Small Update

You may be wondering what I have been up to for the past 2 months since I last posted.  To be honest, I can summarize it in one brief sentence: I have been learning to live with myself.

There was no way I could have prepared for the Peace Corps "experience" and certainly no way anyone could have predicted the things I have seen so far.  This is not to say that I feel I have seen it all and definitely have not seen the worst but really, I have been exposed to more reality than I could ask for.

Another point I should stress is that I am not entirely busy all the time.  I still have plenty of free time and that might be the issue at times.  I'm not trying to turn this into a bitchfest but my problems would not feel nearly as big if I didn't have time to think about them.  The school term began when the Ministry of Education and Sports said it should begin but the time table was not set for a week.  It's hard to learn about the school system when the staff doesn't really know what is going on.  The important thing is that NOW the school is in session and everyone is doing their job for the most part.  Soon the entire school will understand my role and we can push ahead with filling their needs.  The system is not perfect here but really, where does perfection actually exist?

I have been working on the School Profile Tool for Peace Corps, assessing 100 pupils from Primary 4 on literacy, visiting other volunteers, cooking, shopping for food, occasionally exercising, reading, and watching the shows people were nice enough to share with me.  Let's not forget the pit latrine visits, bucket baths, hand washing of laundry, and constant sweeping to remove the dust from my home.

I'm now getting a grasp of how my school works and identifying areas where I can help.  Even if I don't get anything else done, one small project I intend to see through is the school library and resource room.  Keep an eye open for more updates.

I took pictures and have specific stories I want to share but my computer broke back in January.  Yes, it was tragic.  Francisco knows just how desperate I felt when that happened.  It's the excuse I have for my lack of blogging.  Sorry, people!  On a positive note, I have decided I will be visiting the States this summer.  I don't have my ticket yet but be prepared to see my tanned face some time in August.  Updates to come.

I'm at an HIV workshop in Mbale now until Thursday.  The hotel is fancier than anything I have ever seen in this country.  I better cuddle in the mountain of pillows while I still can.  Laterz!

VSO

Homestay and Language Learning with a Ugandan Family

Homestay with the local family has been an experience that I could not have predicted.  I am awkward even with people that I have known for a long time so you can imagine how awkward I can be with those I have known less than a month.  Despite this character trait of mine, I was able to create a close relationship with this family of hardworking individuals.

The first person I got the privilege to meet is my host brother, Fred.  He is known as “Boy” in the neighborhood.  I personally don’t want to call him by his nickname because it sounds condescending but he likes it.  *shrug* To each their own.  At the grand age of only 16, Fred knows the ins and outs of this region.  Aside from being an all-around swell guy, he’s also a baker, an electrician, a tour guide, a soccer (football) fan, a linguist, and a natural dancer.  Not a day goes by without seeing Fred and my homestay is better for that reason.

Next are my sisters Miriam, Winnie, Penny, Vicki and Mercy.  Without fail, every morning they prepare my breakfast, tea, and dinner.   They are always generous with their portion size and so much so that I could cut it in half and still have some to spare.  I know they do it because they care and plus it’s in the culture to have a few excess pounds to demonstrate that one is not sick with malaria or something else.  Most of the time we just relax in front of the TV while they shed light on topics ranging from politics to music to language.  I am looking forward to more talks with them and more delicious meals.

The next person on my list is Brenda.  I also call her my sister but she’s special because we have exchanged the least amount of words.  Brenda comes from a small village about 30 minutes away from where I am located right now and is only in town for the holidays to help us with the housework.  She is an innocent 15 year old that is always willing to help with her strong hands.  Brenda speaks so little English that most of the time I end up communicating better with her using hand signals.  The day I can have a full conversation with her will be the day I successfully learned Lusoga. 

The last person I am mentioning is my mom, the head of the house.  She is an amazing woman who has been able to provide for her family by working as a nurse 4 nights a week and keeping her pharmacy shop during the day.  She is a widow who has raised three beautiful young women and has also adopted her nieces and nephew.  My host mom, Rebecca, is an inspiration to all men and women who find it difficult to do the right thing when facing hardship.  Despite illness, corruption, and loss, she still finds the energy to instill strong values in her children and works herself down to the bone to insure her family is provided for.  She may not always have the time or words to communicate but she has left a imprint in my heart with her kindness during my stay in her home.

Apart from the lessons in family culture during this homestay, our goal has been to learn the language.  In the region I find myself, we are learning Lusoga.  It’s not too different from Luganda because it too is a Bantu language but just like any other language I have had to learn, there’s the introductory phase of greetings and memorizing vocabulary.  Unfortunately for us we are past the honeymoon phase and we are now in the struggle phase of trying to make sense of the grammar.  Thanks to my experience with Spanish I have not encountered too much trouble with pronunciation and if only the sentence-forming was just as easy, we would all be fluent speakers by now.  Sadly that is not the case and we are racking our brains trying to understand the grammar of a language that is not taught formally even for the native speakers.  There is no guide or rule book to the language except for the one that the Peace Corps created.  Our best bet is to get past this phase as soon as possible by passing the LPI oral exam and move on to the reality that is Uganda.

Frankly I feel like my novice level proficiency in the language may put me at an advantage for creating opportunities to socialize.  Most Ugandans that I have met are happy to teach me something; whether it be the language, how to hand wash my laundry, or how to cook the local meals, it is all the same a fulfilling task.  So now when I engage with a simple greeting and put on a helpless look the locals jump on the chance to teach me a new phrase and I slowly make a new friend.

Next week is the LPI exam and then we get together again with all the volunteers for swearing in.  Once that is done, we will be official volunteers and the work will get started finally.

Tuneiramu eira!

Here's a small sample of our lesson in Lusoga.  Okoba ki (pronounced oh-co-ba-chi)?

Here I am hard at work at Bukhooli College during our self-study. How's my tan coming along?

VSO

P.S.

Sorry I don't have a picture of my homestay family.  It is hard to get them all together at once so I'm still working on it. T.B.C.