It has been less than 10 days since my last blog and oh boy there is so much to recap!!! So bear with me and I hope this makes sense.
First of all the internet is very fickle, so I'm lucky to get on once a week.
Alright where to begin....
This week is the first week of the Mukono home stays. I am paired with another USP student; it's nice to share laughs together, get freaked out about the cockroaches in the toilet, and to keep each other company on the 40 minute walk to school. The family is young with a mother, an aunt, a 11 yr old daughter, 9 yr old son, 5 yr old son, a 2 1/2 yr old son, and a 1 1/2 yr old niece. (The father has been living in London for the past 2 1/2 years. I think the plan is to eventually move everyone there. I have talked to him a couple of times on the phone). Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to engage in conversations about certain issues due to the language barrier. The mom and the aunt can speak a little English; the relationship I have with them is built on laughter, mainly from saying or doing stupid things. The daughter can speak it better but an 11 year old only knows so much. However, I have been learning a lot purely by observing. There is a lot but just to list a few: sanitation, upbringing of kids, the lack of consideration for quiet, etc.
This week the schedule has been:
• Get up at 6:20
• Drink tea and eat some bread with butter
• Head out for school around 7:20
• Get to school around 8
• After the school day we leave around 5:30/6
• When we get back we help out we help out with preparing for tea time. I have learned how to make some Ugandan classics. I am writing all the recipes down so I can share them with family and friends when I get back.
• Tea time is around 7:30. The tea isn’t actually tea. My family drinks this stuff called “Soya.” It’s really good. It tastes somewhere between hot chocolate and coffee. With tea we also have some type of snack.
• After tea I take a basin bath and perhaps journal, read, or play with the kids.
• Dinner isn’t until usually 10:30. I’m lucky if it is at 10. I’m usually really full from tea time so eating dinner is super hard. (My aunt when she was younger used to stuff the food she didn’t want to eat in her carpenter pants…. I wish I had carpenter pants.)
• I go to bed right after dinner between 11 and 12.
My classes are going well and I think are going to be very beneficial to better understand Africa.
East African History – Finally, I’m hearing the other side of the story! African history is increasingly complicated with numerous of tribes all with their distinct culture and language.
African Tradition Religions, Christianity, and Islam – There are some parts of the country that still practice African Traditional Religions. Learning about them is extremely interesting especially keeping in mind how some people still practice what in Western eyes look like barbaric practices (e.g. children sacrifices). In the class we’ll be doing field trips to get a practical look at some of things we are studying.
Understanding Ethics – In this class I am with hundreds of Ugandans. So I am first getting an authentic look at how college is for Ugandan students. Also, the class is all based on African ethics, which I know absolutely nothing about. Something interesting that the lecturer said in class, “Africa is not poor materially; it is poor morally.” So I’m really looking forward to the class as I believe it will help me understand the problems of Africa more fully.
Health and Wholeness – I’m also with Ugandans in this class. What’s interesting in this class is that we look at the health problems plaguing Africa ranging from malnutrition to diseases. Again, I will gain a more full understanding of Africa and its problems.
I will never complain about doing laundry again. I don’t even know how I can complain about doing laundry back home when all I have to do is push a button. I am completely incompetent when it comes to doing laundry here. It requires so much man power!!! You rub your hands raw! There’s a lot of scrubbing, rinsing, and twisting. I did my laundry for the first time by myself today. I thought I was doing it well. I had very soapy water, which by the way is really hard to get, and I was mimicking the hand motions of the other women washing their clothes. However, as I took my clothes off the line, I realized I failed to remove all of the dirt and get all the soap out. So my clothes are half clean and feel weird. At least they don’t smell bad. I still haven’t finished the laundry process though. When I get back to my room I need to iron everything. They recommended doing that because there is this fly that can lay eggs in your clothes and then the eggs will hatch in your skin. I don’t know how often that happens but I don’t want to test it out. So later I will be ironing with what looks like an iron from the 1940s.
Watching Obama’s inauguration was extremely interesting. First it’s Obama craziness over here. There is a catchy song about Obama and a club has changed its name to Obama club. Africa is ecstatic that the President of the U.S. is an Africa. Some people think that Obama will give more support to Africa others don’t expect anything from him. Regardless, listening to Obama’s speech with an African perspective was really eye-opening. I am slowly learning more about the African culture but the little that I know drastically contrasts Obama’s speech.
Overall, my Western views are being challenged in ways I could have never fathomed. I am very over stimulated but still engaged. At this exact moment, I am debating with some Ugandans about the death penalty. Praise God for bringing me here. I am being stretched, refined, and challenged. I have only been in Uganda for two weeks I can’t even imagine what my views will be in 4 months.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
"Uganda: The Friendliest Country in Africa"
That’s the sign we past late Friday night from in the airport in Entebbe to the Uganda Christian University campus in Mukono, about an hour and a half drive. That sign is proving to be true, granted I haven’t been anywhere else in Africa. It is now the end of my third day in Uganda and I have nothing but wonderful things to say.
First, the weather is absolutely beautiful. I am soaking up the 77 degree January weather. Today we had two sporadic rain showers. The latter storm was more powerful with winds that made a tree crack and with hail about the size of small gum balls. Other than that, the afternoons feel like a lazy summer day in which all I want to do is lay out in the sun and nap.
Second, the food … well…. it’s rice and beans twice a day. My personal favorite are the white beans which I have been told they are actually peas, whatever it is I eat my whole plate so that’s good. I also like this purple looking sauce made out of ground nuts; it’s very tasty with salt and rice. I have also had some of the Ugandan’s favored dishes: posho and matuke (I don’t the spelling). Posho is the white block looking thing which I think is just flour mixed with boiling water. It has absolutely no nutritional value and tastes like cardboard. Matuke is mashed up bananas. Alone, it’s pretty repulsive. However, I believe I have found the key to eating African food: you just have to mix up everything and make sure you get a little bit of everything on your fork. That way all of the textures and flavors balance each other out to make a quite palatable meal. I have also had a couple of the potato dishes which are really good. I haven’t had breakfast yet, but I heard you get two pieces of sweet tasting bread with tea. So overall, its starch city! There are some canteens around campus, which serve different food and smoothies. I most likely will be living on daily smoothies to get some fresh fruit in me.
Third, the classes. I have only had two classes so far. Eastern African History and Faith in Action, a required class for the program I’m studying with. For my history class I have a Ugandan professor who is quite a character. It’s somewhat hard to understand him because of his accent but overall he speaks slowly enough to understand him. I somewhat unknowingly volunteered to be the class captain. I don’t really know what I got myself into but I think I’m in charge of making copies for the class. Faith in Action should be interesting as we will be looking at contemporary issues plaguing Uganda and Africa in general.
Fourth, the living quarters. The majority of the American students are living with the honor students; they are kind of set apart on campus and have a really tranquil area. However, four other lovely ladies and I are living in the main dormitory on campus. The dorm building is called Sabitti, which holds about 400 women. Each room holds four girls; however, I am only sharing my room with one other American. The rooms are extremely bare with peeling, dirty walls and concrete floors. We each have a closet, a desk, and a chair. There are two bathrooms on our floor. Each bathroom has about four latrines, four sinks, and four shower stalls. There is absolutely no concept of quiet hours. Girls will be singing, laughing, yelling, and running down the halls until 2 in the morning and are up at 4 doing the same things. It doesn’t bother me much because I can sleep through just about anything, but I am waking up about 6 when I don’t need to be up until 9. The girls are like a natural alarm clock.
Fifth, Uganda as a whole as I see it. There are undoubtedly numerous things that differ from the U.S; however, as a whole I really don’t feel that out of place. Yes I am white in a black country. Yes there is poverty. Yes there are cultural norms that I am completely oblivious to. Yes the food is different. Yes there is a language barrier even though Ugandans speak English. But there is a common thread of simply being human. It’s breathtakingly beautiful to truly experience the meaning of “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26). We as humans are essentially the same living and surviving with struggles and celebration.
Moreover, it’s interesting to see how American culture permeates Uganda. For example, last night I went to bed hearing Justin Timberlake and woke up to Beyonce. Whether it’s good or bad is not the point more the principal of the matter that music from one culture can resonate with a completely different culture across the world for some reason. It’s pretty neat to witness.
Sixth, the people are absolutely amazing!!! The other students with me have such great stories and have so much to offer. It’s so great to hear their stories and to see how God has been working in their lives. The four girls living in Sabitti with me have truly been a blessing. We have quickly built a relationship through laughs, embarrassing moments, confusion, and intellectual conversation. But most importantly the five of us have made amazing connections with Ugandan women. Living in the main dorm is truly a gift because we are meeting so many people. Women will come into our rooms and introduce themselves. On Sunday, four of our new friends took us into town to buy some things like hand soap, laundry soap, and a hot water kettle. They really looked out after us making sure we didn’t get overcharged or pestered by any men. It is custom for women and men to hold hands with their good friend or someone dear. (As a side note, I think this is such a great custom as it simply encourages love and care for another person.) Well, at one point in our journey one of my friends grabbed my hand through a crowded area and into the store. It was probably just out of concern for my well-being but the gesture was greatly appreciated and it just proves how hospitable and great the Ugandan people are. Ugandans want everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable. Numerous times a day I will be greeted with “Welcome to Uganda.” It’s also nice that the university (UCU) is well aware and accustomed to the program I am with (USP). At the church service and university fellowship worship the UPS students were formally welcomed and acknowledged. Therefore, the Ugandans are very willing to help us out. For example, they taught me how to bathe, which sounds ridiculous but showers only get cold water so what they do is fill a basin with boiling water then mix it with the shower water and then bathe from the basin. (Another note, the Ugandans pride themselves in cleanliness and do not tolerate dirtiness. Women sometimes shower twice a day). Later this week I will learn how to wash my clothes.
My battery is running low so I must go, but overall things are amazing here. I am still adjusting and slowly realizing that I am actually here. I think I might still be dealing with some jet lag or I just might be tired; I’m not sure.
I’ll blog soon.
Love,
Kristen
First, the weather is absolutely beautiful. I am soaking up the 77 degree January weather. Today we had two sporadic rain showers. The latter storm was more powerful with winds that made a tree crack and with hail about the size of small gum balls. Other than that, the afternoons feel like a lazy summer day in which all I want to do is lay out in the sun and nap.
Second, the food … well…. it’s rice and beans twice a day. My personal favorite are the white beans which I have been told they are actually peas, whatever it is I eat my whole plate so that’s good. I also like this purple looking sauce made out of ground nuts; it’s very tasty with salt and rice. I have also had some of the Ugandan’s favored dishes: posho and matuke (I don’t the spelling). Posho is the white block looking thing which I think is just flour mixed with boiling water. It has absolutely no nutritional value and tastes like cardboard. Matuke is mashed up bananas. Alone, it’s pretty repulsive. However, I believe I have found the key to eating African food: you just have to mix up everything and make sure you get a little bit of everything on your fork. That way all of the textures and flavors balance each other out to make a quite palatable meal. I have also had a couple of the potato dishes which are really good. I haven’t had breakfast yet, but I heard you get two pieces of sweet tasting bread with tea. So overall, its starch city! There are some canteens around campus, which serve different food and smoothies. I most likely will be living on daily smoothies to get some fresh fruit in me.
Third, the classes. I have only had two classes so far. Eastern African History and Faith in Action, a required class for the program I’m studying with. For my history class I have a Ugandan professor who is quite a character. It’s somewhat hard to understand him because of his accent but overall he speaks slowly enough to understand him. I somewhat unknowingly volunteered to be the class captain. I don’t really know what I got myself into but I think I’m in charge of making copies for the class. Faith in Action should be interesting as we will be looking at contemporary issues plaguing Uganda and Africa in general.
Fourth, the living quarters. The majority of the American students are living with the honor students; they are kind of set apart on campus and have a really tranquil area. However, four other lovely ladies and I are living in the main dormitory on campus. The dorm building is called Sabitti, which holds about 400 women. Each room holds four girls; however, I am only sharing my room with one other American. The rooms are extremely bare with peeling, dirty walls and concrete floors. We each have a closet, a desk, and a chair. There are two bathrooms on our floor. Each bathroom has about four latrines, four sinks, and four shower stalls. There is absolutely no concept of quiet hours. Girls will be singing, laughing, yelling, and running down the halls until 2 in the morning and are up at 4 doing the same things. It doesn’t bother me much because I can sleep through just about anything, but I am waking up about 6 when I don’t need to be up until 9. The girls are like a natural alarm clock.
Fifth, Uganda as a whole as I see it. There are undoubtedly numerous things that differ from the U.S; however, as a whole I really don’t feel that out of place. Yes I am white in a black country. Yes there is poverty. Yes there are cultural norms that I am completely oblivious to. Yes the food is different. Yes there is a language barrier even though Ugandans speak English. But there is a common thread of simply being human. It’s breathtakingly beautiful to truly experience the meaning of “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26). We as humans are essentially the same living and surviving with struggles and celebration.
Moreover, it’s interesting to see how American culture permeates Uganda. For example, last night I went to bed hearing Justin Timberlake and woke up to Beyonce. Whether it’s good or bad is not the point more the principal of the matter that music from one culture can resonate with a completely different culture across the world for some reason. It’s pretty neat to witness.
Sixth, the people are absolutely amazing!!! The other students with me have such great stories and have so much to offer. It’s so great to hear their stories and to see how God has been working in their lives. The four girls living in Sabitti with me have truly been a blessing. We have quickly built a relationship through laughs, embarrassing moments, confusion, and intellectual conversation. But most importantly the five of us have made amazing connections with Ugandan women. Living in the main dorm is truly a gift because we are meeting so many people. Women will come into our rooms and introduce themselves. On Sunday, four of our new friends took us into town to buy some things like hand soap, laundry soap, and a hot water kettle. They really looked out after us making sure we didn’t get overcharged or pestered by any men. It is custom for women and men to hold hands with their good friend or someone dear. (As a side note, I think this is such a great custom as it simply encourages love and care for another person.) Well, at one point in our journey one of my friends grabbed my hand through a crowded area and into the store. It was probably just out of concern for my well-being but the gesture was greatly appreciated and it just proves how hospitable and great the Ugandan people are. Ugandans want everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable. Numerous times a day I will be greeted with “Welcome to Uganda.” It’s also nice that the university (UCU) is well aware and accustomed to the program I am with (USP). At the church service and university fellowship worship the UPS students were formally welcomed and acknowledged. Therefore, the Ugandans are very willing to help us out. For example, they taught me how to bathe, which sounds ridiculous but showers only get cold water so what they do is fill a basin with boiling water then mix it with the shower water and then bathe from the basin. (Another note, the Ugandans pride themselves in cleanliness and do not tolerate dirtiness. Women sometimes shower twice a day). Later this week I will learn how to wash my clothes.
My battery is running low so I must go, but overall things are amazing here. I am still adjusting and slowly realizing that I am actually here. I think I might still be dealing with some jet lag or I just might be tired; I’m not sure.
I’ll blog soon.
Love,
Kristen
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
It's time to go
I have created this blog in an attempt to keep family and friends updated on my adventure in Uganda. My intention is to update the blog regularly and post pictures. I promise to try my best to hold up to that, but I'm not promising anything.
So tomorrow the adventure begins to unfold. I am so anxious/excited/nervous to leave and to start experiencing life outside of the U.S. This will be my first time seriously outside of the country (I don't count Canada and tourist Caribbean) for an extended period of time. I struggled with packing in what to bring especially in medicine and miscellaneous items, but I must say I am so proud that I was able to put everything into one suitcase and I packed two days before leaving!
So why Uganda? That seems to be the hot question. I have only really provided brief answers to family and friends but I want to paint a bigger picture for everyone. This past summer I worked for Group Workcamps Foundation (a Christian non-profit that provides short-term mission camps around the country). Towards the end of July and into August I kept hearing a lot about Africa: my co-worker was headed to Africa for 6 months, my supervisor was going to Africa, friends felt called to Africa, etc. Hearing everyone talk about Africa made me think. I have never really had a profound interest in going to Africa but I got the sense that I would be going to Africa soon. I always knew I wanted to study abroad so when I got to Messiah I started looking into different programs. I really wanted to go to Greece but the time frame didn't work out too well and academically it wasn't the best fit. I also looked at a program in England but it would have cost a pretty penny. Then, Uganda came to the table and it fit perfectly. First, I could afford it. Second, I could take the most classes towards my degree. Third, there is a service component in which I could volunteer at orphanages or medical clinics. Fourth, the program is Christian-centered. I prayed and sought counsel from friends and decided to apply. Since then, God has really put a burden for Africa and especially its children on my heart. He has provided me with the financial needs and the spiritual awareness that I will need in Uganda. God has brought me to Uganda and I am anxiously looking forward to the journey God has set into motion ahead of me. People ask me what am I most looking forward to and I tell them I most looking forward to meeting God in foreign place and in foreign faces. Yes, God is love and God is exciting!
I'll blog soon.
Love,
Kristen
So tomorrow the adventure begins to unfold. I am so anxious/excited/nervous to leave and to start experiencing life outside of the U.S. This will be my first time seriously outside of the country (I don't count Canada and tourist Caribbean) for an extended period of time. I struggled with packing in what to bring especially in medicine and miscellaneous items, but I must say I am so proud that I was able to put everything into one suitcase and I packed two days before leaving!
So why Uganda? That seems to be the hot question. I have only really provided brief answers to family and friends but I want to paint a bigger picture for everyone. This past summer I worked for Group Workcamps Foundation (a Christian non-profit that provides short-term mission camps around the country). Towards the end of July and into August I kept hearing a lot about Africa: my co-worker was headed to Africa for 6 months, my supervisor was going to Africa, friends felt called to Africa, etc. Hearing everyone talk about Africa made me think. I have never really had a profound interest in going to Africa but I got the sense that I would be going to Africa soon. I always knew I wanted to study abroad so when I got to Messiah I started looking into different programs. I really wanted to go to Greece but the time frame didn't work out too well and academically it wasn't the best fit. I also looked at a program in England but it would have cost a pretty penny. Then, Uganda came to the table and it fit perfectly. First, I could afford it. Second, I could take the most classes towards my degree. Third, there is a service component in which I could volunteer at orphanages or medical clinics. Fourth, the program is Christian-centered. I prayed and sought counsel from friends and decided to apply. Since then, God has really put a burden for Africa and especially its children on my heart. He has provided me with the financial needs and the spiritual awareness that I will need in Uganda. God has brought me to Uganda and I am anxiously looking forward to the journey God has set into motion ahead of me. People ask me what am I most looking forward to and I tell them I most looking forward to meeting God in foreign place and in foreign faces. Yes, God is love and God is exciting!
I'll blog soon.
Love,
Kristen