Time Crunch

^{This was not posted at the time due to being trapped on a desktop computer for a week and a half partially due to lack of electricity (amashanyarazi) and me going to Kampala and then an epic PCV hosted event in the woods we named Burning Ssebo.}

JUNE 5^th

I am in the last phase of my Peace Corps experience where I can finally start making preparations to leave. I’m finishing up my project, cleaning out my house, and making plans for my future. The best part about it is that it actually feels like it is coming to an end. I’m in the mindset where ‘this could be my last trip to the market’ or ‘I never have to travel on this road again!’ It’s a good feeling. One chapter ends and another begins.

For the past 3 months I have been working with grant funds to create a recreation field, playground, volleyball, netball, and outdoor fitness area. I started the process back in November 2013 when I submitted to grant for approval. I went home for vacation in December and when I arrived in January I received the funds. Unfortunately my thoughts were then tossed around like a rag doll when I was told that ‘we don’t want the playground anymore.’ For 3 months I wondered how I could make it possible. Maybe build at the local community church or partner with another volunteer and his school. As soon as the school directors heard about my new intentions they asked where their playground was. WHAT? I just spent 3 months wallowing about not being able to complete my playground... Now you want a playground when I'm leaving in less than a few weeks?

To add a cherry on top: The organization that I was in contact with for 5 months and was going to get my playground equipment made through,  supplies, transport,  and volunteers from disbanded because of corruption and threats. One of their employees was stealing funds and the founder (an Englishman) confronted him and had to flee the country for a few months for fear of his safety. 

I was stubborn, upset, and drained of emotion for more than a week. Some could have called me a bitter eggplant but I found a way to turn my attitude around. I forgave my school directors for toying with my motivation and emotions. The situation with the playground organization was unforeseeable but understandable. I have been here long enough to be flexible with my plans and understanding to a point. So I was given a green light to build my playground but needed to find a plan B for making it happen.

Three months may seem like a long time to some people but to others it may not. In Uganda it is very common for no progress to be made in three months. Foundations for houses can and usually do sit for YEARS without anybody touching them.

Now without the playground organization to help I need to contact carpenters, welders, construction companies, hardware stores, and contractors. Communication becomes a huge barrier and everything has to be supervised. Mpora Mpora (Slowly Slowly).

I rented a bulldozer for two days to help shape the pitch. The bulldozer was transported for 3 hours on the back of a large truck and came with 4 workers that I had to feed. Two drivers and two ‘bullturns’ or bulldozer guides. When you rent a bulldozer you pay for: transportation, daily rental fee, fuel for the day, and per diem for workers. No signed contracts just… come in, do the work, and take the money. No more big plans for the pitch until the rainy season comes and grass can be planted.

Next step: Welders

I order metal from the hardware store and rent a truck so I can have it delivered to the school. I spent a week measuring and cutting the metal myself with a saw. Once the metal is ready and the school has power I have hire the welders to put it all together. I show them drawings with measurements and direct what piece of metal goes where when power is available. I’ve had them make volleyball posts, netball posts, football posts (soccer), monkey bars, and trash bins.

Ordering affordable playground equipment from Kampala, although 9 hours away, proved to be cheaper and easier than getting it made locally in Rukungiri.  Everything was already put together and painted. All I needed to do was provide transport to my destination. Thankfully Peace Corps let me use one of their drivers and their big truck for a day. They sure saved me money and time because I did not need to crawl around the city to find another driver and truck. Without much hassle from the traffic police we arrived at the school and unloaded the playground equipment just before it got dark. I’ve had the welders come to the school to strengthen some of the weak spots by attaching anchors to the bottom of each metal post so they could not easily be pulled out of the ground. which took another two weeks for them to finish due to the lack of electricity and Umeme (the power company) trying to fine the school 2.5 million shillings ($200).

With my newly strengthened playground equipment we need to re-paint to prevent rust. I ordered bright colors from a local hardware store and I’ve been waiting 4 weeks for my paint to arrive from Kampala. I would like to paint the playground before we anchor it into the ground but if the welders return to grind the sharp welding edges down we can dig some holes and cement the equipment in. If I wait for paint I am wasting time that I don’t’ have and will have to come up with an alternative solution for the paint.

Next Step: Carpenter

The carpenter is a bit trickier because the wood here is not so great. Once I order the wood that I want (type, size, etc) the boards are then taken to a machine (sawmill) which cuts and smooths each piece. The wood is not pressure treated and usually comes straight from the tree (with adequate drying time I hope) so I have to do my best to protect the wood by painting each piece with a black, tar like, preservative. Ideally I would use bolts instead of screws, nails are not an option due to how easily they can come out of the wood. If I can locate either screws or bolts in Kampala at this point I would be happy. I better get enough screws because I can't take the 9 hour trip again. My idea is to make balance beams and sit up boards (flat and inclined) for outside. I am also ordering wood and having holes chiseled into the wood for metal pull up bars and other strengthening bars. My carpenter does not have access to a power drill so the holes are chiseled in. Right now I am at a standstill with the carpenter until I travel to Kampala and look for supplies. While I am away I have to check up to make sure he is ordering the proper wood and has it ready when I return.

Progress to date:

Volleyball posts are in the ground
Netball court leveled
Wooden fence around the playground is installed
Playground equipment welding complete

Remaining to do: Enough to keep me busy

Time remaining to finish: Approximately THREE weeks

barrels for trash cans and other supplies 



My future playground site



my new fence



wood for some of the exercise equipment

These will be painted and placed in the ground



Had the welders add anchors

Strengthening the playground

YESTERDAY: JUNE 18^th Last weekend was spent Kampala for a Peace Corps meeting and playground supply gathering. Conveniently I was also able to spend the weekend in Mabira Forest with a bunch of PCVs at an event we called Burning Ssebo. It was fantastic! More about that later…

I spent over 300,000 UGX ($125 USD) on cheap screws that are barely long enough and found some wood preservative. Screws are not easy to come by. Since I needed longer screws and more ‘heavy duty’ ones I went to the construction shops downtown and found what I needed for about 4,000 shillings ($1.75) a piece. Yea…. I feel like I was screwed over. I’m over it.  Wood preservative is great because I want to plant some poles in the ground for pull up bars and other fun things… unfortunately it is also rare to find in Rukungiri.

Today I spent over 7 hours at the carpenters. Emanual, my carpenter, procured the nice wood posts that I need while I was away in Kampala. He got them delivered just as I was entering his shop. They looked rough on the outside but once we peeled the bark away, chopped the knots off with a ponga (machete), cut the poles to size, and sanded them… they did not look too shabby. I was bored while managing so I asked them to teach me how to use some of the tools. I love unplanned educational opportunities! The holes are drilled and I have someone coming in the morning to paint them for me… because my paint also came in while I was away!

Things are moving into place :)

smoothing the posts for my pull up bars

'Old school' drill. AKA what you use when there is no electricity

Tools at the carpenters

TODAY: June 19^th

Spent all day painting… then it rained and spoiled my work. Fail.

I am limited with time and it hasn’t been raining in Rukungiri… until now. Go figure.


9 days left at site = 9 days to finish the playground!

On the bright side of things I accepted a job offer teaching English in Taiwan :) Starts at the end of September when I am finished traveling around Asia!!! Yay for new adventures!

This needs a new paint job after the welding

Obstacle course? No. Pull up bars and balance beams!

Art time



SIPI!!! Taken June 7th 2014

Life in a Year

Around this time last year I was in a cruddy place in my service. It lasted for a few months but I know what I went through made me grow more as an individual. This occurred because of many factors in my life at the time. I’m not one for deadlines and when people tell me to do something that I don’t feel in the mood to do (like write a blog post) then I get unmotivated and don’t do it. I appreciate that nobody has been hounding me about getting another post out. These things take time to type out, a computer to type them on, and thought to help me compile everything. I had the time but my computer was broken again due to an unfortunate day of transport and most of the time I was trying to stop myself from thinking too much. Living in the village can be challenging.

Thinking back to a year ago has shown me how much I can grow as a person. I have been through a lot of bad but also a whole lot of good. You can never have one without the other.

So because you all have waited so patiently I will try to catch you up on what I can to this date. I enjoy bullet points… especially when I know I will be falling asleep in about 20 minutes…

March 2013

•  Traveled north to meet some friends and experience the ‘heat’

April - May 2013

•   Worked two youth camps back to back as the Recreation and Activities Coordinator or what I like to call Master of Games. I surprised myself by creating two 18 person obstacle course with just 3 hours to plan, collect whatever I could get my hands on, and put together two courses together. (chairs, benches, plastic basins, cups, balls, rope)
•  Got an iPhone (game changer)
• Somehow managed to loose my cat (sad times)
• Helped install a water pump and manually dig a bore hole for the school

June – Sept 2013

•  Planned and directed National Camp GLOW with two other fantastic women. The camp focuses on empowering young girls ages 12-16 how to be leaders in their communities. For this camp I compiled a 70pg manual complete with the weekly schedule and daily lesson plans. I remember not being able to sleep for 4 days straight before the camp and running around the dirty taxi park in Kampala every day to collect supplies. The hard work definitely paid off. SUCCESS.
•  Went to Sipi Falls for a little R&R. During the hike through the villages to visit the 3 falls I came across my fuzz ball of a puppy and started a whole new secondary project which I like to call ‘raising a dog in the village.’

October 2013

•  Went back to Sipi Falls for Halloween and made my costume from scratch out of local materials. That night we partied in the cave of one of the old kingdom kings.
• Started teaching life skills to a local community youth group. (hygiene, income generation, savings)
• Realized that business is not my calling.

November 2013

Reading time

•  Climbed Mt. Sabinyo where the summit is shared between Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The hike is only 7km with a 3,650m (12,000ft) elevation gain.
• Spent a few hours swimming at a remote lake then feasted on some amazingly prepared food complete with a Congolese turkey for Thanksgiving.
•   Created games and activities daily for Camp Suubi, a camp for kids with severe to moderate disabilities both physical and mental. This was one of the most challenging things I have done up to that point because the range of the camper abilities was so extreme that I needed to make sure all of them could participate. The best activities I ended up setting up were carnival games one day (javelin throw, fishing, bowling, bean bag toss) and Olympic events for the last day. What an AMAZING week!

Dec 2013

•  Following camp I flew to Florida to spend a week with my grandmother then my brother Mike arrived and took me skydiving (for the second time) and swimming with manatees!
•  Flew up to Michigan to surprise my parents early and spend Christmas with family and friends.
• 
  

Jan - Feb 2014

•  Spend New Year’s Eve with friends at Dave and Busters.
•  Experienced the power of the Polar Vortex in the Midwest and almost missed my flight out of Chicago due to the closing of highways and delay of two trains I was supposed to be on. Almost caught frost bite on my toes while waiting in the sub zero train station. 
•  Flew back to Uganda and tried starting my playground grant of $10,000.
•    The school I live at changed from a Primary school to a Primary Teachers’ College and the directors were unsure they wanted the playground.

March 2014

•   After nearly 3 months of depression and boredom the directors ask me where there playground was… WTF?!?! They told me they didn't want it!
•    Rented a bulldozer so I could create enough flat space for a field

Murchison Falls

Warthog. Oink. Oink. Oink!

April 2014

• Attended my Close of Service (COS) conference at a super swanky hotel paid for by PC. This place had air-conditioned rooms, 2 pools, golf carts, and horseback riding… through the streets of a Kampala suburb.
•  Ventured to Murchison Falls ( the most visited National Park in Africa back in the 60’s, I think)
•   Picked up Mike (my brother) in Rwanda where we explored Kigali, the genocide memorials, and Lake Kivu which is one of the worlds’ 3 exploding lakes.
•  Hopped over the boarder back to Uganda where we went gorilla trekking, climbed Mt. Sabinyo (again for me), visited Sipi (my dog), and relaxed on Lake Binyoni (the Switzerland of Uganda).
•   Once my brother left I went back to Lake Binyoni to spend Easter with a large group of fellow volunteers.

Camp Limitless

May 2014

•   Planned for Sipi’s escape back to America. He will be flown back by a friend in September and has a place to stay until I return after my travels and shenanigans abroad. I feel very fortunate to have those people involved with his escape in my life or else who knows what would happen to him.
• Helped with local youth camp, Camp Limitless!
•  Designed and ordered playground equipment

Preparing for India!

The bottom line is I have LIVED over the past year. This brings us back to the real world and current life. I have been away from site for two weeks working on my playground and looking for future employment opportunities. It is official! I am leaving Uganda towards the end of July. My flights are booked for my adventure afterwards and I am trying to figure out my next step in life following my Peace Corps service. The past few weeks I have been applying and working hard to get an English teaching job abroad in Asia… but who knows where I will end up and what I will be doing.

That’s all I have for now. If you would like more specific stories regarding any of the events above please send me a request and I’m almost certain I can provide you with a story, possible pictures, and more details about it.

Sipi

Instagram

we all know how much I like to slack on posts. If you would like follow me on Instagram! Username: Mighty_Meish

I.Am.Village.

I was bored one night so I made a list. 

I’m so village I…

…go to bed when the sun goes down.

…stay up on Friday night to watch my last candle burn out.

…pick fleas off my dog for hours.

…eat popcorn for dinner.

… sweep with a bundle of sticks.

…walk to the market once a week.

…do not have electricity.

…fetch my own water.

…often cook with charcoal.

…milk the cows.

…have rats routinely raid my house.

…use a bucket to bathe.

…use a cut water bottle for a funnel.

…have a pit latrine.

…use rope to help me workout.

…have a leaking roof.

…wear earplugs when it rains on my tin roof.

…cut my own hair.

…buy 500 shillings of airtime at a time.

…get goat legs delivered to me by Sipi (my dog).

(I've actually been busy at site building a playground and getting a field bulldozed!)

... own four jerrycans.

...have chickens outside my house.

...carve my own soap.

...have to charge my phone somewhere else...

...know the local cows

...do dishes outside.

The Great East Adventure...

Clearly I understand how much I have been slacking on my blog until this week. I’ve got a page full of reasonably acceptable excuses but will save those for a rainy day. Since my last, more informative, post I have hit a few milestones: a year since I swore in as a long awaited Peace Corps Volunteer, the one year anniversary of me living in my own little self-contained ‘house,’ my second attendance of an All Volunteer Conference. I’ve witnessed the full cycles of the wet and dry season here in the Southwest of Uganda which includes surviving the spikes and lowes of the prices of tomatoes, onions, and every other fruit and vegetable available to me here. The last time I’ve lived in a single place for over a year was my senior year in high school. For nearly 6 years I have bounced back and forth between my parent’s house, college living quarters, and work in Oregon. Less than a year left here in Uganda and who knows where I will end up next and for how long. Wherever it is… it will never compare to my lifestyle here in Uganda. It’s a unique experience and I am trying to embrace it while it lasts. That being said just because I’ve been living in the same small shack for the past year doesn’t mean I have always BEEN there. One of my favorite perks of Peace Corps other than living in a new environment is exploring that environment. I left home with little international travel experience so now I’m just trying to experience things I’ve been missing the past 24 years of my life through this experience and that includes… traveling!

Although public transport in Uganda is far from ideal it is quite convenient (most of the time) to get from Point A to Point B, C, D, E... or wherever your body may desire to travel. It may be frustrating at times waiting for hours on end to get from one destination to another but from being in this country for so long you just learn to bring a book, enjoy the scenery, and just go with the flow. I generally don’t pay attention to anything in order to prevent frustration and anxiety and I call this state of unconscious consciousness ‘Zombie-ing Out.’

I believe I left off with the month of March before gushing about Sipi and complaining about mice (with good reason). That’s almost a year ago. Oops. Things happen, people get busy, and others like me just simply lose track of the time, days, and months. I’ve been living one day at a time… which generally means I either don’t plan what happens next or I forget what just happened. Either way I’m about to catch you up so give me another moment to collect my thoughts… go grab some Jiffy Pop and settle down. (For those of you who are unaware what Jiffy Pop is… it’s delicious so you should Google it and educate yourselves.)

One. Two. Three. March. The third month of the year and one of my most eventful and meaningful adventures so far. On a whim I decided to venture out East for a few reasons: explore, visit other volunteers, and gather Re-Usable Menstrual Pads (RUMPS) materials. I live approximately 9 hours from Kampala where I transfer to another mode of transportation of sorts to continue East. First stop: Jinja. On the 1.5 hour – 2 hour coaster ride to Jinja the front windshield of the coaster I am in shatters with about 30 minutes left in the journey. Due to this unfortunate event we stop… get out of the coaster… glass cuts are bandaged…and 10 minutes later all pile back into the coaster and begin our journey again… at about 20mph slower than we were once moving. Luckily It wasn’t raining and I enjoyed the strong breeze unlike I know most of the passengers. Jinja. Finally. After the long journey I went out to get a delicious PB and Chocolate milkshake. Wish I had one now. Walked around a bit and went out for a few drinks with the nearly departed education volunteers. Later in the night I remember the temperature dropping and the rain pouring down. When we got back I wasn’t quite ready to go to bed so I stayed up on the awning on the roof talking with another volunteer for a while. In the morning the weather was beautiful so I went back up to the roof for a quiet yoga session then headed down the street to browse around a few craft stores for things that I don’t need but got because they were cute anyways. I packed my bag and headed off to my next destination: Tororo. (Aprox 2.5 hours from Jinja)….

In the dusty town of Tororo, located a few kilometers from the Kenyan boarder, I stayed with a married couple who were newly sworn in Peace Corps Volunteers. I’ve traveled plenty of places around Uganda but I must say… The first stretch of road after Tororo is the worst I have been on so far in Uganda. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet them until I arrived and their hospitality was most appreciated. They made potato soup and had a spare bedroom ready for me. It was refreshing to meet new people and hear new stories. 

To Be Continued….

Jinja

The menstruation cycle

Mt. Elgon resort

cow eating a spud

Top floor

The Dog Days

I would start to write. Then my mind would suddenly get side tracked. Until I stopped writing blogging for the past few months because I could never be patient enough to sit down and write. I also ran into a few computer problems. As usual.

I just finished with the most enjoyable bucket bath. I had a glass of wine (in a coffee mug), burned some incense, and had a few candles lit on the wall (since my solar lights don’t work). I needed something like that after the past few weeks. Sometimes you win. Other times you don’t. I’ve been re-adjusting and unmotivated. When another one of your projects don’t work out you lose confidence in your ability to do what THEY expected you to come here and do. This is not a post about failure. I’m not done yet and in order to be successful sometimes you have to fail. I actually have quite a bit to look forward to in the next few months! I’ve had enough rambling about my current situation.

Upon request from a few individuals I am here to write the infamous story of how I obtained my little fuzz ball (who isn’t so little anymore). I just finished spending nearly 3 weeks preparing and directing a camp (all of this will be in another post… pinky promise). Once the fun was over I was required to attend our annual All Volunteer Conference. This is where we get together, socialize, share ideas, and get re-motivated. Those few days I was EXHAUSTED beyond belief and spent most of my day lying on my bed watching movies with my eyes closed. After three days of being a zombie and trying to participate, a few of the volunteers from the newest group were heading to see waterfalls in the East. I’ve never been to Sipi falls. I figured I could use a ‘vacation’ after camp and… why not go East? I’m already half way between the East and West of the country I might as well keep going. We leave the next morning and hop on the first available bus to Mbale town. Due to ‘road construction’ we are delayed and arrive in Mbale not long before dusk. It was between staying in town at a hotel or hiring a car to drive us to the falls so we could sleep there. Clearly we all chose option two. Just after dusk we arrive at our destination: a quiet little place built on a slope with multiple dorm and other rooms. The manager hands 3 of us lamps and he leads us down a rocky stone path. After a minute of being blinded by the torch light and feeling my way down these ‘steps’ we reach a long building with an equally long front porch. Out of the four dorm rooms the 7 of us occupied two of them.

After a day on the bus and no food in our stomachs we try to order food but the only thing we could order at that hour was beer. Luckily another volunteer bought bread and peanut butter at the store in Kampala. Good thinking. We sat on the porch listening to music and enjoying the comforts of being able to stretch out fully. If you were quiet enough you could hear the waterfall crashing in the distance. With the moon out you could even see the faint flow of water sweeping over the top of the cliff. In the past few weeks I was so stressed and unrested that I finally felt a clear moment of peace. The night before my life here changed.

The next morning we woke bright and early to enjoy a cup of coffee and the view on the porch before our hike. We started the hike by walking down to the base and biggest section of the 3 connecting falls. As you get closer the roaring sound of the water crashing into the rocks gets louder and louder until you get a chill as the mist slowly falls around you. The air gets cooler and all of your senses are awakened. It was almost magical. This isn’t the first waterfall I have seen but it has been the first waterfall I could really experience up close. This close. I remember standing on a boulder at the bottom. Just in front of where the water spilled over the edge. The power I felt was natural. The gusts of wind blowing the cold mist through me. It was an experience that words can’t fully describe. A rare and breathless moment.  We climbed up a rickety log ladder and followed a path through the villages that would lead us to the top waterfall.

While walking along a narrow path we meet this woman carrying a small plastic bag with two puppy heads sticking out. Another volunteer asked if we could hold them. The others reached for the cute on who looks like he’s been dripped in caramel while I grab the big-eared brown and black fuzz ball . I asked where the woman was going and she said she was walking to the market to sell the dogs. I was curious so I asked how much a dog goes for. ((Now this may have seen spontaneous and irresponsible. In reality it probably was one or both but I have been thinking about getting a dog for a while. I even had one ready to take home at the school where the camp was held. The thing is… this one is here… right now in front of me… and no matter which one I choose…. I have to transport it home on a 2 day, 15 hour trip.) The nyabo (lady) told me 20,000… so I asked if she would take 10,000. After some expert bargaining I reduced the price to 16,000 for a puppy of my choosing (just over $6). I was kind and gave her 20,000 anyways for being such a good sport. When it came to choosing I couldn’t resist the caramel fuzzball with floppy ears. Honestly how could anybody?

I’ve been thinking of names for a dog but I think it’s important to meet something before you name it. As I was going through names a fellow volunteer suggested the name Sipi. Perfect J That way I will never forget where he comes from. I was worried for a bit by his lack of energy and a small gash he had on his foot but after all he was only about four weeks and with a little care his wound healed up in no time.

I carried him for nearly five hours on the hike. When we got close to the falls he was so small that I would wrap him up in my bandanna to keep him warm. The rest of the hike we climbed rocks, sat on the edge of the top of a waterfall, and washed up under another one. I was prepared and made sure to bring my shampoo and body lotion just in case the opportunity to shower came up.  Sipi slept in a pile of rain jackets while we played around in the water, but made sure he stepped in Sipi Falls before I took him to his new home .

In town I bought a small plastic basket generally used for carrying food. For the next few days I fed him milk and had him sleep on the bed with me so he wouldn’t get stepped on while I was sharing a dorm room with others. I took my time taking him home with multiple bus rides and hotel stays. On public transport he would be in the basket on my lap. I once even asked the driver to stop so my dog could short call (pee). Luckily I was able to read the signs when he needed to pee. When I was at a hotel I would carry him downstairs nearly every hour to prevent him from making puddles and mud pies everywhere and it worked. I got him home and had him trained to do his business outside in no time.

For the first month I didn't spend more than a few hours away from him. If I went on a trip that was close enough I would take him with me and have him sit on my lap. Luckily at this age he just falls asleep for most of the ride or stares out the window. When I left to visit home for a month I was fortunate enough to find a volunteer and another friend take turn watching him. When I left he was a puppy with razor sharp teeth and disproportionate paws. When I came back I saw a small dog. It amazes me how fast things grow.

I feed him rice, fish, and meat (that I have to cut up and cook myself/ yuck). I walk him at least once a day whether it’s with a purpose to get a few things from town or just ambling through the villages (if its not to rainy or hot out). He is even up to date on shots (ordered a shot from Kampala and had it shipped on a bus). Side note: when you buy shots here usually you purchase your own solvent, syringe, and administer the shot yourself... which I wasn't about to do so I had some help. Unfortunately the fleas here are on a mission and I have to spray him down with repellent and bathe him more often than most dogs. He is a lot of work but the company and security he provides me is nice.

I’m still undecided if I should take him home or find him a new and good one here for him. After all he is Ugandan and this is his home but it is an unfortunate place to be a dog.  I need to do some research still. In the end everything will work itself out.

View from the porch

All grown up... half way

6.5 months old

Do I look fat today?