Better late than...

7 August 2017


I've been back in the states for 3 weeks today.  I really did mean to post one last hurrah of a blog post, but things just didn't work out that way in my last few weeks in Biikira as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  My time was spent with my community, my health center, and my neighbors.  I traveled around the country a few last times to say goodbye to my fellow cohort best members.  I planned the end of my projects and assessed how they would fare without me.  I tried my best to imagine what my life would be like once I was home and no longer called Nakajubi every day.  I didn't realize how much I would ache for my village and my friends back in the UG.  My last few weeks in Uganda were blissful and amazing and heartbreaking.  I love being home with my family, but my heart is in two places now.

Finishing up work on the library and computer training in Biikira was a big job.  I went through and assessed the skills each health worker had learned and how they could apply them with data entry and emailing reports.  I'm happy to say by the end of my service, nearly all the health workers felt comfortable entering encounters and sending reports.  This is a great thing because now if new nurses come in, they can be trained by the current staff and be able to use the computers as well.  I sometimes felt as if I didn't do enough work directly at my health center.  It was, after all, my main assignment.  But I'm proud of the work I did do, and I feel it was important.

My house

My office

Inside my house

View of Ugandan countryside 

One of my favorite days in Biikira was about 3 weeks before I left.  I had a meeting up at the library with Teddy, the head teacher, and Joseph, the chairman of the schools.  It was an 8AM meeting, and I finished my workout and got ready early in case people showed up on time.  Crossing the street, a boda drives by, raises his right hand, and calls out "Naka!" as he drives by.  I wave back, not knowing who he was, but happy he knew my local name.  It was a bright crisp morning (as per usual) and a nice walk up to the library.  My team members didn't show up until after 8:30, but I had a chance to take pictures of the completed space and make sure the books were in order.  Once they arrived, the meeting was seamless.  We were bouncing ideas off one another for the grand opening tea party.  Appropriate how we start and end with tea, right?  Tea is essential to Ugandan life.  We decided to have students come to the party and demonstrate how they would use the library, and what a great idea that was.  The tea party kicked off with speeches and thank yous and 7 girls who came to show off their reading skills.  Each one took her turn to pick out a book and read a passage; some in English, some in Luganda.  Everyone was impressed.

The only downside to the tea party was that the power was out all across the country the moment the sun went down.  So we had tea in the dark and couldn't show off the fact that we had electricity installed.  Oh well, it was still a success and everyone enjoyed it.  The head teacher even presented me with a plaque made of bark cloth, thanking me for the help.  I was moved, and thankful to be a part of such an important project at the school.



It was hard coming to terms with leaving the place where I had built a life and a routine.  I reveled in waking up before the sun to make tea and watch Biikira come to life on my front step while I listened to the same Lumineers song 80 times in a row.  I loved walking into the health center every morning to greet everyone and catch up on the town gossip before heading to my office to make lists for the week and work on project planning.  I miss sitting in the tea time gazebo with the health staff laughing about the differences in our countries and understanding how alike we really are as a whole.  I remember my last taxi ride from Masaka to Biikira.  I had the front seat by the window, and the sun was just going down over the hills.  The wind helped keep my eyes dry because I was trying not to weep in front of the driver.  Taxis are a love/hate thing for me.  When they're bad, they're bad.  But those moments I get the front seat and get to admire the Ugandan landscape are the moments I treasure.  I loved waiting with Bena for her son Benja to come home from school on the bus and getting to play with baby Benita as we waited (they're a family of B's, can you tell?).  I miss the days Steven would come back from Kyotera to hang out and surprise me with a watermelon he got from the market for us to share.  And the mornings when I wake up with the rain and Bilbo curled up next to me as the little spoon are the peaceful moments I'll miss the most.

Baby Benita

Easter with the Sisters

Steven's introduction ceremony

Steven and his fiance Harriet

Drawing with Benja

Before I get the PETA activists scolding me for abandoning my cat, let me just say that he's in good hands.  Steven is taking care of him until my replacement PCV gets there, and she's said she'll take good care of him during her service.  He's an African cat who likes to hunt in the gardens and would be super sad being cooped up inside my mom's house.  Plus, he'd probably get hit by a car so actually I saved him by leaving him in Biikira.


I finished my Peace Corps service on July 13th.  We had a small gonging out ceremony where I hit a literal gong in front of the HQ staff and fellow PCVs.

Clicking the button to become an RPCV

Mackenzie, James, Me

I was never supposed to go to Uganda.  With my French background, I was supposed to serve in a Francophone country and fine-tune my language skills.  But even after being wait-listed for 5 months and getting the call to serve a mere 30 days before staging, I can say I am so grateful that everything happened the way it did.  Uganda gave me a better understanding of myself and the world.  It broke my heart and discouraged me at times, but always showed me the love people have to share with others.  This was the hardest, most frustrating, thrilling, amazing job I've ever had.  Uganda has left its mark on me, and I hope I left a small mark in Biikira as well.

Thank you doesn't fit right now, so webale nyo.  I am forever thankful for Uganda and its people.

That's it, kids.
Thanks for tuning in.

Welaaba,
Kelly

You want weapons? We're in a library!

3 May 2017

"Books are the best weapon in the world.  This room's the greatest arsenal we could have.  Arm yourself!"
-Doctor Who

We're winding down to the end.  Apologies for being MIA, but I'm trying to finalize my projects before it's time to hit that gong and officially become an RPCV!  For those who still like me and want to partake in camaraderie and beer buying, my official finishing date is July 13th, and I'll be home most likely the 17th after a quick romping around Paris.  I can't stay away from that pain au chocolat.

I'm looking forward to many Eat-n-Park dates, Meadows runs, Pirates games, and snuggling the stuffing out of baby Landon, but until then: projects.  My girls club, Uganda's PEARLS, has officially been taken over by my counterpart, Madame Esther.  She attended the DREAMS workshop with me and was trained on how to run a girls club to promote Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe girls (we love those acronyms).  I have every confidence that she will lead the club in a powerful direction when I leave.

My main focus now is on the girls' school library.  Remember all the planning, fundraising, tea parties, and meetings?  Well, we now have something to show for it; it's really coming together!  The carpenter has finished the work on the furniture, and he even refurbished our two giant bookshelves and made them stronger for us!  Painting is nearly done, and the books are slowly being organized on the shelves.  The goal is to create a space for the students to come and be able to freely be in an environment where they feel comfortable to improve their reading skills.  I know my favorite extra period in elementary school was going to the library.  It's easy to be enveloped in the space and lose track of time while you find your new favorite book.  I hope that's the kind of library we create.

This is just a check-in, so enjoy the pictures.  I have to finish some painting, and those social studies text books aren't going to organize themselves.  All yinz enjoy now.

BEFORE:

DURING

Bookshelf on a boda

All my helpers for the day

Teacher Tophil was my biggest support in this project

Steven was so helpful carting the furniture on his boda

AFTER

Thanks to everyone for your overwhelming support.  The kids are super excited to be able to use this space and explore new books!  I'm pretty busy in the upcoming weeks with finalizing everything, doing COS medical, taking the GRE (again), playing an obnoxious amount of Dungeons and Dragons, and having tearful goodbyes with my community and cohort (and cat).  Keep an eye out for the end-of-Peace-Corps blog post, I promise it'll be coming soon, mom will surely bug me about it.

Until then,

Kelly

Enjoy the cat tax:

Oh and these beautiful pictures of my amazing cohort at our COS conference:

Tell Me Something Good

 20 February 2017

Le sigh.  It has come to be that time.  That in between time of “What am I even still doing here?” mixed with “I can’t believe this is almost over.”  Yes, readers, it’s the time of Senioritis, and it’s spread quickly around the village.  With less than 5 months left, the end is in sight which means it’s time to kick it into gear with finishing clubs, projects, ambitions, you know.  That stuff.

And while it’s hard not to get bogged down with the daunting tasks of work, things going on back home that are spinning out of control, and still being called “muzungu” in your own village, it’s also time to remember the good stuff.  Sometimes I’ll call a friend here with just the statement, “Tell me something good.”  Because when you’re down, and I mean down on the concrete (the only cool part of my house), something good is all you want to hear.  It’s easy to spiral as a grassroots level volunteer.  The counterpart on your library project moves schools, the carpenter for your project doesn’t complete his work, it doesn’t rain for months which cripples your community, things back home seem all but hopeless (yet still spin on without you), street harassment is an all-time high, and your coworkers who have known you for nearly 2 years keep asking questions like, “So, what work are you doing here?”  Bogged down. 

Neil Pasricha has a blog called “1000 Awesome Things.”  Every day, another awesome thing was posted 1000 days in a row.  Things like pulling warm clothes out of the dryer and immediately putting them on, getting free refills without even asking, or being first in the checkout line.  Most of these awesome things don’t apply to my life here.  So I think it’s important to think of the awesome things that are relevant to my day to day life.  Maybe not 1000 things, but at least a chunk.  Because when you forget them, you get bogged down.  And when you’re bogged down, it’s hard to get back up.

To my fellow #cohortbest: you can do it.  Focus on the awesome in your lives and in yourselves. 

#1.  Meeting Sylivia’s new baby:  I have a namesake in the world.  Theo Kelly Blessing (Baganda name to come later).  My closest friend Sylivia delivered a beautiful baby boy, and he and I will always be a part of each other’s lives.

Look at this little nugget 

#2.  Rain at night:  Just recently – within the past week – it has started raining.  The last time it rained like this was before I can remember.  Maybe before August.  It’s the kind of rain that wakes me up and makes me realize that I have a fluffy cat curled up next to me.  That’s something I don’t mind waking up to at all.

#3.  Katende Steven:  Easily the best person I know in Uganda.  Steven will always go out of his way for me.  I trust him with my life.  He’s always around to run errands for me or just sit around to share a watermelon he got for free at the market.  And in turn, I’m there for him, usually if he’s sick.  Since I’m staff, I get free medicine at the health center which was helpful when Steven had malaria.  If he’s working on a cold day, he’ll come over, say, “I’m dying,” and we’ll have tea until he warms back up.  Once I was teaching at Kasaali Health Center II when it started pouring rain.  He drove over with a sweatshirt for me because he figured I would be cold and didn’t bring a jacket.  He’s my best friend, and it breaks my heart to have to leave him come July.

Tea on a cold day

#4.  Small victories:  Mom brought me down from my “I’m going to save the world,” mentality by saying, “The change you make will be one person at a time.”  I’ve said it before, and she’s right.  Moms usually are.  A small victory can be getting a part of a project done, like getting a new coat of paint in the library.  It can be having a successful club meeting where the girls’ post-test scores improved over the health topic we discussed that day.  Sometimes a victory is just sitting outside talking with your neighbors about a joke or upcoming work or plans.  My favorite little victory is when Brenda and Benja come over to read.  We’ll sit together and pour over cardboard books that I’m putting in the library.  They like the pictures.  I like that they like books.

Fresh coat of white paint. Coming along

Maria, Brenda, and Benja walking home after an afternoon of reading

#5.  Plot 99:  Our Saturday hangout.  Saturdays usually consist of a trip into Masaka anyway, but knowing I have some awesome friends to meet up with for quiet chats and a glass of wine around 4:30 each week is something awesome to look forward to.  Plus, their tomato soup and peanut butter pies are pretty bomb.  Oh, and now there’s yoga, too, which kicks my butt but keeps me fit.

#6.  Linda:  Linda coming to visit was like coming up for air.  To think my best friend in the world was able to come here, meet my friends, hang out with her extended family, and really see the work I’m doing in Biikira was, well, awesome.  I’m so thankful to have friends and family who are willing to make the seemingly overwhelming trip out to see me even for a week.  The best part was when we were at my site; it was like we were at one of our houses back home.  Nothing had changed.  We would drink wine, binge a TV show, gossip about old high school stories, but we could finally do those things in the same place.  She got me out of my extended funk of coming back after being home for holiday, and I’m getting her kitenge pillow cases.  You’re welcome.

I've got her back in any country (super cheesy?)

#7.  Local food:  This one’s weird because I don’t always want it, and it’s not always awesome.  But somedays there’s just a craving for matooke and cow peas.  Not often, but it’s there.  Or rice and beef with avocado on top.  It’s cheap, it’s readily available, and it hits the spot.

#8.  Cohort best/the job:  Last weekend was a girls’ weekend for Mackenzie and Janet’s birthdays.  A bunch of girls came in from out of town to celebrate.  We got to have a heart-to-heart circle over some wine and cheese when one girl stated how hard this job is.  Some days it’s a job just to leave the house and be exposed and vulnerable in a culture that’s not our own.  This job is also amazing.  We get to do things that many people only dream about.  We get to share our culture with Ugandans, and later, share Ugandan culture with Americans.  Those are goals 2 and 3.  We get so stuck on Goal 1 sometimes (being ambassadors from America who bring sustainable change to our communities) that we forget that Goals 2 and 3 are actually more important.  The thing is, we can’t really put Goals 2 and 3 in our reporting forms, so the pressure is on Goal 1.  But she’s right.  Sharing culture, getting to experience it on the grassroots level, and bringing it back home is a dream only some of us get to live out.  That’s easy to forget, too.  But we are an amazing cohort who have faced a lot of challenges during our time here.  The support we get from one another keeps us going, and we should be proud of ourselves. 

COS is coming up in April and I DON'T KNOW IF I'M READY.

#9.  Bilbo:  Who doesn’t love my cat?  Really, I want to know.  This little ball of white fluff and I have bonded in a way that when I lovingly pull him into my lap, he will sometimes lick my forehead and then claw his way out of my arms.  On rainy nights, he sleeps in my bed, and he always likes to wake me up exactly 2 minutes before my alarm goes off to tell me his food bowl isn’t completely full.  He keeps me company, and I’m happy to have him here throughout my service.

Majestic

#10.  My CUG (closed user group):  Peace Corps gives us an almost indestructible Nokia phone at pre-service training with a closed user group SIM card inside.  Everyone in PC has a CUG number.  Everyone on the CUG network is a free phone call away.  Free.  No airtime is purchased (unless you want to text or something).  I use this phone every day, seldom for work.  It makes serving alone in my community less lonely.  Usually every night I’m on my front step with a cup of tea on my phone calling a fellow PCV about their day or venting about mine.  It has helped with the emotional roller coaster everyone is stuck on for 27 months.  It helps keep me sane. 

OK all, so there you have 10 awesome things about my life here.  Now that I started thinking about them, I could go on with more.  Binge watching a new TV show that a volunteer gave me from their hard drive, cooking in the evenings, learning a new song on the ukulele, really cleaning my water bottle instead of just wiping off the mouth piece, buying eggs from my shop lady whose son is always happy to see me, etc etc etc.  Five months left is really nothing.  I’ll be home soon in a pretty yellow dress for Dan and Alyssa’s wedding and bowling with Mom on Tuesdays before I know it. 

Thanks for following along on this crazy marathon thing I’ve been doing for 20ish months now.  Mr. Toad would be proud of what a wild ride it’s been.  I know I am.

All is well,

Kelly

P.S. Have some random pictures:

Walmart or Nakumat: you decide

I like to sleep with my feet outside the covers too, Bilbo

Finding love on my walk home

A camel came to the village