So here are some pictures that make me happy. Enjoy!

Kids from the "Baby Class" at the orphan school that i work with. I was showing some new Peace Corps trainees that place and one of them took this picture. I especially like the little girl with the huge smile and her hands by her face. Children are so excited by the littlest things:

This is a good picture of me and Diana. Yeah, we're cute, i know :)

Picture of Baby Marci, the little girl my supervisor's wife Susan had in late January. I'm honored that they named their child after my sister. The kid is totally passed out here and is wearing a dress that my mom sent for her. Both my mom and sister sent a bunch of really nice baby clothes for her. Susan and Kateu were super grateful:

Here is the widow's group attached to the orphan school i work with. They are posing with their new sewing machine the first day it was put together. They are now receiving training and will start making school uniforms in the next few months:

This is a closeup of the sewing machine. Looks very old school, but it is brand new. They opted for this smaller one that can't do hemming or other complicated sewing techniques. They had enough money for one, but wanted to spend it on getting a trainer, renting out this shop and buying cloth and other materials to start a business:

Since the last time I've been doing a little of this and that. Nothing important, just determining my future and going on the best trip of my life :)

First of all, i determined when my Peace Corps service is over. May 14th everyone! Will be back in Seattle on May 31st. I'll be meeting my sister and mom in South Africa and travel around there, Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe, and then to Namibia before we head back to the States. Following that will be a month of "HEY, WELCOME BACK, HOW WAS AFRICA??" Fortunately there will also be "WELCOME BACK, HAVE SOME FREE FOOD AND BOOZE!" I'm looking forward to it all :) After catching up with peeps in Seattle in June, I'll be spending all of July going on a whirlwind US tour that will take me to San Fransisco, Sacremento, St. George South Carolina, Somewhere Rural Virginia, DC, Suburbs of Boston, Chicago, Omaha, Boise, and then back home. Pretty excited to see friends, family, returned Peace Corps people, and anyone else who wants to see me. This is a great opportunity for me to get re-aquianted with America and also serve as a scouting mission for my future, ie, jobs, school, couches to crash on, etc. That's my immediate future plans...for now. Focus will be on international development and/or government. ID for school and both of those for jobs. PC gives us preferencial status in government jobs, so i'll be looking there. If anyone wants to hook me up with the contact or website of a possible opportunity, that would be amazingly awesonme.

Early February, my g/f Diana and I went on an awesome trip to Lamu Island, Kenya. Lamu is an Island with a very old, rich Swahili and Arab trader history. It is a tourist destination but the people there have their own culture and traditions that doesn't just revolve around tourism. They are well known for hand-carved ornate doors as well as being a donkey sanctuary! There are only 2 vehicles on the island and the rest of transport is either boat or donkey. I wanted to ride one, but it never materialized. The beaches were deserted besides Masai warriors who were there to protect it and/or sell you jewelry. They were white sand beaches and the water was warm and clear. Not a bad way to spend a few days!

As far as work goes, I had a couple of set backs but one big success. I organized for an NGO to sell mosquito nets in my area for $1.50, a cheap price, to people who didn't receive any in the big distribution i did. Unfortunately, my mobilization skills failed and no one bought any nets. I was pretty upset, but at least 30 people got trained in malaria prevention, so that was a plus. Hopefully this means that no one really needs them anymore because they have them. Hopefully... My second failure was waiting too late to apply for a grant through Peace Corps to help me test my entire sub-county for HIV/AIDS. I just missed the deadline towards the end of my service. They understandibly don't allow you to receive grants for projects going to happen your last 3 months of service. This is because if it's not finished when you leave, then the accountability of funds is in question. I'm now in the works with the involved local organizations to look to test at a smaller scale over a longer period of time using their own money and resources.

The big success was being able to give money to 2 women's groups for the sale of some of the hand woven baskets they made. My sister and mother have been working hard to sell these baskets and the sales so far has made many women in my area super happy! It's an amazing thing to see a woman, who under most circumstances in the village are almost powerless over their lives, to now have economic power to create their own income and do their part to take care of their families. The widows group that is attached to the orphan school organization that I work with are going to buy a sewing machine so that they can earn some money as well as make their own clothes. The rest of the money they receive through sales (they have approx. 7 baskets left) will go towards fabric and sewing supplies. They couldn't believe that this was real and thanked me perfusely though I only served as a middleman in this operation. It was my family and they people who bought the baskets as well as the women themselves that did all the work.

The second group of women, an actual women's group organization that I work with, made over $700 total amongst themselves and organized to put %30 of the profits into 3 different programs with each getting %10: a savings account for all the women, more materials for crafts, and towards a women center building that they want to create. The %70 remainder went to whatever the women wanted. They are extremely practical and not one said they'd spend it on an extravagance. The money's all going to help their family. As with the widows, these women didn't believe it was real. One woman was in tears and others kept picking up the money and looking at it to make sure it was real. All this was in one day and that day was one of the best I've had here. So thank you to everyone reading this who has contributed to the cause and a preliminary thanks to those who will buy some in the future. This isn't charity, it's paying for a good product that was handmade. I love that though selling the baskets in America isn't sustainable, the big profits they'll make now will be reinvested into their lives and their futures. Many of the ladies will buy animals, land, and other income generating things with their profits. I'm now working on getting them hooked up with dealers in Kampala who sell to tourists. They won't make as much money, but it'll be more consistent.

In other news, my first political posted, as chairman of the PC volunteer organization in Uganda is now over. My reign as chairman has been fruitful and I'm now certain that I'll be remembered for ages for all the reforms that I oversaw. Ok, it wasn't that dramatic, but it was a great experience and I think the committee got a lot done to improve the services provided for volunteers in country and ultimately make them more productive at the jobs that they were sent here to do.

Well a few days ago ended a whirlwind holiday season that leaves me with a lot to say...if I could only remember what I did then i could say it... :) Anyways, first I'll make a bold, unexplained statement then give non-indepth Cliff's notes version of what happened and finally I'll add 2 stories. Hope you like the format.

Statement:

I DON'T LIKE THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. There, i said it!

December started really well. We had a Peace Corps Olympics that included major competitions between the Western and Eastern located volunteers in the sports like Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer, Basketball, jerrycan relay races, pop culture trivia, and the controversial condom water balloon toss! Needless to say, the East is Beast and won handily. Ok, so it was really closer than "handily", but we still won. The big news was the arrival of my sister, Marci and my Brother-in-Law Sean. I was super happy to have them here for Christmas and New Years. I really think they got the full experience of Uganda, Africa in General, and most of all, Wes in Africa. They saw me at my finest in the village and my worst in the bus park (in all fairness, the bus park guys are jerks). They experienced things when they worked right and were properly arranged for and they also were around when no one knew what to do. Highlights of the trip included tour of Queen Elizabeth National park and all the cool lions and such there, a few days in awkward but rewarding village situations, Christmas at the extremely beautiful Sipi Falls and then 5 days in Rwanda having a good time but not doing what we planned. Marci and Sean so graciously brought a bunch of gifts for me, my girlfriend, and people in the village. She brought a small DVD player and medical DVD's for my supervisor Kateu to use at the school. He was super excited and made us watch them for way to long at his house. Don't get me wrong, i like to see some guy poke the muscles of a dissected human as much as the next guy, but not during lunch! :) To thank them for their efforts, we sent them back with 65 handmade baskets and 200 bead necklaces with the arduous task of selling them all. Thanks guys!

Now for my 2 stories.

Story 1: Saving Lives

When Marci, Sean and I went to Queen Elizabeth National Park, we were given a private driver from the tour company to take us there and show us around. Our driver, Sam, was pretty much the greatest person ever. Ok, maybe not, but he was pretty cool. Not only did he know everything about everything, he actually saved a child's life! Let me explain.

On the way home, we stopped at a wildlife visitor's center so that we could all relieve ourselves. This place was pretty quite with the staff and their families just hanging around and relaxing. Kids were running around and people were chatting it up. As we get in the van to leave, Sam freezes and stares off in the distance. All of a sudden, he's screaming and running full speed across the yard towards a small building and 2 children. When he reaches the children, he grabs one who was about 1 year old and holds it tight. "What happened?" we asked, panicked. Apparently, the kids, a 5 year old and the 1-year old were play fighting and the 5 year old didn't like that the small guy hit her. So to punish him, she started to put him down the hole of the pit latrine! By the time Sam reached him, the little one was still holding on to the older girl but was about halfway in the hole. Keep in mind that this hole was about 30 feet deep. If that boy fell he most likely would have died or been extremely injured.

So Sam walks back towards the main buildings a hero with the little boy in his arms. The mother came running up hysterical about what might of happened and very thankful that Sam was there. We were all shaken at the prospect about what almost happened. None of us saw what was going on and it took Sam's trained eye, which he's used to using for spotting game animals to save this kid. Good job Sam!

Story 2: Breaking Hearts

For New Years we traveled to Rwanda to live the high life and see what's happening there. Well, besides being an extremely clean and beautiful country that is amazingly developed so recently after being in complete chaos, it was a huge disappointment. Where did my disappointment lie you ask? FOOD!

On New Years Eve we wanted to have a really good meal in Kigali, the capital, and then go out and dance. So about 7 or 8 we get all excited to go to "La Fiesta," a Mexican restaurant that we'd read about in a travel magazine. We had all been craving Mexican our entire PC service and the non-PC folks were also hankering for it. We travel to the other side of town and show up to this big, 2 level place that's setting up for a big party. "COOL!" we think. We can just stay here and party after we eat good Mexican food. So we all march up the stairs and find the hostess and ask for a menu. "We don't have one", she says. "We have rice, goat's meat, cow's meat...". "WAIT! You don't have Mexican food???" "No, this restaurant was bought 4 days ago by a Congolese man from an American and he doesn't think that people want to eat Mexican Food in Rwanda." "BOOO!!!" we all say. Ok, so that's annoying, but we all chuckle at the ridiculousness that we missed Mexican food by 4 days. Not to be deterred, we look at the guide book and see that there's a well-touted French/Thai restaurant down the street. Inspired, we trek down the road for a while till we finally find the place. We see that there's an actual French lady running the place which seems promising. The staff is very friendly, but a bit snooty. Ok, it's French, I know that stereotype. The menu, all in French, was difficult to read for us non-speakers and the prices were pretty steep. "Ok, whatever, it's getting late and we're starving. Plus, it's New Years, let's celebrate!" I'm really excited because Diana and I have decided to split a cheese fondue. Always a fan of dipping stuff into stuff, especially when cheese is involved, I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Time starts wearing on and though conversation is really good, people start to realize that it's been a long time and their hunger is starting to set in. At the 2 and a half hour point, we start pressuring the waiter. He says that the food will be out in no time. We're used to slow service in Africa, but it was getting ridiculous.

Finally, around 11pm our food arrives. Everyone is immediately annoyed about how small the portions are based on our hunger factor as well as the hefty price of the meal. Then the waiter plops a plate on the table in front of Diana and I. As we're staring at the 2 deep-fried cheese sticks, I ask the waiter out of desperation "the fondue is coming, right??" "This is the fondue." "NO, fondue is melted cheese." "NO, that's the blah blah blah fondue blah blah. You got the blah blah fondue blah blah blah." "REALLY??? ....sigh..." It was at that moment that my heart was broken. To add to the insult, a few minutes later, my friend Kate decides to add to my pain by pointing to the next table over and says "Check it out Wes." To my horror, there was a group of Germans laughing and dipping stuff into a bowl of stuff. FONDUE!! Apparently the chocolate fondue came melted and the cheese one that we ordered was a stick. I was irate. The worst thing of all was that the owner, the French woman, never came around to apologize for the slow service or false advertising. Ever since, I've been asking if anyone has ever had something called Fondue that wasn't melted something that you dip other stuff in? Have you??

So, once again I can declare that I don't like the French language because it got my hopes up and then slammed them into the ground. Boo French!

So nothing special or informative for my 50th post. I just wanted to say that I miss everyone back home on this holiday and especially miss the boats of gravy that mom makes. Mmmm, gravy! ;) I'll be at home alone tonight with some whiskey, a bag of rye crisps, my favorite lizards and my top 40 radio station. Sounds sad, but it's not. Luckily, like I said last year, it never feels like a winter holiday around here cause it's July-like weather year around. Plus, I'm about to do a cool project on Saturday testing people for HIV and have my sister coming for Christmas. Add in future vacation plans to go to Rwanda and Lamu Island, Kenya is giving me a lot to look forward too. So I hope everyone is getting stuffed on stuffing and enjoying themselves amongst friends and family. Take care and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Love,

Wes

So on the bike ride (about 5km) from my house to my friend Jessica's (she has power, yay!), I had something happen to me that I haven't experienced yet. Anytime I leave my house and travel around, especially in the village, I am randomly assaulted with words from the cheap seats, ie, side of the road or off in the bushes. Usually it's children demanding money or sweets from me or mocking my voice. Notice how I said "demand" and not "ask" or "beg." There is this entitlement that a lot of people feel they have to white people's possesions, especially money. You'll be drinking a bottle of water and someone will be like "give me your water" or listening to your ipod only to hear "I want that device" over your Journey songs. My response is always involves some annoyed or clever way to say no or a futile attempt to explain that no, I don't have a lot of money even though my skin color, according to you, indicates that I do. Something that my girlfriend Diana like to point out is, why do people think that what is mine is theirs? Where did they get that idea?

So this setup brings me back to my story. I was riding and one kid in a group of about 5, all around 8 years old and wearing the local primary school uniform, calls out "You give me my money!" So I yelled "oize" which means, "you come." I did this thinking that if he really wants it, he should chase me down and get it. In retrospect, that's demeaning and I won't do that again. Immediately I said that, I forgot that I said it and was thinking about whether I remembered to bring the key for Jessica's house with me or not. I stopped my bike and started digging through my pockets, not even thinking about it. Sure enough, those boys run up to me and stand next to me staring. Halfway through tearing through my pocket I realize what I'm doing and what I've done. I look up and say no, I don't have money for you and tell them to go to school and to work hard. As I'm riding away, I feel like utter crap. The look of expectancy and joy on those boys faces when they thought they were getting a handout from the Muzungu was so great and sad at the same time that I almost stopped again and gave them something. That experience was the first time I had ever stopped and gave someone the impression that I took the bait and was going to give them money. Should I have done it? "NO!" I think to myself, "you can't just hand out money to these extremely poor kids. That will cause more children and even adults (who are often way worse than children) into demanding candy and digital cameras, and scholarships to schools in America from me." "But Wes, haven't you given out thousands of dollars worth of free stuff??" "Yes, but that has always been to support a community based project benefiting a larger group of people or something relating to the health of someone." I have donated to medical costs of individuals I know before but it's always been on the sly and i make them not tell anyone that I did it. I hate loaning money or helping people out, but everyone here ends up doing it sometime in one form or another. People take you in like family members and family helps each other out. That's something that translates across cultures.

All this misperception and rude behavior (in my mind) goes back to ignorance, poor parenting, poor education, and irresponsible donors who just dump money and run thinking they are saving Africa by giving a ton of money to one guy who in turn "eats" the money and becomes a wealthy man. A lot of people perceive that situation as "that man got rich because white people gave him money." They don't question why he got the money or whether he was supposed to do something that benefited more people than just his own family with that money. I'm always frustrated because I want to scream to people "If I had money, would I be riding a crappy Chinese made bicycle in the middle of the village for 2 years sweaty myself dry!?!" "Would I be sitting in this cramped, sweaty taxi with 25 of my closet "friends"? Wouldn't I just get a Land Cruiser and a driver?" "Would I be buying supplies and food in your small, run-down trading center in the middle of rural Uganda if I had money to spare? Wouldn't I have people do my shopping for me?" There seems to be no critical thinking for a lot of people in the village. It's WHITE=MONEY, simple as that. Black and White (no pun intended, but that's the perception). It's amazing to me that people will have their back to me as I'm approaching on the road and then turn around and immediately, with no hesitation, ask me for money. Like they've been waiting all day for this opportunity and expected it to happen at that moment.

So that's my vent for the day. These type of scenarios of misperceptions of money and the overcharging that goes along with it together with sexual harassment, mockery, incompetence and corruption are the things that really wear on people here and create a negative taste in their mouths. It saps up hope and idealism and replaces it with cynicism and bitterness. Keep in mind that this is only a portion of an extremely complex experience. I am actually really positive about a lot of things that other people aren't but it's easy to talk about the things that bother me because they have a big part in how I act and react now.

In lighter perception news, I sometimes get stereotypes that are fun. People have mistaken me for all sorts of celebrities including Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Dam. Lately though, there seems to be a trend that I might run with. People here are crazy about English Premier League Football (soccer). People are either fans of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, or Liverpool. Though the two biggest are Man U and Arsenal. Apparently I look a lot like one of the stars of Arsenal, named Cesc Fabergas, a Spaniard. I have gotten this at least 10 times in the last 3 months. Of course I always confirm that I am him and that Man U, sucks! :) My next purchase is to get one of his jerseys and see what kind of reaction i get when I'm walking around. Should be fun. When the CHOGM meetings were here last year, I tried to convince people I was the Prime Minister of Canada. Unfortunately, no one really bought that one. :) Maybe they know what Stephen Harper looks like really well, you never know??

Last, but not least, I gotta say that I LOVE having the internet in the village. It's so nice to be able to keep in touch with what's going on with friends and family as well as around the world. So much better than fighting with crappy computers and the formidable "time remaining" counter at the bottom of the screen. Now I can do important things like update my Facebook profile! :) Ok, all for now. Enjoy!

Well, it's official, my friends are awesome. They came, they saw, they told bad jokes, and they conquered. Plus they brought me all sorts of goodies and told me how great I am...always a plus! Highlights included visiting Lake Mburo National Park in the SW of Uganda and doing a walking safari (saw impalas, zebras, cape buffalo, ton of birds), Murchison Falls NP which was awesome (i'm sure Ian's photos will be online in no time), two trips to the "Pork Joint" in Kampala, and 4 days in the village.

My friends concluded that Village time was their favorite and I don't blame them. Village life is so interesting, horrible and amazing all at the same time. They learned to cook, fetch water from the borehole, and do their business in a dark hole. All feats worthy of street cred! I was amazed how relaxed and comfortable they were walking around the village and interacting with the locals. Having people living in abject poverty staring at you and occasionally asking you to save them isn't something that the average American has to deal with and can be rather overwhelming. The three of them handled it all style, grace, and very few stupid questions...expect for Alex's during a rain storm: "Why are those buckets outside?" "I'm collecting water Alex" "Why?" :) Activities included going to the rocks by my house, a prayer session for my supervisor who almost died in a bus accident (Hannah read from the bible, it was awesome), visiting the orphan school and fish pond guys that i work with and distributing donated soccer balls to 2 primary schools. Fyi for everyone out there, they brought home 300 bead necklaces made by women's groups that 2 of my PC friends work with. They are trying to sell them to give support to these groups. Christmas Presents anyone?? Also, my sister will be coming back with some handmade baskets in early Jan.

Thanksgiving is coming up and unfortunately I won't be able to celebrate it. My wonderful girlfriend has promised to share her pumpkin pie mix and cranberry sauce with me when i visit her in December, but for now, no Turkey day :( There are two volunteer Thanksgiving dinners I could go to on Saturday but I'm going to be working. Through my village networking skills, I'm hooking up 3 different groups to work together and test everyone who wants it in the most remote Parish for HIV. I'm really excited because if it is successful, then my last really big project will be to plan to test, counsel, and refer everyone in my sub county for HIV. I've pretty much given up on trying start a bee-keeping project. Kinda disappointing, but oh well. Can't save the world. However, leaving with helping to reduce the rates malaria and HIV isn't a bad rap sheet for a PCV. After the testing then I'll help my organization launch our Savings and Credit society. We're getting a lot of capital from a Kuwaiti donor, but the loans have to be interest free, ie, no profits to pay staff and running costs. Luckily, the staff is really smart and together we'll come up with some income generating activities on the side to support the SACCO. Should be interesting anyways.

In other news, the Wes is a hypocrite meter has dropped significantly after I put up my mosquito net over my bed for the first time. I thought that it was funny and ironic that I helped hand out 13,100 nets to the community but didn't use one myself. The nurse working for Peace Corps didn't find it that funny, but I did convince her that it was ironic :) My excuse was that my house is at a higher elevation than surrounding areas, there's no standing water around, I had screens on the window, and I haven't missed more than a day in taking my anti-malarial medicine. But hey, no malaria for me so far (knock on wood!).

Ok, I think I'm going to watch some movies from the external drive that my friends brought me...did I say that they're awesome??

wow, yesterday/today was quite a day/night. Not only did my friends fly in late at night, but pulled an all nighter watching the election at a backpackers hostel in Kampala with a bunch of my friends. Oh, and I was on local TV, so was my friend Ian who had just gotten there. Don't worry powers that be, I didn't say anything embarrassing or mention my organization at all. The whole experience last night was so amazing that i'm extremely overwhelmed and happy. Seeing the reaction of all my friends and colleagues when Obama gave his acceptance speech was really amazing. There wasn't a dry eye in the house and even people who didn't support him were moved by his words. Walking around today people see me or other white people and go "OBAMA??" and we say "YES!" and they say "YES!" It's a pretty funny and nice experience. Certainly beats other ways that people could respond to us and makes us feel really good. So many people wear Obama shirts around town and it'll be interesting to see what kind of things he can do with all the positive energy he has from around the world, especially Africa. It was so so so good to watch the election with friends from home and really made it easier to be away on such a historic day.

Ok, so this picture sort up sums up my feelings towards my recent vacation to Mozambique, and my general happiness level here. Thanks to my girlfriend and travel buddy Diana for adding a super happy face to this photo. Well, maybe we're exaggerating a little, but hey, don't you know me??! :) Things are going pretty good right now, because...wait for it...I HAVE INTERNET!!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I can now check my email from my house in a remote African village. My friend Jessica and I (with the help of our folks) split the costs of a modem that plugs into our laptops and runs off the local cell phone tower and gives us unlimited internet service for a monthly fee. As long as there's cell coverage, we have net! I heart technology! Of course if I could get electricity at my place... Luckily I can get to Mbale easy and Jessica is willing to lend me her house for electronics charging purposes. So in theory, I should be able to update a lot more on this blog and so forth. In theory...

This is gonna be long blog with some fun stuff and some sad stuff. You guys are in luck! Ok, maybe not, but at least you're warned.

Last weekend was the annual PC Uganda Goatstock celebration this year at Lake Nabugabu near Masaka and Lake Victoria. It was the first time I'd ever been there and it was extremely beautiful and peaceful. The locals left us alone, the staff was attentive and there was plenty of food available. That last sentence would never be uttered in America, that's for sure! Whenever there's an event with a lot of white people or any foreigners, it attracts a lot of attention in the village. Guest Houses rarely stock or plan food properly for large groups and are often unhelpful. That's not all the time, but when it happens, no one is surprised. The lake was warm and was actually safe to swim in, ie no bilharzia...in theory...again. A lot of theories in this post... Anyways, some people went out on boats, there was a great sound system that facilitated some fun, but sometimes inappropriate dancing. Goatstock is the yearly Halloween celebration that Peace Corps Volunteers in Uganda have and is always around October 9th, the Ugandan Independence day so that we can take a 4 day leave from site without tapping into our vacation days too much. A lot of people dressed up in costumes. For me, I didn't have a plan so I just through on all my tacky African and Hawaiian clothes and went as an a-hole tourist. First part I'm pretty good at, I just needed to get into the tourist role! Hey ohhh! My friend Brad dressed up as the joker from the new Batman movie. He was extremely scary but won the best dressed competition as he deserved.

I just looked up my village on google earth. I love the internet! Apparently I'm at 3,628 ft here. So basically I'm at Snoqualmie Pass for those of you I-90 drivers to Eastern Washington. Not very clear images, ie, can't see any landmarks i recognize, but still cool.

So the election is in a couple weeks. Thought I'd gotten my ballot, but it was a miscommunication and actually hasn't arrived yet. I hope it arrives soon. As for the election, we're going to watch it in Kampala somewhere, don't know yet. My friends Alex, Hannah, and Ian come in the night of the 4th (YAY!!) and I have a VAC meeting that day too, so i'll already be in town. The results will start coming in about 4am on the 5th Ugandan time. We're planning on renting out a place with satellite tv to watch. AND, since i now have wireless internet, i can bring my laptop and get all dorky about it by looking up all the details on all the house races and stuff i care about. Should be interesting. Everyone in Uganda (the Ugandans that is) are totally pulling for Obama because his father is from Kenya and his Luo tribe is found in some places here. What's kinda ironic is that Uganda is such a conservative country that if people actually knew all the policies of the 2 candidates, they'd probably go for McCain. However, even without the whole "African man running America" appeal, most people here are really excited that he will be able to do a lot with his celebrity to help the world, especially Africa. A lot of people aren't happy with the Iraq War (though their facts aren't always accurate), but they think Obama can help with that. We'll see!

I'm saving the less fun stuff till now. Last night my supervisor and good friend, Kateu got in a horrible bus accident on his way back from Kampala. Something like 26 people died. Luckily, he seems to be ok. I talked to him this morning and though he wasn't very specific on his injuries, it sounds like minor head and hand wounds. It could be broken stuff, but Ugandans can be so nonchalant and vague about their illnesses and injuries. The fact that he was talking to me on the phone was a plus. He sounded tired but ok. This is the second fatal accident he's been involved in since I've been here. He was in a minibus the other time and 3 people died. It was scary cause we were both leaving Kampala at the same time but he wanted to eat before he left so we got on different taxis. I've had phenomenal luck so far so knock on wood America! Transport is something that scares me the most in this country. However, since I have to use it and there's really nothing i can do, I just get over it and board the overcrowded sweaty vehicles. I hope that Kateu can recover fully and get home soon. That guy works harder than anyone i know and seriously needs a vacation; hopefully he'll give himself one!

About a week ago, I was moving around the area in a private car with Kateu and the Chairman. The Chairman is just as his title suggests. Chair of our Board of Directors and also the Chairman Local Council III (political leader for the sub-county). The Chairman was the district veterinarian in his younger days and knows the area really well. We had just visited some nursing students who were doing their practicals at the Butebo Hospital about half-way between my place and Pallisa (I assume you all have a map by now!:) ) and were stopped in Butebo Trading Center waiting for Kateu to get airtime for his phone and talk to a million random people like he always does. So we were sitting there and we see this woman in tattered clothes stumbling around in the middle of the street making strange sounds and waving her arms around. It is obvious that this woman was mentally impaired. Maybe in my immature youth I would of chuckled and shook my head, "crazy lady!" However, my knowledge of how the mentally ill are treated (more importantly not treated) in this country makes this situation very sad. My conversation with the Chairman made it even sadder.

Me: Reflectively "Chairman, I don't like how people who are mad (that's what they call mentally ill) are ignored in this country. There is treatment that these people can get, or go to the hospital in Kampala." - of course I know that her family probably couldn't afford it, but still.

Chairman: "mmm (agreeing)"

silence for a few minutes

Chairman: "That girl has 5 children"

Me: "Really? Who's her husband"

Chairman: "She doesn't have one"

Me: Confused "...oh! oh... So she's been raped?"

Chairman: "Yes"

Me: outraged "I don't understand, who rapes a mad woman?! Also, how do they get away with it!? There's no privacy here, how does someone get away with it??"

Chairman: shakes his head not knowing the answer

Me: exhausted and disgusted i continue to watch her come closer to us talking in jibberish and seeing the boda boda taxi guys make fun of her thinking "why doesn't anyone help her??"

A couple of minutes later someone comes out and temporarily gets her out of the road.

Ok, so stuff like that where you feel totally powerless over social injustices happen all the time. Wondering why people don't stand up and fight for others but then not really fully understanding the history of this country and all the wars and terror people have experienced and the total lack of power so many people have is often on my mind. Those stories really suck the hope out of me, but are always replaced by positive stories where NGO's and Government programs reach rural areas and start to issue social problems.

Ok, now I need to write my sister and do my quarterly work report for Peace Corps. Hope you enjoyed my blog. PLEASE give me feedback and tell me (on any sort of communication channel) what's going on in your life. This shouldn't be a one-way street. I'm severely out of touch. Take care all,

wes

So after persistent "encouragement" from my family to update this thing, here i am again on my blog. I'm finding it hard to write on this thing because all the people that really seem interested in what I'm doing just call me and then they usually update everyone else who asks them. I assume this blog is for the casually interested person and for you, I don't know what you want to hear. It's hard to write anymore because what happens to me here isn't new or strange anymore, it's just my life. Awkward, funny, and surreal things still happen to me, but i don't even notice it because that's just how things are. So the only things i have to talk about are the occasional trip or big news from my work. That can get a little boring to me, so what I need from you is some feedback. What do you wanna know about? What's interesting to you about my life here in Uganda? I feel like I've answered everything in my previous 40 odd posts, but I know that's not true. I also have no idea who is reading this thing. I'm really happy when I get an occasional comment from someone in my past who has found me and taking interest in my life. So for now, I have 2 things for you:

One is that I just got back in early September from a trip that took me to Mozambique and Swaziland. Not too much to talk about except that the roads are way nicer there, they have beaches, and there are olives, cheese, fresh bread, and a KFC available which are all completely foreign in Uganda. I had a great time on the trip and it was really nice seeing another, and very different part of Africa. Sitting on a beach and "learning" how to surf wasn't too bad either! :)

Second thing is that I've started a program at the nursing school that would bring in other Peace Corps Volunteers with specific skill sets to train the tutors in different skills that will improve their ability to effectively teach and to strengthen the quality and reputation of the institution. Also, it's a good chance to have volunteers come visit my site who have never been there before. The first workshop was on alternative teaching techniques. I got 2 of the best education volunteers to come and train our tutors on different learning styles and ways to adapt to them in your teaching style. Instead of just talking at the students, the tutors were taught how to involve the students in their learning using various different methods. The second workshop involved nutrition and I had 2 volunteers with strong nutrition and dietitian backgrounds come. The tutors learned all the latest information on proper nutrition, where to find it in the local diet, and how to properly relay that info to the students. Both workshops were a huge success and i'm planning on bringing volunteers who specialize in HIV/AIDS and Savings and Credit Schemes to come and do similar workshops at the school and in the community.

I wanna leave you with a plea to help support Peace Corps in a time where it's funding is getting cut drastically and is affecting all programs all over the world. We know that there's a big financial crisis going on over there right now, but it doesn't mean that programs as essential as the Peace Corps should be cut. What follows is an essay/letter that my friend Rishi Desai, who serves as an education volunteer in Kumi district, just north east of me, sent in to his congresswoman and senator in West Virginia to plead for support for Peace Corps. Please write or contact your local congressman and/or senator and help save Peace Corps from shirking budgets and a following inability to fulfill our mission. Thanks, Wes:

During Nelson Mandela's incarceration , his jailers would bring him too much lunch and too little dinner. Mr. Mandela would save some of his lunch in order to satisfy his appetite, but the food would be cold and unpalatable by the time dinner was finally served. He requested a hotplate from his jailer to remedy the situation, but was met by the white Afrikaner's cold rejection. With time on his hands, he decided to read and study rugby, the unassailable passion of South Africa's Afrikaner community. The next time he passed his jailer in the hallway, he launched into a conversation about the nation's rugby team and what he had learned about the sport. After an engaging talk, the now noticeably warmer jailer immediately shouted to a subordinate to "get Mandela a hotplate!" Mr. Mandela's brief foray into his captor's culture melted walls of mutual contempt that had been built across generations.

Too often does the veil of ignorance cloud the world's perception of America. Though it may be the world's misconceptions that foster anti-American prejudice, it is our duty to correct them. The time is past to sit idly by and ignore the sentiments of our friends and enemies beyond our borders. We are a proud people, and rightly so. We can be proud of our resiliency in the face of adversity, our dedication to peace and freedom, and our willingness to face down the demons of intolerance. But these qualities must push beyond American shores. The greatest tool we have for showing the world the ideals and passions that make Americans a great people, are the American people themselves.

Perhaps no group of people serve this purpose so great as the men and women of the United States Peace Corps. Since President Kennedy called upon his constituents to serve their country in an army of volunteers, highly qualified men and women have been giving two years of their life overseas to help those who need American assistance. We spend our days fighting to eradicate the worlds plagues, not just of germs and disease, but the plagues of ignorance and poverty, of intolerance and injustice. We do this under the banner of the American flag without reservation for race, creed, nation, or status, and we do this because that is what we would expect our fellow Americans to do for us.

I am an American Peace Corps Volunteer, and am more privileged and proud to be a part of this group than any other in my life. My colleagues come from across the nation, brought together by the belief that the American people can help the poorest of the world, and that it is our duty to do so. Nothing has strengthened my patriotism like the passion I have seen amongst my fellow volunteers for their adopted communities. We work long and hard every day of our service to make a positive impact on our communities.

And we're good at it. No other organization addresses grass roots community needs like the American Peace Corps. Other development workers are astonished by our language skills, by our level of integration, by the vast network of contacts we develop in our villages, towns, and cities. When others throw money at problems in the pursuit of hard numerical data of progress in pursuit of more money, they neglect the communities they are trying to help. We live and work in the field, and we live a lifestyle similar to that of our community making us extremely sensitive to its needs. I don't need to look at a map to see if my village needs a new water source, I walk the distance to the bore-hole every morning and pump my water myself (despite my frequent complaints, it is easily manageable).

So I ask the members of Congress to support the volunteers of the United States Peace Corps. The thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers across the globe donate their time, skills, and abilities to the organization, it would be a pity if our Congressional leaders didn't support them financially. Please show your support for these hard working men and women by considering our needs in this year's federal budget.

Sincerely,

Rishi Desai

Peace Corps Volunteer, Uganda

So...I'm back! Did you miss me? Did you miss my blog humor that is sure to make waves on the internet? I bet you did! Well, here I am with more stuff to say. Whether you wanna hear that or not, is up to you. Ok, I'm done stalling for space and give you an update of what's been happening.

Since we last talked, not too much has happened. I went to the site of 2 PCV's near Kayunga and taught sex ed in primary schools. It was a really good experience and the first time that I faced the intimidation of hundreds of Ugandan primary school kids. With the help of a translator and many jokes (with the subject content, you can imagine where i went with it!), 13 and 14 year old boys were properly informed about their reproductive system, std's, puberty, and making good life decisions. The kids were really into learning and it was good to do "traditional" Peace Corps work. Most volunteers do a lot of good, hands on teaching type stuff like this, but I haven't really done that. My teaching has just been at the nursing school and even then, only a few times.

While I was there, I visited the home of a woman who's sister lives in Washington and knows my sister Marci. I promised the woman, Christine, who hasn't seen her sister Gloria in Uganda, in over 20 years that I'd visit her, take pictures, and send them back. I did just this and had a great time. Gloria's family were really friendly and treated me like a king. When I sent the photos back to Christine, she was overwhelmed. She was so happy to finally see a picture of her sister, but sad that she looked a lot older than Christine, even though she's the younger sister. It felt good to do something small like this that meant so much to people. It was truly a "Kodak Moment"!

Work's been kinda slow lately. Completed a couple of grants for my organization and have worked on creating coherent profiles for the CBO coalition organizations that I'm also helping out. All this has been really slow and I've been in Kampala alot for business and also for fun. On the 4th, we had an ultimate frisbee tournament that was a lot of fun. About 60 volunteers showed up for it and we split into 4 teams. My team got in 3rd, but that was after I twisted my ankle and couldn't play! I totally would have dominated! :) Or something....

That's all for now. I have a cough that's annoying, but I finally found somewhere in Mbale to plug in my laptop and download anti-virus updates and the such. Pretty happy about that. Super pumped about my planned vacation to Mozambique in August and am seriously counting down the days! A beach sounds really nice right now! Peace...

Well, it's over! Sort of... Last thursday and friday we distributed 4700 mosquito nets to Kakoro and Tekwana Parishes. So now we wait and see if there are any significant drop in malaria cases and deaths. Only time will tell, but so far, the signs are good. Before we started the distribution, my supervisor Kateu and I moved around the community visiting some homes and the local health center to get a gauge on how things have changed for the 5 parishes that recieved nets 6 months ago. Well, the results weren't overwhelming, but they were promising. A more extensive survey needs and will be done. According to the local health center III, which covers the sub county, of the approx. 400 cases of malaria reported between February and June, 70 were from 3 of the parishes that we distributed to and the remaining 300+ cases were from the 2 parishes that we hadn't reached yet. The other 2 parishes that we distributed to mainly use the local hospital and we have yet to get concrete data from them. What was the most eye-opening thing about going through the HCIII's log book, was that almost every case was for malaria. Of the maybe 20 cases they'd see a day, only 1 or 2 would be for something other than malaria. I knew it was a huge problem, but when you see the evidence, it's amazing in a horrible way. So we'll do an extensive research before I leave and present the results to you, the supporters of this fight, and the donor organization.

As part of our research, we visted a CMD (village volunteers that distribute drugs and created our list), talked to a group of people in a small trading center, and visted the home of one man. This experience was positive in the fact that people said they were happy that they recieved nets and that malaria no longer crippled their family, but then they went on to tell us their other problems and that's when I started to feel drained. The CMD said that he didn't have records of people coming to get malaria treatment from him. I was suprised, because that's his job. "Why didn't they come?" I ask. Because they haven't received doses Coartem, a malaria treatment drug, from the government health center in over a year. So even though people have nets now, they can't get treatment without traveling long distances to get it. This infuriates me, cause there is no good reason why the drugs aren't reaching the CMD's and ultimately the people. I'm not going to use this blog to point fingers or place blame. However, the fact of the matter is that mosquito nets are only one part of the fight against malaria, and if treatment isn't available, then people will continue to suffer.

After we visited that guy, we went to another man's compound deep in the village. He had 2 wives and 19 children. He was very grateful for the 6 nets he received, but said it wasn't enough to fully cover his children. "Why didn't you receive more?" I asked. "Because our name was at the bottom of the list and when they got to us, they were running out of nets." ....sigh... They were running out of nets because the people who made the lists didn't count right and we didn't have time to double check. "But has malaria gone down in your family?" "Oh yes, it has" "Great!". Then we asked him what other health issues were affecting his family that my organization could possibly help with in the future. TB, scabies, worms, malnutrition, lack of shoes and school materials, etc. ...sigh... I'm drained just writing this.

So this is can seem negative, but it's what's really going on. I remember when my parents came, my dad and I were out front of my house just hanging out and he asks me thoughtfully "What would it take to change things here? Where do you start?" Well, we're starting with malaria control and then opening a nursing college to add trained health professionals to the area. That'll have margnial impact for the schools, infrastructure, and economic development of the area, but it's a start. The thought is that this will have a domino affect on the community and the long term result will be a better standard of living for the people that I now serve. It's a little overwhelming, but not impossible. Just because it's hard, doesn't mean you give up. I want to thank everyone for their hard work and support and even though it might not sound like it, what you did IS making a difference. Some people in Peace Corps are a little jealous that my big project is so tangible meaning that you can see the effects versus if you talk about issues in schools or train some people in a skill. However, they're wrong. People have nets and that's great and there already has been immediate effects. How that manifests itself long term is still to be determined. I have faith that things will get better for people and the fact is, malaria will go down, and I can't think of a better way to spend money in a rural African village. People complain that international donors don't really do anything but give people false hope and hinder self sufficiency and development. I think that's wrong. If a school is built, kids will learn. If someone has a net over their bed, then they're better protected against the most deadly disease. It is the role of government and the people to fill these needs, but in the absence of an efficient system, donors have to step in or more people will die unnecessarily. When you start with nothing, something is always better whether it gives some people in the community the wrong impression about foreigners or not. I don't care. That person's kid is going to have a little better life and that is all that matters, to continue to chip away at extreme poverty and disease.

The Against Malaria Foundation has a chart on their website that has a mathematical formula that claims that for every 20 nets distributed, 1 person's life is saved. Congratulations everyone, you helped save 655 lives. The fight isn't over and I thank everyone for all their support. Today's my birthday and I miss all of you very much. Take care,

Wes

Wow, the response to my year reflection has been really good! Webale kusiima banange! That's the pretentious Wes using local languange to thank you for appreciating my work. It's great to hear that some many people are reading my stuff and thinking I'm funny/insightful/awesome, whatever. Don't be shy with the sarcastic comments, i love em.

So (i start off a lot with "so" i've noticed) i've mentioned in earlier posts that I was a "rockstar" of the taxi system. We'll do to a bunch of turnovers and my unwillingness to put on a comedy show for taxi patrons, that is no longer true. There are guys who know me and we get along, but most of the time I just sit there and will the taxi not to break down, run out of gas, or stop a thousand times to run shady deals on the side of the road. However, I've become a minor rockstar on the village path circuit. Now that I have a bike, I've riding around the area and now people are more familiar with me. I move around and people are yelling greetings to me from the fields, some calling me by my local name. I feel like a politician or Brad Pitt or something moving around the area smiling and waving. I'll have to stop and kiss some babies, but that's kinda wierd here so maybe i won't! For the kids that still call me Muzungu, I stop, greet them in local language and tell them my name is Kampanya. This usually goes over well and I don't mind if people yells my name from a distance, it's kinda flattering. Some people put on headphones to drown out the noise and I'm sure I'll do that eventually, but for now, I like the rock star status!

So we're picking up the nets on Tuesday and are looking to distribute on the 4th and 5th. On the last distribution, which will be Kakoro Parish, the biggest on and the one my house lies in, we'll be inviting a bunch of District and Government peeps as well as PC staff. It's sure to be a long and stressful, yet rewarding day to finally finish with these nets and cover almost everyone in a political geographic area. There's about 25,000 people in Kakoro Sub County and almost every home will have enough to protect their most vulnerable. So so so so so cool!

In other news, there seems to be big leafs growing in my garden that I assume are some sort of squash or pumpkin. Every other sort of growth looks very weak and may not yield the results that I want (ie FOOD). One of my hens gave birth to 6 chicks (did i mention this already?) and I'm looking forward to eating them someday! I didn't get the "improved cocks" cause apparently the guy who tends my chickens already has 3...once again, hold the jokes! Ok, all for now. Going to Kampala next week for nets and my one year medical checkup. Hope I don't have some crazy disease...or any disease really!

Ok, now that I poured out my heart on the internet, I'll tell you a little about what life is like in Casa De Wes. Well, it's a lot of fun, I'll tell you that! Especially if you like Top 40 R & B hits from both America and Africa and enjoy watching me pace around my house and talk to lizards. Am I crazy?? Possibly. But I have fun and don't judge me! Ok, you can judge. I think I'm talking to myself...

Ok, but seriously folks, the national pop music station is one of my best friends here. Sounds pathetic, but it's not. Some people write, others read books, some go running, while others garden. Me? I listen to music. That's what de-stresses me and keeps me company when I'm alone in my house in the middle of nowhere. Now a lot of people listen to music, but not to one radio station religiously. I think I do this because 1, it keeps me company and breaks the silence, and 2, I've always been a radio guy. Even in America, I rarely listened to CD's or recorded music. It was all pop radio, all the time. The radio here provides entertainment and comfort. Most songs are not really deep or inspiring, but they are upbeat, fun, and catchy. Yeah, Akon isn't exactly Mozart, but he keeps my stress down and my nights filled with entertainment.

So what am I doing while I'm listening to music? Just staring at the wall watching lizards fight? Well...sometimes! Mostly what I do, which by the way is really annoying to my friends, is pace around my house from room to room. I do this under the guise of cleaning, but after a couple of hours, i often stop, look around, and realize that my house is still a mess. "What have you been doing all this time?" my friends ask. Well, I'll tell you! I've been moving things around from one surface to another and doing small, incomplete tasks that over enough time (about 3 hours i've calculated), add up to real results. This pacing exercise provides much needed exercise and I'm often exausted after "finishing". Of course I could totally be more efficient in my tasking, like, maybe completing one task before starting another, but that'd just be a crazy waste of time! :) Oh, and there's always a lot of Crystal Lite drinking involved (and the time consuming trips to the latrine that follow). So, with all this obsessive, ADD cleaning, is my house spotless? NO! Somehow I manage to turn it into a war zone in no time. But it's not really dirty, it's just "cluttered" as my friend Jessica says.

That about sums up life in my home. Oh, things are growing in my garden that look awfully like they could produce food at some point (ie, they don't look like grass). And my chicken had 6 babies, 3 didn't make for some reason. I didn't fully understand the explanation from the guy tending them for me. And I saw a lady make peanut butter! And the baby of her female goat named "Beef" is going to be named after me!!...maybe I am going a little crazy...

I made it! Saturday, May 10 was my official 1-year anniversary for being a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Kakoro, Uganda. I arrived in country March 5th, 2007 as a trainee (PCT) and was sworn in as a PCV in May. I decided that to commemorate my full year as a PCV, I would reflect a little about what I’ve learned, how I’ve changed, and how I now see the status, problems, and solutions in my small part of Africa.

Overall, this has been the best year of my life. I have grown more as a person than even the idealistic stereotype of “going to Africa to find myself” could ever imagine. I’d say about 75% of the change has been for the better. Though I’m more confident, assertive, and creative than I was before, I am also more detached and unsympathetic than I was in America. What created these changes was being thrown into the village with thoughts of either saving/helping/teaching everyone, or doing absolutely nothing. What has manifested itself is a feeling of being able to do a lot of things, but not without limits, difficulties, and anger inducing situations. I realize the obvious that I can’t save everyone, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a flood of emotions related that manifest itself in a negative manner. Every time someone blatantly asks you for something for nothing or is unappreciative of your work and the difficulties involved in everyday tasks of just living in a foreign environment as an outsider, it wears you down just a little bit. You start to get a little bitter and sometimes turn the tables around a little. Less “oh, poor African living in poverty”, to “stop complaining and relying on the West, go to school, and demand more of your government.” “Stop accepting that things are bad and do what you can to make it better.” Every time someone says “you assist me” or “bring me to America” I think: stop trying to run from your country and stay and fight for change! Then, just when you’re almost super bitter and ready to say, “to hell with you Africa, deal with your own problems”, some amazing, positive things happen that make you want to fight even harder to help people out. For every person that is greedy, selfish, and rude, there are 10 that are completely selfless and wonderful people who care about the well being of others. For every “Muzungu, you give me my money”, there are 5 people who supporting 6 orphans and 3 widows with no money and never ask you for a shilling (specifically 2 woman I know). For every corrupt community based group that’s stealing money from their beneficiaries, there is one that is making change happen with literally NO resources except for what they create internally. For every person who has 3 wives and 25 children, there are 100 waiting for marriage and making smart reproductive decisions. For every person wanting something from me, there are thousands willing open their homes and feed me just because I’m a visitor and they are good people. There is a lot of hope for things to get better and when there is change it looks and feels really good. When you see people who have nothing then get something whether it’s a mosquito net or a goat or even the knowledge of how to do a new skill, you realize what you role is here and how you can help. They say that the Peace Corps is full of the highest highs and the lowest lows. It forces you to deal with things you never imagined you’d have to and opens you to the possibility of accomplishment that defies odd and expectations. I just got a call yesterday from my mother saying that the Against Malaria Foundation had 4,700 more mosquito nets for us in Kampala so that we can complete our distribution in Kakoro Sub County. I literally danced around my house with a huge grin on my face like I was in some cheesy romantic comedy with Hugh Grant. The flip side is the days that are just plain bad. When you don’t get enough sleep and then there proceeds to be a series of small things that add up to a really crappy day. Sometimes they are personal like unwanted attention coupled with unreliable transport, stagnant work only to come home to no power and water and remembering that in your funk, you forgot to buy food and there’s not exactly a Safeway nearby. Then there are the days when the conditions around you really affect you. When you see people’s primary food and income source destroyed by hailstones in one hour. When a small kid in tattered clothes asks you for 100 shillings and you say no because you can’t give people the impression that you’re just a money source and should be self-reliant but then you feel like crap because you totally can afford to give out what’s equivalent to a nickel, the kid could obviously benefit, and you can always say no to others. There is this guilt that I think lingers the entire time that we’re here. When we sit in our houses that are extravagant for village standards and watch movies on our laptops, it’s hard not to feel bad when literally next door people are really suffering. I can’t save or help everyone and that bothers the daylights out of me. It’s really hard to help one kid or one family, because there are too many and I don’t have the money or skills to do it properly. What I try to do to counteract that is to help as many community based organizations that I can so that they can help their beneficiaries on a long-term basis. There are a few individuals that you connect with and they end up benefiting from knowing you, and then you’re like “why does this person deserve more just cause he’s nice to me,” then it’s “well, is that why everyone is nice to me? Just to get something from me??” You may be reading this trying to make conclusions to tell people that “Wes is having a hard time” or “Wes just likes to complain a lot” or “Wes is having an easy time” or “Wes loves it there”. You’d all be right but the lesson is that my biggest fear is that people will make assumptions about everything that has to do with me being here based on a couple of lines in my blog or some phone conversations or rumor. Whether it be me, my village, or Uganda and it’s people, it’s impossible and slightly irresponsible to sum it up with one phrase. My parents put it best when they got here. They said that they had talked to me a lot on the phone, seen pictures I took, heard my stories, and did research on the country, but until they actually saw and lived it, they have no idea what it was like. I see short term volunteers in country all the time and I think “sorry dude, no way you’re going to get the whole experience in 2 months.” “So Wes, how’s Africa?” “It’s everything.” As far as work goes, I’ve been really luckily. The situation I’m in is perfect for me and allows me the structure and flexibility I need to be productive. I have a great supervisor, a young and energetic organization, and a lot of support from both the community here and people back home. Other volunteers have it hard because their organizations don’t fit with them or don’t have the kind of work they want to do. I’ve been happy with all the work I’ve done and there’s plenty more to do. Though there’s plenty of time to relax and read a book or watch a movie, there’s always work to do and for that I’m happy. I’m now comfortable moving around the country and my awkwardness level is at record lows. You get over the fact that you don’t always understand what’s going on and just have fun with it. I’m always cracking jokes and have found a style of humor that crosses cultures. People have described me as “a jolly man” and I take a lot of pride in that. For the times that I vent and flip out, there’s the 90% of the time that people see me smiling or joking or at least playfully challenging someone for being “stubborn” or “lying me.” I’ve mentioned before that I take great pleasure in the ridiculous such as novelty items sold at markets. I brag about my hologram belt that has Michael Jordan and Tupac’s picture on it. I have a goofy shirt that says “CAUTION! Heartthrob.” I rely on fun things and other volunteers for sanity and support. I have a great corps of friends near by that I get along with famously. My comedy skills are at epic proportions (as well as my ego!) and I might go on a stand-up tour when I get back. So to sum up, like I didn’t want you to do: I’m doing great and having a good time. HOWEVER, there are many many challenges and I’m forced to make tough moral and strategic decisions on a daily basis. 1 year in, this has truly been an “opportunity of a lifetime” that I wouldn’t trade for anything. The days when I say “man, I love it in Africa” far outweigh the days when I don’t. Take care and stay tuned to my close of service thoughts and feelings. -end of heartfelt comments-

So on saturday, I had a very successful, very tasty BBQ at my house in the village. It was the first party i've thrown and people were really happy with the results. Combined with the pork collection efforts of my friend Brad, we cooked up about 6 kilos of pork (including ribs), a pack of sausages and tons of veggies and pineapple! The food was amazing and all 10 or so of my guests ate a ton of meat. This was the first time i'd bought pork in the village and was very successful. I now know where the guy is and can go back in the future. The image of flesh hanging from a hook or just sitting on banana leaves with flies all over it doesn't bother me anymore. It's no longer intimidating either. I still have to fight being overcharged, but now that I know the relative price, i can manage. The meat was marinaded in this Jamaican Jerk marinade that someone sent me as well as a ton of spices and other stuff. I was great to have an American style BBQ out in the village on my 1-year anniversary as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I'll post another blog reflecting on my 1-year of service and the year to come.

All for now, just wanted you to know I'm eating well...sometime! Take care and check out my new photos (finally!).

As time goes on, I'm becoming more and more comfortable in the village. It's still hard being stared at all the time and seeing the extreme poverty, but it's so nice how peaceful and quiet it is. I've started trying to become more acquainted with life out in the village and so far am doing a decent job and having a lot of fun. First of all, i got a new bike. A basic, 60's style bike called a Jupiter. It's a fixed-gear bike and the kind that everyone has and can easily be repaired by any village mechanic. I used to have a mountain bike, but due to the fact that I'm totally inept with mechanical things, once it broke, it became my friend Jessica's toilet paper holder. Now I'm not reliant on the horrible public transportation and can really explore all the back roads (which is most of them). Having a basic bike gives the people the impression that I'm trying to live like them and not a rich Muzungu. Now if only I didn't sweat so much...

Second course of action was to dig up my yard and plant some stuff. That was hard, but fun and it looks like stuff is growing, as is all the grass that I hoe'ed up! Not quite sure exactly what I planted, because of course I didn't write it down or make a map. We'll see what happens. It'll be like Christmas, never knowing what the gift will be! Hopefully I planted a beef jerky tree...

The third and coolest village like activity I've done, is to start growing chickens! I got 2 from my friend Derek and 1 started laying 2 days later. She's now sitting on 9 eggs and I'll soon have 11 chickens! I think that's pretty awesome considering I've never owned any poultry and it'll be cool to be able to get fresh chicken when I want. Of course the whole killing and cleaning part isn't fun, but it really makes you appreciate your food. I'm not around enough to tend them and I don't really have any close neighbors, so I'm keeping them at the home of one of my organization's staff members. He's agreed to tend them and in the future, I'll let him keep some of them. I'm planning on buying an "improved cock", hold the jokes, to help out my chickens as well as the neighbors. An "improved cock" is a larger, stronger one that helps produce offspring that grow quicker and lay more. Now really hold back on the jokes! They are pretty expensive for the average villager (about $5-10), but not a big deal to me. He will of course make his way around the neighborhood and help out the production of other people's chickens. I'm hoping to have some big, fat chickens ready for eating in the fall when my friends visit.

The last post was partially written on March 10, but actually posted on March 31st. Not a huge deal, but just to put things into perspective...

So here I am back again to tell you what's going on. In the last few weeks a lot has happened. Work wise, my organization and I are really moving forward with what we want to do. We're working hard on getting the resources necessary to fully open the 3-year Enrolled Nursing Institution that we want to start. There is a huge loan that we are trying to secure that will give us the funds to complete a dormitory, office block, computer lab, library, and purchase a school bus and staff van. Really expensive stuff, but necessary to get accredited by the nurses council here. I'm really excited to be able to work day to day on something like this. There is a shortage of trained medical personnel in Uganda and this is a really good thing.

I was in Kampala for this weekend that carried over from a Peace corps VAC (volunteer advisory committee) meeting I had on friday. I was voted the new chairman so I'll be a direct link from the volunteers and the country director. I'm pretty excited about my first political post and think I can be good at it. First VAC, next Washington's 8th Congressional District! Haha, but seriously, i studied politics and public policy so now it's interesting to find out how a government program works and how it can be better or more efficient. It's fun to complain and spout off about how things should be different or better, it's another to do something about it.

Anyways the main thing I want to mention is a totally random and fun adventure i went on yesterday actually few weeks ago. Some friends of mine were hanging in Kampala and we wanted something to do. So this one guy suggests going to the only port in Uganda, Port Bell and checking it out. We get there and there's not much, but it's on the shores of Lake Victoria and very beautiful. We decide to follow a path along the lake. About a kilometer into it we come across a sign that says "Miami Beach" and has an arrow. So this is completely ridiculous and we have to follow this sign! For a guy who's been to Miami Beach and think it's perhaps the complete polar opposite from what I've seen in Uganda, we decide to check it out. We get down there and it's a grass lawn on the shore with a restaurant and some people swimming in the lake. The most amazing part though, is this sign on the gate that is for a swimming event on April 5th. The event is sponsered by World Swim for Malaria which is a part of the Against Malaria Foundation which sent the mosquito nets to my area. My sister and other family members are setting up similar events to raise money back in Seattle. It was so random to see this. I was really really excited and was able to talk to the coordinator, who is a boat guide and found them on the internet. He told us all about it on the boat ride out to this island called "Spider Island".

Ok, this was on a draft post that i didn't finish 3 weeks ago, but for a better account of the trip and pictures, go to my friend Diana's blog and read about it:

http://whaddaugandado.blogspot.com/

We are going to try to help out at the World Swim Event next weekend.

In other work news, my family and friends have once again overwhelmed me with their generousity and hard work to help me and my organization grow. A few days ago, after lots of hard work and stress on both ends, I picked up 3 big boxes from the DHL office in Kampala. DHL, with direction from my sister's mother-in-law Linda, donated the shipping. The boxes had a donated slide projector from a family friend named Pat Farber, medical slides donated by Bastyr University in Seattle, nursing textbooks donated from my friend Alex Rainey's mom, Maria who is a nurse, and a wide assortment of other medical and nursing books and office supplies purchased by my sister Marci. Marci was the one who collected and coordinated everything and I'm already working on a bronze statue to be erected in her honor! I want to thank everyone who contributed these items. Everyone in my organization was absolutely floored by the extent of the donation. The teachers kept on saying "These are VERY good books!" as they flipped through the texts. Kateu and a couple of teachers told me that there aren't anything like the medical slides to be found in Uganda. They say that even the national hospital or other nursing and medical schools lack that type of teaching material. It was suggested that when other institutions find out that we have those things, they will ask to borrow them. I was delighted that people were so appreciative of the slides, but kind of sad that outdated technology like medical slides don't exist at all in the entire country. It just goes to show how far Uganda has to go to catch up. Fortunately, things are improving every day. Anyways, I feel like my blog has turned into a big thank you board, but i'm saying what I feel is the most important for people to know and hear. That people can make a difference no matter where they are in the world.

Ok, I apologize that the pictures haven't been updated in a really long time, but it's really difficult to download pictures at internet cafes. I have a bunch from when my parents came and from the net distributions that i want to put up. Thank you for your patience.

Wes

Fyi, I still don't know how to respond to comments, but i put my email address on there and if you want to email me, you are most welcome. It's great that people from my past are still interested in what I'm doing. Thanks everyone!

So a lot has happened in the last few weeks. My parents came to visit and it was an amazing experience. It was so great to see them and to show them what life is like for the people here as well as for volunteers. Since the last post, we went to Luwero to have lunch with the family that hosted me for 10 weeks when i first got here. It was a roaring success with a fun time by all. The highlight by far was the gift that my host mother gave to my biological mother. It was a blue traditional dress called a Gomez. The dress is a very expensive and difficult outfit to get and wear, especially for someone just visting. My host mom took a photo of my mother, estimated that she was about the same size and got the dress made to perfection. For the rest of the trip, my mom was a rock star of the local women! On the taxi ride on the way back to Kampala, my folks got to experience their first child peeing on the ground in the taxi. Fun times.

The next three days were spent in beautiful Murchison Falls Park where we saw hippos, giraffes, elephants, crocs, various gazelle breeds, cape buffalo, and the highlight, lion cubs eating an antelope while the lioness watched. We were literally 10 feet away. Super amazing and one of many awesome animal adventures that we experienced there and on our 10 day safari in Tanzania. After animal time, part 1, we started our journey out east to my current homeland. First stop was at a fellow volunteer, Megan's site on our way to Jinja. My folks experienced their first "street meat" which was very tasty chicken though might have been the culprit to my mother's 4 days of hell she experienced soon afterwards. After a nice visit, we went to Jinja and my mom put her feet in the source of the Nile River completing her journey to put her feet in both ends of the Nile (did the other end in the early 80's). The next day was Mbale town, then out to the village for a very hectic, but exciting experience. The highlights included a visit to an orphans school and presenting them with donated school supplies, being initiated in the Bakomba clan and watching a great traditional dance and song group perform there, and doing spot checks with people that received mosquito nets. It was quite an exercise in accountability that my folks (and myself) were very impressed with. My supervisor Kateu spotted a man on the side of the road and said "hey, did you get nets? yes? take us to your home". We did that to a random child that showed up and a lady who was a widow with 5 children. Every person were using their nets properly and it was so great to see the nets that so many people worked so hard to get hanging up in these mud huts in the middle of the village. So cool!

I'm running out of time, so I'll forgo talking about Tanzania except that it was a huge success, there were many animals, and my parents spoil me! There were so many surreal moments throughout my parents 3+ weeks here and they all made a permanent and positive mark on my life. I'm so greatful to have great parents with the means to visit me and support me during this important part of my life. Ok, enough mushiness! Back to the village and back to work for me! Thanks again and again and again to those who have helped not only with the mosquito net project but who have sent me packages, letters, and emails to help me stay sane and happy. Until next time, Asante (thank you) as they say in Swahili

So my parents made it safely and are adjusting well to the shock of traveling so far and being thrown into a totally different culture. We navigated the crazy and huge Owino market today in Kampala with style and ease. Ok, well maybe that's an exaggeration, but they had fun and enjoyed the experience. Tomorrow we visit the family I stayed with for 10 weeks when I first got here. It'll be my folks first time on public taxis and having dinner in a Ugandan Home. I think it'll be a lot of fun and informative. After that is Murchison Falls National park in the north then we make our way to my site in the East and enjoy the real village experience. Should make for many good stories that I hope to put on this blog if internet connections and my memory allow it.

So as far as the distributions go, the video for Kitoikawononi parish are up and it looks really good. It was edited by the donor org and they added music and captions to tell you what was going on. I'm super happy and can't wait to see the other parish's videos. I'm tired so I'm not gonna do the promised recap, but the jist is that we were organized and vigilant on our rules and it all turned out well in the end. The End! :)

Done and Done! As of Saturday, January 19th, all 8,400 mosquito nets that were donated to us were handed out to the people of Kitoikawononi, Kasajja, Kadokolene, Kaitysia and Kanginima Parishes in Kakoro Sub County, Butebo County, Pallisa District, Uganda. Overall it went really well. For something free handed out to a large amount of people, it was suprisingly organized and civil. I give a lot of credit to the staff members of my organization for having a good game plan and sticking to the rules that they set up. Needless to say, I am super happy and excited that this project turned out successful. I was freaking out inside the whole time, but look surprisingly composed (I think) to the outsider. There are pictures already up for one parish and video will follow. The pictures and video of the other 4 parishes are on their way to the UK now for the donor to edit and post. I'll try to post some pictures asap, but I might not be able to. The Bob and Sheila show (mom and dad) is arriving to Uganda tomorrow so I'll be busy showing them the sights. If all else fails, I have a cd with all the pictures burned on it and I'll send it back with them to put on the web or show all the folks that helped out or are just want to see them.

Here's the donor link from the first distribution, Kitoikawononi Parish: http://www.againstmalaria.com/en/Distribution.aspx?DistributionID=231

Since I have a little time here, I'll give you the breakdown of everything that happened since picking them up and bringing them this way. So after many stressful days dealing with money issues dealing from the rise of fuel prices and a failed loan attempt, I finally just told my supervisor that we were going to take some donated money intended for the distribution and use it for transport. I was super tired of waiting and just wanted to get the nets to the village. Our nursing students would pay tuition in a few days so I knew that we'd have enough money for the distribution. We couldn't wait any longer because the donor needed video and picture footage ASAP for a conference he was going to attend. So midday on Monday January 8th, after the last straw had been broken with these shady microfinance guys we were trying to get a loan from, I told Kateu, my supervisor that we were leaving right then for Kampala to get the nets. After a series of calls with the Red Cross (who had the nets in a wherehouse) and a guy with a big truck, we set up to transport them the next day back to the village. Gas prices were down a little so we were able to get a truck for 250,000 Ugsh ($145) which is a good deal. We found a guy who's job it is to transport goods from Mbale to Kampala, but since he usually doesn't have anything on the ride back to Mbale, he transports for less. So the day starts really well. We go to the Red Cross, the guys are really nice and give us a free ride to the wherehouse. The nets are there in bundles of 100 and I almost cry when I see them. Ok Kateu, call the guy and get him here with the truck. So it's 10am and for Africa time, we're doing really good. The guy shows up in 3 hours which is annoying, but not unheard of. We load up the truck and get ready to head out at 1pm. Not too bad, we'll get back to the village around 5 or so. The next 3 hours is when the nervous breakdown almost erupts. After many shady deals with some middle man and stops for who knows what reason, the driver tells me that he needs 200,000 of the 250 that we owe right away because some guy ran off with his money and we need petrol and blah blah blah. It's 4pm and we haven't left Kampala yet. We finally get on the main road and the driver has the gaul to ask us for small change to pay off police bribes on the way. This is were I flip out and start yelling at the guy that he can pay his own bribes and he's made us wait and so on and so on. About 40km into the journey I calm down especially cause the driver was making good time and we arranged for an advance team of Kateu's brothers to meet us at our school building and help unload. By 9pm the nets were securely stored in one of our classrooms and I was a seriously happy man. Kateu and I looked at each other with big grins on our faces and just silently congratulated each other on the first step to the biggest project we've ever worked on together. That was a good day. You can see the huge cheeser on my face in the photo of me holding the bale on the link above.

I'll save the rundown of the actual distributions for another blog because of time reasons and the bulky length of this entry. But before I go, I want to give out a HUGE thank you to all the people back home that helped made this distribution happen. It's not easy to make a difference so far away, but you did it. Thousands of people in my area of Uganda will be protected from one of the deadliest diseases because of your contributions, hard work, and faith in the ability of a small amount of people to make a big difference. There's no way I can properly thank each and every one of you, but I hope you know that me, my family, and my community here in rural Africa is extremely grateful. That's all for now and wish me luck with my parents. It should be a fun and adventurous trip! Take care, Wes

So Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all from the Pearl of Africa! I've had a very busy and social last couple of weeks. It started mid-dec at an IST (in-service training) put on by Peace Corps in Kampala to train us on how to teach life skills to kids and teachers in Uganda. It wasn't a bad workshop and was a good excuse to see all the other volunteers in my training group and make holiday plans. I spent Christmas day at my supervisor's father's (the head of our clan) house in the village. For a guy with 40 kids, it was suprisingly low-key. Apparently most of the kids were at the trading center participating in Christmas day games like soccer, wrestling, and a bike race around the district. The next many days were spent just visiting with other volunteers and having a good time. However, the last few days have been a little intense because of what's happening in Kenya right now. For those who don't know, there was a disputed election and riots that followed that have resulted in at least 300 deaths. There has been violence in the border town of Busia which is the main crossing from Kenya into Uganda. Unfortunately, besides scaring volunteers stationed near there, it has caused a huge fuel shortage here in Uganda. Most imports to Uganda, including fuel, come through the port of Mombasa in Kenya then are trucked this way.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200801021234.html

All this has completely disorganized my organization's program of receiving and distributing nets (fyi, that sentence was inspired by Ugang-lish). We were scheduled to pick up the nets today in Kampala, but transport costs has grounded us. The normal taxi ride of 12,000 Ugsh from Mbale to Kampala is now 40,000 Ugsh. Not including what it's going to cost us to rent the truck to bring them back. My supervisor and I are discussing sucking up the costs and just getting the nets asap. We don't know if things are going to get better or worse in Kenya, especially cause there is a huge rally of opposition supporters scheduled for today in Nairobi. We've been waiting so long to get these nets and really want them in the village in people's homes. Especailly since we found out that the donor organization, Against Malaria, has fundraised and authorized us to have an additional 2,000 + nets during this round. That means any time now, we will be distributing 8,400 treated mosquito nets to 5 parishes in Kakoro Sub County. Super exciting stuff and it better all go right or I'm going to go crazy! Stay tuned and hope all are having as an exciting (if not nervewracking!) new years as I'm having...

So before I get into the fantastic Thanksgiving I had, let me first update on the mosquito nets. I just found out that they are infact in Kampala and are with the Red Cross. Now I just need the government to ship them out to the village and then we'll be square. Looking at a distribution happening the first week of January. Once they get to the village I will relax slightly, but when they are all handed out, that's when my Christmas will be made! Stay tuned.

Last weekend I gave credibility to my meat eating practices by assisting in the killing of my first animal. I know it's partly hypocritical to eat meat but not see or participate in how it gets from the farm to my plate. I did this by holding the head of a turkey and stretching it out while this other guy cut off the head with a machete. It wasn't pretty, but it was necessary. The thing is, I didn't feel that bad. Maybe it'd be different if I actually killed it myself (i'll let you know when it happens), but I didn't think twice about it. After it was killed, this girl from North Carolina deep-fryed it for us and it was the best thing I've ever eaten! And that's not just months of village food talking!

December will be a traveling month for me. I have to go to Kampala on 3 different occasions. One to meet the PC Director who is flying in from Washington, another to tell the government about the nets, and the last for a workshop on teaching life skills in schools. I also have to travel to my friend Derek's place again for some local brew! :) Lots of traveling, stress, and fun this month...feels like home...

I have been have grumbling since I first got here that there weren't any animals around like you see on the Discovery Channel. No Lions, Tigers, or ... ok, i won't say bears, cause there aren't any...actually aren't tigers in Asia? Anyways, no cool stuff like Lions! There are your typical animals in the national parks, but in most of the land there are nothing but domestic animals and a few monkeys (which I've only seen once when i first got to Uganda). Then things livened up a little when I saw a cobra, that's right, a COBRA! at the pool. Fortunately it wasn't actually in the pool but was hiding behind a fridge in an outdoor kitchen. I got to see it (from a safe distance) come out from behind the fridge and strike at the nearest worker. Luckily it didn't get him and he rewarded the cobra by jamming a metal rod in it's back. Ok, scary snake sighting number 1... Luckily (knock on wood), no scary spiders yet... Me and spiders do NOT get along...

Ok, the cobra incident was a few weeks ago and I didn't have my second scary animal episode till yesterday. So i was laying around my house reading because I didn't have any work that day and my supervisor didn't contact me. Plus I was just tired. I had my back door open because it was a beautiful day (80ish, sunny, cool breeze...in november!). I absentmindedly walked out back to check on my solar charger. As i stepped through the open door, I was suprised by movement just to the right of me. I looked over and running away (cause it was scared of me naturally :) ), was what I swore was a crocodile! I silently screamed many curse words in my head as I jumped back with my eyes super wide and suprised. On second glance, I realized it was just a HUGE lizard. Had to be about 3-4 feet long. Scared the #$*@ out of me and put me on edge for the rest of the day. I had noticed a big hole in my yard earlier and just assumed that it belonged to some sort of hedgehog type animal I saw once. Now I'm going to stay FAR away from that hole! I wish I could have gotten a picture of this lizard cause it was seriously big. Now I'm convinced that that lizard is conspiring with the geckos in my house to take over in a coup! ... ok, it's easy for your imagination to run a little wild out in the village... I'll let you know when I wake up to a Cheetah in my bed! :)

So as most of you do not know, there is a huge meeting going on in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, this week called CHOGM. What CHOGM is, is a meeting of 53 heads of state of all the British Commonwealth nations. These include coutries like India, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Singapore, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Belize, and of course, England. The Queen is coming for the first time in 50 something years and it's a huge deal.

www.chogm2007.ug

Since this meeting will have international exposure and possibly open up many business opportunities in Uganda, the stakes are pretty high. The government has been working like crazy to upgrade and modernize Kampala as much as possible before the main delegates arrive. So far, the city looks really nice and the improvements will have positive long term effects on the city. Everyone is talking about it and there is a huge amount of anticipation and excitement from all Ugandans, even people out in the village. One of the main slogans the government is using is "Are you ready for CHOGM?" This slogan is on billboards and posters all over the city and is now a running joke that you can say to anyone from the Boda Boda men to the bank tellers. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what happens when all is said and done.

Speaking of CHOGM, the mosquito nets that everyone worked so hard for back in the states will be arriving in Kampala on Nov. 21st, right before the Heads of State come. Luckily for us, the Red Cross will be handling the customs and arrival details and will hold onto the nets in a wherehouse till we can get them. It would be impossible for us to get into the city, and have the government help us to get the nets out to the village during that time. They will be so busy during CHOGM that they would not be able to help us much. Once the nets get to storage at the local police station, we are set. We have to meetings set up with staff and community members to arrange details and do training. I am starting to get nervous because I really, really, really want things to go well! However, I am pretty confident because my supervisor is really organized, I'll have some camera help from some volunteer friends, and I'll be watching everything like a hawk. The true test of course will be months later when we can determine if the rates of malaria have gone down. That is where the training of the community and follow-up will come in so crucial. I've donated my bed and mattress to be used as a model and we'll have about 5 staff members of the nursing school, all of which are medical professionals, to help sensitize the community on proper usage of the nets and other ways to prevent malaria. This whole process is going to be an amazing, and hopefully positive experience. Being involved in projects like this is why I wanted to join the Peace Corps and come to Africa. That, and doing fun stuff like joining a clan! :)

In other news, I had a great weekend at site with my girlfriend who came out to stay for the first time. It super relaxing and enjoyable. Usually on the weekends, I'm traveling or busy doing something, but it was nice to just be able to hang out and relax with someone cool. We went hiking up to the local rocks near my house and were rewarded by a beautiful view from the top. Of course we had some children guide us up to the top which is standard practice with any hike in rural Uganda. There are no nature paths or signs, so you kinda just have to walk through people's compounds and ask them how to get to the rocks. We came across a group of girls by a water source on our way and I said "Ntake Kwabba Rocks. Njabe Yaina?" which is "I want to go to the Rocks, I go where?". Very basic language and all I had in my Lugwere arsenal. The oldest girl laughs and promptly says in perfect English "You go just there" pointing down an obvious path. Fun times :)

Ok, I need to go get ready for CHOGM, so I'll talk to you guys later :)

On Saturday, I was introduced to the whole Bakomba clan during thier general meeting as a new member. There was about 400 people there and it was quite the day. Days like that are why I joined the Peace Corps. Days where it is so surreal and so outside of what you know and expect that you can't really believe that it is happening. So here's the scoop:

I knew that the general meeting would be like the first meeting with the clan leaders, but bigger and more ridiculous....man, was I right! To witness the spectacle, I invited my friend Derek to come to the meeting. So we get there in style (ie, in a car, the only members to arrive in something other than a bike or motorcycle) about 2 hours late, which is standard here. Everyone is already assembled and as we get out of the car, the music starts and women start dancing around us and greeting us. After we were sat down in the front, or VIP benches under the Mango tree, the meeting officially started. After introductions they started on general clan business, recounting what happened at last meeting, deaths of members, etc. The most amazing and surreal part of this entire day, was the fact that there were interpreters translating the whole time. Into English from local language you ask? NO! From one local language into another. My clan speaks 2 languages that are totally not related at all. Lugwere, a Bantu language and the one I struggle with, and Ateso, the one that Derek speaks in his area and a Nialotic language. It was amazing to see how quick they would translate. Of course Derek and I don't know enough of either of our languages to understand what's going on, so my supervisor, Kateu told us in English what was going on. The fact that under educated villagers are so skillful in language continues to blow me away.

After an hour or two of boringness, the fun times start. Derek and I both get to give speeches. Derek starts off and kills it in Ateso. He talks for like 10 minutes, which is super impressive. A real crowd pleaser and showman! Of course he's stealing my thunder, cause it's MY clan, who is this guy!! I get over my jealously and stutter through my speech in Lugwere and is not as impressive or even close. They still appreciate me trying and all is good. Then Derek is sworn in as an impromptu member of the clan. Neither him or the clan leadership knew beforehand that he was going to be a new member. He was there and white, so they decided to make him a member and gave him the name of a retired member named Seku and "all the powers that he used to have." As a guy who always jokes about having super powers and being a super hero, Derek ate this up. Return of jealousy on my part... Then he sits on the chair and they do the whole ceremony where they give him a walking stick and tell him that his family is representatives in America. Jealousy is out of control now. MY parents are the reps, not his!! So as I'm stewing, they tell me to come up and go through the ceremony. Here's where the Wesman makes a comeback and claims his dominance as the superior token white guy in the Bakomba clan! They invite me up and it's clear that they have stuff for me that beats Dereks stick. First they give me a Kansu, which is a ceremonial robe. As the Papa Bakomba slips it on, I sense some excitement from the masses. So as a goofy showman myself, I raise my arms out to a huge cheer and yell "ABANTU WANGE" or MY PEOPLE! It was amazing. I was then presented with a clay pot, the stool I sat on, and a cane with a knife concealed. Way better than Derek's cane... :) So after that, the music starts and they want me to dance to tribal music. I break it down and the crowd is going nuts! That's the highlights folks, hope you enjoyed! The moral of this story is that if you can't speak the language, dance around like a fool and people will love you :) Take care America and talk to you soon...

So on saturday I was officially sworn in as a member of the Bakomba clan in Eastern Uganda. Normally, clan membership is reserved for extended family members, but since I asked the head of the clan, who is also my supervisor's father to join, he readily agreed to ask the executive council to let me join. They agreed and I am now a member! My new name is Mukomba Kampanya, which as you remember from previous posts, Kampanya is my local name (small, he-goat) and from this post you know that Mukomba is someone from the Bakomba clan. I have an ID card that I will receive shortly and will be named to a leadership postion at the general clan meeting on Nov 3rd. I love Africa! So many fun, unique things to do that I would never be able to experience in America. But seriously, I am honored that they accept me as one of them and they have already started making arrangements to introduce my parents as members too when they come to visit! However, the folks don't seem too thrilled, but unfortunately, they won't have much choice! :)

How the ceremony worked, was the head of the clan, the Papa Bakomba, asked the executive members if they would accept me as a member. After verbal agreement, the Papa asked me if I accepted. Then I sat on this super small stool while everyone surrounded me and congratulated me. After a woman let out a joyful scream (which suprised me), everyone started singing and dancing to the clan theme song, which sounds exactly like the Friends theme....ok, that's a lie! I didn't understand the words, but it had to do something about destroying your enemies...

Afterwards, they talked over clan business, like how to kick out the member who murdered his son, when the next meeting was, and how much next year's dues will be. I had a huge lunch of Wita (millet/cassava bready doughy thing), rice, matoke (smashed plantains), chicken and beef.

Ok, that's it for now. Still buzzing from my induction.

Ok, this is a new record for me to update my blog. I'm obviously pretty awesome like that! Anyways, I have some more things to talk about.

So in other posts I've talked about different projects that my organization is trying to develop, especially the mosquito net project (www.againstmalaria.com/ugandawes...hint hint!) and working with orphans and starting a SACCO. But the most important thing my organization is trying to do now, for long term sustainability is to open up a health institute that trains people in a 3 year program to be comprehensive enrolled nurses (basically RN's in the states). Not only will this bring financial stability to my organization, it will be great for the country to have more skilled health professionals available. There is a shortage of nurses in this country especially in the east where there are only 2 schools that provide nurse training and they turn away many applicants. The health institute will be a boom to the economy of my sub county as well as providing them with better medical services. But as with everything, we are hitting roadblocks. To be accredited by the government to become a nursing institute, you have to have things already in place before you can start recieving students (and payment). Those things include books, a coaster van to haul students, teaching materials, and things like desks and chairs. Unfortunately, we don't have the funds for those things yet so we can't start. However, we are working hard at getting these items ASAP.

I just got back from training the new batch of volunteers on the VAC (volunteer advisory committee) committee that I am on (think student council). It was a blast to meet the new group and give out in words of wisdom that they were willing to listen too! It was surreal going back to the training town and remembering that it was only 4 months ago that I was here nervous and unsure about my future here. I also got to see my host family who were hosting one of the new volunteers and it was great to chat with them and keep in contact. They are a great family and my folks will get to meet them when they visit.

Ok, other net stuff to do, till next time...