Week 1 - Slideshow from PublicHealth Uganda on Vimeo.
Week 1 Slideshow and video of our arrival, trip to Murchison falls, and Ndere dance performance
Friday, April 9, 2010
Week 1 - Observations from a Bus Window
The air is warm and humid as we step outside of the airport and load onto the bus. A light breeze floats through the windows of the bus as we wait to take off for Kampala. We are all excited to be here and anxious to see our new home for the next ten weeks.
The Ride to Kampala: A full moon and the headlights of matatus, trucks, boda-bodas, and other vehicles are all that light the road. The absence of street lights, house lights, lights in general shocks me. Despite the darkness and the late hour, many small stores that line the road are still open. I can see inside the stores filled to the brim with trinkets, with crooked shelves, with a few items and one flat screen TV sitting on the counter. Some stores are lit by brights lights, others by a few candles. Power lines border the road, but many people cannot afford electricity. So it's dark.
The Ride through Makerere University: The students dress well, and I am surprised to see many of them wearing blue jeans and many of the women wearing heels. The main modes of transport around campus include walking and boda-bodas. Students seem to stare at the bus as it passes by. I try to guess what they are thinking, but I cannot tell.
Birds the size of young children stand in the fields, on the sidewalks, in the trees, and perch on buildings. These scavenger birds are called Marabou Storks. They seem to be a fixture on campus. The students do not seem to notice or mind when one of these storks stands close to them.
The Ride through Kampala: Matatus, boda-bodas, buses, trucks, cars. Honking, weaving, and dodging. The streets are filled with vehicles and potholes. The rain from the previous night has created red puddles. Boda-boda drivers park together along the road. They sit on their bikes waiting for customers, and they remind me of biker gangs.
The vehicles share the roads with people on foot. People walking on the sidewalk, crossing the road, selling passion fruit or phone cards. People walk quickly and with purpose. It is as if everyone has somewhere very important to be. School children in different uniforms walk together, laughing and carrying their backpacks. Men in uniform with large guns walk the sidewalk near Parliament.
Advertisements pervade the landscape of Kampala. Billboards four times the size of those in the United States market beer, cell phone networks, airlines, and public health announcements. Smaller signs advertising coca-cola line the roads and appear attached to storefronts. Often these signs look like they have been posted in these places for a long time. Even flower planters in the meridians advertise a paint store.
The stores are easier to see in the daylight. Faded signs above each store communicate what one can find inside - clothing, bags, groceries, medicine, photographs, food. Tiny shacks painted yellow, pink, or red and white sell airtime. Shopkeepers straighten displays, and restaurant workers sweep the floors. Sometimes the sound of hip-hop music floats from these stores to where we are stopped in traffic.
The Ride to and from Murchison Falls: Children run toward the road, waving and shouting as the bus passes. We wave back and smile. Their relatives and friends remain near the houses and look toward the road, but often they do not smile or wave.
A group of men huddle to see something right outside of the entrance to a roadside store. Children play soccer using frames constructed from branches for goals. Men, women, and children carry large yellow containers up the road. Later I see these large yellow containers next to a well and realize that they are used to carry water. On Easter, everyone can be seen walking along the roads in beautiful clothing as they head to church.
Strips of buildings painted yellow, pink, and red and white, again advertising various cell phone networks, line the roads. Old Coca-Cola signs hang on the sides of buildings and above the signs welcoming travelers to a new town.
One room buildings with plaster walls and thatched roofs flank the shops. These homes often lack doors. Children sit near the doorways, playing in the dirt.
Much of my experience in Uganda has involved my observations of everyday life as seen from the windows of our bus. I have seen a variety of environments and people. I have seen large, ornate buildings and the tiny, dilapidated shacks of the urban slums. I have seen people clothed in beautiful suits and others in barely anything. I have seen the city shops and the rural gardens. Everywhere I have seen advertisements.
I feel as if these observations have provided me with an interesting first view of the country, but I want to learn more. I am ready to meet people and learn about their lives. I am not satisfied by simply sitting back and watching Uganda. I know that I cannot understand how the environment has developed in the manner that it has or how people have come to occupy the places in society that they have without asking questions, without meeting the people, without getting off of the bus. I cannot wait to experience Uganda from the ground.
Location: Entebbe to Kampala, Kampala, Kampala to Murchison Falls
The Ride to Kampala: A full moon and the headlights of matatus, trucks, boda-bodas, and other vehicles are all that light the road. The absence of street lights, house lights, lights in general shocks me. Despite the darkness and the late hour, many small stores that line the road are still open. I can see inside the stores filled to the brim with trinkets, with crooked shelves, with a few items and one flat screen TV sitting on the counter. Some stores are lit by brights lights, others by a few candles. Power lines border the road, but many people cannot afford electricity. So it's dark.
The Ride through Makerere University: The students dress well, and I am surprised to see many of them wearing blue jeans and many of the women wearing heels. The main modes of transport around campus include walking and boda-bodas. Students seem to stare at the bus as it passes by. I try to guess what they are thinking, but I cannot tell.
Birds the size of young children stand in the fields, on the sidewalks, in the trees, and perch on buildings. These scavenger birds are called Marabou Storks. They seem to be a fixture on campus. The students do not seem to notice or mind when one of these storks stands close to them.
The Ride through Kampala: Matatus, boda-bodas, buses, trucks, cars. Honking, weaving, and dodging. The streets are filled with vehicles and potholes. The rain from the previous night has created red puddles. Boda-boda drivers park together along the road. They sit on their bikes waiting for customers, and they remind me of biker gangs.
The vehicles share the roads with people on foot. People walking on the sidewalk, crossing the road, selling passion fruit or phone cards. People walk quickly and with purpose. It is as if everyone has somewhere very important to be. School children in different uniforms walk together, laughing and carrying their backpacks. Men in uniform with large guns walk the sidewalk near Parliament.
Advertisements pervade the landscape of Kampala. Billboards four times the size of those in the United States market beer, cell phone networks, airlines, and public health announcements. Smaller signs advertising coca-cola line the roads and appear attached to storefronts. Often these signs look like they have been posted in these places for a long time. Even flower planters in the meridians advertise a paint store.
The stores are easier to see in the daylight. Faded signs above each store communicate what one can find inside - clothing, bags, groceries, medicine, photographs, food. Tiny shacks painted yellow, pink, or red and white sell airtime. Shopkeepers straighten displays, and restaurant workers sweep the floors. Sometimes the sound of hip-hop music floats from these stores to where we are stopped in traffic.
The Ride to and from Murchison Falls: Children run toward the road, waving and shouting as the bus passes. We wave back and smile. Their relatives and friends remain near the houses and look toward the road, but often they do not smile or wave.
A group of men huddle to see something right outside of the entrance to a roadside store. Children play soccer using frames constructed from branches for goals. Men, women, and children carry large yellow containers up the road. Later I see these large yellow containers next to a well and realize that they are used to carry water. On Easter, everyone can be seen walking along the roads in beautiful clothing as they head to church.
Strips of buildings painted yellow, pink, and red and white, again advertising various cell phone networks, line the roads. Old Coca-Cola signs hang on the sides of buildings and above the signs welcoming travelers to a new town.
One room buildings with plaster walls and thatched roofs flank the shops. These homes often lack doors. Children sit near the doorways, playing in the dirt.
Much of my experience in Uganda has involved my observations of everyday life as seen from the windows of our bus. I have seen a variety of environments and people. I have seen large, ornate buildings and the tiny, dilapidated shacks of the urban slums. I have seen people clothed in beautiful suits and others in barely anything. I have seen the city shops and the rural gardens. Everywhere I have seen advertisements.
I feel as if these observations have provided me with an interesting first view of the country, but I want to learn more. I am ready to meet people and learn about their lives. I am not satisfied by simply sitting back and watching Uganda. I know that I cannot understand how the environment has developed in the manner that it has or how people have come to occupy the places in society that they have without asking questions, without meeting the people, without getting off of the bus. I cannot wait to experience Uganda from the ground.
Location: Entebbe to Kampala, Kampala, Kampala to Murchison Falls
Week 1- Interview
Week 1- Interview with Cornelius from PublicHealth Uganda on Vimeo.
Week 1 interview with Cornelius
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Week 1 - The Goat Ate My Homework and Other Foods
Location: Kampala
One of the best surprises so far has been the food. I had expected Kampala to be dominated by traditional Ugandan starchy food. However, I found the options to be very wide, ranging from Indian to Asian to American to local. Our first meal consisted of native Ugandan food prepared in full with a medley of potatoes and starches. There were at least five different types including a yam, a pumpkin, an irish potato, an odd pink spotted potato and the famous matoke, a yellow cooked plantain that resembled the taste of a potato. In addition to the starches, I ordered fish bathed in peanut sauce --very delicious. Ugandans are very big on avocados, and most standard dine-in restaurants offer some sort of avocado appetizers or supplements to the meal. At our second group dinner, I got a chance to sample this savory avocado appetizer and I was greatly impressed. The sheer size of the avocado, when pitted, creates a hollow cave into which a salad consisting of tomatoes, onions, and a vinaigrette was fitted.
I am definitely surprised by the quantity and variety of fruits I've been eating here. I previously imagined that I would have to subsist on packaged products and tread very carefully with home-grown foods including fruits and vegetables due to issues of sanitation. However, I quickly realized that I eat more fruit here than I do back in the United States. Since the arrival I've eaten the following fruits: pineapples, green oranges (slightly more sour than the traditional orange variety), passion fruit, bananas (big and small), watermelon, papayas and probably others that I cannot think of at the moment. All in all, the fruits of Uganda are certainly understated back home.
On our way to Murchison Falls, we sampled goat kabobs from street vendors. Contrary to my expectations of Ugandan street-quality food, they turned out salty and delicious --comparable if not better to kabobs back home. In addition to the kabobs, we also tried the casava, a soft, white, starchy potato-type that resembled a bland baked potato. At Murchison Falls, my palette was exposed to more delicacies including two three course dinners consisting of soup, a main meal, and dessert, and an English breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and backed beans. Each day I'm more and impressed by the foods in Uganda. Needless to say I'm not complaining about my diet.
Another popular location for food, clothes and exploration is Wandegeya, a local marketplace right next to Makerere University. One night we sampled a roasted chicken cooked in a combination of vegetables including cabbage, onions, and tomatoes. Another famous treat is the Rolex --a vegetable omelet wrapped inside chapatti (fried bread similar to naan). Lastly, a final perk is that soda beverages come in glass bottles definitely trumping the good ol' American cans.
One of the best surprises so far has been the food. I had expected Kampala to be dominated by traditional Ugandan starchy food. However, I found the options to be very wide, ranging from Indian to Asian to American to local. Our first meal consisted of native Ugandan food prepared in full with a medley of potatoes and starches. There were at least five different types including a yam, a pumpkin, an irish potato, an odd pink spotted potato and the famous matoke, a yellow cooked plantain that resembled the taste of a potato. In addition to the starches, I ordered fish bathed in peanut sauce --very delicious. Ugandans are very big on avocados, and most standard dine-in restaurants offer some sort of avocado appetizers or supplements to the meal. At our second group dinner, I got a chance to sample this savory avocado appetizer and I was greatly impressed. The sheer size of the avocado, when pitted, creates a hollow cave into which a salad consisting of tomatoes, onions, and a vinaigrette was fitted.
I am definitely surprised by the quantity and variety of fruits I've been eating here. I previously imagined that I would have to subsist on packaged products and tread very carefully with home-grown foods including fruits and vegetables due to issues of sanitation. However, I quickly realized that I eat more fruit here than I do back in the United States. Since the arrival I've eaten the following fruits: pineapples, green oranges (slightly more sour than the traditional orange variety), passion fruit, bananas (big and small), watermelon, papayas and probably others that I cannot think of at the moment. All in all, the fruits of Uganda are certainly understated back home.
On our way to Murchison Falls, we sampled goat kabobs from street vendors. Contrary to my expectations of Ugandan street-quality food, they turned out salty and delicious --comparable if not better to kabobs back home. In addition to the kabobs, we also tried the casava, a soft, white, starchy potato-type that resembled a bland baked potato. At Murchison Falls, my palette was exposed to more delicacies including two three course dinners consisting of soup, a main meal, and dessert, and an English breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and backed beans. Each day I'm more and impressed by the foods in Uganda. Needless to say I'm not complaining about my diet.
Another popular location for food, clothes and exploration is Wandegeya, a local marketplace right next to Makerere University. One night we sampled a roasted chicken cooked in a combination of vegetables including cabbage, onions, and tomatoes. Another famous treat is the Rolex --a vegetable omelet wrapped inside chapatti (fried bread similar to naan). Lastly, a final perk is that soda beverages come in glass bottles definitely trumping the good ol' American cans.
Week 1 - Religion in Uganda
Location: MISR, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Since arriving in Kampala, my expectations have been met in some ways and completely defied in others. Having had some experience in Africa before, I am surprised at the sheer number of things that I had not anticipated about Ugandan life. While I had indeed expected the people of Uganda to be fairly religious, for example, I had greatly underestimated the utter centrality of religion to Ugandan life: Religion is absolutely everywhere here. In fact, just this evening I was surprised to see a portrait of the Pope printed on the bottle opener that a waiter used to remove the cap from my Schweppes Novida. Though I certainly had not expected that Benedict would be joining me for my meal, this had not been the first time that religion had made an appearance at dinner during our time in Kampala. Indeed, this feature of Ugandan life was made quite clear to me very early on. We had been here for less than a day, in fact, when our friend and guide Ronald Mukasa asked that I pray before the group enjoyed its first authentic Ugandan meal. Though I often pray with my family before meals at home, I was rather uncomfortable with praying in front of the group, especially because I knew little of their own stances on religion at this point so early on in the program.
My reluctance may in part be attributed to the fact that religion seems to be a much more private feature of an individual’s life in the States. At least where I am from, people really try to avoid bringing up their religion on a regular basis out of a fear that they may disaffect those who do not share in their own beliefs. Even at Northwestern where students seem to be fairly tolerant of religion, discussions of faith are often confined within the walls of student group meetings and church services. Although my own background had made me uncomfortable with doing so, I proceeded to pray in front of my peers to avoid the possibility of offending Ron.
Though I was initially uncomfortable with how open Ugandans are with expressing their religious beliefs, I was given a much better understanding of this feature of Ugandan life when a flat tire left our group stranded in rural Kakooge. When some of my colleagues attempted to speak to a group of local children, the children initially refused to respond, letting on that they had no knowledge of the English language. Though Kirabo attempted to overcome this language barrier by employing some of the limited Luganda that we had learned up until that point, even her greetings were met with silence. After the children were able to overcome their shyness, however, their behavior took a complete turnaround and they invited the group to join them in playing games and revealed that they were in fact able to speak our language. The centrality of religion to Ugandan life once again became apparent when, after those in our group who accepted the invitation were exhausted, the children of Kakooge asked if they could pray for us. Though a number of us were clearly taken aback by their question, we of course accepted their offer. The importance of religion to the people of Kakooge became apparent again after I began to explore the town further with a few other group members. A man wearing a kufi approached us, and, after we told him a little about the program and ourselves, he said something along the lines of, “May Allah bless you.” Though I had been uncomfortable with praying in front of the group because I wanted to avoid disrespecting my peers, my brief time in Kakooge suggested that Ugandans are so willing to share their religion precisely because it is one of the most powerful ways that they can show their respect of others. Indeed, thought they were reluctant to share even a few words with us at first, the children of Kakooge successfully conveyed their newly established approval by offering to share their faith. While in the United States we are pressed to avoid bringing up prayer and faith in a public setting to circumvent the possibility of excluding others, the people of Uganda seem to perceive religions openness as a powerful tool of inclusion.
Week 1 - Here we go!!
Location: Kampala, Uganda / Murchison Fall
It is great to finally be here!! I have to admit I definitely had some pre-departure jitters but luckily when I stepped into the airport, I was suddenly calm and collected. This first week has been very eventful from our tour of Kampala to get phones and visit the market to the grand excursion to Murchison Falls. Shortly after arriving on campus at Makerere University, I was asked by a student if I felt at all out of place. My response was not at all. Although I am very comfortable at Northwestern and the U.S. in general, it is a completely different feeling to be in a country where I am apart of the majority. Its a special feeling and I especially love and appreciate that people cannot pick me out as an American. It makes me feel closer and more connected. During the Ndere performance, I was very excited to see all of these beautiful dances and our friend and guide Centurio leaned in and said welcome home. On another note, the poverty here is simply heart breaking. I had no idea of the magnitude in Kampala and of course I want to save everyone and it hurts when I have to walk by and act as if I don't care about their situation. I care more than they will ever know and hopefully I can make a difference in the future. This program is great for me because I love music, dance, and drama in conjuction with public health. Our guides and teachers are all wonderful and eager to help us. I am so excited to learn Luganda, perform, and get involved in the community. I truly feel blessed to be here.
It is great to finally be here!! I have to admit I definitely had some pre-departure jitters but luckily when I stepped into the airport, I was suddenly calm and collected. This first week has been very eventful from our tour of Kampala to get phones and visit the market to the grand excursion to Murchison Falls. Shortly after arriving on campus at Makerere University, I was asked by a student if I felt at all out of place. My response was not at all. Although I am very comfortable at Northwestern and the U.S. in general, it is a completely different feeling to be in a country where I am apart of the majority. Its a special feeling and I especially love and appreciate that people cannot pick me out as an American. It makes me feel closer and more connected. During the Ndere performance, I was very excited to see all of these beautiful dances and our friend and guide Centurio leaned in and said welcome home. On another note, the poverty here is simply heart breaking. I had no idea of the magnitude in Kampala and of course I want to save everyone and it hurts when I have to walk by and act as if I don't care about their situation. I care more than they will ever know and hopefully I can make a difference in the future. This program is great for me because I love music, dance, and drama in conjuction with public health. Our guides and teachers are all wonderful and eager to help us. I am so excited to learn Luganda, perform, and get involved in the community. I truly feel blessed to be here.
Week 1- Video
Week 1- Crazy Beginnings from PublicHealth Uganda on Vimeo.
Week 1 video for Northwestern University's Public Health in Uganda 2010 program. Enjoy!
week one: initial thoughts
Location: Makerere, Kampala, Murchison Falls
Living, studying, and interacting with people in the context of an unfamiliar culture requires considerable effort. Among other things, we must learn languages and customs and etiquette and how to move about a new city.
Having traveled abroad mainly in the developed world, I was expecting this. After all, learning these things - absorbing a new culture - is one reason why many people, myself included, travel abroad. In a foreign country that we visit, we are always outsiders for this reason, but, as I have found out, the degree to which we are seen as outsiders can vary quite widely.
In the context of Uganda, as I expected, we have been continually learning of culture and etiquette - a necessity, if we are to continue living and studying here. My expectations for what I would experience going to Uganda were therefore fairly accurate: The food, the languages, the transport, the people, and the city, were all more or less what I expected - a result of months of reading through my Uganda guidebook and hearing from people who went previously.
How my position as an outsider would affect my experiences in Uganda, however, was something that I have had to become used to. I have felt these effects numerous times, but they were particularly acute during our trip to Murchison Falls, where we stayed at the Nile Safari Lodge. I must begin by saying that this was a very enjoyable trip, and our accommodations were really very nice. We had a view of the Nile, and the place was spacious and airy and open, with good food and a relatively well stocked bar. There was a pool, and the gardens were beautiful and well tended. But, it was precisely this that made me more aware of a feeling of inequality that I have begun to increasingly feel while I am here.
This was the type of place that was made for foreign tourists, and unsurprisingly, all the visitors seemed to be either European or American. This was the type of place that very few Ugandans would have the means to visit. We were staying in a place with all the luxuries to which we take for granted, while a couple kilometers down the road, there were people living in small huts with thatched roofs, without the running water and electricity and modern toilets that we have become so dependent on. As I walked past a Ugandan man working in the garden under the midday sun, I almost felt guilty for the resources I have available to me, that I use everyday, and that I take for granted. Here I was in their country, enjoying their beautiful landscapes and wildlife at a place that seemed completely inaccesable to them. It did not seem fair to me.
We as American students are all privileged here, I suppose. I have truly enjoyed my first week here, but there are still many things that we all must become accustomed to. The way people stare at us and ask us for money ... I was told that this would happen, but it is definitely something that you have to experience and accept.
I look forward to the next nine weeks here. Ugandans are very friendly and pleasant to be around, and I already feel pretty comfortable moving about Kampala on my own, getting lost each time, but getting to know the city better as well.
Living, studying, and interacting with people in the context of an unfamiliar culture requires considerable effort. Among other things, we must learn languages and customs and etiquette and how to move about a new city.
Having traveled abroad mainly in the developed world, I was expecting this. After all, learning these things - absorbing a new culture - is one reason why many people, myself included, travel abroad. In a foreign country that we visit, we are always outsiders for this reason, but, as I have found out, the degree to which we are seen as outsiders can vary quite widely.
In the context of Uganda, as I expected, we have been continually learning of culture and etiquette - a necessity, if we are to continue living and studying here. My expectations for what I would experience going to Uganda were therefore fairly accurate: The food, the languages, the transport, the people, and the city, were all more or less what I expected - a result of months of reading through my Uganda guidebook and hearing from people who went previously.
How my position as an outsider would affect my experiences in Uganda, however, was something that I have had to become used to. I have felt these effects numerous times, but they were particularly acute during our trip to Murchison Falls, where we stayed at the Nile Safari Lodge. I must begin by saying that this was a very enjoyable trip, and our accommodations were really very nice. We had a view of the Nile, and the place was spacious and airy and open, with good food and a relatively well stocked bar. There was a pool, and the gardens were beautiful and well tended. But, it was precisely this that made me more aware of a feeling of inequality that I have begun to increasingly feel while I am here.
This was the type of place that was made for foreign tourists, and unsurprisingly, all the visitors seemed to be either European or American. This was the type of place that very few Ugandans would have the means to visit. We were staying in a place with all the luxuries to which we take for granted, while a couple kilometers down the road, there were people living in small huts with thatched roofs, without the running water and electricity and modern toilets that we have become so dependent on. As I walked past a Ugandan man working in the garden under the midday sun, I almost felt guilty for the resources I have available to me, that I use everyday, and that I take for granted. Here I was in their country, enjoying their beautiful landscapes and wildlife at a place that seemed completely inaccesable to them. It did not seem fair to me.
We as American students are all privileged here, I suppose. I have truly enjoyed my first week here, but there are still many things that we all must become accustomed to. The way people stare at us and ask us for money ... I was told that this would happen, but it is definitely something that you have to experience and accept.
I look forward to the next nine weeks here. Ugandans are very friendly and pleasant to be around, and I already feel pretty comfortable moving about Kampala on my own, getting lost each time, but getting to know the city better as well.
Week 1- Impressions
This first week seems to have gone by at lighting speed and we fit an incredible number of new people, places, and experiences into our first few days here. There has definitely been culture shock, starting as soon as we got into the bus at the airport, but it seems to be getting better every day that we're here. Hopefully, as time continues to pass we'll feel less like foreign tourists and more like we belong here. It may never be our permanent home, but at least we might be comfortable and fit in. Here are some of my experiences and impressions from our first 7 days.
Once we landed in Uganda following our 24 hours of travel, we took about a 45 minute bus ride from the airport in Entebbe to Makerere University in Kampala. We got to see part of the city at night and it was a bit of a shock to pass through portions of the Kampala that were pitch black. Since city street lights are such a common occurrence at home, the ability to see the stars was a welcome change. The reality, however, was slightly unexpected. Professor Stewart told us that, although there are power lines running through the area, people in these parts of town can't afford electricity. Something as simple as the ability to see where you're walking at night, which I take hugely for granted at home, is not a luxury that many people here in Uganda have. I think that was my first official wake up call as to how I couldn't expect life in the U.S. and here to necessarily be comparable.
On a more trivial note, the lack of internet, hot water, and water pressure, combined with the need for mosquito nets and bottled water, definitely made me rethink and appreciate more the life that I live in the States. Most days seem to bring a new challenge that we must face in our living situation, but at the end of this experience I think looking back on our accomplishments will be well worth it.
Once our group settled in and started touring the city of Kampala, it was hard to ignore all of the people who looked at us. Driving down the street in the big University van everyone turns and stares, which is a rather uncomfortable feeling. Hopefully I will get more used to the fact that the color of my skin is seen as a novelty by many, but this was definitely one of the first times where I felt particularly out of place or like I stood out. Perhaps over time we'll start to feel a bit more Ugandan and less like silly tourists, but it seems like no amount of adjustment will change what people see when they look at our skin.
As we explore the area around the University, one of the first places we have frequented is Wandegaya, a market just a few minutes walk down the street. But, walking down the side of the busy street is a feat in itself. Trying not to get hit by cars, accosted by the taxi and boda boda (motor bike taxi) drivers, and watching your footing at night is quite tricky. Once we reached the market, though, the walk was worth it because the place is fascinating. The combination of tiny convenience stores, hole in the wall restaurants, hair-braiding salons, and the fruit and vegetable market is a site unlike anything at home. Stores and people are on top of each other, but in this market it seems like you can find just about anything you might need.
One of the most memorable experiences of the first week was the three hours we spent at a tiny gas station along the side of the road in a town called Kakooge. After a blown tire on our way to our safari at Murchison Falls, we waited at the gas station for the tire to be fixed. As soon as we got off the bus an ever-growing group of children started to gather around. At first our group and the kids stood around rather awkwardly. We tried to smile and wake, but the kids seemed to be very shy. But, once we took out our cameras and started taking pictures of and with them, they opened up, started posing, and interacted more. They absolutely loved when we showed them the picture of themselves on the little digital screen. We learned that some of the older kids spoke very basic English so we were able to communicate a bit. As we continued to wait for the tires to come back, the kids decided to teach us some circle games which was very fun. They were basically cat and mouse games and dancing while the group sang a little song. Very fun and much less awkward since everyone was closer to being on the same level! 3 hours later, the tires were repaired and we were on our way again. The experience at the gas station was our first real interaction with children and it was truly enlightening. They were all very curious about us and wanted to interact. I feel like spending time with children was easier than adults because we can relate more to each other, there is less judgment, and more acceptance.
After our first week I think we've seen many surprises and experienced things I didn't think possible before this trip. As the tourist feeling wears off and we continue to settle in, I look forward to our first week of classes and our site visits to different NGOs around the city.
Location: Entebbe, Makerere University, Wandegaya, Kakooge
Week 1: PreConceptions, Expectations, and the Reality
Location: MISR, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Before I, as with everyone, enter new, unchartered, and unexplored territory, there are preconceptions, thoughts, expectations of how the country will look, smell, taste, act, and accept our foreign capacities. My anticipations of Uganda, as well as Africa in general, were extremely stereotypical, fueled by the many warnings of a 3rd world country. Here is a painting of what my Ugandan world looked like: areas with insignificant electricity, extreme rural areas, unrefined infrastructure, and low levels of technology among many other assumptions. I also imagined children starving, alone on the streets, orphaned from the passing of parents by war or HIV/AIDS. It would be extremely dangerous to go out by yourself, let alone even at all after midnight. People would always look for an opportunity to get the best of you, take advantage of you, and/or mug you. We would be intelligent compared to them, more mature and understanding with our academic and socioeconomic background. Although I never said it out loud, I wrongly thought of them as inferior.
The first day was absolutely listless. One of our beloved family of 9 unfortunately couldn’t catch the flight on time, causing a late entrance into the new world. Due to the lack of sleep, the first whole day resulted in a substantial nap till past midnight. Since there was only water in the apartment, the two of us decided to wander into Wandegeya to scavenge for food, despite the warnings of unsafe adventuring at night. We stumbled upon a vendor, and ordered some chicken, chapatti, and cabbage, along with a Nile Special, sat down, and turned a red flag "don’t do it" activity into a special first impression and experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m not dictating that wandering past midnight is not dangerous at all, but from personal experiences such as these, I believe Kampala just to be any other city with people, like us, that enjoy activities into the wee hours of the night. This provided a personal realization that Uganda is a country that contains people and is equal. There is no need to avoid them, because they’re different. There is no need to avoid them, because they are staring at you. And there is no need to avoid them, because of the cultural barrier. There are interested in who you are and what you are doing there. With a Nile Special and some food, an awkward situation can become real. People can be met and relationships can be made.
The third day was the start of a very tourist journey to Murchison Falls, a safari with animals in the wild. There was an unexpected pit stop at Kakooge village, due to a flat tire on our beloved Makerere University bus. The three hour stop was eye-opening. Kakooge is a very rural Ugandan village where the children are skinny and their clothes don’t seem to fit, the houses look rundown from weather and tearing, and everything is very, very hot. I came to a couple realizations at this stop: first of all, the children looked malnourished. However, they were happy and joyful. The depiction I had of African children was that they were always suffering and begging for money, but these children just wanted to play. They dragged a couple of my sister "muzungus" into their games and enjoyed every bit of the time there. They laughed at our awkwardness, were excited over our cameras, and enjoyed giving us presents (birds and fruit are presents too). They were not at all what I expected. The second realization came from our own lack of tolerance. We complained about the heat, the long wait for the bus tire to come in, and the swarm of children that kept coming back. I didn’t realize how spoiled we were and how everything was taken care for us: we take advantage of all these activities that are set up for us and the attention we get just because we are muzungus, not because we are educated or more mature. Centurio takes care of all the activities we do, Dan takes time out of his family to drive us around literally everywhere, and Joel is leaving his education and wife and 6 month old child for a few days to show us around, on top of Professor Stewart setting this whole trip up. And to top it off, we complain. I took this time to realize the difference in the attitude towards our actions, and I feel like we are more immature than even the children there. They just seem to enjoy who and where they are and take in every moment to the fullest.
A couple of days ago, a few of us decided to go out at night and learn more about Wandegeya. We happened to stop by a club and decided to go in. Initially very intimidated (I dance like crap), I sat around and decided in the back of my mind to leave after lounging around for a while. Some students convinced us to dance with them eventually, and this incident became engaging and hilarious. The people here point, laugh and call us muzungus, but everything is meant to be friendly. I haven’t been bothered by anybody consistently, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the much more accepting culture here. Put a smile on your face and they may very well become your friend, brother, or sister in the future. They are not at all trying to take advantage of you, rather just excited to meet such different people.
The first week has been unbelievably eye-opening, informative, and exciting yet overwhelming. I have truly experienced the beauty of Uganda, taking in the sights, sounds, foods, and new places as a tourist. While these experiences are ones to cherish, I am ready to become a student of Ugandan culture and research. We have gone on a safari, amazing boat ride, toured Mulago Hospital and Kampala, and watched a Ndere Troupe perform local African music, dance, and drama. I hope to take these experiences and use them to make a difference with the research and project I will be doing here.
Before I, as with everyone, enter new, unchartered, and unexplored territory, there are preconceptions, thoughts, expectations of how the country will look, smell, taste, act, and accept our foreign capacities. My anticipations of Uganda, as well as Africa in general, were extremely stereotypical, fueled by the many warnings of a 3rd world country. Here is a painting of what my Ugandan world looked like: areas with insignificant electricity, extreme rural areas, unrefined infrastructure, and low levels of technology among many other assumptions. I also imagined children starving, alone on the streets, orphaned from the passing of parents by war or HIV/AIDS. It would be extremely dangerous to go out by yourself, let alone even at all after midnight. People would always look for an opportunity to get the best of you, take advantage of you, and/or mug you. We would be intelligent compared to them, more mature and understanding with our academic and socioeconomic background. Although I never said it out loud, I wrongly thought of them as inferior.
The first day was absolutely listless. One of our beloved family of 9 unfortunately couldn’t catch the flight on time, causing a late entrance into the new world. Due to the lack of sleep, the first whole day resulted in a substantial nap till past midnight. Since there was only water in the apartment, the two of us decided to wander into Wandegeya to scavenge for food, despite the warnings of unsafe adventuring at night. We stumbled upon a vendor, and ordered some chicken, chapatti, and cabbage, along with a Nile Special, sat down, and turned a red flag "don’t do it" activity into a special first impression and experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m not dictating that wandering past midnight is not dangerous at all, but from personal experiences such as these, I believe Kampala just to be any other city with people, like us, that enjoy activities into the wee hours of the night. This provided a personal realization that Uganda is a country that contains people and is equal. There is no need to avoid them, because they’re different. There is no need to avoid them, because they are staring at you. And there is no need to avoid them, because of the cultural barrier. There are interested in who you are and what you are doing there. With a Nile Special and some food, an awkward situation can become real. People can be met and relationships can be made.
The third day was the start of a very tourist journey to Murchison Falls, a safari with animals in the wild. There was an unexpected pit stop at Kakooge village, due to a flat tire on our beloved Makerere University bus. The three hour stop was eye-opening. Kakooge is a very rural Ugandan village where the children are skinny and their clothes don’t seem to fit, the houses look rundown from weather and tearing, and everything is very, very hot. I came to a couple realizations at this stop: first of all, the children looked malnourished. However, they were happy and joyful. The depiction I had of African children was that they were always suffering and begging for money, but these children just wanted to play. They dragged a couple of my sister "muzungus" into their games and enjoyed every bit of the time there. They laughed at our awkwardness, were excited over our cameras, and enjoyed giving us presents (birds and fruit are presents too). They were not at all what I expected. The second realization came from our own lack of tolerance. We complained about the heat, the long wait for the bus tire to come in, and the swarm of children that kept coming back. I didn’t realize how spoiled we were and how everything was taken care for us: we take advantage of all these activities that are set up for us and the attention we get just because we are muzungus, not because we are educated or more mature. Centurio takes care of all the activities we do, Dan takes time out of his family to drive us around literally everywhere, and Joel is leaving his education and wife and 6 month old child for a few days to show us around, on top of Professor Stewart setting this whole trip up. And to top it off, we complain. I took this time to realize the difference in the attitude towards our actions, and I feel like we are more immature than even the children there. They just seem to enjoy who and where they are and take in every moment to the fullest.
A couple of days ago, a few of us decided to go out at night and learn more about Wandegeya. We happened to stop by a club and decided to go in. Initially very intimidated (I dance like crap), I sat around and decided in the back of my mind to leave after lounging around for a while. Some students convinced us to dance with them eventually, and this incident became engaging and hilarious. The people here point, laugh and call us muzungus, but everything is meant to be friendly. I haven’t been bothered by anybody consistently, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the much more accepting culture here. Put a smile on your face and they may very well become your friend, brother, or sister in the future. They are not at all trying to take advantage of you, rather just excited to meet such different people.
The first week has been unbelievably eye-opening, informative, and exciting yet overwhelming. I have truly experienced the beauty of Uganda, taking in the sights, sounds, foods, and new places as a tourist. While these experiences are ones to cherish, I am ready to become a student of Ugandan culture and research. We have gone on a safari, amazing boat ride, toured Mulago Hospital and Kampala, and watched a Ndere Troupe perform local African music, dance, and drama. I hope to take these experiences and use them to make a difference with the research and project I will be doing here.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Week 1- Kirabo
Where to start? This will probably be quite jumbled…
The room we are staying in is really nice; there is a living room, bathroom, kitchen area, and bedroom. We sleep under mosquito nets. There were a few cockroaches in others’ rooms but thankfully not our own! The lights don’t all work, the television doesn’t work, and our internet doesn’t work. Additionally, our “shower” is a little dysfunctional. The water pressure is low, and the warm water only comes out in a trickle. If you turn the cold water on with the warm to increase pressure, it just goes completely cold. So essentially, we take cold water showers but it really could be worse. I’m glad we have working toilets and a shower at all! At a gas station and a nice restaurant for downtown Uganda we’ve seen (and used) hole toilets. Basically it is a ceramic covered hole on a tiled floor. When you’re done, you pull a lever from above that flushes it out.
The country itself is beautiful; the grass and trees are really green, and the dirt is red. When it rains, everything appears really dirty because the mud gets everywhere. Rural Uganda is very different from Kampala- here, there are both shacks and American-style homes. In rural Uganda, there are various types of huts that most people would picture when they think of Africa. The city is extremely crowded, polluted, and congested with traffic- both cars, “matatus”, or vans, and boda bodas, or motorcycle taxis. (Which we are not allowed to take on penalty of being sent home.) Electricity is relatively common in the city but many shacks and stores do not have it.
Food is definitely interesting. We eat a ton of chapatti, which is basically Indian naan but thicker and prepared in palm oil. (Mostly everything here is cooked in palm oil) Breakfast, lunch, and dinner it’s served and I’ve certainly had it for all meals at this point. Ugandans eat a lot of meat, fruit, chapatti, rice, and potatoes. They have at least four types of potatoes they serve, I’m sure there are probably more, and they often serve them all at once. Most things are really greasy or sweet. The other day, on our trip to the safari (which I will discuss more in a bit) we took two roadside stops in rural places and ate roasted goat meat on skewers and roasted bananas. The bananas were great, but I wasn’t such a fan of the meat. However, many people on my trip really liked it a lot. When you drive by, the villagers come up to the car windows and try to sell drinks, food, or anything else they can. There are a lot of kids especially that do this.
The market, Wandageya, is really close to Makerere University (where we live.) It is basically a bunch of shacks tied together in an extensive shopping center. We’re supposed to bargain for fruit/vegetables but as of yet we’ve just bought stuff according to the price given…. It’s really cheap as it is and bargaining is beyond my comfort level in this first week. In the market, they basically sell everything from meat to baked goods to supermarket-style items to electronics. There are a lot of hair salons and clothing “stores” as well- but remember, it’s more like little shacks all next to each other. The area tends to be smelly as there is a lot of garbage (and a butchery) but it’s a pretty cool communal place.
A few days ago, we went to Mulago Hospital to tour it as well as the medical school of Makerere. The hospital tour was fascinating and completely unlike anything that would be seen in the U.S. We were taken all around the hospital, directly into wards and saw patients. (There was even a fistula ward!) It was a complete breach of privacy that doesn’t apparently matter as much out here. In some places, there were patients lying on mattresses on the floor where it was too overcrowded. There weren’t individual patient rooms but rather big rooms or open spaces with lots of beds. Outside of wards people would sit and wait on the ground- much of the hallways, walkways, and stairwells are outdoors. I wish I could have taken pictures. We even went into a children’s ward which was just pitiful and awful- lots of really forlorn looking children and babies, some with family members and some without. It is evident that the hospital staff is doing their best but they lack personnel and resources to meet such a great demand.. Overall, the hospital was what I expected. Run down, overcrowded, but a legitimate hospital with a highly educated staff.
We went on a safari this weekend- that was fantastic. I will post pictures or you will see them later! Baboons, elephants, giraffes, a lion, lots of hippos. The place we stayed at was also very nice but at the same time rustic- there was only electricity from 6:30 pm until 10:30 pm when it would turn off automatically. Also, the showers were supplied by a big bucket that was filled right before your shower from the outside. We slept under mosquito nets here too thankfully because there were tons of insects and we even heard a bat fluttering around in our cabin! It took me a while to fall asleep… Other than that it was an amazing experience and I would love to go back!
Also of importance, on the way to the safari, our van broke down. We spent two hours in a very small town and played with a bunch of kids. For a long time they just gathered together and giggled, not speaking to us. I tried talking to them in English and Luganda…(i.e. how are you, as that’s all I could say) and didn’t get a response for probably a half hour. Then one girl told us her name, and from then on, the kids just kept multiplying in number. They swarmed! We took pictures of them and they were fascinated with our cameras. We played games with them and even prayed with them, which they asked us to do. It was an incredible experience, and worth the inconvenience.
Afterwards, we went to a dance performance. That was super cool although it was four hours long. At one point, a nineteen year old girl danced with SEVEN pots balanced on her head. It was absolutely insane! We’re going to be taught an African dance and will be performing for Centurio’s (a Ugandan who assists my Professor and us) village- which will be quite interesting but a lot of fun I’m sure. I don’t really care how ridiculous I’m going to look!
After a week, I feel pretty comfortable! People are really nice and welcoming here and I don’t feel nearly as out of place as I had thought. The best thing I have experienced so far is driving through the rural villages- the little kids always wave to you. One time I even saw a little boy run a long-ish way just so he could say hello! Every little hut you go by, the little cuties wave. They never fail to make me smile with their enthusiasm.
Location: Kampala, Uganda
Monday, April 5, 2010
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