Week Seven--Life in Rural Africa

I survived my week in Kapchorwa!

It was absolutely beautiful there. Kapchorwa is in the eastern Ugandan mountains, so it is slightly cooler with a perfect breeze ALL the time! The people there speak a different language than they do in the rest of Uganda, and the lifestyle is very different too. There is no electricity, no running water, and chickens everywhere…which really isn’t that different from Mukono I guess. I lived with a family in a mud house for the week, and had to carry water on my head up a giant hill every day. Chickens walked in and out of the house all the time: one even lived under the table, and another day I walked into my room and found one on my bed! And to think I was scared of them before I came here! People live off of the Matoke, maize, and coffee they farm…and yes, I did learn how to pick, crack, and roast coffee beans! I also learned how to milk a cow, and tried to kill a chicken, but when I found out it was a slow and painful process rather than a quick chop, I just couldn’t do it! People were very surprised that we could do any work at all. When they saw me with a water can half the size of everyone else’s, they were very impressed and complemented my family on their “hard-working mzungu”.

It was really interesting to see the role of women there. It was very obvious that men are superior, and the women’s lives seemed to revolve around making food for their husbands and families. They are either picking, peeling, cooking, serving, or cleaning up. When their work is done, they go to bed. As a Westerner, this seemed like an extremely monotonous and unfulfilling lifestyle, but they are so happy and content with their work. Our teacher told us a story about a student who gave their family a potato peeler to make it go faster. But the wife of the family replied, “But then what do you do?” It’s funny because she is so right. When we finished working, we had nothing else to do but sit. So, needless to say, I had a lot of sitting and time to myself this week. I also learned the value of sitting in silence with others. Presence is so much more important to them than conversation. We also went on an adventure everyday to either a waterfall in the trees, or on top of the mountain with an incredible view…and a little farther down with some intense hiking we found a giant cave! On our first walk, we started out with a group of 6 people, but we progressively attracted every child in the village, and ended up with a group of 37. A few of the grandmothers scolded them for bothering us…but we just kept on going! So beautiful, and so fun!

On Friday we were picked up. My family and all the neighbors skipped to school for the occasion, and they sent me with three bags full of bananas! Our neighbor, Sophie, insisted on cooking breakfast for me and the two other USP students who lived near me. She woke up early and killed a chicken, made chapatti, peeled potatoes, and made passion fruit juice just for the three of us! We were definitely well fed! She only spoke Swahili and the local language, Kupsabini, but we were always greeted with a huge hug and smile, saying, “Chigaste Jesu!” (Praise the Lord), and she prayed one of the most powerful prayers I have ever heard when we left…even though I couldn’t understand it!

After our rural home stays, we stayed in a resort overlooking one of the waterfalls at Sipi Falls. It’s called a resort, but there was still no running water or electricity…but by this time I was very used to it! On Saturday we went on a 5-hour hike through three of the falls. The first one was an 83 meter ice cold waterfall…so naturally we waded to get as close as possible, but then the wind blew and I got hit by a huge wall of water! It was so cold we couldn’t move, so now I can cross standing under a waterfall off of my to-do list! They told us they’ve had students get hypothermia from it, but thank the Lord it was sunny out! That night seven of us girls decided to sleep on the very top of the mountain (which was owned by the resort), and it was almost absolutely perfect. We got all situated, looking at all the stars, and were excited to wake up to the sun rise, when a man with a shepherds hook-thing showed up out of no where and just sat there watching us! We communicated enough to learn that his name was Patrick, and he claimed to be watching his father’s land. He said it was fine if we slept there, but he didn’t have any intention of leaving anytime soon. That was creepy enough for us, and we booked it down the mountain as fast as we could! So...we almost had a perfect camping experience, until good ol’ Patrick came along and gave us the heebie-jeebies!

So that is the gist of my past week. It has been, by far, the most exciting, and has been a great learning experience. I wish I could explain more of it, but I’m still processing, trying to figure things out too! One thing on my mind is our perception of “the poor”. I think when we see a mud hut we automatically think poverty, but my family was well provided for, and definitely had everything they needed! Sure, there are poor among them, but their neighbors are so much better at providing for them than we (3^rd party members) are. Once again, I’m confused at what my role as a Westerner is in all of it. I’m learning that material wealth does not determine quality of life…and these people are probably living life in its fullness much better than those of us who are slaves to our materialistic lifestyles.

So there you have it. Pictures are on my Facebook if you want to see, but my battery died only 2 days into it, and I had no way of recharging it! Thanks for reading! Love you all and I think of you all often! Probably more often than you think I do…all of us students have kind of hit the point where we would love nothing more than to spend a rainy day in Starbucks with our friends. =) But I know the rest of my time here will fly by, and then I will be home missing Africa.

Week 5 in Africa

This past week has been so crazy! First of all, Saturday we went white water rafting on the Nile and it was insane! The rapids were all grades 4 and 5, and we flipped a couple times too. The first flip was on a rapid named “The Bad Place” and it definitely was bad…but so so good! As we were getting close to it, some Africans were on the shore watching us saying, “Crazy Mzungus!!” and when we flipped, I understood why we were crazy. The trick to surviving while in the water was to not panic…but every time I tried to take a breath I would get thrown into another giant wave. I was so disoriented that sometimes I would just swim as hard as I could towards the top to try and get a little air. Anyways…that was dramatic, but that was my life for about a minute! =) In the raft next to us, I was talking to a man who was in the Peace Corps, and found out he was from Omaha!! How cool...I met a fellow Husker in the very middle of the Nile! Then that evening we went to the resort/hostel where we stayed the night, and I fell off our triple-decker bunk bed after missing a step, and I hit my head on the bottom of the other bed, about ten feet down. We’re pretty sure I have a baby concussion from it…and I’m definitely still feeling it in my head four days later. The next morning we went bungee jumping over the Nile…so so so fun! Probably not the wisest decision after I hit my head…but definitely worth it!! Anyways…that was my weekend! But don’t be fooled…as much as I wish it was, not every weekend here is like that!

This week has been a good one so far too. Yesterday I spent the day at my internship again, and was attacked by a preschooler. He started out just being playful, but then started biting me and kicking and pulling my hair…and he either didn’t care, or didn’t understand how serious I was when I told him “NO”. So for that whole morning, I was so sick of kids that I decided that I was never having children…but then the teacher gave me a little boy who had been crying, and he fell asleep in my lap for an hour. My heart melted…and now I like kids again. =)

It has been really cool to see the effects of all the programs we support at home, here. That’s a weird sentence…so I’ll explain. I have seen many many shoeboxes packed for Operation Christmas Child, so that has been really neat! But after seeing them…I think next time I pack a shoebox, I’ll put in a little less junk, and more good stuff, if you know what I mean. Soccer balls and stuff like that. Also, I’ve seen a few pairs of the Toms shoes they give away after you buy a pair. They are similar…except have rubber bottoms so they are heartier. So that has been really cool too. Yesterday though, was by far the coolest. Last night we had a “party/get-together with about 20 students at our University who are sponsored by mostly American families through Compassion. Some of them have been sponsored by the same families for up to 17 years, and it is amazing to see the impact it has had on their lives. If their school fees hadn’t been paid for by these families, they probably would have never gotten past grade school, and would now be boda boda drivers or something of the sort. But instead, they are now going to the University, studying Social Work, Computer Science, Law, and other subjects…with a desire to make a difference in their country. I’ve been so used to only seeing faces like theirs on pictures on the fridge, so it was so so so cool to see them in person, and get to know them. They are so full of joy, and so quick to share whatever they have. So as far as I can tell, sponsorship is probably one of the best way for people at home to make a difference here, and in other poverty-stricken countries, as well. It really does change lives, and my friends are quick to testify to that fact. So here’s my plug…sponsor a child, it’s definitely worth it!

I think that I’m finally getting used to the Ugandan pace of things. It’s the hottest time of the year here, so I find myself walking very slowly…but somehow it is still faster than the Ugandans. They say to us, “You Americans walk so fast, but run so slow!” They’re definitely right.

So that is all I have for the week. I pray that everything is going well with all of you at home. Be praying that the relationships we have with the Ugandans will go deeper than just the surfacy stuff…they have so much to teach us. Also pray that God will continue changing and challenging our worldviews…and that we are aware and awake to everything happening around us. It’s so easy to get into our groove, and go numb to the things we see on the streets, and to all the people we meet. Love you all, and I am still so thankful for all your thoughts and prayers!

Week 4

I don’t really have much to talk about this week. I finished my homestay today. It has been really great, but I am so happy to be back on campus. I will miss my family so much already…but they made me promise I would come visit whenever I could. I really began enjoying my walks back to their home from campus, and I realized that the more purpose and confidence I have when walking down the streets, the less unwanted attention I receive. Festo and Priscilla taught me some Luganda this week too, so I’ve been having fun trying some of the new phrases out. But my tendency is to switch over to Spanish when I don’t know how to say things!

I am hesitant to write very much this week, because I don’t really want to make things sound anymore spectacular than they are. The thing on my mind lately is how I perceived Africa before I came, and how people at home perceive it. I think that often times when people hear about someone going to Africa, they think something along the lines of, “Wow, they are really serious about following God’s calling,” or “woah, what a sacrifice they’re making!” I don’t know, I could be way off too; but what I do know is that it is often way over-glorified. Studying in Africa is no different than studying anywhere else in the world. Sure, there is more poverty here, and limited luxuries, but I think it must be very similar to adjusting to a life in Spain, China, Brazil, or anywhere else. I am not doing anything spectacular here. I am in no more danger than I am in the U.S., and I am definitely not here to teach the African’s a better way of life. I am simply going to school. I am learning from the people and children around me another way of life. I don’t think I’m articulating my thoughts very well…but maybe you catch my drift. I’m basically saying, please please please don’t over-glorify my time spent here. I’m not doing anything spectacular…life here is just different, and that’s what I mean by sharing my stories with you.

With that said…I had my first “I hate Africa!” moment this week. For my internship, I went to the school where I will be doing a little teaching, and they had me sit in on one of the Nursery classes. Normally, I love playing with little preschool age children, but this was way too much! All thirty or forty children around the age of 4 or 5 tried hanging on me, touching my hair, shouting Mzungu! They tried to communicate with me, but only spoke Luganda. Then when the teacher began teaching again, there were children running out the door, sitting on the table, and throwing balls at each other’s heads. I immediately went into babysitter mode and tried to corral them up to sit around the table and listen to the teacher; and after failing several times, I realized the teacher was unconcerned about the wanderers. It’s okay for them to walk out for no reason, or to lay on the tables. I know they are only preschoolers, but there was absolutely no structure, and I was completely confused as to what my role was. It was at that moment that the inefficiencies and inconveniences of African life all came and slapped me in the face at once. It sounds dramatic, but on that day, I hated the unorderliness, the red dirt, the laid back attitudes, and the hot sun. I longed for my air conditioned, colorful, structured kindergaten classroom that I had in Laurel. So, my latest challenge: trying to figure out the school system.

This post may seem somewhat negative, but things are still going really well! I think it’s just the cycle of adjusting to a new culture. There have been many joyous times along with the frustrating ones, and I know it is when I am most uncomfortable that God is changing my heart. And that is my prayer: that through this, my heart is being replaced by His, and that I can see Africa through His eyes.

So much for not writing very much. =)