The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Merry Christmas from Uganda! I have put up posts!!! (I’ll put pictures up when I actually get wifi....)
I have been with my homestay family for a week today, and it’s going well. I absolutely adore language training! I wish we could have it all day instead of having culture sessions in the afternoon. Whoops, there’s my linguistic nerd coming out. The only thing I am really struggling with is getting out of my comfort zone and speaking Runyoro-Rutooro. The people in town are very good about speaking with us when we go for lunch, and I greet nearly everyone I see on the way to and from training.
Yesterday I helped to slaughter our Christmas chicken, and we decorated the living room. The “Christmas season” here is quite a bit shorter than it is at home, especially for me. I’ve been so busy with training, though, I hardly noticed. I just can’t wait for next year when I can start decorating my house WHENEVER I WANT. Maybe I’ll just leave my Christmas decorations up allllllllll year loooonnnnggggg! This morning we went to church and we’ll eat lunch soon, hopefully. I think later we’re going swimming!
As great as Christmas is here, I’m seriously missing home. This is the most homesick I’ve been since getting here, perhaps ever. It helps that since everyone is on break I’ve been able to talk to them more, but it doesn’t cure it. I love what I’m doing here so much, but I wish I had my own TARDIS so I could pop home and then pop back without even being noticed. Maybe my TARDIS would be in the shape of a banana tree. Or a chicken or small child….

From across the Atlantic, I wish you the warmest Christmas you’ve ever had (pun intended for those at home…).





EDIT: I did indeed get to swim, although in a somewhat questionable pool! Then we went to a dance party late into the night. Pictures below!!!

"I have seen they do this in America."

One of my fellow trainee's host cousins took my glasses and looked super cute!

Transportation

So you may be wondering how I’m getting around the country. Transportation here is surprisingly sophisticated while the actual vehicles themselves are, well, not particularly good quality.

The Ugandan public transport system consists of:

~Boda bodas: Motorcycle (or rarely bicycle – legal for PCVs) taxis which PCVs are NOT allowed to ride but that are the fastest and most common mode of transportation

~Taxis: Mini-bus vehicles which are the most common for PCVs to use. These can be short distance or long distance, but be ready to squish! Legal capacity may only be 14, but many times they are far over legal capacity.

~Busses: Only used for long distance travel, these are the slowest but perhaps the most comfortable mode of transportation, especially from Fort Portal to Kampala (about a 5-6 hour trip on a bus).

Private transport consists of:

~Private hires: Usually vans or mini-busses which can be hired for long or short distances. These are significantly more expensive than taxis, but they will take you anywhere. Usually PCVs only use these when they are in a rather sizeable group because of the cost.

~Personal bicycles, boda bodas and cars: Vehicles that are not for hire are very much so a sign of wealth here.

And of course you can walk anywhere you’re willing to take the time to walk to….

How's Your Site?

I’M AT MY SITE!!!!!!! I am so close to Fort Portal; I know I’m going to be there every weekend. My house is huge! Seriously, if it had a water heater, finished floors, and a bit better kitchen, it would be an American quality two-bedroom apartment. I am pretty close to one of my fellow volunteers, we’re calling each other our site mates: about a 20 minute ride by car or a 1.5 hour walk. There is a market on Wednesdays that is only about a 20 minute walk, and the demonstration school, which has a boarding center for children with disabilities, is only about 5 minutes from my house. I’m out in the middle of nowhere, but not really. The only unfortunate thing is trying to find data signal. I’ll figure it out.

This visit is to give us a taste of how we’re going to be living, and also to give us an opportunity to begin forming relationships with our communities. My supervisor is not here, but I am working with our principal, and he is a very kind man. Quiet, but kind. The college driver has been taking me around, showing me where things are in the car, and helping me to really get acquainted with my surroundings. I’m so glad he’s here to help me out. He even dropped me off in and picked me up from Fort Portal today, where I spent the day with a couple of volunteers, INCLUDING MY WONDERFUL MENTOR!!!

Tomorrow I will be driven into Fort Portal with my site mate to catch a public taxi to the town where we will be staying next, about an hour from Fort Portal, with our HOST FAMILIES!! WHOO!

Bye Bye Technical Training!!

I should really be packing right now, but I can’t think about that right now. It is our last day at Shimoni, and as strange as it is, I will miss this place. Our time here has been bittersweet. The beds were not exactly comfortable, many of our meals were late, and the water ran out most days, but the hospitality of Shimoni was undeniable. More than once, I had things carried for me, small things like my water bottle. Throughout, I was called madam, Teacher, or Tutor. I never once felt disrespected or unsafe. I have gotten to know so many students in such a short time. My 50+ students have absolutely stolen my heart.

The first week of bootcamp was intense. I was constantly being critiqued for things I simply didn’t know. It’s not like those giving feedback were trying to be mean, but it is hard to constantly hear all the things you’re doing wrong. It was difficult to get to know the students at first, and I was having serious problems understanding their Ugandlish. My lessons were absolutely not what I wanted to be teaching. But somehow I made it through with a positive view of my experience to come. Without the first week, I would not have been able to build the relationships that were so important to my overall experience.

The second week we taught content instead of literacy. Of course, all of our lessons had to include literacy, but since I will be teaching science and ICT, these lessons were much more aligned with what I’m going to be doing. We had more freedom in how we were teaching. Also, we really got to learn about the students, their dreams, and most of all, their senses of humor. For example, I tried to make a joke that I weigh 1, 000, 000 kg, and I was the only one laughing…. Live and learn, right?

Now we are getting ready to move into homestay. I am so excited to be learning the language!! My only worry is that I’m going to have a hard time being away from the people I have gotten so close to….

Change in Plans

It is election season here in Uganda. Usually, this means simply that we muzungus need to remember not to give a thumbs up or a peace sign to accidentally show our support for different political parties. It can also mean you are stuck in traffic due to a rally where people are dancing and singing in the street.

Sometimes, though, it can lead to civil unrest. Peace Corps Uganda has done a wonderful job of being transparent with us during our training. There has not been much civil unrest, but they are keeping a close eye on it along with the US embassy. Even the Ugandan government is concerned about this. Due to the possibility for unrest, the Ministry of Education has pushed the beginning of the school year back from the beginning of February to the end of February.

In light of all this information, the decision has been made to push back Cohort 4's Swearing In. It was originally planned for January 21. Now we will be with our home stay families for a few weeks longer, get to go to an All-Volunteer conference before we're even technically volunteers, and swear in during February.

Although I am sad that we will not officially be PCVs until February, I am grateful for Peace Corps's watchful eye on the situation and realization that even if we were sworn in, we wouldn't have anything to do at our sites for a month. It is said all the time at training, but it really is true: our safety is their number one priority.