ewaffe

my home

First off, thank you for the support. The kitchen is almost completed. The community will have to provide a few more things after I leave, but overall I am confident it will be completed in due time. It is too bad I won't be able to see the completed structure while I'm here, but I have been able to help them out a lot. Email me at jankte01@gettysburg.edu with your address if you contributed so I can send you a craft made with thanks from the students at Kyabakuza Primary School.

Yesterday was the hardest day for me here yet, being my last day at school. The school had a special farewell day for me, including 3 song/dances performed by my class. I was bawling the entire time. Most of the class held their tears until afterward, except for a few like Kawuma Frank, the top student in his class and the first to break. It was so hard to think that I may never see some of them again, and that it will be so hard to keep in contact. I had them each write me a letter as their final homework assignment, so I'm going to send them to myself here and be pleasantly surprised when I receive them. Additionally, I received a record number of gifts. Over 70 avacados, lots of passion fruit, some bananas, 5 huge stalks of sugar cane, tomatoes, a banana fibre doll, drawings, a pineapple, a beautiful woven mat, among other things where piled on my desk by the end of the day. A teary eyed parade of children helped me transport them to my house.

I return home so soon- I leave Monday from Entebbe. It is crazy to think how fast my time here has gone. I have enjoyed living in this village 20 minutes south of the equator, and I even more have enjoyed all of the Ugandans that have become my best friends. I have lived in such a different place here, and I'm glad I got a glimpse of how people in Uganda live.

What I am excited to get home in the US for:
*toilets and showers
*smooth roads- let's just say I have bumped my head on the ceiling of a matatu one too many times
*certains foods life chocolate, hamburgers, and sandwiches
*sleeping past 6 am
*having dinner before 9 pm
*movies
*being able to spend an hour on the internet and get more than one email sent
*trash cans and recycling bins- unfortunately, Ugandans don't appreciate their abundance of attractive scenery

What I will miss most from my hone in Uganda:
*my host siblings: Joey, Andrew, Charles, and Helen. My best friends here. I will never forget the days I spent playing outside the house with my brothers, nor will I forget the times talking with my sister.
*my class, particularly: Kawuma Frank, Mugerwa Innocent, Naula Stella, Segirinnya Ashirafu, Ddumba Frank, Ssabwe Tom, and Mutyaba Tony Ivan
*the green, green vegetation all around
*riding on boda-bodas (like motorcycles)
*inexpensive food... being able to buy lunch for 2 weeks for less than $5
*spending time with the students at Kyabakuza Primary School at breaks
*the passion fruit (katunda), different types of banana (matooke, eryenvu, gwonja), sugar cane (ekikajjo), many types of sweet potatoes (lummonde), and the big, green avocados (kedo)
*my sister's Irish potatoes (bummonde)
*hearing 400 beautiful children sing the wonderful Uganda national anthem every Monday morning
*tea breaks, and the 3 heaps of sugar they put in my tea at school (I will not be able to put so much sukaali in my caayi in America)
*the weather- sunshine every day, with the occasional 30 minute shower
*the full moons and starry nights
*Luganda
*Spanish soap operas dubbed in English
*the joy and amusement kids here get out of things like running around with a plastic bag behind them or pushing a tire with a stick
*telling 108 interested eyes about America and showing them pictures of the so faraway land

Ngenda koma eka. I'm going to return home. In a few days, I return home. But hopefully I will return home sometime in the future.

the train of students helping me transport the many parting gifts given to me
me with 54 unhappy students
the class dancing a traditionall farewell dance
Andrew and Joey having fun
Kyakuwa Joseph Vanviker learning how to type and use my laptop

oyagala okuyamba?

do you want to help?

I found out yesterday the Grant Proposal I wrote for the kitchen has been approved! It was very good news, because the $532 will help the construction of the kitchen a lot! Additionally, I am fund raising in a short time span if you are interested in helping out Kyabakuza Primary School. The funds raised will partly go towards materials for the kitchen, and partly towards helping get supplies for the students like uniforms, shoes, socks, pens, and notebooks. However, funds must be in by Monday, July 27 and if it is later than that date they will not go towards my project. Everyone who donates will get a hand-made craft made by a member of my class.

nvudde eyo!

I have returned!
response to: Kuli kayo, Welcome back

It has been a while since I have updated this blog. I have been very busy and the internet here is few and far between. Plus I don't get much time to use it. I get home from school at 6:30 then if I want to come to town to use the internet, I get there after 7, and this wireless place closes at 8- which is also the time it gets really dark here. But here are some highlights since last time:

*I white-water rafted the Nile, all the while cracking jokes with my companions about being in "denial."

* I made guacamole for my class. I think most of them liked it, judging by the majority who wanted seconds. Yet many has some very disgusted looks on their faces... but it was pretty quality, fresh guac. I decided to make it for them because once they found out I like avocados they were bringing them faster than I could eat them! Before I knew it there was a pile of 20 in my room.

*I traveled to Rwanda, and saw 2 powerful genocide memorials. Rwanda is gorgeous- rolling hills, field of crops everywhere. When I had to be home at 11 pm on Saturday to meet 5 of my host sisters and host mom, I had to take 10 different rides, using 6 different types of transportation (including the back of someone's bicycle and a matooke truck) totaling 15 hours.

*I got my hair braided by some of my host sisters and a family friend. My class is split on who likes it and who doesn't, I'm not quite sure but makes bucket showers easier!

*I agreed to play cards with some young men who stopped me on my home, and showed them some card tricks on their table outside. When I attempted to explain them on the of the simpler ones, it took a few of them a long time to fully realize what happened.

*I have been attempting to teach my host sister hot to use the computer, as well as some interested students. They have been coming along well, especially with typing. When Ddumba Frank was typing, whenever he had to backspace a letter his friends would all remind him to put another space even if there already was one. So it yielded things like "I have my friend s like Mutyaba Tonny, Mulinda ."

*I ate a goat skewer. In Rwanda they are called brochettes which makes them sound very gourmet and elegant. It was pretty tasty. I compared it to the Ugandan ones which are slightly more sketchy and sometimes not as fully cooked. I have yet to try a grasshopper.

*The kitchen project has been coming along well, there was a workshop at school a few weeks ago to show how to mix cassava flour, sand, and boiled water. The kitchen is about halfway finished.

Kato John Peter shielding Mugerwa Innocent from the guacamole, Naluwu Victoria peering curiously from behind
enkima- monkeys monkeys everywhere at Lake Nabugabo!
Photo courtesy of Ssabwe Tom
students learning how to mix cassava, sand, and boiled water to make cement
the majestic Nile River, shortly after we rafted down its perilous rapids

omukka nnyo

So these past few weeks have been good. I have been teaching English to a 50 student class. Some highlights have included:

*teaching them My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and watching them fall into hysterics as they try to stand up and sit down

*trying to teach them the chorus to Hot N Cold and having them guess the words (it's all opposites so it was a good song to teach them)

*telling them to make me a craft for homework and receiving all types of creative games and dolls and pictures

*them laughing at my pronunciation of their Ugandan names, but them not exactly being able to pronounce mine

I'm going to be doing a project with the school, and it will probably helping them build a new kitchen. Right now, they have an illegal kitchen in a classroom, and when I tried to interview the cook (an amazing cook by the way- her matooke is the best) she couldn't speak English very well but she kept saying "Omukka nnyo" which means "A lot of smoke." There isn't a good way in the classroom for the smoke to escape, and consequently she has to cook in this room all morning, and furthermore keep her kids in the room with her. I'm looking into an option of using cassava as a type of cement.

As far as other problems with the school, they have many. Their biggest one is the 5mill shilling electricity bill (about $2,500), which is frustrating because if that could be solved so many problems would fall into place. They would be able to use their computers and printers to print tests for the students, and type up documents, and use their phone. Also, they can't use the bathrooms in the school building because they can't afford the water bill and don't have running water. Plus, there are many parents that can't pay the school fees but Kyabakuza doesn't turn the students down. Many students don't have uniforms, even more don't have socks and shoes, and some don't even have a notebook or pen. There aren't enough teachers at the school, hence the large classes. Many more problems. I will not be able to solve all of these in one summer.

Other than that, I have been traveling a little bit- I went to Kampala, the capital city, 2 weekends ago with a few other interns. We ended up going on the right weekend- we found ourselves at the first silent disco in Africa! How it works is when you get there they give you headphones and there are 2 DJs, and 2 channels on the headphones so you are flipping back and forth and trying to communicate with your friends which channel is currently better... we had a blast, and also enjoyed seeing the city. Last weekend I spent a day at Lake Nabugabo, a beautiful place. This weekend some of us are thinking of going to the Sesse Islands, which are on Lake Victoria and supposedly beautiful.

I'm really enjoying Ugandan music- especially the song Bread and Butter, which is played everywhere! Very catchy, with a nice beat just like most of the good songs here. Also, I'm learning that Ugandans love Celine Dion and play her music everywhere. In fact, my host dad was giving me a full bio of her life just the other day.

This blog is called Omukka nnyo because there are still a lot of things that need to be cleared up here. Even if there is a lot of smoke, it is becoming more clear and even though my expectations are constantly being proven wrong I am starting to see beyond the fog. I am getting my project figured out, but there are still speed bumps and dust in the air. Once the dust settles, I will start the project and hopefully help this school. I just need a way to unclog the smoke that is piling up, and realize that some of it is inevitable.

My roommate (turns out if you try to pick up a lizard its tail falls off and wiggles in your hand for 5 minutes)
the cook's son, who stays in the smoke-filled classroom all morning
the cook in her traditional gomez making her delicious matooke in banana leaves
Sarah and Ashley rocking out to Bread and Butter at the silent disco
Joey, Andrew, me- my host cousins/brothers
Charles and Andrew
Helen! my beautiful host sister
some of the students in the classroom at break wanting to hear some American music fom my computa
another student hangin' out

ekifaananyi!

pictures!

njagala omwana eno!

[I love the children here!]

Last week was orientation with the 10 other interns. We learned about sustainable development and went on a few excursions. On Friday we moved into our host families. The first time I met my host dad, he played 90's music videos and started dancing around the room. Then when I moved in, he had a videoman to document my move-in. Before dinner every night my family watches a Spanish soap opera dubbed in English, "Second Chance." I have a sister my age, Helen, 3 little boy cousins who live with us and are very adorable, and a house girl. I also have 6 older sisters that are out of the house. I'm having a good time exchanging culture with Helen, and finding that we have a lot in common.

The past few days I have gone outside to play with my cousins and learn Luganda, and in no time about 20 more kids will be crowded around to watch the "muzungu" (white person) and help her with Luganda. On Saturday and took out my camera and they had so much fun posing for over 100 photos and then looking at them and bursting into laughter at seeing themselves on my camera.

I started work at Kyabakuza Primary School Monday, and have enjoyed observing the ways of the school and meeting the many students. I walked into a classroom today to observe, not realizing the teacher wasn't here today, and the kids started having a debate on whether it was better to live in a town or village. It was such a cool thing to see, and I could really see how much community had formed within this class of 50 kids. Then I got up and told them about America, in which they were very interested and intrigued. Pretty soon they were all out od their seats and crowded around me, asking me many questions.

They are feeding me well, too. The food is all starch: pasta, potato, rice, amatooke (it's bananas but it's basically mashed potatoes). And walking through the village, all the kids are yelling "Bye muzungu, how are you?!" They all want to know me and hold my hand. The kids here are adorable!

I'll have to upload pictures another day, but I am not lacking!

omulimu

My first blog post! I have never blogged before, so it will be interesting to see how this turns out. I'm doing this to keep people updated, process my thoughts, and record my experiences this summer in Uganda.

I called this first post "omulimu" because that means "farmer" in Luganda, a language the people of Uganda speak, and also a language I have been learning for the past few months because of my passion for languages. It is a very cool, yet complicated language. In French and Spanish, nouns can be masculine or feminine. In German, add neuter and there's 3 possibilities. In Luganda? 10! There's no definite rule to define what class a noun is in. Plus, it changes the adjectives, pronouns, verbs, and other elements in the sentence... intense. I'm hoping to further my Luganda skills while there. Most people in Uganda speak English, but I thought it would be a cool way to connect with them.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, "Tesia" in Polish means farmer. I joke about this sometimes; Jankowski means Johnson, so do a simple translation and I'm Farmer Johnson. However, lately I've been looking at my future work in Uganda much like that of a farmer. I want to plant seeds there that will leave lasting effects on Good Shepherd Child Care Centre where I will be spending most of my time, the communities of Lukaya and Masaka, and my host family. I may not see all of the effects of what I plant while I am there, but I am hoping that my work will have a sustainable future so the crops continue to grow as I return to Gettysburg. I also hope to cultivate and enrich what has already been started, much like a farmer takes care of growing crops so that they will continue to prosper and grow. It takes small steps- just like a farmer can't grow a whole cornfield in one day, I have to realize that there is only so much I can do in the short 2 months I will be there. However, if I take time to make sure my actions are sustainable, that will make more of a difference and the crops will grow healthily. In turn, I will get to see some of the outcome of this and receive some of it too- learning and growth. I hope to bring these back to the communities I am a part of for the rest of my life, and continue to harvest seeds from these crops. Metaphor much?

I'm going to Uganda through the Center for Public Service (CPS) at Gettysburg College with 2 other students. We have graciously received fully-funded internships for which I feel very blessed to have been chosen. The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) is the larger program we're going with, along with a handful of other interns from other colleges in the US. I'm excited to meet the other interns and learn from them. In addition, there are 13 other Gettysburg Students in Nicaragua, San Carlos (AZ), and Gettysburg with whom I will be in contact throughout the summer. We will all be involved with community development in such different places, and I am excited to learn from and share with them. I am fearful for the challenges and hard days this summer is bound to bring, yet excited and eager for the growth and learning that will inevitably meet me along the way.

I leave this Friday, May 29! After 3 flights totaling over 18 hours I will be driven to Lukaya, Uganda where my host family will greet me. Here are some of the phrases I have written and starred in my Luganda work pages to make sure I have down:

Tunaalya ki ku kyenkya?
What will we eat for breakfast?

Nzina nnyo.
I dance a lot.

Mbadde njagala emmere.
I've been wanting some food.

Najja kuno kusitula embeera z'abantu.
I came here to work on community development.

Mu Luganda ogamba otya nti...?
How do you say... in Luganda?

Najjira mu nnyonyi.
I came by plane.

Baganda bammwe bangi.
Your siblings are plentiful.
(I figured this would be a good one seeing as my host family has 7 kids!)

and, of course...

Sinywa mata.
I don't drink milk.
(I'm lactose intolerant.)

Because this is my first blog, I can't promise I will be great with maintaining it, and on top of that I will have limited internet access. I will try my best to post pictures, thoughts and updates throughout my time in Uganda. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this journey, and make sure to ask about my experiences when I return!