Thursday, June 18, 2009
moldy chocolate
Can you believe that? I didn't know it was possible. I went to Moon yesterday, the tiny grocery store which I've priced and found to have the cheapest chocolate in town, bought a bar of the stuff and walked home, collecting many cute Ugandan children who latched onto my white hands and arms on the way back to our compound. I did some work, ate dinner, took out the bar of chocolate, took a big bite and found it to be COVERED IN MOLD. Gross, gross, gross. I think this might have been the worst thing to happen on the trip so far. That and the fact that we've now got 6 girls staying in one room, using one bathroom, all trying to shower before 730 am. I used to be able to wake up at 6, shower and get in some good quiet reading, writing and praying time out on the "porch" (I use a lot of these terms very loosely), a spot which has now been discovered and commandeered by another girl in the group.
On an up note, I have finally scheduled another meeting with the district health officer this morning and I am hoping that he shows up this time. After that, I'm off to Jinja to go white water rafting on the Nile, which I'm very stoked about.
On an up note, I have finally scheduled another meeting with the district health officer this morning and I am hoping that he shows up this time. After that, I'm off to Jinja to go white water rafting on the Nile, which I'm very stoked about.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Rice, beans and washing machines
I have been entering and analyzing data all day which translates into tedious and somewhat boring, torturous work so I am taking a break to write since no one happens to be using the internet at the moment, something which is just shy of a miracle; we're always fighting over it. I spent some time in the hospital this morning so that the other girls on my team who have not yet seen it could have a tour and meet some of the staff. Some of the midwives and nurses are starting to get to know me there so that makes it more fun.
This is going to be a short post but I just wanted to mention a couple things.
1. I love washing machines. A lot. I spent two hours on Saturday morning and two hours this past Sunday morning doing laundry and now my hands are extremely sore and my knuckles are raw and almost blistered.
2. Rice and beans are the bomb. I could honestly eat them everyday of my life for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is a good thing as the only foods really available here are: rice, beans, potatoes, matooke, posho, chapatis, eggplant, onion, tomato, mango, green pepper, peanuts, avocado and bitter greens. Literally. Having said that, I desperately want a salad, for more reasons than one; although a nice steak would be nice too. And forget what I said before about losing weight and starving to death. That is definitely not going to happen. Why? A.) We hired a cook B.) I eat nothing but fried stuff and carbs. C.) Chocolate. (This can be purchased at the grocery store and that occurs pretty much daily; I've got to conquer stress somehow.)
This is going to be a short post but I just wanted to mention a couple things.
1. I love washing machines. A lot. I spent two hours on Saturday morning and two hours this past Sunday morning doing laundry and now my hands are extremely sore and my knuckles are raw and almost blistered.
2. Rice and beans are the bomb. I could honestly eat them everyday of my life for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is a good thing as the only foods really available here are: rice, beans, potatoes, matooke, posho, chapatis, eggplant, onion, tomato, mango, green pepper, peanuts, avocado and bitter greens. Literally. Having said that, I desperately want a salad, for more reasons than one; although a nice steak would be nice too. And forget what I said before about losing weight and starving to death. That is definitely not going to happen. Why? A.) We hired a cook B.) I eat nothing but fried stuff and carbs. C.) Chocolate. (This can be purchased at the grocery store and that occurs pretty much daily; I've got to conquer stress somehow.)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Random photos
Right now I am unable to post photos on my picasa site because it takes too long to upload them. Therefore, I thought I'd put a few random ones on here to hold you over.
1. the shower curtain I made out of bags and duct tape, a sharpie (well I had to make it pretty), rope and a perfectly sized broken broom handle
2. Apollo trying to teach me to cook on a small charcoal stove
3. the children's ward at the Iganga district hospital
A nice day
June 12, 2009
It has been a nice day. I’m sure some of you are breathing a sigh of relief as you read that statement as you’ve been a little bit worried about me over here, sensing my frustration and stress thus far.
It started out like every other day here really. I woke up really early to try to get some alone time since that generally isn’t possible when you live in a tiny room with 5 other people located on the other side of the wall of the UVP office, which is somehow always full of random people coming and going, starting at about 6:30am. I tried to do some work this morning but because it is so busy and loud here, that is really tough to do. A small group of people were heading to Jinja to chill out, so last minute, early afternoon at this point, I decided to jump in a matatu with them, bring my computer and go to an internet café for lunch and work. I split off from the rest of the group and ended up at a fabulous place called Flavours with free wifi and met up with Kristen (formerly employed by UVP here in Uganda and about to head home from grad school) and her friend Annie (also about to head back to the States but has been in Jinja a couple of years working for Soft Power Health).
It is important to note at this point that Flavours has a fantastic tuna melt and fries, just in case you ever end up in Jinja.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI regarding Jinja (which is about 45 minutes in a matatu from here): (from Wikipedia)
Jinja is a city in eastern Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, the capital and largest city. Jinja was established in 1907. Jinja lies in the south east of Uganda, 54 miles (87 km) north east of the capital, Kampala. It is located on the shores of Lake Victoria, near to the source of the White Nile river. The city is the chief town of Jinja District, and is considered the capital of the Kingdom of Busoga.[1] Local attractions include white-water rafting, the "Source of the Nile", and a large brewery. 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Jinja is the site where the Bujagali Power Station is under construction, as of May 2009. When completed in 2011, the hydroelectric facility will provide 250 MW of electric power. There is a private Sailing Club on the shores of Lake Victoria. There is an animal sanctuary at Buwenge, 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Jinja on the highway to Kamuli. The 9 hole (18 tee) golf course was originally laid out in the mid 1920's; and famously had a local rule allowing a free drop of the ball if it came to rest in a hippo's hoof print. The course has tremendous views of the Nile and Lake Victoria and the second green is within a 'lob wedge' of the source of the Nile. Some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were scattered into the source of the White Nile. There is a small memorial garden at the spot. There is an active Hindu temple near Jinja, which has a bronze bust of Gandhi. There is also a Buddhist temple. About 25 kilometres (16 mi) south, in Lake Victoria, is Buvuma Island whose forests sometimes attract intrepid bird-watchers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once I had been in Flavours for a little while, trying to work and chatting with Kristen and Annie, they left and two more girls walked in and sat down to have a meeting at the table I was sitting. Normally, I would probably have been a little annoyed because I was trying to get some things done for our eCare project and they chose to settle right next to me to debrief but I sensed something different about these two and actually wanted them there. At one point, one of the girls stood up and walked out for a bit and the other turned to me and asked with a friendly smile, “Have you been here long?” A rather long conversation ensued as we each shared out stories and eventually the second girl returned and joined in. It turned out that they work with YWAM and are team leaders for a group of 8 people that have been in Uganda for nearly two months. They are leaving in a week. I shared with them some of my frustrations being here so far, mostly talking through the ones centered around my faith. In that arena, it has been difficult since I arrived. I am well aware that I keep trying to do things in my own strength. I’ve found it difficult to pray and sit and listen and be still and even harder still to find anyone to encourage me in that regard. I feel spiritually dead and dull. As I shared this with the girls, they nodded and smiled with understanding. Despite the fact that they have been here surrounded by other Christians and working with a Christian organization, they too have really experienced this heaviness. Oddly enough, I found this incredibly comforting. I have been so frustrated with myself, feeling so inwardly focused, selfish, drained, hardened and almost angry with God at the same time. It is slightly difficult to put it into words but I feel like I have to fight for joy but have no energy to fight; most of the time I don’t even want to. I simply succumb to my depressed emotions. And I think when you feel so empty, it is so hard to focus on anything but yourself. There is nothing left to give to anyone else. I’ll term this “miserable survival mode.” I think that about sums it up.
To make this already long story a little shorter, they offered to pray with me there and the burden that lifted as they spoke was powerful. In that moment, I realized that there is a battle going on here and I DO have to fight. Thankfully thought, I’m not alone.
(from Gina) Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(from Alex) Isaiah 41:9-10 “…you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off’; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
It has been a nice day. I’m sure some of you are breathing a sigh of relief as you read that statement as you’ve been a little bit worried about me over here, sensing my frustration and stress thus far.
It started out like every other day here really. I woke up really early to try to get some alone time since that generally isn’t possible when you live in a tiny room with 5 other people located on the other side of the wall of the UVP office, which is somehow always full of random people coming and going, starting at about 6:30am. I tried to do some work this morning but because it is so busy and loud here, that is really tough to do. A small group of people were heading to Jinja to chill out, so last minute, early afternoon at this point, I decided to jump in a matatu with them, bring my computer and go to an internet café for lunch and work. I split off from the rest of the group and ended up at a fabulous place called Flavours with free wifi and met up with Kristen (formerly employed by UVP here in Uganda and about to head home from grad school) and her friend Annie (also about to head back to the States but has been in Jinja a couple of years working for Soft Power Health).
It is important to note at this point that Flavours has a fantastic tuna melt and fries, just in case you ever end up in Jinja.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI regarding Jinja (which is about 45 minutes in a matatu from here): (from Wikipedia)
Jinja is a city in eastern Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, the capital and largest city. Jinja was established in 1907. Jinja lies in the south east of Uganda, 54 miles (87 km) north east of the capital, Kampala. It is located on the shores of Lake Victoria, near to the source of the White Nile river. The city is the chief town of Jinja District, and is considered the capital of the Kingdom of Busoga.[1] Local attractions include white-water rafting, the "Source of the Nile", and a large brewery. 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Jinja is the site where the Bujagali Power Station is under construction, as of May 2009. When completed in 2011, the hydroelectric facility will provide 250 MW of electric power. There is a private Sailing Club on the shores of Lake Victoria. There is an animal sanctuary at Buwenge, 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Jinja on the highway to Kamuli. The 9 hole (18 tee) golf course was originally laid out in the mid 1920's; and famously had a local rule allowing a free drop of the ball if it came to rest in a hippo's hoof print. The course has tremendous views of the Nile and Lake Victoria and the second green is within a 'lob wedge' of the source of the Nile. Some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were scattered into the source of the White Nile. There is a small memorial garden at the spot. There is an active Hindu temple near Jinja, which has a bronze bust of Gandhi. There is also a Buddhist temple. About 25 kilometres (16 mi) south, in Lake Victoria, is Buvuma Island whose forests sometimes attract intrepid bird-watchers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once I had been in Flavours for a little while, trying to work and chatting with Kristen and Annie, they left and two more girls walked in and sat down to have a meeting at the table I was sitting. Normally, I would probably have been a little annoyed because I was trying to get some things done for our eCare project and they chose to settle right next to me to debrief but I sensed something different about these two and actually wanted them there. At one point, one of the girls stood up and walked out for a bit and the other turned to me and asked with a friendly smile, “Have you been here long?” A rather long conversation ensued as we each shared out stories and eventually the second girl returned and joined in. It turned out that they work with YWAM and are team leaders for a group of 8 people that have been in Uganda for nearly two months. They are leaving in a week. I shared with them some of my frustrations being here so far, mostly talking through the ones centered around my faith. In that arena, it has been difficult since I arrived. I am well aware that I keep trying to do things in my own strength. I’ve found it difficult to pray and sit and listen and be still and even harder still to find anyone to encourage me in that regard. I feel spiritually dead and dull. As I shared this with the girls, they nodded and smiled with understanding. Despite the fact that they have been here surrounded by other Christians and working with a Christian organization, they too have really experienced this heaviness. Oddly enough, I found this incredibly comforting. I have been so frustrated with myself, feeling so inwardly focused, selfish, drained, hardened and almost angry with God at the same time. It is slightly difficult to put it into words but I feel like I have to fight for joy but have no energy to fight; most of the time I don’t even want to. I simply succumb to my depressed emotions. And I think when you feel so empty, it is so hard to focus on anything but yourself. There is nothing left to give to anyone else. I’ll term this “miserable survival mode.” I think that about sums it up.
To make this already long story a little shorter, they offered to pray with me there and the burden that lifted as they spoke was powerful. In that moment, I realized that there is a battle going on here and I DO have to fight. Thankfully thought, I’m not alone.
(from Gina) Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(from Alex) Isaiah 41:9-10 “…you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off’; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Back safely in Iganga...
June 11, 2009
... and thank you for your prayers regarding public transportation. :)
Job 37:14 "Hear this O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God."
A couple of days ago Karly and I braved the matatus and bodas to pick up two more of our ECare team members from the airport in Entebbe. I'm still amazed that we successfully made it to the right place AND back to Iganga without any major happenings. The first segment of our trip, the matatu ride to Jinja, wasn't bad, minus the fact that we ended up sitting in a hot bus in the Jinja taxipark for about an hour while we waited for it to fill. (As a side note, if the name Jinja sounds familiar it is because it is a big touristy area due to the amazing rafting on the Nile that is there. A big group of us volunteers are going to go in a couple of weekends from now.)
As you travel, and this is similar to other developing countries that I’ve visited, it is always amusing when you discover that the passengers are not only people but animals (like chickens) stuffed under the seats. A couple of days ago, I didn’t notice the company until the bird was being passed through the window and thus started squawking and flapping its wings. It was funny.
Anyway, Karly and I arrived somewhere in Kampala sometime in the afternoon and hadn’t a clue where the Garden City mall, our lunch destination, was in relation to us. We wandered for awhile, trying not to be hit, then decided to ask someone for help and eventually got on some boda bodas which took us to the mall where we had some fabulous Lebanese food (yes I’m talking about food again) and enjoyed a real cup of coffee. After that, we bodaboda-ed (no, not a real word) it to the old taxi park to make our way to Entebbe. Actually, we stayed on the motorcycle boda until we were too scared to do it any longer then told him to stop and walked the rest of the way. After wandering again, throughout the entire taxi park, we managed to find the one going to Entebbe and finally arrived at the backpackers hostel; the other girls eventually got there and the next day, which was yesterday, we took a very not exciting private hire back to Iganga. (Dad, I figured you might like that better.)
I met with Dr. Waiswa briefly again yesterday and am so impressed with his willingness to help. He told me that he senses my passion for doing work in countries like Uganda and wants to provide support and direction. The relationship I’m building with him is promising. He took me to a meeting he arranged at the hospital for the midwives, the purpose of which was to determine their perceived needs for the maternity ward. This is something that we also planned to do with our project as well but since the Saving Newborn Lives study is already tackling this area of assessment and intervention, we are trying to determine where to shift our focus. It will probably be that we end up doing work in the health centers located in villages outside of the SNL survey site instead of the district hospital.
Look at it this way: at least the work is being done. :)
... and thank you for your prayers regarding public transportation. :)
Job 37:14 "Hear this O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God."
A couple of days ago Karly and I braved the matatus and bodas to pick up two more of our ECare team members from the airport in Entebbe. I'm still amazed that we successfully made it to the right place AND back to Iganga without any major happenings. The first segment of our trip, the matatu ride to Jinja, wasn't bad, minus the fact that we ended up sitting in a hot bus in the Jinja taxipark for about an hour while we waited for it to fill. (As a side note, if the name Jinja sounds familiar it is because it is a big touristy area due to the amazing rafting on the Nile that is there. A big group of us volunteers are going to go in a couple of weekends from now.)
As you travel, and this is similar to other developing countries that I’ve visited, it is always amusing when you discover that the passengers are not only people but animals (like chickens) stuffed under the seats. A couple of days ago, I didn’t notice the company until the bird was being passed through the window and thus started squawking and flapping its wings. It was funny.
Anyway, Karly and I arrived somewhere in Kampala sometime in the afternoon and hadn’t a clue where the Garden City mall, our lunch destination, was in relation to us. We wandered for awhile, trying not to be hit, then decided to ask someone for help and eventually got on some boda bodas which took us to the mall where we had some fabulous Lebanese food (yes I’m talking about food again) and enjoyed a real cup of coffee. After that, we bodaboda-ed (no, not a real word) it to the old taxi park to make our way to Entebbe. Actually, we stayed on the motorcycle boda until we were too scared to do it any longer then told him to stop and walked the rest of the way. After wandering again, throughout the entire taxi park, we managed to find the one going to Entebbe and finally arrived at the backpackers hostel; the other girls eventually got there and the next day, which was yesterday, we took a very not exciting private hire back to Iganga. (Dad, I figured you might like that better.)
I met with Dr. Waiswa briefly again yesterday and am so impressed with his willingness to help. He told me that he senses my passion for doing work in countries like Uganda and wants to provide support and direction. The relationship I’m building with him is promising. He took me to a meeting he arranged at the hospital for the midwives, the purpose of which was to determine their perceived needs for the maternity ward. This is something that we also planned to do with our project as well but since the Saving Newborn Lives study is already tackling this area of assessment and intervention, we are trying to determine where to shift our focus. It will probably be that we end up doing work in the health centers located in villages outside of the SNL survey site instead of the district hospital.
Look at it this way: at least the work is being done. :)
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