Wednesday, March 21, 2012

"Sshh, sshh! This is my favorite part!"

What are some of my favorite (or maybe we call some of them memorable?) experiences in Uganda? It’s funny you should ask because it just so happens I have prepared a few to share with you. So here they go…


Swimming in the Nile River

Undeniably one of my most favorite experiences here. I did this way more times than Peace Corps or my organization probably would have been happy with (on account of the diseases that lurk in the river). It was easy because Jinja is so close to my site and has some great spots to take a dip. I can remember this one occasion where I was swimming with about three or four other volunteers. We were jumping off this rock that was about 15 feet up from the water level when a gentle rain began to trickle down on us. The sky turned to a dark murky gray color with some orangish tint. I remember just sitting on that rock looking around and being so appreciative for where I was and what I was doing. It was majestic. There were plenty of times when we swam on sunny days, but there was something special about this one.


Eating under the pure Ugandan starscape with my neighbors

Again, words cannot describe how special these moments were for me. There is something about the Ugandan sky at night. It is so dark when the moon isn’t there. Shootings stars abound. When the moon is there, it’s mystifying. Beautiful. Hypnotizing. The way the clouds hang and bask in the moonlight. Or drift slowly on to forever. The silence. The stillness of the air. We would break bread and discuss the day’s events as this production took place over our heads.


Leading and motivating Uganda’s youth

Whether it was in a classroom, during an informal meeting in my office or while in the middle of a life skills lesson, I couldn’t have been more impressed or filled with more happiness from my students. These moments were difficult to predict and short lived, but they were myriad.

And then there were other opportunities when I gave speeches on important issues such as women’s rights, human sexuality, malaria awareness and youth economic empowerment. I will remember the passion I felt in those moments and how all those eyes stood trained on me. A nice thing about being the mzungu in Africa is that everyone listens to you once you start talking.


Performing a number three

There is nothing quite like getting food poisoning while literally locked inside a house with an indoor air temperature of 85 degrees without running water and power. It forces one to come up with more creative solutions to the ensuing events which occur when one puts something in their body that the body decides just does not belong there. Sitting bare ass on my little green bucket purging my system while at the same time hunched over hurling into a cheap black plastic bag, this was my first sick night in Uganda.

Why was I locked inside the house do you say? Well, this happened in training and every night the host family I was staying with would lock the door at 10pm and it would not be unlocked until sunrise. It was a very strict rule and no doubt a measure to keep the family safe from prowling evildoers.

So you had to improvise on solutions to outdoor problems at night. Repeating the bucket/bag process three or four times throughout the night, this was my solution. Words cannot describe the smell of that bucket the next morning. But it was epic.


Watching the sunrise on New Year’s Day from the beaches of Zanzibar

Ok, technically this one did not occur while I was in Uganda. But it highlights another important and truly precious aspect of my service: the 28 other brilliantly insane men and women I came to Uganda with on Feb. 10, 2010 and served beside for two years. Dancing on the beach at 5:30am to Daft Punk’s “One More Time” with seven or eight other members of my group, we brought in the new year. My group mates have been a phenomenal contributor to my mental health and happiness here in Uganda. And I’m so happy they were here with me.


Discussing local, national and international politics and news in the staffroom

It was always interesting to get the Ugandan perspective on things. Many times, in fact most of the time, we agreed on the issues. Ugandans want the same things we want and enjoy many of the same things we do, those things are universal. But often times we would disagree, sometimes passionately. On issues such as religion and homosexuality, I had to walk a very fine line with my colleagues to not jeopardize any credibility I may have established in other aspects of my work.

I was continually surprised by the topics that got brought up, many of them sexual in nature. Ugandans don’t beat around the bush on this matter, at least the ones in MY staffroom didn’t. There was no partitioning or separation of conversations. The staff room is simply one big room with acoustics to allow anyone to hear anything from anywhere in the room. Everything that everyone said was heard by all. It was a very public and open discussion, which added to my surprise at the candidness of some of my coworkers.


Climbing Mt. Sabinyo and later, Mt. Muhuvura in Kisoro

These two treks were probably the most physically demanding feats I’d ever accomplished. I can remember walking away from the mountains not being able to really feel my legs. But I also remember the astonishing views at the top after traversing across some pretty shoddy and terrifyingly-close-to-the-edge ladders.


Running a half marathon in the bustling urban center of Kampala

Not the most physically demanding thing I’ve done (I think I overtrained) but one where I walked away with a sense of accomplishment and fortuitousness for not having been injured by any or all of the hazards that pockmarked that path of organized chaos.


Hosting my dad and sister in this strange land

Nothing felt more comforting and nurturing than to have my very own family members come to Uganda and visit me, if for only a brief amount of time. Showing them this beautiful and interesting environment and introducing them to the people in my life here was so incredibly special and fun for me. Thank you for coming and for your continued support throughout this entire tour.


My morning runs

I couldn’t write this entry without mentioning a crucial part of my mental – running in the village. This place is just absolutely beautiful some days! I’m thinking of one particular instance when I was on a long run and I came upon a swamp that was just completely blanketed in early morning fog. It was creeping slowly over the landscape and I just kind of disappeared into it as I got closer. Twenty minutes later when I had come back the sun had burned it off only to expose this narrow road bisecting this vast expanse of water and earth, providing the only sane means of traversing such a mucky and hazardous area.


Getting malaria, mango flies, tear gassed and floored

Floored on the chaotic streets and dirt roads of Kampala and various villages by motorcycles and bikes. Tear gassed in Budadiri for God knows what. I still don’t. Mango flies from eggs hatching in my t-shirts. And malaria from that damn anopheles. And these things are pretty normal here.

The truth is I could name about a hundred other experiences that were memorable and really great in there own special way. That would take awhile. Really everything that I experience and do here is truly unique. And to pick out these select few has been an arduous and ambiguous process. Again it feels like I have gotten much more out of this than I was able to give but I guess the balance of those give/take scales depends on whom you ask.

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