I looked up in perfect silence at the stars.

Disclaimer: As you know, I haven’t updated my blog in 2 weeks, and we’ve done A LOT of stuff in between then and now. So this may not be a full review of the last 2 weeks. And it’s not very organized. But it’s just kind of a highlight reel of some of my experiences and thoughts. Enjoy :)

Today is the first day it has rained in Uganda since we’ve been here, which is appropriate since it’s the dry season. I awoke this morning to the sound of rumbling thunder shaking the entire house, and despite the fact that the rain has ruined our laundry plans, we’re enjoying the respite from the blazing sun and welcoming the refreshing breeze coming through the house.

This is our last weekend in Kampala before we make our official move to Gulu. We’ve been here a little over two weeks, and it’s time to get started on our work. I always have a certain excitement mixed with anxiety when I head to the north. But this time, it’s compounded with the knowledge of all the things I have to get in order in such a short amount of time. I’m excited because I love Gulu, and it’s such a nice change from Kampala. Gulu is small enough to walk everywhere, and it’s a booming little town because of all the international aid workers currently residing there (what happens when they leave is a topic for another time). It’s much friendlier than Kampala, and we don’t have to map out our day by figuring out which matatus to take into the city, how much traffic we’ll encounter, and how much time it will take. All of these facts are not to mention that’s where I focus all of my energies be it learning, researching, or fundraising. I’m always doing or thinking about something that has to do with northern Uganda.

But then there’s the anxiety. Foremost is the fact that you’re removing yourself from the big city. Kampala makes you still feel very much connected to the world, but Gulu is disconnected even from Kampala, much less the rest of the world. But besides that, I woke up this morning, and everything I need to do just started running laps through my head. First things first, we need a house. We’re planning to stay in a hotel for a couple of days and look at our options. But that is all we have time to do. We have to look at all the houses we can and just decide. We’re hoping for a 3 bedroom furnished house, but we have no idea if we’ll be able to find one. Then we need Internet and maybe appliances for our house. We have to figure out who’s staying where.

Let’s forget about accommodations for a second. We have serious work to do. Luckily we’ve had a very productive meeting with Pincer Group, where they offered their workspace to use. But I’m a little more stressed because the organizations I’m looking at are going to be much smaller. And I have to look for these groups. I know of a few, but right now I’m just feeling the anxiety of the unknown. I have NO clue what the next few months of my life will look like or where my research will lead me. And part of my research is getting the cartoon project together, which can ideally be published and distributed very soon. But everyone’s just so busy. I guess I just need to talk to people, and realize that it will all come together. Maybe not at the time I expect or the way I expect it to happen – but I will learn a lot, and I will grow.

This trip has been very strange so far. I think Jayanni has heard me say countless times, “Well, I’ve never had that happen to me before.” We’ve met a huge variety of people in our travels throughout the central region, and never before have I been asked by so many people, “Why?” Why do you go to the north? Why do you come to Uganda so much? Why aren’t you scared to go to Gulu? Most of the time I just shrug my shoulders and tell them I can’t really explain why I love it here so much. It’s a much more difficult question to answer than one would think. I can’t come up with a simple, generic answer like, “I love the people,” or, “I love the weather and the scenery.” Nothing is that simple. I do love the generally friendly nature of people here, but notice I said generally. I spend the time navigating through Kampala trying not to get cheated. It’s tiring. My frustrations, though, are grounded by the knowledge that I only get cheated because money is such an issue here. And sure, I love the weather. Summer is my favorite season at home. But at times, I hate the heat. It can be unbearable. So why do I love Uganda? Because it’s more real than my sheltered suburb at home. Maybe I love it here because this is life. Daily, I see the struggles of street children and beggars just trying to make it through a few more days. And daily, I see the joy of people who have managed to make an honest, decent living here. Life here is hard. There’s no doubt about that. But maybe life here, as opposed to my life as a college student where my biggest challenge is writing my thesis, is more fulfilling – the successes and achievements are more important, but the failures and disappointments are that much more devastating.

We’ve also been witnessing a lot of interesting politics. We can’t really talk about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill because it’s such a hot topic, but it has been interesting to see the reaction to Obama’s speech in which he condemns it. Most people think he should stay out of it.

We also witnessed the 24^th anniversary of the current government winning power by military coup. NRM Day. Maybe 20 years ago it was widely celebrated. But even throughout the central region, where Museveni has his greatest support, very few people turned up to celebrate. The ones that did show up were paid to be there. They also recently celebrated the start of Museveni’s movement in 1981. To celebrate, some UPDF soldiers cleaned a bathroom and fixed the toilets at a poor school. Is someone trying to improve their public image?

I think we’re witnessing Museveni’s fall from power. But what scares me is that he will not give up that power easily. Even people who were once his avid supporters agree he has been in power for too long. They say there are only so many new ideas you can have as a leader before you’re outdated and you need to pass on the torch. If he “wins” in 2011, based on the general consensus I’m witnessing now from talking to friends and reading the newspapers, there’s a good chance it will have been rigged. And nothing good will come if that suspicion spreads. This is certainly an interesting time for politics in this country.

I know I haven’t updated anyone in a long time. Sorry about that. You all know I’m bad about keeping up with my blog. But I’ll give you a little overview of what we’ve been up to. We’ve met with Cathy PiWang of Childreach Africa. We met with Bishop Ochola the day before he left for the Democratic Republic of Congo with Archbishop Odama to meet with the rebels about peace talks. He told us a lot about his current project, the Acholi Education Initiative. They’ll be fundraising in North America and Europe in order to provide university scholarships to promising young students from the north in order to produce entrepreneurs from the region. His fear is that if the Acholi are continually marginalized and uneducated, unable to stand on their own, then another war will break out.

We had a great meeting with the Pincer Group. They’re an education consultant agency, which means they draft reports, proposals, and grants for other organizations that don’t have the means or the know-how. They believe the community needs to be empowered in order for the Acholi people to demand better education, healthcare, etc. And what will it take for them to be empowered? One theory of mine is that one mode could be cultural reinvigoration programs. I’m seeing that people associate peaceful times with the return to the traditions and rituals they had before the war. Maybe this return could lead to community building, maybe a return to their identity as the Acholi people, that could lead to empowerment. I’ll let you know how this idea develops.

On the fun side of things, we’ve been all over the place. We just recently returned from Murchison Falls, the most powerful waterfall on the Nile. Breathtakingly beautiful and terrifyingly powerful. We went on a safari game drive, a boat trip down the Nile, and a hike to the top of the falls. We saw a lioness, all kinds of antelope, giraffes, elephants (mating elephants, yikes!), crocodiles, hippos EVERYWHERE, warthogs, etc. It’s a really nice park, and a really great game reserve. The trip was incredibly touristy, but I just tried to let go of my pride for a bit and enjoy it. We’ve also been able to visit Jinja, Entebbe, places all over Kampala. We’ve made a lot of new friends, and spent some quality time with old ones. We’ve really enjoyed these couple of weeks, but we’re ready to get down to work. I’ll let you know how our journey to Gulu goes, and what happens with our house situation. Expect another update in the next week or so? Wish us luck!

Sideways?