I'm Officially a Peace Corpse.

Add It Up:

How many months I’ve been in Uganda: 24
How many months without running water: 15
How many liters of water I need to bathe: 4
How many books I’ve read: 53
How many movies I’ve watched: 510
How many TV shows I’ve watched: 55 seasons of shows, 4 miniseries
How many computer cables I have replaced because of unstable electricity: 3
How many nursing students I’ve taught: 11 in Social Psychology, 144 in Computing
How many camps I participated in: 5
How many trips to the Peace Corps Medical Office: 6 (mostly dental appointments)
How many times I shit my pants: 0 (there were a few close calls, but it never happened)
How many parasites I’ve had: 2 (Giardia at the beginning of my service and now again at the end)
How much weight I’ve lost or gained since arriving in Uganda: +10 pounds
How many snake encounters in my house: 4
How many other vermin I’ve had in my house: too many to count [various spiders, ants, termites, cockroaches, wasps, mosquitoes, flies, beetles, millipedes, moths, silverfish, misc. African bugs, lizards, and 2 mice]
How many towns/villages I’ve stayed (overnight) at in Uganda: 26
How many African countries I’ve visited: 4 (Uganda, Tanzania/Zanzibar, Rwanda, Egypt)
How many care packages I received: 38
How many pictures I’ve taken: 2,827 (plus 2,334 from other people)

Adventures:

Safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Two nights on an island on Lake Bunyoni
Safari in Murchison Falls National Park

Hiking at Sipi Falls

Camping and safari at Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania)
Two vacations in Zanzibar: snorkeling in the coral reefs, parasailing, spice tour, swimming in the Indian Ocean
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Visited Rwanda: saw Genocide Museums, Hotel de Mille Collines, hot springs, Lake Kivu, and an active volcano at night (from far away)

White water rafting on the Nile River
Egypt tour: 6 pyramids, the Sphinx, 5 temples, the Valley of the Kings, snorkeling in the Red Sea, Egyptian Museum, Khan El Khalili bazaar

Kuluva Accomplishments:

Created a school brochure
Created lesson materials and taught Social Psychology to Diploma students 
Taught computing to Diploma students (Sets 1 and 2), Certificate students (Sets 9 and 10)

Created 2 different inventory databases (because the principal didn’t like the first one)

Created exam questions database
Wrote a grant for computer technology upgrade and internet connection (but it was denied)
Typed 30 pages of notes on Disaster Management for the principal

Peace Corps Accomplishments:

Was elected Secretary of Gender and Development Committee
Was a Camp Counselor at Northern Camp GLOW 2012, Girl Tech, Eastern Camp GLOW, and Northern Camp GLOW 2013

Taught nutrition at Eastern Camp GLOW

Taught nutrition to women’s group in Adumi
Was group representative on Volunteer Advisory Committee
Completed 5 trimester reports (with limited electricity and internet)
Wrote grant for Girl Tech (and was approved)
Co-Director of Girl Tech 2.0: coordinated staff and camper applications, created budget spreadsheet

This is Africa (TIA)

Monkey at my back door

Stuck in the mud

Snakes - one more time for your viewing pleasure

 

A small child with a machete - this is a common sight in Uganda 

Me on a boda in Rwanda (where helmets are required)

PEACE OUT!

E.T. Phone Home

In the Peace Corps, E.T. stands for “Early Termination.”  There are three ways to terminate your service:

• A volunteer can resign
• A volunteer can be administratively separated (i.e. kicked out)
• A volunteer can be medically separated due to illness or injury

My training group started with 46 people – 14 have ET’ed.  I will be number 15.  I have chosen to resign from my service (as opposed to officially closing my service) because of grad school.  I have been desperately trying to get my UK Student Visa processed in Uganda, but due to lack of printers/scanners in my village and restricted Kampala travel (where the Visa Application Center is), I cannot get my student visa here.  Since it takes 8 weeks for the visa application to be processed, I have to return to the U.S. as soon as possible in order to have my passport returned to me before school begins.

I am slightly stressed out because I have to leave Uganda in a bit of a rush.  I’ve been traveling for the past month (for meetings, conferences, and vacations) and have to pack up my house and say goodbye to everyone this week.  I’ll be leaving Kuluva on Friday and having a farewell dinner with the Arua PCV’s on Saturday.

The past two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster, saying goodbye to my training group at our final conference and preparing to leave Uganda.  Mom and Dad have received many phone calls with me freaking about student visas, grad school, and early terminations.  They were very understanding and offered sound advice when my head was spinning . . . (albeit they’re slightly biased for me to come home early).  :)  And my PCV friends have been extremely supportive of my ET, reminding me that grad school is the next step and that should be my focus (not closing my service with Peace Corps).

Now being back at Kuluva, sitting in the computer room, typing this blog (because there’s nothing else to do), I am reminded that things at site are not so great and it’s okay to leave.  I found this quote on the blog of another PCV who also left early:

“Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.”  -Robert Tew

Instead of sitting around site (possibly just watching movies and reading books), the next four weeks could be better spent preparing for Leeds, readjusting to modern civilization, visiting family, and decompressing from two years in the Peace Corps.

So that’s my decision to ET and come home. 

(In case you’re wondering, my arrival back in the US will be sometime around July 27.)

 The remaining 32 people in my Peace Corps training group

Pondering Thought #5: Food Habits

PCV Binge Eating

For some reason, PCVs consume copious amounts of food when we go to Kampala (or on vacation somewhere, or back to the States, etc.).  Sure there are limited food options in the village and going to “the city” offers a wide variety of cuisine, but why do we feel the need to gorge ourselves beyond capacity?  I would never eat an entire pizza by myself in the U.S., so why do I do it here?  Yes, it tastes amazing and I don’t want to stop eating it.  And I know people don’t keep leftovers here because there are no refrigerators or microwaves (for the most part).  But seriously, after stuffing my face with a vegetable pizza, someone suggested we go out for ice cream.  “Why not?!  I can’t get ice cream in the village!  Better have it now.”  Right?  Wrong.  I had a stomach ache for two days.

           

Jinja binge: My roasted vegetable sandwich w/ fries, my friend's meatball sandwich with fries, my mint chocolate chip milkshake, and my friend's chocolate peanut butter milkshake 

= stomach ache and indigestion.

Care packages are another binge opportunity.  I love everything I receive.  And I can easily ration granola bars and rice packets, but somehow the chocolate never lasts more than a week.

Produce vs. processed food

I thought when I came to Africa I’d be eating fresh fruits, veggies, and grains all the time.  What I didn’t realize was how much preparation everything takes.  In America, you can buy a can of beans and just heat them up on the stove.  Not here – beans are raw and take about 4 hours to cook.  I’m too lazy for that.  Fruits and veggies need to be scrubbed thoroughly (to get the dirt off) and then soaked in diluted bleach water for 20 minutes (to kill any bacteria).  Manure is used as fertilizer here, so if the animal had bacteria or parasites, then their manure will have it too.  Again, it’s a lot of work just eat a few tomatoes (not to mention the hour bike ride to town and the hour ride back).  And sometimes, I’ll buy a heap of tomatoes only to come home (wash & bleach them) and cut into them to find they are rotten on the inside.  Aargh! 

The risk of getting sick is very high, so I choose to make the majority of my meals from packaged foods (even though it’s much pricier than fresh food).  Ugandans can’t usually afford things like noodles or cereal, but my Peace Corps allowance is a lot more than what the locals earn.  And sometimes the supermarkets have some American goodies in stock. 

Yes, Heinz Ketchup is a special "treat" here.  The local "ketchup" is neon red and tastes like candy.

Animal slaughtering

I have not participated in any slaughters in Uganda, but I have witnessed many.  It’s the way of life here, even for PCVs.  In the market, there are many butcher stands with animal carcasses hanging and I frequently see boda drivers with cow/pig/goat parts (legs mostly) on the back of their bikes – one time it was a cow’s head!  Since living in Uganda, I have become much more sensitized to slaughtering and meat preparation.

(No photos available)

Insects

There are 2 local delicacies in Uganda: fried grasshoppers and fried white ants (aka termites).  Ugandans will collect grasshoppers in the fields, fry them up, and sell them by the bag on the side of the road.

During the rainy season, white ants will swarm around the outside house lights (after the rain has stopped).  People come with buckets to collect the termites after their wings have fallen off.  Then the ants are fried or mixed in with the beans and enjoyed.

 Pot full of cooked termites, mmm . . .

I have not tried either of these.  Am I still a vegetarian if I eat insects?

FYI – the WHO suggests adding insects to our diet for more protein and to reduce the environmental impact from cattle/animal farming.   

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22508439

Eh! You are fat!

In Uganda, being fat is a good thing.  It shows that you are not sick (AIDS is 'the thinning disease') and that you have enough money to eat well.  It’s a sign of health and wealth.  But I’m from the US – so when the school attendant told me, “You have become very fat since coming to Uganda!” I was still offended.

Yes, I have put on a quite a few pounds during my service (*please refer back to PCV Binge Eating).  Although I ride my bike to Arua twice a week, that’s the only exercise I get.  Most days I just sit around my house or the computer room at school.  My life here is extremely sedentary compared to life in the US.  Oh, how I miss 24 Hour Fitness centers.

When we (PCVs) first arrived in country, we were warned about the phenomenon that girls gain weight in Peace Corps and boys lose weight.  It’s so true.  Boys lose a lot of muscle mass, but we girls put on the pounds due to all the carbs, sugar, and lack of exercise.

So yes Helen, I have become fat in Uganda.