Brief Update
Well I can’t believe it is already the middle of July… In service training is just around the corner and I am really excited to see all the other PCV’s from my group in just a month. I am only teaching for three more weeks before the girls begin their end of term exams, and then I have to be away from site for almost a month L
What does that mean for me? It means I have a lot of work to cram in. Personally I would rather my girls understand what I am teaching them, as opposed to cramming in a large amount of content. Especially with math because you can’t master it without practice and these girls, god love them, are really good at cheating…. So I have to constantly assess them in class where I can keep an eye on them. No matter how many times I say it they don’t seem to understand GIRLS I just want to know how you are handling the material… I am not going to grade this for my own benefit it is for you! They don’t get it. They just want lots of pretty red check marks in their books… sigh… Therefore I have been going to classes in the evening during their prep and reviewing with them, in addition to teaching extra lessons on Saturday. Than I have had quite a few girls come up to me asking for sanitary pads. So I had a few of the girls go around to obtain a number and a list of girls so I can go buy all the materials in bulk in town and have another re-usable menstrual pad session before the term ends. This time though, if these girls want it now before next term, they will have to supply the money on their own. Lastly, I have to help set end of term exams, and when I return from Kampala I will have to help mark. So that’s the boring details of my day to day. So now for some funny stories…
Just Dance
So there are anywhere between 5-15 kids, that run up to me as I am walking up to my home requesting sweeties (candy). I have quite a bit since every time I go to the Indian supermarket in town they give me a handful for being such a devoted customer (hey a girl needs to indulge in some yogurt and peanutbutter from time to time). This can be annoying and I have not submitted to the request because I do not want to be hounded daily for treats. However, I remembered that back at homestay I would frequently bust out my speakers and hold an impromptu dance party with the little ones and it was always enjoyable for both sides. So I decided, fine I will give you sweetie but you have to dance for it! Don’t get the wrong idea, they love to dance too, so they get their treats and I get a little bit of entertainment at the end of my day! Now when I return home I get NIKKI! Tum! Tum! Which means radio… and I end up having to turn the radio off after some time and repeat to them several times amani wunu idwoggo pacu… for them to finally leave my doorstep and return home. These kids were a small challenge for me at first. First because they are too young to understand any more English than basic greetings, so I have to use a combination of my limited Lango and creative sherades. Secondly because it took me a month to get them to stop referring to me as munu and to actually use my name. And lastly because at first they were intrigued but slightly terrified by me. I would turn around at their calls at first and they would get closer and then run in the other direction. I decided fine, I’ll give you something to be scared of… so when they would get on my heels I would quickly turn around and growl/scream at them jokingly while they turned away half confused half giggly. Eventually they got the idea and now we have a little inside joke where we try to scare each other between the fence at night. Yeah I’m just a kid at heart. I’ll post pictures of these adorable/annoying munchins soon!
Street Food… Blessing or Curse?
Although most things here are the polar opposite of how they are at home, some things are universal. And one of them is, when people are drunk at 2AM, they just want some greasy food. I recently went to Gulu with some PCV’s to celebrate 4th of July weekend/ my birthday. I really liked Gulu, but Lira will always be my fave. One night we went out dancing at a very crammed Ugandan club, which go figure, had a large sign out front that said “Amigos Bar”. I have not met a Ugandan who speaks Spanish. They know a lot of languages usually since Uganda has upwards of 70 (nation of babble) and some even know a little French due to surrounding past colonialism influences but Spanish is definitely not one of them. So when I revealed to some Ugandans that it means “Friends Bar” They were delighted having spent years in Gulu and not having a clue. So the night preceded as one would imagine, dance drink and dance some more. Then we walked back into the “alley” behind the bar. Okay that sounds sketchy but that’s what it was… but it was full of delicious smelling street food! My Ugandan friend bought what I can only say is meat (don’t ask me what kind or what it was marinated in) cabbage chips and drenched in chili sauce and we sat on empty beer crates in the alley and stuffed ourselves with more calories than I have took in awhile. In Uganda it’s the next best thing since there isn’t a 24/7 mcdonalds or 711 to run to in the middle of the night. On the walk back to our hotel later though… I had to stop walking at points due to the painful cramps in my stomach and preceded to have one of the worst nights I have had sleep wise here. I was fine the next morning but next time I go out I will wait until morning to make my own greasy food if I really want it
LIZ… I SEE WHITE PEOPLE….
When we first got to Uganda, our trainers told us, you will experience a little bit of culture shock in reverse when you get back stateside. I thought… um no way, that is what I grew up around I will not feel uncomfortable in my home. But it is already happening. At first a little when I saw so many white people in Gulu 2 weeks ago, but last week Liz and I, as always, went to Sankofa to indulge in grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshaks. We were just relaxing… stalking the new incoming group of PCVs (that’s right if any of you are reading this August group we stalk you too!) When suddenly… out of nowhere… a bijillion white girls appeared before our eyes! Liz and I cowered into each other as if in fear… what are they all doing here???? I feel strange…. Should we go? We should go I don’t like it here anymore… let’s call Jacque this is freaking me out. Seriously they were everywhere all chatty and loud and in matching outfits with makeup and shit. Don’t you know you are in Uganda! Then I thought okay chill out, be nice, say hello… when one of them walked up and attempted to say hi herself. I had a brief moment of relief until, SO RUDE!, her motive was only to ask a question and then preceeding look straight back at her iphone whilst ignoring liz waiting for a response from her. That was it, they were all invading on our peaceful sanctuary so we escaped to the streets (that’s right Rachel and burnadette… we took it to the streets!) We got to talking on our way out and we realized, that would not have phased me in the least in the U.S. People are constantly consumed by their phones, laptops, etc. and it doesn’t occur twice to them that it could be insensitive because it is just what we are used to. Here it’s extremely important to greet people and give them your undivided attention when they are speaking to you. At first I found it a bit challenging to talk to attentively to everyone I saw, but now it is one of the things I love about this country. So for those of you back at home, put down your damn phone and give people the attention they deserve! But I still love you!
Nicknames
I’ve said before that the girls here call me Minaj. I thought it was just coincidental since people here love Nicky Minaj and I think I was the first person named “Nikki” they had ever met. (neither the name nikki or Nicole is common here) In fact you would be surprised at the music they like. It’s at least a year behind usually, but even the other day I was in an Indian resturaunt and the soundtrack was identical to what was playing in my house junior year of college… it brought me back. So I was outside with a student teacher talking with about 10 of the girls about random things, mostly just being silly. One topic, was they were telling us all the nicknames they had given the new teachers (me and all the other student teachers) One girl asked me if I knew what “peeping tom” meant. I shot her a look of concern and bewilderment wondering if this nickname had any merit and to whom it belonged to. Thankfully it didn’t but then it made me think… hey what other nicknames do you have for all of us! They assured me if I had another name it would only be a nice one… but these girls are sneaky sneaky. Than as always, they preceded to pet my hair and ask me to pluck it out of my skull for them to wear before I returned home to ponder what they say about me behind my back.
African Time, African Dance, African Fork
So I wrote last time that the girls held student elections, and this past weekend they had a ceremony where they handed over power. Let me preface this with… Ugandans LOVE their functions! Seriously it’s a big deal, whether it’s a wedding, graduation, or even a simple meeting… there is a long list of protocol and a heavy schedule to get through, but coincidentally preparation is lacking. Therefore functions, along with most other things in this country, don’t start on time. It was scheduled to begin at 10AM… I showed up at 11:30 being optimistic. I was 2 hours early… Power was gone that day (go figure) so they fired up the generator so we could use the PA system and then the speeches began…and they continued… for hours. And then guess what! I was asked to give a speech! I have been asked to give an impromptu speech about myself or my agenda from time to time in meetings and at assemblies here but seriously… I’m American so clearly I have something to say? I constantly get called out in front of the entire school… yes Nikki was here to oversee our elections and ensure that the democratic process was carried out fairly so she will preside over the handing over of power of these prefects. WHAT! Sam and Morris were on either side of me laughing… them being my closest friends here, they know how I feel about public humiliation, I mean speeches, and they offered no words of encouragement except “just go”. Thanks guys! So I beat red, I think I said something about a job well done to the previous prefects and may God help you new ones carry out your jobs successfully? I don’t know it was short, especially for Ugandan standards (they can talk for hours in public…. Give them a microphone and an audience and it’s like a kid on Christmas morning). After my embarressment…The speeches WHAT? Continued… Thank god for the intermissions which were filled with entertainment from the girls from traditional dances to PIASCY skits. I finally got to see a traditional Langi dance which takes a lot of energy… a lot of jumping! When it finally ended there was a buffet! Rice, potatoes, beans, chicken, goat and INTESTINES! I passed on the intestines. No utensils though.. so UGANDAN FORK! Funny thing here is that people are actually encouraged to eat with their hands. Doesn’t matter what it is or how messy, just shovel it into your mouth! I drop food all over myself every time I do this so people also enjoy staring at me while I attempt this as well. Then there was a dance. These girls of course made me dance… I promised them I would a week ago and silly me, assumed they would forget. I gave them one dance and then pushed my way out of the crowd back to fresh air. There I found the girls hounding Sam to dance. After about 20 minutes I finally was like Sam just go dance for a minute I did it wasn’t so bad. BAD IDEA! These girls tackled him like a pride of lionesses on fresh game. I had to profusely apologize for assisting them in his demise but thankfully he is a good sport. All this brings me to my last story…here you just have to go with the flow, you know what they say…
When in Uganda…
1. be prepared to entertain yourself, because you never know what time the thing you showed up for will actually begin
2. always have a speech ready, because hey you’re American they want to know what you have to say
3. always have hand sanitizer, because you never know when those 10 fingers will become your fork. (wait I mean 5 fingers because it is culturally inappropriate to eat with your LEFT hand… yeah forget about logic)
4. don’t set your alarm, because the chickens can always be relied upon to wake your ass up before 7:30AM anyway
5. salvage any battery life you have and always recharge any solar equipment, because even if you have power, that doesn’t mean you can count on it to be there
6. re-use all of your water, because that shuts off too. Use dishwater twice and then use that to flush your toilet when water is off… save laundry water for mopping and yep also for flushing your toilet… you get creative
7. sweep your house and brush your teeth twice a day, because dust here is ridiculous and there is no anesthesia in the village if something happens to your teeth
8. improve your dramatic talents, because you will be asked to sing and dance constantly
9. say “fuck critters” because they aren’t going anywhere so learn to live with those spiders, gheckos, and GIANT bees that have no sense of direction and will surely fly directly into your face.
19. know the local language phrases for “I don’t understand” I don’t want” and “I do not have money” because you will need to respond using one of them and if people don’t understand you they won’t leave you alone
11. Look “smart” (meaning nice, attractive, put-together, etc.), because everyone is looking at you already, and if you aren’t they will let you know
12. Iron everything, because the possibility of mango flies (bugs that burrow into your skin) is disgusting
13. Stop and greet everyone, because if you don’t they will of course think there is a reason for you ignoring them and you don’t want people upset with you when you are already the odd one out
14. Don’t wash your hair, because Ugandans are already baffled by your hair anyway, they don’t know what it looks like when it’s clean vs. dirty… and hey back to #6, it’s a waste of water
15. Assume that if you aren’t with Ugandans, you are lost, because no matter who you are spending time with at that moment, those you aren’t with miss you and will let you know by saying “you are lost” so have an excuse ready always.
16. Don’t feel guilty when you indulge in something salty or sweet like you would in the states, because I’m pretty sure there is no fat in posho and beans, and in Uganda that is what you eat most days anyway
17. Reversely, feel guilty all the time, because regardless of how much you have given up to be here you still have more then most of the people you are surrounded by, so find a way to deal with it because that feeling will never go away.
18. Laugh, because even if you don’t understand why Uganda is the way it is, the people here are mostly good at heart, and at times this place can be utterly ridiculous and therefore amazing
