Since being back at site I haven't really had much work to do. The term doesn't begin for another few weeks and most of the tutors are away at a workshop. I've been spending a lot of time with Fina, the college secretary. I nominated her for a counselor position at camp GLOW and since then her and I have gotten really close. She's educated, progressive, and has a sense of humor. I really enjoy spending time with her.

The past week we started watching Glee together. Some of you know homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and has even been punished by death. It's a very sensitive topic and one I try to avoid discussing with Ugandans. I'm pretty close to Fina and gave her a disclaimer before we started watching it. She assured me it was fine and that she'd have no problem.

I have to be honest, I wish I would have watched it with her a long time ago. I never would have thought watching an American TV program, much less Glee, with a Ugandan would be such a cross-cultural educational tool. I wouldn't recommend doing it with someone you don't trust or don't know very well but it's really opened doors to a plethora of topics we've never discussed.

Since watching Glee we've talked about homosexuality, body image and crash diets, parents talking to kids about dating, adoption, dating someone without having sex, marriage and fidelity, cheerleaders, divorce, learning disorders, down syndrome, wheelchairs, bullying, crying in public, and explaining artists like Lady Gaga and Kiss.

Fina's old perception of what it means to be gay was taken from the style channel. You should know that not many Ugandans, hardly any, have access to the style channel and this fact alone says a lot about Fina and her level of education. Even though I consider her to be a very educated Ugandan, she is also very ignorant. She thought that all gay men wear makeup and style hair. Can you blame her? If I lived in a country that refused to acknowledge the existence of homosexuality and the only exposure I got was the style channel, I might have similar beliefs. We had a really open and honest discussion about relationships and physical/emotional attraction. She asked if a man can be gay even though he doesn't have a boyfriend and she couldn't really grasp the concept. I asked her if she broke up with her boyfriend would she still be straight. She started to understand a bit more then.

I was surprised at the amount of genuine curiosity she had. She's 25 years old and is pursuing an advanced secretarial degree which requires her to spend a lot of time in the capital. I guess I've really taken for granted the importance of asking questions in America. We're taught from elementary school and before that if you don't understand something you ask questions.

Homosexuality wasn't the only topic we discussed. Another one I really enjoyed was explaining how Americans tend to be a bit more free with their emotions. I've had some pretty rough days over my past 2 years spent here and I've learned that Ugandans hate seeing me cry. It makes them so uncomfortable! I found out that they hide their emotions because they don't want their enemies to see them cry because then they will get joy out of it...or something to that degree. I explained that in America it's common for me to talk about how you feel, with friends and family especially.

Be it explaining why the men of Kiss wear makeup on their faces and have long hair, even though they're men, or how if you get pregnant in America you can still continue your studies, Glee has been an invaluable tool in opening the lines of communication on tricky and culturally sensitive topics. Who would have thought?

This Christmas/New Year's was one of the most unique and memorable holidays I've ever had. I traveled overland from Kampala to Dar es Salaam with 4 other PCVs, the "Fab 5" (Matt, Dave, Charlene, and Lisa). We eventually met up with a bigger group of PCVs on Zanzibar Island to celebrate New Year's together. As stunning as Zanzibar was, and it was absolutely breathtaking, I really enjoyed and appreciated my time in Dar.

After living in Uganda for close to 2 years, it doesn't take a lot to impress me. Don't get me wrong, I love it here...but it's not always easy. The capital is filthy, harassment is an every day occurrence, you have to bargain like mad just to buy a head of cabbage in the market, you always assume people are ripping you off. It can be wearing. I was so ready for a vacation (especially after being evacuated from my last 2...) but I also didn't have terribly high expectations. We were traveling by bus most of the way to get there, and it's still Africa, right? Wrong.

Yes the traveling wasn't ideal. It was even less than ideal when we found out the train wasn't working due to flooding in Dar and that we'd have to take an even longer bus to get there. Honestly, we were so excited to be on vacation that the traveling didn't really get to us...until the last day...when it took us 4 hours to travel less than 100km. By then we were more than ready to get off that damn bus! We endured hours of speed bumps that didn't even make a blip on our driver's radar. It was kind of fun at first, especially since we were at the back of the bus. But by about the 2nd or 3rd hour, when we were trying to nap a bit, it wasn't fun anymore, especially since we were at the back of the bus. The driver didn't even pretend to slow down over the bumps. In fact, I'm pretty sure he accelerated before going over them! It was so bad that other passengers were complaining to the patrol officer when he pulled us over...for going to fast. That was a first for me. Combine this with sitting behind a speaker (the only speaker on the bus) blaring Bollywood music for hours on end and you can maybe begin to get a glimpse of just how uncomfortable this bus ride was.

Fast forward to Dar, Christmas Eve. It was our first time being in a place for more than a night and we were more than ready to relax and really let our vacation begin. The streets were clean, the roads were marked and posted with street signs, boda bodas weren't allowed in the city center, the people were friendly, all the buildings and shops had signs. It was organized! And did I mention clean? I was in love. We checked into our hotel and explored the town a bit before finding ourselves on the rooftop bar/restaurant of the Holiday Inn. I don't think I'll ever be able to capture in words just how special this night was to me. It was my first time spending Christmas without family and here I was, in Africa, sitting on the rooftop smoking shisha, just enjoying the company of those around me and thankful to have finally showered. I was so happy! It got even better when Matt's dad called him and read "The Night Before Christmas" over the phone to us. Being able to glimpse into someone else's tradition was an amazing feeling. I almost started crying not because I was sad to be missing Christmas with my family but because I was so happy to be spending Christmas with my family, my Peace Corps family. It was such a surreal experience and one that I will always cherish.

Christmas day we took a ferry to Kigamboni and spent the day on Kipepeo beach. First Christmas ever where I drank out of a coconut and barely wore anything other than my swim suit the entire day. We took advantage of the absurdity of our celebrating and had a photo shoot. The Christmas tree is courtesy of Dave's grandma and it survived the transit from KLA to Dar. We took the ferry back to mainland and decided to check out the fish market for dinner. It was closed but some of the street vendors were cooking FRESH octopus, squid, and fish and there was a man making chapati which meant only one thing...FISH TACOS! We stuffed our faces. You may be sketched out at the idea of buying and eating fish cooked at the side of the road by a group of men that barely understand English, but we were ecstatic! You can't get decent seafood in Uganda! One of the best parts was when Lisa, Charlene and I sat with a group of men and greeted them with out limited Kiswahili. They men were so excited to share a meal with us they gave us half of their fish. I have no idea what kind of fish it was but it was fantastic. My Christmas dinner consisted of octopus tacos and fish that I ate with my bare hands. After dinner we cleaned up and found a club to go dancing. The cover was a bit steep (we were still used to being in Peace Corps mode at this point, which means being painfully cheap) but we decided to pay it anyway and enjoy ourselves. We danced until close to 3 in the morning. Another first for me: dancing to a Christmas carol at the club.

We spent Boxing day in Dar and then left for Stone Town on the 27th. We met a few different groups of Peace Corps volunteers from Zambia and Namibia. It was really refreshing to see how we automatically have this unspoken bond and friendship with each other. I've never experienced something like that in America and it makes me excited to meet returned PCVs when I come home. We did a spice tour in Stone Town and I learned all about cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, nutmeg, etc. It was actually really educational.

We left for the beach on the 29th and stayed in Bwejuu until the 4th, when we flew back to Uganda. Honestly most of the days blurred together. It was a whole lot of being lazy, lounging on the beach, taking naps, swimming, and hanging out. Matt introduced us to "Zanziball," the beach form of Bocce ball and everyone spent a lot of time playing that. The tide had really extreme highs and lows and we could only swim during the high tide. We went snorkeling and kayaking on the ocean. I got my first ever massage. It was truly what I needed...a relaxing vacation.

Here I am back in Uganda and starting to think about what comes next. For the longest time I didn't have to think about COS (close of service) until after GLOW, until after Zanzibar. Now it's after GLOW and Zanzibar.

I'm here finishing up projects until the end of March when I leave for 6 weeks in Thailand for one last adventure before coming home. Then I'll be back in May. Get ready for it!

I've been terrible about giving consistent updates. So sorry. Yes I did have malaria. Yes it was awful and I got pretty sick and lost a bit of weight from it. Yes I do think it's kind of cool to be able to tell people that I had malaria while living in Africa but YES I AM TAKING MY MEDICINE and have no intention of getting it again before I leave.

Onto more exciting things...

Camp GLOW was a HUGE success! I feel even more proud of it's success this year than I did last year. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I was one of the co-directors. Bottom line: Alyssa and I killed it. We overcame every obstacle thrown our way (and there were a lot!) and managed to put together a week long camp that not only changed the girls' lives, but impacted the women and PCVs involved as well as my own life too. This camp has such a positive message and I can't help but get giddy when I talk about it. It's definitely one of the best things I have been involved in during my time here and it's been one of the most gratifying.

The set up was pretty much the same as last year, with a few minor scheduling changes to make it feel more like a summer camp and take some of the emphasis away from classroom learning. If you want a more detailed break down check out the website http://glowuganda2011.drupalgardens.com/ Fellow PCV Tony worked really hard getting everything together and a special thanks to our media crew (Dave, Tony, Stevie) for all the awesome pictures!

I want to give a few of my personal highlights from the week:

-checking in girls during the registration on the first day and having them remember me from an AFRIpads presentation I gave at their school

-not being called madame and just being and equal with all the girls and women involved

-the camp GLOW song. I rewrote the words to Shakira's "Waka Waka" and I can't even explain how amazing it felt hearing all the girls and counselors (and male staff!) sing in unison when we welcomed the boys from camp BUILD during our field day

-being told we set the bar high for next year's camp

-giving the AFRIpads presentation, passing out a donated kit to each girl, and watching them get excited for Judith, a tailor from AFRIpads, to give her motivational presentation

-hearing the group cheers

-a group of girls returning a 50 shilling piece (less than 10 cents) they found in their bags and realized didn't belong to them (we had a small issue with money missing during the week...)

-watching the counselors bond with their girls

-the sense of teamwork that developed as the week went on

-doing the Cupid Shuffle with all the staff and counselors during our talent show

-having girls come up to me to personally thank me for all the work we put into planning the camp

-getting a beer at 11am after all the girls left on the last day of camp. Tony bought our first round and then gave a toast saying how working at GLOW was something he'd been really looking forward to. Our staff was really phenomenal.

What started as a crappy day (hearing the DPP ask students what to ask the visitor to donate to the college, having a 20 minute conversation with a GROWN man explaining why it's challenging to be harrassed on a daily basis and how sometimes the thought of going to the market just puts me in a bad mood because it means leaving the safety bubble of the college, stress over planning GLOW, realizing I'm actually leaving Uganda soon with no plans in sight, a persistent headache I've had the past 3 days that just won't go away, etc.) turned into one of the best evenings I've had with my students.

I've gotten really close to Fina, the college secretary, the past few weeks. She's come to my house for baking, invited me to her house for dinner, given me a chicken, continues to give me bananas and eggs, and is just a fun, easygoing person. She's my age, progressive, and, honestly, reminds me more of an American than she does a Ugandan. Needless to say, I love spending time with her.

Anyway, after the whirlwind of a day that consisted of a program set around our "visitor from Sweden" ($$$), Fina told me we were playing volleyball with the students. I grabbed Buzi and my new frisbee (best Peace Corps grab box find!) and headed to the field. I've been trying to play with the students since I got here...2 months ago.

Seeing Madame Kirabo head to the field with dog in tow definitely brought in a crowd. We quickly had a game set up and my team dominated! I like to think it was from my killer serves...as soon as they realized I could serve over the net, that became my designated position and I didn't rotate the rest of the game.

There was something about running around in the grass and mud barefoot that melted away my bad mood. Walking barefoot in the grass is something I need to start doing more of. It feels amazing and immediately brings me back to summers in Texas, sitting on the back porch swing, eating watermelon and drinking lemonade.

My students also surprised me. They usually speak a mix of Luganda/English pretty much all the time. A few were surprised I could "handle the ball" and when I busted out with "Kitufu, manyi kuzannya. Kati, mugambe oluzungu!" (It's true, I know how to play. Now speak English!) they were beside themselves. For the rest of the game they were correcting each other whenever they slipped into speaking local language. That and having Buzi run on and off the "court" without scaring any of them absolutely made my day. Students finally saw me as more than just the white lady who teaches PES and gets pissed at them if they're late to class.

The good: During the first half of the volleyball game there was a gorgeous rainbow over the hills behind the school. Have I mentioned I live in what I like to describe as a zen yoga retreat oasis, complete with hills and greenery as far as you can see? Breathtaking.

I also sold 25 AFRIpads to my girls. In two hours.

The bad: I ripped my skirt while playing volleyball. I'd like to say I had an intense move where I face planted into the ground to save the ball, but what really happened is my spaz of a dog got too excited and bit/tore my skirt. He was tied all day. Can't blame him.

The ugly: The pump is broken. I don't have a latrine. Bucket flushing your toilet once a day (sometimes once every 2 days) sucks. Enough said.

Sorry for not posting in over a month. Will work on that. And congratulations to Mar, got accepted to UNT! So proud!

Ash

The quality isn't the best, but you get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnn2sY0gNkA

I've been awful at updating this thing. I wanted to wait until something amazing happened at my new place or until I had some really cool integration story, but nothing like that's happened yet. I keep forgetting that my posts don't always have to be positive and a lot of the times I try to avoid writing a negative post, no matter how honest or accurate it may be, because things sound so much worse back home and I don't want anyone worrying about me.

Having completed more than half of my service I'm definitely guilty of having the mentality that I'm entitled. It's the sense of having earned something. You put in the effort, and you get acceptance and respect. Makes sense. Changing sites knocks you to the very bottom of the totem pole and forces you to do the work all over again.

In the timeline of PC service, right about now is when I'd be handing over projects and stepping back even more than I had been. Getting my site ready for life without me there or, in otherwords, making all of my work sustainable. The last 6 months are supposed to be easier, fun, and a time to really enjoy and appreciate all the work and effort you've put into the past year and a half you've spent with your community. It's not typical for a volunteer to start over with so little time left in their service. To put it bluntly, site changes completely suck. Especially when you don't want one. I'm trying my best to stay positive, but lately I'm feeling a little bitter.

It was hard to leave behind my old site and to leave behind students that I've taught my entire time here. It was even worse not being able to observe them during their final school practice (student teaching) and get them ready to apply for jobs. It was difficult not being able to say goodbye to the people that took me in and made me a part of the community. But I got over it, or at least I accepted that it was something I had to do.

Now I'm struggling with being seen as a new volunteer when I've already gone through all the work and growing pains of establishing myself as a legitimate member of a community. Sometimes you have days when you feel like you never want to leave this place. Everything clicks...you have work, you're busy, projects are successful, everyone knows you, and you even have a social life in the village. These days are what I live for. It also takes a lot of work and dedication to get to that level of integration. As awful as it sounds, right now I'm not motivated to do that work.

I know what I have to do to be not only accepted into a community, but also to be happy in the village. I've done it before, and I've done it correctly. I'm having this terrible inner struggle with myself where I know the work that needs to be done, but I feel like I shouldn't have to do it again. It's that awful and selfish sense of entitlement I was talking about before. I'm indirectly taking out all my frustrations on my new community by not giving them the same effort I gave to Kyotera. While my situation is by no means fair, the way I am reacting is completely unfair to Nakaseke.

I've been too negative lately and I'm working to focus on the positives and how fortunate I am to be at such a well-off school where the tutors are qualified. Today is just one of those days where I woke up and thought I was back in Rakai. Being homesick for a place in Uganda is something I never thought I would experience.

I guess with all the negativity and bitterness and pent up resentment I'm waiting to find the opportunity that I know has to be right in front of my face. I've taken my time to be upset and to mope around. It's way past time for me to get motivated and find out where I'm needed here. They say there's a silver lining to every dark cloud; I'm just waiting to find mine.

More to come soon, but I am officially a tutor at Nakaseke Core Primary Teachers' college in Nakaseke, Luweero district.

**I have a new mailing address: P.O. Box 26 Wobulenzi, Uganda**

I'll write a longer update soon. Know that I am ok and have transitioned as best as possible. Miss you guys.

I've been up an down lately. With all the difficulties I've been experiencing, both personally and professionally, I have lost focus of why I'm here. I feel like I'm going crazy. My emotions have gone haywire and I cry almost every time someone asks me about my site. I hate not having control and not being able to keep myself in check. I'm not that person, and I don't want to become that person.

Yes, I am here for myself...to a certain extent. I'm here to learn about myself, to push myself outside of my comfort zone, to grow, and to to get the experience of a lifetime. After living here for a year, I can confidently say I know myself better than I ever have before and that I have changed. Africa changes you. Peace Corps changes you. I think it's change for the better, though.

So while I am here for myself, more importantly I am here for my community. For the little boy sitting next to me on my taxi ride home who I share a muffin with. For the kids who greet me at my doorstep. For the shop owners who offer a genuine smile and handshake every time I stop by to buy eggs or bread. For the voices calling "Bye, Kirabo!" from the matooke fields as I pass by on my way home. For the lady who gives me a free pineapple because I greeted her in the local language. For my students whose scores have dramatically improved since I started teaching them. For the girls and women all over Uganda who I have been educating end empowering to be able to take care of their bodies. For the brothers who now know how to bake. For the children's ward in the health center. For the sisters who feed me dinner every Sunday night. For teaching scrabble. For playing volleyball. For being invited to visit family members. For every member of Biikira Parish who picked up a paint brush to help complete 8 murals in the village and for every person who reads the messages from these murals.

That's why I'm here. Life is difficult and messy and right now I seem to be getting hit from all angles, but I've spent enough time being sad. It's time to pick myself back up and make the best of my situation. I love my village and my community too much to give up on them now. Does that make me crazy? Maybe, but I know they love and respect me just as much, if not more. And maybe that makes them crazy.

Being a woman in Uganda is challenging. Living here has made me realize how much I took for granted being a women in America. Uganda is a country where women are still seen as lesser than men. This is apparent when you see any Ugandan woman greet a man...she kneels down, lowers her eyes, and shakes his hand. It's the way the culture is here and while I may not agree with it, I'm by no means in any position to try and change it.

What's more challenging is being a white woman in Uganda. Sure the sexual harassment and the negative attention are a lot to deal with, but I've learned to tolerate them (most of the time). What I still sometimes struggle with is being part of a "third gender." The Ugandan man is definitely at the top and the Ugandan woman is definitely at the bottom. Based on the color of my skin and all that it implies (that I have money, that I'm educated, etc.) I fall somewhere in the middle where I'm not quite equal to a man but I'm treated with more respect than a woman. I understand this, but it doesn't make it any easier.

Sometimes I am treated like a man out of respect but I definitely don't get the same privileges. As a woman if I speak my mind I have to be very careful of what I say and who I say it to. If I have an idea that I know will benefit the community I need to make sure it comes from a man if I every want to implement it. Other times I am separated from the women, again out of respect, because as a "visitor" you are expected to talk and eat with members of higher class, ie men, and not those who prepare the meals and clean, ie, women.

Just something interesting to think about. Uganda is behind America in terms of gender equality (Ugandan men can't believe male Peace Corps volunteers cook for me or help me wash dishes!). Being a part of this culture has made me appreciate how I am viewed and treated in America. Definitely something I'm looking forward to coming home to.

This is a topic I’ve been contemplating, especially since my latest coping mechanism involves dodging site. We all joined Peace Corps with notions of what our lives should or shouldn’t be like. A year and a half later I still don’t know if there’s a set definition for what it means to be a PCV, much less a good one.

When I found out I was coming to Uganda, I researched as much as I could about this tiny country. I thought I’d be living in a mud hut, isolated from civilization, never speaking English, and eating bugs with my neighbors. Aside from the bug eating part, I couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I live in the doctor’s quarters of a health center in a house that is bigger than my apartment in America. Granted, I don’t have running water or consistent electricity, but my house is pretty ballin’. Life here is nothing like I expected it would be.

I didn’t think I’d get super close to other volunteers and was genuinely shocked at how quickly I became part of a family with my training group. These people have been the foundation to my success here and without them my life here would have been bearable, but not nearly as enriched.

As volunteers, we tend to get a complex about being a “good PCV.” Does it mean we’re not supposed to leave site to socialize with each other? Does it mean we shouldn’t splurge every once in a while on “American” food and luxuries, like Heinz ketchup instead of tomato sauce, and decent shampoo? Does it mean we shouldn’t allow ourselves access to daily internet? The longer I spend here the more I realize I don’t have to deprive myself from the things that give me joy, I don’t have to limit my happiness in order to be a good PCV.

Does being a good PCV mean you close yourself off to the outside world? Absolutely not. To me, it’s about sharing experiences and growing as a person. I’ve learned more about myself in the last year and a half than I did in all of my college years. I’ve changed as a person. I’ve begun to realize how short life really is and just how quickly time passes (I only have 9 months left??). I’ve stopped holding back as much and I’ve opened myself up and shared myself with people.

So what If some of us pay for someone to cook us dinner or to wash our clothes, does that mean we’re not “Peace Corps”? If something contributes to your overall wellbeing and doesn’t harm anyone in the process, then do it. I’m tired of getting caught up in the immense guilt of constantly trying to “be more PC.” Life here is hard enough as it is and only gets unnecessarily harder if I limit myself by falling victim to this mindset.

I like to think I’m a good PCV, but then again I’m biased. I have a dog and an internet modem and make up that makes me feel feminine and pretty when I wear it. I have 2 phones and 4 different network sim cards to be able to connect and stay in touch with volunteers here. Communication keeps me sane and reminds me that I’m still at least a little normal and haven’t turned into a total freak show here. I have a truly incredible boyfriend who continues to help me grow into a better person, and a better volunteer. Without that constant support and encouragement from him and my best friends here, I wouldn’t be happy. I wouldn’t be as strong as I have been to deal with what Uganda, and life for that matter, throw at me.

I would still be “PC,” but my life wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as it is now. If I am happy and emotionally and mentally stable, I get more work done and more fulfillment out of the work that I do. If I’m not happy and emotionally sound, then I’m not worth anything to the people here.

The one thing I know with absolutely certainty is that I refuse to close myself off to happiness. PC doesn’t always have to mean suffering. Of course life here is way harder than it is in America, but at the end of the day, I know I’m doing good things here. I’m focused and determined and I know when I need to take a mental break from site. To me, being able to maintain that balance is what it means to be a good PCV.

There are two things I hate the most in Uganda: getting sick and transport. These past few days the stars aligned and I was fortunate enough to be blessed with both.

Since my PTC shut down, I've been out East doing AFRIpads presentations. 11 presentations, 400+ pads, and hundreds of girls in two weeks. It's been equally awesome and exhausting.

Towards the end of my Eastern trek, I managed to get some sort of nasty cold as well as some pretty wicked flu symptoms. Being away from site and being sick just puts me in a crappy, negative, even depressed mood. Traveling is exahusting and, when paired with being sick, it's downright debilitating.

Turns out I had a bladder infection and schisto. Fun stuff. I was looking forward to getting back to site, turning off my phone, taking a boatload of meds, and getting back into the swing of things. Aside from taking a boatload of meds, everything else was a disaster.

Long story short: My principal continues to be a very corrupt man, "mismanaging finances." And it turns out he was transferred from the last college he worked FOR THE SAME REASON. Peace Corps knew this and willingly gave him another volunteer. What I didn't know was that the Ministry of Education only wanted him to get another volunteer to help correct the budget and money management. Woah, I'm finding out a year later this is what I'm supposed to be doing? No thanks.

The list goes on...Brother Lawrence turned in his keys and quit because, big surprise, the principal refused to pay him. My principal made a blatant pass at me bordering on sexual harrassment in the middle of my having, what I thought was, a serious conversation with him. On top of all this I took my last round of schisto meds and passed out for a good two days. I'm talking didn't get out of bed and barely woke up. Nasty stuff, I felt like death.

Throw in my post office closing down (again), the secondary school calling to say Buzi killed 3 sheep and that they are going to kill him (when the brothers watching him said they didn't know anything about this and Buzi has been well behaved the whole time), and someone stealing a brand new roll of TP from my latrine (I've been here a year+ and have never had to lock my latrine!) It's been a hell of a week.

Oh, and did I mention that Peace Corps wants me to "seriously consider moving sites" due to all the financial crap going down at the college? After integrating into my community and becoming family with some of the people there the thought of moving brings me to tears.

Such is the continuous roller coaster that is Peace Corps. You have incredible highs, and then you have incredible lows. This is definitely one of my lowest. Not to worry, I'll get through it...I always do.

Missing everyone.

I just finished reading my 50th book in country (the ones with stars are my favorites):

*Educating Esme (Esme Raji Codell)

The 10th Circle (Jodi Picoult)

The Alchemist (Paulo Coelino)

A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)

Last Summer of You and Me (Ann Brasheares)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Mark Haddan)

*The Glass Castle (Jeanette Walls)

House of Sand and Fog (Andre DuBus III)

Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

Three Junes (Julia Glass)

*Running with Scissors (Augusten Burroughs)

Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood (Rebecca Wells)

*The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)

The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

The Pact (Jodi Picoult)

*The Giver (Lois Lowry)

Boy Meets Girl (Meg Cabot)

Queen of Babble in the Big City (Meg Cabot)

The Beach House (Jan Green)

Three Cups of Tea (Greg Mortenson)

Cesar's Way (Cesar Milan)

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

*Mister Pip (Lloyd Jones)

*Naked (David Sedaris)

The Fall (Albert Camus)

Picture Perfect (Jodi Picoult)

*Same Kind of Different as Me (Ron Hall and Denver Moore)

Bloodsucking Fiends (Christopher Moore)

The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitsgerald)

*The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

Disgrace (J.M. Coetzee)

*Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer)

For One More Day (mitch Albom)

The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)

In the Time of the Butterflies (Julia Alvarez)

The Indian in the Cupboard (Lynne Reid Banks)

The Post-Birthday World (Lionel Shriver)

The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb)

Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)

The Devil in the White City (Erik Larson)

*A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)

Conversations with my Dog (Zig Ziglar)

*The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton)

*Little Bee (Chris Cleave)

*5 Quarters of the Orange (Joanne Harris)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larson)

B is for Beer (Tom Robbins)

I've delayed. I know. But the story (and more importantly, the pictures!) is finally here. As of 2 weeks ago I finished up my huge mural painting project. The idea was to get people talking about how to avoid the spread HIV/AIDS. My students drew pictures depicting situations that can potentially lead to spreading HIV, such as sharing needles and having multiple sexual partners. Aside from the planning and organizing, I really can't take that much credit for it. My students did the majority of the prep work and, with the help of some truly amazing Peace Corps volunteers, we finished up the painting in one day. The pictures are posted on facebook, from the beginning of the project to the (almost) end. We still have to put a few messages in local language up, but we're getting there.

The entire weekend was a huge success. I was anticipating a few bumps along the way, but honestly it couldn't have run more smoothly. I hosted about 28 PCVs at my house and when everyone arrived Friday night we ate 4 kilos of rice (and who knows how many grilled veggies) out of a huge pot, family style.

Saturday was painting day! Each of the 8 painting sites had 2-3 PCVs and several students from the college. By the time I finished running around making sure people had paintbrushes, mixing containers, paint thinner, etc., most of the work was finished! I can't even begin to express my gratitude to the group of PCVs who came down to help out. Even more amazing was how proud my students were of their work. They were the artists and had a lot of say in how they wanted their pictures colored. It was one of the best days I've had at site.

As a thank you to having everyone come down and help, we roasted 2 goats and a chicken on Sunday. We also had a football match, PCVs vs. Rakai PTC students. Sunday was pretty much a day to relax and hang out. We had another family style meal while we were waiting for the meat to cook, this time an appetizer of guacamole. I think at least 20 avocados went into the mix!

Thanks for everyone's support throughout this project. Feedback is welcome!

Ashley

This past week has been my busiest since I’ve been in country. I’ve been waking up at 6 to try and squeeze in a work out before spending the better half of the day at the college (on average from 8-6 every day). My students have been phenomenal. We managed to paint, grid, and draw all 8 pictures on the mural sites in 3 days. I thought drawing the pictures would take us all weekend and part of Monday to finish…my students finished on Thursday! When I told them to break for lunch, they told me they were going to finish before eating. I was shocked; I’ve never gotten that sort of response from anyone here! In my experience, they try and find any excuse they can to get out of working. It really made me realize how pumped my students are about this project. Joan, one of the second year girls in my girls club, came up to me and said how proud she was to be involved in the project and how it was going to do amazing things for the community by spreading educational messages. This whole week I have been busting with pride. I can’t stop smiling! This magnificent high I’ve been riding is still around, and I ‘m freaking loving it. To feel this good about work for this long is a foreign concept for me, but I really hope it continues to last. My community is coming alive and I can’t wait to see how they interact with the 35+ Peace Corps volunteers that are coming down my way next weekend to help us paint.

Now for the downside…getting all the work done on Thursday meant I really didn’t have much to do over the weekend. I decided I’d take Friday off and have a “me day.” Bad idea. Laziness here is like this terrible black hole. It sucks you in without warning and before you know it you’ve watched 8 episodes of Freaks and Geeks, had 5 cups of hot chocolate, and devoured an entire 2.5 serving pasta meal. Did I just confess to that? Oops. But it’s true. And after the awesome productive week I had I felt so disgusted with myself after Friday. And guilty. I felt like such a waste of a human being and I really didn’t like it. I didn’t leave my house and I don’t even think I changed out of my pajamas all day. I guess days like that are good every once in a while, but they’re also dangerous. It’s terrifyingly easy to slip into that mindset of “just one more episode…” and the next thing you know it’s 8:00 at night and you haven’t done a single productive thing all day.

I’m definitely going to make up for it this week, though. Before Friday I have to slash my yard, clear the walk ways, clean the latrine, empty out and clean the neighboring house, clean my house, arrange to have 20 mattresses delivered, teach 7 lessons at the college, pay for and pick up the 2 goats we’ll be roasting at the celebration on Sunday, make sure the football pitch is ready for the tournament, sensitize my kids about proper behavior around visitors (ie, not begging for money or calling them mazungu), and have a meal ready for the 24 people staying at my house by the time they all get here Friday evening. Just another week in Uganda!

Wish me luck! Completed mural pictures to come soon!

Love y’all,

Ash

Love is a funny thing. It takes seconds to fall in love but years to fully understand what love is. It’s that warmth that pulses through your veins and makes you feel fuzzy. It seeps out of every pore of your body. It’s irrational. It makes you feel invincible and ready to take on the world. It makes you venerable and open to the possibility of hurt but even more wonderful it opens you to the opportunity of feeling pure happiness.

Ask me on a different day when I’ve been woken up on a bus by getting a face full of curdled yogurt vomit slewn in through the window by someone retching out the window two rows in front of me (which really happened, by the way) and I may deny what I’m about to say, but right now where I am, I am genuinely in love with my life in Uganda. It’s been a roller coaster full of ups, downs, dips and turns, but it’s led me to one of the most rewarding places I’ve ever been.

I’ve been in a sort of “non-funk” lately and it took some quality time with a group of amazing people and a home cooked Chinese meal by a very respected fellow PCV to make me realize just how negative I’ve been. As volunteers, we go through a sometimes vicious cycle of ups and downs. Peace Corps service truly is love hate. I recently had my mid-service conference and after talking with the other volunteers from my training class, I was able to step back and reflect on my overall outlook on my life. I didn’t like what I saw. I saw this jaded and cynical person. That’s not who I am.

I’ve been holding onto this irrational sense of entitlement. So I’ve been living here for a year, who cares? To everyone else I’m just another white person, just another short term volunteer to take advantage of and earn a few extra shillings from. Just another dollar sign with the potential of paying for school fees or another sachet of Waragi. Can I blame them? Honestly, not really. With the amount of foreign aid that’s been dumped into this country it’s no wonder (most) Ugandans think white people are the cure all. Why should I work when the mzungu is going to come in and build a school for me? This is the bitter cynical side I’ve been talking about. But if letting go of my pride and even some of my feeling of self worth means I’ll have an overall more enjoyable and rewarding experience here then sign me up. I need to stop being so sensitive to the general population’s view of me. What matters is how I present myself to those I actually respect, the people I see on a daily basis, my colleagues and friends.

I’ve decided to do whatever it takes to make this next year truly count. I’m having the most unforgettable experience I could ever hope for and I’m finished taking it for granted. The last few weeks I’ve taken the time to think about my life. I live in a beautiful country. I’m able to see the stars more clearly than I ever have before. I’ve seen some of the most breathtaking sunrises. I’ve seen pure and undeveloped nature. I’ve gotten closer to people in the last 15 months than I have with some people my entire life. I’ve felt comfortable in my own skin and grown less afraid and skeptical of change. I am so privileged to be where I am.

I made sure to come back to site with this outlook and it’s been fantastic. I’m taking the time to do the things that I’ve for some reason or another been putting off. I managed to invite myself to dinner with the sisters last night and ended up having one of the loveliest evenings I’ve ever had. They are genuine people and were so happy to have my company for dinner. You invite yourself over to dinner in America and you’re not always greeted with the same hospitality. Now I have a dinner date every Sunday at the convent. Even better, through casual conversation they presented ideas for new projects and now we’re going to work together to train the community health workers to be able to issue ARVs to the HIV positive patients in the area.

My best friend, Brother Lawrence, is back. He’s Kenyan and therefore doesn’t get paid by the Ugandan government. For the past year he’s basically been teaching for free because the principal hasn’t been paying him. He finally had enough and decided to leave the college to finish his studies. The University is on holiday for the summer months so he came back to volunteer at the college the next few months. I went to greet him today and ended up spending the entire morning and afternoon playing scrabble, washing his 6 new puppies, and having lunch with the brothers.

The people here truly care about me and trust me. I’ve been taking that for granted. I’ve been taking my life for granted and for a while I lost sight of why I’m here. I got caught up in the negativity and the bitterness I’ve been harboring. A really good friend of mine recently told me to figure out what’s important and what you’re willing to give up to keep it. My relationships in this country are what are important. They’re what matters and what keep me in Uganda. If being harassed by people who don’t know me the same way Brother Lawrence and the sisters do is something that I have to deal with then so be it. I’m willing to give up my pride to keep what really matters: the friendships I have with Ugandans that continue to change my life every day I’m here. I’m in love with my life and I plan to continue riding this high every minute I’m here.

A year ago I swore in as a PCV. I moved away from my family of other volunteers into my village and began to understand what a “primary school teacher trainer” really did. I’ve overcome more struggles this past year than I have my whole life, and have had even more successes.

A year in Uganda has made me learn to appreciate the small things in life and the importance of patience. The littlest thing like being addressed by name can make all the difference in how much satisfaction I get out of my day.

A year in Uganda has shown me how much of a self motivator I really am. It’s taught me to not care about what people think or how they perceive me because, here, they’re going to talk about me and stare at me no matter what I do.

A year in Uganda has taught me the value of being a woman, something I definitely took for granted in America. I’ve been sexually harassed on a near daily basis here, from being asked for sex in a somewhat joking matter to be flat out propositioned for sex as a fee for getting my mail.

A year in Uganda has made me realize how strong I am and how much I can endure. I’ve pushed myself to the limits and, if possible, have set higher standards for myself than I ever did in America. More importantly, I’ve learned how to pick myself back up and try a new approach when I don’t quite meet the goals I’ve set for myself or when I’ve utterly failed.

A year in Uganda has made me realize the value of relationships. I first had the know-it-all approach of wanting to “fix” everything that was wrong with my village, or what I thought was wrong at least. I’ve learned without the trust and respect of my community, nothing can get done. My relationships in this country are the backbone of my success and along the way I’ve met some truly inspiring and amazing people. They have changed my life more than they know and I hope I have done a sliver of the same for them.

A year in Uganda has taught me that while having initiative is one of the keys to success, you won’t get anywhere without follow through. Watching foreign aid come in and build schools without training teachers devastates this country and instills in it the notion that white people are the save all because they throw money around to fix problems. I’ve truly learned to respect and appreciate the value of Peace Corps as an organization. They have it right when they put volunteers in high need communities with the expectation of training locals and providing them with the skills they need in order to live a successful life. Like the old saying goes, if you give a man a fish he eats for a day but if you teach a man a fish he eats for a lifetime.

A year in Uganda has shown me that change doesn’t necessarily mean the end. Change is definitely a scary concept that I am still getting comfortable with, but more than that change brings about opportunity and growth. Without change things would remain stagnant and boring. Change means excitement and the chance to learn even more about yourself.

A year in Uganda has made me appreciate family and friendship. Without the constant and never judging support I get from you guys back home, there's no way I'd still be where I am today. Your love and encouragement keeps me going on the days when I find it hard to muster up the motivation to leave me house. Thanks for all you do!

Ash

A lot of people have been asking me what a typical day in Uganda is like. Ask any PCV and they'll tell you there's really no such thing as "typical" in Uganda. Today, however, was an exceptionally amazing day so I'll use it as an example that will hopefully give you a better idea of what life can be like here.

Sunday usually means laundry day. I gathered all my dirty clothes from the past two weeks and proceeded to wash them...by hand. By now, I have a pretty good system for laundry where I set up outside on my back porch: clothes basket with dirty clothes, wash basin with soapy water, wash basin with clean rinse water. The whole process takes about an hour. I wash each piece by hand, whites first then darks and finally towels. I hang everything (minus "unmentionables," which are hung on an indoor clothesline) on a clothesline behind my house. On a good day, with lots of sunshine and no clouds or rain, my cloths are usually dry a little after lunch.

After I finished washing, I worked out. P90X is my new favorite thing in Uganda, especially the cardio workout...that thing kicks my butt! And, thanks to some gracious PCV who donated an old pair of tennies to the PC grab box, I finally have a pair of running shoes! I didn't realize how much I'd been missing them until I got them and, trust me, I am using them every day. I finished up my workout and made breakfast, oatmeal with wheat bran and peanut butter.

I recently got a package from Grandma that had some coloring books and crayons in it. I took a book and a box of crayons next door to color with Jackie and Joy. They had a blast! They watched me color and then somehow copied me by staying inside the lines of the pictures instead of scribbling all over the page. Martha, the girls' mom, heard us laughing and came out to see what was going on. She ended up coloring, too. We were all sitting on Martha's front porch when Sister Immaculate, one of the supervisors at the health center, came over to see what we were doing. She got so excited about the pictures that she asked me if I would do the same thing at the children's ward with the patients about to be discharged.

I couldn't have been happier. By this point in my service, I've kind of backed off proposing project ideas because I've found that things work much better when people approach me with an idea. When they take ownership over a project proposal they become invested and don't want to see it fail whereas if I suggest something and it falls through, they aren't the ones failing...I am. The fact that Sr. Immaculate not only pitched an idea to me but was excited about it has a lot of potential for success. New project: arts and crafts at the health center in the children's ward!

Side note: Sr. Immaculate walked me back to my house and started asking questions about Afripads. She wants to start selling them in the canteen at the health center to raise money for the children's ward. Again, even thought this is a project I am 100% behind and have even suggested in the past, the idea came from Sr Immaculate which means that it has the potential to be sustainable.

Namusisi, one of my best friends and fellow tutors at the college, came by to visit me. We sat on the porch and made plans to walk to town tomorrow and go to the market. She went home and I read for a while in my hammock outside.

So that was my day. Granted, it was a Sunday and I didn't have any classes to teach. It may seem boring or slow or whatever you want to call it, but it was a good day for me. I take my victories where I can get them and seeing community members comfortable enough to approach me with project ideas is a huge victory. How did you spend your Sunday?

I am writing this post with a very happy and excited heart. It's official...my grant was approved today and we'll be painting 7 murals in Biikira! I had a meeting with the tutors at the college and I think they were more excited about planning the project than I was (shocker, you all know how I feel about planning!!). Here's a rundown of the project:

We'll be working with students at the college to illustrate messages that educate the community on the spread of HIV/AIDS and how to avoid putting yourself at risk. The students will be working together in groups to come up with 7 different pictures to be painted throughout the village. I'm hoping to have an HIV lesson in the upcoming weeks and have the pictures finished before the students leave for holiday, around Easter. When the return for 2nd term at the end of May we'll prep the sites with plaster and background paint then paint outlines of the pictures on the walls so that on June 11th, when all of my wonderful Peace Corps friends and staff will be making the trek down here, we will work together to basically do a paint by number to complete the project.

I am ecstatic! Not only for the knowledge we will be spreading to the community but mainly for the fact that my tutors are completely and 100% on board with this project! They are taking complete ownership and making plans to involve the entire community. They even want to turn the weekend into a whole HIV education event, including teaching life skills to the youth and having the health center host an HIV testing fair. I couldn't be more proud of them.

More to come and expect TONS of pictures!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Love y'all so much,

Ash

I promise it's not ALL food!

water fountains

sidewalk

lettuce

sturdy nails that don't bend in half when you hammer them

ice cream

chicken fajitas from Taco Cabana

margaritas

SxSW

concerts in general

traffic laws that people obey

real bakeries

using a debit card

fences

privacy

sunbathing

milk and cereal

feeling carpet on my bare-feet

sandwiches

unlimited text messages and free nights and weekends

being outside after 7pm

high heels

genuinely feeling beautiful

frozen grapes

granulated sugar

having my own seat in a car

ice cubes

baking in a real oven

being invisible

fabric softener

wearing shorts in public

I just got back to site from a week and a half worth of traveling and putting on reproductive/menstrual health presentations to girls all over Western Uganda. I put on 5 presentations total: one to the new peace corps trainees, one on international women's day to 170 secondary girls, one to a class of p7 girls, one to over 400 secondary girls, and one to over 130 girls at another PTC. It's good to be home and I'm beat, but I freakin loved every minute of it! This is something I am so passionate about, and not to sound cocky, but something I am really good at. I teach girls and women (primary, secondary, girls at the college, womens' groups, health center workers)basic reproductive health, the gyst of their menstrual cycles, Afripads, and conclude with a Q&A where I am brutally honest with responses to their questions...I'm talking the idea of "safe days" to masturbation to myths about avoiding pregnancy. You'd be surprised at the break down of information and some of the misconceptions that exist over here.

A typical presentation lasts anywhere from one to three hours, depending on how much time the girls want to spend on the Q&A. I start by showing diagrams of both the male and female reproductive systems. I have the girls name and define each part. Then we move on to the menstrual cycle and talk about ways they cope with their periods here in Uganda. You find that many girls use pads during their periods (which cost about 3,000UGX per pack) but they also use things like towels, old clothes, chunks of mattress foam, toilet paper, and I kid you not feathers...that's hygienic. Then we do the breakdown of how much they are spending on pads a year, 36,000UGX if they use one pack of pads a month. I present an alternative to disposable pads, the Afripad.

Afripads are reusable menstrual pads made here in Uganda by Ugandan women. Each pack comes with the pad, 2 straight liners, 3 winged liners, a plastic carrying case for soiled liners, and instructions in Luganda and English. The total cost is 3,500UGX. Not only do Afripads save girls money, but they are also more reliable than their alternatives, ie, feathers, and they are environmentally friendly. Each pack can last a girl through 12 cycles, or one year, if she takes care of it and washes it properly. That means that for slightly more than the cost of one pack of pads, girls have an alternative that will last them through the whole year. It's common in Uganda for girls to miss school when they are on their periods. Especially in primary school, when girls have to sit for their exit exams, missing a week of school every month is hugely detrimental. Afripads aims at giving girls a cheaper option to help keep them in school. If you want more information check out http://www.afripads.com/

In other news I am one of the co-coordinators for camp GLOW this year, which I am super pumped about! You guys know how much I loved being a counselor last year and I can't even begin to express my excitement about being behind the scenes and planning the camp for this year. More to come soon, including ways you guys can help out!

Other than that things are pretty much the same around here. Observing my second years out in the field doing their school practice, starting to teach my first years, playing volleyball with them, getting my girls' club up and running. Not much more going on.

Hope all is well stateside. Happy birthday, Momma!

Much love,

Ash

March 1, 1961 was the day that Peace Corps was established by Executive Order. 50 years later, more than 200,000 volunteers have served in Peace Corps. This is a big year for us and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Some exciting news...not only did all of my students pass my course last term but they scored higher in my course than they did ANY OTHER COURSE AT THE COLLEGE! THe highest score was 98! And if that's not enough, their scores for my course have drastically improved from the last year. Guess I'm not too shabby of a teacher afterall!

I've mentioned my mural painting project to some of you (I'm working with my students and other community members to come up with illustrations about the spread of HIV/AIDS and how to avoid it. These illustrations will be turned into murals to be painted around my village) and I'm extremely happy and excited to let you know that my country director not only loved the idea but wanted to get involved. He's put it on the PC calendar of 50th anniversary events in Uganda and even encouraged me to submit a grant proposal to get funding for the project. I turned in all my documents for the proposal and should find out later this month if we were approved.

If things go well, the funding should be in by April and I'll have my students submit their illustrations and prep the painting sites before the end of term (April 29). When my students come back May 23 we'll begin painting the base coats and doing the picture outlines so they will be ready for Peace Corps staff and volunteers to do a "paint-by-number" June 10-13.

Fingers crossed everything runs smoothly and according to schedule. As excited as I am about this project, my community is ecstatic. When I told them about my initial idea, they loved and and insisted we find a way to make it happen. They've even worked together to come up with a 30% contribution of the total budget. My grant requires a 25% community contribution and I was a little worried at first we wouldn't be able to do it, my village is dirt poor. Most of their contribution is in-kind, transport to purchase and deliver supplies, providing lunch for all volunteers on the PC painting day, etc., but important none the less. At least they are committed to taking ownership of this project, which to me is the most important thing.

A small update on other projects I'm working on:

-making a model classroom/resource room/my office/library (I FINALLY got my books from Darien Book Aid, I requested them last April...)

-instituting a monthly game night with the tutors at the college

-working with the girls' demonstration school to start a nursery school (the DP was so excited when he found out about my ECE background and he insisted I be involved in getting the nursery school up and running)

-PC/Afripads liaison (I give presentations on reusable menstrual pads at other volunteers' sites and keep the PC office stocked. For more info www.afripads.com )

-my girls' club

-camp GLOW

-teaching PES/ECE at the college

-starting a read aloud club at the vocational school

-????

I'm excited about the prospects of this term. Year 2 is looking even better than year 1! Hope y'all have an amazing spring break, someone better hit up SxSW and tell me how amazing it is this year, I haven't been to a concert since Radio and Weasel last August...so not the same as Austin concerts. Thanks so much for the package, Grandma! Happy early birthday Mom, Kenz, and Preston!

Missing you guys,

Ash

Uganda is very much a culture of "What's mine is yours," or maybe more accurately, "What's yours that I don't have is also mine." This can be ideal in some cases, if you grow a surplus of maize and I grow a surplus of beans, then we can both have maize and beans. When it doesn't work out so well is when you take what I have and then there isn't enough of it for either of us.

I ramble. My village is currently out of water, as is much of Uganda. I've had issues with water since the day I moved in. To me, a surplus of water is a luxury. After spending the better part of the last year conserving water to the point of having to choose between drinking water and bathing, I was ecstatic to return from holiday and find my rain tank FULL. You really have no idea how happy I was! I hassled people to no end in order to get my gutters fixed so the empty rain tank could collect water. The gutters were finally fixed and the rain tank was filling, but I was sharing its contents with my neighbor, another PCV. She recently moved back to America and the tank is now all mine, which means I'll have more than enough water to last me through to the next rainy season...which means I can bathe AND drink AND do laundry! I'm the happiest PCV around!

Until this morning...

Martha, by favorite neighbor in the world, delivered my milk (which I pay for) this morning, like she does every morning. This time, however, as she was pouring the milk into my bowl, she stops and says, "Ashley, you give me water from your tank." I'm immediately torn. I love Martha to death, as much as I love her 5 daughters. But that's the thing, Martha has 5 daughters...and is not nearly as conscious about conserving water as I am. If this is a one time thing, sure, no problem, fill your jerry cans. What's mine is yours, right? So I drudgingly unlocked my rain tank and watched as she filled her 20L jerry can not once, not twice, but THREE times...in addition to the buckets Jackie and Joy kept filling. I make a 20L jerry can last about a week, not counting drinking water, and I was almost in tears when she took 3 jerry cans worth of water from my precious supply.

I feel selfish beyond belief, but come on...I haven't had water for a year! Fingers crossed this was a one time, emergency type thing. But something gives me the feeling it's going to continue to happen, in which case I'll be forced to have the awkward "PC forbids such and such" conversation, my go to to avoid tricky situations with people in the village. For example, Ugandan: "Let me borrow your computer." Me: "I'd love to, but PC says it's only for work purposes. I'm so sorry."

Moral of the story kids, CONSERVE YOUR WATER! At the very least, appreciate it because you have no idea how much it sucks to know the amount of CLEAN DRINKING water that is wasted every day in America when people flush the toilet while the rest of us in Uganda have to choose between washing our clothes or taking a bath.

Ash

Hey Guys!

I'm safe! Got back into Uganda late Wednesday night and am back at my site. I have a LOT to share about the last 10 or so days, so...sorry in advance for how long this post is going to be. I've had a crazy week and a half but let's start from the beginning...

Egypt is absolutely gorgeous and is up on my list of my top vacations. The people are wonderful and are willing to help you out with just about anything. We were able to see everything we wanted to see before things got crazy and didn't run into any trouble until the end of the trip when we had to get back to Cairo/the airport. I ended up missing my entire India trip and seeing Dad, so bummed about that, but we were able to see an additional 2 countries after being evacuated!

Here's a (somewhat long) breakdown of the trip:

January 23 Sunday- Flew out of Uganda, arrived in Cairo around 2am and stayed at the wonderful Australian Hostel, where they even had free airport pick up

January 24 Monday- Woke up early to tour the pyramids and sphinx...on the back of a camel. I can't believe I saw the pyramids! They are even more spectacular than anything you see in textbooks. And yes, we probably spent a good 30 minutes doing various photo shoots and manipulating the pictures to look like we were holding the pyramids and such...photos to be uploaded soon. We had a fantastic driver arranged through the hostel who took us to the pyramids, on a papyrus tour, to eat local food called koshery (which is basically several different kinds of noodles all mixed up with a tomato based sauce, fried onion things, and this hot chile/lime dressing that you add on...DELICIOUS). Later that night we wandered the streets of Cairo for a bit and found a McDonald's. Not gonna lie, after a year+ without it, I indulged in a McFlurry and fries...totally worth it

January 25 Tuesday- woke up in the morning and hopped on bus to Mt. Sinai, we were the only women on bus and most of the passengers were Egyptian soldiers. It was definitely different. Driving through the Sinai peninsula I was able to see the Saharan desert, something I never thought I'd do. Again, pictures to be uploaded soon. When we finally got there (around 7pm), I was feeling a little sick (big surprise) so I turned in early.

January 26 Wednesday- We woke up at 2am and began our hike to see the surise on Mt. Sinai. I was feeling awful most of the way and had to keep stopping. Thank God there was an almost full moon, otherwise it would have been next to impossible to see where we were going. It was freezing cold and there was even snow along the way! When we got to the top, finally around 6am, it was more than worth it. I almost started crying because it was so beautiful. I was standing on top of Mt.Sinai in Egypt watching the sunrise! Not many people can say they've done that. After we hiked down we saw St. Catherine's monastery, home of the Burning Bush. Early that afternoon we took a car to Dehab, a city on the coast of the Red Sea. I just about ate my body weight in seafood, after going so long without it. It was fantastic! And so fresh, too!

January 27 Thursday- We went snorkeling in the Red Sea at Blue Hole, which was caused by a falling star. I'd never been snorkeling before, and it was a little intimidating at first, I didn't know what to do with my arms! After I got used the the breathing and started looking at the reef, it was so much fun! The fish were beautiful and it was awesome to be able to see them in their environment like that. We also got to watch some of the divers training and doing their free dives, that was pretty cool, too. We had seafood again for dinner (I honestly could have had it for breakfast and lunch as well...it was that good!) and we could see th coast of Saudi Arabia from the beach. Later that night we played BINGO at the hotel bar and ended up winning more than 100 Egyptian pounds worth of free drinks. A few rounds of tequila later (that's right, tequila...something Uganda is lacking) and we went dancing. We heard American music which actually made me miss home, I'm so used to hearing Ugandan music when we go out here.

January 28 Friday- We started hearing news of the riots and the internet connection went down all over the country. We decided to stay another day in Dehab instead of heading back to Cairo early. We got in touch with Peace Corps and they advisedus to try and book a flight to get us to Cairo. This was the plan until we realized we couldn't book tickets without the internet. We decided to take a bus the next day and enjoy our time in Dehab. So we went to the beach! It was so gorgeous, the water was incredibly clear and we snorkeled a bit. We had one last night of seafood on the coast before packing our things up and getting ready to head back to Cairo the next morning

January 29 Saturday-We weren't able to get in touch with PC and the US embassy in Cairo is a joke...they never answered their phone. We took bus to Cairo and got in around 8pm, when it was already dark. At this point, the internet had been down a few days and Al Jazeer was turned off (the only English news station) so we really didn't have an idea of what the situation was. As we're driving through Cairo, there are civilians lining the streets with anything they can find as weapons...I mean anything: whips, chains, knives, meat cleavers, canes, 2x4s, machetes, a blow torch, gold club, anything they could get their hands on. They had the streets barricaded and we drove through this for about 2 hours before the bus was finally able to stop. Not gonna lie, it was pretty intimidating, especially since we hadn't heard any news updates. It turns out they were protecting the street from looters. Which, even though it was scary, I think is pretty cool. Egyptians are some of the nicest and more accommodating people I have ever met and I wish the best for them. SO we finally get to the bus station and by now there is a group of Egyptian men who have kind of taken us under their wings. They escort us off the bus, tell us to keep our bags close by, not to talk to people, sit down away from the gates, etc. They were fantastic and they were working so hard to find a way to get us out of the bus station (about 11 or so by now and our flight leaves at 2:30am). They said we might have to stay at the bus station and catch a flight out in the morning. Not an option for us. We finally get a taxi and the group of men insist on taking down the driver's number and license plate. Then they called us every 5 minutes on the way to the airport to make sure we were ok! The whole time we were driving the inside light was on so the people outside could see we were Americans. Even though they meant us no harm and we were waved through each barricade, I still held my breath for most of the car ride. We finally made it to the airport to see hundreds of people inside. All flights were cancelled, nothing was going out. We found our terminal and Ethiopian airlines was closed so we camped out on the floor that night, amidst everyone else stranded in Cairo.

January 30 Sunday- Renee and I woke up and decided to explore the airport to get more info, there was no food or water and as far as we could tell all flights were still cancelled. Now more and more people were stuck at the airport and there were looters out in the parking lots, and a few creepers hanging around. We managed to find some couches and staked those out all day, sleeping on the floor sucked and it was freezing! The airport was pure chaos by now. There were way more people than it could handle and it was difficult to navigate through all the suitcases and human traffic. At one point someone on the other side of the gate started screaming at the top of their lungs and all these people just mobbed toward them. It was kind of scary. By now we'd been in touch with PC and Washington trying to figure things out. Our flight was rescheduled for Tuesday at 2:30am...after already being rescheduled 3 times. We had no idea when we were going to get a flight out so we tried to get on any flight we could, the embassy in Washington just wanted us out. Then we heard there would be an 11pm flight on a different airline so we packed up and went to check it out. Nope, flight was cancelled and now we lost out sleeping spot. The British embassy workers were all over the airport but the US embassy was nowhere to be seen. The British embassy was incredibly helpful and let us use their phones to call Washington, who insisted the embassy was there. They also told us they were evacuating all Americans the next morning at 11am from terminal 4...except there was no terminal 4! It was night by now and we were all exhausted, we just wanted to get home. We spent another night at the airport after having candy from the duty free shop for dinner and giving in to drinking from the tap since bottled water had been sold out all day.

January 31 Monday- Arwen and Elizabeth found gate 4, which turned out to be what the embassy was referring to. We show up and there a USAID.embassy workers already there to be evacuated. They were so nice (many of them RPCVS) and gave us food and water, it was the first real meal we had in 2 days! We were told 3 planes were being sent to evacuate everyone to either Cyprus, Istanbul, or Athens. The USAID people even let us call our families and PC from their phones, so we were finally able to relax a little. We found out all of PC Washington, Africa, and Uganda had been trying to get in touch with us. We were kind of a big deal! We played speed scrabble with them and just hung out until our plane showed up. 6 hours later, after some overbooking confusion, we finally find out we're going to Athens and begin to go through security. By now there had to be thousands of people at hall 4. The embassy arranged for 3 planes, nowhere near enough to evacuate the people that continued to show up by the bus load! What was even better was that, we each had only one bag because we were backpacking around, people would ask if we could check their bags because everyone was only allowed one checked bag. Some people showed up with 3 large suitcases and their dogs! Thank God PC has taught me how to pack light! We finally get on our flight and get a meal on the plane, I don't think I've ever appreciated airplane food that much! We got to Athens about 8 and were greeted by the embassy there, who was absolutely fantastic. They insisted we were government workers and therefore would be put up in the 5 star Sofitel across the street from the airport...all on government's dime! Thank you, PC! Now, you can imagine 5 PC volunteer girls being put up in a 5 star hotel after conserving water for a year, bucket bathing, and using a pit latrine. We were in Heaven! There were feather top beds, the shower was the kind that rains from the ceiling, we each had a white fluffy robe and slippers, and there was a light blocker you could put over the window to keep the sunlight out in the morning...

February 1 Tuesday- ...we didn't wake up until 10! We ended up getting a free day in Athens, since out flight didn't leave until the next day. There was the most amazing breakfast at the hotel: buffet with fruit, cereals, breads, yogurt, veggies, eggs, SMOOTHIES, etc. Describing it doesn't give it justice, but after eating candy for 2 days at the airport it was one of the best meals I've ever had! We explored the city a bit and were able to see the Acropolis, the temple of Zeus, and the Dionysius theater. Then we stumbled onto this wine tasting and ended up buying 2 bottles of wine. We had a fantastic Greek dinner before heading back to the hotel to have our wine by the pool. Being evacuated isn't all that bad!

February 2 Wednesday- Amazing breakfast round 2 (this time I brought my purse...). We had a morning flight to Istanbul that arrived in the early afternoon, so we were able to get visas and head into Istanbul before our flight out. In 6 hours time we were able to see mosques, bazaars, and the Turkish culture. It was so much fun! We got back to the airport and got on our flight to Uganda.

flight to Istanbul, get into Istanbul around 12 and have 6 hours to kill so we explore the city- mosques, bazaars, etc., get on 6:30 flight to Uganda, have movie and a meal, get into Uganda a little before 3am, PC vehicle sent to pick us up and deliver us to our hotel

February 3 Thursday- We got in around 3am and PC was waiting with a vehicle to take us to a hotel in Kampala. They also came to pick us up in the morning to bring us into the office. Everyone was so happy to see us, my Education Program Manager even started crying! Our Country Director, Ted, had us in his office for about 2 hours retelling the story. I realized how amazing my PC staff here is, they worked so hard to make sure we got back safely and they couldn't wait to see us when we did get back. They even dubbed us the "Cairo 5" and sent out mass text messages to all volunteers in country updating them on our status. Don't worry guys, I am very well taken care of over here.

And that's it! I made it back to site and everyone here was so relieved to see me. PC had been in contact with them as well, so they knew I was safe. My students haven't returned yet, so my term is going to be a bit delayed. I have lots of ideas for projects that I'm ready to jump into, and I'll be writing about those soon. Elections are in 2 weeks, so keep us in your prayers that everything will go on without unrest.

Thanks for all your messages and concern, it truly meant a lot to me. Sorry to make you guys worry but I had the vacation of a lifetime and even got to witness the beginnings of a revolution in Egpyt. Definitely a trip for the books.

Love you all,

Ash

This is a few weeks overdue, but I really wanted to tell you guys about camp GLOW. GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World and this was a week long girls' empowerment camp for girls ages 13-15 from all over Uganda. It was held December 5-11, 2010 and 150 girls attended. This was the first time for Uganda to have camp GLOW and I am excited to continue it this upcoming year. I was fortunate enough to not only participate in the camp, but to be a camp counselor to a wonderful group of 7 girls. Here's the website so you guys can check it out (my picture is on the main page!) http://campglowuganda.yolasite.com/

Like I said, the camp was about a week long and each day had a different message:

Monday:"We GLOW with self esteem," was all about ways to build up and improve self esteem

Tuesday: "We GLOW when we work together," was about team building and the importance of team work

Wednesday: "We GLOW with good health," was about healthy living and habits

Thursday: "We GLOW with goals," was about how to plan for the future and make positive and reachable goals

Friday: "We GLOW as leaders of Uganda," was about how to spread and teach the lessons and messages of camp GLOW to other girls throughout Uganda

Each counselor had a Ugandan co-counselor so the girls could benefit from both the American and Ugandan perspective on the different topics. My co-counselor was Namusisi, the math tutor from my college. She was absolutely wonderful with the girls and was able to present information to them in a way that was easily relate-able. At our college, she works with me on my girls' club and does such a great job of answering difficult, and sometimes tricky questions, about sensitive topics like HIV/AIDS and sexual health. I was impressed at how excited and energetic she was throughout the week. There were a few hiccups along the way, but overall I was glad that I brought her with me.

Since there were so many girls, they were broken up into animal groups. My group was the chimpanzees. Each day 3 or 4 groups would move together to attend the different sessions. There would be a healthy living, GLOWing, arts and crafts, teamwork, and lifeskills session every day that would all go along with that day's message. Every counselor was responsible for teaching a topic. I taught about puberty and our changing bodies under healthy living on Tuesday. I started with an activity asking the girls to identify the different changes men and women go through during puberty, as well as the similar changes. For the most part, the girls understood these changes. Another Ugandan counselor taught about how to take care of your body during puberty. At first the girls were incredibly shy, which isn't that surprising coming from a culture that doesn't generally encourage women to voice their opinions. As the sessions went on, the girls began to open up and write down questions they wanted answered. I was asked everything from "Do I have safe days," to "If I bathe in cola, can I rid my body of HIV," to "What is masturbation." The girls were so thirsty for information!

Throughout the week it was such a wonderful experience to see the girls come out of their shells and become more and more comfortable talking during sessions, asking questions, voicing concerns, and readily contributing their opinions. I think camp GLOW has the potential to do amazing things for Uganda and, again, I'm so blessed to have been a part of it.

I could go into so much more detail, but the website really does a much better job. Here it is again... http://campglowuganda.yolasite.com/ Please check it out and let me know what you think. The camp GLOW team did a wonderful job bringing camp GLOW to Uganda and I'm sure they would love your support and encouraging words. Thanks for reading!

Ash

PS-off to Egypt this upcoming week then meeting Dad in India...blog posts to follow!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

The holidays this year were, needless to say, much different than any I've ever experienced. Being away from home during this time of year has been challenging but many of you know I was incredibly blessed to have a BIG part of home come to me for the holidays. Mom, Mar, and Ang made the very long journey to my side of the globe to not only see, but also experience how I’ve been living the last 10+ months.

Before I say anything else, I need to express how proud of them I am. They were troopers! From the beginning they were adamant about doing things the way I do them, which means public transport, budget hostels, local food, hand washing clothes, pit latrines, cooking on a seguri when your gas tank runs out, and the like. Absolutely freakin troopers! I’ve had the better part of a year to get used to this lifestyle and to adapt to it and these 3 just snapped right into it. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely bumps and snags along the way, but in the end I wouldn’t change any part of the experience I was able to share with them. They not only had a look into the Peace Corps lifestyle, they also experienced the challenges and struggles we face here in Uganda on a daily basis…but they had the extreme scenarios of just about everything. From 3 hour bus delays to hotel reservation screw ups and lost bookings to getting sick from malaria prophylaxis to being harassed and singled out and having to deal with communication break downs, I need to once again commend the strength of these 3 incredibly marvelous women. Let’s just say that anything that could have possibly gone wrong did, and my family handled every single thing with EASE! You guys rock and I hope you took as much from these last few weeks as I have. I love you all!

I can’t even begin to explain what it meant to have my family with me for Christmas. After living here for a while I feel pretty confident in saying that I have 3 solid families. I have my family from America, my PC family, and my family here in my community. I was fortunate enough to celebrate Christmas with all 3 of my families this year. I opened my home up to other PCVs who made the trek across Uganda so we could all be together. My community family was beyond generous when welcoming not only my visitors from the states, but my PC visitors as well. People came to the house to greet my family, they brought jack fruit and bananas. We got cabbages and vegetables from one of the tutors at my college. I took my Mom and siters in town to meet my "vegetable lady." This little old lady is the cutest and sweetest Ugandan woman I've met. When she saw me walking towards her with my family she left from behind her stand and came to give not only me, but each member of my family the biggest hug I've seen a Ugandan give. To top it all off, she gave us "bonus," which means free vegetables, but in this case I'm pretty sure she gave us more free veggies than what we actually bought. Brother Lawrence organized an English mass for us on Christmas morning that was actually run on “American Time” and lasted an hour where we read the readings and picked the songs we wanted to hear. Brother also went out of his way to organize and arrange transport for the 13 of us making the trip down to Lake Bunyonyi for New Years. That man is such a blessing and is one of my best friends here. I think it meant more to me for everyone else to see how much I value my connections to my community and to see the relationships that I’ve made this past year. It’s one thing to explain how you integrate into your community to others, but when they are able to actually experience it, it’s absolutely priceless. Thanks to all who contributed to making a very memorable Christmas. You guys are fantastic and I wouldn’t be here without any of you.

On a side note having family come to see me really made me reflect on how I’ve changed. They went outside of their element into mine where I was forced to take the parental role. It was definitely difficult and probably one of the more challenging things that I’ve done here so far. There were some things I probably could have handled better but I feel like they got a genuine taste of the things I go through living here and the ways I cope with certain challenges. One of the more difficult things was hearing myself described as “hardened, intense, and frustrating.” That was a bit of a wakeup call, but looking back those descriptions are absolutely dead on. I have changed and the changes that I’ve made have been necessary to my survival here. Don’t worry guys, I’m still the same old Ashley, just a bit…modified.

If you get a chance, talk to my family and get their take on things to have both sides of the beautiful and memorable picture that was December 2010. Thanks for taking the time to come and spend it in a third world country. I miss you guys already!

Ash

Third term is over, my students have completed theirs exams and gone home, my tutors have left the college for the holiday, and I have absolutely nothing to do until February when the students are supposed to come back.

...Or so I thought. One of the tutors at my college, Brother Lawrence, watches Buzi anytime I go out of town. He even went out and got his own dog, Rex, after I got Buzi because he wanted to be able to train him like I trained Buzi. He's a wonderful man and is actually buying 2 chickens this week to raise until Christmas so that we will be able to have chicken for our Christmas dinner.

Anyway, last Sunday I took Buzi to the brothers' compound, where Bro. Lawrence lives. I spent the better part of the day there learning how to make balls out of banana fibers and showing the brothers that dogs know how to fetch. I was even invited to stay and have lunch with the brothers. Before I left they invited me to come to English mass on Tuesday.

Some of you know that English mass is something I have really been missing here. I live in a Catholic parish with a beautiful church, but I just can't do Luganda mass. It is 3 hours long, all in local language, and every time I went I was forced to sit in the front pews and make a speech after the sermon. I was always a spectacle and could never go to mass in peace. Feeling invisible is something I didn't think I would miss, but it's something I definitely have a deeper appreciation for now.

Mass was wonderful. It was like an American mass, 50 minutes to the second! The entire thing was done in English and even the music was familiar. A few of the brothers made up the choir and played drums to accompany the music, which is by far my favorite part.

Wednesday I went back to the brothers and taught them to bake, dutch oven style. I showed up with my two huge baking pans and all the necessary ingredients to make cookies and found the brothers in the dining area unpacking all this food they bought to prepare a big lunch...rice, tomatoes, and vegetables they had gathered from the garden. I was teaching them to bake and they decided to turn lunch into a special occasion.

Spending time at the brothers' compound has been such a blessing. I was honestly really worried that I would go crazy at my house with nothing to do. I continue to surprise myself with the things I am still learning about my village. I met and am getting to know a group of wonderful men who, on a daily basis, thank me for the sacrifices I've made to come and help their country. It's always nice to be appreciated, but even nicer is knowing these men are genuine. They don't expect anything from me in return and are always eager to teach me.

While spending time with the brothers, I have never been hit on or called mzungu or been shown anything less than respect, which lately has been kind of hard to come by. They are organizing a bunch of mattresses for us to use on Christmas when volunteers will be traveling to my house. They said they're going to slash my compound so it will be "smart" when Mom comes. They've organized an English mass on Christmas day for us to attend. They've even volunteered to help us slaughter and prepare the chickens for Christmas dinner.

This past week has reminded me that integration is a process, not an end result. That's something I feel I've lost sight of lately.

Leaving for camp GLOW tomorrow and then World AIDS Day out East after that. Then Mom, Mar, and Ang will be on their way here. Can't wait to see you guys and show you everything I've learned these past 10 months!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Ash

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m thankful for my incredibly accepting and supportive family and friends. I’m thankful for the amazing experience I am having and the things I am learning about myself every day. I’m thankful for my new PC family, without them I’m not sure I’d still be in Uganda. This Thanksgiving was kind of tough. Even though we are here with a different culture, last Thursday we were able to bring a little bit of America to Uganda.

About half of my group spent the better part of 2 days cooking and preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Pies and stuffing were prepared Wednesday night and early Thursday morning we all woke up to watch our turkey get slaughtered. That’s right, we had our own turkey and one of the volunteers was brave enough to kill it for us. It definitely gave me a much greater appreciation for eating meat. A Ugandan taught us how to clean the bird and explained the significance of each part as it was removed. I have to admit, none of us knew how to cook a turkey much less how to cook a turkey when you don’t have the luxury of a big oven! We ended up cutting the meat into pieces and boiling it for a few hours before baking it. It turned out pretty good.

The menu included turkey, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce (someone brought back from the states!), mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, tuna salad, tomato basil salad, herb foccacia bread, pumpkin and apple pies, broccoli macaroni and cheese, fruit salad, pita bread and humus, pumpkin bread, and beets. Oh yea, and everything was homemade!

We ate dinner outside in the middle of the compound at three long tables, end to end to end. Before eating, everyone went around and said what they were thankful for. It was emotional and many tears were shed as people talked about their families back home as well as their new family here. I miss you all very much and it was difficult to be away one such a family-centered holiday but don’t worry, the people here are taking care of me. We are all taking care of each other.

Love everyone and miss you even more during this holiday season.

-Ash

I’ve never been to summer camp before much less been a camp counselor before. Nest week I’m privileged to be able to participate as a counselor for camp GLOW (girls leading our world). It’s a week long girls’ empowerment camp for Ugandan girls 13-15. There are about 150 girls from all over Uganda who will be attending the camp. We’ll teach them multiple lifeskills topics including HIV/ADIS facts and myths, puberty and taking care of their bodies (the topic I’m teaching!), arts and crafts, team building, self esteem, public speaking, etc. The best part is, it’s free for them to come!

Last weekend I went to a training for all the counselors who will be at the camp. Each American counselor will be working with a Ugandan co-counselor. During training, we all stayed in the dorm we will be using during the actual camp. I live with Ugandans but I have never before spent the night in a dorm setting with one. After sharing close quarters with Ugandan women I got a deeper insight into the Ugandan culture and just how different it is from the American culture. Below are some things we’ve had to adjust to as well as some things we just don’t see eye to eye on. The first couple are from the weekend at training and the rest are things I have learned my last 9 months here. Hope you enjoy…

-It’s not uncommon for Ugandans to get phone calls (and answer them!) at 3 or 4 in the morning while sharing a room with 40 other people. Apparently the talking rates are MUCH cheaper during this time.

-It’s not uncommon for people to “flash” your phone (call and hang up before you answer) because they want to greet you or they just don’t have enough airtime to spend on having a conversation with you so they want you to use your airtime to call them back.

-In a professional setting it is socially acceptable for a woman to bring her infant child with her. I can understand this, especially if the baby is breastfeeding (which is also VERY socially acceptable to see on taxis, in church, during meetings, in your living room…) What I don’t understand is bringing your toddler to a camp counselor training where you have to spend consecutive nights in the same room with a large group of people…especially when your toddler likes to cry at night.

-It’s a common belief that water treated with Waterguard or AquaSafe will upset your stomach. Some Ugandans fear this so much they will refuse to drink treated water. They insist boiling is the only way to treat your water.

-Ugandan women are surprised when American women “cover themselves” when changing to go and bathe. Apparently, they want to see the “bazungu breasts.”

-I don’t think I’ve seen a Ugandan sneeze. EVER.

-Nose picking is very common. I mean obvious, finger in the nose, digging around nose picking. While carrying on a conversation!

-While it’s ok to pick your nose, if you blow your nose with your napkin after finish lunch it’s absolutely taboo.

-“I’m fine” is an appropriate response to just about anything.

-Never show up to a meeting on time. 2 hours late after the set starting time is more likely to be closer to when the meeting will actually begin.

-I bring a book with me EVERYWHERE and I’ve found that it’s completely acceptable for me to read during class, during a meeting, while at a big important social event, just about anywhere a group of people will be meeting. (See above…meetings never start on time).

-Ugandans tell me cold drinks cause cancer.

-If I am feeling a little under the weather, it’s not uncommon to be asked if I have “a little malaria.”

-Greetings are the most important part of social interaction. If I don’t greet someone or forget to greet someone as I’m walking past and later need to ask directions from that same person, it wouldn’t be surprising if they gave me incorrect directions because I didn’t greet them.

-Everyone who is anyone has a visitors’ book and will make you sign that visitors’ book not once but every SINGLE time you visit the person’s house, organization, church, office, etc. At first, I felt like I was being asked for my autograph and it was kind of cool. That got old fast…about after the 30 thousandanth book I signed.

-I’ve grown accustomed to waiting anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours for a bus or taxi to actually leave after I board it.

-Dogs are dirty animals and should ride in the boot of a car but you can hold chickens on your lap and people won’t even give you a second look.

-I’ve eliminated the word “no” from my vocabulary. A straight out “no” response or answer is usually interpreted as rude so now I find myself saying “somehow” or “God willing.” Everyone knows both of these responses mean no but they’re somehow more polite…somehow.

-I eat bugs. Both by choice (it’s currently grasshopper season here) and because I don’t really have any other option. If ants are in my rice and beans or have gotten into my bread I just consider it another source or protein.

-People think my dog needs a visa to get back to the states.

-It’s totally acceptable for a Ugandan man to tell you just how much he wants to marry you and how you are “his size.” Absolutely hate this one.

-Children like to greet me by saying “Bye-eeee!”

AIDS is a problem in Uganda. I live in Rakai district, the first place in Uganda to be hit by HIV/AIDS. It’s apparent just by looking around how heavily impacted my community has been by the virus; there is an entire generation missing. We have primary schools and vocational schools whose sole purpose is to offer an affordable education to orphans in the area. With the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, you’d think my students would be more educated on the topic. I was surprised to find how shocked they were that HIV can spread so quickly through the sexual network. The sexual network is a common term in Uganda used to describe the web-like structure between people and their sexual partners. Person A sleeps with person B, who is also sleeping with person C. Person C is sleeping with person D and E who are both sleeping with persons F, G, and H. Before you know it you have an entire community sleeping with each other and a widespread breakout of (insert STD/STI/HIV).

I did an activity with my girls’ club this week that I later repeated with my entire student body, all 300+ of them, and tutors at the college. The activity goes like this…You give every person a notecard. Some notecards are blank and others have symbols or instructions to follow. One notecard says “DO NOT shake hands with anyone else.” Two notecards say “Find the other person with the * symbol. Shake only his or her hand.” One notecard has an X on it and another has a C on it. After everyone is given a notecard and told to follow the instructions on the card, if there are any, the participants begin to shake each other’s hands. After you give participants time to “mingle,” you bring them back together to explain the purpose of the activity. As you may have guessed, shaking hands symbolizes having sex with a person. In the activity, the person who did not shake anyone else’s hand was practicing abstinence and did not contract HIV or STDs. The two people with the *symbol were in a faithful, monogamous relationship and did not contract HIV or STDs. The person with the X was HIV positive. Everyone who shook this person’s hand contracted the virus. Everyone who shook any of those people’s hands also contracted the virus and so on and so on. The person with the C on their notecard was wearing a condom and was practicing safe sex. Their risk of contracting HIV was much lower than the participants not using condoms.

The point of the activity is to show how the sexual network works and for students to see how quickly and easily STDs and HIV can spread. My girls were shocked. When I repeated the activity the next morning with my first and second years at the college, they were shocked. My tutors who also sat in on the activity were shocked! These people know how HIV is spread. It is drilled into their brains from an early age, yet having a physical representation in front of their eyes still managed to surprise them.

After the activity I allowed the students to openly ask questions, and boy did they have questions! I think this was the first time since the beginning of the term that I had a full classroom. My students are deprived of this information. They are not used to openly discussing sex and getting their questions answered. Living in a Catholic parish makes talking about sex and condom use a little controversial and my students were so appreciative to have the opportunity to discuss the topic. I have to admit, I was surprised with how open and honest I was being with my students. These are kids my age if not older and I was talking to them about the difference between using a condom and using a plastic bag as a contraceptive!

The level of ignorance continues to surprise me, and I have taught my students about sex and the reproductive systems multiple times. I’m going to take some of my girls from the girls’ club to the primary school next week to do the activity with them. I know, shocking that such an activity should be taught to 10 and 12 years old girls but the reality is that these girls are the ones who need it the most. They call sexual intercourse “playing sex” because it’s a game for them to do when they get bored. If anyone has tips or activity suggestions to teach sex ed or STD spread, please let me know!

I’ve officially been a PCV for 6 months now. I can’t believe it’s already November! 6 more weeks until Mom and the girls come to visit. Hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm. I miss you all so much!

Ash

A few weeks ago I traveled out West to visit another volunteer and help put on an education workshop. It was my first experience putting on a workshop for Ugandans and it was a success. Two other volunteers and myself taught on the psychology of education, creative teaching methods, and classroom management. The Ugandans kept time pretty well and we had a decent turn out of about 20 people.

After the workshop we went on a safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park. We woke up at 5 in the morning for our driver to pick us up and get to the park. The early morning hours give you the best chance of seeing animals. The safari was absolutely AMAZING! We saw elephants right on the side of the road, a pride of lions, water buffalo, tons of different birds, a leopard, and warthogs. Our driver, Benjamin, was wonderful and answered all of our questions. When a friend phoned him to let him know they had spotted lions, Benjamin told us to fasten our seat belts because we would be "rushing." He sped off and a few minutes later there they were...LIONS! I can't even begin to explain how it felt to pull up next to a pride of lions. To see the dominant male. Definitely one of the coolest things I've done since being in country. Later that afternoon we went on a boat tour and saw hippos! I've never seen hippos that up close before and there were so many of them! We also saw a crocodile and more elephants. I think the elephants were by far my favorite. They're so huge! My first safari in Africa was a success! The only thing we didn't see were giraffes and zebras, which I'm hopeful to see in December when I take Mom and the girls to Murchison Falls.

A quick update on my girls' club...

The week after our reusable menstrual pads workshop, my girls went and taught the same workshop to the primary girls at our demonstration school. They did everything! They taught them in Luganda, answered their questions, and helped them sew the menstrual pads. It was a really unique experience seeing my girls teach other girls something that I had taught them...all on their own!

We had a meeting at my house 2 weeks ago and I had the girls draw self portraits and write what made them beautiful. The activity was so much fun and the girls really got into to. Some of the things that make them beautiful: Their curves, their flattened noses, their beautiful voices, the color of their skin, because that's how God made them. Of course the wanted me to share what made me beautiful and when I said my freckles, something they have never seen before, they started clapping and laughing. Anyone who has ideas of things to do with my girls' club, please let me know! Arts and crafts, team building, womens empowerment, anything is welcome!

Hope all is well stateside. Miss you guys much and think about you everyday. Until next time,

Ashley

I had my first girls' club meeting at my college last week. About 20 girls showed up and our MTC tutor, Namusisi. This club is the first and only club for girls at my college. The administration has been incredibly supportive and encouraging of me wanting to start this club, which is amazing! At first we talked about how I wanted the girls to have ownership of the club and I would just help facilitate. They came up with their own goals and in a few weeks they're going to nominate and vote for their own president, VP, etc. Our first activity was to talk about an important female role model in our lives. I wanted to girls to tell me what made that person a good role model as well as a few things they have learned from their role models. I went first, saying that my mother was my role model because of everything she has taught me. I told them that I respect her for following her dreams and that her strength continues to inspire me. The first girl from the group to share said "Madame Kirabo is my role model because she is ever smart and confident." I seriously wanted to cry, it was such an awesome feeling to hear that my girls look up to me so much.

On Friday another PCV come down to teach the girls how to make reusable menstrual pads out of local materials (school uniform material, towels, thread, button, etc.) About 40 of my girls came to the workshop and Naumsisi as well as our librarian. The presentation was informative and taught the girls such a valuable skill. They kept thanking our presenter for teaching them something they can actually use.

I've been going out to the field to watch my second years do their school practice, kind of like student teaching. The primary schools I go to for observing are sometimes deep in the village, where the students have never seen white people before. Needless to say, I sometimes feel like a big distraction. Actually going out to visit these schools has been eye opening to say the least. The vast majority of students don't have shoes and walk to school for who knows how many km barefoot. There's no electricity at the schools and a lot of times many of the students go without eating lunch because they are too poor to bring anything with them. It's hard to see but it definitely makes me appreciate our American school system much more, as flawed as it sometimes seems to be.

I've been having issues with my post office the past few months, mainly because it hasn't been open. The post worker went away to University and no one replaced her, so my post office has been closed the past 2 months. You can imagine my frustration trying to get this problem solved when most Ugandans don't even know where our post office is! I would bring the issue to my principal's attention many MANY times, almost every time I saw him! I took until a few weeks ago for someone from the Masaka post branch to come to our post office for the day. The only good thing about your post office being closed for 2 months is that when it finally opens, if only for a day, you get 6 PACKAGES! Thank you so much Dad, Jill, Uncle Mike, Sharon, Deb, and Barbara. You guys are awesome and your packages are very much appreciated.

Hope everyone is doing well. I love and miss you all so much!

Ashley

Sorry for the delay in posting…I spent the last 3 out of 4 weeks in training: language, in-service, and all volunteer conference. Needless to say, I’ve been away from site a lot this past month.

Quick Updates:

-Potluck was a HUGE success, every single tutor participated and they even want to start a new tradition of having a “foodluck,” as they call it, at the end of every term

-I hosted a game night at my house with my counterpart, Francis, and the Kiswahili tutor, Stanley, from my college. Francis and Stanley showed up at my house wearing sport jackets, it was so cute! I cooked fried rice for dinner and taught them to play spoons and bullshit. They caught on quickly and only had trouble when it came to the lying part in BS

-Turns out that weird hive-like irritation I had was a parasite called Stronglyoides. I most likely got it when I went to the Nile for kayaking. The parasite passes through damp soil into your feet then travels around your blood. Whenever my skin would get irritated (scratched, scraped, bumped, cut, etc.) the area surrounding the irritation would turn into these weird hives. No worries, after a blood test and 3 days’ worth of pills I am parasite free!

After my in-service training, a language and technical training that groups go through once they hit their 6 months in country marker, my group decided to go to Jinja to raft the Nile. For those of you who don’t know, the rapids on the Nile are mainly grade 5s and 4s with a 5.5 thrown in there somewhere. I want to remind you that I have NEVER GONE RAFTING BEFORE. I had no idea what to expect, and to tell you the truth was slightly hungover from the night before. Regardless, rafting on the Nile was probably the most memorable thing I have done since being in Uganda to date. It was freakin awesome and not to mention the single most terrifying thing I have ever done in my entire life.

There were about 20 of us that went and we divided into groups of 6-8, each raft having their own Ugandan guide. My raft was the “baby raft” and had a total of 6 people in it. None of us had been rafting before. We started out in a little eddie learning how to maneuver the raft, which way to paddle, what to do when you come to a rapid, and what happens when you flip over. Not what happens if you flip over, but what happens WHEN you flip over. The idea of an inevitable flip scared the crap out of me! Even during the practice flip in calm water I managed to get trapped under our raft and swallowed about half my body weight of Nile water. No fun. I was determined to not flip over for real and we kept emphasizing to our guide that we did not want to flip (we went through a company called Equator Rafting and they are notoriously known for purposefully flipping the rafts).

After a few more practice laps around the eddie, it was time to go. My raft was first up and the rapid we went down was supposed to be a 4. Our guide directed us not down the smooth part of the rapid that everyone else went down, but smack over a waterfall. Our raft became trapped and before we realized what was going on we were all being pummeled with water. I was desperately trying to hold on the rope but I kept getting smacked in the face with water, I couldn’t see anything or anyone around me. Within seconds I was thrown from the raft and caught in a current. My life jacket was not pulling me to the surface and I was thrashing about wildly. I finally came to the surface gasping for air and made my way to a kayaker (the safety guys that kayak in front and around the rapids to pick up stragglers and bring them back to their rafts). I was panting and holding on for dear life to the tiny kayak as he pulled me back to my raft. Every person in my raft was thrown…in the FIRST RAPID! None of the other rafts tipped, as they all went over the smooth part of the rapid.

When we were all brought back to our baby raft, the one we were determined to not flip over, we just sat in a sort of shocked silence for a few minutes. I didn’t want to go any further, I was ready to quite. Especially when our guide told us the next rapid coming up was the worst one of the course. (The waterfall we went over was the second worse, what a way to start out a bunch of beginners!) I was dead set on walking the rest of the course and just giving up. This obviously wasn’t an option. I had to suck it up and continue through the rest of the day. Like I said, I had never been more scared of anything before in my life. It was definitely a way to sober up quickly, though. There’s nothing like holding on for dear life while trying to paddle through a grade 5 rapid to kick your hangover!

The more rapids we went through the more comfortable I became. I got myself into this system, paddle as hard as I could, duck into the raft, hold on for dear life, pray that we don’t flip, repeat. I’m proud to say that our raft did not tip after that first rapid. Some of them were close and one we even went down backwards and I was sure we were all going to fly out, but we made it. We all survived an entire day of rafting on the Nile. Talk about a team building exercise! I definitely recommend the experience to anyone visiting Africa. It’s the experience of a lifetime and how many people can say they’ve rafted on the Nile? I’m glad that I stuck it out, but I don’t think I would do it again to be honest.

Hope everyone is doing well! I’m going on being in country for 7 months…time is flying by! Happy Birthday Uncle Rich, Lashelle, Matt, and Ish. Miss you guys! I miss you guys so much and think about you every day. Looking forward to your updates,

Ashley

First I want to give you a little more information about the bombings you may have heard of. A few days ago, after the final World Cup match, a terrorist group set of bombs in Kampala, targeting mainly areas where white people tend to frequent. More than 70 people were killed in the bombings, including 7 Americans. No Peace Corps volunteers were hurt during the bombings and Peace Corps staff immediately took control of the situation and restricted travel to and from Kampala until further notice.

The power has been going out a lot lately and I have been spending many evenings cooking by candlelight. The other night after I finished making dinner, I sat down to eat at my table. Buzi started barking outside, but I didn’t really think anything of it because he barks at pretty much anything that moves. He kept barking and I started to hear footsteps on my lawn. I don’t usually get visitors after dark and I of course started to freak myself out. I heard a scratching noise on my screen then someone whispered my name. I opened my door and looked out the screen door to see 3 pairs of eyes staring back at me. They were children and after greeting me in Luganda they just stood on my porch. My immediate thought was that they were going to ask me for money, but they didn’t. One of the little boys said he had airtime for me (there’s no such thing as a monthly cell phone bill here, you purchase airtime in various amounts and it’s kind of a pay as you go thing). Earlier that night I walked into town and went to my favorite dukka where Joseph, one of the nicest Ugandans I’ve met, works. Surprisingly, his dukka was closed and he was nowhere to be seen. I always purchase my airtime from him because he’s started carrying large quantities of it for me to buy. I guess someone in town must have told him that I stopped by and he sent a group of kids to deliver me my airtime. It continues to surprise me when people go out of their way like that to do something for me, but it’s definitely making me feel more and more a part of my community.

I’ve introduced the concept of a “potluck” to the tutors at my college. They were so intrigued by the idea they insisted we have one, so next Thursday Rakai PTC will have its first (of many, hopefully) official American/Ugandan cultural food exchange potluck (the tutors insisted it have a title, hence the food exchange part). The tutors were so excited when I made a flyer advertising the potluck and they all signed up and chose a dish to bring. I made the flyer more than two weeks ago…it’s all they can talk about…EVERY DAY. When visitors come to the school, my principal brags about this big cultural food exchange that I’ve organized. People have no clue what he’s talking about! I almost can’t wait for our potluck day to come and pass just so people will stop talking about it. I’m sure the actual event will have a story of its own. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes…

As our term is coming to an end I have been assessing my students. Nothing major, just an in class exercise to be able to get a grade for them. I thought an 8-10 question mini exam would be no problem. Boy was I wrong! I have been spending the majority of this past week grading 300+ short answer papers. It’s taken me forever and I’m not even done yet! I still have about 100 to go. What makes the work even more tedious is that my students have a hard time following directions. When I ask them to give me 3 examples of a specific term, they’ll list 7. When I ask for them to list 2 different ways of being a good guidance counselor, they’ll give me 12! I think I’m going to have to reiterate the importance of following directions next time, or maybe I’ll just try true/false.

You’ll be glad to know I survived my first major sickness in Africa! Last Thursday night I woke up in the middle of the night terribly sick. I mean running to the pit latrine every hour with simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea (sorry to be graphic). It turns out I had a bad case of bacterial dysentery, which basically means I had amoebas in my intestines. I most likely got it from using unclean or contaminated water to wash my vegetables. I can honestly say I have never been so sick in my life. It was the worst pain I’d been in, I couldn’t eat, and I could barely drink anything. I spent most of the 3 days I was sick in and out of sleep. I’m 100% better now and am super cautious of any water I use for cooking.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. While you were probably eating hot dogs and setting off fireworks, a group of us PCVs were spending the weekend on a remote island in a hostel on Lake Victoria. It was absolutely gorgeous. We had the place to ourselves and even had all of our meals prepared for us by the wonderful staff. On the actual 4th of July while we were all hanging out on the beach, we saw a bald eagle in one of the trees. It was a surreal feeling to be celebrating our independence in a different county, but seeing our national bird definitely made the experience real.

I think I mentioned that I started working at a primary school in Kyotera, my nearest town. I’ve decided to be their new PE teacher. I’m 22 years old and yesterday I spent more than an hour playing duck duck goose. It was the best day ever. The kids loved it! The best part is that I gave the directions entirely in Luganda. I tried teaching them Simon says, but they had a hard part understanding why they weren’t supposed to follow directions if I didn’t say “Simon says.” They taught me a Ugandan game, I think it’s called cat and rat or something similar. Basically, one person is a cat and one person is a rat. The cat is trying to catch the rat but everyone else forms a circle and holds hands. They lift arms to allow the rat in and out of the circle, but do everything they can to keep the cat from passing. It was actually a lot of fun and something I want to teach my students when I come back to the states. If anyone has any game EASY game ideas for little kids, please let me know!

As I’m going on being in country for 6 months, I am definitely missing you guys. Some days are harder than others but all of your letters and emails definitely help. I’m doing ok over here and I absolutely love my village. I hope everyone is happy and well there. Thanks for all the updates; I always look forward to reading them. Barbara, thank you so much for the MAD book, it will come in handy when I’m teaching. Mrs. Supik, thank you for the care package…I FINALLY got it and the granola bars were awesome!

Love and miss you guys like crazy!

Ash

Ugandans love Obama. You can find Obama’s face on practically anything here: tshirts, sandals, plastic bags, fabric, banners, etc. There are car washes and hole in the wall restaurants named after Obama. Ugandans also think all Americans personally know Obama. On countless occasions I have had people, after having an in depth conversation or even just in passing, ask me to tell Obama they say “Hello.” Even though I have never seen—much less met—Obama in person, Ugandans think I have a personal relationship with him. I’ve found it’s easier to humor them and save myself from a half hour explanation of why most Americans don’t actually know Obama than it is to tell them I have never met Obama. I have started ending conversations by saying, “…and I will tell Obama you say ‘Hello’!” They love this! It cracks me up how excited they get whenever I say this. So if any of you just happen to run into Obama one day, make sure to tell him the people in Biikira Parish in Uganda say ‘Hello!’

Last week I found a primary school in Kyotera (my closest town) where I am going to start teaching. It’s a small boarding school for P1-P3 students. I toured the school and immediately fell in love. It’s considerably small by Ugandan standards and there are only about 40 students in each grade level. I brought all of my Pre-K music with me from the states (Thank you so very much for the PPCD mix, Angelique!) and have decided to start a music and dance class to help the kids with their English. I figure this will be a fun and interactive way for them to not only practice their English but also begin to understand my American accent before I start teaching them core subjects. I have made picture flash cards of vocabulary from the songs and plan to use them to teach the kids. For example, the song “Head and shoulders, knees and toes” is the first one we are working on. I made cards with the words on one side and the corresponding picture on the other. So there will be a flashcard with the word ‘head’ on one side and a picture of a head on the other. The kids will be able to associate a picture with the written word and then identify the specific body part on themselves. Once they have mastered the vocabulary I will teach them the song. I plan to do this with most of the songs I brought with me. As soon as they get the songs down I will be sure to post a video for you guys to check out.

Some of you know that I have been having issues with water lately. I don’t have running water in my house. My house is set up for running water, but the pipes don’t work and the pump is broken. I have had nice access to a rather large rain tank up until recently, when we discovered the rain tank is almost empty. It’s the middle of the dry season and we don’t get much rain this time of the year. This has made me rather nervous, especially when I have to “bucket flush” my toilet. This basically consists of pouring a huge amount of water into the back of my toilet tank so the toilet is able to flush. The whole process is really kind of gross since I can only flush the toilet about once a day because it uses a ridiculous amount of water. With a water shortage I have become even more worried because the situation turns into a health issue. I’ve been expressing my concern to my college almost on a daily basis and they have been trying to work to find some other water source for me. A few days ago I discovered that I actually have a pit latrine. No one told me I had one! I know, this may seem like something strange to get excited about, but it means I can save so much water by not flushing my toilet. So in short, the water situation is no longer a crisis because I am not wasting water flushing my toilet. Also, all of you who decide to come visit me will have the privilege of using a pit latrine! Very exciting, I know…

If you weren’t grossed out by that, maybe this one will get you: Buzi had worms. Not parasites, but worms that were actually in his skin. I discovered them the other day when I was petting him and I felt a small bump. As I looked closer, the bump looked sort of like a big pimple but had a small black hole in the center. The black hole moved a little and I realized something was inside. I squeezed the bump and a white grub-like worm popped out of my dog’s neck! It sounds absolutely disgusting, and it really kind of is, but it was the coolest thing I have seen. I have no idea what it was or even how to prevent it, so if anyone knows or can find out I would really appreciate it! Later that night I found a similar bump on his back leg, but this one was much bigger. Sure enough the bump had the same black hole in the center, which turns out is how the worm breathes. The next day I found 3 more, two in his back leg and one on his front paw. This time I made sure to get Courtney, my neighbor, to video tape the whole thing. So all of you who are interested in actually seeing the process can check the video out! It’s definitely better to see in person, but you can get the idea.

I have been told that I have mad bargaining skills. Whenever you want to buy anything, in the market or on the side of the road, if it doesn’t have a marked price you have to bargain to get a fair price. This is especially hard for white people because we are always charged “muzungu” price, which is most times double the normal price. When I first started going to the market in Kyotera I had to bargain for everything. Now, I have my own vegetable ladies who charge me “muganda” price and even give me extra vegetables for free! I do all of my bargaining in Luganda, which usually gets me a really good price because the locals are so impressed I know their language.

A few highlights:

-When I was going to the market the other day a man punched m y arm as I walked by. Without even thinking about it, I turned around and punched his arm as hard as I could. Everyone thought it was hysterical, except for the man of course. He didn’t try to touch me again.

-After I finished bargaining for fabric, the shop keeper offered me one of her children.

-I went to a Rotaract club initiation celebration at my college. The entertainment was DJ from Kyotera who played a mix of Ugandan music and old American pop songs. The kids came up and danced while the LIP SYCHNED to the songs. This is a common, an rather humorous, form of entertainment here.

-I am in the process of starting a cooking club at my school where I will teach my students to cook American food and they will teach me to cook Ugandan food.

I love you all very much and think about you often. Thank you for your encouraging emails and for your thoughts and prayers, they’re what get me through the tough days. Thank you for the birthday letter, Kadi! It’s hanging on my wall. Happy birthday Angie, Sebastian, and Kelsey! Hope you guys each have a wonderful birthday! Hope everyone has a safe 4th of July. Shoot off some fireworks for all of us over here; we’ll be celebrating our country’s independence with you guys in spirit! Miss you guys!

Much love,

Ashley

Sorry in advance, this one’s pretty long but a lot has been going on the past few weeks. The longer I spend at site the more it is starting to feel like home. Here are a few recent examples of what I consider integration success…

-I’ve started running with my neighbor Courtney, another PCV, in the mornings. One morning we were running in the village and we heard the kids shouting our names…in the village! I’ve only ever been in the village once when I first got to site. It was such an amazing feeling to have people I’ve never met know my name and not call me muzungu. The kids at our trading center (TC) even know the difference between the 2 of us now and whenever we walk through town they call out “Bye Ashery! Bye Coatin!”

-There’s a vegetable market in Kyotera, my closest town that’s about a 45 minute walk from my house. I have my own vegetable ladies and they get so excited whenever I come to buy from them. I don’t have to bargain or haggle and they don’t charge me muzungu price anymore. Sometimes they even give me extra vegetables just because. They love when I talk to them in Lugunda.

- I slashed my yard! Or I tried…it’s so hard! Francis came over after classes one day and taught Courtney and I how to do it. I got nasty blisters on my hand but my yard is beautiful now. It’s definitely extremely hard work and I have a greater appreciation when people offer to slash my yard now.

-I made oatmeal cookies that everyone said “tasted like home.” We baked them at the vocational school (which has ovens!) and 2 of the students helped us and told us they would teach us how to cook Ugandan food.

-I finally found a tailor in Kyotera. I bought some fabric and took it in to her. She doesn’t speak English, so communicating with her can be challenging sometimes. She measured me and made me 2 beautiful skirts, all for about $9 each…including the cost of fabric! I told her if she gave me a fair price I would use her the whole 2 years I’m here. That made her very happy.

I had my first experience with caning, it was terrible. One morning before a run I wanted to stop by the college to let them know I’d be in after the assembly. As Courtney and I were walking past the demonstration school (a local elementary school linked to my Teaching College that’s supposed to be a model and example school) we saw one of the male teachers caning the little girls. Worse was that he had a smile on his face the entire time, the bastard was actually enjoying it. Caning is illegal in Uganda, and the teachers know this but some claim it’s the only way they can discipline their students. At first I didn’t know what to do and I just stopped and stared at him. When he realized I was watching he stopped then walked away. I went to my college and saw Francis, my counterpart. I told him what happened and he came with me back to the demonstration school where the guy was caning the girls again! Francis called him into the principal’s office so we could talk to him. As we were walking to the office Francis told me the teacher was a former student at our college and was a former student of Francis’! I couldn’t believe it. I started crying. How can a student who graduated from our TEACHING COLLEGE and is working at the DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL cane little girls? At our demonstration school that’s right next to the college! I was fuming. When we got to the office Francis explained to the teacher how caning is illegal and there are other ways to discipline. Of course he said that was the only way he could discipline. I told him I work at the college and I have a background in alternative forms of discipline and that I would be more than happy to talk with him if he had any questions. The jerk still had that smile on his face the whole time Francis and I were talking. I told him if I saw him caning again I’d call the Ministry of Education and he’d lose his job. I think the only time I really got through to him was when I asked him if I could cane him because he had misbehaved. He didn’t like that idea very much.

I kayaked the Nile! I went with a group of 5 other PCVs to Jinja where we had 3 Ugandan trainers who taught us how to Kayak. We learned how to release ourselves from the kayaks if we flipped over and they also taught us different ways to flip back over if we went upside down. If you’ve never kayaked before, the idea of flipping over and being trapped underwater absolutely terrified me! I was so nervous I would get stuck and then drown. They teach you how to get out of the kayak if this happens, but when you’re actually upside down and under water it’s difficult to remember how to flip yourself back over. I was definitely the worst one in the group but I had a blast. They took us down the river, which was super easy. Paddling back upstream against the current…not so easy. It took forever! And the stream kept pushing everyone back to where we started. They had to take us one at a time to make sure we actually made it back to the other side. It was physically exhausting and I wanted to give up so many times, but I did it. We all did it and it was an amazing feeling. I kayaked on the NILE! How cool is that?

I went to the post office earlier this week and had a padded envelope from Leah, the teacher whose kindergarten class I student taught with. Inside were handwritten birthday cards from all my kids! It was the best thing ever to see how much their writing has progressed since the beginning of the school year. Those cards mean so much to me and they are hanging on the wall in my hallway right now…every single one of them! Thank you Leah, for the birthday cards, you have no idea what that meant to me!

Bodas are common forms of transportation in Uganda. They are basically motorcycle taxis. The drivers are usually certifiably insane and they drive way to fast down windy, unpaved, dirt roads. Needless to say, they are dangerous and the boda drivers are extremely rude. I was walking into town the other night to get meat for Buzi. Buzi was on the other side of the road in the grass and as he went to cross the street a speeding boda man hit him. My dog was hit by a motorcycle! He's ok, the front tire just skimmed his face (I know that sounds awful, but it could have been much much worse). The worst part was that the driver didn't even slow down, the whole thing didn't even phase him.

I know this post was super long but there was so much I wanted to say. Hope you guys enjoy it and thank you so much for taking the time to read! Happy Fathers' Day, Dad! Happy early birthday, Angie and Sebastian! Happy belated Kadi and Sarah! Hope you guys are doing well!

Love,

Ashley

I got a puppy! I’ve been trying to find a male puppy since about my first week at site. (Ugandans greatly fear dogs so I figured having one would reduce my risk of a break in). Last week, 2 days before I was supposed to leave for Kampala for the weekend, Enid and Namusisi—two of the tutors at the college—took me to this lady’s house where there was a litter of the cutest puppies I have ever seen. There was one male in the litter and he was freaking adorable, I fell in love as soon as I saw him. Now for the gross part…he was COMPLETELY infested with fleas, ticks, probably lice, and these weird worms that Namusisi pinched out of his skin. It was awful! Namusisi told me I had to take him then or he would be gone and she promised to treat him for me. I was skeptical, but for 5oooUGX (about $2.50) I bought him. Namusisi took him back to her house and when she brought him to the college his fur had this chalky powder in it and within a few hours there wasn’t a single bug on him! I was definitely impressed. That afternoon we took him into Kyotera and got him a few vaccinations as well as some de-worming medicine. He was pretty sick from all the medicine and treatments so he slept that entire night and the following day. His name is “Buzibu,” which means difficult in Luganda. I call him Buzi for short.

The next day I baked a cake to share with the tutors at the college. They loved it! They insisted on singing to me, several times, and after a few failed attempts we all took a picture together…with the cake of course. Buzi slept in a box on the floor the entire day. He even went to class with me. Most of my students fear him and I tell him he’ll only bite them if they’re late to class. I think they actually believe me.

Which brings me to my next topic…I finally started teaching! Oh my gosh I love it! I’ve really missed being in the classroom. Teaching in Uganda, especially at a college is WAY different than teaching a group of snotty nosed 5 years olds. My first class was the year 1s, a little over 100 students, and I taught them on child growth and development. At first they were quiet and didn’t want to share. We are still getting used to communicating together and they have a hard time understanding my accent. By the end of class they were comfortable enough to ask me to slow down or repeat something, which I consider amazing progress. Then I taught the years 2s. They were 200+ students and that was a little intimidating. Once I got used to practically shouting at them so they could hear me, things went well. I taught them on the difference between guidance and counseling and they participated and contributed throughout the whole class. It was so much fun.

At the end of both classes I let the students ask me any questions they wanted to. The only off limits topics were my age (because there’s a good percentage who are older than I am), if I could bring them back to America, anything political in Uganda, and if I had a husband. They asked me the difference between Ugandan education and American education and they were really interested in how I was liking Uganda and how it was different from America.

Over the weekend I went to Kampala to celebrate my birthday and almost everyone from my training group came into town. It was the first time we’ve all been together since swearing in. Our group is super close and it was awesome being able to catch up with everyone and to just hang out without having to do anything. One of the nights we went dancing in club called the Iguana and I saw a Ugandan with a Tim Duncan jersey on. I started freaking our but no one really appreciated it because no one else is from San Antonio. I thought of you, Mom!

When I got back to the college I taught a few classes and sat in on a workshop. The workshop was awful and lasted 4 hours. After it was over I played a tutor versus students volleyball game, which I organized the previous week. The students were impressed that I knew how to play volleyball and they loved watching. It was a great way to bond with them and show them that I am just like their other tutors.

I’m much busier now that the new term started at the college. I love having some sort of schedule every day, I actually feel productive! My current tasks I will be working on are training Buzi (Ugandans don’t know you can train dogs and insist that I will not be able to since he is an African breed…yea right, I’ll show them!), planting a garden (finally), and starting a girls’ empowerment club at the college with Enid and Namusisi (I want to teach them about self esteem, reproductive health, and how to make reusable menstrual pads). If anyone has teaching suggestions or activities for very large groups of students, I would love to hear them. Thank you Mom for all the wonderful packages, it was awesome to open something on my birthday! And thanks Jill for the package, even though it was random everything in it was perfect…especially the tshirts! Congrats again to McKenzie and Preston, I can’t wait to see pictures! Hope everyone is enjoying summer break and I look forward to reading your updates.

Love and miss you all!

Ashley

PS- I tried setting up a Picasa account so you can see the pictures without having to login to facebook, let me know if you are having problems accessing it. There's a link under the pictures at the top of the page. Love you guys!

I’ve been at site almost a month now and I’m slowly getting my house together. It’s definitely been tough. There’s no work for me to do right now until the students get back and I have never been so bored in my life. We’re not really supposed to have work the first few months, we’re supposed to use the time to adjust and integrate into our communities. You guys know me, I’m a workaholic. I’m going insane! For the most part, my community knows me. When I walk to the dukkas in town I rarely hear “muzungu” called after me, and if I do I correct it almost immediately. The kids all run to the road and call me by my name. It’s funny though because for some reason they have a real hard time pronouncing ‘Ashley.’ Some get it without a problem but some say “Asheley” or, my favorite, “Ashery.” I think it’s cute and they always get so excited when I stop and talk to them. I’m getting to know the dukka owners too. I was having a terrible morning at the college a few weeks ago and I went into town to find an avocado to make some guacamole for lunch. No one had one. I was going through the whole formal greeting with everyone, trying to find just one stinking avocado. Finally, this man told me to follow him to where an older woman was working at a dukka. She came out and I greeted her, asked about her family, and introduced myself (all in local language!). She disappeared into the dukka for a minute and came back with an avocado that she proceeded to give me, free of charge, as a gift for moving here. I seriously wanted to start crying.

It’s crazy how you can have the highest high and lowest low all in the same day here. This happened to me last week when I broke down in front of my deputy principal. I was tired of being left out of meetings and I started crying in front of him. I went off about how they haven’t been fixing my house the way they said they would, how I have no idea what I’m supposed to teach because the other tutor never shows up, how I feel like a waste of resources being put here, how I’m not included in anything and they never let me know when things are going on. It was terrible. Later that afternoon when I got home one of the little neighbor boys, Paolo (who is so freakin cute, I love this kid!) came running up to me and gave me a huge hug. He told me he had put charcoal all around my house to keep the red ants from invading. It was the sweetest thing ever. The next morning he was knocking at my door at 7am to give me an avocado, 2 guavas, and a passion fruit…just because. I showed him and the other kids pictures of all you guys from home and when I showed him pictures of Mom, Mar, and Ang he was so excited he would actually get to meet them at Christmas time. He said he would help me kill chickens and pull their feathers off so we could have a good meal. All the kids said they couldn’t wait to give Mom and the girls local names…something for you guys to look forward to! These kids are my best friends here and sometimes they’re the only reason I can find to leave my house. They’re the reason I tolerate being propositioned for sex by boda drivers and they’re the ones who are always excited to see me return home, even if I’ve only been gone for 5 minutes.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m doing really well here. I’m settling into my house and becoming more and more comfortable on my own. No one has work the first few weeks and we are all going through the same frustrations of trying to find productive ways to spend the days. As they say here, mmpola mmpola…slowly slowly. I’m supposed to start teaching Monday, but we’ll see how that goes. My first few lessons will be child growth and development, sex ed, guidance and counseling in primary schools, and a general introduction to early childhood education. If anyone has advice on interactive ways to teach any of these topics, I will gladly welcome suggestions!

I should be getting the rest of my pictures next weekend, which means my goal for the next time I have internet access will be to upload ALL my pictures from training up until now…about 400 or so. Including pictures of my house! Thank you all for your encouraging emails and texts, they mean so much more to me than you know! Hope everyone is doing well with the end of the school year approaching. Happy 16th Birthday, Mar, I hope you liked the flowers. Congrats on graduation Kelsey, Jill, Jeff, Alex, and Xavi! Congrats also to Mr. and Mrs. Preston Milburn, I’m sure the wedding will be absolutely gorgeous! I love and miss everyone so much! I’ll try and update again soon.

Xxoo

Ashery

I’m finally an official volunteer! Our group is the first in Uganda Peace Corps history to have all trainees swear in…all 29 of us made it! Last week we left Wakiso and had a huge celebration to thank our homestay families. Most of you know I didn’t have the best experience with my homestay family, to put it nicely. Despite that, the party was awesome. Another volunteer and I were in charge of the menu and we were able to have American food…macaroni and cheese! I gave a thank you speech (entirely in Luganda!) with a girl from my language class, which was pretty awesome. After the celebration we FINALLY moved out of our homestay houses and went to Kampala for swearing in. We got to go to the U.S Embassy here and met the ambassador. The actual swearing in ceremony was at his house.

I’ll be living in Bikiira Parish in Rakai District for the next two years. Rakai is about 30 kilometers north of Tanzania, so I’m pretty far south in Uganda. I’ll be working at Rakai Primary Teachers’ College (PTC) teaching PES (teaching methodology), early childhood education, and computers. I also think I might be the girls’ counselor, which I’m pretty excited about. The college has over 300 students, about 230 second years and 140 or so first years. The second years are broken into 2 streams and the first years are all together…which means I teach all 140 of them at one time! It’s kind of intimidating, but I’m hoping to be able to break the students into smaller streams at some point…we’ll see how that goes!

All of my students leave for holiday starting today and they’ll be gone until the end of May. That gives me plenty of time to settle into my house and start integrating into the community. My house is amazing! I’m so fortunate to have electricity! I also have a guest bedroom, perfect for hosting visitors! I live across the road from the health center—I really want to start working with the children’s ward there—and I’m about a 5 minute walk from the PTC. Bikiira Parish itself is actually pretty small, with just a trading center and a few dukkas. Kyotera town is about a half hour walk and I can get most of my groceries there. For more specific things, like oatmeal and peanut butter, I can take a taxi into Masaka town, which is about an hour/hour and a half away, and also use wireless internet there.

I’m going to start a garden so if you have tips on that please email me...or better yet send me seeds! I’ve never gardened before but apparently most everything grows fairly easily here so I figured I’d try it out. I also want to start a girls’ empowerment club at the college. I’m hoping to make it sustainable by teaching the students how to implement similar clubs at the primary schools they’ll be teaching at. I’d love to hear any ideas you guys may have for that. I’m thinking something along the lines of self esteem building, life skills, HIV/AIDS awareness, sex education, etc.

Thanks for the packages Celia, McKenzie, and Aunt Jody! And thanks for the letter, Jill! I still haven’t received all my mail so for those of you whose letters/packages I haven’t received yet…don’t worry, they’re still coming. I have established a new address in my community and now that I’m able to check it whenever I want I will hopefully get mail quicker. Feel free to start sending stuff! I’d love to get some pictures to put on my walls.

My new address is:

Ashley Dunn

c/o Rakai Primary Teachers’ College

P.O. Box 29

Kyotera, Uganda

Happy belated birthday, Dad!

Love and miss you all so much!

Ashley Kirabo

Sorry in advance for the length of this post! I don’t know when I’ll be able to write again…

The past two weeks were immersion for us. I went with a group of 4 other trainees to stay with two current volunteers at Primary Teaching College (PTC) in Kabulasoke. We traveled by matatus (kind of public taxis) and it was an experience. A matatu is essentially a van that drives people to and from cities. There were 21 people crammed into our matatu! I am constantly surprised by the things I see in this country (Like watching a man sitting on a boda boda—motorcycle that is kind of like a taxi—strap not one but TWO goats around his waste so he could take them home). It was pretty awesome to see how current volunteers are living. We had electricity, except for one night, and running water. Even though the water was freezing, I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was to take a shower! We also had the opportunity too cook for ourselves all week, using a gas stove. Over the whole two weeks we made spaghetti, grilled cheese, baked potatoes, soup with dumplings, burritos with salsa and guacamole, and salad. I also baked a cake and attempted to make monkey bread...Ugandan style. Baking is so much harder here because we have to make an oven using two large pots over the gas stove. It works pretty well, it just takes about three times as long.

The purpose of immersion was to give us a good idea of the type of work we'll be doing when we get to site. We had opportunities to teach and to observe student teachers in the field. I loved all of it. I really hope that I will be placed at a PTC when I get to site. I've basically been teaching pre-service teachers, ages 18-22. I co-taught a methods lesson with another volunteer and we had so much fun with it. We taught about cooperative learning and the use of role play in the classroom. We had the class (about 40-50 students) role play different topics for us, with the purpose to teach through acting. At first it was hard to get lessons started because the students would just stare at us and they didn't really want to participate but after a while they had no problem answering questions. By the second week, I taught an English lesson on Reading Comprehension by using a main idea frame. I used a P4 text book (about the 4th grade reading level) to use a story for students to fill in their own main idea frames. I was shocked at how many struggled to read the material. It is discouraging that most of these students will rely on lecture and rote memorization when teaching in their future classrooms because it is the only thing they know. I taught a total of 8 times, each lesson to four different streams (classes) of students. My favorite part was when I was concluding the methods class and I asked the students what they had learned. One girl told us that our lesson inspired her to be creative in the classroom. It makes me hopeful that students enjoy what we teach them and will want to try our methods in their classrooms.

It’s pretty common to be late to class. During one of my English classes students kept coming in late so at the end of class we had a little extra time and I called all of the latecomers up to the front of the class. I had them sing Old McDonald to the rest of the class and act like chickens. It was hilarious to see a bunch of Ugandan students act like chickens and cluck in front of all of their peers. They’ll definitely think twice about being late again…

We also had language lessons during the second half of immersion. Herbert, my Luganda instructor, came to stay with us for most of the second week. I had language several hours a day for about three days...it was pretty intense. One of the days the other trainee who is also learning Luganda was sick so I had language by myself. I did conversational Luganda with another trainer for about an hour. An hour of speaking nothing but Luganda...I was pretty proud of myself!

I have four weeks left of training before I swear in on April 21 (Happy Birthday Dad!). This next week I will have my practice Language Proficiency Interview (LPI), which assesses how well I am doing in my language. Basically I have to talk about various scenarios and situations in Luganda. The following week we will turn in our qualifying projects, secondary projects we plan to implement when we get to site. I'm planning to do a life skills/girls empowerment club where we make beads out of paper. (For those of you who have heard of the Ugandan beads that women make, that is what I will be doing. Anyone interested in buying the necklaces please let me know). After turning in and presenting our qualifying projects we find out where our sites will be and get to visit them for three days. I'm so excited to know where I will spending the next two years and what exactly I will be doing. The following week we have our real LPI and if we don't pass then we have to retest in three months. The next week we swear in and we're off to our sites...as official Peace Corps Volunteers! I can't believe the time is going as quickly as it is and that I've almost been here two months.

I'll end on a positive note...While visiting the student teachers teaching in the field, I was standing outside with the primary students during their break. Many of the little kids don't have much exposure to muzungus so they would dare each other to get as close to us as possible. I finally turned to them and outstretched my arms. After a while they worked up the courage to touch my hands and then I had a crowd of children huddled around me feeling my skin. I turned my hands over so my palms were facing up and the kids went crazy. They would rub their palms to mine as hard as they could then immediately check to see if any of their skin had turned white. This went on for about 15 minutes. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the chance, but it was a pretty cool experience to see the kids interact with us. It definitely made me miss being in the classroom and I'm going to try and teach at a primary school when I get to site. To emphasize the difference in American versus Ugandan schools, the P1 classroom, about the same level as Kinder in the states, had 67 students in it. 67 tiny bodies were crammed into desks, some students we standing off to the sides, and some were sitting on mats on the floor. Like I've said before, never again will I complain of a class of 30!

Hope all is well, I love and miss you all so much! If anyone is interested in sending my goodies, email me and I'll give you a list I've been compiling of things I've been missing here. I haven't gotten any letters but once I get back to RACO there should be mail waiting for us, I know some of you have sent things and as soon as I get them I will let you know. I love hearing how everyone is doing. Will update soon!

Hugs,

Kirabo

(My given name meaning “gift”)

Side Note...I heard the Macarena playing on the Ugandan radio the other day.

Hello all!

Hope everyone is doing well. I am about halfway through my PST...time is flying by! Today I am leaving for Mpigi, a town about 2-3 hours from Wakiso. I will stay there with 4 fellow trainees at a current volunteer's house. The next two weeks will be immersion for us and we will truly get to see what it is like to live as the volunteers do. We will see a primary teacher college and I'll get to teach a class...I'm so excited! I'm also pretty happy that we'll get too cook for ourselves, no more matoke! Since I will be in immersion for 2 weeks I probably won't be able to update until I'm back in Wakiso. I'll update when I get back and share everything I experience during the next two weeks. I'll also put up the rest of the pictures, promise! Love and miss you all so much! Happy early birthday, Mom!

Ashley

Muli Mutya! (How are y’all!)

Hope everyone is healthy and doing well. I am having the most amazing time and have so much to tell you! I can’t believe I’ve already been here almost a month, the time has flown by! I feel like I am getting a good grasp on my language and have plenty of opportunities to practice whenever I go into town. I have become pretty good at bargaining for things at the market and actually have fun doing it. We entered into the rainy season with the beginning of March and it has been raining surprisingly less than it was before, but I am sure this will soon change. Typically it rains most days for at least part of the day and then is sunny for the rest of the day. It has been POURING at night lately and there is a tin roof at my homestay family so it sounds even louder.

Earlier this week we visited Gombe Kayumba primary school to observe a lesson. We met with a Ugandan Coordinating Center Tutor (CCT) who spoke to us about the changes they were making to the Ugandan school systems. I was extremely excited at first because the CCT knew so much about alternative methods of teaching and was excited to implement the learner-centered approach in the classroom. When we sat down to watch the lesson he taught I was extremely appalled. He basically lectured to the class, of close to 90 P6 students around 9-10 years old. (To all my DAWSON ladies, I will never again complain of a class of 25 students! You would love the kids here though, they are so obedient and eager to learn!) Even more, he did not use any wait time when students were responding, he called on the same students, he LAUGHED at a student’s wrong answer, and had poor instruction all around. There were 10 of us trainees there and those of us with teaching backgrounds were furiously taking down notes in our notebooks to share after the lesson. After the lesson we went with the CCT to reflect on how everything went. I asked him to tell us how the lesson went before we gave any feedback. It was shocking to hear how he thought the lesson was perfect! When I asked if that was the style of teaching that we were supposed to implement he said absolutely and that it was ideal. Amazing! Such a seemingly educated man completely contradicted everything he seemed to stand for in the classroom and, worse, that is what we are supposed to strive for! Above everything else I learned how much I have to offer here. The entire experience completely reaffirmed my reasons for being here and made me feel like I am truly needed. Before we left we were able to play with some of the kids and my goodness do they love cameras! They would run in front of the camera to get their pictures taken and would jump and scream around. Some of the little ones even put chalk on their faces so they could look like the muzungus. It was a very eye opening day but the eagerness of the kids makes it all worth it for me. I definitely have my work cut out for my while I’m here!

I’ve had plenty of ups and downs and some days are definitely harder than others. I am trying not to focus so much on the negative and keep my mind on the positive but it is definitely a struggle at times. Dealing with all the unwanted negative attention has been one of the hardest things for me here. The kids run after you in town and touch your arms to see if touching your white skin will make them turn white. It’s a constant thing. The men shout rude comments after you and ask to be your Ugandan husband. Sometimes they ask for even worse. I’m working really hard to not get hung up on all of this and I feel like I’m doing a better job. I try to greet everyone I come in contact with so that they know that I am a part of this community. It seems to help and they absolutely love it when I speak Luganda! They are shocked to hear their language coming from a foreigner’s mouth.

Now for a positive story…I had the most amazing day earlier this week. At school I was totally understanding my language and making progress. After lunch current PCVs gave us a presentation on educational materials and my group made a beautiful alphabet chart, complete with manuscript lines, on a cut rice bag! It was wonderful and even better I was able to take it with me! After school another volunteer and I came back to my house where my brother cut up a jack fruit and gave it to us. Jack fruit is amazing and always puts me in a good mood! Then we milked the cow (or tried to, but that’s another story). Later that night I played volleyball, with a soccer ball, with Miriam and Olive. It was so much fun to be in the front yard just playing with my sister and cousin. My limited volleyball experience to them was expertise and they were eager to learn the basics. After dinner my mom was helping me with my flashcards and language pronunciation. Days like this remind me why I’m here and make all the struggles completely worth it. I feel so blessed to be here and to be part of this amazing culture. I am learning so much and each day is a new experience.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know this one was a bit long. I miss all of you more than you know and love reading all the emails! Please keep me posted! Send me pictures! I love hearing what you guys are up to.

Siiba Bulungi! (Have a good day!)

Ashley

Hello All!

Hope this message finds you well. I have finally found an internet cafe in Kampala with reliable electricity and a FAST hook up! I have so much to tell you!

I am now going through training at Raco training center in Wakiso. Training is 6 days a week and includes language training (my language is Luganda which means I will be posted in the Baganda region after training), culture training, Ugandan history, school curriculum, safety and security, health, and necessary life skills. As far as life skills go this past weekend we went into a nearby village and learned all about gardening and composting. We built several different types of gardens for the community and were even able to plant some vegetables for them as well. Next weekend we will be learning all about cooking and I think I will even learn to cook a meal for my host family. My host family has hosted 3 volunteers before me and they are awesome. I have 3 brothers, Steven, Ezra, and Alfred and a sister Miriam. They teach me so much and also help me to practice my language. Miriam even gave me a local Ugandan name, Nakiganda (pronounced Nah-chi-gahn-dah). I try to use it whenever I go into town because the vendors tend to give me a lower price when I don't have a muzungu name. Muzungu means "white person" and whenever we walk into town, or anywhere for that matter, locals and kids especially shout it at you.

A little about Africa...the food actually isn't that bad. The fruit here is so fresh and sweet, it is by far my favorite thing to eat. I have pineapples, bananas, watermelon, papyaya, and jackfruit all the time. Jackfruit is the most amazing thing ever...look it up to find out what it is! I don't like matoke or posho but I love the cooked cabbage that my host my makes for me. I'm definitely starting to miss American food, which surprised me because it's only been a few weeks! Today in Kampala we were able to get pizza and it was so good! Cheese is hard to come by locally and it was awesome to be able to have some on my pizza for lunch.

My only luxury at homestay is electricity, when it is working. I use a pit latrine and take a bath using a bucket of water and a cup. I've adjusted pretty quickly and really have no issues with either. I sleep under a mosquito net and take anti-malaria pills daily. I've also gotten so many shots! Medical comes once a week and so far we've gotten a different shot, if not multiple shots, every week.

The country is beautiful and the weather is just like home. It's rained almost every day since I've been here and were about to go into the rainy season which means it will continue to rain. It gets dark about 7-7:30 every night and the sun comes up about 7 each morning.

In the evenings my host family watches the "soaps" which are awful TV programs originally in Spanish and dubbed over in English. I could go on and on about them but the bottom line is they are awful. Think of telenovellas times 10 and it still can't even compare to how awful these are! And they're one almost every night...my family loves them!

That's all I have for now. I will try and update as soon as I can. Email me! I love reading email and seeing what's going on back home. Be patient if I don't respond right away. The electricity is unreliable in Wakiso and I can't make it to Kampala very often. As often as I can I will read and respond to emails. Updating my blog will take a little longer and be expecting pictures soon! I love and miss you all very much and look forward to hearing from you!

Ashley

Hey all,

First I want to thank everyone for being so incredibly supportive this past week. I felt truly best to be surrounded by so much love at the going away party and it was awesome to be able to see everyone one last time for a while. Thank you for making it such a success!

So far staging has been crazy! My plane was delayed going in to Philly because of the snow and we had to leave early to avoid the snow storm coming in tonight. We're now in New York and are scheduled to fly out on time, at 10:30 tomorrow morning from JFK. If everything goes according to plan, we'll arrive in South Africa around 9 in the morning then have about a 5 hour lay over. I should arrive to Entebbe, Uganda by about 7:00pm Thursday evening (local time). I want everyone to know that I don't know when I'll have access to phone or internet to let you guys know that I made it in safely so don't panic if you don't hear from me for a few weeks.

That's all for now! I'm so excited that everything is finally happening and I will be working with a wonderful group of people for the next two years. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers and don't forget to write me letters!

I love you all,Ashley

A member of my PCT group shared the following Ugandan news sites with us:

http://www.newvision.co.ug/ http://www.monitor.co.ug/ http://allafrica.com/uganda/

Enjoy!

I made my plan ticket reservations for staging! I will be leaving San Antonio on February 8th at 10:30am and arriving in Philadelphia at 5:10pm. From there, we will leave Philly at 2:30am on February 10th, drive to New York and fly out from the NY airport at 10:30am. We'll have a lay over in Johannesburg and arrive in Entebbe at 7:10pm on Thursday, February 11.

Uganda is 9 hours ahead of us.

According to my pre-service training description, here's a little of what I'll be doing once I get there...

Arrival/Week 1:

This week involves community entry, as Trainees begin to understand how to communicate with their Ugandan families and communities. We will explore Uganda’s history, issues of community development and the Volunteer’s role in that development, personal health, and cross-cultural issues. The focus is on community entry skills and techniques, the concept of HIV/AIDS, at the global level and the Ugandan situation.

Week 2 and 3: Field-based training:

In these weeks you will be exposed to many different relevant technical areas and issues regarding the health and development of Ugandan communities which will be presented to you through a combination of classroom and experiential learning activities. You will practice community entry techniques and you will learn how to work with grassroots development partners.

Week 4: PCV visit

During this week, all Trainees will be in the field experiencing some of the responsibilities they will assume as Volunteers. You will visit a current Peace Corps Volunteer during this period using public transport and travel by your own self.

Week 5-10: Other key activities

You will be exposed to Peace Corps initiatives of Women and Gender in Development, ICT as well as youth empowerment initiatives. All of these sessions will be integrated with improved livelihood and capacity building development activities. You will have an opportunity to experiment with Village Savings and Loans, a great tool to use with people living with HIV/AIDS and their caregivers, and small business people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

According to my PC assignment booklet...

Program: Teacher Training and Community Development

Job Title: Primary School Teacher Trainer

Orientation Dates (in Philadelphia): 02/08/2010-02/09/2010

Pre-Service Training (in Uganda): 02/10/2010-04/07/2010

Dates of Service: 04/07/2010-04/07/2012

When I begin training in Uganda I'll live with a host family for three months. During this time I'll learn the local language and receive technical and cultural training, job specific training, and safety training. When I successfully complete the 3 months of training I will officially be sworn in a a PCV and begin my 2 years of service!

My primary duties, according to my PC booklet, include:

As a teacher trainer, you will be posted to a primary school or primary teacher's college in a rural area. The Ministry of Education will assign you to work with a trained counterpart, a Coordinating Center Tutor or a College Tutor. If working at a coordinating center, you and your counterpart will work together to develop and implement plans focusing on key areas of school improvement and staff development for the 12-65 (or more) primary schools which surround the coordinating center. In order to reach and support these schools, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED to ride a bicycle over relatively long distances and rough terrain.

The work plans you develop with your counterpart may include:

1. Improving the technical skills of primary schools teachers by introducing participatory learning activities for young children aimed at developing basic skills in mathematics, literacy, and life skills.

2. Working with school administrators through on site coaching and group trainings to improve their leadership skills and their ability to support their teachers' ongoing professional development.

3. Strengthening home-school-community connections through joint school improvement activities and projects. Your community has rich resources that you will help them identify and use to improve children's learning.

Along with these activities, almost all education volunteers work with their formal counterparts, other informal community counterparts, and teachers to train youth, educators, and communities in life skills that will help them lead more productive, positive, and disease-free lives.

In addition, as with all Peace Corps Volunteers, part of your role is to inform the people with whom you live and work about America and learn about their lives and cultures so that you may better educate Americans about the people of the world with whom you live and work.

I have officially accepted my invitation to join the Peace Corps as an education volunteer in Uganda, Africa. My exact job title is "Primary Teacher Trainer" but I won't know exactly what I'll be doing until I get over there. I leave for staging in Philadelphia on February 8, 2010 then we fly out as a group for Uganda on February 10, 2010. I'll use this blog as a primary means of keeping in touch with everyone and updating everyone on what I'm doing.