Went into the dining area to grab a chipatte for lunch a little while ago, and two little kids were sitting there watching Tom & Jerry on the television. It always amazes me when I think about how much American culture permeates other nations. More examples: Hearing familiar music on the radio (Top 40 hits [or at least the ones that were Top 40 before I left for Uganda], John Legend, Black Eyed Peas, etc.) and seeing ads for Grey's Anatomy on the TV.
As a side note: I'm currently reading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It's a FANTASTIC book. Those of you who don't know much about Paul Farmer should pick up a copy! I still can't believe I shook his hand last year. GHTA + Neha = awesome. /giddy
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Happy Birthday, Jenny!
I hope you have a happy happy birthday! Sorry I can't be there to surprise you with an ice cream cake, but I'll try to find cool souvenirs to bring home! Speaking of which, cake... yummmm! I could totally go for some strawberry or french vanilla ice cream cake right now. Add that to my list of cravings.
Cannot wait to be home--just a little more than three weeks now! So close, yet so far. Two more weeks in the field and one more week of office work.
Cannot wait to be home--just a little more than three weeks now! So close, yet so far. Two more weeks in the field and one more week of office work.
Primary School Educations
Tuesday, June 13, 2010
In the midst of the uncertainty following the Kampala bombings, our work continues. Yesterday, SM began its follow-ups with some of the pregnant women who had visited the intervention and been diagnosed with complicated pregnancies. Meanwhile, I’ve spent the past three days at Kashongi primary schools, working with the CVCs to give education talks on water, sanitation, and hygiene.
The school structures themselves are typically pretty crude--buildings made of mud, brick, and/or concrete. The doors and windows tend to be gaps in the wall, and when a school doesn’t have a room large enough to accommodate its collected pupils, we often give the talks outside, under the shade of a large tree as the students gather on the grass. The students themselves have been wonderful listeners and participants, and they are always so intensely curious about the muzungo who show up at their schools.
One of my favorite parts of the presentation is when we relate drinking water, nutritious foods, exercise, and sanitation to famous footballers. The students love talking about football, and when we ask them about their favorite teams and players, we get a lot of Manchester United and Wayne Rooney. Slightly less Arsenal and Chelsea; other players that get named are Lampard, van Persie, Fabragas, and Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast star who plays for Chelsea, of course. We almost always hear teams in the English Premier League--very rarely do we hear of any African teams.
My second favorite part is quickly becoming our introductions; I was able to introduce myself entirely in Runyankole for the first time today! Thus far, I can say: "Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for coming. My name is Tina and I'm from Duke University, America. I'm happy to be here." And at the very end, I say, "Thank you for having us." The language is pretty complicated, but I’m hoping to pick up more as the days pass!
[Images from a P/S talk.]
[A plastic tank at a school.]
In the midst of the uncertainty following the Kampala bombings, our work continues. Yesterday, SM began its follow-ups with some of the pregnant women who had visited the intervention and been diagnosed with complicated pregnancies. Meanwhile, I’ve spent the past three days at Kashongi primary schools, working with the CVCs to give education talks on water, sanitation, and hygiene.
The school structures themselves are typically pretty crude--buildings made of mud, brick, and/or concrete. The doors and windows tend to be gaps in the wall, and when a school doesn’t have a room large enough to accommodate its collected pupils, we often give the talks outside, under the shade of a large tree as the students gather on the grass. The students themselves have been wonderful listeners and participants, and they are always so intensely curious about the muzungo who show up at their schools.
One of my favorite parts of the presentation is when we relate drinking water, nutritious foods, exercise, and sanitation to famous footballers. The students love talking about football, and when we ask them about their favorite teams and players, we get a lot of Manchester United and Wayne Rooney. Slightly less Arsenal and Chelsea; other players that get named are Lampard, van Persie, Fabragas, and Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast star who plays for Chelsea, of course. We almost always hear teams in the English Premier League--very rarely do we hear of any African teams.
My second favorite part is quickly becoming our introductions; I was able to introduce myself entirely in Runyankole for the first time today! Thus far, I can say: "Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for coming. My name is Tina and I'm from Duke University, America. I'm happy to be here." And at the very end, I say, "Thank you for having us." The language is pretty complicated, but I’m hoping to pick up more as the days pass!
[Images from a P/S talk.]
[A plastic tank at a school.]Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Queen Elizabeth Nat'l Park: Pictures
[Our two safari vehicles. I was in the green one for the night drive and the tan one for the sunrise drive.]
[Some of the doubles at Kingfisher Lodge... such a charming place to stay. Photo courtesy of Claire.]
[The walkway and view leading down to our triple room. Photo courtesy of Claire.]
[The sophomore girls on the balcony of their double rooms. So cute! Photo courtesy of Claire.]
[Claire, me, and Lauren in front of the view overlooking the park.]
[Inside our triple. The two "non-loft" beds.]
[More from inside our room. The ladder leading up to the "loft" (poor Claire), the bathroom door, and our small table.]
[We encountered baboons on the way to our night drive! There was a group of them just chilling on the side of the road... pretty cool.]
[Queen Elizabeth's gorge. I would love to come back one day and go chimp-tracking there; apparently, it's one of the better places to go tracking, with a fairly high chance of seeing chimps.]
[Pictures from our night drive...]
[We saw lions! No males, though; only lionesses. The first one we saw was just chilling in a tree, and then we saw a few in the grass. This one only began moving because another safari vehicle (not one of our cars) drove up on the plain after them. A BIG no-no, and a violation that carries a $150 USD fine if caught. These rules are in place for a reason...]
[Me, Heidi, and Claire in the backseat of the safari vehicle during the sunrise drive.]
[Elephant crossing during the sunrise drive. We were so close!]
[... Except we got a little bit too close here. The elephant in front turned back and began stomping to warn us off.]
[Beautiful waterbucks.]
[Claire and me at the hotel on QE park premises. Another GORGEOUS view.]
[While we had coffee at the QE hotel, a little birdie came down to say hi to us!]
[Elephants on the boat ride. We also saw buffaloes, hippos, and alligators, but I'm personally partial to elephants, hence all the pictures. I'm totally rediscovering my love for elephants on this trip.]
[More elephants at a watering hole.]
[More elephants. Look at the little one! Soooo cute.]
[Claire and me before the boat ride.]
[Sitting on the balcony of our triple. QE is beautiful! Photo courtesy of Claire.]Cravings
Sweet tea (this one hit me first, about two weeks into the trip, and has probably been the hardest)
My mom’s food
My dad’s food
Pizza
Sushi
A salad (particularly the spinach and balsamic salad I had at Cuban Revolution before Wicked)
Bubble tea
Fuji apples from Costco
Guacamole
Crab & artichoke dip from the WaDuke
An Oreo Cookout milkshake
Cookout hushpuppies
Cookout coleslaw
Barbeque
Dim sum (also an odd and random craving for congee?)
More sweet tea
Chama’s
Fettuccine alfredo
Macaroni and cheese.
Foods I Have Been Eating a Lot But Still Enjoy: Chipatte. Fruits (pineapples, watermelons, bananas, the like). Rice. Avocado. “Coleslaw.”
Foods I Have Been Eating a Lot and Will Probably Never Eat Again: Vegetable samosas. Clif bars.
My mom’s food
My dad’s food
Pizza
Sushi
A salad (particularly the spinach and balsamic salad I had at Cuban Revolution before Wicked)
Bubble tea
Fuji apples from Costco
Guacamole
Crab & artichoke dip from the WaDuke
An Oreo Cookout milkshake
Cookout hushpuppies
Cookout coleslaw
Barbeque
Dim sum (also an odd and random craving for congee?)
More sweet tea
Chama’s
Fettuccine alfredo
Macaroni and cheese.
Foods I Have Been Eating a Lot But Still Enjoy: Chipatte. Fruits (pineapples, watermelons, bananas, the like). Rice. Avocado. “Coleslaw.”
Foods I Have Been Eating a Lot and Will Probably Never Eat Again: Vegetable samosas. Clif bars.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Bombings in Kampala
This morning during breakfast, we found out that there had been two bombings last night in Kampala, the capitol city of Uganda, which is located approximately five hours (driving) from Mbarara.
We had an impromptu meeting, and what will happen--whether or not we’ll be pulled out of the country, that is--remains to be seen. It depends on the situation in Kampala and by DE’s assessment of our risk here. As I mentioned, we’re quite some ways from Kampala, but at the same time, I think we would rather be safe than sorry, and I don’t think DE wants 10 undergraduates to be stuck in Uganda if anything else happens. So we’ll see how things progress in the next few days.
I wanted to make it explicit that I am in a pretty safe area despite everything and that I’m not particularly worried about my well-being in Mbarara (or in Kashongi, which is far more rural). I’m careful, yes, but not paranoid, and I also trust that DE will remove us from the country if necessary. From what I’ve read so far, I feel like these bombings were an isolated event, but who knows? I trust that we’re in good hands, though, so don’t worry! We will all be home before you know it.
On a happier note: We spent a wonderful weekend at Queen Elizabeth National Park! It wasn’t exactly restful (we woke up at 5:40 AM Sunday morning for a sunrise game drive), but it was fun nevertheless. Pictures soon.
We had an impromptu meeting, and what will happen--whether or not we’ll be pulled out of the country, that is--remains to be seen. It depends on the situation in Kampala and by DE’s assessment of our risk here. As I mentioned, we’re quite some ways from Kampala, but at the same time, I think we would rather be safe than sorry, and I don’t think DE wants 10 undergraduates to be stuck in Uganda if anything else happens. So we’ll see how things progress in the next few days.
I wanted to make it explicit that I am in a pretty safe area despite everything and that I’m not particularly worried about my well-being in Mbarara (or in Kashongi, which is far more rural). I’m careful, yes, but not paranoid, and I also trust that DE will remove us from the country if necessary. From what I’ve read so far, I feel like these bombings were an isolated event, but who knows? I trust that we’re in good hands, though, so don’t worry! We will all be home before you know it.
On a happier note: We spent a wonderful weekend at Queen Elizabeth National Park! It wasn’t exactly restful (we woke up at 5:40 AM Sunday morning for a sunrise game drive), but it was fun nevertheless. Pictures soon.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Good Ol’ (Caffeinated) U.S. of A.
I am never drinking coffee after 5 PM again.
Here’s the back story: Yesterday, we went to an U.S. Embassy meet-and-greet event at Lakeview (the nice hotel in the area where we went for my birthday dinner). The U.S. ambassador to Kampala was there, along with some people from USAID, which was great for Lauren and me since we may take a trip to Kampala to meet with the USAID office for future project plans. About 20 people turned out--9 of which were, well, us. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to meet other Americans in the area, which is always fun. Also, no one questioned my American citizenship... amazing!
At the event, they served some light refreshments--samosas, cookies, tea (and African tea), and coffee. Nearly all coffee here tends to be instant, so I pounced at the chance to drink some "real" coffee. Besides, I was exhausted by the end of the day and had already been nodding off in the van. So I happily drank two cups of coffee and felt great.
I should have known something was off when I stayed up for the entire Germany-Spain World Cup game, instead of going to bed at halftime. I was still feeling good after the game, but since Lauren and I had plans to run in the morning, I decided to go to bed. Well, that didn’t happen. I tossed and turned until 4 A.M. Running didn’t happen this morning, so I think I'm about to go run in a little bit!
Like I said... never drinking coffee again after 5 PM.
Here’s the back story: Yesterday, we went to an U.S. Embassy meet-and-greet event at Lakeview (the nice hotel in the area where we went for my birthday dinner). The U.S. ambassador to Kampala was there, along with some people from USAID, which was great for Lauren and me since we may take a trip to Kampala to meet with the USAID office for future project plans. About 20 people turned out--9 of which were, well, us. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to meet other Americans in the area, which is always fun. Also, no one questioned my American citizenship... amazing!
At the event, they served some light refreshments--samosas, cookies, tea (and African tea), and coffee. Nearly all coffee here tends to be instant, so I pounced at the chance to drink some "real" coffee. Besides, I was exhausted by the end of the day and had already been nodding off in the van. So I happily drank two cups of coffee and felt great.
I should have known something was off when I stayed up for the entire Germany-Spain World Cup game, instead of going to bed at halftime. I was still feeling good after the game, but since Lauren and I had plans to run in the morning, I decided to go to bed. Well, that didn’t happen. I tossed and turned until 4 A.M. Running didn’t happen this morning, so I think I'm about to go run in a little bit!
Like I said... never drinking coffee again after 5 PM.
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