A Few Topics

Farewell Josephine

My good friend Josephine (who was the school office attendant) left Kuluva a couple of weeks ago.  :(  When I first moved to site, Josephine was the one who helped me clean my house and get settled.  She also showed me around the hospital compound and introduced me to many people who live here.  Whenever I had questions about the school, Lugbara, the community, or anything, I would ask Josephine.  She was very easy to talk to and always made me feel welcome.

Last year she took a typing course and got certified as a secretary, but could only find work as an office attendant (cleaning/maintaining the school, preparing tea time/lunch, and running errands for Sister Anne).  And a couple of weeks ago Josephine’s brother found her a secretary job in Kampala.  It’s a wonderful opportunity for her and I’m happy she’s found a good job.  But when she left for the interview, I thought she would come back and work here for a couple more weeks.  We got word the other day that she’s not coming back.  I’m totally bummed. 

Maybe I will meet up with her in Kampala sometime.

Dam Power

I just figured that all of these power outages and lack of running water are because of the dry season (we just had a 4-day blackout and I haven’t had water in 2 months) – it turns out that Kuluva’s dam stopped working and needs repair.  But it was built by a German NGO, which means all of the parts/instructions are in German – and the Ugandans can’t read it.  So they had to call in a German engineer.  Someone came to look at it and, of course, had to order some parts from Germany to fix it.  Who knows when it will be fixed . . . In the meantime, we’ve been hooked up to Wenreco, the power company for Arua.  But even they do rolling blackouts.  Ugh.

Care Packages

Care packages are awesome.  It’s like Christmas every time I get one.  :)  I decided to tally up what I have (in case you’re wondering what I need or don’t need):

Fully stocked:

 (This is just some of the tea I have.)

• 22 different kinds of herbal tea (estimate at least 10 teabags of each flavor)
• 33 packets of Emergen-C
• 45 packets of Crystal Light drink mix
• 8 packs of pocket Kleenex
• 6 packs of Wet Wipes, 3 bottles of hand sanitizer (plus various kinds of facial cleansing wipes)
• 6 packs of gum
• Bug repellant – 2 bottles of spray, 2 bug bands, 52 packets of OFF! wipes (another PCV received the OFF! wipes in a care package and didn’t want them, so she gave them to me)

Eat Frequently:

Instant oatmeal packets

Trail mix

Granola bars

Candy bars

Dried fruit

Need:

Protein bars (Clif bars, Balance bars, . . . any kind really)

Boil-in-a-bag brown rice

I’m starting to feel the serious lack of protein in my diet.  I cook eggs occasionally and I try to eat lunch (beans) at school at least twice week.  But I really miss tofu, Boca burgers, chickpeas, seitan, etc.  I might consider eating the fish here, if only it wasn’t staring back at me from the plate.   (They don’t filet the fish here – you get the whole thing: head, bones, and tail.)

Homesick - Follow Up

To my family – thank you for the words of encouragement and support in response to my last blog post. Just writing about my frustrations helped take some of the pressure off – it’s hard to keep the blog upbeat when my emotions are all over the place.

I received some questions/comments that I wanted to respond to – and I figured I shared my thoughts with everyone.

I called the Peace Corps Medical Office and scheduled an appointment to talk to the nurses about mental health.  I have to go to Kampala for a GAD Committee meeting on March 31^st and riding 16 hours on a bus for a 2-hour meeting would send me over the edge.   At least the medical visit will extend the trip for one more day.

Sometime in January, I decided that I have to set monthly goals for myself to keep from getting bored and to feel a sense of achievement.  It also helps the time go by faster.  Some of my goals are related to work and Peace Corps (finish the school brochure by the end of February, run for Gender and Development Committee position in February, create exam questions for social psychology by the end of March, etc.) and some goals are for my personal life (cook a new vegetable/recipe, leave site at least once a month to visit other PCVs, take more pictures of the community, etc.).  It is essential for my sanity that I have something to look forward to each month – and at the end of my service, I’ll have a long list of my accomplishments in Uganda (even small ones, like cooking Curried Okra).

Also, knowing that I’ll be home in September definitely helps.  I am counting down the months until I get to see the whole family again.  Right now I’m looking at dates and flights – I’ll send out word when it’s booked.  I was thinking about going to the Pig Roast too, but I don’t have enough vacation days to take the entire month of September off.  (Sorry Allens & McGraths!)  But I am considering a weekend in Denver while I’m in the states.  I’ll see what I can work out.

Thank you to Uncle John for reminding me of the hardships of living in the US.  :)  I couldn't stop laughing when I read your comments.  [*Read the comments to the previous blog post.]  I forgot how frustrating it is losing the remote control or getting the wrong order after going to a fast food drive-thru.  Life is tough.  :)

Last week I was able to Skype with Brian, Ashley, Ainsley, and Roen.  (I don’t have high-speed internet at my house, so arranging a Skype session is difficult.)  It was so nice to talk and see them!  I know that I’m going to be missing a lot during these two years, but I like to be kept in the loop with what’s going on.  I don’t want to come home and say, “What?!  When did Wendy get married?!” or something like that.  It helps me to stay connected with everyone back home.

During our Skype session, Brian asked me what I do during my ‘down time.’  I couldn’t think of a good answer.  This weekend I wrote it all down:

• If the power is on, I watch movies.
• If the power is off, I read books.
• I also enjoy frequent afternoon naps.
• From November to January, I was on the internet a lot researching social psychology and preparing lesson plans.
• Now I research vacations & safaris and figure out my calendar & budget.
• I write blog posts and emails.
• On the weekend, I’ll wash my clothes.  That usually takes 1-2 hours.
• Cooking takes longer here – I don’t have a microwave.  And there’s the added step of washing fruits and vegetables in diluted bleach water for 10 minutes.
• I try to ride my bike town at least twice a week.  It’s an hour to get there and an hour back with some shopping in between.  And then a bucket bath.
• Daily chores include sweeping, dusting, filtering water, boiling water, and killing spiders & ants.
• I have yoga books and magazines, but it has not become part of my daily routine yet.  Some days I’m just too tired . . . and the cement floor is not very inviting.

Ok, that’s all for now.  I have to go wash my tomatoes in bleach, pump up my bike tires, and kill the cockroach that's hanging around my bathroom sink.

Homesick

• I’m tired of being called ‘mundu.’
• I’m tired of being laughed at/stared at/pointed at.
• I’m tired of the kids incessantly repeating, “How are you? How are you? How are you? How are you?” as I walk by.
• I’m tired of sitting in the staff room while everyone speaks Lugbara to each other (which I can't understand).
• I’m tired of having to do “spider-checks” every time I walk into a room in my house.  

• I miss comfortable furniture.
• I miss constant running water and hot water heaters.
• I miss public transit systems that run on time (here, the bus leaves when it fills up with people – sometimes after hours of waiting.)
• I miss dark green, leafy salads.  (I’ve ordered salad in a restaurant here three times, and all three times I got diarrhea the next day.  I don’t think they wash their vegetables in clean water.  Bummer.)
• I miss washing machines.
• I miss ice – not for drinks or cooling off on a hot day.  I miss ice for injuries (e.g. a stiff neck from an 8-hour bus ride, bee stings, sore back muscles from hardwood chairs, etc.)
• I miss good customer service (at stores and supermarkets), and I'm tired of being overcharged all the time. 
• And I miss restaurants that serve food in a timely manner – no one in the US has to wait an hour for a plate of French fries!!!

I was in Kampala and Masaka this week for our group's In-Service Training and I learned about the U-curve of PCV emotions.  On average, volunteers start feeling emotional lows around the 6-month mark of their service - depression, isolation, frustration at site, etc.  I'm there right now.  The mental/emotional stress of cultural adaptation has caught up to me and some days I'm too tired to leave the house.  It helped a lot to talk to the other PCV's in my group and the Peace Corps Medical Office, and to be reassured that this is normal and it will get better.  Peace Corps also allows 3 "free" days (meaning no vacation days are used) away from site for mental health/rest and relaxation.  And now that I'm getting involved in other projects (away from my site), I think I'll feel better soon.  In the meantime, I plan to escape into the wonderful world of cinema - I just got 200 GB of movies and tv shows.

Village Health Centers

To give you a better idea of where I live, let me explain the difference between Arua, Kuluva, and a local village.  (Pictures will come later - the internet is slow right now.)

Arua is a town – it has many shops, offices, banks, restaurants, hotels, etc.  There is also a big outdoor market (like a flea market) where I buy kitchen items (utensils, plates, etc.) and food – I only buy produce, but there are also numerous butcher’s stands.

Kuluva is a trading center – there are about 9 tiny shops (dukas) that sell water, bread, eggs, etc.  It’s a very minimal selection.  There is also a “market” spot where several women sit all day under a tree selling their vegetables.  It’s right outside the hospital compound, and I go there frequently.  The main (paved) road from Kampala to Arua is the only road through Kuluva’s trading center.  And there are many trading centers along this road, so you have to keep an eye out for the right stop, when taking public transit.  Even when the Minister of Education came to visit the school, he drove right past Kuluva and didn’t even realize it.

A village is far off the main road – you usually have to drive down the rocky, dirt roads to get to a village.  A village consists of several grass huts, and there might be a church, a borehole, a health center, and/or a few dukas.  Sometimes there is nothing but a few grass huts; villages are pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Arua has a hospital – a big one.  Kuluva has a hospital, although most trading centers don’t.  Kuluva’s hospital was built around 1970, so it’s old and ill equipped.  A few villages have health centers (clinics), but limited means to get to a hospital.  Many villages are so far out in the bush that people suffer from basic health issues (e.g. injuries, infections, etc.) because they have no way of treating them. 

Nursing schools send the students to do a semester of community outreach at the village health centers.  A few weeks ago, Sister Anne, Dr. Anne, Jimmy, and I went looking for potential community outreach sites in nearby villages. 

Some notable comparisons between healthcare in the US and healthcare in Uganda:

• The US has posters to promote healthy eating and exercise – Uganda has the poster “Facts About Ebola.”
• People in the US often complain about waiting to see the doctor – A lot of times in the village health centers, there is no doctor.  There is only 1 nurse and 1 midwife to see over 100 patients a day!
• In the US, there are flu outbreaks – In Uganda, there is a village near DR Congo that still gets outbreaks of The Plague.  Yes . . . The Plague.
• Hospital food in the US is not very good – In a Ugandan hospital, there is no food.  Patients have to bring their own food, water, toilet paper, bedding (pillows, sheets, blankets), etc.
• In US hospitals, there’s a maternity ward, a children’s ward, intensive care unit, etc. – Kuluva Hospital has all of those wards too, but also a leprosy ward.  In fact, Kuluva started as treatment center for leprosy and later became a regional hospital (and training center).  There are actually still a good number of patients with leprosy at Kuluva and the nursing students visit them as part of the disability/rehabilitation outreach.

 

(Pharmacy at Opia Health Center - Notice the yellow Ebola poster on the wall.)

Don’t worry Mom & Dad – I’m not working on the wards.  I’ll be going with the nursing school students to the villages to check out clean water sources, schools for the deaf and blind, and occupational health sites (workplace safety demonstrations).  I’m really excited to go out into the community with the students – this is what I imagined when I signed up for the Peace Corps.