Can someone please
find the mzungu a chair?
Do not worry friends;
we are simply waiting for the mzungu to find a seat.
Oh here, they are
bringing the mzungu a chair.
This is how the epic day that was Bursar Rose’s wedding culminated.
The bursar at my nursing school (Bursar Rose) recently got
married and I had the honor of attending the ceremony. Unbeknownst to me, I
would be spending most of the day in transit, going from one location to
another.
The day started much like any other here in Rakai during the
rainy season. I woke up fairly early to the wonderful sound of raging rain
storms. I was told the day before that I should be ready around 9 am for the
vehicle that would take me, along with some other staff members, to the wedding
location. I decided to stay in bed until 8:30, falling asleep and waking up
intermittently. Upon finally getting out of bed, I realized I had no water and
decided to tackle that task first. As I was getting water, I ran into the IT
staff member, who told me the vehicle I was waiting for would arrive at 10 am.
I assumed this would be the case since in any event of rain, appointments and
scheduled times seem to go out the window. I took my time, made tea and got
myself together. At about ten minutes before 10 am, I heard a knock on the door
which turned out to be a staff member coming to help me put on my gomez (yes, I
wore a gomez, which is a “traditional” dress women wear in Uganda during
important functions, such as introduction ceremonies, weddings, graduation
parties, etc.). I told her that I had yet to bathe (which I was not planning on
doing anyway…shhhh) so I would get help from my neighbor who arrived the night
before. A little after 10 am, I got myself together with the help of said
neighbor and proceeded to wait…for almost an hour. At 11am I finally got a call
that the vehicle had arrived and I should proceed down my mountain, in the mud,
to the car. Of course my shoes were caked in mud but at the end of the night I
got it all off so it ended up being fine.
The rest of the day was spent being shuffled from location
to location. The actual wedding ceremony was surprisingly short. It was
completely in Luganda, so I had no idea what was going on most of the time. It
seemed to me that the ceremony was just another excuse for the preacher to do
more preaching, at least he was very animated which is how the pastor at the
nursing school is when he is preaching (of course he’s preaching in English so
I actually know what’s going on most of the time). The couple apparently signed
the marriage certificate during the ceremony. At random points other staff
would explain to me what was going on. At one point everyone got up to give
some kind of offering to the bride and groom (which was money) and I had no
idea what was going on. Someone asked if I was going to give an offering and I
said I had no idea what that entailed (and at the time I didn’t know, it wasn’t
until I noticed people giving money that I put two and two together). I didn’t
even have any small bills, so even if I did want to give an offering, I
couldn’t have. Apparently you’re only supposed to give small amounts of money
for an offering.
After the ceremony, we went outside to see the couple and
watch as their photographer set them up in various poses for pictures. At one
point, Bursar Rose called me up to where the couple was standing along with
their close family and friends. She asked me to be in some of the pictures with
her. I wasn’t really surprised; I know having a mzungu (a foreigner) at her
wedding was probably a big deal. After the wedding, we sat around a bit, got a
snack and then headed off to the reception. In between we stopped for some
lunch, which proved to be precarious for me because everything was made with
meat. I ended up settling on some matooke, rice, and g-nut sauce (a really oily
sauce made from ground nuts, pretty much just like peanuts). I didn’t eat much
of it, thinking there would be more food at the reception.
Silly Aditi.
At the reception, all that was given was matooke and meat.
Lots and lots of meat. So, I didn’t eat. All day I hadn’t had a drink either,
so by the time we got back to the school I was exhausted and super dehydrated,
but I’m getting ahead of myself.
At the reception, the theme was definitely that of giving.
The new couple gave out cakes to various important people at the reception,
including the director of the nursing school. Subsequently, everyone at the
reception went up to the new couple with gifts and words of kindness. I had
contributed to the gift given by the staff members of RCSN, so I just went up
and shook hands, but even that small act seemed to really touch Bursar Rose. I
got a lot of unwanted attention, probably made worse because I was a mzungu in
a gomez. At some points, I felt I was getting more attention than the new
couple got, which was kind of irritating.
When we eventually left, it was after dark so I was being
eaten up by mosquitoes. It took FOREVER for us to get back because the vehicle
kept stopping to pick up random people (even though we had hired it out). At
one point I wanted to scream, but I decided that was probably not the best idea
so I just kept as calm as possible. Once I got back, I ate some bread (the
first bit of food I had eaten in hours) and drank heaps of water and just
passed out.
Just another weekend
for the mzungu at RCSN!
After the wedding, the “week of arrival” began. By Tuesday,
everyone was back (this was fairly exciting for me, having been mostly alone at
the nursing school throughout the past few weeks). Within the next 24 hours
things changed dramatically. I now have people at my school to socialize with
again, plans for me to actually contribute are taking place (though they mostly
involve me creating electronic copies of notes and other documents, but I
suppose that’s something…baby steps, right?). I’ve also decided to get into
town at least once a week to see my neighbor PCVs. I’ve been pretty lazy in
getting into town but realizing how lonely things can get, I guess that got me
to get my act together. So, my new
semester initiatives (as described before) have been adjusted a bit, after
having discussed these options with my supervisor.
New Semester initiatives:
d.
Evaluate new teaching methods with students
2.
Work with Nora and students in community
placements to help develop best practices for working within communities
a.
Observe/evaluate current interactions/practices
of students working within communities
b.
Determine areas of improvement
c.
Integrate new ideas/current best practices into
community placement interactions
d.
Evaluate new methods with Nora and community
3.
Identify and train two students to assist in
library operations (develop an application for those interested)
a.
Develop/disseminate position responsibilities/expectations
to students
b.
Create/distribute application for interested
students
c.
Review returned application and determine two
potential candidates
d.
Train candidates on library operation methods
e.
Schedule/observe students for two week period to
determine actual capability
f.
Train students on key identifiers for replacement
students
4.
Work with Moses on IT/Computer course
a.
Observe/evaluate current lecture method utilized
by Moses
b.
Determine areas of improvement
c.
Develop/integrate best practices/currently
utilized teaching techniques from U.S.
d.
Evaluate new teaching methods with students
5.
Evaluate current HIV/AIDS outreach practices and
determine if improvement is possible
a.
Create an evaluation tool to implement during
future outreach programs
b.
Observe/evaluate current outreach method
utilized by Youth Against AIDS Club (Y.A.A.C.) and Red Cross LINK Group
c.
Determine areas of improvement/discuss with
students groups ideas for improvement
d.
Identify any outdates material/methods used
which can be eliminated
e.
Integrate new practices/current research for
HIV/AIDS outreach/education
f.
Evaluate new outreach methods/effectiveness
g.
Continue to update/evaluate outreach methods (monthly/annually)
d.
Identify key staff members to work with
(director, principal tutor, Moses, Cylus, etc)
7.
Work with Red Cross, God Cares, and Rakai AIDS
Counsellor’s Association (RACA) on projects/camps
a.
Communicate availability/desire to work with
organizations
b.
Community skills/resources available from
volunteer
c.
Build relationship between students at RCSN and
local organizations
8.
Work with PCVs in area on Life Skills course
with local primary/secondary schools
a.
Communicate availability/desire to work with schools
b.
Community skills/resources available from
volunteer
c.
Build relationship between students at RCSN and
local schools
The new semester has begun for the returning students, but
for the new students, the semester begins on Monday. Hopefully I’ll be able to
implement some of these things. I have already given the outreach evaluation
form I developed to my supervisor and he seemed very excited about implementing
it, however that is how he reacted to many of my past projects, including the
evaluation form I created for the different courses and the electronic
inventory of library books, both of which were never really implemented or
discussed further after completion.
I’m still working on the youth newsletter, Uganda’s Young
Stars, with other volunteers and it’s going very well. I even had a couple
submissions from students at my own nursing school, which was very encouraging.
I hope the judges choose them (and given the limited submission we received
this time around, it is definitely possible). I think if some of my students
get chosen this will encourage more students to participate.
I also hope to work with some youth development camps being
held in August. I’ve already completed an application for a youth camp focused on
fostering an interest in math and science among girls (called GirlTech). This
camp will be held in Jinja, a place I have grown to enjoy. Another camp being
help in August will focus on the reconciliation of the northern tribes (this is
in reference to the disputes exacerbated by Kony and other rebel groups). This
camp (called Peace Camp) will be held in the north, probably in or around Gulu.
I am really interested in both, but they overlap by a few days. I’m debating
whether I want to apply to both in hopes of getting both and having to turn one
down or if I should risk just applying to one…I’ve already got the application
for GirlTech filled out since it’s due in a few days, but the application for
Peace Camp won’t be available until June 11th or so. I guess I can
hold out for a few more days while I decide.
Mpola mpola things
will work out…
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