As a result of last month's hail storm, which consequently knocked down poles, trees, and buildings, the power in Kachumbala has been off for the past month. Until Tuesday. Umeme, the electrical company in the eastern region of Uganda, was responsible for coming to Kachumbala to assess the level of damage, ordering the needed supplies from Kampala, and fixing the power outage. I fully understand that this process should have taken a few days, maybe even 1-2 weeks. But a whole month to fix one poll? What happens when the power goes out? Food spoils. Mosquitoes bite. Cooking, cleaning, and washing become more difficult with limited access to a light source at night. Purifying/boiling water becomes more challenging. Internet use - my computer has a 4 hour battery life in one charge - becomes infrequent.
The good of living without power for a month? I've become more grateful for the reliable power I enjoy back in the States. I don't have to watch my 2-10 baseball team underachieve. I've really enjoyed reading books lately (I finished reading "Waiter Rant" and "First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria"; I'm now reading "There is No Me Without You"). I've had more time to reprioritize and reflect. As always, just like all situations I've faced living in Uganda, the good come with the bad.
"Peace Corps' Visit"
Shiphrah (Peace Corps Uganda's Community Health Program Manager) and Laura (a 3rd-year PCV) visited the sites of several Community Health volunteers in my training group this week. They came to Kachumbala on Wednesday. First and foremost, it was strange not being the only mzungu in town, if only for 3 hours. It's hard to really put the feeling into words, but when you are living as a foreigner in another country, you can't help but get a little boost of excitement when you see another mzungu. I'm starting to understand what it may feel like for groups of individuals who immigrate to the United States in search of a better life. Anyway, not only was it great seeing familiar faces to show them around Kachumbala and to put a face to my stories and words, but also it was nice to have a sounding board to whom I could discuss my projects and achievements and vent about my frustrations and challenges, and get some in-country perspective from people who were visiting Kachumbala and my organization for the first time.
"An Unexpected Joy"
I can unequivocally claim that my most unexpected joy 8 months in-country has been speaking the Ateso language. One of the best things about living in a village setting is that I'm forced to give up my natural inclination to speak English, and instead try conversing in the local language. I can't tell you how beneficial it's been learning, practicing, and speaking Ateso on a daily basis to the people in my community. It has bridged the cultural gap considerably. I'm often asked how long I've been living in Uganda, to which yesterday I replied, "About 8 months," to which the woman replied, "Wow, you are picking up the language fast." I don't think it's a matter of how well or not I speak the language, but rather that I'm just trying to speak the language at all. Traveling to Mbale once a week, where Luganda is more widely spoken, I still sometimes mix up my Luganda with my Ateso, but I've become better as separating the two. Onward to becoming fluent in Ateso in the next 1 1/2 years!
"The Arrival of Books"
A few months ago, I applied for textbooks and workbooks from the U.S.-based organization, Darien. Applying for these books (20 pound weight limit) was not connected with my "Libraries for Life" project (see link below), but just to provide some teaching resources to teachers to enhance their quality of teaching and the quality of student learning at the secondary school. Well, the books arrived in Mbale on Friday! Because the term just ended - the Ugandan school system runs on trimesters - and school doesn't restart for a month, I won't be delivering the books to the school for several weeks. But I'm excited to see how the books are utilized by the teachers in the coming months.
On a sidenote, if you are interested and find yourself in position to donate to the "Libraries for Life - Peace Corps Uganda 2011" project, continued by several PCV's this year to build school libraries in their respective communities, please visit the link: http://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/to-project.html, and click on the project link under the subheading "Uganda." Thank you in advance for any sum of money you are able to contribute to the project's cause!
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