Thursday, June 27, 2002
Pictures!
Stefan, another Netcorps intern here who is from BC, has a digital cam and has kindly allowed me to link to his site: uganda.kloppmagic.ca (or .com - not sure, try both!) Check it out!
Fundraising
Quick note of thanks to those who contributed to the fundraising drive before my departure - we managed to raise $595! If I didn't get a chance to ask you personally, and you would like to donate something to the charitable, not-for-profit org that has funded my african adventure, you can do it online at www.vsocanada.org or by cheque/money order to: VSO Canada, 151 Slater St. Suite 806, Ottawa, ON K1P 5H3. Make sure you mention that your donation is in support of Isha Tan!
Other Interesting Notes
1. Matoke (steamed mashed green banana) is the national side dish of Uganda, a kind of stodgy filler. It sucks ass. Maybe if they added some milk and butter....
2. Sleeping under a mosquito net works alot better when you raise it slightly, otherwise you end up choking on a piece of netting that you have inhaled while you slept.
3. Malarious mosquitoes are the ones with their asses in the air. They bite at night.
4. I went for my first outdoor run yesterday and boy was it the wrong thing to do. Of all places to do my first outdoor jog, Africa! First of all the terrain is terrible, potholey roads and red dirt. Second of all, the altitude makes it feel like I have about 10% lung capacity. So it was more like 5 min of jogging, 55 min of walking. Interesting experience though. I felt bad b/c Alistair came with me, and he's jogged a few times while in Uganda and can go for about 30 min. I told him to just go on ahead but he was too chivalrous to leave me by myself in the middle of a rural village. It was like we were royalty - crowds of people on the road would stop, part the way and just stare at us. Kids shouted "Hey muzungu, how are you? Give me some money! Give me some sweets! Give me water!" At one point we had an entourage follow us for 10 minutes. We felt like celebrities. Kind of cute but I can see how it would get tiresome, esp. if all you want to do is get some exercise and not be bothered. Am feeling weird because I know that I am the first Asian person that these kids have ever seen (Asian virgins, if you will), and I feel like I am kind of an ambassador of the Orient, which is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!! Me, the least Asian Asian person you will ever meet, biggest banana of the bunch. It's a riot, actually.
Anyways, must go now....oh yeah! Got a cell phone today, in case anyone wants to call: 011 256 077 890 749. You can text message me from the MTN website (I think it's www.mtn.co.ug or something like that) and it's free for you and me, or you can call (but remember I'm 7 hours ahead of you in Ontario) and it's free for me to receive calls but not so free for you to make them. I'm so happy to finally have a point of contact. Hope to hear from you soon!
Stefan, another Netcorps intern here who is from BC, has a digital cam and has kindly allowed me to link to his site: uganda.kloppmagic.ca (or .com - not sure, try both!) Check it out!
Fundraising
Quick note of thanks to those who contributed to the fundraising drive before my departure - we managed to raise $595! If I didn't get a chance to ask you personally, and you would like to donate something to the charitable, not-for-profit org that has funded my african adventure, you can do it online at www.vsocanada.org or by cheque/money order to: VSO Canada, 151 Slater St. Suite 806, Ottawa, ON K1P 5H3. Make sure you mention that your donation is in support of Isha Tan!
Other Interesting Notes
1. Matoke (steamed mashed green banana) is the national side dish of Uganda, a kind of stodgy filler. It sucks ass. Maybe if they added some milk and butter....
2. Sleeping under a mosquito net works alot better when you raise it slightly, otherwise you end up choking on a piece of netting that you have inhaled while you slept.
3. Malarious mosquitoes are the ones with their asses in the air. They bite at night.
4. I went for my first outdoor run yesterday and boy was it the wrong thing to do. Of all places to do my first outdoor jog, Africa! First of all the terrain is terrible, potholey roads and red dirt. Second of all, the altitude makes it feel like I have about 10% lung capacity. So it was more like 5 min of jogging, 55 min of walking. Interesting experience though. I felt bad b/c Alistair came with me, and he's jogged a few times while in Uganda and can go for about 30 min. I told him to just go on ahead but he was too chivalrous to leave me by myself in the middle of a rural village. It was like we were royalty - crowds of people on the road would stop, part the way and just stare at us. Kids shouted "Hey muzungu, how are you? Give me some money! Give me some sweets! Give me water!" At one point we had an entourage follow us for 10 minutes. We felt like celebrities. Kind of cute but I can see how it would get tiresome, esp. if all you want to do is get some exercise and not be bothered. Am feeling weird because I know that I am the first Asian person that these kids have ever seen (Asian virgins, if you will), and I feel like I am kind of an ambassador of the Orient, which is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!! Me, the least Asian Asian person you will ever meet, biggest banana of the bunch. It's a riot, actually.
Anyways, must go now....oh yeah! Got a cell phone today, in case anyone wants to call: 011 256 077 890 749. You can text message me from the MTN website (I think it's www.mtn.co.ug or something like that) and it's free for you and me, or you can call (but remember I'm 7 hours ahead of you in Ontario) and it's free for me to receive calls but not so free for you to make them. I'm so happy to finally have a point of contact. Hope to hear from you soon!
Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Musiibire muta?
(Good afternoon! or literally How was your morning?)
Your reply: Tusiibire gye.
(Good.)
First day of language training. So much fun, I forgot how much I love to learn new languages! I am learning Runyankole/Rukiga, which is spoken in many districts of the southwest, including Kanungu district where Kihihi is located. There are hundreds of tribal languages, and it is not uncommon for towns that are near to each other to have different languages. All of these Bantu-based languages use affixation (meaning that prefixes, infixes and suffixes are used to indicate different things like tenses, plurality, etc.) which at first was very intimidating, but we have this awesome teacher who makes learning them very easy. Others in our group are learning Luganda, which is the main language besides English that is spoken in Kampala and surroundings.
We also had a training session on customs and etiquette. I had tons of questions about this, the big one being, "Am I a muzungu?" You see, on Sunday when we went into Kampala, we ended up in Owino Market, this huge (about 10 times the size of St. Lawrence Market in Toronto) place in town where you can get any type of goods you could imagine, from lightbulbs to millet to second hand clothes. Many people called out, "Hey muzungu!" when we walked by, but I also got alot of "Chinese? Japanese? Korean?" I tried to explain to a young boy that I was Canadian, but he just looked at me like I was trying to pull his leg. He honestly didn't believe me. I said that Jamie (who is white) and Murad (who is...brown, I guess! He's a mix of Eritrean/Ethiopian/Egyptian) were also Canadian, and the kid got really suspicious. I said to him that there were even people like him in Canada, and that if he came to visit me he would see. I was surprised at his reaction, but I shouldn't have been really - I guess I've always taken for granted the multicultural aspect of Canada, and I am really thankful that I was born and grew up there. But now that I know some language, when they say "Muchina!" to me, I can answer back with "Mucanada!" That'll freak 'em out. According to Robert our language teacher, I will likely have a hard time explaining my name to locals, because Ugandans are taught that Asians all have names that sound like the noise cutlery makes when it hits the floor, a kind of "ching-ting-chang-chong". They probably won't believe that my name is boring like Isha.
It's kind of weird to be attracting so much attention, but you have to maintain a positive attitude and remember that they're not trying to be malicious, they're just curious about us, and most of the time bored so they just want to talk to you. It's tough not to feel harassed, but if you just smile and most of all talk back, you will find that Ugandans are quite friendly and harmless.
But maybe not all of them are...I will end off with a scary story. Last weekend a VSO volunteer was on a bus going to Kampala to meet her husband, and woke up in a hospital. Apparently she had been drugged, robbed, and left on the side of the road. Some compassionate person took her to the hospital, and thankfully there was nothing wrong with her. All she had done was accept a biscuit from someone on the bus. I'm not telling you this so that you worry about me, but just to emphasize the fact that this could happen to anyone, even in North America, when you accept food or drink from a stranger.
(Good afternoon! or literally How was your morning?)
Your reply: Tusiibire gye.
(Good.)
First day of language training. So much fun, I forgot how much I love to learn new languages! I am learning Runyankole/Rukiga, which is spoken in many districts of the southwest, including Kanungu district where Kihihi is located. There are hundreds of tribal languages, and it is not uncommon for towns that are near to each other to have different languages. All of these Bantu-based languages use affixation (meaning that prefixes, infixes and suffixes are used to indicate different things like tenses, plurality, etc.) which at first was very intimidating, but we have this awesome teacher who makes learning them very easy. Others in our group are learning Luganda, which is the main language besides English that is spoken in Kampala and surroundings.
We also had a training session on customs and etiquette. I had tons of questions about this, the big one being, "Am I a muzungu?" You see, on Sunday when we went into Kampala, we ended up in Owino Market, this huge (about 10 times the size of St. Lawrence Market in Toronto) place in town where you can get any type of goods you could imagine, from lightbulbs to millet to second hand clothes. Many people called out, "Hey muzungu!" when we walked by, but I also got alot of "Chinese? Japanese? Korean?" I tried to explain to a young boy that I was Canadian, but he just looked at me like I was trying to pull his leg. He honestly didn't believe me. I said that Jamie (who is white) and Murad (who is...brown, I guess! He's a mix of Eritrean/Ethiopian/Egyptian) were also Canadian, and the kid got really suspicious. I said to him that there were even people like him in Canada, and that if he came to visit me he would see. I was surprised at his reaction, but I shouldn't have been really - I guess I've always taken for granted the multicultural aspect of Canada, and I am really thankful that I was born and grew up there. But now that I know some language, when they say "Muchina!" to me, I can answer back with "Mucanada!" That'll freak 'em out. According to Robert our language teacher, I will likely have a hard time explaining my name to locals, because Ugandans are taught that Asians all have names that sound like the noise cutlery makes when it hits the floor, a kind of "ching-ting-chang-chong". They probably won't believe that my name is boring like Isha.
It's kind of weird to be attracting so much attention, but you have to maintain a positive attitude and remember that they're not trying to be malicious, they're just curious about us, and most of the time bored so they just want to talk to you. It's tough not to feel harassed, but if you just smile and most of all talk back, you will find that Ugandans are quite friendly and harmless.
But maybe not all of them are...I will end off with a scary story. Last weekend a VSO volunteer was on a bus going to Kampala to meet her husband, and woke up in a hospital. Apparently she had been drugged, robbed, and left on the side of the road. Some compassionate person took her to the hospital, and thankfully there was nothing wrong with her. All she had done was accept a biscuit from someone on the bus. I'm not telling you this so that you worry about me, but just to emphasize the fact that this could happen to anyone, even in North America, when you accept food or drink from a stranger.
Sunday, June 23, 2002
Second try
I'm kinda pissed off because I spent the last of my internet cafe minutes yesterday writing an update but apparently it didn't get published, so here I go again.....
So, I've made it safely to Uganda. I had a mini-meltdown just prior to going to the airport, when I had finished packing and realized that I couldn't even lift my own duffle bag. I called Allan in a fit and he was pretty much helpless, being at work and in Ottawa, but he did the sweetest thing and rallied the Ottawa troops (Vic, Stephane and Tara) to call me up and calm me down somewhat. (Thanks guys, you don't know how much I appreciated hearing from you!) The flights were long but I managed to get some sleep and watched a horrible Ashley-Judd-runs-around-the-city-with-Morgan-Freeman movie. I think I have managed to adjust to the 7-hour time difference, although I keep waking up around 5am due to the roosters crowing, the daily morning call to prayer at the nearby mosque (which is amplified with a loudspeaker through the town) and the loud American bible group staying in the dorm with us. Oh yeah, and the insane guard dogs that roam the grounds from midnight to 6am, they must be rabid or something because the noises they make at night are atrocious. Me and the other 4 interns from Canada, along with 3 other 2-year volunteers from the UK, are staying at the Lweza Training Centre just outside of the main city for two weeks, doing incountry training. After that we'll be taken to our respective placements throughout Uganda. It's very peaceful there, being run by the Church of Uganda, very beautiful but boring at times, as there is a curfew at midnight and no alcohol is permitted. However, they feed us well and take care of our rooms - we just have to put up with dumb Americans who feel the need to yell down the hall at each other, sing "Youth of the Nation" and slam doors at 5 in the morning. There is also a Ugandan football team staying there, but they don't speak English and generally ignore us - we only see them when we're all watching World Cup matches in the lounge. The VSO crew are happy to be in the country, but we were all itching to get into the city and look around.
Yesterday we were taken into Kampala, the capital city, for the first time, by the VSO Volunteer Committee made up of some of the 60 volunteers placed around the country. They showed us where the internet cafes, shops and restaurants are, then told us to make our own way back to the centre. This means having to take a matatu, or local bus. This was a terrifying prospect but I felt better about it because we were in a group. The main taxi park has literally hundreds of minibus-type vehicles going to different towns, but they don't leave at scheduled times, they just wait until the bus is full (14 people). They can be quite dangerous as they are overloaded and Ugandan driving technique is guerrilla-like, to say the least, but they are extremely cheap (about 80 cents for our 15 minute ride back to Lweza.) Everything in this country seems incredibly cheap: beer is about $1.40 for 500 mL and $1 for a pack of cigarettes, $2/hour of internet. They say you can get a full meal for under $2 US. Being a capital city, Kampala is relatively more expensive. Anyways, we made it back to the centre alive and well.
I don't think I like this city very much. It's extremely dirty and the air quality is quite poor, due to the many vehicles that spew diesel exhaust into the already humid air. It feels strange to be the only East Asian person among a sea of black faces, and I've been getting a lot of stares. Actually, most of my group has been getting strange looks, as many Ugandans have never seen a "mzungu" before. The kids are especially hilarious, often staring openly and shouting, "Hi mzungu! How are you!". It's cute but I'm told that it can get quite tiresome. I have yet to see another Asian face like mine, and I think the locals just don't know what to make of me - not white, not black, then what? I guess it's to be expected, but I'm hoping that because I'm going to a small town, the novelty of being a mzungu will wear off for the locals and I can start to fit in. Being foreigners, we are often targets of beggars and people looking for money for various reasons. Ali, being Muslim, was talking to the leader of the local mosque by the centre, who asked him for money so he could call Saudi Arabia. On the matatu, Alistair was approached by another passenger who started talking about his reggae band and how they needed money for recording fees. Little do these people know that we are just lowly volunteers who make the same amount they do with our paltry VSO allowances! Mzungus however seem to represent wealth to many Ugandans, and I suppose they are right - I'm sure my crappy weekly pay cheque from temping was more than most Ugandans see in 6 months.
Another weird thing is seeing people with firearms, mostly military personnel and security guards. Yesterday we were taking a walk around the area by the training centre, and we were passed on the path by a matatu that sort of fell into a ditch up ahead of us (this is a common occurrence on Ugandan roads, being made of murram, a red-clay-like dirt and full of potholes and other road hazards). Everyone on the bus had to get out, and they were all standing at the side of the road, and they were all holding shotguns. The guys and I thought we were going to be ambushed. Turns out they were security guards and just waiting until the bus got pushed out of the ditch, but it was kind of scary at first.
Yesterday there was a bbq for us at the VSO Uganda office. Most of the 60 volunteers in Uganda came to Kampala especially for this event. It was fantastic to meet everyone and feel better about our prospective situations. I met Ellie and Richard, the two doctors stationed in Kihihi for another year, and they were just great, offering tons of advice about living in the rural area and what to buy where and generally what to expect. I think they were more worried about me that I was! It will be so nice for me (and them too, they say!) to have someone else around to talk to, and they are more than willing to show me the ropes. The other nice thing is that they have a truck, so getting around to the bigger towns for supplies will be easier. Kampala is a 10-hour bus ride from Kihihi so going there often is not really an option. Ellie also wants to go whitewater rafting on the Nile like me, so now I have a companion. I'm really looking forward to finally getting to Kihihi and settling in with Ellie and Richard's help.
Today the guys and I have braved the matatus once again and ventured into Kampala to do internet and just walk around. It is blazing hot out and it is nice to be in the air-conditioned internet cafe, but I also want to check out the shops and craft market. I feel safer staying with the group, but I'm sure with time we will feel more comfortable and secure going out alone.
[I hope this posting works this time - I just spent the last 45 minutes writing it!]
I am missing you all!
I'm kinda pissed off because I spent the last of my internet cafe minutes yesterday writing an update but apparently it didn't get published, so here I go again.....
So, I've made it safely to Uganda. I had a mini-meltdown just prior to going to the airport, when I had finished packing and realized that I couldn't even lift my own duffle bag. I called Allan in a fit and he was pretty much helpless, being at work and in Ottawa, but he did the sweetest thing and rallied the Ottawa troops (Vic, Stephane and Tara) to call me up and calm me down somewhat. (Thanks guys, you don't know how much I appreciated hearing from you!) The flights were long but I managed to get some sleep and watched a horrible Ashley-Judd-runs-around-the-city-with-Morgan-Freeman movie. I think I have managed to adjust to the 7-hour time difference, although I keep waking up around 5am due to the roosters crowing, the daily morning call to prayer at the nearby mosque (which is amplified with a loudspeaker through the town) and the loud American bible group staying in the dorm with us. Oh yeah, and the insane guard dogs that roam the grounds from midnight to 6am, they must be rabid or something because the noises they make at night are atrocious. Me and the other 4 interns from Canada, along with 3 other 2-year volunteers from the UK, are staying at the Lweza Training Centre just outside of the main city for two weeks, doing incountry training. After that we'll be taken to our respective placements throughout Uganda. It's very peaceful there, being run by the Church of Uganda, very beautiful but boring at times, as there is a curfew at midnight and no alcohol is permitted. However, they feed us well and take care of our rooms - we just have to put up with dumb Americans who feel the need to yell down the hall at each other, sing "Youth of the Nation" and slam doors at 5 in the morning. There is also a Ugandan football team staying there, but they don't speak English and generally ignore us - we only see them when we're all watching World Cup matches in the lounge. The VSO crew are happy to be in the country, but we were all itching to get into the city and look around.
Yesterday we were taken into Kampala, the capital city, for the first time, by the VSO Volunteer Committee made up of some of the 60 volunteers placed around the country. They showed us where the internet cafes, shops and restaurants are, then told us to make our own way back to the centre. This means having to take a matatu, or local bus. This was a terrifying prospect but I felt better about it because we were in a group. The main taxi park has literally hundreds of minibus-type vehicles going to different towns, but they don't leave at scheduled times, they just wait until the bus is full (14 people). They can be quite dangerous as they are overloaded and Ugandan driving technique is guerrilla-like, to say the least, but they are extremely cheap (about 80 cents for our 15 minute ride back to Lweza.) Everything in this country seems incredibly cheap: beer is about $1.40 for 500 mL and $1 for a pack of cigarettes, $2/hour of internet. They say you can get a full meal for under $2 US. Being a capital city, Kampala is relatively more expensive. Anyways, we made it back to the centre alive and well.
I don't think I like this city very much. It's extremely dirty and the air quality is quite poor, due to the many vehicles that spew diesel exhaust into the already humid air. It feels strange to be the only East Asian person among a sea of black faces, and I've been getting a lot of stares. Actually, most of my group has been getting strange looks, as many Ugandans have never seen a "mzungu" before. The kids are especially hilarious, often staring openly and shouting, "Hi mzungu! How are you!". It's cute but I'm told that it can get quite tiresome. I have yet to see another Asian face like mine, and I think the locals just don't know what to make of me - not white, not black, then what? I guess it's to be expected, but I'm hoping that because I'm going to a small town, the novelty of being a mzungu will wear off for the locals and I can start to fit in. Being foreigners, we are often targets of beggars and people looking for money for various reasons. Ali, being Muslim, was talking to the leader of the local mosque by the centre, who asked him for money so he could call Saudi Arabia. On the matatu, Alistair was approached by another passenger who started talking about his reggae band and how they needed money for recording fees. Little do these people know that we are just lowly volunteers who make the same amount they do with our paltry VSO allowances! Mzungus however seem to represent wealth to many Ugandans, and I suppose they are right - I'm sure my crappy weekly pay cheque from temping was more than most Ugandans see in 6 months.
Another weird thing is seeing people with firearms, mostly military personnel and security guards. Yesterday we were taking a walk around the area by the training centre, and we were passed on the path by a matatu that sort of fell into a ditch up ahead of us (this is a common occurrence on Ugandan roads, being made of murram, a red-clay-like dirt and full of potholes and other road hazards). Everyone on the bus had to get out, and they were all standing at the side of the road, and they were all holding shotguns. The guys and I thought we were going to be ambushed. Turns out they were security guards and just waiting until the bus got pushed out of the ditch, but it was kind of scary at first.
Yesterday there was a bbq for us at the VSO Uganda office. Most of the 60 volunteers in Uganda came to Kampala especially for this event. It was fantastic to meet everyone and feel better about our prospective situations. I met Ellie and Richard, the two doctors stationed in Kihihi for another year, and they were just great, offering tons of advice about living in the rural area and what to buy where and generally what to expect. I think they were more worried about me that I was! It will be so nice for me (and them too, they say!) to have someone else around to talk to, and they are more than willing to show me the ropes. The other nice thing is that they have a truck, so getting around to the bigger towns for supplies will be easier. Kampala is a 10-hour bus ride from Kihihi so going there often is not really an option. Ellie also wants to go whitewater rafting on the Nile like me, so now I have a companion. I'm really looking forward to finally getting to Kihihi and settling in with Ellie and Richard's help.
Today the guys and I have braved the matatus once again and ventured into Kampala to do internet and just walk around. It is blazing hot out and it is nice to be in the air-conditioned internet cafe, but I also want to check out the shops and craft market. I feel safer staying with the group, but I'm sure with time we will feel more comfortable and secure going out alone.
[I hope this posting works this time - I just spent the last 45 minutes writing it!]
I am missing you all!
