"Democracy. The word itself is democratic. You can use it however you like.”

This was a recent remark from one of my colleagues here at Kamuge High School during our daily lunch/political commentary session with a panel of about 6-7 teachers. “Do we have democracy in Uganda, Joe?” I laugh casually and strategically disengage myself from the conversation immediately. :)

A brief glance through the window of the house that is the confusing, complicated, frustrating, hopeful, and intense political climate that exists in this country. This is our daily lunch routine. We break bread (or posho – pronounced like fo sho!) and delve into the existing issues of the day/hour/minute.

This is my evening. Filled with a rotating arsenal of reading novels, studying for the LSAT, preparing for class the next day, conversing with friends and family via cell phone, and a night at the cinema courtesy of my MacBook and solar power! Yay! The less light an activity demands, the more popular it tends to be with me. Come about 7pm, my productivity wanes significantly.

What’s currently in my library? Aside from about 40 pounds of Ugandan math and physics textbooks that I explore throughout the week, I’m currently reading The Kite Runner with great enthusiasm. Since I’ve been on the continent, I managed to finish the Bible of a book in The Fountainhead. I’ve also read Monique and the Mango Flavored Rains (written by an RPCV on her experiences in Mali), and half of River Town by Peter Hessler (also an RPCV read). Also included is the occasional Economist magazine whenever I can get my hands on one, though they are nearly impossible to find outside of Kampala.

Side note: I found an amazing internet café in Pallisa Town today. It is amazing because…

A. It is amazing because they play Phil Collins’ Greatest Hits on repeat and the Ugandans sing along, gotta love Phil.

B. The internet is fast (today).

Now for my weekly teaching update…

This week I pulled an idea from one of my colleagues and conducted an activity with one of my streams of S2 Math students. I asked them three questions:

1. Write down 3 things about yourself you’d like to tell me.

2. Write down 3 things you’d like to know about me.

3. Write down 3 things you’d like to learn in this class.

I found the responses to question number 2 particularly entertaining.

Examples…

“Sir, is it true that every person in your country is rich?”

“Sir, is it true that when you die, they just burn you?”

“I would like to learn about your colour.”

“Sir, what made you leave your country and come to Uganda?”

“I would like to know your age and your clan simply because I want to be your friend.”

“Are you married?”

“What is your religion?”

“I would like to know where you come from, that is to say, a continent, country, district, county, parish, and the village.”

I answered all to the best of my ability. Interesting stuff, I’ll leave it at that.

So far, every week this term, my lessons have been interrupted for one unforeseeable event after another. Week 1 marked the beginning of Term 1, hence less than 50% of the students decided to come to school this week. Week 2 the students were there, but Wednesday was Martyr’s Day (a national holiday in Uganda and one that I had no idea was coming). Week 3 marked the celebration of another public holiday (Heroes Day) and thus classes were cancelled for another entire day.

At this point you might be asking yourself, “Joe, aren’t public holidays foreseeable?” Well, normally my response would be yes. However, in this case, I had no idea Ugandans had two days in June to celebrate martyrs and heroes (which are kind of the same thing right?) and nobody bothered to inform me that we would not be having any classes on these days. I discovered it by showing up at the school in smart dress only to realize that it was empty.

Thursday of Week 4 I was interrupted by an HIV/AIDS Awareness and Prevention Campaign Event put on by USAID (United States Agency for International Development). Not only did I not have any idea that this event was going on just one mile away from my school, but it was also sponsored by the USA! Overall, the event in my opinion was an incredible success with a few minor snags.

1. All my classes in the late morning and afternoon were cancelled once again

2. Somehow I got assigned to the front of a single file marching line of the 593 Ugandan Secondary Students of Kamuge High. Even though I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing (a common theme among most of the teachers at my school that day, through no fault of their own).

3. I was somehow introduced as the one presenting these 593 students to the event in front of a crowd of thousands of people. I would have much preferred their head teacher be acknowledged as the one leading them. Oh well! TIA!

But in all seriousness the event was phenomenal success. There were definitely some oddities but a lot of great things happened. First of all, there was a massive line (hundreds) of people waiting at the HIV/AIDS testing booth to find out if they were infected and sick. Second, there were THOUSANDS of people there! They were mostly primary and secondary aged students. Those that will benefit from this information the most, one could argue. They also had skits/songs/dances performed by a few students from each school. We had extraordinary candid conversations among secondary students regarding sex/condom use/HIV prevention etc. Uganda has done an incredible job at eliminating the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and turning it into a united mission fueled by open, honest, and unabashed communication.

Although, while sitting in the scorching sun that Thursday afternoon watching hundreds of young Ugandans line up for testing, I couldn’t help myself from drawing comparisons to the United States. And I thought, look at what’s happening right now, hundreds of Ugandans are lining up right now to find out if they’re sick with a very serious and dangerous virus. The outcome of which could determine how they’re going to live for the rest of their lives. In the United States, we have blood drives. In Uganda, we have HIV/AIDS testing drives. It is probably not a fair comparison, but that didn’t prevent it from crossing my mind. Sure we have diseases in the US, but none that parallel the devastation that is incurred by those such as HIV/AIDS and malaria here. We are truly fortunate.

I am very fortunate. And one of the main reasons I’m fortunate is simply because I happened to be born in the United States of America one early morning in November. 300+ million people each with the same shared advantage.

I’m also fortunate for the directors in my life. These are those that raised and advised me how to act and conduct myself, directed me. Who are the directors of your life? I’d like to personally thank each and every one of you for serving as guides and accelerators in my existential conquest. You know who you are. Thanks.

Joe

“It’s more of a suggestion, than an action at this point.”

A quote from a man I conversed with on my way to Pallisa Town today. We were talking about the terrible state of the main road between Mbale and Pallisa. I had mentioned that I had heard the government was planning to pave it. He was responding to me, saying they did not know when and that it was more of a suggestion than a reality. I found it pretty funny and filed it away into my “This is Africa (TIA)” file.

I’m mid-way through my third week of teaching with much to report. Three weeks into the second term, my school is still in shambles. Less than half the teachers have even arrived to begin teaching. The students sit idle in their empty classrooms over 50% of the time. Students approach me and ask them to step in and teach them math/physics/geography etc. It is disappointing. I have to decline most of the time simply because I’m already overwhelmed with five streams of math and physics. There is no lunch prepared for the students and the administrative staff is unaccounted for throughout the day. Lots of opportunities!

In other news, I now have an office. A spacious office. I discovered an unused room at the back of the physics laboratory full of wood, dust, and lizards. So I asked the headmaster if I could take ownership of it as my workspace. I recruited a few students to help me remove the wood, sweep, and mop the floors and counters and paid them off with candies and 500 shilling coins (25 cents).

This will definitely be a nice perk to have. It is much cooler than my house during the day since it has a ceiling and ventilation slots in the walls. I can also prop my door open for more ventilation. Also, solar power! Holla! I can work on my laptop and charge my phone while working on them! I’m living the life of luxury. Also if the time may come where I will require the assistance of a fan, it will be a possibility.

Teaching is going well. Every day is a personal learning experience for me. I learn how my students are reacting to the knowledge I’m putting forth. I learn how I should react to their reactions. I learn how to change my methods to the Ugandan style and way of learning.

Sometimes I realize I really don’t understand what I’m teaching all that well, but I just manage to stay at least one step ahead of my students, and that seems to work well enough. At other times I can’t help but feel incredibly grateful for the quality of instruction I received from the public school system of the US. Some of the subject material in math and physics has been engrained into my mind so well that I can’t even remember when I learned it, it’s as if I had always known, but I know that is not the case.

Side note – Did you know it is only one space after a period now? Man, that is one thing I wish wasn’t engrained in my psyche. Getting rid of that extra space really rocked my world. Anyways…

I wonder how my students came to believe and think the way they do. My students copy exactly what I write on the board, word for word. They copy the format in which I write my solutions and final answers to problems. It is incredible how dependent they have become on verbatim memorization learning. I try to challenge them to solve the problem without my doing it first on the blackboard (P.S. chalk is incredibly messy, thank [insert Jesus/Allah/Buddha/Stephen Colbert/etc… here] for the invention of the dry erase board! – please ship some immediately J) Anyways, challenging them usually yields minuscule results. They simply wait for me to solve it before making an attempt. This style of learning has been engrained in them for the past decade of their lives.

Continuing on this theme of mental culture in the youth here. I had a discussion with a couple of kids a few weeks back. “I want to be like you, Mr. Joe.” They said. I ask why. “Your skin is white and soft. It is not rough and black like ours.” And I thought, where in this kid’s life did he learn that he wanted to be a white person. He seemed to think it was better. I wondered what moment in his life that reasoning was instilled in him.

“When a problem comes, it usually brings its children.”

And in Uganda, children are many. This quote came up during lunch today at my school. Ugandan politics are the topic of discussion EVERY single day during lunchtime. The teachers are all very concerned and interested in seeing what happens to their country’s leadership come February 2011. There seems to be a mixture of emotions and tones between excitement, frustration, complacency, passion, and comedy.

I try to stay out of it for the most part. However, every once and a while they will field a question my way and ask for a comparison with the way the United States Government operates. One day I told them that unemployment is 10% in the United States right now. They all replied by saying that is very good! I told them that was a high number for unemployment and they all just laughed hysterically.

One day they asked me how the United States views Uganda. I told them most Americans don’t know all that much about Uganda itself. However, the US holds Uganda in very high regard relative to many of its neighbors, specifically for many of the reasons I have mentioned in previous blog entries. They seemed comforted by this.

I feel privileged to be living in this country during such a landmark election. Even though I’m on the sidelines for most of it, it is great to be a part of.

The World Cup starts today! Go USA!!! I’m hoping to find a nice TV with digital cable at a local hotel here in Pallisa. Cross your fingers for me.

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!

I'd like to take this moment to remember to be thankful for all the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy on a daily basis as Americans. It is truly remarkable and we are blessed to live in such a privileged country.

I've been a little MIA on my blog, all part of my life goal to go completely "off the grid". Anyways, I'm still alive. Things are going well at my site overall. No major complaints.

Distinguishing Achievements Thus Far..

• A side dish proposal via written note from my married, 20-year old neighbor, left in my book while I was in the latrine. Her heart longed for me.
• Being placed in a Lugwere speaking region after 10 weeks of Ateso language training :)
• Listening to my supervisor curse himself for 30 minutes because he considers himself too lazy to finish my house (as a side note, I have all the necessities, but I'm told more progress is coming)
• A bat, mouse w/ "squirrel tail", and about 30 lizards living in my home - time to get a cat!
• Digging a garden and planting tomato and pepper seeds
• Halting all productivity after 7 PM due to complete darkness
• Riding my bike to Pallisa Town, good bye death taxis!
• Learning to clean, gut, and cook fresh fish

I've been in Kamuge for over a month now. Last week I began teaching math and physics. I'm currently teaching five classes from S1-S3. Total in-class teaching amounts to 16 hours. I think this will be more than enough to keep me busy over the next 13 weeks. When I'm not in class I will be working on lesson plans, term schemes, grading, and writing exams.

My first day of school consisted of me walking the 2-minute walk from my house to the school at 7:55 am (school starts at 8) to discover there were about 3 students out of 593 present and no staff or teacher had arrived. The head teacher (our equivalent of principal) was not there. The entire school looked just as it had during term break, with the exception of the 3 students. So I guess it was a "soft" start to the term. By mid-week about 50% of the students showed up and a few teachers had also decided it was time to begin a few lessons. Since i was there, I began the first day. Overall, teaching is going very well. My students are very quiet but very motivated at the same time.

They are incredibly timid in the classroom. They raise their hands ever so slightly and respond to questions speaking just louder than a whisper. I'm like, are you serious? You expect me to hear you at that volume? Anyways, there is definitely a huge disconnect between American style teaching and Ugandan style learning. I think its going to take me half the term to fully realize how I can be most effective as a teacher. Oh, PS, I've never taught before. But I don't feel like that should be a requirement anyways.

I got my first real moment of euphoria since being at site on Wednesday. I was standing in the middle of my classroom watching my students perform an exercise I had just taught them, and I just thought, wow, I'm actually doing this. It was pretty incredible. That was swiftly followed by frustration, as most good moments in Peace Corps are.

Attached below are some pictures of my house as it was a couple days after I arrived at site. I have spent the last month filling it with furniture and making it a little more comfortable.

My main road, turn right for Mbale, turn left for Pallisa

View of my house from the front (main road) side

View as you walk in the front door (living room)

View of front door and window (living room)

Main bedroom, notice the lack of ceiling

How long has it been since your last digestion?

So it turns out I spoke to soon when it came to the absence of any bowel emergencies. Shortly after I posted that, I came down with some nasty food poisoning and/or Giardia, woo hoo!

Needless to say, I got a picturesque Peace Corps experience that I’m sure every trainee aspires to (not), thank God for that bucket! I will spare the graphic details.

So…I’m still alive! After many hours of purging the systems, I have officially become a Peace Corps Volunteer. We swore in on April 21st at the US Ambassador’s home. It was a wonderful ceremony, attended by the ambassador, Peace Corps’ staff, along with the different host organizations that have requested Peace Corps’ assistance.

Oh…did I mention we got to go to the embassy? Bad ass! It was incredible. We also learned WHY the USG (United States Government) is spending ~ $521 MM here a year. They want to see, essentially, the same things the Ugandans want to see, a peaceful, secure, and healthy Uganda that is governed by a body that is elected in a free, accountable, and transparent manner. Sounds good right? That whole democracy thing sounds great when you condense it into one sentence.

Great, so hopefully Peace Corps is a part of that in some small way.

The next day after swearing in, I promptly left for my new post and home for the next two years. Kamuge, Pallisa, Uganda!

I have been here for a few days now and am just starting to get settled in and feel a little bit at ease with my new environment. I’m super excited about my location and the people surrounding me. They’re incredibly warm, friendly, and engaging.

I’ve got a two-bedroom unit that is ½ of a duplex house that I share with a Ugandan family of four. I have a spacious living room, a kitchen, and a bathing area. I even have a roof! No ceiling yet though. Completion on that is TBD. Pit latrine in back.

Plenty of room for a garden, so I figure I’ll throw a few seeds in the ground and see what happens. My house is sans power, sans running water. I like to think that makes me more hardcore than some of the other “volunteers”. Some volunteers have palaces!

So it turns out my new locale speaks mostly Lugwere. Of course, as you well know I have been learning Ateso for the last seven weeks. I speak almost zero Lugwere (I learned how to greet this week). I guess this is part of the flexibility part of Peace Corps. So I will learn both.

Ugandans are massive proponents of the open market. This afternoon I went furniture shopping in Pallisa Town. I was looking at a dining room table and set of chairs. The chairs were quoted at a price of 80,000 shillings, about $40. Pretty high for Uganda.

Upon hearing the price quote, my supervisor was so offended, he offered to pay exactly nothing for the chairs and then proceeded to get into a heated rapport in Lugwere that ended with our abrupt departure. It was hysterical. I did not get my chairs. Ugandans bargain for EVERYTHING.

My head teacher is a great man. I can already observe that he is very well respected in this community, my community. And I can see why. He understands how the world works and what Ugandans must do to enable progress and develop. It is such a relief to have a high quality supervisor.

Happiness

“If you are not growing, you’re dead.”

So I was talking with a good friend of mine here in Uganda today and this quote came up in our conversation.

We were talking about the importance of the work we are doing here. We were both struggling with just how big an impact we could make. Asking each other questions such as “So what if I teach these kids math and physics? What difference will it make in their lives?” or “So what if this man expands his business a little more this year, he is still going to be living in poverty for most likely the rest of his life.”

In a country that has an estimated unemployment rate of 60%, opportunities are few. Even for the students who manage to make it past A level and go on to university. So what impact can we as volunteers really have?

Well, there wasn’t a real clear answer to these questions, unfortunately. But what the conversation boiled down to was this, “If you are not growing, you’re dead.”

Growth can be defined in many ways. One can grow his mental capacity, one can grow his revenue, one can grow by approaching the same problem a different way, one can grow by opening the mind to a new experience. It is not the relative scale in which progress is taking place, but the fact that it is taking place at all. That is the key. Continuous improvement – at any level, is better than none at all. It sounds pretty simple, but I had to stop and think about this for quite a while.

So progress (and people) are like plants, if they are not growing, they are dead. Who are the dead people walking among us? Stay away from them! We must focus on the living!

And that is what we are here to do. That is why we are here. To unlock some of the potential that exists in fantastic abundance. To build capacity, not wealth. Wealth is the result of progress and increased capacity. So many people see money as the end goal, when really it is the result of pursuing something with intensity. It is like a promotion, you shouldn’t seek the promotion, you should seek the personal growth in yourself, and the promotion will follow.

My mind was put to rest. Phew.

So I’ve been reading this book and it has also been helping me discover a new kind of peace in my life. It has been a great experience. It is difficult to describe, but reading this book and living in Uganda for the past two months have already reshaped my perspective on life in general.

When I was living in the states, I sometimes felt like the life I was leading was one based on selfishness. I got good grades and went to college so I could get a good job and make money. And even joining the Peace Corps. What really was my internal reason for coming here? Was it to help Uganda? Or was it to build an experience into my life I know I would never forget and would cherish forever? The latter sounds a bit selfish. Not so?

Today, I realize that none of that is important. What matters, are the decisions you make based on your experiences, beliefs, values, education, etc. And how these decisions ultimately affect your own personal happiness and ability to perform whatever it is you were born or chose to do.

The decisions you make determine your level of your ability to enjoy your work and work hard at it. And there is nothing selfish about that pursuit (granted there are some exemptions). Every soul is endowed with such challenges. And it is certainly a challenge, one of my biggest.

What is my job? Well Peace Corps has made it quite clear for me, I am here…

TO LEARN
To learn from the Ugandans about their way of life, to learn from teachers about Ugandan education, to learn why things are the way they are, and why they aren’t the way they aren’t

TO TEACH
To teach Ugandans about our way of life, to teach math, to teach physics, to teach Ugandans why they should do things a certain way, to teach them why they shouldn’t do them a certain way

TO SUPPORT
My fellow PCVs, the road can be difficult for all of us at times – getting Giardia, getting food poisoning, being stared at 24/7 and called “muzungu” wherever you go, dealing with the cockroaches, the heat, the insane taxis and buses, adjusting to no power, water, toilet, and the smells – mmmmm the smells…can all wear on us

I will close by leaving you with an excellent reading by John Gardner.

…

(read slowly)

…

(and with reflection)

…


MEANING

Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it passes on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success and failure is of less account.

Hey Everyone!

Fantastic news from the Peace Corps Uganda world. We received our site placements yesterday. I'm going to be in a small town called Kamuge. I will be teaching math and physics at Kamuge High School.

The town looks to be about 10k east of Pallisa and about 40k outside the major city of Mbale. I'm really happy and excited with where I have been placed.

So I'm in Kampala today. I will travel to Kamuge tomorrow for my initial site visit. I will get to see my future home and meet my counterpart and supervisor. I will also get a tour of the school I will be teaching at.

I have so much to write and update you all with. My mind is filled with too many thoughts to distill in this internet cafe. I will try and write again soon.

Cheers,

Joe

P.S. - Here are two more random pictures I managed to upload.

My fantastic host sisters, Fina and Sala

This enormous wasp that decided to fly into our room one day in Kidetok. Score: Joe - 1, Wasp - 0

More Pictures from Kidetok and Soroti

Tony, Ted, and I in Kidetok. There were some very cool clouds that day. Very opening credits of the Simpsons-ish, if you get my drift.

On top of the rock with Soroti Town in the background

Another shot from on top of the rock