Sorry I haven't update in so long.
For the past three weeks i've been at a children's nutrition unit at Mulago Hospital. I've been observing and then interviewing the caregivers of the children. It's always interesting to hear their stories and it makes me thankful for what I have. Some of these women have husbands that died or left them. As a result, they need to work to support themselves and the child, but then there is no one to care for the child. Many times they will leave the child with a neighbor and pay some money, but most of the times it leads to the child getting malnourished due to several issues like stress from being separated by the mother therefore a loss of appetite, or neglect by the neighbor, or an underlying disease or infection, etc.
These children are absolutely adorable but it's pretty sad to see how small and skinny they are. Some are several months old yet they look skinnier and much weaker than a new born baby.
I can't believe i'll be back in the states in three weeks... I thought I would be a lot more excited to go home, but a part of me knows i'll miss Uganda.
I'm not sure if i'm ready for another culture shock when I go back to America.
Anyways, just letting people know what i've been up to. I went to this club and there was a performer named Elephant man as well as some others. Not sure if anyone has heard of him because I haven't but he's from jamaica and is supposedly a big reggae artist. Anyways, it was lots of fun.
I'm learning how to ride a motorcycle that is not automatic. I'm pretty bad at it but maybe i'll have it down by the time i get back.
okay, see you all soon!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
BEST WEEKEND EVER!
Wow... So i just had the best weekend ever. Fifteen of us went to go white water rafting on the Nile River! It was class 3 and class 5 rapids and it was craaaazy! Our boat flipped about 5 times because we had such little weight on our boat. One of the times I thought i was going to pass out because I couldn't get to the surface of the water! The force of the rapids are SO CRAZY! We were swimming in the water and I drank a lot of it from trying to gasp for air and this water has parasites and all that nastiness in it. Let's hope i don't get sick. It's against the rules of our program to go on this but I have absolutely no regrets. We stayed at the campsite overnight and had such a beautiful view of the Nile. All of the rafting guides were amazing. They were always there for us when we needed them and they made it tons of fun. Okay time is running out. I WANT TO GO BACK RAFTING!!!!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Back in Kampala
Hello!!
First I just wanted to let the GW people know that i got their letters. I teared up and wanted to cry because it was SOOOOO good to hear from you all! Thanks a MILLION =) I think i might read them all once a day.
So i just got back from our trip to the west of Uganda. It was awesome because I didn't get sick this time! There are sooo many things i want to share...
First we went to a place called Mbarara and we basically went on Safari game drives. I saw warthogs, water bucks?, a lot of gazelle looking like things, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, water buffalo, lions, monkeys, and a bunch of pretty birds. We got to go on a boat and that was when we saw all the hippos and the elephant playing in the water. (Well, some people say the elephant was trying to charge us but since it was in the water it was just flipping out. I like to think it was just glad to see us and entertaining us). That was pretty awesome and i took as many pics and videos as possible, which i will show when i get back.
Then we went to a place called Kasese Village and we got paired up to live with host families there. I LOVED THIS VILLAGE. People were soo nice and they were so thankful that we were staying with them. They say that most people just go to climb the Rwenzori mountains but never actually spend time in the village and stay overnight.
So me and my friend Kate stayed with a family and this was more like what I expected from Africa. Banana trees, yams, casava, beans, vanilla, maize, greens, potatos, aloe and much more growing right in their back yards. No electricity, no running water, not great phone service etc. We used pit latrines which are stalls with a hole in the ground. Not bad but the smell was hard to deal with. I did the breathing through my shirt. The hardest part of the pit latrine was at night.
Me and Kate had to go and so we bring our head lamps and notice there are cockroaches on the walls. These bugs are HUGE. I wish i had taken a picture but i thought the family might think i was crazy. So me and kate are just standing there (me having to poo) and we are semi freaking out. Should we kill them? shoo them into the hole? spray it was 100% deet bugspray? hold it in? I think we may have stood there with our flashlights for about 5 minutes or so and then two of the boys come over. They look inside the stall to see what we are looking at. They notice the bugs and just nonchalantly go in and start stepping on them or shooing them. The one kid is like... humming/singing as he's stepping on he bug. I couldn't stop laughing (at myself). They leave after we THINK all the bugs are out, right as i go in i see one on the ground. Kate starts to tell me to just deal with it, so eventually i do. That was one of the most disturbing moments so far. But i love looking back on it now. I really dislike cockroaches.
I got to see their "kitchen" which was just really cool to see. It's a hut type thing made of reed and mud then there are two metal boards on top to protect it from the rain. They use firewood to make a small fire, and rocks to hold up the pot for whatever they will cook. it's completely unsanitary but not really a big deal. They made us "chips" alot (which are like french fries) because they noticed we really liked them. They also made us goat (which are goat they have in their back yard just chilling, waiting to be slaughtered) and chicken (same concept, just running around the yard).
Me and Kate went into town which was like... 1 kilometer away? and bought fabric to get made into dresses. I didn't really like the choices they had so i jsut bought the cheapest which was 8,000 shillings and got a knee length, sleeveless dress made for 5,000 shillings. all together that's less than 8 dollars. =) When we came back the next day to pick them up it wouldn't fit over my shoulders, so they adjusted it. Now it goes on but it's a big wide on my upper body. Eh. haha.
Man, there is so much to write about. I think i better buy some more minutes.
Okay, So our homestay father is one of 9 kids. His mother (the grandmother) is still alive. Out of the 9 kids, there are 41 grandkids of the grandmother. Therefore there family under grandma is over 50! and some of the 9 aren't even married so they will deff add onto that number. They say that on average they cook lunch and dinner for 20-30 people! crazy. Some of the kids live elsewhere but there were lots of people that lived in that one house.
I took baths with two basins (just large round bucket things). One had hot water, the other cold. I usually mixed them then divided them back to two, one bucket for hair, the other for body. You just cup your hands and pour the water over you. Difficult to wash hair but... not so bad. Kinda didn't like that the bathing stall was connected to the pit latrine stalls. So you get whiffs of nasty while you are trying to clean yourself and smell clean. Brushed teeth with bottled water. They had us bath twice a day. Completely uneccessary for me so in the mornings i would just wash my face and then splash the water around.
It honestly feels like your a celebrity when you are in villages like these. The kids just follow you, some for quite a while and everyone kind of just stares at you. If you greet them in their language it just like... brightens their day. They would be sooo surprised and would just laugh with joy. They were awesome.... i will most definitely miss them and i think that was probably the highlight of this entire study abroad experience thus far.
They loved the digi cams. They wondered when it ran out of film. When i showed them the video i took of the elephant in the water they were like, WOW it MOVES! and they liked out head lamps or flashlights, which they called torches. Me and kate tried doing our own laundry, friggin so tiring when you try to do the bed sheets. They were experts at it.
after four days we left to spend a couple days in little grass hut type things. But the place we went to was def catered towards tourists. They had electricity and semi running water. Wish i took pictures but my batter was running out and there wasn't a place to charge the battery. We had slugs on our walls, i liked looking at the slime trails. haha. weird.
So now i'm back and the next week or so i have to prepare for my independent study project. I don't know what to do. Something probably with health. Basically we just pick any topic and interview bunch of people, write up a 30-40 page paper and present it to the group at the end. I can't decide where i want to go. I wish i could go to a village and do something really interesting but i dont think i could survive in a village for more than a week. Sometimes it gets reallllly boring becaues there really isn't much to do. I want a place with a kitchen so i can cook some of my own food.
Although I am thoroughly enjoying my time here in Uganda. The idea of being in America or living with friends back in the dorms becomes much more exciting as the days go by. I miss people alot. The people here (on the program) are pretty cool. But there have been some really frustrating moments. Especially being a Christian, there have been many discussion/debates/comments that have been really ..... bleh. offensive? annoying? I miss my community back at home. The humor and everything is just a little different with these people. Don't always feel like I can just be myself. I think just about evryone on the trip feels this way, which is expected.
So yeh, this is such a long blog. I bet there are so many things i'm missing. I'll fill them in as a remember them. I need to figure out my schedule for next semester... gah. what a pain. okay, well for all those that wrote letters or commented of fb or my blog, thanks and i miss you all. Thanks so much again for keeping me in your prayers. Please continue to do so.
I hear things in Hope are changing a bit. I will be praying for the fellowship. It was really great to hear about the retreat and how God has been moving in the group. Thanks again for the letters. They really mean alot when i'm all the way here in Uganda. Love you all and miss you lots!!
-Julia
First I just wanted to let the GW people know that i got their letters. I teared up and wanted to cry because it was SOOOOO good to hear from you all! Thanks a MILLION =) I think i might read them all once a day.
So i just got back from our trip to the west of Uganda. It was awesome because I didn't get sick this time! There are sooo many things i want to share...
First we went to a place called Mbarara and we basically went on Safari game drives. I saw warthogs, water bucks?, a lot of gazelle looking like things, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, water buffalo, lions, monkeys, and a bunch of pretty birds. We got to go on a boat and that was when we saw all the hippos and the elephant playing in the water. (Well, some people say the elephant was trying to charge us but since it was in the water it was just flipping out. I like to think it was just glad to see us and entertaining us). That was pretty awesome and i took as many pics and videos as possible, which i will show when i get back.
Then we went to a place called Kasese Village and we got paired up to live with host families there. I LOVED THIS VILLAGE. People were soo nice and they were so thankful that we were staying with them. They say that most people just go to climb the Rwenzori mountains but never actually spend time in the village and stay overnight.
So me and my friend Kate stayed with a family and this was more like what I expected from Africa. Banana trees, yams, casava, beans, vanilla, maize, greens, potatos, aloe and much more growing right in their back yards. No electricity, no running water, not great phone service etc. We used pit latrines which are stalls with a hole in the ground. Not bad but the smell was hard to deal with. I did the breathing through my shirt. The hardest part of the pit latrine was at night.
Me and Kate had to go and so we bring our head lamps and notice there are cockroaches on the walls. These bugs are HUGE. I wish i had taken a picture but i thought the family might think i was crazy. So me and kate are just standing there (me having to poo) and we are semi freaking out. Should we kill them? shoo them into the hole? spray it was 100% deet bugspray? hold it in? I think we may have stood there with our flashlights for about 5 minutes or so and then two of the boys come over. They look inside the stall to see what we are looking at. They notice the bugs and just nonchalantly go in and start stepping on them or shooing them. The one kid is like... humming/singing as he's stepping on he bug. I couldn't stop laughing (at myself). They leave after we THINK all the bugs are out, right as i go in i see one on the ground. Kate starts to tell me to just deal with it, so eventually i do. That was one of the most disturbing moments so far. But i love looking back on it now. I really dislike cockroaches.
I got to see their "kitchen" which was just really cool to see. It's a hut type thing made of reed and mud then there are two metal boards on top to protect it from the rain. They use firewood to make a small fire, and rocks to hold up the pot for whatever they will cook. it's completely unsanitary but not really a big deal. They made us "chips" alot (which are like french fries) because they noticed we really liked them. They also made us goat (which are goat they have in their back yard just chilling, waiting to be slaughtered) and chicken (same concept, just running around the yard).
Me and Kate went into town which was like... 1 kilometer away? and bought fabric to get made into dresses. I didn't really like the choices they had so i jsut bought the cheapest which was 8,000 shillings and got a knee length, sleeveless dress made for 5,000 shillings. all together that's less than 8 dollars. =) When we came back the next day to pick them up it wouldn't fit over my shoulders, so they adjusted it. Now it goes on but it's a big wide on my upper body. Eh. haha.
Man, there is so much to write about. I think i better buy some more minutes.
Okay, So our homestay father is one of 9 kids. His mother (the grandmother) is still alive. Out of the 9 kids, there are 41 grandkids of the grandmother. Therefore there family under grandma is over 50! and some of the 9 aren't even married so they will deff add onto that number. They say that on average they cook lunch and dinner for 20-30 people! crazy. Some of the kids live elsewhere but there were lots of people that lived in that one house.
I took baths with two basins (just large round bucket things). One had hot water, the other cold. I usually mixed them then divided them back to two, one bucket for hair, the other for body. You just cup your hands and pour the water over you. Difficult to wash hair but... not so bad. Kinda didn't like that the bathing stall was connected to the pit latrine stalls. So you get whiffs of nasty while you are trying to clean yourself and smell clean. Brushed teeth with bottled water. They had us bath twice a day. Completely uneccessary for me so in the mornings i would just wash my face and then splash the water around.
It honestly feels like your a celebrity when you are in villages like these. The kids just follow you, some for quite a while and everyone kind of just stares at you. If you greet them in their language it just like... brightens their day. They would be sooo surprised and would just laugh with joy. They were awesome.... i will most definitely miss them and i think that was probably the highlight of this entire study abroad experience thus far.
They loved the digi cams. They wondered when it ran out of film. When i showed them the video i took of the elephant in the water they were like, WOW it MOVES! and they liked out head lamps or flashlights, which they called torches. Me and kate tried doing our own laundry, friggin so tiring when you try to do the bed sheets. They were experts at it.
after four days we left to spend a couple days in little grass hut type things. But the place we went to was def catered towards tourists. They had electricity and semi running water. Wish i took pictures but my batter was running out and there wasn't a place to charge the battery. We had slugs on our walls, i liked looking at the slime trails. haha. weird.
So now i'm back and the next week or so i have to prepare for my independent study project. I don't know what to do. Something probably with health. Basically we just pick any topic and interview bunch of people, write up a 30-40 page paper and present it to the group at the end. I can't decide where i want to go. I wish i could go to a village and do something really interesting but i dont think i could survive in a village for more than a week. Sometimes it gets reallllly boring becaues there really isn't much to do. I want a place with a kitchen so i can cook some of my own food.
Although I am thoroughly enjoying my time here in Uganda. The idea of being in America or living with friends back in the dorms becomes much more exciting as the days go by. I miss people alot. The people here (on the program) are pretty cool. But there have been some really frustrating moments. Especially being a Christian, there have been many discussion/debates/comments that have been really ..... bleh. offensive? annoying? I miss my community back at home. The humor and everything is just a little different with these people. Don't always feel like I can just be myself. I think just about evryone on the trip feels this way, which is expected.
So yeh, this is such a long blog. I bet there are so many things i'm missing. I'll fill them in as a remember them. I need to figure out my schedule for next semester... gah. what a pain. okay, well for all those that wrote letters or commented of fb or my blog, thanks and i miss you all. Thanks so much again for keeping me in your prayers. Please continue to do so.
I hear things in Hope are changing a bit. I will be praying for the fellowship. It was really great to hear about the retreat and how God has been moving in the group. Thanks again for the letters. They really mean alot when i'm all the way here in Uganda. Love you all and miss you lots!!
-Julia
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Healthy again =)
Okay So i'm pretty much back to 100% better and am beginning to enjoy my time here again. Thanks for all those that prayed for me.
Hm, I don't really know what to update about.
The mouse that comes in my room is getting way too comfortable. I don't know what it is looking for but it keeps making so much noise while i'm sleeping. I wake up and try to make noise to scare it away but it doesn't care anymore. I shine my flashlight towards the area and it just stops for a second or two then goes right on crawling around my stuff. I need to get myself a mouse trap.
I've taken the bodabodas several times now (motorcycle taxis). I think i'll miss them when i come back to the states. They are awesome for lazy people who have to get places fast. Plus it's just fun and exciting.
I'm starting to look up classes to take. Not sure if i should make my first semester of senior year really hard and have the last semester pretty relaxed, or equal it out. any suggestions?
I just went shopping to get some gifts for people at home. So far there are pretty scarves, magic wallets but african looking, and earings. People, please let me know if there is anything specific you want, like a necklace? an african wrap? a statue? a drum? haha jk. please consider the size of what you want. i can only bring so much back. They have handmade placemats, handmade coasters, weaved bags, coin purses, lots of jewelry. For guys... ehh... not so much. beer bottle opener that looks like a hammer?
They have the best soft serve icecream here! i get strawberry/vanilla swirl and it's only 1000 shillings. that's... 60 cents!
Everytime i get sick i lose weight and whenever i'm feeling good i'm gaining weight. I have no idea how much i will have lost or gained by the time i get back. I would much rather gain weight than get sick again though. hands down.
Okay, sorry. this is a pretty boring post. I wish I could update people on the trip we made to the east and north of Uganda but it mostly consisted of being in a bathroom, or a hotel alone being miserable. Oh the drive back to Kampala which is about 5.5 hours was nice. I got to see a bunch of grass huts, and just a bunch of landscape. This guy name Guonza? gave me a ride but he didn't say a single word to me because i dont think he knew English very well. He stopped randomly and picked up some old man and gave him a ride as well. The only thing he said to me was, "Let me know if you need to take a short call." which stands for no. 1. hehe. he was nice though.
One thing I can't stand when i'm in a car is the gas. It's the worst when you are in traffic and this huge truck is letting out black smoke and it just blows in your face for a good 10 minutes while you try to pass it. bleh... i have lungs worse than a chain smoker by now. Fresh air is so good when you get the chance to breathe it here.
It's amazing how much cleaner the states is. People here dump trash on the ground like it's their job. And the way they dispose of it is putting in a huge pile on the side of the road and burning it. The burning includes plastic, metal, etc. I can't imagine how bad it is for me to breathe it in when I walk by, but then I think about the people who actually do the burning and stand in the pit all day long. *yikes* Also the air pollution from cars is crazy. All the cars they drive here are old and used.
wow ok this is pretty long. i'll update before I travel again to the west. miss everyone!
Hm, I don't really know what to update about.
The mouse that comes in my room is getting way too comfortable. I don't know what it is looking for but it keeps making so much noise while i'm sleeping. I wake up and try to make noise to scare it away but it doesn't care anymore. I shine my flashlight towards the area and it just stops for a second or two then goes right on crawling around my stuff. I need to get myself a mouse trap.
I've taken the bodabodas several times now (motorcycle taxis). I think i'll miss them when i come back to the states. They are awesome for lazy people who have to get places fast. Plus it's just fun and exciting.
I'm starting to look up classes to take. Not sure if i should make my first semester of senior year really hard and have the last semester pretty relaxed, or equal it out. any suggestions?
I just went shopping to get some gifts for people at home. So far there are pretty scarves, magic wallets but african looking, and earings. People, please let me know if there is anything specific you want, like a necklace? an african wrap? a statue? a drum? haha jk. please consider the size of what you want. i can only bring so much back. They have handmade placemats, handmade coasters, weaved bags, coin purses, lots of jewelry. For guys... ehh... not so much. beer bottle opener that looks like a hammer?
They have the best soft serve icecream here! i get strawberry/vanilla swirl and it's only 1000 shillings. that's... 60 cents!
Everytime i get sick i lose weight and whenever i'm feeling good i'm gaining weight. I have no idea how much i will have lost or gained by the time i get back. I would much rather gain weight than get sick again though. hands down.
Okay, sorry. this is a pretty boring post. I wish I could update people on the trip we made to the east and north of Uganda but it mostly consisted of being in a bathroom, or a hotel alone being miserable. Oh the drive back to Kampala which is about 5.5 hours was nice. I got to see a bunch of grass huts, and just a bunch of landscape. This guy name Guonza? gave me a ride but he didn't say a single word to me because i dont think he knew English very well. He stopped randomly and picked up some old man and gave him a ride as well. The only thing he said to me was, "Let me know if you need to take a short call." which stands for no. 1. hehe. he was nice though.
One thing I can't stand when i'm in a car is the gas. It's the worst when you are in traffic and this huge truck is letting out black smoke and it just blows in your face for a good 10 minutes while you try to pass it. bleh... i have lungs worse than a chain smoker by now. Fresh air is so good when you get the chance to breathe it here.
It's amazing how much cleaner the states is. People here dump trash on the ground like it's their job. And the way they dispose of it is putting in a huge pile on the side of the road and burning it. The burning includes plastic, metal, etc. I can't imagine how bad it is for me to breathe it in when I walk by, but then I think about the people who actually do the burning and stand in the pit all day long. *yikes* Also the air pollution from cars is crazy. All the cars they drive here are old and used.
wow ok this is pretty long. i'll update before I travel again to the west. miss everyone!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Sick
On the first night of traveling to Mbale I got sick again with diarrhea. This time i was also throwing up. I went to 3 doctors so far. The diarrhea and throwing up has stopped but i still have no appetite and lack energy/strength. I left early from our trip and returned back to my homestay because it was really hard for me to stay in hotels by myself while everyone else was enjoying their time. I'm extremely homesick because of my illness. I dont know why I'm still so weak and have no appetite but PLEASE pray that i get better and recover to my full strength. It's been a week and it has really been ruining my stay here in Uganda. I wish a doctor would take my blood pressure and stick an IV in me so I can get the nutrients I lack and get rehydrated but no. Gah.... i want to get better. *sigh... i miss home so much.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Redo.
I deleted my last post because I reread it and realized it sounded incredibly conceited. And i'm realizing as more and more guys say the most ridiculous things that it becomes less amusing and just whatever.
The person that I pay for the internet cafe right now is wearing a "Be the Reds" shirt so I told her I liked her shirt and that it's a Korean saying, and she just looked at me. Why did I even bother?
So i thought I found a good internet place but today I go and none of the pages load and the power went out so i just left and found this one. I must say fast internet connection is something I really miss.
So today I had my Swahili exam. It was 20 minutes of just talking with one of our teachers. He tape recorded it and just asked me about my family, my studies, where i'm from etc. We talked about what foods we liked and I mentioned how my family and i love rice. And he started mentioning kimchi! haha. He teaches all diff people swahili so i'm asuming he taught Koreans as well. It was cool. There were a couple times I had no idea what he was asking so he had to help me out by hinting things to me. O well. I'm glad it's over because 4 hours a day was a bit much. But i'll miss the teachers. One time I asked my teacher weather or not he thinks one's brain can get so fried from learning so much. He responded with this "I'm a big coward of learning anything." =T Which was supposed to mean that he agreed that sometimes one can get burnt out.
Hmm... we went to the US Embassy this week and it was so.... American? Once you get into the building there is AC which is nowhere in Uganda. The rooms are nice and roomy and everything looks new. I honestly felt like I was back in America. Weird.
So i want to go shopping for clothes here because I feel like I didn't really bring enough. I hear if i go to the market skirts sell for 4,000 shillings which is like 2.5 dollars and shirts for 2,000 shilling which is a little more than a dollar. How crazy is that. I mean, it's second hand stuff so that's kind of weird but i feel like everything in Uganda is used. The cars here are so broke haha. The clothes here is all second hand. The computers they are using are almost always archaic.
I must say, some Ugandan men are very good looking. Sometimes you'll see people playing soccer with their shirts off and i'm just like. wow. And i really like how most of them have shaved heads because they look more clean cut. Yeh, that's just a random side comment. The laundry guy that gave me the little "love" note was very cute but from what he wrote I've decided he's semi psycho. One of the Ugandan girls here tried to explain to me that men here just don't know how to approach women? I would agree.
Oh and some people have asked for my address and I just wanted to say that I wouldn't suggest sending anything in a package. I would stick to letters because packages most likely wouldn't make it here. Things get stolen pretty easily.
I can't think of anything else at the moment. Nothing too crazy has happened. I'll be traveling around east and north of Uganda this coming week so I will try to take pictures and update ya'll on that when I get back. Ok, miss you all!
-Julia
The person that I pay for the internet cafe right now is wearing a "Be the Reds" shirt so I told her I liked her shirt and that it's a Korean saying, and she just looked at me. Why did I even bother?
So i thought I found a good internet place but today I go and none of the pages load and the power went out so i just left and found this one. I must say fast internet connection is something I really miss.
So today I had my Swahili exam. It was 20 minutes of just talking with one of our teachers. He tape recorded it and just asked me about my family, my studies, where i'm from etc. We talked about what foods we liked and I mentioned how my family and i love rice. And he started mentioning kimchi! haha. He teaches all diff people swahili so i'm asuming he taught Koreans as well. It was cool. There were a couple times I had no idea what he was asking so he had to help me out by hinting things to me. O well. I'm glad it's over because 4 hours a day was a bit much. But i'll miss the teachers. One time I asked my teacher weather or not he thinks one's brain can get so fried from learning so much. He responded with this "I'm a big coward of learning anything." =T Which was supposed to mean that he agreed that sometimes one can get burnt out.
Hmm... we went to the US Embassy this week and it was so.... American? Once you get into the building there is AC which is nowhere in Uganda. The rooms are nice and roomy and everything looks new. I honestly felt like I was back in America. Weird.
So i want to go shopping for clothes here because I feel like I didn't really bring enough. I hear if i go to the market skirts sell for 4,000 shillings which is like 2.5 dollars and shirts for 2,000 shilling which is a little more than a dollar. How crazy is that. I mean, it's second hand stuff so that's kind of weird but i feel like everything in Uganda is used. The cars here are so broke haha. The clothes here is all second hand. The computers they are using are almost always archaic.
I must say, some Ugandan men are very good looking. Sometimes you'll see people playing soccer with their shirts off and i'm just like. wow. And i really like how most of them have shaved heads because they look more clean cut. Yeh, that's just a random side comment. The laundry guy that gave me the little "love" note was very cute but from what he wrote I've decided he's semi psycho. One of the Ugandan girls here tried to explain to me that men here just don't know how to approach women? I would agree.
Oh and some people have asked for my address and I just wanted to say that I wouldn't suggest sending anything in a package. I would stick to letters because packages most likely wouldn't make it here. Things get stolen pretty easily.
I can't think of anything else at the moment. Nothing too crazy has happened. I'll be traveling around east and north of Uganda this coming week so I will try to take pictures and update ya'll on that when I get back. Ok, miss you all!
-Julia
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Okay, I finally found a decent internet place!
Intersting thing JUST happened
I'm on a matatu (taxi) and people slowly get off one by one. eventually i'm one of two that is on and the conductor guy (not the driver but his money collecter person) looks at me a couple times. I pay him and he says hello. Then he asks if i'm Japanese. I say that i'm Korean. He then says "I like koreans." with a huge smile on his face. I'm flattered slash creeped out. He then says something to me but i can't understand him for the life of me. I say "what" a coupel times, still gibberish. Then i say "I CAN"T HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING" and he finally says "Can I have your phone number" and i say no but can't help laugh to cover up for me being sort of scared that i'm in a taxi with strangers all men that are at this point laughing at me. I'm at my stop and he says "you refuse to give me your number" while sort of blocking my way. I say sorry and leave. I never feel safe here but not in a really bad way. Maybe i'm just scardy cat. Oh Uganda... By the way, this man's teeth were rotting so evertime he smiled at me i was just that much more unatracted/freaked out.
I stayed at a hotel last night with my two friends because we needed to get away from our "families" It was nice. We ate chinese last night which was legit but a little on the pricy side. Met some girl from texas who was here with her 1 year old son because the father lives here? Or he has family here so they are thinking about marriage? She was funny. She hates this place. Says people are straight up rude (which in American standards they are but here its just culture, much like korea where people just budge in front of you and simply don't give a bleep) She can't stand the food. She doesn't like the crazy traffic. I feel for her but yeh, I guess Uganda can only be enjoyed with an open mind and willingness to just deal with certain things.
I think i'll be doing pics only of facebook because it seems to work better there.
you guys are so awesome for facebooking/emailing/commenting!! Thanks so much, especially for the prayers! I went to KPC on Sat night for service. It was good. It's whenever I go to church that I feel the most homesick. I miss Jubilee and KCPC very much. Although I know it shouldn't matter where I am when it comes to worshiping, but I realize now what a joy it is to worship with a church that you already have built relationships with. I do have a coupel sisters who are also believers that I can share my thoughts/struggles with which is really great, plus my homestay family is christian. I have much to be thankful for being here =)
Intersting thing JUST happened
I'm on a matatu (taxi) and people slowly get off one by one. eventually i'm one of two that is on and the conductor guy (not the driver but his money collecter person) looks at me a couple times. I pay him and he says hello. Then he asks if i'm Japanese. I say that i'm Korean. He then says "I like koreans." with a huge smile on his face. I'm flattered slash creeped out. He then says something to me but i can't understand him for the life of me. I say "what" a coupel times, still gibberish. Then i say "I CAN"T HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING" and he finally says "Can I have your phone number" and i say no but can't help laugh to cover up for me being sort of scared that i'm in a taxi with strangers all men that are at this point laughing at me. I'm at my stop and he says "you refuse to give me your number" while sort of blocking my way. I say sorry and leave. I never feel safe here but not in a really bad way. Maybe i'm just scardy cat. Oh Uganda... By the way, this man's teeth were rotting so evertime he smiled at me i was just that much more unatracted/freaked out.
I stayed at a hotel last night with my two friends because we needed to get away from our "families" It was nice. We ate chinese last night which was legit but a little on the pricy side. Met some girl from texas who was here with her 1 year old son because the father lives here? Or he has family here so they are thinking about marriage? She was funny. She hates this place. Says people are straight up rude (which in American standards they are but here its just culture, much like korea where people just budge in front of you and simply don't give a bleep) She can't stand the food. She doesn't like the crazy traffic. I feel for her but yeh, I guess Uganda can only be enjoyed with an open mind and willingness to just deal with certain things.
I think i'll be doing pics only of facebook because it seems to work better there.
you guys are so awesome for facebooking/emailing/commenting!! Thanks so much, especially for the prayers! I went to KPC on Sat night for service. It was good. It's whenever I go to church that I feel the most homesick. I miss Jubilee and KCPC very much. Although I know it shouldn't matter where I am when it comes to worshiping, but I realize now what a joy it is to worship with a church that you already have built relationships with. I do have a coupel sisters who are also believers that I can share my thoughts/struggles with which is really great, plus my homestay family is christian. I have much to be thankful for being here =)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Gah...
I was going to upload pictures except that the wireless which we are taking from someone else is not working all that well. But I guess i'll update
Hm... trying to think of things that would be interesting to share.
The little boy that i live with pees everywhere and last night we were playing in my room and he peed on my floor. Thankfully he was not on my bed.
We are almost done our second week of Swahili and next Saturday we have our exam which is all oral. Scary... especially because the teachers can be very intimidating. One of them i realized, unbottons every other botton of his shirt in class when he gets hot. Another one always asks us "What the hell is this?" when he really means "What does this word mean?" Another one always uses the phrase "deep fried" for being wasted. They are intense but i guess i've learned to like them.
Some of the lectures are so boring because i don't like politics and learning about how systems work. So i tend to zone out alot. The lecturers love to talk, they go over time all the time.
Oh, and asian time is not all that bad compared to Ugandan time. It's somewhat understandable because of the crazy traffic that you can't really help here. But a lot of times we just wait for our lectureres (one time we waited for 45 minutes)
They gave me a desk! So i now have a desk in my room. I'll post pictures once i find good internet connection.
Oh right. So we have a mouse in our house. A couple nights ago i was FREAKED out because i woke up to the noise of plastic bags being looked through. At first i thought someone was in my room looking through my trash, then i figured it was probably an animal. But i was so scared to look because i hear there are snakes and whatnot here. So i am lying in bed... i have my flashlight but i'm afraid if i turn it on it will freak out and attack me. I am in a mosquito net so I feel somewhat safe. Eventually I hear the thing running around ON THE WALL! I flash my light at it and see its head and tail hiding behind the curtain. I was pretty relieved once i figured out it was only a mouse. *sigh... i hear it every now and then crawling around but it doesn't bother me anymore.
All i've been eating is break. I have little muffins for breakfast, or slices of bread with tea, then i make myself PB&J for lunch, then i come back for afternoon tea which is usually the little muffin or bread. They do give fruit every now and then but bread everywhere. Then for dinner i have rice and potatos. The no/low carb diet would NEVER work here.
O and I had papaya for the first time here. SO NASTY. smells bad. tastes bad. But i don't know how to deny food if its served to me. =T
I need to buy clothes. I brought too little. I'm wearing a tank top today for the first time and am hoping nobody gets offended. But i have nothing that it clean. gah. okay. i guess taht's good for today.
I miss everyone! Oh and i have the address that people can send me letters to. Here it is
Julia Shon
School for International Training
Kati House, Ground Floor
Plot 2, Kyaggwe Road
P.O. Box 23431, Kampala
It takes two weeks to arrive and 90 cents to send a regular letter.
okay hopefully pictures next time.
Hm... trying to think of things that would be interesting to share.
The little boy that i live with pees everywhere and last night we were playing in my room and he peed on my floor. Thankfully he was not on my bed.
We are almost done our second week of Swahili and next Saturday we have our exam which is all oral. Scary... especially because the teachers can be very intimidating. One of them i realized, unbottons every other botton of his shirt in class when he gets hot. Another one always asks us "What the hell is this?" when he really means "What does this word mean?" Another one always uses the phrase "deep fried" for being wasted. They are intense but i guess i've learned to like them.
Some of the lectures are so boring because i don't like politics and learning about how systems work. So i tend to zone out alot. The lecturers love to talk, they go over time all the time.
Oh, and asian time is not all that bad compared to Ugandan time. It's somewhat understandable because of the crazy traffic that you can't really help here. But a lot of times we just wait for our lectureres (one time we waited for 45 minutes)
They gave me a desk! So i now have a desk in my room. I'll post pictures once i find good internet connection.
Oh right. So we have a mouse in our house. A couple nights ago i was FREAKED out because i woke up to the noise of plastic bags being looked through. At first i thought someone was in my room looking through my trash, then i figured it was probably an animal. But i was so scared to look because i hear there are snakes and whatnot here. So i am lying in bed... i have my flashlight but i'm afraid if i turn it on it will freak out and attack me. I am in a mosquito net so I feel somewhat safe. Eventually I hear the thing running around ON THE WALL! I flash my light at it and see its head and tail hiding behind the curtain. I was pretty relieved once i figured out it was only a mouse. *sigh... i hear it every now and then crawling around but it doesn't bother me anymore.
All i've been eating is break. I have little muffins for breakfast, or slices of bread with tea, then i make myself PB&J for lunch, then i come back for afternoon tea which is usually the little muffin or bread. They do give fruit every now and then but bread everywhere. Then for dinner i have rice and potatos. The no/low carb diet would NEVER work here.
O and I had papaya for the first time here. SO NASTY. smells bad. tastes bad. But i don't know how to deny food if its served to me. =T
I need to buy clothes. I brought too little. I'm wearing a tank top today for the first time and am hoping nobody gets offended. But i have nothing that it clean. gah. okay. i guess taht's good for today.
I miss everyone! Oh and i have the address that people can send me letters to. Here it is
Julia Shon
School for International Training
Kati House, Ground Floor
Plot 2, Kyaggwe Road
P.O. Box 23431, Kampala
It takes two weeks to arrive and 90 cents to send a regular letter.
okay hopefully pictures next time.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Hello!
Okay I hope I have enough time to update. it says 5 minutes.
So i moved into my homestay. They are pretty well off for Ugandans. They have a flushable toilet =) and a shower room but only cold water. There is a mom, dad, a 2.5 year old (Jerry), 2 house maid peoples (this is pretty common in families), and a niece that is staying temporarily. There are two other kids but they are off at boarding school (this is also common).
I have had the worst diarrhea in my life the past two days but i'm recovering quite well. I had to go to the doctors and give a stool sample!! haha. It was bacterial so I'm on antibiotics. Wasn't a good experience. Hard for me to eat some of their foods now because I think I was slightly traumatized.
I've been taking matatus (taxis that fit 14 people) to school and back. Interesting experience. Got off at the wrong stop once and had some nice guy walk me back to where I belong. Not so sure if that was smart but I didn't know what else to do at the time.
The 2.5 year old is so cute but can be so stubborn. If he was my child I think i would smack him around a little more than his parents do. He loves to walk around with no pants. I dont think he even wears underwear ever. He pees on the ground whenever he wants... He loves to call my name and then I reply "wanji" and that means "I'm here" in their own tribal language. (and no there are no clicks) Or he says "Hodi" and I say "Karibu" Same type of thing. He's in love with my alarm clock that lights up when you hit a button. He also likes to hurt me. Very cute.
I"ve been learning Swahili which is a lot easier to learn than any other language I know. But we are learning all of it in 3 weeks then we get tested.
What else... people are very nice here but they also can't help and stare because we stand out so much. "Mzungu" is what they call us and I believe it means "white foreigners". So they say that and then sometimes just say hi or laugh at us. There are things called bodabodas and they are like motorcycles that take us around. We aren't allowed on them because they are unsafe but they always try to get us to ride with them. They say "Mzungu, where do you go?"
Fruit here is good. esp pineapple, mangos, bananas.
I get up around 7 ish everyday which kind of sucks and we're done at 4:30. I go straight home because i'm afraid to get stuck in traffic and get home late when i have to walk in the dark. But yeh, my host family is pretty cool so i don't mind so much.
The driving here is 1000000 times crazier and worse than new york city yet nobody wears their seatbelts. So I don't. The pot holes here are 100000 times bigger than any pot hole i've ever seen. People do not abide by any kind of traffic rules. They just do whatever they want. And somehow it works. It's quite amazing...
Today is a friggin saturday and I have class from 10-1. But I think that's only for 3 weeks. I never do any work once i get home because their lights are pretty weak and i'm always distracted by little Jerry or start conversations with the house maids. They are extremely nice and are still somewhat amazed taht i'm there. I think I'm the first mzungu they have ever talked with.
Oh and I took a shower with a tiny lizard type thing in it. At this point, I think I could care less. I learned how to do my own laundr (or at least my own undergarments). The house maids do the laundry for the family.
Okay, I'm not sure how often I'll be getting the internet but hopefully a couple times a week. Sorry about the lack of pictures~ So far I haven't really taken much. I'm honestly afraid to take pictures bc I don't know if its rude. But it"s only been 2 weeks. I guess I have some more time.
Anyways, tahnks everyone for the facebook comments/ prayers/ blogspot comments, etc. I do miss home very much! Esp family and friends. Please leave comments because it always makes me smile and look like a fool at the internet cafes. Oh and leave your first AND last names. I still dont know which sung and also which rebecca wrote to me. Thanks!!
-Julia
So i moved into my homestay. They are pretty well off for Ugandans. They have a flushable toilet =) and a shower room but only cold water. There is a mom, dad, a 2.5 year old (Jerry), 2 house maid peoples (this is pretty common in families), and a niece that is staying temporarily. There are two other kids but they are off at boarding school (this is also common).
I have had the worst diarrhea in my life the past two days but i'm recovering quite well. I had to go to the doctors and give a stool sample!! haha. It was bacterial so I'm on antibiotics. Wasn't a good experience. Hard for me to eat some of their foods now because I think I was slightly traumatized.
I've been taking matatus (taxis that fit 14 people) to school and back. Interesting experience. Got off at the wrong stop once and had some nice guy walk me back to where I belong. Not so sure if that was smart but I didn't know what else to do at the time.
The 2.5 year old is so cute but can be so stubborn. If he was my child I think i would smack him around a little more than his parents do. He loves to walk around with no pants. I dont think he even wears underwear ever. He pees on the ground whenever he wants... He loves to call my name and then I reply "wanji" and that means "I'm here" in their own tribal language. (and no there are no clicks) Or he says "Hodi" and I say "Karibu" Same type of thing. He's in love with my alarm clock that lights up when you hit a button. He also likes to hurt me. Very cute.
I"ve been learning Swahili which is a lot easier to learn than any other language I know. But we are learning all of it in 3 weeks then we get tested.
What else... people are very nice here but they also can't help and stare because we stand out so much. "Mzungu" is what they call us and I believe it means "white foreigners". So they say that and then sometimes just say hi or laugh at us. There are things called bodabodas and they are like motorcycles that take us around. We aren't allowed on them because they are unsafe but they always try to get us to ride with them. They say "Mzungu, where do you go?"
Fruit here is good. esp pineapple, mangos, bananas.
I get up around 7 ish everyday which kind of sucks and we're done at 4:30. I go straight home because i'm afraid to get stuck in traffic and get home late when i have to walk in the dark. But yeh, my host family is pretty cool so i don't mind so much.
The driving here is 1000000 times crazier and worse than new york city yet nobody wears their seatbelts. So I don't. The pot holes here are 100000 times bigger than any pot hole i've ever seen. People do not abide by any kind of traffic rules. They just do whatever they want. And somehow it works. It's quite amazing...
Today is a friggin saturday and I have class from 10-1. But I think that's only for 3 weeks. I never do any work once i get home because their lights are pretty weak and i'm always distracted by little Jerry or start conversations with the house maids. They are extremely nice and are still somewhat amazed taht i'm there. I think I'm the first mzungu they have ever talked with.
Oh and I took a shower with a tiny lizard type thing in it. At this point, I think I could care less. I learned how to do my own laundr (or at least my own undergarments). The house maids do the laundry for the family.
Okay, I'm not sure how often I'll be getting the internet but hopefully a couple times a week. Sorry about the lack of pictures~ So far I haven't really taken much. I'm honestly afraid to take pictures bc I don't know if its rude. But it"s only been 2 weeks. I guess I have some more time.
Anyways, tahnks everyone for the facebook comments/ prayers/ blogspot comments, etc. I do miss home very much! Esp family and friends. Please leave comments because it always makes me smile and look like a fool at the internet cafes. Oh and leave your first AND last names. I still dont know which sung and also which rebecca wrote to me. Thanks!!
-Julia
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Hello Again
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the comments of fb and on blogspot! It's nice to hear from you guys.
I just came back from church (KPC- Kampala Pentacostal Church) and it was huge. They have services Sat night at 5:00pm, then 4 services on Sunday 8, 10, 12, and 2. We went to the 10:00 service and there is barely enough room for everyone to fit in this ginormous building. I have a feeling all services are just as packed. I felt like I was at a concert because so many people were there and they had nice equipment. The speaker was white and spoke about faith through tough times. It was good. I thought one interesting point was that we are the safest when we are at the center of God's will.
Today we are meeting our host families and are moving in with them. I'm a little nervous because I don't know what to expect. All i know so far is that the father is a tax officer, the other is a student, and they have 3 kids. I might be sharing a room with someone, I might not have running water, I might not have electricity some days, and might have pit latrines. Hm.... haha. Hopefully I will get along with the family well.
The weather is very hot at times, cool other times, and has been smoewhat rainy.
Things I miss from home so far: fresh air (sooooo much gas from cars/motorcycles). And of course family and friends.
I'll do my best to post pictures when I can but the internet/computers are extremely old and slow here.
My cell number here is (256) 75 4258542. There is an 8 hour time difference. Right now is 12:40pm but for America it is 4:40 am.
Okay well keep in touch everyone! I love to hear from you all!
-Julia
p.s. Sung, are you the Sung from GW or the Sung that I play flag football with?
Thanks for the comments of fb and on blogspot! It's nice to hear from you guys.
I just came back from church (KPC- Kampala Pentacostal Church) and it was huge. They have services Sat night at 5:00pm, then 4 services on Sunday 8, 10, 12, and 2. We went to the 10:00 service and there is barely enough room for everyone to fit in this ginormous building. I have a feeling all services are just as packed. I felt like I was at a concert because so many people were there and they had nice equipment. The speaker was white and spoke about faith through tough times. It was good. I thought one interesting point was that we are the safest when we are at the center of God's will.
Today we are meeting our host families and are moving in with them. I'm a little nervous because I don't know what to expect. All i know so far is that the father is a tax officer, the other is a student, and they have 3 kids. I might be sharing a room with someone, I might not have running water, I might not have electricity some days, and might have pit latrines. Hm.... haha. Hopefully I will get along with the family well.
The weather is very hot at times, cool other times, and has been smoewhat rainy.
Things I miss from home so far: fresh air (sooooo much gas from cars/motorcycles). And of course family and friends.
I'll do my best to post pictures when I can but the internet/computers are extremely old and slow here.
My cell number here is (256) 75 4258542. There is an 8 hour time difference. Right now is 12:40pm but for America it is 4:40 am.
Okay well keep in touch everyone! I love to hear from you all!
-Julia
p.s. Sung, are you the Sung from GW or the Sung that I play flag football with?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Uganda 1
I jsut wrote a HUGE entry and somehow it didn't work.
So for now.
I'm in Uganda. Safe. Healthy. Having fun. So different. Cool people i'm with. Been to many places. Eaten lots of food.
Hopefully this works this time... i can't belive i jsut spent 30 minutes typing and all of it got erased. Sucks. anyways. Miss you guys. BYEEEEE
-Julia
Okay i have two minutes. let me try this again but a shortened version.
JFK to Dubai to Nairobi to Entebbe (all plane rides). Then to Kampala by bus.
African, Ethipioan, Indian food. Lots of plantains, chicken, beef, vegies.
ok. time is up. gg
So for now.
I'm in Uganda. Safe. Healthy. Having fun. So different. Cool people i'm with. Been to many places. Eaten lots of food.
Hopefully this works this time... i can't belive i jsut spent 30 minutes typing and all of it got erased. Sucks. anyways. Miss you guys. BYEEEEE
-Julia
Okay i have two minutes. let me try this again but a shortened version.
JFK to Dubai to Nairobi to Entebbe (all plane rides). Then to Kampala by bus.
African, Ethipioan, Indian food. Lots of plantains, chicken, beef, vegies.
ok. time is up. gg
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