I'm sitting on a bed, with what has been the most comfortable mattress I've slept on in over two months. I must find one just like it when I go to site. I'm in a hotel outside of Kampala, getting ready to swear in as a PCV tomorrow afternoon. FINALLY. I'm pumped. I'm so proud that all 44 of us made it through and will swear in together. I love us.
We arrived at the hotel on Monday morning, after a hurried goodbye to my homestay family who, for some reason, waited until 20 minutes before I was leaving to decide they want a family picture with me, and all needed to bathe and get ready. The picture did not happen. Sorry. We had a huge week of Peace Corps office tours, Embassy tours, shopping for site, etc., planned, but that was all thrown off by a political/social demonstration that has been going on for a week and a half now. Basically food prices and oil prices are out of control here (Nutella went from 3500/= to 11,200/=. I mean come on.) and the opposition parties have decided to walk to work on Mondays and Thursdays to protest the rising cost of living. The only problem is that, in an effort to curtail any possibly violent protests, the police have preemptively shut down the demonstrations, arrested the leaders, shot at people, and fired tear gas into the crowds. Effective, no? Peace Corps is all about keeping us safe, so at the first sign of anything going on, we were put on standfast at the hotel, meaning we weren't allowed to leave the property. Shopping at the mall-that-is-like-America was out. (Sorry.) We spent the rest of the day laying by the pool, drinking beer, and feeling like we were on spring break. My thighs may or may not have gotten sunburned. (It's ok.)
Tuesday we were able to go to the embassy, find out more about the foreign service than I ever thought I would, and then go to the PC office and eat some delicious sandwiches. (Salami, garlic lettuce tomato and CHEESE!) We went shopping at Garden City, where I bought coffee, a milkshake, and a lot of airtime for my phones and computer. Super successful trip, if you ask me. I guess I also bought a gas stove and a hammock that looks like the Ugandan flag, so my house will have a few things in it :) We have been eating the most amazing food while we're at the hotel - I had REAL Heinz ketchup tonight with my potatoes, I gorged myself on bread pudding at lunch, and there are made to order omelets every morning. There is also flan. Apparently this is where we have our In Service Training conference in July or August of this year, so we are all incredibly psyched to come back here after three months.
Tomorrow we're leaving the hotel by seven so that we can avoid the protests and get to where we need to be before any shit goes down. We have more workshops with our supervisors, kind of just to let them know what's expected of them, what's expected of us, what we are like as Americans, and what Peace Corps expects from our time working with them. We swear in tomorrow afternoon, and then hopefully come back to the hotel to celebrate. Friday I'm traveling up to Lira, gonna buy a sweet mattress and some paint, and spend the weekend making my house a home! (That's what I'm anticipating anyway, I have some new movies, a jar of nutella, and some nail polish if things go south.)
I realized the other day that I kind of maybe have less than two years at this point, a thought which I found oddly comforting. I've been counting down from 27, but in reality I think it's less than that. I don't know why one or two months makes such a difference in my mind, but knowing that I'm on this side of "two years" makes me feel better. Maybe a career in the foreign service isn't realistic for me... so sad. The power has gone out a couple times tonight, and every time it does I just stare up at the sky and see all the stars that I never have before. In relation to the US, there is very little light pollution here, and we're up pretty high (I think about 3,000 feet?) so the stars are much more impressive here, I can't wait to take pictures of them!
I'm so excited to take a shower and lay in bed and read tonight. I'm such a nerd, but I'm really looking forward to it. I'm freaking exhausted, this has been a long ten weeks. Oh, and of course my stuff is strewn EVERYWHERE and I'm doubting my ability to fit it all back into my bags. Sorry.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Luggage & Bread. Or, I'm really, really procrastinating here this evening, folks.
Tomorrow morning while I'm at training, doing five hours of language in preparation for my LPI, a Peace Corps driver is coming by my homestay house to pick up my luggage. Other than the fact that I'm not leaving until Monday, this is great news. I have two bags in storage at training right now, and will add one more (plus a bucket and some bedding) to that pile. I am so tired of sorting my things into bags according to when I'll need them next. I am tired of living out of suitcases and constantly packing and unpacking my things. I am tired of being in transition. My biggest fear right now is shuffling through the streets of Kampala with all my crap in tow, and somehow something important not making it to site, or making it to site broken (camera, computer, I'm thinking of you right now). All the other trainees and I can talk about is how badly we just want to be in our own homes, where we can eat what and when we want, and not have to ask permission to bathe or wash clothes. It's really the simple things in life that matter, no?
In other, more fun news, I've decided that while I'm here in Uganda, I want to learn how to bake amazing bread. We were given a cookbook (that I am PUMPED about, I kid you not) that has several bread recipes. I will start with those and then see where it takes me. I lived with my cousins this summer, and Molly is a bread baking aficionado, which is where this little flirtation of an idea is coming from. She and I discussed opening a bakery/restaurant/whatever else we want it to be someday, when we're both done doing what we need to in life, and can settle in to what we want to do. I fully plan on photo-documenting this endeavor and writing about it, of course, so that I can publish it when I get home and then someone can make a movie about it, a la Julie & Julia. No, I'm not kidding.
Ok, I'm obviously just avoiding doing any work in the way of studying for language (kop ango?) or packing up my shit. I'm off.
Miss & love you all.
Liz
In other, more fun news, I've decided that while I'm here in Uganda, I want to learn how to bake amazing bread. We were given a cookbook (that I am PUMPED about, I kid you not) that has several bread recipes. I will start with those and then see where it takes me. I lived with my cousins this summer, and Molly is a bread baking aficionado, which is where this little flirtation of an idea is coming from. She and I discussed opening a bakery/restaurant/whatever else we want it to be someday, when we're both done doing what we need to in life, and can settle in to what we want to do. I fully plan on photo-documenting this endeavor and writing about it, of course, so that I can publish it when I get home and then someone can make a movie about it, a la Julie & Julia. No, I'm not kidding.
Ok, I'm obviously just avoiding doing any work in the way of studying for language (kop ango?) or packing up my shit. I'm off.
Miss & love you all.
Liz
Monday, April 11, 2011
The shortest answer is doing the thing - Hemingway
Back from future site visit, rested and decompressed. My trip up to Lira was pretty uneventful, by my current standards of travel. We arrived in Kampala at about 6:45 am, hoping to catch the post office bus (a bus used to transport mail all over the country that also ferries passengers at a reduced rate, but more slowly due to all the stops). We apparently were misinformed that a post bus even goes to Lira, because there isn't one. We ended up at the regular bus park, hoping to get a seat on Mawenzi, a pretty reputable company. Too bad Mawenzi didn't leave until 11am. We sat for four hours, funny how this barely phases me anymore. The trip up was fine, we arrived a little before five, and I met my principal in the bus park. He drove me to a house where I'd be staying, since my house on the campus wasn't ready yet. Then he took me to the campus to see my house.
It's very simple, but nice. I have four rooms plus a pit latrine in my yard. The building is long and rectangular, with three doors down the long side - a bedroom, sitting room, and kitchen. On the short side there is a wash room with a shower head and tap. I have electricity and running water, though I'll have to collect water from my wash room and walk it around to the kitchen to boil and cook with. I asked if they might be able to put up gutters and a rain barrel since it seems silly not to collect water in a country that has two seasons devoted to rain. All of the doors are exterior, so to go from my bedroom to get a snack, I'll have to go outside. This worries me slightly, but I will either: get over it, never do anything after dark, or ask that they knock down an interior wall and put in a door. I'm a bit curious about pad locking my doors every time I go use the latrine or bathe around the corner in my wash room. My doors did not have pad locks on the inside, just those little locks used in bathroom stalls, so I played the mom card and told my principal and the burser that I promised my mom I'd be as safe as I could here, and that if she saw small locks that weren't pad lockable she'd want me to come home. This seemed to make sense and they agreed to put bigger locks on the inside. The walls are all freshly painted, so I feel bad about wanting to paint bright colors, but I really hate white walls, so I will force myself to get over the guilt and paint away. I can't wait to get settled in and make it my own. I have a long list of things to buy, it's so different from all my other moving lists that I've made over the years; jerry cans, wash basins, squeegee for the latrine floor, gas stove, etc.
I've talked to a few other trainees, both here and in other countries, who are at similar points in service. It seems the common theme among some of us is excitement mixed with apprehension of having to do this on our own now, and a healthy sprinkling of serious self doubt. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be, and it might be a lot easier to call it quits and fly back home if it wasn't also incredibly wonderful and by far the coolest thing I've ever done. Every day I feel torn about how unreal it is that I'm over here doing this, and how much I miss my dog. I reread parts of the Unofficial Volunteer Handbook (effing amazing resource - everyone should buy it!) occasionally to remind myself of what are "normal" feelings at the stage I'm in. Currently I should be feeling anxiety, irritated, fright, frustration with myself, and homesickness, among other things. So basically I'm right on schedule. One part of the book reminds me that I've pretty much volunteered for psychological difficulty, and that being here can be compared to a 27 month long self awareness retreat. Hmm. I keep reminding myself that there are no actual barriers to doing this, only mental ones, so it's really just a matter of being stronger than my doubts are.
I got a card from my older brother today that made my day. Seeing our names on the mail list is the best feeling, all of us on there just have this glow for the rest of the day, waiting until five o'clock when we can pick up what has arrived.
Love and miss you all!!!!
Liz
It's very simple, but nice. I have four rooms plus a pit latrine in my yard. The building is long and rectangular, with three doors down the long side - a bedroom, sitting room, and kitchen. On the short side there is a wash room with a shower head and tap. I have electricity and running water, though I'll have to collect water from my wash room and walk it around to the kitchen to boil and cook with. I asked if they might be able to put up gutters and a rain barrel since it seems silly not to collect water in a country that has two seasons devoted to rain. All of the doors are exterior, so to go from my bedroom to get a snack, I'll have to go outside. This worries me slightly, but I will either: get over it, never do anything after dark, or ask that they knock down an interior wall and put in a door. I'm a bit curious about pad locking my doors every time I go use the latrine or bathe around the corner in my wash room. My doors did not have pad locks on the inside, just those little locks used in bathroom stalls, so I played the mom card and told my principal and the burser that I promised my mom I'd be as safe as I could here, and that if she saw small locks that weren't pad lockable she'd want me to come home. This seemed to make sense and they agreed to put bigger locks on the inside. The walls are all freshly painted, so I feel bad about wanting to paint bright colors, but I really hate white walls, so I will force myself to get over the guilt and paint away. I can't wait to get settled in and make it my own. I have a long list of things to buy, it's so different from all my other moving lists that I've made over the years; jerry cans, wash basins, squeegee for the latrine floor, gas stove, etc.
The front of my house - room on the end is my bedroom, one in the middle is sitting room/kitchen, one on the end is technically the kitchen but used for storage (there's no ceiling so leaves and spiderwebs and gecko poo are more abundant)
Back of the house, and the first part you see walking up. The door and first window are my bathing area, the second window is in the back of the kitchen. The first and second vents are my sitting room and bedroom, respectively.
I have a shower!
Latrine
I've talked to a few other trainees, both here and in other countries, who are at similar points in service. It seems the common theme among some of us is excitement mixed with apprehension of having to do this on our own now, and a healthy sprinkling of serious self doubt. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be, and it might be a lot easier to call it quits and fly back home if it wasn't also incredibly wonderful and by far the coolest thing I've ever done. Every day I feel torn about how unreal it is that I'm over here doing this, and how much I miss my dog. I reread parts of the Unofficial Volunteer Handbook (effing amazing resource - everyone should buy it!) occasionally to remind myself of what are "normal" feelings at the stage I'm in. Currently I should be feeling anxiety, irritated, fright, frustration with myself, and homesickness, among other things. So basically I'm right on schedule. One part of the book reminds me that I've pretty much volunteered for psychological difficulty, and that being here can be compared to a 27 month long self awareness retreat. Hmm. I keep reminding myself that there are no actual barriers to doing this, only mental ones, so it's really just a matter of being stronger than my doubts are.
I got a card from my older brother today that made my day. Seeing our names on the mail list is the best feeling, all of us on there just have this glow for the rest of the day, waiting until five o'clock when we can pick up what has arrived.
Love and miss you all!!!!
Liz
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Mail, FSV, & a backpack. What are, "Things that make me happy?"
Future site visit starts tomorrow :D I found out I'll be about 10km south east of Lira town (which I'm pumped about) teaching at a primary teachers' college. I'm super anxious about it; on one hand I'm so pumped to finally see where I'll be living for the next two years, and on the other apprehensive because I've heard such negative stories from others' future site visits. I don't want to get my hopes up, but my program manager told me that I have a "very nice" house with electricity and running water. While I'm stoked about the electricity, I'd almost be ok without running water - relying on Ugandan plumbing might be interesting. In fact, I think I prefer a pit latrine to an indoor toilet simply because a pit latrine can't back up or over flow. I guess I'll see when I get there, pictures will be sure to follow. We were told to bring sheets, sleeping bag, towel, and mosquito net since we have no idea where we'll be staying, so I'm breaking out the giant backpack that I was so excited to purchase so many months ago. I could probably squeeze everything into my little backpack if I wanted, but I'm a little bit of a dork about the big one, so I'll just go ahead and use it.
Also, in equally important news, I got my first three pieces of mail today! Two were letters from Sarina, and one was the Snapshots Journal from Jessica in Zambia. I know my mom sent a package about a week ago, so I'm expecting it sometime in June. I was so so so happy when they told me that my name was on the mail list for the afternoon.
Also, in equally important news, I got my first three pieces of mail today! Two were letters from Sarina, and one was the Snapshots Journal from Jessica in Zambia. I know my mom sent a package about a week ago, so I'm expecting it sometime in June. I was so so so happy when they told me that my name was on the mail list for the afternoon.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
they'll call me freedom, just like a waving flag
This weekend was one moment after another of reassuring me that it will all be worth it. Training has felt like forever, and while I still love being around all the trainees and rarely tire of their presence, I am so ready to move to a home that is mine. I'm just ready to be on my own and be able to eat when I want, lay around and read without feeling like I need to be taking tea or making small talk. We find out our site placement tomorrow, get to visit from Wednesday to Saturday, then we have one week of training left, and a week of being in Kampala getting ready for swearing in and moving to site. It kind of feels like it did before I left the states - so anxious and ready to start this for real (because up until now it hasn't been real?) but knowing that it's probably going to be super crazy and hard at times, and that there's no going back.
This past Thursday, PCVs from all over the country descended upon Lweza for the 50th Anniversary celebration. There are 160ish volunteers in country, and I think about 115 came. We had a Day of Service where we cleaned up a school, painted the dorms, planted a garden, fixed a water catchment system so they can harvest and use rain water, taught life skills, and gave a teacher workshop. It was all pretty cool, though I felt like it was pretty opposite of what Peace Corps is usually about. Nothing we did was sustainable, and I highly doubt that much effort will go into keeping up the things we did seeing as how we swept in and did it all and then left. The students and staff at that school don't have much, if any, ownership for any of those projects we did, so it's less likely they'll feel responsible for maintaining them. Case in point: We painted the dorms, and then broke for lunch. Upon coming back to the dorm to put the second coat on, we saw that someone had scribbled on the wall with a pen. Really? After the work was done, we all separated and showered and generally defunkified ourselves, and then reconvened at an amazing hotel for an outdoor reception. There were white tents on a lawn, a buffet with white table cloths, it was like being at a wedding in the states. Of course, it being Uganda, there were speeches. There was a video of the day, volunteers being interviewed about what Peace Corps means to them, and I got a little misty eyed, thinking how proud I am to be a part of this. After dinner we danced on the grass until 1 am at which point we piled into a matatu (taxi) that shuttled us back to the dorms. About half of the trainees rented rooms to avoid a late night, tipsy walk home to inquisitive host families.
In the morning we got up around 7 (habit, ugh) and all dispersed to cook lunch with our language groups. My group made spaghetti and meat sauce, rice and kabobs, chapati, and "chicken soup" which from what I could tell was just pieces of chicken boiled in water. I'm going to have to get the recipe for my mom's chicken soup and make it for people here. Lunch took 4 and a half hours to cook, after a night of drinking and dancing, we were all pretty exhausted starving by the time it came to eat. Granted we cooked three main dishes for 12 people, but I still could not imagine having a family here and having to spend that much time cooking every day. Oh, and we killed a chicken. By "we" I mean the maid and our language instructor, Judith. I felt bad for the poor thing because the knife she used wasn't very sharp and it seemed like she had to saw for a while before it died. The kitten who lives at the house were we cooked was all about getting it's teeth on any part of that chicken it could, and ended up eating the head, the lungs, and part of the intestines.
After lunch, I walked for an hour back to my host family's home, where I skyped with Jenny for an hour, downloaded some fun music from the dance party, and then passed out. This morning I met up with some other trainees and we went to visit a volunteer near here so we could see her house and her school and how she functions in this country as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her house is around the back of a main house, she has a "porch"/outdoor room that the kitchen is off of, a small living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Granted she has electricity and running water, but just the fact that she has her OWN space to put up pictures and hang her clothes and whatever else she wants made me so optimistic for getting to site. I felt like seeing all the volunteers this weekend gave me such a boost. It showed me what I have to look forward to after training is over, since usually I have no point of reference other than those who are at the exact same place as me.
Now I'm just uploading pictures, and I kind of feel like watching a movie on my computer, but there's no plug in my room and out in the family room people just talk to me all the time and I feel like I'm the rudest person in the world if I get annoyed at all by this family who has shown me nothing but hospitality (but sometimes I just want to watch a movie and not talk.)
Lastly, I would say for now to hold off on sending me anything since I'm moving to site so soon. I still have yet to receive ANY mail, so it's obviously taking a long time. I will have a new address soon and we can try again. At this point I know my mom and one other person have sent a package, and a couple people have sent letters that we'll see if I ever get. (I really hope I do, getting mail makes me the happiest girl ever!)
This past Thursday, PCVs from all over the country descended upon Lweza for the 50th Anniversary celebration. There are 160ish volunteers in country, and I think about 115 came. We had a Day of Service where we cleaned up a school, painted the dorms, planted a garden, fixed a water catchment system so they can harvest and use rain water, taught life skills, and gave a teacher workshop. It was all pretty cool, though I felt like it was pretty opposite of what Peace Corps is usually about. Nothing we did was sustainable, and I highly doubt that much effort will go into keeping up the things we did seeing as how we swept in and did it all and then left. The students and staff at that school don't have much, if any, ownership for any of those projects we did, so it's less likely they'll feel responsible for maintaining them. Case in point: We painted the dorms, and then broke for lunch. Upon coming back to the dorm to put the second coat on, we saw that someone had scribbled on the wall with a pen. Really? After the work was done, we all separated and showered and generally defunkified ourselves, and then reconvened at an amazing hotel for an outdoor reception. There were white tents on a lawn, a buffet with white table cloths, it was like being at a wedding in the states. Of course, it being Uganda, there were speeches. There was a video of the day, volunteers being interviewed about what Peace Corps means to them, and I got a little misty eyed, thinking how proud I am to be a part of this. After dinner we danced on the grass until 1 am at which point we piled into a matatu (taxi) that shuttled us back to the dorms. About half of the trainees rented rooms to avoid a late night, tipsy walk home to inquisitive host families.
In the morning we got up around 7 (habit, ugh) and all dispersed to cook lunch with our language groups. My group made spaghetti and meat sauce, rice and kabobs, chapati, and "chicken soup" which from what I could tell was just pieces of chicken boiled in water. I'm going to have to get the recipe for my mom's chicken soup and make it for people here. Lunch took 4 and a half hours to cook, after a night of drinking and dancing, we were all pretty exhausted starving by the time it came to eat. Granted we cooked three main dishes for 12 people, but I still could not imagine having a family here and having to spend that much time cooking every day. Oh, and we killed a chicken. By "we" I mean the maid and our language instructor, Judith. I felt bad for the poor thing because the knife she used wasn't very sharp and it seemed like she had to saw for a while before it died. The kitten who lives at the house were we cooked was all about getting it's teeth on any part of that chicken it could, and ended up eating the head, the lungs, and part of the intestines.
After lunch, I walked for an hour back to my host family's home, where I skyped with Jenny for an hour, downloaded some fun music from the dance party, and then passed out. This morning I met up with some other trainees and we went to visit a volunteer near here so we could see her house and her school and how she functions in this country as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her house is around the back of a main house, she has a "porch"/outdoor room that the kitchen is off of, a small living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Granted she has electricity and running water, but just the fact that she has her OWN space to put up pictures and hang her clothes and whatever else she wants made me so optimistic for getting to site. I felt like seeing all the volunteers this weekend gave me such a boost. It showed me what I have to look forward to after training is over, since usually I have no point of reference other than those who are at the exact same place as me.
Now I'm just uploading pictures, and I kind of feel like watching a movie on my computer, but there's no plug in my room and out in the family room people just talk to me all the time and I feel like I'm the rudest person in the world if I get annoyed at all by this family who has shown me nothing but hospitality (but sometimes I just want to watch a movie and not talk.)
Lastly, I would say for now to hold off on sending me anything since I'm moving to site so soon. I still have yet to receive ANY mail, so it's obviously taking a long time. I will have a new address soon and we can try again. At this point I know my mom and one other person have sent a package, and a couple people have sent letters that we'll see if I ever get. (I really hope I do, getting mail makes me the happiest girl ever!)
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