When I put the word 'job' in the title to this post I don't mean a job of the paying variety (next paying job very much tbc). Instead, I am going to be changing my volunteering project as of 1 November.
I have loved getting to know the kids at school and doing fun stuff with them (today we made masks, complete with glitter glue=insanity) but there isn't actually heaps for me to do. Largely because the kids have final exams in a couple of weeks which they are busy preparing for.
My new project is also in Mukono so I will continue to live where I currently am. The project is called Empower and Care Organisation (EACO) was started in 2004 by a group of young Ugandan graduates. The organisation aims to provide public health information, and entrepreneurship skills to the people of Mukono District. (The activities are targeted towards vulnerable women, particularly widows and those living with HIV/AIDS, as well as vulnerable children, youth, and the elderly.) They also provide some advice on things like land rights, so maybe I'll even be able to put a bit of my legal training into practise.
In addition to hopefully having stuff to do, I decided to change projects as with this one I will get to travel out into the villages more and see that side of Ugandan life.
I'm a bit sad about my last day at school tomorrow, particularly because 14 of the kids were not at school today as their parents still hadn't paid school fees. I'll definitely have to visit the kids all again before I leave Uganda.
The next posts I have brewing are likely to be on religion (it's a big deal here) and transport (but I need to take some photos to give a sense of the 'taxis' and boda bodas which are my primary means of travel).
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Foodie heaven?
Uganda is not quite a foodie heaven, but beans and posho is really growing on me.
I think that it would be fair to say that I am a food lover. I enjoy cooking and eating good food! I'm not particularly fussy either, but from what I had heard about Ugandan food before coming here I was quite nervous! Food here has a reputation for being very bland and repetitive. It probably is a fair assessment, but I'm actually not finding it so bad.
My breakfast here is without exception toast, a banana and a cup of fairly average instant coffee. Sometimes I'll have an egg too but the yolks are so pale that I can't help but think of the poor undernourished hens you see everywhere when I eat one. A little off putting.
Lunch at school always includes beans and posho. The teachers receive some other 'dish'. Most often it is boiled cabbage, sometimes matoke (which is stemmed or boiled savoury tasting bananas), sweet potato (which is just like kumara) or 'Irish' potatoes (which are simply referred to as Irish by Ugandans). It would be fair to say that carbs rule supreme here! I also have similar food for dinner, although there is a lot more variety.
I find the servings here enormous. They have learnt at school to serve me smaller portions and even then I always end up giving some of my lunch to the kids.
People here only seem to eat cooked vegetables, and while the fruit is fantastic there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence of people eating much fresh fruit. I am loving the passion fruit and pineapple even if the locals don't.
Interestingly people don't eat very much meat here. In fact in a month I've eaten meat less than 10 times. Quite different to NZ in that regard. Meat eaten is mainly goat, beef or chicken. You can also get fish which is caught in Lake Victoria. Meat is sold in little road side stalls (like everything here) and every time I do eat meat I can't help but think of the slabs of meat sitting in the sun with flies buzzing around. Dairy products are very uncommon, particularly cheese. Snack foods includes fried chicken and chapattis.
Ovens are almost nonexistent here. Pretty much everything here is either boiled or deep fried over charcoal! Most people don't have fridges, so food is only prepared as needed.
While I am surviving on the food front I'd be lying if I didn't say that I crave western food from time to time. Flat whites, nice salads, cheese, a decent steak, and [insert any other delicious food].
On a final food related note, for those who came to my 'Come dine with me dinner' in London I can personally vouch for the money you gave to the hot lunch program going to a good cause. All the money went directly to the school I am at and £225 goes a long way here. Ensuring that all the kids get lunch is really worthwhile. Apparently before they started the program, parents were asked to give extra money to ensure the children all received food at lunch, but many didn't pay it. While school fees would be paid and uniforms purchased, providing lunch for their children just isn't a priority for parents (who are no doubt been financially stretched in so many directions). The program is one of the best ways of helping people here without setting foot on the continent. If anyone does want to contribute to the program please let me know so I can ensure the money goes to the right person before I leave.
I think that it would be fair to say that I am a food lover. I enjoy cooking and eating good food! I'm not particularly fussy either, but from what I had heard about Ugandan food before coming here I was quite nervous! Food here has a reputation for being very bland and repetitive. It probably is a fair assessment, but I'm actually not finding it so bad.
My breakfast here is without exception toast, a banana and a cup of fairly average instant coffee. Sometimes I'll have an egg too but the yolks are so pale that I can't help but think of the poor undernourished hens you see everywhere when I eat one. A little off putting.
Lunch at school always includes beans and posho. The teachers receive some other 'dish'. Most often it is boiled cabbage, sometimes matoke (which is stemmed or boiled savoury tasting bananas), sweet potato (which is just like kumara) or 'Irish' potatoes (which are simply referred to as Irish by Ugandans). It would be fair to say that carbs rule supreme here! I also have similar food for dinner, although there is a lot more variety.
I find the servings here enormous. They have learnt at school to serve me smaller portions and even then I always end up giving some of my lunch to the kids.
People here only seem to eat cooked vegetables, and while the fruit is fantastic there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence of people eating much fresh fruit. I am loving the passion fruit and pineapple even if the locals don't.
Interestingly people don't eat very much meat here. In fact in a month I've eaten meat less than 10 times. Quite different to NZ in that regard. Meat eaten is mainly goat, beef or chicken. You can also get fish which is caught in Lake Victoria. Meat is sold in little road side stalls (like everything here) and every time I do eat meat I can't help but think of the slabs of meat sitting in the sun with flies buzzing around. Dairy products are very uncommon, particularly cheese. Snack foods includes fried chicken and chapattis.
Ovens are almost nonexistent here. Pretty much everything here is either boiled or deep fried over charcoal! Most people don't have fridges, so food is only prepared as needed.
While I am surviving on the food front I'd be lying if I didn't say that I crave western food from time to time. Flat whites, nice salads, cheese, a decent steak, and [insert any other delicious food].
On a final food related note, for those who came to my 'Come dine with me dinner' in London I can personally vouch for the money you gave to the hot lunch program going to a good cause. All the money went directly to the school I am at and £225 goes a long way here. Ensuring that all the kids get lunch is really worthwhile. Apparently before they started the program, parents were asked to give extra money to ensure the children all received food at lunch, but many didn't pay it. While school fees would be paid and uniforms purchased, providing lunch for their children just isn't a priority for parents (who are no doubt been financially stretched in so many directions). The program is one of the best ways of helping people here without setting foot on the continent. If anyone does want to contribute to the program please let me know so I can ensure the money goes to the right person before I leave.
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| The passionfruit are AMAZING. |
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| Posho and beans |
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| Mzungu food goodness |
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Bedewed
I am feeling a bit bedewed this week (a nicer way of expressing extremely hot!) It is currently rainy season here (there are two each year) and it hasn't rained for a few days so it is very muggy and humid.
People here are always asking me how I am finding the heat. In truth I have found it fine apart from the last week. It gets to around 27 degrees most afternoons but it cools to a pleasant sleeping temperature of 19 degrees at night.
The humidity has been worse the last week and when combined with a slight fever from a cold it hasn't been ideal.
The classrooms offer some breeze (as evidenced by the photos) but it is pretty limited. It is fair to say by the end of a day spent in close proximity with thirty five 9-13 year olds I have a pretty special aroma (and I have included a photo of the dusty feet, no unfortunately it's not a tan). Luckily the bucket showers have been serving me as well as I could hope.
People here are always asking me how I am finding the heat. In truth I have found it fine apart from the last week. It gets to around 27 degrees most afternoons but it cools to a pleasant sleeping temperature of 19 degrees at night.
The humidity has been worse the last week and when combined with a slight fever from a cold it hasn't been ideal.
The classrooms offer some breeze (as evidenced by the photos) but it is pretty limited. It is fair to say by the end of a day spent in close proximity with thirty five 9-13 year olds I have a pretty special aroma (and I have included a photo of the dusty feet, no unfortunately it's not a tan). Luckily the bucket showers have been serving me as well as I could hope.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The value of money
Even in three weeks here it has become all too clear how differently money is valued here. Going from one week working in a London law firm to the next sitting in a school class room where parents can barely scrap together £10 for school fees is probably one of the more extreme changes I will ever witness.
Wages in Uganda are low, even when compared to other Eastern African nations. According to the power of google a primary teacher at a private school might earn,100,000 shillings a month. Additional deductions are sometimes made for food and accommodation often provided by schools. 100,000 shillings is the equivalent of approximately £25. I find it difficult to believe how people survive on such low salaries.
It is almost impossible to leave the house in London without spending £25. In fact I used to think nothing of spending £250 on flights for a long weekend away.
As a result of the low salaries, teachers often have other jobs (it is common for women to sew garments in their spare time). People also take a short term view of money. For example most families will buy rice by the cupful rather than stockpiling it at home. There are shops everywhere where staples such as rice and beans can be purchased in this way. Vegetables and fruit are sold at roadside stalls. Another example is airtime top up. Mobile phones rule supreme here and every adult I have met had one. However rather than topping up, say monthly, people top up 1000 shillings at a time (~25p/50 NZ cents). Yes, top up cards can be purchased for 1000 shillings!
As a westerner, money goes a long way. I have been going to a weekly pork night with other volunteers and Ugandans involved in some of the local NGOs (who as middle class Ugandans are a relatively rare breed). A 500ml beer and pork meal costs less than £2. A coke in a local restaurant is usually less than 50p. Of course Kampala itself is more expensive, but still affordable. Transport is also good value. Definitely don't let the price of things stop you from coming here!
Wages in Uganda are low, even when compared to other Eastern African nations. According to the power of google a primary teacher at a private school might earn,100,000 shillings a month. Additional deductions are sometimes made for food and accommodation often provided by schools. 100,000 shillings is the equivalent of approximately £25. I find it difficult to believe how people survive on such low salaries.
It is almost impossible to leave the house in London without spending £25. In fact I used to think nothing of spending £250 on flights for a long weekend away.
As a result of the low salaries, teachers often have other jobs (it is common for women to sew garments in their spare time). People also take a short term view of money. For example most families will buy rice by the cupful rather than stockpiling it at home. There are shops everywhere where staples such as rice and beans can be purchased in this way. Vegetables and fruit are sold at roadside stalls. Another example is airtime top up. Mobile phones rule supreme here and every adult I have met had one. However rather than topping up, say monthly, people top up 1000 shillings at a time (~25p/50 NZ cents). Yes, top up cards can be purchased for 1000 shillings!
As a westerner, money goes a long way. I have been going to a weekly pork night with other volunteers and Ugandans involved in some of the local NGOs (who as middle class Ugandans are a relatively rare breed). A 500ml beer and pork meal costs less than £2. A coke in a local restaurant is usually less than 50p. Of course Kampala itself is more expensive, but still affordable. Transport is also good value. Definitely don't let the price of things stop you from coming here!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Excitement overload
Happily life in Uganda for me is not all work and no play. This weekend has been particularly action packed.
On Friday the principal of the School, Nansuegh, took me and another teacher out for dinner. Nansuegh is in her 70s or maybe even 80s and she set up Nalusse School when she 'retired'. She is a trained educator (unlike the directors of some similar schools) and really seems to care about the kids. She is very worldly and rather unusually she has travelled, she trained for sometime in Australia and she has also been to England. All in all she is a very interesting person to talk to - there aren't many people her age here (the life expectancy is about 53 years). She obviously lived through the gaining of independence and also Amin which she talks about. It was nice to get the chance to talk to her and very kind of her to take me out.
On Saturday I went to watch Uganda football team play Zambia in the second qualifying match for the Africa Cup. Insane. It was like being on the embankment for the cricket, times about twenty when it came to the intensity of the crowd. I was kind of nervous about going as I had heard lots of horror stories about the crowds. The number of police in riot gear certainly indicated problems in the past. Happily one of the women in our group worked at the American Embassy, and I figured that if there was any intel about problems she wouldn't have gone.
I went to extreme measures to avoid being mugged anyway and so I didn't take my camera and have no photos to share. Even if I had it wouldn't have depicted the atmosphere and the noise of the crowd. You will just have to imagine 40,000 Ugandans and maybe 100 white people shouting and chanting on their feet all dressed in Ugandan shirts, wearing masks, scarfs, and face paint and blowing (what felt like) a million horns for 7 hours straight. (two hours for the game and five hours beforehand). It was intense. At least one goat and one sacrificial chicken (painted in the Zambian colours) were spotted too.
The game itself was really good to watch and Uganda won 1-0. They had lost the other qualifying game with Zambia 1-0 so it went to penalties to determine who qualified. Unfortunately Uganda lost 8-9 in the shoot out. The only good thing about the end result was that it subdued the horn blowing!
I went to the game with about 20 white people and some Ugandans. They were mainly Americans who are here (being Uganda and Rwanda) on fellowships where they work alongside Ugandan fellows in yearlong public health roles. Being such a big group of white people was entertaining because everyone wanted to take photos of us. Some asked outright, others were more surreptitious about it. It was a truly African experience and well worth the £10 ticket price.
The intensity of the football was then followed today by white water rafting the Nile. I went with the two other volunteers currently working on another project for the Real Uganda. (They are an American girl and Canadian guy both finishing/at uni). The other people on the trip were three Brits in their mid thirties working for the British embassies in Uganda and Ethiopia respectively. It was really interesting hearing about diplomatic life in both countries.
The rafting itself was pretty freaky. The first rapid had a 15ft waterfall (and I have a photo of us going over it to prove it) and we tipped out in two of the other rapids. Tipping out and being tossed around in massive rapids, particularly when you don't really know which way is up isn't so fun. But it was a massive buzz! The reminder of the buzz is going to be evident for the next few days thanks to some awesome new short marks - thanks doxycycline for making me extremely sensitive to the sun!
Three new volunteers arrive tomorrow and it is funny to think I won't be the newbie anymore! Next post is likely to be on the value of money here (and the power of the pound!)
On Friday the principal of the School, Nansuegh, took me and another teacher out for dinner. Nansuegh is in her 70s or maybe even 80s and she set up Nalusse School when she 'retired'. She is a trained educator (unlike the directors of some similar schools) and really seems to care about the kids. She is very worldly and rather unusually she has travelled, she trained for sometime in Australia and she has also been to England. All in all she is a very interesting person to talk to - there aren't many people her age here (the life expectancy is about 53 years). She obviously lived through the gaining of independence and also Amin which she talks about. It was nice to get the chance to talk to her and very kind of her to take me out.
On Saturday I went to watch Uganda football team play Zambia in the second qualifying match for the Africa Cup. Insane. It was like being on the embankment for the cricket, times about twenty when it came to the intensity of the crowd. I was kind of nervous about going as I had heard lots of horror stories about the crowds. The number of police in riot gear certainly indicated problems in the past. Happily one of the women in our group worked at the American Embassy, and I figured that if there was any intel about problems she wouldn't have gone.
I went to extreme measures to avoid being mugged anyway and so I didn't take my camera and have no photos to share. Even if I had it wouldn't have depicted the atmosphere and the noise of the crowd. You will just have to imagine 40,000 Ugandans and maybe 100 white people shouting and chanting on their feet all dressed in Ugandan shirts, wearing masks, scarfs, and face paint and blowing (what felt like) a million horns for 7 hours straight. (two hours for the game and five hours beforehand). It was intense. At least one goat and one sacrificial chicken (painted in the Zambian colours) were spotted too.
The game itself was really good to watch and Uganda won 1-0. They had lost the other qualifying game with Zambia 1-0 so it went to penalties to determine who qualified. Unfortunately Uganda lost 8-9 in the shoot out. The only good thing about the end result was that it subdued the horn blowing!
I went to the game with about 20 white people and some Ugandans. They were mainly Americans who are here (being Uganda and Rwanda) on fellowships where they work alongside Ugandan fellows in yearlong public health roles. Being such a big group of white people was entertaining because everyone wanted to take photos of us. Some asked outright, others were more surreptitious about it. It was a truly African experience and well worth the £10 ticket price.
The intensity of the football was then followed today by white water rafting the Nile. I went with the two other volunteers currently working on another project for the Real Uganda. (They are an American girl and Canadian guy both finishing/at uni). The other people on the trip were three Brits in their mid thirties working for the British embassies in Uganda and Ethiopia respectively. It was really interesting hearing about diplomatic life in both countries.
The rafting itself was pretty freaky. The first rapid had a 15ft waterfall (and I have a photo of us going over it to prove it) and we tipped out in two of the other rapids. Tipping out and being tossed around in massive rapids, particularly when you don't really know which way is up isn't so fun. But it was a massive buzz! The reminder of the buzz is going to be evident for the next few days thanks to some awesome new short marks - thanks doxycycline for making me extremely sensitive to the sun!
Three new volunteers arrive tomorrow and it is funny to think I won't be the newbie anymore! Next post is likely to be on the value of money here (and the power of the pound!)
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Rabbit breeding...
In a continuation of the school life theme, I thought I'd share details of my forays into teaching proper.
I thought with my science background, science would be a good subject to teach. It is the final term of the year here (school holidays are almost bang on the same as the old three term year in NZ) and the only outstanding topic for science in the P4 class is rabbit breeding. It is as tedious as it sounds. I don't think rabbit meat is particularly popular here! Random fact for the day was that one of the five exotic breeds I had to teach the kids about today was the New Zealand White. In my rabbit breeding ignorance I had never even heard of the breed!
Anyway the module it is going pretty well. The most frustrating aspect is the variation of ability in the class. The bright kids follow everything and always get the answers correct. The kids that are behind in class don't even understand the questions on the board (which is all too obvious from the answers written in their exercise books).
The system here just doesn't cater for the slower kids. It breaks my heart that they just sit there carefully writing answers to questions they don't even understand. But who knows, maybe that's life with teaching.
This weekend I'm off to watch Uganda vs Zambia, a big football match. On Sunday I'll be rafting the Nile. It's tough but someone has to do it...
I thought with my science background, science would be a good subject to teach. It is the final term of the year here (school holidays are almost bang on the same as the old three term year in NZ) and the only outstanding topic for science in the P4 class is rabbit breeding. It is as tedious as it sounds. I don't think rabbit meat is particularly popular here! Random fact for the day was that one of the five exotic breeds I had to teach the kids about today was the New Zealand White. In my rabbit breeding ignorance I had never even heard of the breed!
Anyway the module it is going pretty well. The most frustrating aspect is the variation of ability in the class. The bright kids follow everything and always get the answers correct. The kids that are behind in class don't even understand the questions on the board (which is all too obvious from the answers written in their exercise books).
The system here just doesn't cater for the slower kids. It breaks my heart that they just sit there carefully writing answers to questions they don't even understand. But who knows, maybe that's life with teaching.
This weekend I'm off to watch Uganda vs Zambia, a big football match. On Sunday I'll be rafting the Nile. It's tough but someone has to do it...
Sunday, October 7, 2012
School life
The first couple of days at school were spent in a bit of a haze. I observed lots of classes and my initial impression was that the kids were getting a fairly good education. The class timetable is printed and displayed on the wall had a mixture of classes that I would expect 9-11 year olds to be studying. Maths, english, science, social studies, music, and art. According to the timetable classes run from 8.30 until 3.30. A pretty similar day to a typical NZ primary school day. The P4 teacher is good. She encourages questions which isn't very common here and I wondered what the point of volunteering in a school was when I'm not a trained teacher. My skills could be much better utilised elsewhere.
However having observed for a week the huge differences between education in NZ and Uganda are becoming all to clear, as is the role of volunteers.
First, school starts at 7.45am and finishes at 5.30pm. After school breaks in the evening the kids clean the classroom and fetch water from a nearby well for the next day. Many people here believe the longer kids spend in school the better. However I'm sure you can imagine what a 9 year old is like at the end of a 9+ hour school day.
Second, the children don't ever seem to get the opportunity to be creative. Art or drawing only ever seems to involve copying a drawing from a book. Children learn everything by rote learning. I took an art class yesterday and the kids didn't really know what to do with themselves.
The classes are large (35 or so) and kids that aren't keeping up just don't get the help they need. Likewise the bright kids spend half their time in class just waiting for the other kids to finish their work.
Nalusse School is a good school. It is 'private' in that parents pay fees each term (of up to about £18 for the P7 class). State schools have classes of around 150 kids with one teacher so a lot of schools charge fees where the quality of education is much better. Having said that it is clear some families are struggling. Last week those children whose parents hadn't paid fees for the term yet got sent home until the fees have been paid. Some kids still haven't returned to school.
Caning is another thing that has been difficult to get used to. While I haven't seen any of the teachers properly cane the children (they do hit them if they don't line up properly in the mornings) it does happen. Some of the teachers cane and I am sure some parents to do. I saw a woman caning her toddler in a property just adjacent to the school last week which was hard to watch. It is hard thinking about those kids that will inevitably get caned by their parents if they don't do well at school too. However I can't change these things and one always must accept differences in culture are sometimes hard to accept. Perhaps there are a few kids in NZ and the UK who could do with being caned! (controversial I know, but children here are very respectful, as is the whole society, the problem comes when power is used in the wrong way).
The lack of resources and physical environment that the children work in is probably the most difficult thing to accept as the only thing standing in the way is lack of money. The P4 class of 30+ are crammed into a tiny classroom (I guess about 10 by 5m?). There are no windows, no electricity, a tin roof (which is really loud when it rains). In terms of school resources, most of the books are as a result of volunteers. My portion of the program fee that went to the school was used to purchase a new set of English books for P5. The kids know the reading books off by heart as there is literally one set which are periodically read aloud. They all share exercise books for english and maths between 3 or 4 students. For science and social studies only the teacher has a book. There is no P.E/sports equipment, music equipment or craft materials. Having said that the kids do seem on the whole to be happy. They have the most gorgeous smiles and there is a lot of laughter.
In terms of volunteers, i have decided that they have a number of roles. First they bring money allowing new resources to be purchased. We also bring a different way of thinking and learning, which encourages children to think more laterally rather than just rote learning. We encourage questions. We give children and teachers alike something to be very proud of. People really are proud to have a mzunga teacher. We also bring love and encouragement. Of course, I am learning immensely more from the children here than they are learning from me. But at least we are all learning something.
However having observed for a week the huge differences between education in NZ and Uganda are becoming all to clear, as is the role of volunteers.
First, school starts at 7.45am and finishes at 5.30pm. After school breaks in the evening the kids clean the classroom and fetch water from a nearby well for the next day. Many people here believe the longer kids spend in school the better. However I'm sure you can imagine what a 9 year old is like at the end of a 9+ hour school day.
Second, the children don't ever seem to get the opportunity to be creative. Art or drawing only ever seems to involve copying a drawing from a book. Children learn everything by rote learning. I took an art class yesterday and the kids didn't really know what to do with themselves.
The classes are large (35 or so) and kids that aren't keeping up just don't get the help they need. Likewise the bright kids spend half their time in class just waiting for the other kids to finish their work.
Nalusse School is a good school. It is 'private' in that parents pay fees each term (of up to about £18 for the P7 class). State schools have classes of around 150 kids with one teacher so a lot of schools charge fees where the quality of education is much better. Having said that it is clear some families are struggling. Last week those children whose parents hadn't paid fees for the term yet got sent home until the fees have been paid. Some kids still haven't returned to school.
Caning is another thing that has been difficult to get used to. While I haven't seen any of the teachers properly cane the children (they do hit them if they don't line up properly in the mornings) it does happen. Some of the teachers cane and I am sure some parents to do. I saw a woman caning her toddler in a property just adjacent to the school last week which was hard to watch. It is hard thinking about those kids that will inevitably get caned by their parents if they don't do well at school too. However I can't change these things and one always must accept differences in culture are sometimes hard to accept. Perhaps there are a few kids in NZ and the UK who could do with being caned! (controversial I know, but children here are very respectful, as is the whole society, the problem comes when power is used in the wrong way).
The lack of resources and physical environment that the children work in is probably the most difficult thing to accept as the only thing standing in the way is lack of money. The P4 class of 30+ are crammed into a tiny classroom (I guess about 10 by 5m?). There are no windows, no electricity, a tin roof (which is really loud when it rains). In terms of school resources, most of the books are as a result of volunteers. My portion of the program fee that went to the school was used to purchase a new set of English books for P5. The kids know the reading books off by heart as there is literally one set which are periodically read aloud. They all share exercise books for english and maths between 3 or 4 students. For science and social studies only the teacher has a book. There is no P.E/sports equipment, music equipment or craft materials. Having said that the kids do seem on the whole to be happy. They have the most gorgeous smiles and there is a lot of laughter.
In terms of volunteers, i have decided that they have a number of roles. First they bring money allowing new resources to be purchased. We also bring a different way of thinking and learning, which encourages children to think more laterally rather than just rote learning. We encourage questions. We give children and teachers alike something to be very proud of. People really are proud to have a mzunga teacher. We also bring love and encouragement. Of course, I am learning immensely more from the children here than they are learning from me. But at least we are all learning something.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
My day
I know that in my last post I said that I was going to adopt a thematic approach to my blog posts, but three things happened today which I consider worthy of a separate entry.
Being a Saturday I had a sleep in and lovely breakfast of fresh pineapple and passion fruit which I purchased at a roadside market last night. (The lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in the Ugandan diet is starting to take its toll.) I then wandered down the road to town (wandering down the road, involves walking carefully alongside the highway which has 40 tonne trucks passing, unfortunately there is no footpath) for a coffee. I had spotted a cafe earlier in the week called Cafe La Tour. Taking this as a very good sign, along with the fact that they had a picture of a cappuccino type looking coffee on a banner outside, I was anticipating my first "proper" coffee in over a week. Sadly it was not to be, they said they weren't serving coffee, and I couldn't even get an instant to quell the caffeine headache. I ended up having to settle for a coke. Anyway, they had a newspaper to read. One of the nice things about living in Uganda is that English is one of the official languages so all the newspapers are in English. On approximately page 3 was the story about New Zealand refusing a visa for Mike Tyson to enter the country. I was pretty stoked to see news about New Zealand. (Incident 1). This is mainly on account of how little people know about New Zealand. When I asked the kids as school yesterday whether they had heard of New Zealand they just looked at me blankly.
I haven't even been able to engage with people about a Ugandan winning a gold at the Olympics (which I thought was a surefire small talk conversation). When I was talking to one of the teachers about it yesterday she thought the Olympics was some kind of game I was going to teach to the kids.
After my coke, I wandered further down the road. Everyone I have spoken to who has lived here has recommended walking off the main road and onto some of the side streets to get a better appreciation of Mukono which is what I decided to do. All the side streets here are dirt and I picked a fairly large one with lots of people. As is always the case here as I walked along lots of people said or yelled out 'Mzungu' (being the word for white person). I had a couple of kids join me for a couple of minutes just repeating mzungu and trying to talk to me in the local language. Getting to what appeared halfway back to the other main road I was aiming for, I was faced by a big duck. As a lot of you are aware I am scared of ducks. I was so frightened of the duck (it looked particularly manky and was quite large) that I had to turn back and walk up some little side alley instead (while trying to appear cool, calm and collected). I think the people that saw me thought I was completely mad. That is right, so far, my most frightening experience has been a big duck in the middle of a random back street. (Incident 2).
Having navigated my way back to the main part of the town center (and when I write center, I mean T Junction where the road one way goes to Kamapala, the other Nariobi and the other west Uganda) to find some lunch. After a week of beans and posho/rice/sweet potato for lunch and dinner every day, I decided to hunt out chicken and chips at a restaurant I had been told about. I went in and ordered what I thought was chicken and chips. The meal came out and had a piece of chicken (incidentally not fully plucked), and some kind of fried hamburger patties, but no chips. When I got the bill it had chicken listed and 'chaps' listed. Chaps being the unidentified meat I was given initially. Yes apparently, the New Zealand accent faces just the same difficulties here. (Incident 3).
Hopefully there won't be any other incidents today. I am planning to take some photos soon which I will try to upload and I have a post brewing about school life here.
Being a Saturday I had a sleep in and lovely breakfast of fresh pineapple and passion fruit which I purchased at a roadside market last night. (The lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in the Ugandan diet is starting to take its toll.) I then wandered down the road to town (wandering down the road, involves walking carefully alongside the highway which has 40 tonne trucks passing, unfortunately there is no footpath) for a coffee. I had spotted a cafe earlier in the week called Cafe La Tour. Taking this as a very good sign, along with the fact that they had a picture of a cappuccino type looking coffee on a banner outside, I was anticipating my first "proper" coffee in over a week. Sadly it was not to be, they said they weren't serving coffee, and I couldn't even get an instant to quell the caffeine headache. I ended up having to settle for a coke. Anyway, they had a newspaper to read. One of the nice things about living in Uganda is that English is one of the official languages so all the newspapers are in English. On approximately page 3 was the story about New Zealand refusing a visa for Mike Tyson to enter the country. I was pretty stoked to see news about New Zealand. (Incident 1). This is mainly on account of how little people know about New Zealand. When I asked the kids as school yesterday whether they had heard of New Zealand they just looked at me blankly.
I haven't even been able to engage with people about a Ugandan winning a gold at the Olympics (which I thought was a surefire small talk conversation). When I was talking to one of the teachers about it yesterday she thought the Olympics was some kind of game I was going to teach to the kids.
After my coke, I wandered further down the road. Everyone I have spoken to who has lived here has recommended walking off the main road and onto some of the side streets to get a better appreciation of Mukono which is what I decided to do. All the side streets here are dirt and I picked a fairly large one with lots of people. As is always the case here as I walked along lots of people said or yelled out 'Mzungu' (being the word for white person). I had a couple of kids join me for a couple of minutes just repeating mzungu and trying to talk to me in the local language. Getting to what appeared halfway back to the other main road I was aiming for, I was faced by a big duck. As a lot of you are aware I am scared of ducks. I was so frightened of the duck (it looked particularly manky and was quite large) that I had to turn back and walk up some little side alley instead (while trying to appear cool, calm and collected). I think the people that saw me thought I was completely mad. That is right, so far, my most frightening experience has been a big duck in the middle of a random back street. (Incident 2).
Having navigated my way back to the main part of the town center (and when I write center, I mean T Junction where the road one way goes to Kamapala, the other Nariobi and the other west Uganda) to find some lunch. After a week of beans and posho/rice/sweet potato for lunch and dinner every day, I decided to hunt out chicken and chips at a restaurant I had been told about. I went in and ordered what I thought was chicken and chips. The meal came out and had a piece of chicken (incidentally not fully plucked), and some kind of fried hamburger patties, but no chips. When I got the bill it had chicken listed and 'chaps' listed. Chaps being the unidentified meat I was given initially. Yes apparently, the New Zealand accent faces just the same difficulties here. (Incident 3).
Hopefully there won't be any other incidents today. I am planning to take some photos soon which I will try to upload and I have a post brewing about school life here.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
New home, new job - first impressions
I am now a resident of Mukono Town, Uganda. My new home for the next two months.
Today was my first day at the school I will be working at. It is a primary school of approximately 200 kids located just around the corner from where I am living. My class is P4, apparently according to one of the kids they are all 11 but I am dubious (they seem a bit younger).
Mukono Town is a relatively large commercial district about 1 hour from the capital Kampala, it is on the main road through to Nairobi, so lots of big trucks passing through and very bustling.
I am planning to adopt a themed approach to my blog posts rather than a day by day account of my time here. First up, rather appropriately, is five first impressions (no doubt these will feature in later posts...)
1. Smiling/staring. People do stare. I am the only volunteer living full time at the guest house in Mukono at the moment so I tend to be wandering around the town alone and there aren't many other white people in Mukono (I've seen two so far, one in the internet cafe and one in the Orange shop buying a SIM card). Consequently people stare at me. But if you smile they most often break into the biggest smiles back.
2. There really isn't running water. The kids have to go and fetch it after school. But Mukono is developed and relatively large, so compared to the villages it isn't too much of a tax (where 4km walks aren't uncommon). Bucket showers are surprisingly fine, pit toilets less so.
3. The food lacks variety and vegetables. Standard is beans and posho. The beans are actually really delicious, posho less so. I haven't had meat yet but am a little frightened of it as I walked around the market where everyone buys it from last night. (a bit smelly)...
4. The kids do seem pretty well educated all things considered (such as having to stop classes whenever it rains as the sound of rain on a tin roof drowns out the teacher, lack of books etc). I'm not sure me teaching them Social Studies (which I am scheduled to do tomorrow) is going to add much to their education per se, but meeting a foreigner is good for them, and for that alone I suspect volunteering is worthwhile.
5. People are friendly and it feels safe. Lots of people want to talk to me and are always very friendly and interested in hearing about where I am from. Interestingly, travelling in South America/Central America felt much more sinister.
Ok, that is all I have time for, for now. While Uganda is completely different and a world away from London/NZ the culture shock hasn't been too bad so far (and hopefully it stays that way...)
Today was my first day at the school I will be working at. It is a primary school of approximately 200 kids located just around the corner from where I am living. My class is P4, apparently according to one of the kids they are all 11 but I am dubious (they seem a bit younger).
Mukono Town is a relatively large commercial district about 1 hour from the capital Kampala, it is on the main road through to Nairobi, so lots of big trucks passing through and very bustling.
I am planning to adopt a themed approach to my blog posts rather than a day by day account of my time here. First up, rather appropriately, is five first impressions (no doubt these will feature in later posts...)
1. Smiling/staring. People do stare. I am the only volunteer living full time at the guest house in Mukono at the moment so I tend to be wandering around the town alone and there aren't many other white people in Mukono (I've seen two so far, one in the internet cafe and one in the Orange shop buying a SIM card). Consequently people stare at me. But if you smile they most often break into the biggest smiles back.
2. There really isn't running water. The kids have to go and fetch it after school. But Mukono is developed and relatively large, so compared to the villages it isn't too much of a tax (where 4km walks aren't uncommon). Bucket showers are surprisingly fine, pit toilets less so.
3. The food lacks variety and vegetables. Standard is beans and posho. The beans are actually really delicious, posho less so. I haven't had meat yet but am a little frightened of it as I walked around the market where everyone buys it from last night. (a bit smelly)...
4. The kids do seem pretty well educated all things considered (such as having to stop classes whenever it rains as the sound of rain on a tin roof drowns out the teacher, lack of books etc). I'm not sure me teaching them Social Studies (which I am scheduled to do tomorrow) is going to add much to their education per se, but meeting a foreigner is good for them, and for that alone I suspect volunteering is worthwhile.
5. People are friendly and it feels safe. Lots of people want to talk to me and are always very friendly and interested in hearing about where I am from. Interestingly, travelling in South America/Central America felt much more sinister.
Ok, that is all I have time for, for now. While Uganda is completely different and a world away from London/NZ the culture shock hasn't been too bad so far (and hopefully it stays that way...)
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