I’m finally an official volunteer! Our group is the first in Uganda Peace Corps history to have all trainees swear in…all 29 of us made it! Last week we left Wakiso and had a huge celebration to thank our homestay families. Most of you know I didn’t have the best experience with my homestay family, to put it nicely. Despite that, the party was awesome. Another volunteer and I were in charge of the menu and we were able to have American food…macaroni and cheese! I gave a thank you speech (entirely in Luganda!) with a girl from my language class, which was pretty awesome. After the celebration we FINALLY moved out of our homestay houses and went to Kampala for swearing in. We got to go to the U.S Embassy here and met the ambassador. The actual swearing in ceremony was at his house.
I’ll be living in Bikiira Parish in Rakai District for the next two years. Rakai is about 30 kilometers north of Tanzania, so I’m pretty far south in Uganda. I’ll be working at Rakai Primary Teachers’ College (PTC) teaching PES (teaching methodology), early childhood education, and computers. I also think I might be the girls’ counselor, which I’m pretty excited about. The college has over 300 students, about 230 second years and 140 or so first years. The second years are broken into 2 streams and the first years are all together…which means I teach all 140 of them at one time! It’s kind of intimidating, but I’m hoping to be able to break the students into smaller streams at some point…we’ll see how that goes!
All of my students leave for holiday starting today and they’ll be gone until the end of May. That gives me plenty of time to settle into my house and start integrating into the community. My house is amazing! I’m so fortunate to have electricity! I also have a guest bedroom, perfect for hosting visitors! I live across the road from the health center—I really want to start working with the children’s ward there—and I’m about a 5 minute walk from the PTC. Bikiira Parish itself is actually pretty small, with just a trading center and a few dukkas. Kyotera town is about a half hour walk and I can get most of my groceries there. For more specific things, like oatmeal and peanut butter, I can take a taxi into Masaka town, which is about an hour/hour and a half away, and also use wireless internet there.
I’m going to start a garden so if you have tips on that please email me...or better yet send me seeds! I’ve never gardened before but apparently most everything grows fairly easily here so I figured I’d try it out. I also want to start a girls’ empowerment club at the college. I’m hoping to make it sustainable by teaching the students how to implement similar clubs at the primary schools they’ll be teaching at. I’d love to hear any ideas you guys may have for that. I’m thinking something along the lines of self esteem building, life skills, HIV/AIDS awareness, sex education, etc.
Thanks for the packages Celia, McKenzie, and Aunt Jody! And thanks for the letter, Jill! I still haven’t received all my mail so for those of you whose letters/packages I haven’t received yet…don’t worry, they’re still coming. I have established a new address in my community and now that I’m able to check it whenever I want I will hopefully get mail quicker. Feel free to start sending stuff! I’d love to get some pictures to put on my walls.
My new address is:
Ashley Dunn
c/o Rakai Primary Teachers’ College
P.O. Box 29
Kyotera, Uganda
Happy belated birthday, Dad!
Love and miss you all so much!
Ashley Kirabo
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Immersion was amazing, 4 weeks of training left...
Sorry in advance for the length of this post! I don’t know when I’ll be able to write again…
The past two weeks were immersion for us. I went with a group of 4 other trainees to stay with two current volunteers at Primary Teaching College (PTC) in Kabulasoke. We traveled by matatus (kind of public taxis) and it was an experience. A matatu is essentially a van that drives people to and from cities. There were 21 people crammed into our matatu! I am constantly surprised by the things I see in this country (Like watching a man sitting on a boda boda—motorcycle that is kind of like a taxi—strap not one but TWO goats around his waste so he could take them home). It was pretty awesome to see how current volunteers are living. We had electricity, except for one night, and running water. Even though the water was freezing, I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was to take a shower! We also had the opportunity too cook for ourselves all week, using a gas stove. Over the whole two weeks we made spaghetti, grilled cheese, baked potatoes, soup with dumplings, burritos with salsa and guacamole, and salad. I also baked a cake and attempted to make monkey bread...Ugandan style. Baking is so much harder here because we have to make an oven using two large pots over the gas stove. It works pretty well, it just takes about three times as long.
The purpose of immersion was to give us a good idea of the type of work we'll be doing when we get to site. We had opportunities to teach and to observe student teachers in the field. I loved all of it. I really hope that I will be placed at a PTC when I get to site. I've basically been teaching pre-service teachers, ages 18-22. I co-taught a methods lesson with another volunteer and we had so much fun with it. We taught about cooperative learning and the use of role play in the classroom. We had the class (about 40-50 students) role play different topics for us, with the purpose to teach through acting. At first it was hard to get lessons started because the students would just stare at us and they didn't really want to participate but after a while they had no problem answering questions. By the second week, I taught an English lesson on Reading Comprehension by using a main idea frame. I used a P4 text book (about the 4th grade reading level) to use a story for students to fill in their own main idea frames. I was shocked at how many struggled to read the material. It is discouraging that most of these students will rely on lecture and rote memorization when teaching in their future classrooms because it is the only thing they know. I taught a total of 8 times, each lesson to four different streams (classes) of students. My favorite part was when I was concluding the methods class and I asked the students what they had learned. One girl told us that our lesson inspired her to be creative in the classroom. It makes me hopeful that students enjoy what we teach them and will want to try our methods in their classrooms.
It’s pretty common to be late to class. During one of my English classes students kept coming in late so at the end of class we had a little extra time and I called all of the latecomers up to the front of the class. I had them sing Old McDonald to the rest of the class and act like chickens. It was hilarious to see a bunch of Ugandan students act like chickens and cluck in front of all of their peers. They’ll definitely think twice about being late again…
We also had language lessons during the second half of immersion. Herbert, my Luganda instructor, came to stay with us for most of the second week. I had language several hours a day for about three days...it was pretty intense. One of the days the other trainee who is also learning Luganda was sick so I had language by myself. I did conversational Luganda with another trainer for about an hour. An hour of speaking nothing but Luganda...I was pretty proud of myself!
I have four weeks left of training before I swear in on April 21 (Happy Birthday Dad!). This next week I will have my practice Language Proficiency Interview (LPI), which assesses how well I am doing in my language. Basically I have to talk about various scenarios and situations in Luganda. The following week we will turn in our qualifying projects, secondary projects we plan to implement when we get to site. I'm planning to do a life skills/girls empowerment club where we make beads out of paper. (For those of you who have heard of the Ugandan beads that women make, that is what I will be doing. Anyone interested in buying the necklaces please let me know). After turning in and presenting our qualifying projects we find out where our sites will be and get to visit them for three days. I'm so excited to know where I will spending the next two years and what exactly I will be doing. The following week we have our real LPI and if we don't pass then we have to retest in three months. The next week we swear in and we're off to our sites...as official Peace Corps Volunteers! I can't believe the time is going as quickly as it is and that I've almost been here two months.
I'll end on a positive note...While visiting the student teachers teaching in the field, I was standing outside with the primary students during their break. Many of the little kids don't have much exposure to muzungus so they would dare each other to get as close to us as possible. I finally turned to them and outstretched my arms. After a while they worked up the courage to touch my hands and then I had a crowd of children huddled around me feeling my skin. I turned my hands over so my palms were facing up and the kids went crazy. They would rub their palms to mine as hard as they could then immediately check to see if any of their skin had turned white. This went on for about 15 minutes. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the chance, but it was a pretty cool experience to see the kids interact with us. It definitely made me miss being in the classroom and I'm going to try and teach at a primary school when I get to site. To emphasize the difference in American versus Ugandan schools, the P1 classroom, about the same level as Kinder in the states, had 67 students in it. 67 tiny bodies were crammed into desks, some students we standing off to the sides, and some were sitting on mats on the floor. Like I've said before, never again will I complain of a class of 30!
Hope all is well, I love and miss you all so much! If anyone is interested in sending my goodies, email me and I'll give you a list I've been compiling of things I've been missing here. I haven't gotten any letters but once I get back to RACO there should be mail waiting for us, I know some of you have sent things and as soon as I get them I will let you know. I love hearing how everyone is doing. Will update soon!
Hugs,
Kirabo
(My given name meaning “gift”)
Side Note...I heard the Macarena playing on the Ugandan radio the other day.
The past two weeks were immersion for us. I went with a group of 4 other trainees to stay with two current volunteers at Primary Teaching College (PTC) in Kabulasoke. We traveled by matatus (kind of public taxis) and it was an experience. A matatu is essentially a van that drives people to and from cities. There were 21 people crammed into our matatu! I am constantly surprised by the things I see in this country (Like watching a man sitting on a boda boda—motorcycle that is kind of like a taxi—strap not one but TWO goats around his waste so he could take them home). It was pretty awesome to see how current volunteers are living. We had electricity, except for one night, and running water. Even though the water was freezing, I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was to take a shower! We also had the opportunity too cook for ourselves all week, using a gas stove. Over the whole two weeks we made spaghetti, grilled cheese, baked potatoes, soup with dumplings, burritos with salsa and guacamole, and salad. I also baked a cake and attempted to make monkey bread...Ugandan style. Baking is so much harder here because we have to make an oven using two large pots over the gas stove. It works pretty well, it just takes about three times as long.
The purpose of immersion was to give us a good idea of the type of work we'll be doing when we get to site. We had opportunities to teach and to observe student teachers in the field. I loved all of it. I really hope that I will be placed at a PTC when I get to site. I've basically been teaching pre-service teachers, ages 18-22. I co-taught a methods lesson with another volunteer and we had so much fun with it. We taught about cooperative learning and the use of role play in the classroom. We had the class (about 40-50 students) role play different topics for us, with the purpose to teach through acting. At first it was hard to get lessons started because the students would just stare at us and they didn't really want to participate but after a while they had no problem answering questions. By the second week, I taught an English lesson on Reading Comprehension by using a main idea frame. I used a P4 text book (about the 4th grade reading level) to use a story for students to fill in their own main idea frames. I was shocked at how many struggled to read the material. It is discouraging that most of these students will rely on lecture and rote memorization when teaching in their future classrooms because it is the only thing they know. I taught a total of 8 times, each lesson to four different streams (classes) of students. My favorite part was when I was concluding the methods class and I asked the students what they had learned. One girl told us that our lesson inspired her to be creative in the classroom. It makes me hopeful that students enjoy what we teach them and will want to try our methods in their classrooms.
It’s pretty common to be late to class. During one of my English classes students kept coming in late so at the end of class we had a little extra time and I called all of the latecomers up to the front of the class. I had them sing Old McDonald to the rest of the class and act like chickens. It was hilarious to see a bunch of Ugandan students act like chickens and cluck in front of all of their peers. They’ll definitely think twice about being late again…
We also had language lessons during the second half of immersion. Herbert, my Luganda instructor, came to stay with us for most of the second week. I had language several hours a day for about three days...it was pretty intense. One of the days the other trainee who is also learning Luganda was sick so I had language by myself. I did conversational Luganda with another trainer for about an hour. An hour of speaking nothing but Luganda...I was pretty proud of myself!
I have four weeks left of training before I swear in on April 21 (Happy Birthday Dad!). This next week I will have my practice Language Proficiency Interview (LPI), which assesses how well I am doing in my language. Basically I have to talk about various scenarios and situations in Luganda. The following week we will turn in our qualifying projects, secondary projects we plan to implement when we get to site. I'm planning to do a life skills/girls empowerment club where we make beads out of paper. (For those of you who have heard of the Ugandan beads that women make, that is what I will be doing. Anyone interested in buying the necklaces please let me know). After turning in and presenting our qualifying projects we find out where our sites will be and get to visit them for three days. I'm so excited to know where I will spending the next two years and what exactly I will be doing. The following week we have our real LPI and if we don't pass then we have to retest in three months. The next week we swear in and we're off to our sites...as official Peace Corps Volunteers! I can't believe the time is going as quickly as it is and that I've almost been here two months.
I'll end on a positive note...While visiting the student teachers teaching in the field, I was standing outside with the primary students during their break. Many of the little kids don't have much exposure to muzungus so they would dare each other to get as close to us as possible. I finally turned to them and outstretched my arms. After a while they worked up the courage to touch my hands and then I had a crowd of children huddled around me feeling my skin. I turned my hands over so my palms were facing up and the kids went crazy. They would rub their palms to mine as hard as they could then immediately check to see if any of their skin had turned white. This went on for about 15 minutes. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the chance, but it was a pretty cool experience to see the kids interact with us. It definitely made me miss being in the classroom and I'm going to try and teach at a primary school when I get to site. To emphasize the difference in American versus Ugandan schools, the P1 classroom, about the same level as Kinder in the states, had 67 students in it. 67 tiny bodies were crammed into desks, some students we standing off to the sides, and some were sitting on mats on the floor. Like I've said before, never again will I complain of a class of 30!
Hope all is well, I love and miss you all so much! If anyone is interested in sending my goodies, email me and I'll give you a list I've been compiling of things I've been missing here. I haven't gotten any letters but once I get back to RACO there should be mail waiting for us, I know some of you have sent things and as soon as I get them I will let you know. I love hearing how everyone is doing. Will update soon!
Hugs,
Kirabo
(My given name meaning “gift”)
Side Note...I heard the Macarena playing on the Ugandan radio the other day.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Ngenda Mpigi...I'm going to Mpigi!
Hello all!
Hope everyone is doing well. I am about halfway through my PST...time is flying by! Today I am leaving for Mpigi, a town about 2-3 hours from Wakiso. I will stay there with 4 fellow trainees at a current volunteer's house. The next two weeks will be immersion for us and we will truly get to see what it is like to live as the volunteers do. We will see a primary teacher college and I'll get to teach a class...I'm so excited! I'm also pretty happy that we'll get too cook for ourselves, no more matoke! Since I will be in immersion for 2 weeks I probably won't be able to update until I'm back in Wakiso. I'll update when I get back and share everything I experience during the next two weeks. I'll also put up the rest of the pictures, promise! Love and miss you all so much! Happy early birthday, Mom!
Ashley
Hope everyone is doing well. I am about halfway through my PST...time is flying by! Today I am leaving for Mpigi, a town about 2-3 hours from Wakiso. I will stay there with 4 fellow trainees at a current volunteer's house. The next two weeks will be immersion for us and we will truly get to see what it is like to live as the volunteers do. We will see a primary teacher college and I'll get to teach a class...I'm so excited! I'm also pretty happy that we'll get too cook for ourselves, no more matoke! Since I will be in immersion for 2 weeks I probably won't be able to update until I'm back in Wakiso. I'll update when I get back and share everything I experience during the next two weeks. I'll also put up the rest of the pictures, promise! Love and miss you all so much! Happy early birthday, Mom!
Ashley
Saturday, March 6, 2010
What I've been up to...
Muli Mutya! (How are y’all!)
Hope everyone is healthy and doing well. I am having the most amazing time and have so much to tell you! I can’t believe I’ve already been here almost a month, the time has flown by! I feel like I am getting a good grasp on my language and have plenty of opportunities to practice whenever I go into town. I have become pretty good at bargaining for things at the market and actually have fun doing it. We entered into the rainy season with the beginning of March and it has been raining surprisingly less than it was before, but I am sure this will soon change. Typically it rains most days for at least part of the day and then is sunny for the rest of the day. It has been POURING at night lately and there is a tin roof at my homestay family so it sounds even louder.
Earlier this week we visited Gombe Kayumba primary school to observe a lesson. We met with a Ugandan Coordinating Center Tutor (CCT) who spoke to us about the changes they were making to the Ugandan school systems. I was extremely excited at first because the CCT knew so much about alternative methods of teaching and was excited to implement the learner-centered approach in the classroom. When we sat down to watch the lesson he taught I was extremely appalled. He basically lectured to the class, of close to 90 P6 students around 9-10 years old. (To all my DAWSON ladies, I will never again complain of a class of 25 students! You would love the kids here though, they are so obedient and eager to learn!) Even more, he did not use any wait time when students were responding, he called on the same students, he LAUGHED at a student’s wrong answer, and had poor instruction all around. There were 10 of us trainees there and those of us with teaching backgrounds were furiously taking down notes in our notebooks to share after the lesson. After the lesson we went with the CCT to reflect on how everything went. I asked him to tell us how the lesson went before we gave any feedback. It was shocking to hear how he thought the lesson was perfect! When I asked if that was the style of teaching that we were supposed to implement he said absolutely and that it was ideal. Amazing! Such a seemingly educated man completely contradicted everything he seemed to stand for in the classroom and, worse, that is what we are supposed to strive for! Above everything else I learned how much I have to offer here. The entire experience completely reaffirmed my reasons for being here and made me feel like I am truly needed. Before we left we were able to play with some of the kids and my goodness do they love cameras! They would run in front of the camera to get their pictures taken and would jump and scream around. Some of the little ones even put chalk on their faces so they could look like the muzungus. It was a very eye opening day but the eagerness of the kids makes it all worth it for me. I definitely have my work cut out for my while I’m here!
I’ve had plenty of ups and downs and some days are definitely harder than others. I am trying not to focus so much on the negative and keep my mind on the positive but it is definitely a struggle at times. Dealing with all the unwanted negative attention has been one of the hardest things for me here. The kids run after you in town and touch your arms to see if touching your white skin will make them turn white. It’s a constant thing. The men shout rude comments after you and ask to be your Ugandan husband. Sometimes they ask for even worse. I’m working really hard to not get hung up on all of this and I feel like I’m doing a better job. I try to greet everyone I come in contact with so that they know that I am a part of this community. It seems to help and they absolutely love it when I speak Luganda! They are shocked to hear their language coming from a foreigner’s mouth.
Now for a positive story…I had the most amazing day earlier this week. At school I was totally understanding my language and making progress. After lunch current PCVs gave us a presentation on educational materials and my group made a beautiful alphabet chart, complete with manuscript lines, on a cut rice bag! It was wonderful and even better I was able to take it with me! After school another volunteer and I came back to my house where my brother cut up a jack fruit and gave it to us. Jack fruit is amazing and always puts me in a good mood! Then we milked the cow (or tried to, but that’s another story). Later that night I played volleyball, with a soccer ball, with Miriam and Olive. It was so much fun to be in the front yard just playing with my sister and cousin. My limited volleyball experience to them was expertise and they were eager to learn the basics. After dinner my mom was helping me with my flashcards and language pronunciation. Days like this remind me why I’m here and make all the struggles completely worth it. I feel so blessed to be here and to be part of this amazing culture. I am learning so much and each day is a new experience.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know this one was a bit long. I miss all of you more than you know and love reading all the emails! Please keep me posted! Send me pictures! I love hearing what you guys are up to.
Siiba Bulungi! (Have a good day!)
Ashley
Hope everyone is healthy and doing well. I am having the most amazing time and have so much to tell you! I can’t believe I’ve already been here almost a month, the time has flown by! I feel like I am getting a good grasp on my language and have plenty of opportunities to practice whenever I go into town. I have become pretty good at bargaining for things at the market and actually have fun doing it. We entered into the rainy season with the beginning of March and it has been raining surprisingly less than it was before, but I am sure this will soon change. Typically it rains most days for at least part of the day and then is sunny for the rest of the day. It has been POURING at night lately and there is a tin roof at my homestay family so it sounds even louder.
Earlier this week we visited Gombe Kayumba primary school to observe a lesson. We met with a Ugandan Coordinating Center Tutor (CCT) who spoke to us about the changes they were making to the Ugandan school systems. I was extremely excited at first because the CCT knew so much about alternative methods of teaching and was excited to implement the learner-centered approach in the classroom. When we sat down to watch the lesson he taught I was extremely appalled. He basically lectured to the class, of close to 90 P6 students around 9-10 years old. (To all my DAWSON ladies, I will never again complain of a class of 25 students! You would love the kids here though, they are so obedient and eager to learn!) Even more, he did not use any wait time when students were responding, he called on the same students, he LAUGHED at a student’s wrong answer, and had poor instruction all around. There were 10 of us trainees there and those of us with teaching backgrounds were furiously taking down notes in our notebooks to share after the lesson. After the lesson we went with the CCT to reflect on how everything went. I asked him to tell us how the lesson went before we gave any feedback. It was shocking to hear how he thought the lesson was perfect! When I asked if that was the style of teaching that we were supposed to implement he said absolutely and that it was ideal. Amazing! Such a seemingly educated man completely contradicted everything he seemed to stand for in the classroom and, worse, that is what we are supposed to strive for! Above everything else I learned how much I have to offer here. The entire experience completely reaffirmed my reasons for being here and made me feel like I am truly needed. Before we left we were able to play with some of the kids and my goodness do they love cameras! They would run in front of the camera to get their pictures taken and would jump and scream around. Some of the little ones even put chalk on their faces so they could look like the muzungus. It was a very eye opening day but the eagerness of the kids makes it all worth it for me. I definitely have my work cut out for my while I’m here!
I’ve had plenty of ups and downs and some days are definitely harder than others. I am trying not to focus so much on the negative and keep my mind on the positive but it is definitely a struggle at times. Dealing with all the unwanted negative attention has been one of the hardest things for me here. The kids run after you in town and touch your arms to see if touching your white skin will make them turn white. It’s a constant thing. The men shout rude comments after you and ask to be your Ugandan husband. Sometimes they ask for even worse. I’m working really hard to not get hung up on all of this and I feel like I’m doing a better job. I try to greet everyone I come in contact with so that they know that I am a part of this community. It seems to help and they absolutely love it when I speak Luganda! They are shocked to hear their language coming from a foreigner’s mouth.
Now for a positive story…I had the most amazing day earlier this week. At school I was totally understanding my language and making progress. After lunch current PCVs gave us a presentation on educational materials and my group made a beautiful alphabet chart, complete with manuscript lines, on a cut rice bag! It was wonderful and even better I was able to take it with me! After school another volunteer and I came back to my house where my brother cut up a jack fruit and gave it to us. Jack fruit is amazing and always puts me in a good mood! Then we milked the cow (or tried to, but that’s another story). Later that night I played volleyball, with a soccer ball, with Miriam and Olive. It was so much fun to be in the front yard just playing with my sister and cousin. My limited volleyball experience to them was expertise and they were eager to learn the basics. After dinner my mom was helping me with my flashcards and language pronunciation. Days like this remind me why I’m here and make all the struggles completely worth it. I feel so blessed to be here and to be part of this amazing culture. I am learning so much and each day is a new experience.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know this one was a bit long. I miss all of you more than you know and love reading all the emails! Please keep me posted! Send me pictures! I love hearing what you guys are up to.
Siiba Bulungi! (Have a good day!)
Ashley
Sunday, February 28, 2010
I've made it to Uganda!
Hello All!
Hope this message finds you well. I have finally found an internet cafe in Kampala with reliable electricity and a FAST hook up! I have so much to tell you!
I am now going through training at Raco training center in Wakiso. Training is 6 days a week and includes language training (my language is Luganda which means I will be posted in the Baganda region after training), culture training, Ugandan history, school curriculum, safety and security, health, and necessary life skills. As far as life skills go this past weekend we went into a nearby village and learned all about gardening and composting. We built several different types of gardens for the community and were even able to plant some vegetables for them as well. Next weekend we will be learning all about cooking and I think I will even learn to cook a meal for my host family. My host family has hosted 3 volunteers before me and they are awesome. I have 3 brothers, Steven, Ezra, and Alfred and a sister Miriam. They teach me so much and also help me to practice my language. Miriam even gave me a local Ugandan name, Nakiganda (pronounced Nah-chi-gahn-dah). I try to use it whenever I go into town because the vendors tend to give me a lower price when I don't have a muzungu name. Muzungu means "white person" and whenever we walk into town, or anywhere for that matter, locals and kids especially shout it at you.
A little about Africa...the food actually isn't that bad. The fruit here is so fresh and sweet, it is by far my favorite thing to eat. I have pineapples, bananas, watermelon, papyaya, and jackfruit all the time. Jackfruit is the most amazing thing ever...look it up to find out what it is! I don't like matoke or posho but I love the cooked cabbage that my host my makes for me. I'm definitely starting to miss American food, which surprised me because it's only been a few weeks! Today in Kampala we were able to get pizza and it was so good! Cheese is hard to come by locally and it was awesome to be able to have some on my pizza for lunch.
My only luxury at homestay is electricity, when it is working. I use a pit latrine and take a bath using a bucket of water and a cup. I've adjusted pretty quickly and really have no issues with either. I sleep under a mosquito net and take anti-malaria pills daily. I've also gotten so many shots! Medical comes once a week and so far we've gotten a different shot, if not multiple shots, every week.
The country is beautiful and the weather is just like home. It's rained almost every day since I've been here and were about to go into the rainy season which means it will continue to rain. It gets dark about 7-7:30 every night and the sun comes up about 7 each morning.
In the evenings my host family watches the "soaps" which are awful TV programs originally in Spanish and dubbed over in English. I could go on and on about them but the bottom line is they are awful. Think of telenovellas times 10 and it still can't even compare to how awful these are! And they're one almost every night...my family loves them!
That's all I have for now. I will try and update as soon as I can. Email me! I love reading email and seeing what's going on back home. Be patient if I don't respond right away. The electricity is unreliable in Wakiso and I can't make it to Kampala very often. As often as I can I will read and respond to emails. Updating my blog will take a little longer and be expecting pictures soon! I love and miss you all very much and look forward to hearing from you!
Ashley
Hope this message finds you well. I have finally found an internet cafe in Kampala with reliable electricity and a FAST hook up! I have so much to tell you!
I am now going through training at Raco training center in Wakiso. Training is 6 days a week and includes language training (my language is Luganda which means I will be posted in the Baganda region after training), culture training, Ugandan history, school curriculum, safety and security, health, and necessary life skills. As far as life skills go this past weekend we went into a nearby village and learned all about gardening and composting. We built several different types of gardens for the community and were even able to plant some vegetables for them as well. Next weekend we will be learning all about cooking and I think I will even learn to cook a meal for my host family. My host family has hosted 3 volunteers before me and they are awesome. I have 3 brothers, Steven, Ezra, and Alfred and a sister Miriam. They teach me so much and also help me to practice my language. Miriam even gave me a local Ugandan name, Nakiganda (pronounced Nah-chi-gahn-dah). I try to use it whenever I go into town because the vendors tend to give me a lower price when I don't have a muzungu name. Muzungu means "white person" and whenever we walk into town, or anywhere for that matter, locals and kids especially shout it at you.
A little about Africa...the food actually isn't that bad. The fruit here is so fresh and sweet, it is by far my favorite thing to eat. I have pineapples, bananas, watermelon, papyaya, and jackfruit all the time. Jackfruit is the most amazing thing ever...look it up to find out what it is! I don't like matoke or posho but I love the cooked cabbage that my host my makes for me. I'm definitely starting to miss American food, which surprised me because it's only been a few weeks! Today in Kampala we were able to get pizza and it was so good! Cheese is hard to come by locally and it was awesome to be able to have some on my pizza for lunch.
My only luxury at homestay is electricity, when it is working. I use a pit latrine and take a bath using a bucket of water and a cup. I've adjusted pretty quickly and really have no issues with either. I sleep under a mosquito net and take anti-malaria pills daily. I've also gotten so many shots! Medical comes once a week and so far we've gotten a different shot, if not multiple shots, every week.
The country is beautiful and the weather is just like home. It's rained almost every day since I've been here and were about to go into the rainy season which means it will continue to rain. It gets dark about 7-7:30 every night and the sun comes up about 7 each morning.
In the evenings my host family watches the "soaps" which are awful TV programs originally in Spanish and dubbed over in English. I could go on and on about them but the bottom line is they are awful. Think of telenovellas times 10 and it still can't even compare to how awful these are! And they're one almost every night...my family loves them!
That's all I have for now. I will try and update as soon as I can. Email me! I love reading email and seeing what's going on back home. Be patient if I don't respond right away. The electricity is unreliable in Wakiso and I can't make it to Kampala very often. As often as I can I will read and respond to emails. Updating my blog will take a little longer and be expecting pictures soon! I love and miss you all very much and look forward to hearing from you!
Ashley
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Last post for a while...
Hey all,
First I want to thank everyone for being so incredibly supportive this past week. I felt truly blessed to be surrounded by so much love at the going away party and it was awesome to be able to see everyone one last time for a while. Thank you for making it such a success!
So far staging has been crazy! My plane was delayed going in to Philly because of the snow and we had to leave early to avoid the snow storm coming in tonight. We're now in New York and are scheduled to fly out on time, at 10:30 tomorrow morning from JFK. If everything goes according to plan, we'll arrive in South Africa around 9 in the morning then have about a 5 hour lay over. I should arrive to Entebbe, Uganda by about 7:00pm Thursday evening (local time). I want everyone to know that I don't know when I'll have access to phone or internet to let you guys know that I made it in safely so don't panic if you don't hear from me for a few weeks.
That's all for now! I'm so excited that everything is finally happening and I will be working with a wonderful group of people for the next two years. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers and don't forget to write me letters!
I love you all,
Ashley
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Ugandan News Websites
A member of my PCT group shared the following Ugandan news sites with us:
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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