Spa Days Uganda style

AHhh! it's been so long since I blogged... I hate to admit this but it even took 3 tries for me to get my password right.

Today was another lovely day in Uganda... I rode my bike about 40 km. to visit Diana in Ibanda this morning. The ride was amazing!!! My bike didn't have any problems... but my butt and back are killing me because my seat is anything but fancy, my bike frame is too small (the "sport" bikes they get here are imported from Japan and so are made for people with smaller frames) and the fact that I haven't riden a bike farther than 10 Km in months doesn't help...

At Diana's we made one of our famous and AMAZING fruit salads (fresh pineapple, bananas, passion fruit, and fresh grated ginger), homemade flour tortillas, and guac to die for... this guac was better than normal even because the cilantro Diana has been growing is finally ready.

After eating our lovely guac we had to come up with something to do with the rest of our avocados. ... don't be jealous but avocados are about 100 shillings each here which equals a very small amount in USD (the conversion is about 1700 USH: 1USD)... so we decided to make homemade facial masks with the the avocado, honey, and eggs. (I feel like this is starting to become a recipe page!!) Well, after completely smothering our faces in the goo, we still had extra left over so we decided to just go for the gold and put it in our hair too.

By the time we finished we looked like some kind of gooey green monsters and smelled like a mix of strong egg and avocado that has been sitting out for too long...this was also about the time that one of Diana's neighbors came by to hang out with us. Of course we freaked out and hid like little babies but it all turned out okay and now our faces and hair are like heaven.

And to think... you all thought i was coming here to save african orphans... really I'm just here for the fantastic food and facials. (only joking)

seroiusly though things in the village are moving along... next week I start teaching health science to the primary 6 and 7 students. I'm really really excited about it but also a little nervous. Typical me I haven't even begun to make a lesson plan or even figure out what the heck I will talk about... thank goodness I don't start until wed.

We also have been working on our plans to build a new in-patient ward for the health center. We will be having a committee meeting next week to finalize the plans and should be hiring our contractor within the month. We desperately need the additional space so I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out okay.

Alright! that's all for now.. I'm using the comp in Diana's office and people need to use it for real work. (and yes, it is 8:30pm here right now, but the power has been off all day today and yesterday so work hours are a little skewed right now.)

peace and love everyone!!!!

An update of life in the land of milk and honey

Okay, first off I have to tell a funny story that all of you who really know me will appreciate before I forget... the other day I was just hanging out with a few of my coworkers in the health center and they were talking about how the volunteer, Jen, who had just visited me was pretty quiet. I made the comment that she isn't really so quiet, she just doesn't talk as much as I do. The reply to this was as follows, " by the way, when you're not around, Sarah, you find that the place here is very quiet." in other words, even in Uganda, where I don't even know the language I have a reputation for talking a lot. Excellent...

So, how has life been around here? Well, internet has proved to be my arch nemesis, but let's not focus on that.... things at my site have been really great. I feel like I have made some real friends, not just "people I work with" and my house is really starting to feel like a home... I even had a couch made... long story short the fabric that I was holding in my hand and pointing to as the fabric that I wanted somehow got misinterpreted to mean a velour type fabric that roughly resembles what I would imagine Charlie Brown's shirt to look like on acid. And the worst part is I actually love it.

Things have really begun to settle down though. I went to a primary school a few weeks back. I thought that I was just going to get a tour of the place and meet the head teacher but there ended up being an assembly in my honor with all the children attending and so I had to through together an impromptu speech (I've gotten very good at these) and then I let the kids ask me a bunch of questions just about anything. It was actually really neat. Most of their questions were about farming and agriculture in America because that is really the only life they know... I got a series of questions that somehow went like this... "do you have cows in America?".. "yes" "do you have chickens in America?" "yes" "do you have maize in America?" "yes" ... and on and on. (my answers were more in depth than just "yes" but you get the picture) One kid even asked me "what are the cash crops of America" he was about 9 years old and I was totally surprised by that one. The kids also just thought it was hilarious that I only have 1 sister (most of the families here consist of 9-14 kids on average) and they also died laughing when I tried to describe sunscreen to them. After the Q & A session was over I talked with the headmistress (a really awesome nun) and I am going to start teaching "health science" to all the P6 and P7 students next year... the term starts in Feb. so I'll definitely be writing more on that later.

What else... I Diana and I went to visit an herbal medicine man a few weeks ago. So amazing. He just picks all his ingredients from the surrounding areas and then boils them down to make some all sorts of concoctions. We also went to a hot spring in the area and bathed with about 30 Ugandans mostly dressed only in their birthday suits.. haha bad joke. (Diana and I however felt like 3rd graders with our one- piece suits and knee length wraps). the whole weekend was really neat and we are planning to go back when the med man goed to one of the National Parks where he collects various types of barks.

Another really neat experience I had was helping harvest this seasons bean crop. I spent an entire morning out picking bean stalks and then carrying them in banana-leaf-bound bundles on my head up to the courtyard area where we laid them out to dry and then later beat with sticks to release the dry beans from within their pods. I have never been so completely covered in sweat and dirt in my life and I felt like I was a living National Geographic picture with the bundles on my head. It definitely made me appreciate the food I eat eeveryday a lot more. Speaking of food, I also have recently become a pro at peeling green bananas for ebitokye and pounding peanuts into the powder they use for a thick peanut sauce. I also did something with millet but I never really got a clear answer as to what exactly I was accomplishing because, to me, the millet grains looked exactly the same pre and post grinding. but whatever it was everyone was very pleased with my work and kept commenting on how I know how to cook.

Well, I have a million other stories but they will just have to wait until next time... thanks to everyone who continues to write me letters/ comments on my post/ whatever... you can't imagine how much it means to me. It really helps me stay positive and motivated.

P.S. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

Official PCV status

Yay! I'm officially a peace corps volunteer! I had my swearing in ceremony last week in Kampala at the embassador's house (which is huge and amazing by the way)... oh my gosh...this is really random but since my internet time is so limited I usually am doing about 1 million things at once and I just discovered that my sister has pictures of jordan posted on facebook. I mean seriously how crazy is that... I am sitting on a computer in a little town in the middle of no where in uganda, and I'm able to look at pictures taken in Jordan that are posted on none other than facebook. I also can't believe that I am actually using valuable time even being logged onto facebook...anyways... the swearing in was amazing... I had more culture shock going into the US embassy than I did stepping off the plane into Uganda. There is also a few real grocery stores there... for the first 10 minutes or so I just walked up and down the aisles aimlessly not even able to think straight. Having to make a decision about what type of bread I want to buy is just not something I know how to do anymore. I did make it through okay and now that I'm up country where you can't find much I'm wishing that I had gotten my act together and bought more. Oh! something else that may interest you all... I have left my Hero behind in Luweero and have upgraded to a "sport bike". The story of purchasing the bike is really just too much to even write here but it involved me riding around in circles in the middle of a busy gas station (for lack of space for a test drive anywhere else) while about 30 people looked on and felt the need to yell things at me, bargaining with the salesman over the cost of a bell, a rack, and a seat that wasn't covered in holes to be added to the mix, I ended up with quite the bike though. It's a spalding mountain bike frame with gears from who knows where, a brand new (relatively speaking) seat, a metal rack on the back, and a nice new shiny bell. Basically, I'm in love.

Everything else in my life is going amazingly.. I still can't believe that all this is real. The other day I was sitting in mass surrounded by 300 singing and dancing african villagers and I realized that no matter how hard I try there is no possible way I can even remotely give justice to the experiences I am having. I guess you all just need to come and visit me:)

life in the land of milk and honey

so it has been awhile... things have been pretty crazy busy. First off, I met my counterpart that was supposed to be a woman... it turns out there was a mistake, HE is definitely a man. But he's really really nice so it all worked out just fine.... funny story though, there was kind of another miscommunication between us and so when we first met I thought that he was actually my supervisor so the entire day I was calling him by the supervisors name, introducing him as such, and I even put his phone number in my phone wrong... throughout all this he never corrected me and, in my defense, he was even wearing the wrong name tag... the whole thing was kind of funny... something about how he was there representing the supervisor and so that is why he wore the name tag... I'm not really sure but it all worked out okay and now he and I are great friends.

Right now I am actually in mbarara town after a 3 day visit with the organization. It was so so neat! I am working for a small catholic health center and so will be living on the church compound. On the compound there is a church, quarters for the 2 priests, 2 primary schools (1 for girls, one for boys) , a secondary school, and a technical school, housing for the nuns that run the school, the health center, housing for its 5 employees and their families ( I will be living in that courtyard), as well as a banana plantation, vegetable garden, and a bunch of milk cows. The head priest is huge on natural food--which is really funny because basically everything here is natural anyways-- but none the less it makes me happy. Plus, he is a vegetarian! The first \Ugandan veg I have met. Almost all the food they eat on the compound is produced in their gardens and he told me that anything I harvest I am welcome to eat... he was all "yes Sarah, if you would like bananas or papaya, just take this machete and you can go and get them.." as if I have even the slightest clue how to machete a banana tree... I'm very excited about all the things I will be learning though.. he also told me that he will teach me how to milk a cow:)

while I was there we held an immunization outreach as well as a mental health outreach... an interesting thing about mental health programs in this country is that the main illness they treat for is epilepsy... for some reason seizures are considered a mental health problem and not a medical issue. I had a great time talking with the Dr. and he also had 2 medical students from Sweden who were doing research with him for a month. Both girls were really nice and so it was neat to get to talk to them about medicine in both Uganda and in Sweden.

The immunization outreach was also a huge success. over 100 babies were immunized. The whole process was so crazy though because the health center is understaffed so things were just all over the place. As you can imagine though, I was loving every second of it and am so so excited for things to really take off.

I just realized that I never explained the "milk and honey" thing... it's just what they call the southwest because basically it's amazing here! -the real reason it's so amazing is that it's the region that the pres comes from and he has definitely made sure his home turf has been well taken care of :) the difference between the roads here and elsewhere is like night and day.

well, that's all for now! all my love and best!

In other news

In other news...

I found out my site! I will be working with a Health Center 3 in the far south west (near Mbarara). I am extra excited because my counterpart (the Ugandan that I will be working most with) is a woman and a nurse.

Also, I am just getting over my first kidney infection of my life and, I have to say, some of the worst pain of my life. The silver lining was that I got to stay in a hotel room one night (the nurses wanted me close by in case things got worse--don't worry, they didn't) which meant I got to take my first warm stand up shower since coming here. Heaven. This experience also taught me a cultural lesson because my host mother told me that when women complain of lower back pain it means that "they haven't been with their husband in a long time" and so when they go to the doctor, sometimes the doctor will just send them right back home and tell them "go be with your husband" :) Thought you would all get a kick out of that.

Also, I know some of you have read my mom's note about the accident.. everyone really truly was fine and we are all recovered. (it was mostly just scary than anything else). I cracked up when I read my mom's post because I told her to make sure she didn't make it sound too bad and she did an excellent job...but her love for adjectives took over with "extricated" and "bloodied"...:) It really just made me miss her...

Love to you all!!

Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle! I want to ride my Bicycle!

now, I know I have very briefly mentioned my bike riding in a previous blog but biking is such an integral part of my daily Ugandan experience it would not be fair for me to not give it the proper spotlight and attention it deserves.

My first personal experience with bike riding in Uganda occurred my first week of training. Since I live furthest from our raining site (an estimated 2 miles), myself and one other girls were the first to be "presented" (after a thorough lesson of bike safety and security of course) with our dear and darling Hero bikes. (the brand name of the bike is a Hero--don't be deceived by this, you will soon come to find that they are anything but...) At this same time, we were also given our classic white helmets, a pump, a bright orange bike lock, and tool kit that consists of 2 flat metal tools with a bunch of weird shaped holes in them that somewhat resemble wrenches.

The Hero is not just any bike however. It has a frame that can be described as a cross between a road bike and beach cruiser with similar style tires. It has a single gear and comes complete with hand breaks that don't work, a rear view mirror that is loose and flops around, a seat that will be the death of me because it is also loose and so every time I go over a bump (and there are many) it flips up and I have to do a VERY awkward move to get it back to normal (this "move" involves me sliding my butt forward while also applying pressure to the front part of the seat with my inner thigh while also trying to continue pedaling) Real lovely. And, believe you me, I have definitely busted our my flat wrench like tools to try and remedy the situation but, the seats are just not to be reckoned with.

There are a few redeeming factors to my Hero. The Hero has an amazingly sturdy back rack which can be used for most anything. Although I have not personally attempted any of the following I have seen all done on several occasions... chickens tied to the back, people hitching rides (I have actually, with my own two eyes, several bikes with 5 people on them), other bikes tied sideways onto the rack (talk about a wide load), as well as 30-35 pineapples,huge bundles of sticks, jerrycans full of water, and every other imaginable thing that would need to move from one place to another but is too heavy for one person to carry. But, the thing that is most redeeming about my Hero bike, is its bell.

Now, I have to admit that at first I felt apprehensive about ringing my bell. I have never been one for horns in general. I don't honk them in cars, I don't ring them at counters, I feel like on bikes they are for little girls with pig tails and streamers. I'm just not that into them. I guess mainly I just felt weird about belling people to get out of my way. I was very quick to learn however, that the bell of a Hero is not a child's toy in any way shape or form. It is a tool, sometimes a weapon, but always a necessity. When people hear the bell they know you mean business and to move out of the way. I would always do my very best to not hit someone but the roads are rough our there and when you hear bells behind you and turn around to see a bike gaining on you with 5 people in tote you move, and fast, because they are not stopping.

So many of both my best and worst moments have happened while ringing (or attempting to ride) my Hero. As you can imagine, it is sometimes difficult to get going when riding in a skirt. There has been more than one occasion where I have been taking off and my skirt has gotten tangled and I have gotten flustered and basically just tipped over and fallen off. My bike has also been a course of integrating with the community however. Just last week, my chain fell off (for the millionth time) and for some reason this time it got stuck in the guard thing so I was having more trouble than usual in getting it back on. A really nice national stopped though and sat there with me for a good 7 or 8 minutes trying to help me fix the problem. He spoke no english and I basically can only do greetings and thanks in the local language but we got along just fine and before I knew it, the job was done, and I was back on my way.

--Those are the moments when I really appreciate my Hero. Sometimes, after a long day I just ride along, maneuvering around vegetable markets, chapati stands, boda-boda drivers, and the occasional gawker until I get out of town and begin heading into the country and home. Here, my obstacle become chickens, cattle ( I don't know what breed they are but they have really long pointy horns that really freak me out), and the terrain of a BMX track. But throughout the entire ride I don't have to listen to sirens or loud annoying traffic, or see huge skyscrapers in every direction... i am completely surrounded by green plants and blue sky and things are just great. :)

PS

I forgot to say... thanks everyone for you're great commetns, even though I amnot able to respond to all of them I really so read and appreciate all of them!