July 25, 2011

hJuly 25, 2011

I am still backtracking, as I had limited access to internet during the first few days of last week.  We were staying in a hotel that wasn’t, what I would say, completely modern.  Needless to say, I wasn’t able to stay technologically up to speed, so I will continue to date at the beginning to define the days.

I will also add that I just finished Skyping Wes, and he informed me that my last entry was not as straightforward as my previous ones.  I reminded him that the reason I am jumping around – in both dates and places – is simply due to the fact that this is indicative of my life right now.  I have had very sporadic usage of electricity, water, and cell phone, which is a new experience for me.  Please bear with me.  I feel very disoriented in so many different ways, and although I did not mean it to be reflected this much in my writing, I must deep down want you to understand as truthfully as possible.  Enjoy!

I kid you not.  The power just went off.

Tuesday, July 19^th, 2011

I had left you with a war between the north and the south, and on Tuesday, I hate to admit it, but the south rose again!  I woke up thinking I felt better and was so excited to go out into the field for the first time.  We went to the Millennium Villages office, which is a lovely beehive of activity, people flitting here, there, and everywhere.  New faces were seen and names remembered, but as I was drinking my first true African tea, I felt the oh-so-familiar stomach wrench again.  I could only assume that my day before temporary cure kept my body from truly being cleansed, and I knew the roller coaster would soon begin.

Loading into the UN car once again, my stomach had its own agenda and definitely kept me on my toes.  The ups and downs and ups and downs of unpaved, curvy roads in rural Uganda are a ride to be remembered.  You look out the windows and see breathtaking vistas in all directions, but for me at that moment, I was just trying to look forward and choke down my gag reflexes. 

And, it only proceeded to get worse as the day continued, which mortified me.  Here I was in Ruhiira and Kabuyanda, Uganda, meeting my teams in the field for the first time, and I kept having to step outside for fresh air.  The entire time, I just hoped they were not offended, possibly misconstruing my absence as a slight toward them; and to my delight, Miranda told me later she hadn’t even noticed my discomfort, which made me happier that I had done a sufficient job acting. Thank goodness I can power through.

This excursion – although difficult for me – was my first experience out in the field, and I will say Tuesday was quite enlightening.  There is a relaxation in these small, rustic towns I don’t know that I have ever seen before.  People mill about casually, and the young children play in the streets.  But, when I went into the two youth centers, the teams (consisting of one male and one female) both gave formal presentations, proudly displaying what the centers do for the community and its individuals.  I couldn’t help but smile.  You see, every day in the states, I get up, make sure I look nice, and work in a job where I present loads of headquarter-approved, glossy sales aids; and, sitting there in a room with one desk, one row of benches, and hand-drawn educational posters sparsely decorating the walls as these two young professionals presented, a question entered my mind…am I as effective?

On the way home, school was letting out, and I saw children (as young as 3!) walking by themselves home.  The children dress in uniforms of varying colors, making the slowly darkening evening seem vibrant with color.  Some were singing, some were running in groups, and some were lolly-gagging along, perhaps enjoying the evening’s freedom.  All seemed happy and that impressed me most.

When we finally got back to Mbarara, I went to bed for a bit and awoke a few hours later feeling immensely better.  I decided to join a large group of new, expat friends who were going to dinner, even though I was quite reserved in ordering.  I don’t much care for people letting me know what on the menu is good based on whether or not it has made them sick.  People got meat on sticks and vegetables and rice and beer.  I got chips (French fries to us Americans) and a Sprite.  I ate the whole thing, enjoying the worldly conversation and unique stories.  The north and south were finally in balance.

Wednesday, July 20^th, 2011

I awoke pain free and was able for the time to appreciate my new home, Mbarara.  It is a town slightly bigger than Bowling Green, with a landscape that is much different.  As it is the dry season right now, everything is dusty and breathing sometimes can be quite gritty.  The buildings are all low and the streets are unpaved, causing the effect to be somewhat like an old timey western front.  If the modern day cell phone advertisements and the ever-present Coca-Cola logos had not been everywhere, I might have even believed I had stepped back into time.

We spent the day in the office, beginning the official business of the adolescent center.  We had meetings, made contacts, and discussed the beginning stages of the business plan.  Ideas were examined and realizations were found, and all in all I left knowing I don’t know much.  I have so much to learn throughout this process, and although I think most times will be a method of trial and error, I will give my best to the trials, working hard to make this project a success.

Another thing I did discover on this first day in the office is that the standard of business in which I am accustomed is not the standard in Uganda.  Oftentimes, we meet only to discover that we need to schedule another meeting, and things continue to constantly have hiccups.  I have not acclimated to this slower pace of waver, allowing much leeway in all directions.  And, exact time does not exist, as every hour is an –ish.  It is a new country; it is a foreign world.  At one point, several of us were sitting at our computers in the main office space, only to have the power go off and the internet lost.  I looked at a nearby intern and was greeted with a smiling mouth, saying ”happens all the time.”

Bed came early on this night, as the week had worn me down a bit, and I slept peacefully, knowing a fascinating adventure awaits me.

Thursday, July 21^st, 2011

                Another day in the field, and our car was packed.  Many of the MVP employees go to various points within the cluster to gather their various research.  So, as a newbie, I learned quickly that I have to catch a ride when a ride is available. 

On this particular day, our group was off to the Kabuyanda site, where Miranda and I were to, first, sit in on an update about the cluster’s tuberculosis and HIV data and, second, to host a meeting about how our project will be integrated.  The first presentation was fascinating to me, as my background is, obviously, not public health.  I learned more about TB and HIV in that short setting than I probably ever have.  Although it is not a direct correlation with our project’s basic development at this stage, it is in line with our overarching vision, which is to target teenage females who are at high risk of HIV infection due to cross-generational sex.  It was a very impressive discussion.

Around 2:00pm, we took a break for a bite to eat, as lunch in Uganda is never before 1pm.  I went outside to enjoy the packed lunch the hotel had made for me, but due to my previous sickness, I still had little appetite.  I ate what I could, but I still had almost all of my chips left.  Several small children were sitting in the grass nearby, so I approached them to see if they would like to have my remaining chips.  Their eyes began to bulge out of their heads, as their excitement was palpable.  They were tentative as I laid the food in front of them, but after I persuaded them to have the first bite, the children dove into the remaining chips, licking the salt that remained on their fingers.  If such a simple act can incite such joy, perhaps a simple question would be why aren’t we all sharing our chips?

We facilitated the next meeting, which involved all of Kabuyanda’s head coordinators.  We presented our ideas and were inundated with theirs; some were immensely helpful, and others were a testament to our communication barriers.  This meeting, which consisted of approximately 15 people sitting in a 12x10 feet box, was gregarious and unabashed, and my head spun around trying to figure out who was saying what.  It felt exactly like my family’s dinners, and I loved every minute!  However, I did not love all the questions Miranda and I were left with, and I can only chalk that up to being part of the process.  No one ever said this was going to be easy.  It is not.

A long drive back to Mbarara followed, and I think my head was reeling.  Where do we start first?  How can all of the aspects combine to create one function?  What will be the demographics?  How are we going to fund this?  How will we get the adolescents to come?  Will the space provided be big enough?  Who will train the adolescents in the trades?  What will be the trades?  Where am I going to live?

I made it to the hotel by 7pm, and in an hour’s time, I had done a small load of laundry, realized I had left all my pictures in the Kampala hotel (never to be seen again!), had a long cry, fought with the new phone I have, had Miranda come over to teach me how to use the phone, tried to call the Kampala hotel to check about the pictures (to no avail), realized I needed the phone number for the hotel so tried to get on the internet, realized the internet was so slow it was going to take five minutes to get the number, got on the website only to discover all of the numbers to the hotel are incorrect, packed three bags to be stored, packed two bags to travel with me to Rwanda the next day, and then cried for a solid ten minutes.  I finally calmed down after this entire episode, and then the electricity shut off.  And, I just started laughing.  Miranda, hearing all of this through the paper thin walls, asked if I was ok, and I responded, “It has just added insult to injury.”  It summed it up pretty well.

I went out for dinner with some others, and I ordered my first heaping glass of wine.  And, although it tasted of vinegar, I drank the entire glass, relishing every last intoxicating drop. 

Goodbyes ensued, and the first part of this journey was officially over and beginning at the same time.  The people here may be transient; however, the work and the memories must sustain.

I must save the weekend’s stories for tomorrow, as I know that blog will be extremely long, and it is getting late.  I hope my consistency will improve now that things seem to be settling down.  And, by that I mean I have been in the same place for three nights and have now had internet for the same amount of time.  This may be Africa, but I am Lindsey.  And by damn, things will start a moving and a shaking, because that is the only speed I know.  TIL.  This is Lindsey.