We (minus Jen who was sick) went out to Tekera where our friend Einer lives. We hired a driver, Nasser, who is really funny. He sang the whole way but it was good music that we knew from the Tropic Inn. It was also funny because Nasser didn't know the way to Tekera but every person that he stopped along the way to ask for directions (children, boda boda drivers, grandfathers on bicycles...etc.) all knew the muzungu Einer and pointed us in the right direction! He is a legend out there. Einer had two of the boys (Joseph and Joseph Jr...popular name in Uganda) from the village take us into the jungle to look for monkeys. We came across the deadly black mamba snake in our path! It was very small but apparently if it bit us we'd be dead in 5 minutes. We weren't really scared until the local boys ran away!! And we found out then that our driver was also deathly afraid of snakes and for the rest of the adventure, he carried a big stick with him. It was very entertaining. Especially when he kept saying, "any snake that wants to come near me, I will kill you!" Even though we knew he'd be running at the first hint of a snake.
After having to retrace our steps a few times and having to hack our way through the bush with a machete (don't worry the machete was not in any of our hands!), we found monkeys! They were small but cute. Kind of far away but fun to watch them leap from tree to tree. Some big birds there too, kind of like toucans Carli thought. We came across some freakish looking bugs on our journey as well. Can you believe that out of the three of us that I was the bravest one in the forest???....really I think Africa is agreeing with me more than I care to believe. We got to try a new fruit too that was very very very sour, but I loved it! I was the only one who didn't spit it out and asked for more. Yum. We also had some berries that were guaranteed not poisonous. Trusty guides we had. Then the boys picked some flowers for Einer and for us. Very cute. We then had lunch at the local restaurant (the other Brovad, haha, inside joke). It was a little wooden hut with benches. Good food with huge portions, ridiculous big really. Chandra and I politely refused the big hunk of fish but Carli was brave and had some, minus the guts and pooh that was still in it...they don't guy fish here before cooking.
So things here are well. Missing White Spot, Joey Tomatoes, Lhy Thai, veggie burgers etc...but other than that it's ok! Is it true that Canada has agreed to go to war with USA against Afghanistan?? Please update us on the local news.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
May 12-19 (erin)
My supervisor and colleagues were in Kampala on a business trip all week so I was given a plan for my week. Monday I wrote my report but couldn't type it cuz no power. Tuesday, Carli and I were supposed to go on outreach with the Community Health Team to Rakai district where the first incidence of AIDS was diagnosed. After waiting for 2 hours though, we asked when we'd be going and they said they are still waiting for the doctor to come and he might not come at all. So it was suggested we come back another day. So we picked up Jen and went to Nyendo market. It is the town just outside of Masaka and their market day is much bigger than ours. It was huge! Lots of fun. We got lots of good deals on clothes and cloths. We didn't even have time to shop in the food part. We managed to cram 8 people in our taxi!! I don't know how the driver drove with three other people in the front!
On Wednesday, Carli and I did research for our first big teaching session at the vocational school for young adults with disabilities. She was sent home from Uganda Cares b/c her blood smear still showed she had malaria even though she felt fine. So I was lucky to have her with me because I did not want to do this alone. We decided to talk about self esteem. Well, I was already nervous for my first teaching experience, but it was worse when the whole school was rounded up...about 50 people!! Overall it went well, but it was a bit confusing because we had a Luganda translator and a sign language translator. They seemed to enjoy it though and asked us to come back everyday. My dog friend, Bonzo was even there to lend support...yes people, there is a dog here that follows me around and I have to admit I don't mind...only in Africa would I befriend a stinky dirty canine.
On Thursday, the four of us met with a probation officer which is someone who handles adoptions, not convicts. We just asked questions about adoption processes and what happens with abandoned children because Chandra has one as one of her cases at the hospital. It was interesting. I find it funny that every place I visit, whether it's a school, health clinic, or county office, they have a visitor's book that we fill out...even the locals fill them out, not just us from out of town (or country).
I had my first night out by myself that night as well. A colleague took me out for a soda at a local "joint". That was nice, you get less stared at when you are with a local person. Also, I got to ride my first motorcycle...and don't tell Mom, but I wasn't wearing a helmet! Don't worry, it was just down the street :) While I was away the girls had an opportunity to try grasshoppers and sugar cane. Only Carli, the vegetarian tried the bugs though! (ironic???)
On Friday I visited the Physiotherapy clinic and saw a 5 month old twin girl get treatment for cerebral palsy (seems to be a lot of twins here). She was very cute. The best thing that came out of that was that her mother at first did not blieve that the girl's sight was good but when I was playing with her hand, my bracelet caught her attention and it was enough to convince her that her sight was ok. Yah, I finally helped!! I also visited the orthopedic lab and was introduced to a boy with a misformed foot. I was told to interview him...well okay, that was a bit awkward. Luckily, a co-worker, Joseph, translated for me and he asked a lot of good questions. I told him he should be a counsellor. He's very helpful.
Friday night, I finally got to go dancing at the Tropic Inn. I had another bad headache but I refused to miss another night out! So I forced my body to cooperate and had a great time. The club is different here because guys and girls both dance, maybe even more so the men. And people just dance with whoever and there's no competition among the women to look the best and among the men to act macho. It's really fun.
On Saturday, our friend and Luganda teacher, Fred, introduced us to a nurse at the hospital that Chandra's been working with, Sister Prossy. She showed us around the hospital staff living quarters. You would never believe what nurses and accountants and medical assistants live in. They are basically little round tin huts. Unbelievable. You can imagine how little they are getting paid if they live in places like that. Our nurses and doctors should take a visit to Africa to realize how good they have it! We also met a 15 year old boy Vincent who is living by himself since his parents died. He has been working hard to keep everything going and support himself but because it's hospital land, he may be kicked out any time. He says he is even scared of his house at nighttime, very sad story. But he was all smiles for us and was looking forward to a better future. After that we went to the manager of a local bank's house. Much different lifestyle. It was an apartment above the bank and so big compared to anything we had seen so far. They were a very nice couple, and except for the baby peeing on me, it was a nice visit. Please answer this...why would they not put a diaper on their baby, I'd really like to know??
I was just warned by the internet staff that they power will be going out soon so I'd better save my work. To be continued...
PS. Congrats to Helen and baby Denae from all of us!!
On Wednesday, Carli and I did research for our first big teaching session at the vocational school for young adults with disabilities. She was sent home from Uganda Cares b/c her blood smear still showed she had malaria even though she felt fine. So I was lucky to have her with me because I did not want to do this alone. We decided to talk about self esteem. Well, I was already nervous for my first teaching experience, but it was worse when the whole school was rounded up...about 50 people!! Overall it went well, but it was a bit confusing because we had a Luganda translator and a sign language translator. They seemed to enjoy it though and asked us to come back everyday. My dog friend, Bonzo was even there to lend support...yes people, there is a dog here that follows me around and I have to admit I don't mind...only in Africa would I befriend a stinky dirty canine.
On Thursday, the four of us met with a probation officer which is someone who handles adoptions, not convicts. We just asked questions about adoption processes and what happens with abandoned children because Chandra has one as one of her cases at the hospital. It was interesting. I find it funny that every place I visit, whether it's a school, health clinic, or county office, they have a visitor's book that we fill out...even the locals fill them out, not just us from out of town (or country).
I had my first night out by myself that night as well. A colleague took me out for a soda at a local "joint". That was nice, you get less stared at when you are with a local person. Also, I got to ride my first motorcycle...and don't tell Mom, but I wasn't wearing a helmet! Don't worry, it was just down the street :) While I was away the girls had an opportunity to try grasshoppers and sugar cane. Only Carli, the vegetarian tried the bugs though! (ironic???)
On Friday I visited the Physiotherapy clinic and saw a 5 month old twin girl get treatment for cerebral palsy (seems to be a lot of twins here). She was very cute. The best thing that came out of that was that her mother at first did not blieve that the girl's sight was good but when I was playing with her hand, my bracelet caught her attention and it was enough to convince her that her sight was ok. Yah, I finally helped!! I also visited the orthopedic lab and was introduced to a boy with a misformed foot. I was told to interview him...well okay, that was a bit awkward. Luckily, a co-worker, Joseph, translated for me and he asked a lot of good questions. I told him he should be a counsellor. He's very helpful.
Friday night, I finally got to go dancing at the Tropic Inn. I had another bad headache but I refused to miss another night out! So I forced my body to cooperate and had a great time. The club is different here because guys and girls both dance, maybe even more so the men. And people just dance with whoever and there's no competition among the women to look the best and among the men to act macho. It's really fun.
On Saturday, our friend and Luganda teacher, Fred, introduced us to a nurse at the hospital that Chandra's been working with, Sister Prossy. She showed us around the hospital staff living quarters. You would never believe what nurses and accountants and medical assistants live in. They are basically little round tin huts. Unbelievable. You can imagine how little they are getting paid if they live in places like that. Our nurses and doctors should take a visit to Africa to realize how good they have it! We also met a 15 year old boy Vincent who is living by himself since his parents died. He has been working hard to keep everything going and support himself but because it's hospital land, he may be kicked out any time. He says he is even scared of his house at nighttime, very sad story. But he was all smiles for us and was looking forward to a better future. After that we went to the manager of a local bank's house. Much different lifestyle. It was an apartment above the bank and so big compared to anything we had seen so far. They were a very nice couple, and except for the baby peeing on me, it was a nice visit. Please answer this...why would they not put a diaper on their baby, I'd really like to know??
I was just warned by the internet staff that they power will be going out soon so I'd better save my work. To be continued...
PS. Congrats to Helen and baby Denae from all of us!!
Friday, May 19, 2006
Trip to Kampala (erin)
Early Saturday morning we got a 60 seater bus in town. It was empty enough to have our own row of seats. It was a good view of the neigbouring villages (suburbs??). On the highway, the bus goes very fast...too fast. It's very scary when we drove over potholes and lifted out of our seats, or swerves around to pass slower vehicles. (a lot different than Victoria dad!) Like Chandra said, it's a good thing we were at the back so we couldn't see how the driver was really driving. I never wished for a seatbelt more than on that ride.
We stayed at the Backpacker's Hostel just outside the city. It was very nice, almost too nice for us! Ha ha...lots of white people there so it was very weird. We stayed in two cute little hut things that reminded me of something Trudie and Glen would be staying in. The beds were just big enough that Jen and I didn't have to snuggle too close...although I will admit that it was one of the best sleeps I've had so far...
Chandra visited with some people who have relatives in Canada that she brought stuff over for. We had to wait a couple of ours for our taxi to come because of traffic and the heaviest rain I have ever witnessed.
We went to a real shopping mall, also full of muzungus. It's weird to not get stared at! Maybe I will miss the attention when I get home after all?? We were very excited to eat at the food court! Tofu and black bean sauce :) We found a good touristy shop with lots of great African crafts and things for good prices.
When we got back to the hostel we were craving pizza but alas...the menu had been changed since lunch and there was no pizza...story of our lives. We had bought ice cream at the supermarket though so it made us feel a little better. Jen read to us from her new counselling book and we even took a mental health quiz (teachers, are you reading this?). We all got on our matching pjs that Chandra made for us and tried to ignore the slugs, ants, mosquitos and whatever else was crawling around. I read Jen to sleep from her Nelson Mandela book while we listened to the music from the discoteque next door. Why can't we get away from these noisy places? I think the howling dogs followed us from Masaka too.
The next day, Carli and Jen headed to Jinga to check out an orphanage and Chandra and I stayed in Kampala and did more shopping. The Ugandans in the shopping malls are much wealthier than the outlying towns and would fit into western culture just fine. Strange to see some of the teenagers with backwards hats and pants falling off their bums! Aww, just like home!
Chandra and I had to wait 2 1/2 hours at the bus station...which was really just the side of the road...the muddiest dustiest, most exhaustiest road ever. We kept getting told it would be there in 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. We had two other muzungus to talk to though. This ride was much more squishier, my arm was pretty much glued to the window for 3 hours. We couldn't wait to get back to our "home" in Masaka! Not much liking the big city. This bus drove even faster and we were sure we were going to die.
That's it for now! Hope you're all enjoying yourselves at home. Missing everyone :)
love erin
We stayed at the Backpacker's Hostel just outside the city. It was very nice, almost too nice for us! Ha ha...lots of white people there so it was very weird. We stayed in two cute little hut things that reminded me of something Trudie and Glen would be staying in. The beds were just big enough that Jen and I didn't have to snuggle too close...although I will admit that it was one of the best sleeps I've had so far...
Chandra visited with some people who have relatives in Canada that she brought stuff over for. We had to wait a couple of ours for our taxi to come because of traffic and the heaviest rain I have ever witnessed.
We went to a real shopping mall, also full of muzungus. It's weird to not get stared at! Maybe I will miss the attention when I get home after all?? We were very excited to eat at the food court! Tofu and black bean sauce :) We found a good touristy shop with lots of great African crafts and things for good prices.
When we got back to the hostel we were craving pizza but alas...the menu had been changed since lunch and there was no pizza...story of our lives. We had bought ice cream at the supermarket though so it made us feel a little better. Jen read to us from her new counselling book and we even took a mental health quiz (teachers, are you reading this?). We all got on our matching pjs that Chandra made for us and tried to ignore the slugs, ants, mosquitos and whatever else was crawling around. I read Jen to sleep from her Nelson Mandela book while we listened to the music from the discoteque next door. Why can't we get away from these noisy places? I think the howling dogs followed us from Masaka too.
The next day, Carli and Jen headed to Jinga to check out an orphanage and Chandra and I stayed in Kampala and did more shopping. The Ugandans in the shopping malls are much wealthier than the outlying towns and would fit into western culture just fine. Strange to see some of the teenagers with backwards hats and pants falling off their bums! Aww, just like home!
Chandra and I had to wait 2 1/2 hours at the bus station...which was really just the side of the road...the muddiest dustiest, most exhaustiest road ever. We kept getting told it would be there in 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. We had two other muzungus to talk to though. This ride was much more squishier, my arm was pretty much glued to the window for 3 hours. We couldn't wait to get back to our "home" in Masaka! Not much liking the big city. This bus drove even faster and we were sure we were going to die.
That's it for now! Hope you're all enjoying yourselves at home. Missing everyone :)
love erin
Weekend coming..(last friday) before kampala (erin)
Yesterday was another good practicum day. I went with my supervisor, Timothy and our driver, Charles out to more communities to their health clinics. These were small villages that my agency (USDC) had not yet visited. Timothy was asking the head nurses there if they had any training in mental health or other disabilities. The general consensus was no. So he is trying to arrange a day when he can get all the workers from these towns together to have them trained in recognizing and treating some mental illnesses and disabilities. There is still a lot of discrimination in regards to people suffering with disabilties. Even some of the nurses still call people “mad”. So USDC is trying to get rid of the negative attitudes that communities including health care professionals have. Very interesting. Some parents still hide their children and tie them up because they believe that witchcraft has done this to them. They then spend all of their money on witch doctors to cure them, without success. We visited a few homes as well. I saw a family with 4 children with cerebral palsy. The mother and father are still together which is rare here. Usually when there is a disabled child, the father will leave. This mother was quite amazing, she is leading a parent support group and is starting a school in her house for disabled children.
We also saw a girl with down's syndrome and a boy with water in the brain (I forget the medical term for it). Also a boy who was badly burned by a fire when he had an epileptic seizure. Today was a national holiday that Musevni (the president) declared yesterday! So funny how things work here. He wanted to be sworn in today and so he decided it should be a national holiday. But I had promised the kids at the school (who I have now found out are actually all over age 20!) that I would come today. So Carli came with me. We discussed some of their fears about starting work experience next week and what challenges they would face with their disabilities. Finally, using some of our counselling skills. Then we played dominos. I learned how to sign my name and a couple other things. I think I will learn sign language when I get home, I really like it.
Something interesting that happened there today and traumatized Carli and I was that were were in the dining hall and a bird flew in. They closed all the doors so it wouldn't escape and when it hit a window, one of the boys picked it up and was playing with it...they told us they were going to eat it!! But they were only joking. So we figure it was just something to do, something to play with. They let it go after. At least we think they did...
We have some other friends at our house as well. My first sighting of a cockroach! It was really really really really big! But I am getting used to them...Chandra is not! As long as they don't touch me or come inside the house I will be fine.
I have been invited to church by Timothy and also the pastor...gee whiz, they don't let up here! I will go with Carli next weekend. Have to experience everything once right?
Carli and Chandra had to deal with an abandoned baby yesterday at the hospital. Apparently it is very common, wouldn't make front page news like it does at home.
I don't have too much else to write...have been having bad headaches ever since I told Dad I wasn't getting any headaches! So I haven't done much between work and dinner and dinner and bed. But today is better. We go to Kampala tomorrow for shopping! The bus leaves at 8am tomorrow morning, it's three hours without stops and there's probably a lot of stops. Tonight we go dancing again...apparently there's "western" music on Friday nights...please no more Shania Twain!
Bye!
erin
We also saw a girl with down's syndrome and a boy with water in the brain (I forget the medical term for it). Also a boy who was badly burned by a fire when he had an epileptic seizure. Today was a national holiday that Musevni (the president) declared yesterday! So funny how things work here. He wanted to be sworn in today and so he decided it should be a national holiday. But I had promised the kids at the school (who I have now found out are actually all over age 20!) that I would come today. So Carli came with me. We discussed some of their fears about starting work experience next week and what challenges they would face with their disabilities. Finally, using some of our counselling skills. Then we played dominos. I learned how to sign my name and a couple other things. I think I will learn sign language when I get home, I really like it.
Something interesting that happened there today and traumatized Carli and I was that were were in the dining hall and a bird flew in. They closed all the doors so it wouldn't escape and when it hit a window, one of the boys picked it up and was playing with it...they told us they were going to eat it!! But they were only joking. So we figure it was just something to do, something to play with. They let it go after. At least we think they did...
We have some other friends at our house as well. My first sighting of a cockroach! It was really really really really big! But I am getting used to them...Chandra is not! As long as they don't touch me or come inside the house I will be fine.
I have been invited to church by Timothy and also the pastor...gee whiz, they don't let up here! I will go with Carli next weekend. Have to experience everything once right?
Carli and Chandra had to deal with an abandoned baby yesterday at the hospital. Apparently it is very common, wouldn't make front page news like it does at home.
I don't have too much else to write...have been having bad headaches ever since I told Dad I wasn't getting any headaches! So I haven't done much between work and dinner and dinner and bed. But today is better. We go to Kampala tomorrow for shopping! The bus leaves at 8am tomorrow morning, it's three hours without stops and there's probably a lot of stops. Tonight we go dancing again...apparently there's "western" music on Friday nights...please no more Shania Twain!
Bye!
erin
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
more week 3 (erin)
Hello!
I had a really good couple of days at practicum so things are starting to turn around as I had hoped. Yesterday Carli and I went to a health clinic in a neighbouring town, Buwunga. We met with a nurse and my coworker was asking how it was going. They have not had any medication for two months! And they don't know why none has been sent. Also the head nurse is not interested in mental health patients and so she is not bothering to see them or make any effort to help them set up a clinic day. We were also able to speak to the sub-county chief about what services are provided for children with disabilities. The main thing that I learned was that only a few people go to the meetings and they are always men because the women are not able to speak out in front of men especially relatives. So they don't get to participate in decision making.
We visited two homes, one was a girl with cerebral palsy. She seemed very healthy and happy. She is cared for by her mother and brother, but they still consider her an orphan because there is no father, interesting. She has a wheelchair that is a plastic lawn chair fit into a metal frame with wheels. Very inventive, serves the purpose well. She smiled when Carli and I held her hands. The second home was a girl who could not walk. Her legs were folded underneath her but she is very capable. She is able to walk with her hands and she cooks and washes her own clothes. What is interesting to me is that a 9 year old is cooking and washing her own clothes even if she didn't have a disability. The children grow up very quickly here. I was surprised to hear that she goes to school and the children there treat her nicely. All that I have been reading the last couple weeks was how disabled children, especially girls, are often the last ones in the family to go to school and that they are treated poorly. So it was good to see her so happy.
Then we went to Kitengesa to the school for deaf children. That was fun. They were on holidays but some of them don't have families to go home to so they were still there. It is a boarding school with 85 children. They each took a turn signing for us their names and they even gave us "signing" names. I will have to show you mine when I get home. They climbed a tree and gave us some fruit which were similar to little yellow plums. We also bought huge pineapples from an old man on the side of the road who was pushing his bicycle loaded down with bunches of them. Probably on his way to the market. The pineapples here are so sweet..mmmm.
Today I went back to the Vocational School for Children with Disabilities. I apparently came in the middle of a meeting for the whole school and this silly dog was following me everywhere and it made everyone laugh when it sat at my feet. It's previous "owner" was white and it seems to take a liking to other muzungus. My practicum supervisor (who happens to be sitting next to me in the internet cafe) introduced me to the computer class who are the ones who speak the best English. So we sat and talked...a bit awkward at first because we were all shy. But I showed them pictures I had in my wallet of Scott and I, Mom and Dad, and of course Spirit. They think it is really funny to have a picture of a cat because they are basically just wild here. And Scott, apparently it is illegal to keep dogs as pets except for police officers. Also, the nursing students just about split a gut when I asked them if people in the villages eat dog..apparently that is like asking us if we live in igloos. Oh well...I think I'm getting used to being laughed at :)
So after we talked for awhile they showed me around the school, their dormitories, their workshops. They introduced me to every child (they're actually young adults). I learned a bit of sign language. They climbed the trees again and gave me a bunch of avocados. Then we played a board game that was similar to frustration or trouble. And luckily I had stuck my dominos games in my bag from Auntie Jutta and taught them to play. It was good. A perfect simple game. So I left one box for the girls and one for the boys. They want me to come back to the school on Friday because on days where there is no power, they have nothing to do. So I just asked my supervisor and it is ok. We will talk about some more serious things I think that day, now that we have a relationship. Some of them seem a bit worried about their work experience they are doing next week as they have never worked before.
Better go, the computers are making funky noises, doesn't sound good. I think power's coming on and the generators go wonky.
I had a really good couple of days at practicum so things are starting to turn around as I had hoped. Yesterday Carli and I went to a health clinic in a neighbouring town, Buwunga. We met with a nurse and my coworker was asking how it was going. They have not had any medication for two months! And they don't know why none has been sent. Also the head nurse is not interested in mental health patients and so she is not bothering to see them or make any effort to help them set up a clinic day. We were also able to speak to the sub-county chief about what services are provided for children with disabilities. The main thing that I learned was that only a few people go to the meetings and they are always men because the women are not able to speak out in front of men especially relatives. So they don't get to participate in decision making.
We visited two homes, one was a girl with cerebral palsy. She seemed very healthy and happy. She is cared for by her mother and brother, but they still consider her an orphan because there is no father, interesting. She has a wheelchair that is a plastic lawn chair fit into a metal frame with wheels. Very inventive, serves the purpose well. She smiled when Carli and I held her hands. The second home was a girl who could not walk. Her legs were folded underneath her but she is very capable. She is able to walk with her hands and she cooks and washes her own clothes. What is interesting to me is that a 9 year old is cooking and washing her own clothes even if she didn't have a disability. The children grow up very quickly here. I was surprised to hear that she goes to school and the children there treat her nicely. All that I have been reading the last couple weeks was how disabled children, especially girls, are often the last ones in the family to go to school and that they are treated poorly. So it was good to see her so happy.
Then we went to Kitengesa to the school for deaf children. That was fun. They were on holidays but some of them don't have families to go home to so they were still there. It is a boarding school with 85 children. They each took a turn signing for us their names and they even gave us "signing" names. I will have to show you mine when I get home. They climbed a tree and gave us some fruit which were similar to little yellow plums. We also bought huge pineapples from an old man on the side of the road who was pushing his bicycle loaded down with bunches of them. Probably on his way to the market. The pineapples here are so sweet..mmmm.
Today I went back to the Vocational School for Children with Disabilities. I apparently came in the middle of a meeting for the whole school and this silly dog was following me everywhere and it made everyone laugh when it sat at my feet. It's previous "owner" was white and it seems to take a liking to other muzungus. My practicum supervisor (who happens to be sitting next to me in the internet cafe) introduced me to the computer class who are the ones who speak the best English. So we sat and talked...a bit awkward at first because we were all shy. But I showed them pictures I had in my wallet of Scott and I, Mom and Dad, and of course Spirit. They think it is really funny to have a picture of a cat because they are basically just wild here. And Scott, apparently it is illegal to keep dogs as pets except for police officers. Also, the nursing students just about split a gut when I asked them if people in the villages eat dog..apparently that is like asking us if we live in igloos. Oh well...I think I'm getting used to being laughed at :)
So after we talked for awhile they showed me around the school, their dormitories, their workshops. They introduced me to every child (they're actually young adults). I learned a bit of sign language. They climbed the trees again and gave me a bunch of avocados. Then we played a board game that was similar to frustration or trouble. And luckily I had stuck my dominos games in my bag from Auntie Jutta and taught them to play. It was good. A perfect simple game. So I left one box for the girls and one for the boys. They want me to come back to the school on Friday because on days where there is no power, they have nothing to do. So I just asked my supervisor and it is ok. We will talk about some more serious things I think that day, now that we have a relationship. Some of them seem a bit worried about their work experience they are doing next week as they have never worked before.
Better go, the computers are making funky noises, doesn't sound good. I think power's coming on and the generators go wonky.
Week three (erin)
Hello,
Just had a lovely experience at the internet cafe. There were no computers available so we sat outside and ordered sodas and sponge cake. After our first bite, I saw a wee little ant crawling inside my piece of cake...then we realized they were all through it and we had probably eaten a few! Fun. They apologized and explained that they are just used to it when there is no refrigeration. I think they were laughing at us too but what else is new?
It's fun having a cell phone, now I'm gonna want one when I get home! I like texting. People here answer their cell phones no matter where they are or what they're doing. Even during important meetings, they just answer it, without any excuses. When Carli went to the doctor for her malaria, even he answered the phone while she was in the room talking to him! You've just got to laugh :)
So I was sick all weekend. I had a sore throat and achy muscles/joints. But Carli's homeopathic medicine and my advil cold&sinus pulled me through. I'm pretty much okay today, just tired. i think it was just a cold.
It was an "office" day at my practicum and they had nothing planned for me. So he got me to write up some learning objectives for my outreach visits tomorrow. Then I watched the others read their newspapers...then I stood outside while the girl washed the floors. Then I went to the mental health department next door cuz my supervisor wanted me to learn the basics of mental health. A man came in and he could hardly walk. He had lesions on his wrists, ankles and neck from being tied up with rope. He gets aggressive and destructive and his family didn't know what to do with him so they locked him in a room and tied him up. His left arm is completely swollen and he can't move his fingers. Yikes.
Our food situation is obviously not as dire as that of the people at the hospital but I have to admit that we are getting a bit desperate ourselves in our lack of good nutritious meals. As an almost vegetarian, I have to confress that I put the money out to eat a big steak the other night at the hotel across the street because I have felt so weak and drained, needed some iron. I'd eat just about anything here just to get more protein and iron. But what I could really kill for is a nice big green salad and gelato ice cream. I've also been craving cheezies for some reason. Ya, we're getting pretty sick of the food here. We don't have a lot of options. Even Carli, the vegetarian said she was ready to gnaw on the butt of a cow! It was really funny cuz there's cows all over the roads here...but even that didn't stop me from eating the steak. And by the way...I will never eat beans or rice again when I get home. I am very rice and beans out. Mom can you believe I eat beans everyday for lunch when I wouldn't even try them at home, haha!
We are going to go into Kampala, the capital, on Saturday and stay overnight. We will stay at the Backpacker's hostel. We are going to the Shop-rite which is like a Save-On-Foods, and we are hoping to get some good "western" food. We are going to also get some material for someone to make us some skirts. Capris are not in style here apparently :)
We had a nice relaxing weekend with all the neighbours away. Our Chilean friend, Einer was here for the weekend so we had some company. We watched a couple of movies on Jen's laptop when there was power and basically just rested. We played the travel monopoly and travel frustration.
Well, I think that's it for now. I'll have to try and get hungry again for dinner, the ant thing kind of surpressed my appetite. The weather has been a bit cooler the last couple of days so it's been very nice.
Bye for now,
weeraba (goodbye)
Just had a lovely experience at the internet cafe. There were no computers available so we sat outside and ordered sodas and sponge cake. After our first bite, I saw a wee little ant crawling inside my piece of cake...then we realized they were all through it and we had probably eaten a few! Fun. They apologized and explained that they are just used to it when there is no refrigeration. I think they were laughing at us too but what else is new?
It's fun having a cell phone, now I'm gonna want one when I get home! I like texting. People here answer their cell phones no matter where they are or what they're doing. Even during important meetings, they just answer it, without any excuses. When Carli went to the doctor for her malaria, even he answered the phone while she was in the room talking to him! You've just got to laugh :)
So I was sick all weekend. I had a sore throat and achy muscles/joints. But Carli's homeopathic medicine and my advil cold&sinus pulled me through. I'm pretty much okay today, just tired. i think it was just a cold.
It was an "office" day at my practicum and they had nothing planned for me. So he got me to write up some learning objectives for my outreach visits tomorrow. Then I watched the others read their newspapers...then I stood outside while the girl washed the floors. Then I went to the mental health department next door cuz my supervisor wanted me to learn the basics of mental health. A man came in and he could hardly walk. He had lesions on his wrists, ankles and neck from being tied up with rope. He gets aggressive and destructive and his family didn't know what to do with him so they locked him in a room and tied him up. His left arm is completely swollen and he can't move his fingers. Yikes.
Our food situation is obviously not as dire as that of the people at the hospital but I have to admit that we are getting a bit desperate ourselves in our lack of good nutritious meals. As an almost vegetarian, I have to confress that I put the money out to eat a big steak the other night at the hotel across the street because I have felt so weak and drained, needed some iron. I'd eat just about anything here just to get more protein and iron. But what I could really kill for is a nice big green salad and gelato ice cream. I've also been craving cheezies for some reason. Ya, we're getting pretty sick of the food here. We don't have a lot of options. Even Carli, the vegetarian said she was ready to gnaw on the butt of a cow! It was really funny cuz there's cows all over the roads here...but even that didn't stop me from eating the steak. And by the way...I will never eat beans or rice again when I get home. I am very rice and beans out. Mom can you believe I eat beans everyday for lunch when I wouldn't even try them at home, haha!
We are going to go into Kampala, the capital, on Saturday and stay overnight. We will stay at the Backpacker's hostel. We are going to the Shop-rite which is like a Save-On-Foods, and we are hoping to get some good "western" food. We are going to also get some material for someone to make us some skirts. Capris are not in style here apparently :)
We had a nice relaxing weekend with all the neighbours away. Our Chilean friend, Einer was here for the weekend so we had some company. We watched a couple of movies on Jen's laptop when there was power and basically just rested. We played the travel monopoly and travel frustration.
Well, I think that's it for now. I'll have to try and get hungry again for dinner, the ant thing kind of surpressed my appetite. The weather has been a bit cooler the last couple of days so it's been very nice.
Bye for now,
weeraba (goodbye)
Notes from Week Two (erin)
Hello. Here are some snippets from some emails home. It's a bit behind because we have been having trouble posting.
I lied about it not being too hot...it's very hot now. Well sometimes, it is and sometimes it isn't, it varies block to block and hour to hour.
We just walk to town, only 10-15 minutes. We can take a boda boda (riding on the back of a scooter) but we're not brave enough yet. We are staying away from the market today because it is market day and apparently it is very busy and crazy. Not ready for that yet either.
My days at the hospital have been very uneventful as my supervisor is away. So I have been reading material and today i transcribed some statistics. yesterday afternoon i helped Carli dispense medication to HIV/AIDS patients and today we played with the children there because it was children's day. We brought toys because they wait for hours to see the doctor. They loved us :) That was fun but very tiring because basically they are amused with pushing a wee car back and forth, back and forth, back and forth....etc.
We are very tired and a bit frustrated that we aren't doing much help at the hospital. Today I went to Jen's practicum where we sat and listened to people with mental illnesses get interviewed by the nurse...in Luganda. Anyway we are trying to do what we can.
It's a long weekend becauase Monday is Labour Day. Yah! We are getting bit by mosquitos and other strange creatures...we shall see next week if we get malaria, yikes. Should be ok :)
(Another day…)
I will tell you a bit more about the hospital. It is quite unbelievable. It is not really a hospital...what I mean is that they can't really do anything for these people. It's a hospital for poor people and each patient must be accompanied by someone 24hours a day to look after them. The companion must feed and clothe them. Sometimes it is children looking after parents. The only food provided by the hospital is a cup of Posho at lunch which is basically a cup of flour and water. We suspect that the patients must even bring their own mattresses. The companions of the patients are scattered all over the lawn washing clothes or just resting or waiting...it's quite the site. There are some buildings that are occupied by people who do not have the money to travel back home so they live in these structures. Some of them are just waiting to die.
Sorry, there isn't a whole lot of good news here today! It's really not all bad here,honest! Scott, there are also chickens, sheep and goats that roam the streets. Carli's worried cuz she hasn't seen her goat babies in a couple of days so we're wondering if they're on the menu at the restaurant!
I lied about it not being too hot...it's very hot now. Well sometimes, it is and sometimes it isn't, it varies block to block and hour to hour.
We just walk to town, only 10-15 minutes. We can take a boda boda (riding on the back of a scooter) but we're not brave enough yet. We are staying away from the market today because it is market day and apparently it is very busy and crazy. Not ready for that yet either.
My days at the hospital have been very uneventful as my supervisor is away. So I have been reading material and today i transcribed some statistics. yesterday afternoon i helped Carli dispense medication to HIV/AIDS patients and today we played with the children there because it was children's day. We brought toys because they wait for hours to see the doctor. They loved us :) That was fun but very tiring because basically they are amused with pushing a wee car back and forth, back and forth, back and forth....etc.
We are very tired and a bit frustrated that we aren't doing much help at the hospital. Today I went to Jen's practicum where we sat and listened to people with mental illnesses get interviewed by the nurse...in Luganda. Anyway we are trying to do what we can.
It's a long weekend becauase Monday is Labour Day. Yah! We are getting bit by mosquitos and other strange creatures...we shall see next week if we get malaria, yikes. Should be ok :)
(Another day…)
I will tell you a bit more about the hospital. It is quite unbelievable. It is not really a hospital...what I mean is that they can't really do anything for these people. It's a hospital for poor people and each patient must be accompanied by someone 24hours a day to look after them. The companion must feed and clothe them. Sometimes it is children looking after parents. The only food provided by the hospital is a cup of Posho at lunch which is basically a cup of flour and water. We suspect that the patients must even bring their own mattresses. The companions of the patients are scattered all over the lawn washing clothes or just resting or waiting...it's quite the site. There are some buildings that are occupied by people who do not have the money to travel back home so they live in these structures. Some of them are just waiting to die.
Sorry, there isn't a whole lot of good news here today! It's really not all bad here,honest! Scott, there are also chickens, sheep and goats that roam the streets. Carli's worried cuz she hasn't seen her goat babies in a couple of days so we're wondering if they're on the menu at the restaurant!
Saturday
Ahhhh a day to sleep in and not have to do anything major! Bruce made everyone pancakes and we were able to use the Canadian Maple Syrup I brought. But that was before I awoke! That’s ok I enjoyed the sleep more!
Finally I arise to this strange voice out in the courtyard. It’s Einer! We have heard many stories about Einer! He lives in a village not far from Masaka. The village name is Tekera. He even hunts using spears with the locals! Originally he is from Chile and is volunteering in this village to assist the people build a community center with one of the couples that live in our complex. From what I understand Einer sleeps, works and eats just like the locals. Amazing really if you think about it. He eats termites and hunts green mambas with spears!
After meeting Einer we decide for some strange reason that he would be safe to take us around town and show us where a few places we could go. I think it was more that he wanted his friends around town to see him with some new Muzungu in town!
Ok after that long day we came back and hooked up with Lawrence for dinner at the Brovad. Where I had grilled cheese…. I don’t know how Leigh lasted so long out here. Please Leigh if you happen to read this, we need help with FOOD!! Lol
After our long week it was nice to sit and just relax. After dinner Einer decided to take us to do a little dancing. It was still a little early so we had a few drinks at the Tropic Inn. The setting was nice, like we were on holiday in a cabana as Erin called it. We all take our seats and mine doesn’t have a cushion on it! :O now that’s not very comfortable. You would think Lawrence would have given up his cushion. WOW he didn’t even offer! What a gentleman! Well since this is a web site I will just leave it for your imagination as to what was said.
So it's Carli, Chandra, Erin, myself, Einer and Lawrence all sitting around talking and having a few beverages. Erin and Carli had a local drink that was like gin but they had to mix it with coke. Way to strong! After a while we decided to go and hit the dance floor in the next building.
Yes, even I hit the dance floor! Hey we are in Africa drinking African beverages you have to dance! Well that’s what I told myself. Wasn’t long before I had one lady teaching us how to dance Ugandan style, or at least trying to teach us (me). Many people dancing in several different styles. Guess as long as you’re moving it's all good! After all, have you ever seen Lawrence dance? He cleans up the dance floor! You should have seen him with the ladies! If this is something you have not yet had the privilege to witness, humour us and just smile and continue to read! No need to worry with four girls dancing in Africa, we had a guardian. No, NOT Lawrence, it was Einer. He was very good at intervening at crucial times when locals would get a little too close! Although Lawrence seemed to be entertained by the fact that we were breaking a lot of hearts that night! At least we gave Lawrence some entertainment…after all we at least got to see Lawrence dance for our enjoyment.
It was a long night so by the time we decided to leave we were tired and sweaty! One interesting thing is that we found out we crashed a private party. It was the police chief’s transfer party. Well I’m glad to hear it was the police chief’s party, at least we were safe.
OK that’s enough for today…. Nite!
Finally I arise to this strange voice out in the courtyard. It’s Einer! We have heard many stories about Einer! He lives in a village not far from Masaka. The village name is Tekera. He even hunts using spears with the locals! Originally he is from Chile and is volunteering in this village to assist the people build a community center with one of the couples that live in our complex. From what I understand Einer sleeps, works and eats just like the locals. Amazing really if you think about it. He eats termites and hunts green mambas with spears!
After meeting Einer we decide for some strange reason that he would be safe to take us around town and show us where a few places we could go. I think it was more that he wanted his friends around town to see him with some new Muzungu in town!
Ok after that long day we came back and hooked up with Lawrence for dinner at the Brovad. Where I had grilled cheese…. I don’t know how Leigh lasted so long out here. Please Leigh if you happen to read this, we need help with FOOD!! Lol
After our long week it was nice to sit and just relax. After dinner Einer decided to take us to do a little dancing. It was still a little early so we had a few drinks at the Tropic Inn. The setting was nice, like we were on holiday in a cabana as Erin called it. We all take our seats and mine doesn’t have a cushion on it! :O now that’s not very comfortable. You would think Lawrence would have given up his cushion. WOW he didn’t even offer! What a gentleman! Well since this is a web site I will just leave it for your imagination as to what was said.
So it's Carli, Chandra, Erin, myself, Einer and Lawrence all sitting around talking and having a few beverages. Erin and Carli had a local drink that was like gin but they had to mix it with coke. Way to strong! After a while we decided to go and hit the dance floor in the next building.
Yes, even I hit the dance floor! Hey we are in Africa drinking African beverages you have to dance! Well that’s what I told myself. Wasn’t long before I had one lady teaching us how to dance Ugandan style, or at least trying to teach us (me). Many people dancing in several different styles. Guess as long as you’re moving it's all good! After all, have you ever seen Lawrence dance? He cleans up the dance floor! You should have seen him with the ladies! If this is something you have not yet had the privilege to witness, humour us and just smile and continue to read! No need to worry with four girls dancing in Africa, we had a guardian. No, NOT Lawrence, it was Einer. He was very good at intervening at crucial times when locals would get a little too close! Although Lawrence seemed to be entertained by the fact that we were breaking a lot of hearts that night! At least we gave Lawrence some entertainment…after all we at least got to see Lawrence dance for our enjoyment.
It was a long night so by the time we decided to leave we were tired and sweaty! One interesting thing is that we found out we crashed a private party. It was the police chief’s transfer party. Well I’m glad to hear it was the police chief’s party, at least we were safe.
OK that’s enough for today…. Nite!
Day 5 – Friday
Day 2 at practicum 9 AM sharp! Ummm do you know what African time is! Well let me try to explain it….. 9 AM can mean 9:30….. 10:30 I waited there for Sister Namanda! No I was not the only one there waiting for her.
I asked one of the guys that work in the pharmacy part if they knew where she was and he said he would go look for her. Well about 30 minutes later he came back. Well he didn’t actually come back to the building to fill me in on whatever he found out. Instead he asked a yard man to bring his smock back and get his jacket. I noticed this man give the pharmacy guy his jacket and then he LEFT! Yep, left me sitting there in a room with a couple others waiting……waiting for this Sister Namanda!
Off to Uganda Cares for children’s day … play with toys that carli brought
Played with cars & blocks with erin and children
Held one child ….. so lethargic….. didn’t really move at all sat showed him how to push the car
One little guy didn’t want to come near me…. Muuzungo
Children were given lunch which consisted of piece of bread, banana, posha (water & flour type mixture)
Then played toss the blocks
Chandra came to visit us … shortly after Lawrence did too We all sat there tossing the ball of blocks around! Even Lawrence played with them. It's nice to see him in a different atmosphere. He smiles too!
Finally it was our lunch time the children were sad to see us go. Normally they would have nothing to play with ,only a handful of blocks that would be distributed to nearly 50 children.
They hugged & kissed us and followed us out to the gate. I know it was not very long for me to sit and play with them but I know this is something they will talk about for quite some time. Not because it was ME but because a Muuzungo (white person) would play with them even tho they were very sick
After a long lunch I went back to Ward 14 and to my surprise there was only one lady there. She was in her traditional clothes, o oooh no uniform! I learned that they are having some staffing problems at the hospital. Trying to justify who is working. She was trying to get advice on how to bring her son in so they could assess him and find out what mental illness he has.
Erin came with me…. To watch me counsel! Oh a client that speaks English! Or so I thought! This was a teenage boy that has epilepsy that knew very little English! It was difficult to counsel him as I am not only a Muzungu (white person) I am a female! A cute one too (yes I’m talking about ME!)! Lol Well anyway, I tried my best to just talk to him and make him feel comfortable even though there was a translator there! I had no idea you could make an African blush soooo much!
Thankfully we learned that Monday is a holiday here in Uganda!
First Luganda lesson from Fred a nursing student! I hope he knows what he has gotten himself into! I can not even remember French from school!
I asked one of the guys that work in the pharmacy part if they knew where she was and he said he would go look for her. Well about 30 minutes later he came back. Well he didn’t actually come back to the building to fill me in on whatever he found out. Instead he asked a yard man to bring his smock back and get his jacket. I noticed this man give the pharmacy guy his jacket and then he LEFT! Yep, left me sitting there in a room with a couple others waiting……waiting for this Sister Namanda!
Off to Uganda Cares for children’s day … play with toys that carli brought
Played with cars & blocks with erin and children
Held one child ….. so lethargic….. didn’t really move at all sat showed him how to push the car
One little guy didn’t want to come near me…. Muuzungo
Children were given lunch which consisted of piece of bread, banana, posha (water & flour type mixture)
Then played toss the blocks
Chandra came to visit us … shortly after Lawrence did too We all sat there tossing the ball of blocks around! Even Lawrence played with them. It's nice to see him in a different atmosphere. He smiles too!
Finally it was our lunch time the children were sad to see us go. Normally they would have nothing to play with ,only a handful of blocks that would be distributed to nearly 50 children.
They hugged & kissed us and followed us out to the gate. I know it was not very long for me to sit and play with them but I know this is something they will talk about for quite some time. Not because it was ME but because a Muuzungo (white person) would play with them even tho they were very sick
After a long lunch I went back to Ward 14 and to my surprise there was only one lady there. She was in her traditional clothes, o oooh no uniform! I learned that they are having some staffing problems at the hospital. Trying to justify who is working. She was trying to get advice on how to bring her son in so they could assess him and find out what mental illness he has.
Erin came with me…. To watch me counsel! Oh a client that speaks English! Or so I thought! This was a teenage boy that has epilepsy that knew very little English! It was difficult to counsel him as I am not only a Muzungu (white person) I am a female! A cute one too (yes I’m talking about ME!)! Lol Well anyway, I tried my best to just talk to him and make him feel comfortable even though there was a translator there! I had no idea you could make an African blush soooo much!
Thankfully we learned that Monday is a holiday here in Uganda!
First Luganda lesson from Fred a nursing student! I hope he knows what he has gotten himself into! I can not even remember French from school!
Day 4 – Practicum Day 1 - Thursday
Well our first day at practicum. Excited? Yes of course I am! Nervous? You freakin believe it, it's not like I have ANY idea what I will be doing. My supervisor is in Ethiopia doing a conference of some sort.
We walk to Hospital drop Carli off at her site (brand new building I might add!) Then the rest of us walk to the Hospital Administration Building were I meet up with Sister Namanda (my supervisor for the day) and Lawrence sends me off with her. So much for walking me down to my site! Thanks a lot Lawrence, at least you deliver everyone else!
As some of you know how shy I can be, well we walked pretty much ALL the way to Ward 14 (Mental Health) without say much at all!
Sister Namanda – call nurses sisters
First day sat and waited to get started - sister had to write up a referral form for a lady that liked to dance around naked and embarrass her children. What I learned right of the bat today is that in Uganda they still have designated mental hospitals kind of like Riverview in British Columbia. Although I am sure Riverview even at it's worst was never like the one in Kampala. As this lady from Canada was describing it you would think it was something out of a fiction book. People tied to their chairs or beds, medicated to the point of nearly comatose. Now I have never been to this place and by the sounds of it I don’t even want to. I just try to believe this place is understaffed and those that do work there are most definitely underpaid and they are doing everything they can just to keep these people from doing harm to themselves. Just ask yourself, what would you do?
Sat listened to sister talk lugandan – out of nowhere she says ok u can counsel this one! :O
After one hour of sitting listening to people speak Lugandan, which could have been some alien language saying lord knows what about me and all I can do is sit there and wait for the minutes to pass. :O finally it's 3pm time to go! Great timing too since they started to talk about politics. Something I do not wish to get into especially here in Uganda!
Asked Sister Namanda if she wanted to meet me at Ward 14 - Yes
Erin was asked today if she believed in God. Well after they were in shock they gave her the bible to read! That’s how Lawrence and Chandra found her when they came to get her for lunch! I wonder what Erin learned?
We walk to Hospital drop Carli off at her site (brand new building I might add!) Then the rest of us walk to the Hospital Administration Building were I meet up with Sister Namanda (my supervisor for the day) and Lawrence sends me off with her. So much for walking me down to my site! Thanks a lot Lawrence, at least you deliver everyone else!
As some of you know how shy I can be, well we walked pretty much ALL the way to Ward 14 (Mental Health) without say much at all!
Sister Namanda – call nurses sisters
First day sat and waited to get started - sister had to write up a referral form for a lady that liked to dance around naked and embarrass her children. What I learned right of the bat today is that in Uganda they still have designated mental hospitals kind of like Riverview in British Columbia. Although I am sure Riverview even at it's worst was never like the one in Kampala. As this lady from Canada was describing it you would think it was something out of a fiction book. People tied to their chairs or beds, medicated to the point of nearly comatose. Now I have never been to this place and by the sounds of it I don’t even want to. I just try to believe this place is understaffed and those that do work there are most definitely underpaid and they are doing everything they can just to keep these people from doing harm to themselves. Just ask yourself, what would you do?
Sat listened to sister talk lugandan – out of nowhere she says ok u can counsel this one! :O
After one hour of sitting listening to people speak Lugandan, which could have been some alien language saying lord knows what about me and all I can do is sit there and wait for the minutes to pass. :O finally it's 3pm time to go! Great timing too since they started to talk about politics. Something I do not wish to get into especially here in Uganda!
Asked Sister Namanda if she wanted to meet me at Ward 14 - Yes
Erin was asked today if she believed in God. Well after they were in shock they gave her the bible to read! That’s how Lawrence and Chandra found her when they came to get her for lunch! I wonder what Erin learned?
Day 3 - Wednesday
Well I have just realized that I have not even described our home away from home! Lets start with Lawrence (our supervisor from Douglas College for those of you who do not know) he is staying in a hotel (The Brovad Hotel), WITH power, but I am happy to report his room is much smaller than mine ☺ and the poor guy has to sleep in a single bed (oh he is over six feet tall, can you picture it now!) The hotel looks a little like the one in the movie Hotel Rwanda. There is a link on the blog if you would like to see what it looks like. Ok enough about Lawrence! Time to move on to us!
We are staying across the street from the Brovad Hotel in what one may call co-op living. Three different family’s sharing only one kitchen. The four of us are in one section that has two bedrooms and each room has it's own bathroom. Oh yes they are bigger than Lawrence’s room! We all have mosquito nets over our beds, which is kinda neat but I am sure I will get tired of it soon! It is difficult to get up in the middle of the night. But they are very necessary to keep those blood sucking mosquito’s out of my personal space! The unfortunate part of this is that two beds would not fit in the smaller room. Which means someone has to sleep all by them self! Yes well it was I that was the lucky one. I sleep in my own room and the other’s share. This is probably a good thing since I am the one up the latest making noise on my computer (well on the days we have power!) Well enough about that! If you want to know more about our Home away from HOME just ask!
As you can see this is our third day here and were to start our practicum. Well after the tour of the hospital, the realization we had NO TP and of course not being able to shake the jet lag we had a talk with Lawrence who was rather understanding. A big thanks to Lawrence! So today was get organized, rest and try to catch up on our sleep day!
So we wake up mid morning and go into town and exchange money into Ugandan Shillings! That was certainly an experience standing in the line of the bank. I am very happy that our banks at home have many tellers that are happy to see & help you. Well that has been my experience at home.
We shopped to our hearts content! For those of you that know what this little town has to offer might just smile after that comment! You see there is NOTHING you really want to buy in this little place. But never the less we were able to buy some necessities and go home happy & rest up for our first day of practicum.
One thing that I think we all agree on is that the students for next year better get at least a week before starting their practicum. Even if it seems like they can start their second day in Africa I wouldn’t let them. Allow them some time to get use to things. It is different than being at home.
Well I think this will come to a close today since I have nothing more to report at this time.
Take care of each other!
We are staying across the street from the Brovad Hotel in what one may call co-op living. Three different family’s sharing only one kitchen. The four of us are in one section that has two bedrooms and each room has it's own bathroom. Oh yes they are bigger than Lawrence’s room! We all have mosquito nets over our beds, which is kinda neat but I am sure I will get tired of it soon! It is difficult to get up in the middle of the night. But they are very necessary to keep those blood sucking mosquito’s out of my personal space! The unfortunate part of this is that two beds would not fit in the smaller room. Which means someone has to sleep all by them self! Yes well it was I that was the lucky one. I sleep in my own room and the other’s share. This is probably a good thing since I am the one up the latest making noise on my computer (well on the days we have power!) Well enough about that! If you want to know more about our Home away from HOME just ask!
As you can see this is our third day here and were to start our practicum. Well after the tour of the hospital, the realization we had NO TP and of course not being able to shake the jet lag we had a talk with Lawrence who was rather understanding. A big thanks to Lawrence! So today was get organized, rest and try to catch up on our sleep day!
So we wake up mid morning and go into town and exchange money into Ugandan Shillings! That was certainly an experience standing in the line of the bank. I am very happy that our banks at home have many tellers that are happy to see & help you. Well that has been my experience at home.
We shopped to our hearts content! For those of you that know what this little town has to offer might just smile after that comment! You see there is NOTHING you really want to buy in this little place. But never the less we were able to buy some necessities and go home happy & rest up for our first day of practicum.
One thing that I think we all agree on is that the students for next year better get at least a week before starting their practicum. Even if it seems like they can start their second day in Africa I wouldn’t let them. Allow them some time to get use to things. It is different than being at home.
Well I think this will come to a close today since I have nothing more to report at this time.
Take care of each other!
Friday, May 12, 2006
From the first week (Day 3)
Hello!!!!!!!
Sorry it's taken so long to get anything posted. For some reason, the blog has not let us post! So frustrating. Here are some pieces from messages I have sent home. This first one is from the first week.
It's just been very busy and trying to settle in. It's quite a culture shock here. It's very beautiful and exactlylike the pictures and m ovies.
It's pretty warm and apparently we'll be hotter next month. Hvn't had much rain yet.
Our place is nice, three of us in one room and one in another but they are joined and we share the two bathrooms. Not too many mosquitos yet, they come after the rain. It's fun to sleep in mosquito nets, feel like princesses.
The hardest part for me so far was going into town yesterday for the first time. EVERYONE stares at us it is a bit unerving...We went with some student nurses so at least we had guides but now we are here by ourselves. We are going to be sorry to see Lawrence leave I think. But it will be ok once they start seeing us around, they will get used to us I guess. The children are the best, they like to wave at us. Most people are friendly.
So we haven't really done a whole lot. Feels like we've been here forever, but only 2 nights!!!
There are so many things to get used to. Like we pretty much live without power 1/2 the time. And getting water is a pain...we are going to try to buy big bottles today. We've been going up to the hotel for bottled water but it's getting expensive. We're eating ok so far...have had spaghettie, veggie stir fry and lots of peanut butter and bread. Will be going to the market today
They have big birds here that are as tall as me! They are storks but in the air they look like pteradactyls. Haven't experienced any creepy crawlies in my bed yet so i am relieved. Have to get used to cold showers, but it's so hot that doesn't really matter.
Sorry it's taken so long to get anything posted. For some reason, the blog has not let us post! So frustrating. Here are some pieces from messages I have sent home. This first one is from the first week.
It's just been very busy and trying to settle in. It's quite a culture shock here. It's very beautiful and exactlylike the pictures and m ovies.
It's pretty warm and apparently we'll be hotter next month. Hvn't had much rain yet.
Our place is nice, three of us in one room and one in another but they are joined and we share the two bathrooms. Not too many mosquitos yet, they come after the rain. It's fun to sleep in mosquito nets, feel like princesses.
The hardest part for me so far was going into town yesterday for the first time. EVERYONE stares at us it is a bit unerving...We went with some student nurses so at least we had guides but now we are here by ourselves. We are going to be sorry to see Lawrence leave I think. But it will be ok once they start seeing us around, they will get used to us I guess. The children are the best, they like to wave at us. Most people are friendly.
So we haven't really done a whole lot. Feels like we've been here forever, but only 2 nights!!!
There are so many things to get used to. Like we pretty much live without power 1/2 the time. And getting water is a pain...we are going to try to buy big bottles today. We've been going up to the hotel for bottled water but it's getting expensive. We're eating ok so far...have had spaghettie, veggie stir fry and lots of peanut butter and bread. Will be going to the market today
They have big birds here that are as tall as me! They are storks but in the air they look like pteradactyls. Haven't experienced any creepy crawlies in my bed yet so i am relieved. Have to get used to cold showers, but it's so hot that doesn't really matter.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Day 2
Bright and early we are off to the hospital for a tour. We wake up slowwwly, well ok I wake up slowly. We make our way up to the hospital on the top of the hill. Don’t worry though it was not that far. Only about a ten minute walk. We get there and everyone we meet is greeting us – you are welcome – they would say. Very polite, caring people.
We meet with the head doctor, Doctor Kenya, (yes just like the African country!) and most of our supervisors. They will materialize later next week!
Ok off we go, tour of the hospital grounds. Now in western countries our hospitals are usually floors or levels. Well, here in Africa for those of you that do not know they are separate buildings. These buildings are all original from 1929 and it would seem that nothing has been done to them since. Now imagine the buildings in your hometown from those days, if they are still standing most have been kept up or rebuilt. This is something that even a picture could not describe.
Our first tour is the children’s ward. You walk into the ward and you see many people mulling about. Some children with parents and some on their own. As we move further through the ward we come to a second area with many young children. As we come around the corner you see this little child being dressed by what we would assume was their mother. As she changes the child’s shirt you can see how thin they are. The spinal cord looks more like a row of large beads on a thin string.
Now if that doesn’t make want run over and just hold the child then keep reading. Once you start to look around there are at least a dozen other children that look just like the first one. As you keep looking you will come across something that resembles a child’s body on a bed, just sitting there. How this child is sitting I have no idea, just skin and bone. If the wind blew they would most defiantly fall over like a set of dominoes.
As you can imagine all the wards that we visited were like this. The women and men are separated into their own wards. The TB & HIV/AIDS ward, accident victim ward, men, women regular ward, mental health ward and finally the maternity ward. There are a few wards that we simply did not have time to visit but we had enough for one day.
Thankfully we were able to see where Erin will be based out of for her practicum USDC (Uganda Society for Disabled Children) and Carli’s which is at Uganda Cares.
Then we go and have lunch and debrief with everything that we saw & heard. So much to do with so little time!!!!!!!
Not to mention the fact that we are suppose to start our practicum in the morning! After what we took in today and the fact that we have not had a chance to settle in or get over our jet lag, our wonderful supervisor was able to talk to them and let them know that we need at least one more day of rest. Besides that we didn’t even have a chance to get TP. Well for those of you that have not realized this yet there are FOUR girls living in the same place ….. we NEEDED TP (toilet paper).
After that long day off to bed we gooooo……
We meet with the head doctor, Doctor Kenya, (yes just like the African country!) and most of our supervisors. They will materialize later next week!
Ok off we go, tour of the hospital grounds. Now in western countries our hospitals are usually floors or levels. Well, here in Africa for those of you that do not know they are separate buildings. These buildings are all original from 1929 and it would seem that nothing has been done to them since. Now imagine the buildings in your hometown from those days, if they are still standing most have been kept up or rebuilt. This is something that even a picture could not describe.
Our first tour is the children’s ward. You walk into the ward and you see many people mulling about. Some children with parents and some on their own. As we move further through the ward we come to a second area with many young children. As we come around the corner you see this little child being dressed by what we would assume was their mother. As she changes the child’s shirt you can see how thin they are. The spinal cord looks more like a row of large beads on a thin string.
Now if that doesn’t make want run over and just hold the child then keep reading. Once you start to look around there are at least a dozen other children that look just like the first one. As you keep looking you will come across something that resembles a child’s body on a bed, just sitting there. How this child is sitting I have no idea, just skin and bone. If the wind blew they would most defiantly fall over like a set of dominoes.
As you can imagine all the wards that we visited were like this. The women and men are separated into their own wards. The TB & HIV/AIDS ward, accident victim ward, men, women regular ward, mental health ward and finally the maternity ward. There are a few wards that we simply did not have time to visit but we had enough for one day.
Thankfully we were able to see where Erin will be based out of for her practicum USDC (Uganda Society for Disabled Children) and Carli’s which is at Uganda Cares.
Then we go and have lunch and debrief with everything that we saw & heard. So much to do with so little time!!!!!!!
Not to mention the fact that we are suppose to start our practicum in the morning! After what we took in today and the fact that we have not had a chance to settle in or get over our jet lag, our wonderful supervisor was able to talk to them and let them know that we need at least one more day of rest. Besides that we didn’t even have a chance to get TP. Well for those of you that have not realized this yet there are FOUR girls living in the same place ….. we NEEDED TP (toilet paper).
After that long day off to bed we gooooo……
Traveling Days!
Our plane trip was successful! Although we were about one hour late departing from Vancouver but that was ok because then our layover in London was shorter. During the flight I was so happy to find out that I was still seated at the back of the plane since John told us how the seats fold down farther and you are able to sleep. Well John I don’t know what kind of plane you were in but it certainly was NOT with British Airways. What was he thinking? Guess he isn’t all connected! Not only could I not recline my seat I had no one near me to talk too. Not that it's terrible to sit next to someone you don’t know but one may be afraid to talk to a stranger! What happens if they start to talk to you and they just wont ZIP IT! It is nice to have quiet time!
During the layover we had an opportunity to say a few words on Lawrence’s video camera! Oh how happy I was about that! :|
After a thought Lawrence put away the camera Erin, Lawrence & I had a catnap on one of the benches. No worries we all had our own bench!
Finally the gate number is posted to catch our connecting flight to Entebbe. We make our way to the gate then to a shuttle bus to catch our plane. I thought for a moment, this is a little odd, the movie Speed jumped into my head. I hope we don’t have to chase down our plane. Besides after finding out that our seats in the back of the plane do NOT recline who knows what John had in store for us!
Finally after a long flight! We make it to Entebbe ☺ But now we must stand in line for our visa’s. That would be so bad if the mosquitoes were not swarming the place! As it is nearly dawn and they are out in full force. Finally through the line and make our way out to meet our driver that is going to take us to our home away from home. Oh wonderful they are there awaiting us.
We all pile in two separate vehicles and off we go, o I forgot to mention Erin was in a vehicle by herself for a short time before we sent Lawrence over to rescue her.
We are off driving… only about 2 hours to our new home. But wait we are in Africa and things do not always go as you expect. We need gas and we do not have any Ugandan Shillings. We come into Kampala barely making it through the traffic alive. How do they get their drivers license…. A cracker jack box! Boda Boda’s driving in and out of vehicles, sometimes with three people piled on. (Oh a Boda Boda is a scooter or small CC motorbike.) Cars stopping here or there & even our driver was calm. I guess for him it is just another day in Kampala. He even said it was nothing you should see rush hour!
Oh yes I nearly forgot I was telling you we needed to exchange our money into shillings. We come to a bank only to find it not open we must wait as we need gas and without it … well we are not going anywhere anyway.
Finally it's 8AM and our driver goes to check to see if it is open yet. :O Seems he was mistaken and it doesn’t open until 9 AM! OMG
Ok so we decide to try the bank machine, of course we let our instructor Lawrence try it first just in case it will not give it back to us. To our surprise it works! YIPPIE, so now we do not have to wait an hour for the bank to open we can go get gas for the vehicles and get out of this place.
Finally we make it to our new home ☺ only to realize that our rooms are not yet ready! All I want to do is fall into the nearest bed & wake up in HOURS. But it was great that one of the ladies that live here have invited us to sit have some tea and sandwiches.
As we are relaxing we meet a man named Dan, he is the one Leigh has told us so much about. He said if we need anything go to Dan, he will help us in anyway he can. Yeah that rhymed!
Seems our little side trip to the gas station was something that was not necessary, as Dan had already given them enough money to take us from the airport to our new home. :O Our first time hoodwinked by an African. These were suppose to have been trustworthy people, you know friends! Well Dan said he would handle it.
Thank goodness because I don’t have the energy to take care of this!
Ok good ….. our rooms are ready ….. time for siesta.
During the layover we had an opportunity to say a few words on Lawrence’s video camera! Oh how happy I was about that! :|
After a thought Lawrence put away the camera Erin, Lawrence & I had a catnap on one of the benches. No worries we all had our own bench!
Finally the gate number is posted to catch our connecting flight to Entebbe. We make our way to the gate then to a shuttle bus to catch our plane. I thought for a moment, this is a little odd, the movie Speed jumped into my head. I hope we don’t have to chase down our plane. Besides after finding out that our seats in the back of the plane do NOT recline who knows what John had in store for us!
Finally after a long flight! We make it to Entebbe ☺ But now we must stand in line for our visa’s. That would be so bad if the mosquitoes were not swarming the place! As it is nearly dawn and they are out in full force. Finally through the line and make our way out to meet our driver that is going to take us to our home away from home. Oh wonderful they are there awaiting us.
We all pile in two separate vehicles and off we go, o I forgot to mention Erin was in a vehicle by herself for a short time before we sent Lawrence over to rescue her.
We are off driving… only about 2 hours to our new home. But wait we are in Africa and things do not always go as you expect. We need gas and we do not have any Ugandan Shillings. We come into Kampala barely making it through the traffic alive. How do they get their drivers license…. A cracker jack box! Boda Boda’s driving in and out of vehicles, sometimes with three people piled on. (Oh a Boda Boda is a scooter or small CC motorbike.) Cars stopping here or there & even our driver was calm. I guess for him it is just another day in Kampala. He even said it was nothing you should see rush hour!
Oh yes I nearly forgot I was telling you we needed to exchange our money into shillings. We come to a bank only to find it not open we must wait as we need gas and without it … well we are not going anywhere anyway.
Finally it's 8AM and our driver goes to check to see if it is open yet. :O Seems he was mistaken and it doesn’t open until 9 AM! OMG
Ok so we decide to try the bank machine, of course we let our instructor Lawrence try it first just in case it will not give it back to us. To our surprise it works! YIPPIE, so now we do not have to wait an hour for the bank to open we can go get gas for the vehicles and get out of this place.
Finally we make it to our new home ☺ only to realize that our rooms are not yet ready! All I want to do is fall into the nearest bed & wake up in HOURS. But it was great that one of the ladies that live here have invited us to sit have some tea and sandwiches.
As we are relaxing we meet a man named Dan, he is the one Leigh has told us so much about. He said if we need anything go to Dan, he will help us in anyway he can. Yeah that rhymed!
Seems our little side trip to the gas station was something that was not necessary, as Dan had already given them enough money to take us from the airport to our new home. :O Our first time hoodwinked by an African. These were suppose to have been trustworthy people, you know friends! Well Dan said he would handle it.
Thank goodness because I don’t have the energy to take care of this!
Ok good ….. our rooms are ready ….. time for siesta.
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