Wherever you go, go with all of your heart...

The adventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Pearl of Africa
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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hey There Stranger! Remember me?? :-)

Hey, it’s me… Shannon. Shannon McBride. The girl joining the Peace Corps?? Remember I was supposed to write on you and keep you up to date about my adventures in Africa so my loves from the states could know what’s going on… Yea… that one! ;-)
To say, “it’s been a while” would be an understatement! So let’s see sooooo much has happened since my last blog!! I will try to be better this year… now that I should have my “ish” more together, but no promises!! –Sorry! Actually I totally promise I will be better… how could I be any worse, right??

**Note- I’m too tired to reading over this but want to post it now, maybe I will edit it eventually… so hopefully until then it makes some sense!

Ok so since my last blog, let’s see…

-I am now a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) OFFICIALLY!! For 9 months now! Not the normal accomplishment of a 9-month period for a woman but… WHOO!!! :-)

-I have been in Uganda for 11 months, with 16 months remaining (April 2012)… unless I decide to extend and in the process give my mom a heart attack! Love you momma!! ♥

-Before you begin, be aware: There are many frustrations on a daily basis I have written about! Although life here can be difficult and challenging it is still a wonderful place to be and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else at this point in my life.

-My assignment: I am working at a Primary Teachers’ College, so basically I am teaching students to become elementary teachers. YAY FOR SCHOOL! I am mainly teaching ICT (computers), but now I am also teaching mathematics (since one of the math teachers left for the term). I also give workshops on teaching methods and life skills. They call us “tutors” and not teachers or professors. It’s fun and I love the people I work with and I love my students. I enjoy teaching computers but it is so frustrating!! There are 5 classes (they call them streams) and each has about 70-100 students. Since the ICT lab is too small for that big number my streams are broken into halves so I instead I have 10 classes to teach with a total of 35-50 students. Between my American accent and the students limited to poor English, it can make communication difficult at times. Also my class is the first time many of the students have used or have even seen a computer. Other than teaching students with no basic knowledge in ICT and with a decent sized class… the computers are my next challenge! We have 18 computers, but they are all from the 90’s… 20 year old computers?? They are all refurbished from the States and broken down and currently only 9 are working. At one time there was only 5 working but another PCV helped me to fix 4 of them so now we are up to 9! The ones that work are slow and freeze up often. The other 9 are beyond repair or need serious repair and at that point we might as well replace it with a new computer that will WORK! So 9 computers, 35-50 students per class… yea do the math, about a 1:4 or 1:5 computer to student ratio! Other than those issues… power is inconsistent at my site so when the power decides not to cooperate I have to figure out something else to teach. The broken computers come in handy during this time since we can use them to practice putting them together (without worrying about breaking them) or we can play games of “what part is this and how does it work”? And even when everything is going swimmingly on a particular day, sometimes class is canceled due to meetings that come up out of nowhere! Needless to say… It’s a bit chaotic, but we make it work… somehow! And things are getting better, I think… I hope! I’m working on getting a grant to update the computer lab with new working computers and I want to train some of the other staff members to make my project sustainable. *Special Note: Thanks to my parents I have experience in teaching technologically-challenged and computer illiterate people (not that I am a pro by any means)… but they helped me tremendously with my preparation in teaching students here without any of us knowing it at the time! :-)

-I live at the college in the village in the deep bush… it’s somehow like a black hole in the middle of Africa. It’s like I disappear there since network is so poor and it makes it difficult to communicate with the outside world. It’s about 16 kilometers (about 10 miles) from the main town. The road is horrible… it is a rocky super hilly dirt pathway with sections of rocks, sand, and roads that are collapsing in some places. During dry season the road is very dusty and during wet season it is ridiculously muddy with puddles everywhere (please refer to my flip flop story for detail in "More Blogs Finally" -Note to self, use your brain). Transport is fun when you think of it as a ride from the amusement park! Also, I am the only volunteer at my site and the only mzungu in miles! The closest mzungu to me is about 2 hours away. Others about 2 days in travel, keep in mind Uganda is only the size of Oregon in the USA!! I reiterate: The roads are horrible and transportation sucks!!

-I live in a small house that is for tutor housing on the campus. It’s like a little hobbit house or cottage a Disney princess would live in. YAY! I have three main rooms inside my house: small kitchen area, living room, and bedroom with two beds. For the bathroom I have a pit latrine outside for the toilet and a washroom to shower or in most cases bucket bathe. I have no running water but it’s not all that bad, you learn that running water is a luxury and hot pressured water that comes from the ceiling is simply magical! I fetch my own water from a tap and during rainy season I have fun collecting rainwater… It’s a little weird, as soon as I hear rain I get super excited and run outside to set up my buckets and basins to collect water. I also get excited over recycling items to use them as other things! Any who, as I stated already I have electricity, which is nice, it’s inconsistent and comes and goes as it pleases but just like the running water, it’s a luxury just to have it! I think that is it about my place.

**So… Anyone want to come visit?? I will make you mzungu food!! French toast, pancakes, toast, and/or scrambled eggs with coffee or tea in the morning… Ratatouille, mac & cheese, pb&j sandwiches, pita and hummus/guacamole, dirty rice & re-fried beans, vegetable curry, spaghetti, pizza, etc for lunch/dinner… and dessert! Well I’m best at dessert: cakes, cookies, brownies. No I don’t have an oven, I create my own!! And I promise this is not Peter Pan food from the movie “Hook”!

-Moving on, I think now is a good time to inform you that I am now a single mother of two beautiful babies… No, I did not adopted or steal any African children (yet… plus I’m not technically “allowed” some silly pc policy). So I did the next best thing, I adopted a kitten… and then a dog. And that’s it for now… until the cat has kittens I suppose. SO I have a sweet kitten named Minney and a colorful puppy named Molly. Minney was weaned a bit too early so she enjoys nursing on my black fuzzy sweatshirt. She likes to do this best when I’m wearing it and curls up in my lap and begins nursing in the inner-crease of my elbow. I have also made a brilliant discovery; if I put the sweatshirt on my back she will lay there and while she nurses she kneads her cute little paws giving me a sweet kitty back massage! SCORE!!! Molly my dog is a bit of a handful and as the Ugandans would say, “she is very stubborn!” She is a complete lunatic at times running around the campus like a maniac, but she is loving and precious!! I know I may seem crazy for having two pets here in a third world country… especially the dog when I have never had one before and have no clue how to even begin training one… but I am glad I decide to take them in. They bring a lot of love and joy to my life and on the hard days they make it a little easier to breathe. Also I am an overly (sometimes maybe overwhelmingly) nurturing and loving individual, always have been! I need something or someone to give that my affectionate energy… and since I don’t want a headache (or as some may call it, a “boyfriend”) and don’t plan on having a baby anytime soon (sorry mom)… Pets seemed like the best bet for now!

-Ok, Let’s see… Job-check! House- check! Pets-check and check! Hmmm… I think that is the basics… here is some other interesting things I have been up to…

I will entitle this section as “I am woman, hear me ROAR” ;-)
Since being in Uganda there are some things I NEVER thought I would be able to see or do! For example:

-Eating bugs… in Uganda they fry up grasshoppers and eat them by the bag full’s. Not something I plan on continuing so much, but I did it!! Also there are these big white ants with wings on them they eat, but I think I’ll wait until next year to try those ones.

-Tool Time: while I was always handy around the house and fixing things (and yes more often accidentally breaking things)… I have since chopped and sawed wood to use for different things in my house… Such as my closet to hang clothes, spice rack cabinet in the kitchen, shelf for the shower (with Tony’s help, thank you!), and also a branch to make a Christmas tree!

-Going along with the previous home improvements, I also spackled and painted my main room all by myself!! Yet another thing the Ugandans thought I couldn’t do (because I'm mzungu and a woman) and was crazy for doing, especially when I was standing on my chair on top of my table to paint the wall (I have high ceilings). And it actually turned out ok! Then I created two bulletin boards out of fabric and cardboard boxes to put up!

-I helped assist another pcv to fix some of the computers in my lab… without electrocuting myself!! WHOOO!!! And we (more like he, I just did what he told me to do) were able to fix two and update about 4 of them. Which is a big improvement since the computers are old and slowly dying.

-Bargaining: still something I hate doing for the most part… but I am MUCH better at it now. One needs to bargain to get the fair price, especially at the markets. It’s kind of fun if you are into that kind of thing, I just always feel bad because it’s like I’m saying “what you are selling me is junk and you are lucky if I give you such-and-such price”… it just feels mean to me. But I got over it! I guess... :-/

-Night Dancer: A night dancer is what we would probably call a witch doctor in America. Thank God I didn’t see or hear him… but one of the other tutors informed me that this "night dancer" was outside wandering around my house and two of the other tutors’ houses past midnight. When I asked, “what is a night dancer?” he informed me that they chant bad omens around one’s house in the middle of the night and sometimes sprinkle grave dust on one’s roof. -Nope, that’s not creepy at all!! Then later when I told my pcv friend about it her response is, “you know they are cannibals, right?” My response- “Oh! No, no I didn’t!! Thanks for letting me know… It’s not like I wasn’t scared enough to begin with, awesome!” Anyway, I have not heard him and don’t think he has been back so no worries! :-)

-Keeping my cool & motivation! Becoming so overly stressed and frustrated because everything takes FOREVER and still nothing seems to work! Because the work you do may or may not be sustainable and you feel like “what’s the point”!! Because meetings take FOREVER (like 7 hours) and nothing gets accomplished and you just hope that your head will burst so you don’t have to go through another dreadful minute. Because people are screaming “MZUNGU” at you and people are touching and trying to grab you when you go anywhere because you are white and different. I have yet to scream, or cry, or loose my cool in public with all of these frustrations and I think that is (in the words of Borat) a “great success”!!

-Rafting the Nile!! The Nile River actually begins here in Uganda and you are able to see the source! I rafter that bad boy with grade 5 rapids!! We even got to swim through some of them!! It was AWESOME!!

-By far the most intense thing I have done: Watching and assisting my dog getting spade… in my backyard… on my kitchen table!! This is coming from the girl that always left the room when the vet had to give her cat a shot in the behind! And somehow God gave me the strength to get though the whole thing without crying, throwing up, or passing out… although I was on the verge of passing out!! And now my sweet little Molly Dolly is all healed up and back to running amuck like a lunatic and scaring Ugandans.. what she does best!

-Other than that, I think just being able to handle yourself in everyday life as a white single woman all alone in a third world country (especially Africa where you stand out like a sore thumb) is something of an accomplishment. I just hope that I’m not too jaded or have become too “hard” when I come back to the states or too desensitized… Hopefully when I come back everyone’s not going to think I’m this offensive a*hole!!

Ok so some that I have already said has been frustrating or challenging, but not my negatives... This is a list of my negatives of being here… I think bad news is always best first so here are the not so great things I have been experiencing:

*Negatives-
-Mzungu Price: I should have brought this up earlier, but "mzungu" is the Swahili word referring to white people. Normally those of European descent but the literal translation mean “of the aimless wanderers”. Any who, “Mzungu Price” is when a mzungu is overcharged simply because of the color of his/her skin. This is because it is assumed one of white skin has more money and there for should pay more. I have to explain that some are not in fact rich… some are poor volunteers trying to help their country and are still paying back their school fees in the USA! I HATE MZUNGU PRICE!! You end up arguing over nickels and dimes… but it’s the principle… It is unfair and complete discrimination! (Happy almost Martin Luther King Jr. Day BTW!!)

-Already got into this a bit, but transportation is by far THE WORST THING in this country!! Actually corruption is probably more so a bigger issue… BUT transportation affects me more often and it SUCKS!! You normally get mzungu priced, may have to sit on the bus or matatu (taxi van) for 2 hours until it leaves, depending on where you go it could take you the whole day. The closest volunteer to me is about 2 hours. Normally I travel for about 8 hours… that’s how long it takes me to get to PC office and to my love and bff GRACIE FACIE!! Also most drive recklessly and you are normally squished into a small place and might have to hold someone's chicken or baby. Also depending on the temperature that day and how close you are sitting next to someone, you may end up with their BO on you for the rest of the day. Eww...

-Living like a hermit crab: Since we don’t have cars and must take public transport, and because it takes a day to get to most pcvs, and because it’s not safe and approved by PC to travel at night, and because you can’t get all your supplies from your village/town, and because there are many trainings and workshops to go to all the time, and because sometimes you just need a break from your site… because of all these things you are often going from place to place like a nomad and are carrying your backpack or duffle bag (which is so big and heavy it’s looks like you have stolen a medium-sized child). Again, travel can be long, frustrating, tiresome, and just suck all round… but it’s not that bad once you get the hang of it. You learn! You get used to carrying your weight on your back, being squished into a matatu (taxi), and walking long distances!! It’s crazy tho, my packing skills are improving!! Alas! I no longer bring everything and the kitchen sink with me like I did before!! YAY!!

-Already mentioned above: No running water at site… not so bad actually. Running water is a luxury!! Hot water is magical!! :-)

-Also mentioned above: Electricity. I’m lucky I have electricity at my site, even though it is completely inconsistent. I may have it for a week on and off… sometimes it goes for a few days. You never know! And it makes teaching computers to students super frustrating… apparently computers don’t work without a power source! :-/

-Also I’m afraid I will become offensive by the time I return to America… Not meaning to be offensive but due to lack of a filter. Ugandans just say it how it is; to describe people they will say, “The fat one,” “the very black one,” “the very old one,” etc… They will even say this in front of the person and no one cares. They don’t say it to be mean or offensive, but they are just describing people the way they are. Back in America most people whisper the word, “black” to describe an African American friend because they don’t want to seem politically incorrect. Honestly, these things shouldn’t be offensive… I know I would never describe my friend as fat or old like they do here and I guess it is hurtful… but I guess we are all touchy in America.

-Network: Most of my conversations on the phone while at my site go like this, “Hello, Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?!? Ok sorry, go on… arg! I lost them!!” On most spots on campus I can stand in the same spot and the bars will go from 2 to 0 to 4 to 1 to 0 all in under a minutes time. In my house if I leave the phone by my window or outside I normally can get 2 bars! By the flagpole on campus I can get 4, which is WONDERFUL, but I’m not going to stand by the flagpole all day! Inside of the ICT lab I get nothing, it’s really like I’m in a black hole! So getting a hold of me is just as challenging as everything else. Also network doesn’t really exist at my site for Internet… It’s only strong enough to get a very slow weak connection on my campus by the flagpole and sometimes it can’t even load e-mail! Plus I am stared at (more than I already am) and everyone asks to use my Internet and laptop when they don’t really know how to use either… I don’t want to be selfish with “my things” (that’s super American by the way) but I really don’t want to open up Pandora’s box either!

-I knew from the beginning being away from my family and friends would be the most difficult part of my service. They mean the world to me, they are what gives meaning to my life. I still feel incredibly guilty and selfish being here so far away from them. I am missing important events in my loved ones’ lives and people are growing up and moving on… It’s really hard when I feel like someone needs me and I can’t be there, not because I don’t want to but because I simply can’t. :’-(

Ok, enough “Negative Nancy”… Honestly the negatives are not that bad and the pros out way my cons significantly!!

*Positives- (I’ll try to limit them since the list is long)
-The scenery/climate: THIS COUNTRY IS KISSED BY GOD!!! It is so incredibly beautiful here! It’s green filled with nature and animals everywhere! The temperature is always warm, even during the rainy season it’s not so bad… the sun eventually comes out to play! You may get a little muddy, but come on… that’s FUN!! The sunrises and especially the sunsets are breath taking and the night sky is so clear and unbelievable! It’s just glorious!!

-The people: Ugandans while many frustrate me; I really love their spirit. They are good, warm-hearted, welcoming, loving people!! Uganda is a communal society whereas America is individualistic; so people want to help you much more. They will come visit you and greet you about 5 times a day! Sometimes the greetings are too much and drive me crazy, but unlike most Americans when they ask you, “How was your day? How is your family?” They really care and actually want to know! People are more important than time and money in many ways. This is the way it should be!

-“SANTA!?!?!? I KNOW HIM!?!? I KNOW HIM!!?!?” Ok, I may not be Santa Claus! However, the kids in Uganda are 10 times more excited to see me than kids in the States are to see their beloved fat man in a red suit at Christmas! And I’m here all years round folks! Plus, bringing smiles to children’s faces is one of my top missions in life! (Unfortunately there is once in a blue moon a child that cries or wets himself in your presence, but just like Santa it comes with the job!)

-Adventures! I may have many stressful and frustrating situations that arise often, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world… I have grown so much as a person (at least I think I have) and have learned so much more about the world and people! I have some of the craziest stories and know how to basically survive on my own. It’s almost like I’m camping everyday. Thank you for the preparation Girl Scouts!! :-)

-Silly boys, tricks are for kids! Although I get many marriage proposals while over here on a daily basis, mostly from complete strangers who don’t even know my name but want a "white wife" and ticket to America (then again, who doesn't want to go to Disney World??) Luckily for me, I don’t have to deal with all the drama of the dating world! Dating is always so much more frustrating than I don't know, living in know a remote village in Africa!! Sure it would be nice to have a “someone special”… someone to call my own and share all my hopes and joys and blah blah blah… but it would be too difficult here. If I did long distance with someone back home it wouldn’t be fair to him and if I dated someone locally I could possibly loose my reputation in my community plus many other complications could arise. Living here makes it much easier to remain single and focused!! But who knows maybe if eventually the right guy comes along... then again at this point in my life I kind of give up on the old Prince Charming... Plus he would be too prissy to hang out in the village and who needs a hero when you can save yourself... in heels no less!! Again, "I am woman, hear me ROAR!" ;-)

-Seeing who your “true friends are”: Being away for so long from a place you once called home you really find out who your “true” friends and family are… Even the ones that I have scarcely heard from I know which friends are there for me and which ones never were… some may find this sad, but I find it a blessing. Since college I lost a few friends (or so I thought) and I found out the hard way… Living in a Third World County in a remote village for a few years is turning out to be much easier! :-)

-One really cool thing about being here is I get to meet fascinating people from all over the world! Most of them are volunteers who want to bring a positive change to this world and others are just adventurous travelers who want to see this world. Either way it is always delightful to make new friends, fun memories, and learn about a whole new world!

-Gracie Facie! Talking about friends, she has been my rock here… literally my “saving Grace” on some occasions. She is my Amazon and my sister from another mister. I love her dearly and thank you my darling for putting up with my shenanigans!

-Direction: I may not know where I’m going (or where I am half of the time), but I know I’m on the right path… I’ll do what Shannon does best and figure it out along the way! :-)

-Feeling a part of a family. I thought I might feel very alone like an outsider here and thought being here would be difficult without having my family/friends support system close by… However I am so blessed, I have created my own in-county support network with both my Peace Corps Uganda family and also with my community. It’s no wonder that Peace Corps volunteers are some of the best people one can meet in this world. They are kind, caring, supportive, proactive, optimistic, adventurous, creative, open-minded… the list goes on and on… kind-of-people! I feel so fortunate to be apart of this incredible new family… they are almost as wonderful as my loved ones back home. My community also makes me feel loved and welcomed. Sure there are still people who try to ask me for money or want to be my friend for status because I am a mzungu, but for the most part I feel like many of the Ugandans in my community have my back. One of my best friend’s is my next-door neighbor, she is kind, caring, and I don’t know what I would do if she wasn’t there! I just feel so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life both those from back in the states (and other parts of the world) and those here in Uganda!

-Regrets: Although there is a lot that of cons being here, I have no regrets! Thank God I decided to do this! Even though everyday has the possibility of encountering a new set of challenges and frustrations, I can say with all certainty I would have regretted NOT doing Peace Corps. It’s by far the best decision I have ever made! Thank you for those who supported me in my decision! :-)

-Friends and family, be happy!! I am happy and I am almost half way there to being back in your arms once again!! YAY!! But in the mean time you should come visit and I’ll give you an incredible African adventure!! Promise!! ;-)

Ok… I think that is enough for now, next blog I hope to update you on my Holiday adventures and incredible trip to Egypt with two of my best gals!… If you have any more questions just feel free to ask… but I think this should be more than enough for quite some time!!
So… now that you are all filled in on the life of Shannon… please e-mail me and catch me up on what’s new with you! I am going to be light years behind when I come back to America!! I wish you all the best and thank you all for your love, support, and well wishes! Now go shine your own light on the world and spread love wherever you may go…

Much Love from across the globe,
Embabazi Shannon ♥

P.S.- Embabazi- This is my local name given to me by my community. It is in the language Runyankore/Rukiga spoken by a group of people in the southwest of Uganda. It means: merciful, grace, kindness, and I’m not sure what else! I'll take it! ;-)