All around Uganda

After the safari, I still had a couple weeks before I had to be back at site, so my friends and I (we turned into the fab five) continued to explore Uganda and see more people in our group. We slowly made our way to the infamous Southwest of Uganda, Mbarara and Kabale to be precise. Before going we recuperated in Kampala with some good food and Iron Man 3. Let me tell you, I love that city. Mostly I am just a city person and this village life nonsense is killing me, but Kampala has a few gems. Then we set out for Mbarara. After a long bus ride, where I made faces at a cute kid in the front, we finally reached. It was reasonably developed, but the people came off as very rude. We hung out a bit, reunited with our friends that did the camp in this region, made fun of a menu that included drinks called “blow job” and “pink p****,” and I got to meet up with someone from an underground organization that works with a very at risk group in Uganda. I am sure you have heard the news about the legality of a certain lifestyle here, well some people are doing very good work around the issue lets just say that. Went out that night to an awesome nightclub and had a good time overall. Next day we set out to a friend’s site in the middle of the woods. Well we had to travel a bit to get there, but the one thing the southwest does have is a gorgeous scenery. Rolling hills with tons of trees of all types, isolated lakes, and beautiful skylines. We hiked through what felt like three ecosystems. First it was typical Ugandan with banana trees and tall grass, next came a real rainforest with ferns and all, and finally a coniferous forest the likes of back home in upstate New York. We finally reached a secluded lake that years ago was believed to cure gonorrhea and housed a witch doctor. Of course we went swimming! We made family dinner that night ( I cooked!) and watched the Lion King in honor of our safari trip, especially because we were making references to it the entire time.

Eventually we reached Kabale, which was not all that impressive. Only thing nice about it was it was near Lake Bunyoni, where a volunteer lives. It was a nice get away, we stayed at a resort like place (do not picture anything remotely like resorts in Jamaica or Mexico, my standards have gone way way down.) Got to eat good food, play drinking games, swim, and just relax. A few of us headed back, taking a short detour along the way in a very very beautiful and delicious place, and began the dreaded journey back to site. Before going to Tororo, we stayed again in Kampala and explore the nightlife there. Went to an incredible rooftop lounge that played western music and then to a night club. Well the first one we went to was filled with pretentious Europeans and Americans (not that all of them were but many of them just acted ridiculous), none of us liked it. So we went next door to a place that was crammed full of Ugandans and had a total blast till 3 in the morning. I don’t want to go back to site!!!!!

Safari-hari

Not going to lie, one of the major reasons why I wanted to do Peace Corps in Africa was to go on a safari. I have always always loved animals, especially the wild ones you see on Animal planet, and my mom and I shared the dream of seeing those majestic creatures in real life. During the school holiday I had the chance to go to Murchinson Falls, if anyone ever wants to do a safari I recommend here. We spent two days and one night for super cheap because we know someone; time of my life!

Eleven of us crammed into this safari car, which has a roof that opens up and racks on the top. Upon entering the park we are greeted by a giraffe (hi Mom!). As we move deeper in we see tons and tons of antelope/gazelle/long faced deer, more giraffes, warthogs, water buffalo, and even some elephants. Not only the animals were cool but the scenery was gorgeous and driving through sitting on the roof of this van was such a satisfying experience for us, not to mention being surrounded by awesome people the whole trip! We take lunch at this incredibly fancy lodge, which costs 250 muzungu dollars a night, and got ready for our river cruise…yes a cruise on the river, the Nile River! On this boat ride we saw many hippos, crocodiles, tons of birds, more elephants, and the falls the parked was named for. I even got to drink a Nile Special beer while on the Nile River. Lucky for me I had the binoculars my friend Matt gave me so I could spot all the animals from really far away before they scattered. After the cruise was over we got back in the van and set out for our evening game ride. The sun was setting soon, but we were on a hunt for the illusive lion that we heard was in hiding today. We saw more and more giraffes, which looked awesome silhouetted in the sun and even saw a family of them running away. Then all at once the drivers got quiet and one of my friends noticed something laying down in the distance. Was it another deer? No, it was the lions! We quickly switched course and went off road to right where they were resting, we literally drove right up to 10 feet away from them. It was a male and a female and they really could care less that we were there. We probably stared and took pictures for 5 minutes before the female growled and walked away. We moved to a different spot and then the male stretched and walked away too; only he had just three legs so he sort of hopped! Seriously one of the coolest moments of my life. We continued on to the Nile Delta where we watched the sun set, saw the DRC in the distance, and stared down a hippo that was on land…they are huge. We then made the long trek back to where we were staying, driving in the now night sky with tons of stars above us, the only people for miles and knowing that we were still surrounded by wild animals in Africa.

The next day we had a nice breakfast and set out for our hike along the falls. Before reaching the hike our van was attacked by Tse Tse flies and everyone was swatting like crazy. The trick is to sit still and they move on to more attractive flesh. The hike started out nice, going right to the top with a  few of both falls and the river. As we moved on we got closer and closer till we were right at the falls, rainbow and all. We took tons of pictures and got our feet wet in the Nile. Such a fun day, but now time to head back. However, what should have been a quick 2 hour game drive trip home turned into quite an adventure. After lunch we had not heard from our driver, so we walked to catch the ferry that only leaves every 2 hours. Well of course we missed it; some went back to where we took lunch and some of us waited around till we somehow got a private boat to take us across to wait at the fancy lodge; did I mention they had margaritas? A couple hours and some drinks later we learn the van got in an accident so we were waiting for another vehicle to come and get us. Of course we could do nothing but drink while we waited. Eventually it came so we piled in, drunk at this point, and drove off. Instead of doing the game drive we sped through the park and continued to drink, both inside and on top of the van. Needless to say debauchery ensued and we had ourselves quiet the time. Now is probably a great time to point out that I love my friends here, we are such a mixed group of personalities and we all mesh so well. We make our way out only stopping to refuel our wallets and purchase some souvenirs. However, because it is Uganda and nothing can ever go as planned or even as planned again, our van began to smoke and we had to stop. I do believe I had all the luck that day because where we stopped there happened to be a very attractive shirtless man holding the most adorable puppy that I have ever seen and I got to pet it! Sadly, we flagged down a matatu and were again on our way back to Gulu; but as luck would have it this particular matatu was filled with beer so the drinking of course continued. Oh Uganda! We made it back safe and exhausted but it was definitely a trip I don’t think any of us could ever forget =)

Breakdance Project Uganda

While I was at camp I got the chance to meet some really cool people that are part of this incredible organization and I thought they deserved their own post. Bpu is a grassroots group started by street kids in Uganda, though is now run by motivated community activists all over the country. They dance, they rap, they graffiti, and they go around the country empowering youth to stay away from drugs, alcohol, and sex and to work hard for a better life. A group, that in most western societies gets a lot of crap about spreading bad things and leading to gangs and drugs, is doing a ton of great work here and inspiring a lot of kids.  They take street kids in cities and some village kids and teach them all these skills, giving them confidence and creativity. At the same time they try very hard to be role-models, teaching them to make good decisions and think of ways to find an income. For kids that might have a life of begging, this is an awesome way out. They are based in Kampala but have branched out and were at camp, a lot of our campers were in the organization. Seeing it firsthand I can see it really is transformative for the kids. They learn a lot of leadership and life skills, having fun at the same time. I got to know one of the people that helps to run it, Candy, and he was so dedicated to helping his kids. You could also so the change it had on his life; he talked about learning to work hard to see the world in a more open way. Many of those boys were the ones who were totally on board for women’s rights and many of the girls in the organization were some of the most outspoken girls I have met in this country.

My mind went crazy. I am going to try and get them to do a workshop at my school and maybe rub off a little on my kids. Also, I want to bring this idea home and hopefully can incorporate it into wherever I go next! I am even learning how to beat box =)

Camp BUILD

After our last training, it was school holiday for almost a month before the next term began. Therefore, I had a fantastic month of fun planned out for myself and a bunch of other volunteers, using the time to see more of Uganda and get to know it a little better. I began by being a counselor at a weeklong leadership and development camp for boys in Gulu, northern Uganda. As education volunteers, we had been psyched up about these camps since we arrived in country, so I was very excited to finally be working at one and to be in charge of a group of teenage boys…just like Hillcroft back in the states! The only thing I knew to expect was feeling exhausted, but I got so much more out of it.

Just like any camp, it started a bit slow as we all got used to each other and the routine. At first the boys were very quiet and not sure how to respond to us muzungus with so much energy, but eventually they started getting really excited and the atmosphere was just electric. More than anything we were continuously learning about each other and our cultures. Of course there were various life skills sessions and team building exercises which were great for inspiring the kids to take the lessons home and develop their schools or communities; it was basically taking what Peace Corps is in Uganda for and cramming it into a week. We even went to a ropes course that was built by an NGO in the area. The thing about Gulu and the north is that is where Kony and the LRA swept through about a decade ago, so many of our kids were either taken by the army at some point or had family members killed by it. Therefore, there were a lot of deep routed feelings and beliefs that came to the surface. Nowhere did this become more apparent than during Gender Equality day when the girls came over from their leadership camp to discuss gender roles and issues in Uganda. Now I don’t know whether it was the presence of girls, the suddenly larger groups with more male peers, or the issues themselves but I saw a lot of previously open minded and modern boys become very traditional and close minded in their thinking and speaking. These were teenagers after all and had tons of ego and pride to stick to, but I had a feeling I was learning a lot more about cultural norms and development than I had anticipated. Some of the boys were on board for total gender equality: whatever boys can do so can girls and vice versa. However, most boys had a few sticking points that they just would not budge from. Here are some examples of the norms we uncovered: men head the household, do serious manual labor like digging a pit latrine, and are the ones to ask a girl over/to marry; women do the cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, must kneel when greeting, and can’t ride motorcycles and most certainly cannot wear pants (the reason given is because it shows their figure and men don’t want to have to control themselves). There was also some contention over who can have the money, although now a days there are a lot of women in the workforce and in positions of power so they do have rights to money management, but rarely to property. Fortunately a lot of the talk turned towards more of an equality and human rights agenda and I am proud to say a lot of the girls spoke up on behalf of their own rights, especially over the wearing of pants. We even had some great conversations about getting rid of the marriage rights which ask men to provide a dowry, essentially buying their women, because it creates an image of ownership.

What I took away from this experience was that culture and social norms run very deep and to try and move into a country as a foreigner and change certain aspects because my society has gone “past” them, seeing them as out of fashion, is ridiculous. It took American centuries to see African Americans as people and to allow women to vote. I also had to remind myself that I come with a particularly modern and liberal perspective, so going into a very conservative culture is bound to spark some feelings that I deeply have. But if someone were to come into America, coming from a position of trying to develop America, and told me that women couldn’t vote and gay marriage was evil I think I would have something to say about it. Therefore, I have gained a lot more patience and humbled myself. I am not here to change the culture or social beliefs, I am not even here to develop. I am simply here to give the people here an idea of what American culture is like, help them with basic skills that can enrich their lives (reading, writing, income generating, and health issues), and maybe inspire a few to have enough confidence that if there is something to change, they will be the ones to do it one day.

I also learned, after hearing an inspiring story, that life here is really hard and I really need to take a break and relax a bit. Of course things move slowly here, it takes so much to make a good life here. Short of inheriting money, the only ways to make a solid living is by attaining a high level of education or starting your own business. Both are very risky. After primary school, school fees become very high and if you want a good school you go private, which has even higher fees. University is extremely expensive and the job market upon completing university is extremely small and cannot accommodate everyone who goes. On the business end, one needs to save a lot for startup capital and there is no guarantee it will be successful. This one gentleman worked non-stop for a few years, not even eating more than once a day and only sleeping a couple hours, just so he could save money to create a good business. So yea, there isn’t any of that work hard and you will succeed, snap your fingers and it happens stuff. These are good lessons for me to learn!