History lesson

So I figured, being a history teacher, I should shed some light on the history and development of the country I am living in.
A couple thousand years ago, as with most of Africa, Uganda was ruled by tribes of hunter-gatherers and Empires. Eventually, Luo peoples came down from central Africa and settled pretty permanently; these tribes also settled Sudan and Kenya. In the 1800s, Arabs from the eastern coast of Africa came into Uganda for trading and slaving and then in the 1860s, the British came to explore the source of the infamous Nile River, which they found in Lake Victoria. Soon to follow the explorers came missionaries, bent on civilizing the tribe and converting them to Protestantism and Catholicism (I am not going to give my personal beliefs on long-term effects of the mission here, maybe later). In 1894, this area officially became part of Britain and became known as Uganda in 1914. A lot happened during this time, including indentured servitude and exploitation of traditional values and culture. However, a lot of health reforms, infrastructure, and education were also brought to the region. Living here now, you can still feel the inspiration of British values of the 1800s still in place. For example, women must wear long skirts and they still take morning and afternoon tea.
In 1962, Uganda gained independence while remaining in the British Commonwealth and maintaining an amicable relationship. The majority Buganda tribe became the ones with most of the power, but it was mostly democratic power with a president and a parliament. A few years later however, power became an issue to be struggled over (a common trend to become somewhat of a legacy here) and in 1967 Uganda became a republic, breaking apart the traditional tribal culture. In 1971, disaster ensued when General Idi Amin started a coup and took power into his own military hands. Under him, thousands were killed, mostly of particular tribes, and he forced a degree of westernization onto his land. Nearly 300,000 people lost their lives during his 8 years. In the next few decades, Uganda entered a war with Tanzania and eventually, combined with rebels inside the country, overthrew Amin. The current president of Uganda, Museveni, was one of the leaders of this resistance and overthrowing of Amin.
Museveni has been in power for about 28 years now. In the beginning he can be praised for bringing peace and stability to Uganda. This is of special note considering the unrest in virtually all the nations surrounding Uganda: Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, and Rwanda. Additionally, during the 1990s, the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Koni, invaded the North of Uganda where it recruited thousands of men and children to become soldiers to fight in Sudan and Somalia. This tore apart life in the North and left it crippled. Museveni stepped up and led a war against Koni, following him until the LRA broke up and he fled to Congo. However, many in and out of Uganda feel like today Museveni has been in control too long and is now taking advantage of the country’s many poor. The amount of corruption in this country is unparalleled and many opponents of Museveni have somehow or another lost their lives. Currently, although still a stable and peaceful nation, Uganda’s GDp leaves it one of the poorest in the world and the level of growth and development is almost entirely dependent on the millions of dollars in foreign aid and services that is given every year. Not only is the corruption unfair, but it leaves Uganda’s country with terrible infrastructure and suppresses any kind of growth on an individual level. Those that live in the village need to work harder than anyone I have seen to hope to send one of their many children to school and then pray they can get a sponsorship for university to increase their standard of living even a little bit. There is a lot of hope here, because the people are strong, but long-term sustainable growth is very far in the future.

Adjustment Rollercoaster

As many of you know, there was a period a little while back where I was in a not-so-good place. If I remember correctly, I even wrote a rather negative blog post about culture shock and clash. Well I can happily say now that I am over that slump and feeling much more positive about my experience and my life here. As one of my brilliant friends-a returned PCV as it would have it-advised me during that time, you go through that period of hatred and near depression where everything seems terrible, but you push yourself and after a few months you come out of it; then you look back and say, “yea I got through that, I am awesome!” She was so right, it seemed like there was only one way to get to the light at the end of the tunnel and that was by going home. However, that was just not true.

While here I am learning a lot; about myself, about teaching, about life, and most especially about the human experience of being uncomfortable and adapting. Thrusting yourself into a new culture and way of living is hard, one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I never realized how completely comfortable I was living in America, doing things the American way. Even ‘alternative’ lifestyles at home are still very American, or western and first-world at least. Living here as forced me to rethink how life is lived and how people act. At first I was subconsciously opposed to it, but now I am coming to understand that where life is different, people will act differently. Now I am not saying I have completely adapted and gone through a cultural metamorphosis or anything, but I have learned to accept what I cannot change and just go with the flow of life here. I realized it isn’t about me, its about the people who live and work here every day. I realized what I am comfortable with means nothing in a place that faces so much hardship. I realized that communities are extremely tightknit and to assume you can just waltz in and be accepted is really ridiculous, you need to work and love and not judge anyone else until you are trusted. In realizing all this, a few really amazing things have happened to me.

I am making some serious progress at my site. The progress is materializing very slowly, but I am taking that as a major sign of its success. We have asked what things people where I work would like to see happen, instead of telling them what needs to be done. Then, we bunker up and do whatever we can in whatever time is given. If we miss class one week because of unplanned events that just appear out of nowhere (as they almost always do), then we re-plan or try and teach on the weekend. If teachers are not going to show up regularly or don’t want to teach in the afternoon, that is when I have my classes that I do on my own with small groups. When the teachers see what I am doing and have an interest, they can ask me to show them what I am doing and I gladly oblige, but I am not forcing any trainings down their throats. Why, because they are the experts of the UG educations system and I am just a visitor, so anything I want or can do to help has to be asked for because this is their life and their world, not mine.

I have also made some really good friends in the community. This is actually my proudest achievement. If I am feeling bored, I can go and sit with someone around for a few hours. I know this is very hard to believe for the people that know me best, but I am actually learning to sit around and do nothing for hours, sometimes not even talking, just enjoying the company of someone else. My favorite part of is though is the cultural exchange. I learn a ton about living in Uganda and gain a better appreciation for life here and they get to ask a million questions about what happens in America. Some of these friends are actually my students at the teachers’ college and we even started a running club together. They love exercise and are inhumanly fit; we are training for a half-marathon. All in all I am comfortable moving around, I have got my routines, and I am finally living here without thinking about the fact that I am living here. It is really nice. Although I still love my home and my country, it is nice to experience life outside it for a little while and I am gaining a lot of knowledge and respect for the human experience. I am coming to love Uganda and its people, whenever I do go home I feel like now I will go home successful!

As a caveat, I also now understand that my emotions here come in waves like the title of this posts suggests. I am sure I will come to another low point when I am frustrated that the improvements I am talking about plateau. However, I am better prepared for that and I don’t think I will feel as unhappy as I did before. For now, wooooooooh let’s go!