In the Life of Allie Muehe...

Thoughts and actions as of February 19th, 2006 mostly regarding my Peace Corps assignment to Uganda. I am leaving for Boston for my staging event (orientation) on March 2, 2006 and leave for Uganda on March 5, 2006.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Congressional Deligation Lunch

Today I went to a Congressional Delegation lunch at a cafe near Masaka that is located on the equator. I had passed this place before but never actually got out and done the tourist thing and taken a picture. A couple other PCVs and I met with a few spouses of members of Congress and some of the Congressional Delegation committee (other people who work with and for congressmen). While at the cafe, we met local artists who display and sell African art at the cafe and to other vendors around East Africa. It was very nice, I met two spouses from New York and we talked about the finger lakes region for a long time. Here is a photo of Genia, another PCV and I at the equator. It's funny because she is from Mississippi and I'm from New York...I mean it's not the mason dixon line or anything, but still... The second photo is of a few of the committee members trying to cross the road, but I like this photo because it clearly shows where the equator is. Not as though I actually believe it's the exact line, but it's still a nice tribute.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

More School Photos...

The other day I went to a school to conduct a workshop on the generic teaching method (basically child-centered teaching methods to get away from the writing notes on the board and having children read and repeat the notes on the board so they can memorize the words and not actually learn the material). This is an example of when it rains here it pours. As you can see on the other buildings, we have iron roofs but no ceilings so when it even sprinkles it sounds like elephants coming. Needless to say with this downpour we had to suspend our seminar. This happens all the time and it usually only lasts at most and hour. There are major floods then it goes back to dry dirt in a matter of hours.
This next photo is at a 'science' fair that I attended at one of my schools (even gave a 10 minute speech in luganda!). The school had each grade have a couple 'exhibits', like the one seen in the photo, that describes something related to science or health. Younger kids did things like proper nutrition with a variety of foods or personal hygiene. The older kids did things like distillation, agricultural practices, uses for plastic bags, and here they are showing people how to make beads out of paper (some people have seen them because they sold in some catalogs that are aimed to help people in third world countries). The woman on the right is my CCT (coordinating center tutor), or my counterpart who I work with on a daily basis. She's great!

Sports

Regarding the Nigeria Vs. Uganda football game, here is a photo of the stadium with both teams, Uganda in red and Nigeria in white. As you can see, it's a real stadium and it was PACKED with people. Leaving the stadium looked like a sea of people walking on two roads, it was crazy. MTN is the leading telecom company in Uganda, including my phone carrier.

Here is a photo at one of my primary schools of the local inter school soccer competition. It's almost similar to sectionals in high school as in you start competing locally then going sub zone then zonal the district wide then finally National (almost like statewide competition). The biggest difference is that the team that advances consists of the best players of both teams so the players don't represent a particular school, but an area. I don't like this method because the kids don't even get to practice together and don't have pride for their school. It also encourages personal and not team oriented playing so the boy might have good skills but he doesn't want to play as a team. The second photo is after the end of the game with all the students rushing the field (my zone, Kangulumira, won). The headmasters, on the left, are shaking hands, almost as if they had anything to do with the win.


At the same time as soccer competitions, which is only for boys, the girls play netball. (According to men here if a girl has netball why should she want to play soccer? Ugh....) It is a mix between basketball and handball. I love watching this game, well, actually it's pretty boring. The girls aren't good, so similar to girls lacrosse, there are calls every 10 seconds so plays get reset constantly. It's great to see girls being physical and aggressive because in this society they are so passive and quiet which often leads to suppression and unfortunate sexual relations. Also notice how people literally stand on the side of both the netball and soccer field...when I was a referee that would not been happening, same with the people who hang out behind the goals...oh no, definitely not.

Starting Photos... first some animals

Ok, so I finally stopped being lazy and looked at the icon of a photo to know how to upload photos to my blog. Maybe this will make me post more blog entries...

A few months ago I talked about my goat giving birth, and here is a photo of me holding the two babies. Notice how they can't hold their heads up... poor things )-: Anyways, it was fun for a little while to try and be Dr. Dolittle. In the background is my primary school and I'm standing on the field (yes, it's a hill) that I tried to coach soccer on.
To continue with the animal stories.... These are my two cats. The one on the left was my original cat (her name is Ferrari) who ran away for a month so she's smaller than her sister on the right. The sister belonged to Tessa until the past few weeks because she thinks her athsma attacks are because of the cat (her name is Mwenya-to smile in Lugand). They are adorable and I love them. The only bad thing is that they play in my sitting room and wreck everything and get everything dirty...ah well, it's ok, it's what I get for wanting a pet.


I have a name

I really don’t like being negative on my blog. However, I must talk about the recent reinstatement of children calling me ‘muzungu.’ According to Ugandans, muzungu is a term of endearment for all people with white skin. When adults call me muzungu it is usually in a rude way and just to get my attention for no reason at all or to try and get me to buy something. For children, they usually get a song going: ‘muzungu, how are you, muzungu, how are you…’ and many children look at you in wonder and excitement. The children come to roadside or even from the safety of their house and scream at the top of their lungs muzungu until you turn around then they say BYE again, as loud as they can. Even if you wave or greet them in luganda, they will go back to screaming bye or muzungu until you are out of sight. When we first arrive, it’s not a big deal, the screaming and jumping children don’t bother you so much and you just brush the name off. I have been here for almost a year and a half and have repeatedly told everyone that calls me Muzungu that I don’t like that word and that I have a name. My village is really good about knowing one of my names (namutebi in luganda or Allison, well they pronounce it allicy) or calling me nnyabo (miss/mrs in lugand). But in the past month I have been visiting my deep village schools to monitor my teachers and the kids don’t remember me or have never seen me before, so I have been hounded a lot by these kids. Most people would say, oooouu, too bad for you, you are like a celebrity-get over it. But it’s much more than being a celebrity, to me it seems like the children grow up thinking people with white skin aren’t even human. I feel as though they think of me simply as a foreign animal. Take children at a zoo, what do they do? Some are scared and yell from afar, some go right to the animal and try to touch it, most just want to watch it and do things to make it react and move. After the children get the animal to react-by looking at them, moving, etc. they laugh and try it again until another more interesting animal comes along. That’s precisely what children here do to me. I have many children just come up and pat me (even on clothed areas, so I don’t get the difference), scream til their lungs bleed to get me to give them attention, when I do they burst into giggles or screams then repeat. A few times on my bike I have had children throw things at me so I will look at them. It’s crazy. I really don’t appreciate it. Yes, I will admit, sometimes I do get special treatment and I enjoy it so maybe I do deserve to take the good with the bad. But all I am asking is for these children to treat me like a human.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Packages

I have just received a package from an amazing women and family from Minnesota. The Schulte family learned about my Peace Corps service by finding my blog while searching for people with relevance to Uganda. I want to make a public thank you because it was the sweetest thing to receive any kind of physical proof that people are acknowledging and appreciating my life in Uganda. Although I don’t need or deserve any kind of gratitude for living here or being in Peace Corps, it is nice to know that people are thinking of me, even people I have never met. This is the second package I have received from a family that I have never met and it makes me feel wonderful that there are people in the US that care enough to take time to pick things out, package and send them. Even knowing that random families just might be talking about ‘this girl’ who is volunteering in Uganda, which might spur a conversation about service work, East Africa, Peace Corps, etc. is awesome. It’s things like this that help me keep going here, so thank you Schulte family!


On a similar note, my friend Meggie sent me a package in June of 2006 and I finally got it! It took it over a year to get here! I really don't understand why this happened because I have received things from America within 2 months and there was nothing wrong with the packaging. Either way, I was very happy to have gotten it and although some of the candy had to be discarded (I shed a tear for every chocolate morsel) it's the thought that counts.

While talking about packages, my mom has been continually heeding to my ridiculous whims and sending me candy, toenail polish, fast food toys (my little neighbor kids LOVE them), local newspaper clippings, etc. Both of my parents have been wonderful and supportive, no matter how much I complain (-: