2.0

Northern Uganda-I heard from one of the volunteers here that the longest civil war in African history is the one that is currently going on in northern Uganda. Political factions have been fighting for years, people have been displaced, children have become soldiers and slaves to the sexual desires of many. Families have been torn and people have become enemies.

Years ago, the Peace Corps pulled it's presence out of northern Uganda. Until today. The rebel forces have been pushed largely into the Congo and Sudan, and parts that were before unsafe, have been deemed safe for travel and for livelihood. I have been given the special honor of being a part of the first group to go back to this land.

Aesthetically, northern Uganda may not be on top of all the traveling guides. The place is flat, dry, and in the dry season...hotter than a hornets nest. But I think the people may make this the greatest part of the country. I have only been here for 5 days, and so perhaps the best I can do is tell what I've heard from others, and what I've seen.

For many reasons, that may or may not be justified, the people of the north are not the same as the people from the south, east, and west. I was talking to a woman from southern uganda about the people from the north and she described them as people without human hearts. She said she feared them and that the war had made them a tough people. However, I have heard another side as well. I have heard they are a people of solidarity, that the war has formed bonds like brotherhood between a suffering people. I have heard that if there is only one fruit in a class of students, they will either share, or not eat. They often don't eat I think. This is the people that I have been given the opportunity to know. These are the people that I see right now as I look out the door, people cutting lumber, selling fruit, and carrying 30 chickens tied by there legs upside down on one bicycle. I can't wait. There is certainly some trepidation, but Im trying to trust God, trying not to mess up, and trying to really listen. I have no idea what will happen. I know that I am thankful for the encouragment of many.

On a similar note, I have moved into my house. On another post I will try to describe the housing, and maybe even post a picture, though that may never happen. For now, lets just say that I couldn't get my mosquito net hung up so I slept the first night with it wrapped around me like a blanket. Also, I've been eating a lot of peanut butter.

The nearest "munu/mzungu" to my house is about 40 km away. This is my fellow Peace Corps Volunteer. Mike is a former PC Volunteer from Kenya, and pretty much, he is money. Recently, Mike and I went to the nearest city to pick up some supplies, and to make a long story short, we wound up hiring a 70 year old man to push a wheelbarrow filled with 145 pounds of propane 800 meters up hill. He is a tough man. I am now sleeping in a place called "The Fortress" with this propane tank next to my head.

hp

1.6

okay, lets do this.

so two days ago we moved out of our homestays and headed to Kampala to swear in as official volunteers. This was a bittersweet time as it meant that I was nearing the time when I would go to site, but also, that I was leaving a family I had gotten to know over the past 8 weeks. As I left the Mayanja family I became aware that they had really taught much. I think that before, I had this underlying belief that somehow families in Uganda were different from american families because they were underdeveloped and dealt with all sorts of exotic diseases on a daily basis, so how could they have things like hopes and dreams? But I was so wrong. I saw hopes, dreams, sorrows, deaths, and familiy solidarity. also, I saw a woman who could easily snap the heads of two chickens while sifting rocks out of rice.

one day ago we had a meeting at the peace corps office and then were given 4 hours to buy essential items for our homes that we would need when we arrived at our sites. with these instructions, I purchased some heavy insecticide, cockroach-deterring chalk, mouse/rat poison, and a mosquito net. My friend from Kentucky purchased irish whiskey. That night, we had dinner at the hotel and met our site supervisors for the first time. My site is in northern uganda, and I will be teaching at a secondary school. Prior to this meeting that is the bulk of what I knew. My supervisor is named Sister Alobo. That's right kids, I will be teaching within a catholic mission. but hold on, there's more. Apparently, the ugandan ministry of education has recently requested that american males teach at all girls schools (for cultural awareness purposes maybe?). Well, the Peace Corps has answered that call. I have 3 brothers and no skill with talking to ladies, but as of tomorrow, I will be a teacher of 300+ girls from apach, uganda. unreal! God is so creative, and I am really excited.

today we swore in as volunteers in front of our supervisors and a representative from the U.S. embassy. many of the volunteers then went to their sites, but because our trip will be so long, we did not want to arrive at night, so we will wait until tomorrow morning to throw our stuff into a big van and head 7 hrs to the north. It's kind of cool when I talk about going to the north, it makes me feel like I am "from the north" like in Lord of the Rings. Speaking of Lord of the Rings, on Easter Monday the town of Wakiso had a special showing at the local theatre (which is not what you are thinking of) where they were showing all three movies back to back to back, with a live VJ interpreting of the microphone English --> Lugandan. They began this marathon at 8pm! Yes, I payed my 200 shillings. No, I did not make it through even the first fiilm. The place was packed though.

Tomorrow the four of us going to the north will throw our stuff on a van we rented and head up to the districts of apac and lira. i think I have said before that I am really proud to be a part of the group going to the north, but I have not yet really explained why. Today, will not be that day either. Hopefully, my next post will be about the north. That may be in quite a number of weeks though. During that time, I want people to think about why I may be excited to go to the north , and then post your thoughts. Unless your name is Neeko or Justen or Scot. Then do not post your thougts. also, if your name is Kurt (especially Kurt), then consider yourself black listed. actually, you know what, im thinking about the people that may be reading this (which I don't know why you would) and lets just go ahead and consider everyone blacklisted. unless you work for Briton or have birthed 4 boys (3 of which are suspect).

Oh, Sister Domitilla did tell me that the site where I am going is a swamp land and infested with mosquitoes. Good thing I picked up those supplies.

One last thought. Marc Buwalda once told me that if he were president he would require all people to listen to Idioteque by Radiohead. I recently was involved in a sort of party where I had control of the music. To begin the dream of Cardinal Buwalda, I played this song, which I love, to maybe 50 Ugandans. The result...not what I had hoped. Perhaps they aren't ready.

1.5

Let me first apologize for two reasons: 1) there is a blatant lack of consistency with the posting of messages. Im trying, sometimes though I just do not have access to the internet. 2) the postings of one, Justen Paris. The man is a mystery to me, I know that he is scared of me, but because Im not currently in the country, he thinks he can say whatever he wants. He is wrong though.

So I saw a dead cobra in the road the other day. Hmmm. Two days later I saw a moth the size of Allen County (the greatest county in Indiana, though our county emblem in Indianapolis is not as sweet as some of the other counties, but don't let this fool you)

I am aware that, for the most part, the bulk of my posts are somewhat superficial and rarely fail to crack the surface of thought and inquisition. This isn't by intention as much as just by the fact that I'm filled with questions (or what I feel may be questions) and cannot offer a lot of insight into answers or even developed thought at this point. It's like I've got this onion, and I'm trying to remove the skin to get at what's underneath, but the skin is jut endless, there's something keeping me from really getting at what I want to know, or even to ask.

I've been reading East of Eden as of late, and once I get passed the fact that the Chinese man reminds me of my college roommate at Hope and that the character Adam reminds me of a certain man I know named Adam, there is a theme that I wanted to ask about. Throughout the character interaction, there's this idea that the way we see people is not necessarily the way they really are, and that often, we simply see people how we want them to appear. If we want them to be good and perfect, we miss that they do wrong. If we want them to be bad, we let go of the good they do. Our underlying desire shapes them, more so even than truth. Im thinking about Africa. There is so much that I have seen, and so much that I want to see. There is so much that I want to know, I want to come to know God more. But how can I be certain that what I'm seeing is what's truly there? How do I, or you, know that what I am interpreting and coming to understand is honest, and not made up by me to confirm what I wanted to believe? I think this is a deeper question than I understand, perhaps even one that shouldn't be asked (are there questions that shouldn't be asked?)

I made a toilet cover out of banana leaves. It was awesome.