Planting my roots

It feels like somebody big (and probably hairy) is pushing me from behind, while my heels are firmly planted as I hopelessly till the ground. I dread the day I am on a plane flying home. Now I know most of you reading this are family and friends, waiting for my safe return home and probably feel the exact opposite, which is great! That’s how it’s supposed to be, right? But I think having a bunch of friends finish their two-year-stints recently has made me imagine myself in that exact same position and to be frank, it terrifies me.

Like always, I’ve been spending a lot of time with “my family” who stays behind my place, down a path a little way. There are five girls and a boy, all in primary school, and many other village kids hang out there too. Their mother is amazing, and although she doesn’t speak a lick of English, we find a way of communicating somehow. So, as usual, this past week I went down to fetch water and on my return home I stopped by to play with the kids for a couple hours. We spent awhile playing hand-clap games (that I’m determined to learn) and then all the kids started jumping and dancing around. They got me to participate in one of those games, which was actually quite fun but tiring! There is no power around there so we play by candle light; as always, I forget everything outside of our small ring of illumination. They always insist on feeding me, so after playing we all piled into their tiny, outside kitchen for dinner. They cook with firewood within three rocks in the shape of a triangle, so inside the kitchen it’s smoky as the firewood turns to ash.  The eight of us spent the next hour just eating and laughing, mostly at my expense, which is great. I have been here for over a year, yet I continue to make little faux-pas (like putting inedible food into my mouth like a child).

My happiest times in Uganda are when I am there with this family of mine. All of the difficulties here are overshadowed by my love and happiness in my village. I am sinking my roots deeper and deeper into Uganda, which is going to make it nearly impossible to uproot myself again to head home in less than a year.

A few photos to keep you all interested! More coming soon:

Esther, Brenda, Maria, and Mukisa dancing outside my backdoor

Ali climbing my papaya tree

Nail painting party!

The demon on the hill

A few weeks ago, I was sitting beneath a jackfruit tree with my neighbors when I started to hear drumming in the not-so-far distance. Bwaita told me that there was a demon up in a tree on a hilltop. Wait, what? Drumming means there is a demon in a tree? That can’t be right. I asked for clarification, which I didn’t get because he kept leaving out imperative information that he took for granted as common knowledge. So, I went to my other neighbor for the missing links…

Rachel told me that some company started drilling big boulders around that hill, which was disturbing the peace. Alright, now we’re getting somewhere. She also informed me that spirits like to live on hilltops instead of down in the village.  So, apparently the spirit on that particular hilltop was the one being bothered. You know, not some random spirit/demon causing problems in the village. Okay, so now I’m beginning to make sense of the whole thing. But it just wasn’t good enough for me; I had to see it to believe it!

Rachel, Bwaita’s mother, and I decided to head toward the drumming to see exactly what was going on. So we’re walking, the sky is super ominous, the wind is really picking up, I see lightening in the distance, and hear the rumbling of thunder as we approach the hill. All I’m thinking is, it is not the brightest idea to climb to the highest point in my village as a storm is fast approaching. But of course we proceed anyway. As we near, the sound of jackhammers breaking rock combats the amplified drumming. We reach the epicenter of it all: there are dozens of villagers crowded up on the summit and dozens more scaling this surprisingly steep hill. The three of us decide to make our ascent. We’re half way up when some kids tell us there are no shoes or phones allowed. I of course didn’t have my phone on me and immediately removed my chacos.

So, here I am, the only white person for miles, climbing a rock face barefoot, heading toward a demon while being serenaded by drums, with a storm soon approaching. Yeah, totally fine. We reach the top and I’m greeted by several familiar faces, a group of men drumming, women singing and dancing around, and an inconspicuously placed animal skin tarp. Again, totally fine. Oh, and the view from the top was absolutely spectacular! Beautiful green rolling hills as far as the eye can see. However, I wanted to get the full scoop and get back home as fast as possible due to the imminent storm.

So, what I figured out was that the spirit became unhappy due to the noisy drilling and had possessed a girl in the village a few days prior. It then manifested itself into fire, which was what was beneath that tarp. The men were drumming and the women were singing and dancing to entertain the spirit while the drilling persisted. Makes sense! After getting our fill, we returned home without ever being disturbed by the weather. It turned out that the rain never came. I heard drumming over the next several days and then it stopped. I recently asked about what had happened with everything. I was told that the villagers were complaining that the drumming was causing the rain to delay, so they were relocated to a nearby village. As soon as the drumming stopped, it rained… and it rained hard. Yup, just another day in the village!

End of Year Events in Uganda

Thanksgiving, a half-marathon, end of an academic year, Camp GLOW, and coming soon…Tanzania/Zanzibar!

I’ll start with Thanksgiving. The plan was to go camping. However, here in the UG things happen. We think we have no control in the states, but we have even less control here. One of my friends to go camping came down with a “touch of malaria.” That is how Ugandans tend to refer to it anyway. But we newbies to the disease might consider it “death by malaria.” She was bed-ridden for days, but thankfully it wasn’t bad enough to need an IV like usual. Yup. Anyway, had a great day. Went for a long run in a new region, which is one of my favorite things to do here, and then spent the remainder of the day hanging out with awesome people. Couldn’t complain! Next day, celebrated post-Thanksgiving with a bunch of other PCVs. Feast we did. Bought, maintained, slaughtered, prepared, and (some) enjoyed turkey at its finest. How many people can say they enjoyed turkey they slaughtered themselves? Well, I sure can’t. Haven’t eaten meat since I stopped cold-turkey (pun intended) two and half years ago. Regardless, a great experience. I brought cheese and crackers to the Thanksgiving potluck, which was a huge hit since good cheese is hard to come-by/expensive in this country. Depressing, I know.

So this brings me to the Kampala marathon. I signed up for the half-marathon, which took place the weekend after Thanksgiving. Lots of stored carbs for the run—yeah! I’ve started running a lot since September and a couple weeks before the marathon I decided to just do it. One of my favorite experiences by far! Not for the organization of the event, of course. Uganda has a long way to go before creating an internationally competitive marathon. I don’t want to focus on that though—no one was hit by a car or anything...to my knowledge anyway… Just some of the full-marathoners lost and running an extra 8km or so. No biggy. Right…well, anyway. One of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. Not only mentally, but running over 13 miles in hot and hilly Kampala isn’t the easiest thing on the body either. Regardless, I feel only positively about the experience and realize that it has created a monster. Taking one week off from running felt like way too much. I’m addicted! Running anything less than 45 mins feels like a warm-up. I always travel with my sneakers now… I’m going to run all over Uganda! Every time I travel and visit other PCVs I’ll test out the terrain/climate in their area. Love it! If my addiction keeps up and Kenya becomes safer to visit I plan on running the full marathon in Nairobi next October. If I’m going to run a full marathon, I might as well run with the Kenyans!

The third and final term of the school year here ended the following week on December 2. My students performed okay. It’s funny to be on the other end of education. I’ve always been a student and now being a teacher puts a whole new spin on everything. I always envied teachers throughout large assignments and during exam time, but now I know what it is like on the other side. Always making lesson plans, struggling to get as many students as possible on board with the material, finding the best way to measure comprehension, writing a reasonable exam, feeling anxious during the exam because you pray your students will be okay, and finally grading the exam and seeing how each student understood the material. The stress can build when you have about 800 students. Caring for that many individuals is tiring! I honestly feel a deep and sincere compassion for each and every one of them because I want nothing more than for them to have a bright future and I feel partially responsible for that. I know that might sound cheesy but I don’t care—I can’t help that I love my students. Being a student in America is a piece of cake in comparison to what these students have to deal with. They are forced through a weak education system, taught in English as a second language, have little outside support, are poor, hungry, have no time for extracurriculars… just to go home (maybe 5 miles away on foot) to dig, fetch water, cook, clean, gather their animals from grazing and if time permits, study by candlelight before bed. I know this is not the same for every student in this country, but I know for a fact it is true for most.

Having said all that, I feel this is a great time to bring up Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World). 2011 is only the second year for GLOW in Uganda, but has been around since 1995. This year we had about 150 girls from all over Uganda for a weeklong camp in the beginning of December. We make it a cross between a traditional summer camp back in the states and some more structured learning as well. Basically, these girls are nominated due to their already apparent potential to be very influential in their own future as well as the future of Uganda. The more women that are empowered, the more successful Uganda will become. We enhanced their confidence and tools to lead healthy and productive lives. Another favorite event in my service here and can’t wait to participate again next year and even bring some of my own brightest girls! You should really check out more info and pictures on the website: glowuganda2011.drupalgardens.com.

So now here I am. The holidays are fast approaching; 2011 is coming to an end. Hard to believe! I know I can’t be home for Christmas, but I’m not about to sit around and mope. Nope! I’m heading out on my great Tanzanian adventure next week! I’ll be trekking across the country from West to East. I head down to Bukoba Dec 21 and from there hit Mwanza, Tabora, and finally Dar es Salaam (that’s just for mainland Tanzania anyway). I’ll be with four other PCVs up until this point. We’re celebrating Christmas in Dar, which I never thought I’d say (like most things since I’ve been in Peace Corps). Then, Dec 27 I hop on a ferry to Zanzibar! We’re spending a couple days in Stone Town, the historical city and once hub of the Arab slave trade. Finally, we head to the east coast to celebrate the New Year with more of our PCVs until the 4th! Ahh, can’t wait! And thennnn I’ll have to endure (recover over) the next 6 days until Sarah comes to visit!!!!! Before I know it, February will be here and I’ll be celebrating my one year anniversary since being in Uganda. Wow. I should end here. I don’t want to get any more ahead of myself!