Take a Trip to My Yard

16 August 2015

Guess where I am?  Hanging out on the couch in my new house in small town Biikira.  I just finished an episode of The West Wing and some homemade vegetable soup (that I cooked! Can you believe it??  I cooked something!) and now I’m starting to acclimate myself with all of my lizard and spider friends.  I’ve named 3 lizards so far, Tobias, Charlemagne, and Steve.  Steve is the littlest one.  I don’t name the spiders, though.  I usually leave them alone since they eat the other bugs that roam around.  But man, this morning, there was one as big as my palm hanging out on the wall.  I didn’t want him around my person in any way, so I took a card, swiped him, and then squished him.  I am Nakajubi.  Destroyer of Creepy Arachnids. 

These past few weeks have been a blur.  The last you heard from me, I was off for a tech week immersion in Jinja.  Mama K came to pick me up and took me to Kampala with her and bought me lunch as a send-off.  She’s even coming to visit my house this week!  Afterwards, I got to the old taxi park to meet up with some other trainees to grab a ride to Jinja.  When we finally got to the hostel, some of the other health kids were there waiting for us.  It was great to have some of the group back together.  The majority left the next day to either go to Mukono or Mbale for their tech weeks, while I and five others stayed in Jinja with our awesome tech leaders, Steph and Brie.  The point of tech week was to get an idea of how to independently facilitate a lesson in front of an audience and visit and learn about other health centers in the area as well as seeing our tech leader’s sites and what they do there.  It was all to help us get a better understanding of what we’re to do at our sites.  Teaching the lessons is fine, but I still hardly have a clue as to what I’m going to do here.

Anyway.  Jinja was cool.  There was a lot to do in terms of touristy things.  I had a full kitenge dress made, ate a lot of Mexican food (and Indian) ((and local)), and got to go boating on the Nile.  That part was probably my favorite.  We got on a boat from the Jinja Sailing Club, which is a total muzungu spot, and sailed out to the official marker of where the Nile begins from Lake Victoria.  We even got to get out and stand in the water and visit the gift shop that was in the middle of the river.  I didn’t buy anything, though.  Can you say inflation? 

Halfway through the week, I presented to an orphanage in the middle of absolutely nowhere about HIV/AIDS.  My group and I were greeted as soon as we got out of the van by a traditional music/dance ceremony.  Here’s a picture:

And after we met everyone and had lots of introductions, I was on.  I was supposed to teach to maybe 20 people but once I started, and word got around that a bunch of white kids were in town to talk to them, my audience grew to almost 50.  And it was hot.  Real hot.  For the most part, I think it went well.  I was being evaluated on how I presented, so I tried not to bomb.  I was working with a translator, Mackenzie, who really knows a lot about HIV, so that was helpful.  He would jump in if I couldn’t properly word what I wanted to say.  It was difficult, because I learned that these people had never had anyone come to talk to them before.  About anything.  So their knowledge on the subject was pretty limited.  I stood in the sun for about an hour, talking about the types of doors where HIV can enter the body and the fluids that can carry it, when I realized, holy crap it’s hot.  And I haven’t drank any water.  And ok remember to not lock the knees, I learned that on stage during A Cappella concerts, and holy crap is that guy talking to me?  Oh, he’s thanking me for coming.  I speak Luganda, not Lusoga, and my Luganda is really limited anyway, and ok now I can’t hear him, and ok now I’m wobbling, my vision is spotty, yep, yep definitely going to fall over, ok buddy, wrap it up, mmhm, ok gonna walk over here now, thanks, gotta go, bye.

And I stumbled over to the first seat in the shade where my friends immediately handed me water bottles and snacks to get my blood sugar up.  But besides that, I think it went pretty well minus the whole near fainting spell.  I mean, they clapped, so that was nice. 

Tech week was a good experience; I got to learn a lot and hang out with my cohort.  We were kind of all over the place towards the end.  From the hostel, to sleeping in tents at the hostel, to the same hostel company but in a different town (Bujagali) that had an amazing view of the Nile.  Someone found a zipline hanging off the embankment and were trying it out as I sat out on the booze cruise boat with some other trainees, just relaxing hanging in the dock.  It wasn’t until I went up the hill to read and people asked me if I wanted to try it out that I said, “Eh why not.  TIA.  This is Africa.”  And I kicked off my shoes, threw my jeans on the ground and grabbed on.  It wasn’t too fast, but it sent me sailing right into the Nile.  Totally worth the fear of getting Schisto. 

weeeeeeee

After hostel hopping, we made it to Lwesa training center about 10km outside Kampala for our Supervisor and Counterpart’s workshop.  Both my super and counterpart came all the way from Biikira to come learn about how to have an effective 2 years with the Peace Corps and I learned how to make the most of my time serving as a volunteer.  Mostly though, it was like muzardi where we had to sit in a big room and listen to presentations.  The best part?  Swearing in.

Invited formally to the US Ambassador’s house in Kampala, we dressed in our best kitenge fabrics, ready to become volunteers.  Except the 10km drive took around 45 minutes with the city’s traffic.  Top Gear wasn’t kidding when they were stuck in that 24 hour traffic jam.  At least they had banana sellers come by their windows.  Our ceremony was beautiful.  Our supers and counterparts came dressed in their Sunday best while speaker after speaker came up to say how proud of us they were and how they have the best wishes for our next 2 years.  We raised our right hands, said our pledge, and that was it.  Trainees to Volunteers.  It’s a really good feeling.  Training was rough at times, but I’m thankful to be here and to have made it.  Looking back, it really flew by.  I think these 2 years are going to be the same way.  I’ll be back in the burgh eating Primantis and singing at Gdoor before you know it.  Until then, I need to figure out what I’m going to be actually doing here.  The beginning of any job is tough.  But this one is kind of up in the air.  I’m going to spend the next few months just getting to know everyone, how the clinic works, and looking for ways to help with what they need.  That’s what great about being here for this amount of time.  I can really try to make a connection and a sustainable impact.  That’s the goal, anyway.  Sustainability. 

So now, I’m all cozied in my new house.  Well, almost.  I’m still adding some things and making it like home.  My next step is rugs.  And a decent broom.  I have a 6 room house complete with running water and electricity.  I’m truly living the posh corps life.  I even have a flush toilet!  And a shower!  Well, the shower doesn’t work right now, but I can bucket bathe in it.  My org supplied me with a couch, some chairs, a bed, desk, and a bookcase.  I bought canisters because I love canisters and some silverware and plates and an electric kettle and some tea because really, those last 2 things take top priority here.  Take a look at some of the pictures:

Gotta have morning tea

Right when you walk in

Desk and such

Mosquito net was put up that day

Working flush toilet

My shelf. *Note the canisters 

Kitchen

Favorite part of the house

P-I-T-T in Uganda

It’s really big for just me, so here’s the open invitation for some visitors.  I mean, it’s not like I don’t have visitors.  My first night alone, I started (attempted) to make dinner, so I went with chips (fries) because how badly could I screw that up?  when I heard noises from my front door and I found three kids all under the age of around 6 peeking through my screen.  Everyone, meet Katherine, Belinda, and Benjamin:  the three smallest trouble makers in my town.  Not really, they’re adorable, they just like to look at me for extended periods of time without saying anything and then touch everything.  Like the pan full of hot oil.  It was a close one, but we managed to divert a crisis and I promised them chips if they sat down.  Which they almost did.  Chips actually turned out pretty well!  I shared a few and told them “sula bulungi” (good evening) as I tried walked them to the door.  And they said nothing.  And didn’t move.  And I totally said it right, too, it’s not like they don’t know what I’m saying, but kiddos, I gotta keep cooking, so let’s move it along.  When they got to the front step, Benjamin just starts wailing, big tears falling down his face.  Crap.  I can’t make babies cry my first day.  So I shut the screen behind me and hang out with them, baby benja on my lap while the other two sing “Baby Jesus” to me (tune of “are you sleeping?”).  It wasn’t until my counterpart came by about 20 minutes later and told them to get home.  Since then, they’ve been back a lot, so I think I won’t be too lonely here.

So this has been a pretty lengthy post, thanks for keeping up with it if you’ve made it this far.  Let me just give a quick shout out to the people who took the subtle hint I left on my one fb picture where I made my training address visible for all to see and write me.  When I got mail at the workshop, all I heard was how I made out like a bandit with nearly 8 cards with my name on them.  I can’t tell you how loved I felt.  I love mail and random notes so if you feel so inclined, here’s my new address for the next 2 years:

Sister Kelly Drummond
St. Andrew’s Health Centre
P.O. Box 1761
Masaka, Uganda

Note the “sister” title.  My org is catholic and there are a lot of nuns here and if I’m a nun, my packages/letters are more likely to make it all the way here.  Also, my birthday’s in October, so if you have a spare birthday card laying around, write a corny joke in it, and send it my way.  Mom and Alex put together a care package (actually mom put together two, but I only got the second one) and included things like poptarts, protein bars, cards, letters, a book from Alex’s dad (thanks, Mr. P!) and blow pops.  I love blow pops.  And skittles!  Those were gone after 24 hours.  Anyway what I’m trying to say is, I love mail. 

Thanks to Jackie Kuehn, Tom Yannity, Neil and Edna, Dave and Judy Stewart, Carol and Terry, Tracee Delinger, and Dick Casssel, and of course momma d.

                                           

That’s all for now, folks.  I’ll check back once I figure out what I’m doing.  If that happens.  I hope it happens.  Please, let it happen.

Last shout out goes to the big brudda.  It’s his birthday today!  Not sure if this will get posted in time due to shoddy internet connection today, but if I do, wish him a happy birthday!  Danimal is the best.  And he’s coming to visit soon, right?  Right.  Love you, you goober.

 

Until next time,
Gros bisous,
Kelly