMELY humid; you wake up in the morning and are already sweating. Although very uncomfortable at first, you get used to it and arriving home with damp clothing every day has become the norm.
-very beautiful; described by Churchill as “The Pearl of Africa”. This is due to the fact that Uganda might be the most diverse country in Africa; there are lush hill regions in the southwest, dry desert regions in the north and east, and any other environment variation in between. Many varieties of animals are present as well, including about 1/3 of the world's population of mountain gorillas, I think around 3 times as many bird species as the entire US, and much much more.
-there are around 53 different languages in Uganda! English is one of the official languages and a surprising percentage of the people are conversational in it. Makes my life much easier!
-the source of the Nile River is Lake Victoria, specifically in Jinja. There is suppose to be some of the best white water rafting in the world on the Nile; who’s coming with me?
-the capital is Kampala, the largest city both in size and population, where you can basically find anything you are looking for, or a cheap knockoff from India/China. Many of the used goods from America (especially clothing) are sent to Africa where they are haggled over in large open-markets; it is actually quite fun although usually a workout.
-public transportation is absolutely chaotic and composed of: matatu (minivan taxis that are only seated for 14 but packed with around double that number), boda boda (motorcycle & vespa taxis), bicycle boda boda (human powered), large commercial buses (which travel at breakneck speeds on horrible roads), and special hire taxis (compact sedans that seat 5, but force fit up to 10 travelers). If you want an image, picture Mexico, but about 10x worse.
>TRAINING and HOMESTAYA majority of our 10 weeks of training took place in the town of Wakiso; it is just north of the capital Kampala. I lived with the Kanakulya family, who were fortunate enough to "have" electricity (blackouts far outweighed the times that power was supplied). Running water was lacking, but we had a huge storage tank that collected rain, enabling us to not have to trek to a borehole for water. Living with a Ugandan family was actually really easy, although having a curfew again was strange.
For training, we were lectured to on such topics as: the culture of Uganda, logistics of the education system, safety & security in Uganda, medical information, language lessons, and much more. At the time it was kinda intense and dreaded (6 days a week from 8am-5pm), but I appreciate it now and definitely miss hanging out with other Americans everyday. One major benefit though was living with a family that took care of you, while still being able to relax with friends basically everyday, really aided in the transition to life in Uganda. Baby steps.
>FOODThis is probably the most common topic discussed among volunteers (with illnesses, especially of the digestive tract, coming in a close second; don’t worry, I’ll update you on that topic later). I really wish that peeps back at home could sample some of what we are eating here. The following offers a little insight.
First off, Ugandans have a very standard meal which is always comprised of a starch and “soup”, what we would call a sauce. The starch usually consists of either matooke, posho, sweet potatoes, or rice (unfortunately this last one is my favorite as well as the least common). The soup is either beans, ground g-nuts (aka very watery peanut butter), or fish/meat in some sauce. The starches are EXTREMELY bland, and need much soup to make them edible. Most Ugandans hardly eat breakfast, but normally eat huge lunches and dinners late at night, which is directly followed by bed; horrible. The following are brief descriptions of some of my favorite, and least favorite foods:
-Matooke; ugh! Think unripe plantain-type banana that needs to be peeled with a knife and steamed. It has little to no flavor, is horrifically dense, and served by the ton (or so it seems to me). It is also the Ugandan staple, and I loathe it. As a side dish, covered in g-nut sauce it is manageable, but unfortunately it is the main (and often only) course.
-Posho. Basically mix maize flour and water, then boil and stir until it forms a squishy solid. Also very bland, but with enough seasoning and sauce can be choked down.
-Jack fruit! Oh my, this comes close to making up for the matooke and posho. Look it up online; it is the largest tree-bearing fruit, and has been recorded as weighing up to 80lbs! Basically a very sweet fruit that is very alien-like in appearance: spiked outside and tentacled inside with this ridiculously sticky white paste that will only come off with petroleum jelly or other oil. You basically remove pods that encase kumquat-sized seeds and eat the surrounding pulp. Very rich, sweet, and addicting.
-Sugar cane. I am assuming most people know what this is, but many have not tried it. A great snack to tear apart with your teeth and gnaw on. The more "animalistic" you attack it, the more enjoyable. Delicious, but then again its basically the equivalent of drinking sugar water, although I heard it has come cancer-fighting properties...
-Beer! I know many of you are extremely curious about this topic, so I did some extensive research so that I could help you all out. There is beer, and you can often find it chilled! Imported beer is VERY rare and expensive, but there are around 10 local brews that I have come across. They are nothing special, and I probably only truly enjoy the taste of two, but they provide a great means of relaxing with the other volunteers after a long day of training. If you want to know more, fly on over here and I’ll buy you drinks to your liver’s content.
Some other interesting food-related experiences:
-my language group slaughtered and prepared two chickens during a cross-cultural cooking exercise (however, we were not able to actually kill the birds since we were dining with Muslims and we are not religiously qualified to perform the killing, or something like that)
-white ants = somehow related to the termite. They come out in force during certain seasons, and the locals scoop them up by the cupful and eat raw or fry them with a little salt. Have tried them raw but had a hard time differentiating it from grass, and I much rather eat inanimate greenery than a squirming winged insect. I guess grasshopper season is coming, and they sell those by the kilo; I'll let you know how that goes.
>MY SITE / JOB-I am a coordinating center tutor, which is basically a primary teacher trainer. This means I will be teaching part time at a primary teacher’s college (where students study to get their "teaching credentials"), but I will mostly be doing field work, which includes: observing already credentialed teachers at their respective schools, putting on workshops to help teachers in various categories as needed, and improving community involvement and support of the local schools. Ugandan primary school is basically equivalent to America’s elementary schools educationally, but the age can vary greatly as some kids fail, some start years late due to economic reasons, and many other factors.
-I will be working in the Teso region of Uganda, which is located somewhat centrally-east. My town/village is called Gweri, but it does not show up on GoogleMaps and there aren’t even any websites that provide any info about it. You can get the general location by first finding the city Soroti, and heading about 13km southeast. I am told it is more of a dry, hot, Savannah-ish region, although right now we are experiencing the rainy season so things are still lush and beautiful.
-In the Teso region, the local dialect is Ateso and therefore that is the language I am studying. Although all volunteers learned “Survival Lugandan” during training, most of us will be learning different languages.
*Much more to come on my site (where I live and work) in the weeks to come as I get more settled in
Well I think this provides a good foundation for the blog, and I am sure your eyes are starting to get sore so I will end here. Take care all!
