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?

Third times a charm?

I made the drive from Entebbe to Kampala for the third time last night, and I can honestly say that each time it has felt different. The first time, I was overwhelmed by the new world I had found myself in. Everything was different from what I knew or expected. The second time, I was extremely excited to be back. I hadn't spent much time in Uganda before, and there were many new experiences for me to have - especially since I wasn't traveling in a group. But this time, I stepped off the plane and walked across the tarmac at Entebbe Airport, breathing in the familiar musty smell of Uganda, and felt extremely at home. I was picked up from the airport by friends, and I didn't find myself marveling at the sights along the way. I found myself knowing exactly where I was and where I was going. I had heard that after you've been a few times, it's not as exotic anymore (naturally). It was disappointing to hear on my first time here. I didn't think I would ever stop marveling at some things. But now, I see it as growth. I've learned my surroundings. I know how to get around. If I saw the same things and reacted the same way every time, I wouldn't be learning, would I? I'm thrilled to be here, but it's just amazing how I kind of still feel just as comfortable as if I were still at home in Knoxville.

I'll be spending my semester here, plus some extra time until August conducting research for my senior thesis at the University of Tennessee. We'll be in Kampala for a few weeks and then head to Gulu where we'll be renting our own house. I'm joined by another student from the University of Tennessee, Jayanni Webster. This is her first time in Uganda, and she's doing great so far. She'll also be doing research in Gulu until May. First time I'll be living without a host family for a really long amount of time. I think it will be really interesting and really great.

We spent the day negotiating Kampala(Jay had to deal with my rusty directional skills). We went to all of the big places, and almost took a trip into Old Kampala but we got out of the taxi just in time. We went by the Sheraton to buy a phone for Jay, but unfortunately Barnabus wasn't there. We can try again, though. Then we went by the National Theater, and Jay has a great story to start off her trip. I'll let her tell it, but let's just say it was really convenient that the market was nearby and there was a woman selling shoes. We called Vinny and discovered he was in Kampala. His response to the phone call? "I didn't know you were here!" We can't wait to meet up with him.

We're just killing some time and taking everything in for now. There's a contemporary dance performance at the National Theater tonight that we're going to try to go to if we can fight our jet lag long enough. Until then, we're just going to enjoy being in Kampala.

Let's Change Things Up a Bit

So this blog has primarily been used to keep family and friends updated while I venture off to Uganda for various reasons. It's more or less been a list of all the things I've done that day or that month that seemed to be more of a forced cross-section of my time rather than meaningful reflection. As much as I wish I could be hit with the blogging bug every time I go abroad, it always just feels like such a hassle when it comes down to it. Looking back on it, though, I can see this blog has done its part to capture a few emotions I didn't know I was feeling until I wrote them. While I don't always feel like I'm the best at communicating with words (I can feel a million things without being able to articulate those feelings), this blog has been a really great way for me to maintain my focus in the midst of being overwhelmed by new experiences. However, I want this blog to take a new direction for the next few months.

I am currently not in Uganda (so maybe I should change my title?), but I am currently preparing for a long sting in Uganda. For a little update on my life right now, I'm a junior in Anthropology at the University of Tennessee. My past two trips have helped to shape my course work, and now I'm preparing to do official research for my senior thesis. I'll be living in Gulu from January to August, enrolled as a UT student and receiving course work for the ethnographic escapades I take on.

What I want to do with this blog right now is primarily selfish. I feel that I'm getting swamped in books and articles in preparation for my thesis, and I'm having a hard time keeping my head on straight when I combine that work with my regular 15 hours of course work, a part-time job, and various other activities. So I'm going to begin chronicling my pre-thesis journey. I'm hoping this will allow an outlet for me to flesh out some ideas, get some feedback, some suggestions. It will also help me to be accountable for keeping up with my readings leading up to my departure. I'll try to keep it as interesting as possible since I know that as interesting as I find my research, not everyone in the world thinks the same.

Okay so I'm tentatively titling my thesis project, "Acholi Culture and Post-Conflict Reconstruction: What is traditional culture and how is it being used to solve a contemporary issue?” I came around to this topic not only by personal interest and relevance but primarily by the influence of three things I have recently witnessed or been a part of in Uganda.

My first influence is the folk talk project I worked on with Bishop Ochola this summer and is still being worked on as a Jazz for Justice Project. For a crash course in what went down, I lived with Bishop Ochola and his family in Kitgum for a month (cool, right?) to work on recording the Acholi folk tales that he tells so well and turning them into a cartoon for younger children. The intention is to shed a new light on the folk tales in order to help children regain interest in this part of their culture. We have a team in Uganda working on it. Of course it starts with Bishop Ochola typing up the folk tales in Acholi. They are then sent to Moses Lajum to translate into English. While all of this has been going on, our two artists, Patrick Okello from Gulu and Vincent Ssebunya from Kampala, have been developing their characters based on a character map. As soon as they receive the stories, they are creating a comic strip to be distributed to schools.

Back to my point: I'll be using the progress and effects of this project as a case study for how an aspect of traditional Acholi culture can be used to reconstruct a certain facet of life that had been lost to the war.

My second influence comes from witnessing similar work by other NGOs in the northern region. There are several that go down the route of using traditional dance or music to rehabilitate former abductees or provide an outlet for expression for Acholi youth. I think it's important to measure the efficacy of these projects as well as observe which methods work best.

My third influence is what Jazz for Justice is hopefully morphing into: CreatEd. One of our members, Dustyn Winder, is currently designing the model for this new umbrella NGO that will do so much more than JfJ and still encompass JfJ's ideals and, of course, the concert. We hope to develop a curriculum of music and the arts that will work as a supplementary after-school program emphasizing the outlets for expression in dance, art, poetry, song-writing, etc. We're planning a pilot program this summer and once we all graduate, we can hit the ground running with what the organization should look like. Hopefully, my observations can aid us in developing our own programs by noting the pros and cons of the different approaches in art education.

Tied into these main research topics will be several aspects that can't go unnoticed. Obviously, culture is constantly changing and morphing. So what does it mean to say "traditional culture"? From what I have witnessed so far, it means different things to different people. I'll be interviewing people of different demographics - age, religious affiliation, educational background, socioeconomic background, etc. - to see how much of a gap there is in the general view of Acholi traditional culture.

Also tied into this research will be the question of, if a definition of traditional culture could be nailed down, why do people seem to be reaching back to their past to secure their future? There are a ton of ideas surrounding this, so I want to do a little more reading on the topic before I throw out speculation.

Okay, so, all 4 of you that might read this, I need feedback. Any books, articles, journals, videos, websites you come across that are relevant to my topic would be greatly appreciated. Also, what are your personal thoughts? Anything I should add to this? Anything I should take away?

Stay tuned for more specific topics coming soon. Thanks for reading :)

Leaving thoughts

I left Kitgum today, and I can honestly say that I've never been so sad to leave a place. Which is ironic because initially I was really sad to be there. I'd been trying to prepare myself to leave for a few days, but after delaying my travel by two days it was just a shock when I actually really had to leave. 

I feel like I grew so much and learned so much about myself in my month in Kitgum. The project with Bishop is to a point where it will go on without Lindsay and I there. Which is really good news. It will definitely need some tender loving care when we all return, though.

Leaving this morning was only made more difficult because, while I'm planning on coming back in January, nothing is definite. And if I don't get myself back here, I'll be absolutely devastated. I was emotional from the start this morning, and I cried all the way from Kitgum to Gulu. I don't think Bishop knew what to do with me. And the poor guy on the bus next to me had to feel horribly awkward. It's just that I've gotten so attached to these people and this life. Jumping back and forth between the US and Uganda has forced me to be constantly missing someone, somewhere. 

Bishop Ochola had a going away party for me a few days ago, and it was so nice. I didn't really know most of the people there, but it was nice for them to show up. Bishop was so so sweet. He said I'm part of the family now, and that I'm like a daughter. And he gave me an Acholi name. Adyer, which means "the center" meaning loved by everyone. How nice is that? Staying with him and his family was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I've ever made. 

Driving down that same dirt road from my last post, I tried to take in everything I saw. We drove by camps and schools. Beggars and school kids. Bodas and busses. Mothers and old women. All of them going about their days and their normal lives. All of them living in these conditions that they don't get a break from. And I'm lucky enough to be going back to all of my comforts. How does that happen? 

I'm trying to make plans to come back in January. I've been by Gulu University to try to set up a type of exchange program. And I've thought of a ton of different research topics. There's so much work to do to get everything organized. And I need a ton of funding. I don't even want to think about how upset I'll be if I don't work this out. 

I have a few things to do and a few people to see in Kampala before I leave. Have to do a little souvenir shopping for those of you at home. But I just hate to say goodbye to my friends here. Even though I'll be back, things won't be the same as they are now. Things will happen and people will change. 

As a final thought, I'll leave you with this picture of Kitgum. There's only one hill around, and it's a really popular place to go watch the sunset because it's so beautiful. It's a great place to go to think or spend time with friends. You could see all of Kitgum when you looked around. And just like driving at sunset, it seems that doing anything at sunset in Africa just feels right. 

This is Africa :)

Reflections from Kitgum

It’s remarkable how driving down a dirt road in Uganda at sunset makes you think about life. You just sit back and take in the beauty of the red orange sunset combined with the shoulder-high grass and mango trees and wonder how anything bad could ever have happened here. The entire landscape exudes a kind of calm and beauty that entrances you. And to think that the very road I’m marveling over was impassable just 2 years ago.

            While on this drive, I started thinking, really thinking, about whom I was with and where I was. And all I could think was, “How did my life get this cool?” I was on my way home from a meeting in Gulu with Bishop Ochola and several of our friends, and so many things struck me at once.

            First of all: Bishop Ochola. Such an amazing man. He can’t go a single day without telling you several stories, but it’s obvious that he derives such joy from telling them that you can’t help but indulge. And to think about how much he’s been through and seen. He’s 73 years old. Uganda has only been independent for 47 years. He’s seen and lived all of the history and horrors, and he’s relentlessly fought for peace and forgiveness despite what he has been through. And I’m fortunate enough to live in this man’s home with his family.

            Then let’s think about the fact that I was the only American, only mzungu, traveling in a car full of new Ugandan friends whom I could trust with anything. At first I was so scared to be in Kitgum by myself. I had no idea what to do, who to talk to, where to go. But I’ve made some really wonderful, really close friends because I’m traveling alone and I’m so much more approachable than when we travel in a huge group. I’m so grateful for these friends because I wouldn’t have made it past the first week without them. And I’ve gotten such a personal look into people’s lives, people’s thoughts, people’s pasts. These are all things I would not have had in another setting. Now I don’t want to leave Kitgum because I’ll also be leaving them.

            And finally, let’s think about the fact that I’m just in Uganda. And I’m planning on being here so much more. How did I get this lucky? Some people never leave Knoxville their whole lives, but I stumbled upon the chance to travel to Uganda. I’ve learned more and seen more here in just a few months than I could ever put into word. And despite the fact that I’ll be eating Ramen and peanut butter and jelly for the next 6 months, I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything because they’re priceless.

            Today was definitely one of the best, most productive days I’ve had in Uganda so far. For progress on the folk tale project with Bishop Ochola, we’d only recorded 30 stories and done nothing else. I honestly had no idea what the next step was, and I was internally panicking a bit. So I decided we needed to have a meeting with our artists, with Lindsay, and with someone who could translate the tales. So we woke up really early to make the 2 hour journey to Gulu on a dirt road riddled with potholes.

            We hadn’t gotten far in our journey, and we were passing kids in school uniforms walking to class all along the road. This is normal, so you just honk the horn and drive on. But as we were driving, we passed a young girl of about 8 or 9 passed out on the side of the road. We drive on to the school because it’s only about 100 meters away, and it would be best to talk to a teacher or headmaster. We pull in and there are a ton of kids in their purple and blue uniforms, but they quickly inform us that there are no teachers or adults around. Since the teachers are paid so little (200,000 Ush a month, which is about $100) and there is no inspection to see if they’re doing their job, the teachers have no incentive and they often just don’t show up to school.  Bishop flagged down another truck that was passing and asked them to pick the girl and bring her home. The poor girl could barely walk.

            After this, we were back on our way and we finally arrived in Gulu. We had arranged a meeting with Patrick, a local artist based in Gulu; Vinny, our artist friend based in Kampala; Moses Lanyero, a Ugandan friend; Lindsay McClain, Bishop Ochola, and myself. This was the first time we have all gotten together to discuss what we want to see happen and what we think we can do. It took a bit of time to steer the conversation in the right direction, but we soon made some fairly ambitious plans.

            We decided as a group that we would like to see four things happen with the folk tales: a book, a comic book series, animation, and an audio book. They can’t possibly all happen at the same time, so we decided that the comic book series would be the best to start with. They can be distributed to primary schools, and the format is very kid-friendly. So I’m getting the recorded folk tales to Moses, he’s transcribing and translating the first 5 or so and checking it with Bishop, then we’re sending those few stories to Vinny and Patrick to get started on some designs. The idea is that we can publish 4 or 5 similar themed folk tales at a time and have them come out in a series. Once we get this first bunch done, we can apply for some bigger grants for funding.

            Now we’ve got the whole team working on it so the next steps should come fairly easily. The biggest challenge will just be communication once Lindsay and I are back in the US. And it’s great to finally have a real game plan for how we’re going to approach this thing.

            It’s been a long day of working on a spread sheet with Bishop. We’re mapping out all the characters so the artists can have an idea of who comes in where.

            Hope things are good at home. I’ll be there in just two weeks! (eek!)

            

Kitgum

Okay, this blog should have been posted on July 13th, but I wrote it and then I was unable to post it so now it’s like 6 days late. But here it is plus some added up to date things at the end.

So, this is my 4th day in Kitgum, and it’s really growing on me. I’ve been staying with Bishop Ochola and his family and everyone is incredibly nice and hospitable. We’ve been having some great traditional food and everyone’s been going out of their way to make me comfortable (even though I protest every time they do). Though they're also going out of their way to stuff me with posho every chance they get. 

They just recently moved into this house from one they were renting, but they were not done building this one yet. When they are finished there will be quite a few guest rooms, toilets, showers, running water, etc. But for now, we have pit latrines and bucket showers outside under cover of a thatched grass shelter. There’s nothing quite like bathing out of a bucket under the stars (and I have never seen stars as incredible as the ones I can see here).

We’ve spent our time meeting people in Kitgum, going around the town, and most importantly working on the folk tales. We have recorded 22 so far with an English explanation followed by the entire story in Luo. The idea is to put the folktales into a book (fully translated into English and Luo). Then they will be made into animation. So after we get these recorded, it’ll be time to figure out how to compile them into a book. Then we need to have a meeting with artists so we’ll get some animation started. Everyone seems really excited about the project, though, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get people on board.

We went to a Catholic church service on Sunday, and not only did they make me sit up on the stage with Bishop, they made me get up and talk to the congregation of about 300 people. The first thing I said was, “I should tell you that I fear talking in front of this many people.” Eloquent, right? But it was fine... just had to reign in my high-pitched nervous voice haha.

Now that I’ve picked up some Luganda, I desperately need to learn some more Luo. It just seems so much harder to learn. I’m getting there, though. I’m heading to Kampala tomorrow with Bishop, and I’ll come back to Kitgum when he does in about a week or so.

New stuff:
Okay so I’ve been in Kampala for a few days now. I haven’t really been doing a whole lot. I’ve been helping Lilia input pre-course survey data for Educate!. It’s a little monotonous but interesting to see student responses. Especially for the question asking whom their hero is. Answers range from parents, siblings, and neighbors to Barack Obama to Idi Amin.

I’m a little sad that I’ll be leaving Kampala again on Monday. I’m not sure if I’ll be back here before a couple of days before I leave. And it just stresses me out a little to be so disconnected and out of touch in Kitgum.

I’m also in a weird place of wanting to go home to see everyone and wanting to be here at the same time. I miss the comforts of home, but then I get so sad when I think about the fact that I’ll be leaving here in a few weeks. I’ll just have to say goodbye to so many people and hope that my plans work out for Spring semester.

It should be a good weekend. I’m going to see the break dancers on Saturday and then going to Vinny’s art exhibit on Sunday; both should be phenomenal. Hope you have a great weekend as well!

Home from Kenya

Well, after 24 hours on a bus (Mombasa to Kampala), we're FINALLY back in Kampala. There were a lot of interesting things that we witnessed on our trip, and I'll try to remember it all. 

Highlights of the trip: 

- When you hear the word "Africa" and that stereotypical image pops into your head, that's what almost all of Kenya looks like. It's pretty cool.

- I met some really awesome people at the beach who go to school in Nairobi.

- We went out dancing at a club in Mombasa with them on July 4th. We celebrated Independence Day by requesting the DJ to play a few American songs. 

- On our first day there, we happened upon a cove just north of Mombasa. We sat around, had lunch, watched the tide go out. Then a ton of people showed up to play football. When the tide was low enough, they waded out to a sand bar to play. 

- Vinny got to see the beach for the first time.

- We swam in the Indian Ocean.

- Matatus in Kenya are pimped out. They're like party taxis. There are posters all over the place, and the roofs are upholstered. And music is always rap being played on a fantastic sound system. At night, they all have blue neon lights on the inside. 

- We got to tour Fort Jesus, the old port, and Old Mombasa. 

Lowlights of the trip

- I don't have my camera. So I went to Kenya, and I don't have proof. I have to have a camera before I go to Kitgum.

- I lost my cell phone. Or it was stolen. I'm not sure which. The good part is that whoever has it has to pay to have it unlocked for Kenya and buy a Kenyan sim card. So they didn't really win. 

- It's apparently rainy season in Kenya. So while we did have a few hours of sun, it wasn't as much as I would have liked. 

- We had no idea of the rates in Kenya. It was about 27 shillings to the dollar instead of 2100 like it is in Uganda. So we probably got ripped off all the time because everything sounded so cheap.

- The rest of my stay in Uganda is now on an economy budget. Since we paid $250 each for the apartment in Naggalama but didn't stay there and paid to stay in other places, I'm low on cash. 

- I got car sick every time I got on a matatu in Kenya. Learn to drive well, please.

- It took 22 hours to get there and then another 24 hours to get back. That's 2 days of my life spent on a bus. 

- "Hakuna matata" is not enough Swahili to be respected.

Observations:

- No one made a single Obama reference all weekend. It's strange because half the time when we walk down the street in Uganda, someone yells, "Obama!" But that didn't happen in Kenya.

- Matatu drivers/bus drivers/taxi drivers/street beggars are MUCH more persistent. They will not take no for an answer and will follow you for blocks and blocks trying to sell you on it. 

- While they're persistent, Kenyans are generally nicer than Ugandans. Even after haggling, the matatu conductors still smiled at us, gave us a thumbs up, wished us safe travels,etc. You're lucky if they don't push you out of the matatu while you're exiting in Uganda. 

- We learned a lot of Swahili from the Lion King. 

I'm happy to be back in Uganda, though, as good as the Kenya adventure was. It's nice to be somewhere that you can navigate. And speak some of the language. And know when you're being cheated. It really did feel like I was returning home on the way back in. 

Dustyn and I bought some macaroni and cheese for lunch today. I can hardly explain how excited I am for it. I've been thinking about mac & cheese for days.

Dustyn leaves on Thursday, and then I should be heading up to Kitgum/Gulu around that time. I'm a little nervous and a little excited. Nervous because I have no idea if I have the qualifications for our art project. I'll be writing proposals, offering advice, etc. and what experience do I have in this? Nervous because I don't know anyone in Kitgum except for Bishop Ochola. I'm really hoping I make some friends there. Nervous because I don't know much Luo at all. I'll have to learn a ton of it. But then I'm excited for all of those reasons. It will be new and challenging. I'll make new friends and meet new people. I'll learn Luo. And I'll get to spend so much time in the north. 

Hopefully, I'll be spending my weekends in Gulu (like 2 hours away) with some friends there. I'm not sure if there's much to do in Kitgum on the weekends or if I already have plans made for me. But we'll see how that works out. I'll be traveling back down to Kampala/Naggalama with Lindsay and maybe Jeff for Vinny's art exhibition (and the Harry Potter premier!). Then I'll go back to Kitgum and finish my work.

For the next few days in Kampala, Dustyn and I are researching methods of finding the disposable income of a population for Educate!'s projects. They are looking for ways to be sustainable, and one way might be to charge a fee to attend the class. So our research will hopefully show them some ways to go about that. 

Okay that's a lot of stuff. I hope you read all the way through! I'll try to be better at updating ( I think I say that every time.) I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th! I'd love to hear from you because I'm totally missing everyone at home!