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Friday, May 28, 2010
Half Way Gone
We are officially at the half way point of our stay in Uganda. During the first half I have been reflecting on this year and past years. The road work on the way to Mbarara is progressing well, it looks like by next year there will be a very nice, modern road in place for the vast majority of that trip. It was interesting seeing more large construction equipment this year than in the past, a small sign that the country is progressing in industrialization. The thing that has made the largest impact on me so far was the primary school day. In reading the blog it is easy to see that many of the students feel similar. The impact for me was much different than that for most of the students. I had seen the school conditions and wanted to help out for each of the last three years. It was great to finally devote a day in the program to leaving the school in better shape. However, I feel like there is so much more we can do. I wonder if experiences like this are the most important thing we do and the best learning experience for the students. Maybe we will spent to much time in the classroom. At the beginning of the class I asked students to talk about their expectations. The half way point is a good time to reflect on what you expected and what you have experienced. Everyone has been doing a great job in your journal --looking over the first half of the trip what one thing would you tell friends and family to describe the experience so far? In other words, now that the trip is half way gone - what has been your greatest "a ha" moment"?
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I think the trip so far has been amazing. I dont think that anything coul open your eyes as much as this trip. The best aha moment that I have had so far was when we were driving to Kabale and I was taking pictures out of the bus at the little kids and the towns along the road. It was at the point that I snapped a picture of a little girl with ratty clothes holding her sister and takinbg care of her and I realized that here I am taking pictures of kids when the camera I am taking the pictures with could buy these kids food for months. It was a shocking moment and I couldnt believe I hadnt thought about it before. I felt obnoxious and spoiled. It was at the moment the trip changed for me and became a time for me to refelct and find out who I want to be and what exactly I want to get out of the trip. The one thing that I would tell my freinds and family is that you have no idea what is really going on from television and magazine articles until you see it right in front of you in real life. This trip has been such a reality check and I cannot wait to see what else Africa has to offer.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest "aha moments" for me has been the pride and passion of the Ugandan people. Every place we visit, whether a rural community or a government official's office, it is clear the Ugandan people have much that we from the U.S. do not have. At the parliament visit, we saw the pride our guides had in the parliament-both the members and the institution. On the tour of the Bugandan King's palace, we also saw the pride and reverence the people have for him. We have also seen great displays of passion. Entrepreneur Patrick Bitature showed extreme enthusiasm and passion for his work as an entrepreneur and even told us that passion was a necessity for us in our future happiness. We also say passion in the presentations of both David Batema (a judge) and the Inspector General of the Government. They both genuinely cared about their work and were excited to share their passions with us. Thus, passion and pride are to attributes that Ugandans seem to have developed more than people from the U.S.
ReplyDeleteThe trip so far has been incredible, and I look forward to the second half. For me, so many things have been quite different than my expectations, and that has made the trip that much more interesting, and an even greater learning experience. If I had to choose one thing that shocked me the most, it would have to be the agriculture here. Compared to what we have in the states, Uganda is so much more underdeveloped. Everywhere you look here people are doing the manual labor that we have machines for, which just requires so much more time and effort from their people. They plant and pick by hand, where as we buy a machine to do the work for us. Their farms are tiny in comparison to what you would see in the United States, which again makes it that much more difficult for a prosperous yield. I am trying to soak in everything I can while I am here, and when I return I will have such a better understanding of not only another culture, but that in the US as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Ugandans’ attitudes have been the most shocking for me. I was very surprised to see how optimistic and content they are living in Uganda regardless of the poverty, unemployment, political corruption, and social inequalities. Perhaps this is because they have not seen the differences between the developing world and the developed world. It seems very difficult to imagine an American living here being content with the life style and the political-economic condition. The Ugandans have also been very welcoming and actually very similar to the American students. I suppose I was expecting them to be very conservative and more distant. Instead, they have been extremely friendly. This was definitely a welcomed surprise. My greatest “aha moment” has been that, despite the conditions of the country, the people seem to remain happy and optimistic about the future.
ReplyDeleteThis trip has been absolutely amazing and a definite eye-opener. Now that we are half-way through our experience I would have to say that my greatest "A-ha" moment has been the definition of a woman's worth in Uganda. There is a significant difference from hearing and learning about certain issues in different countries, and then actually seeing things for yourself. There have been many occurrences that have opened both my eyes and my ears- such as some of the comments I hear around me, the hard labor and many roles that the women have to bear, as well as the difference in expectations of women. The event that sticks out the most is from our day at the Rural visit. The women prepared a great feast that was manually picked from a 5 mile radius, cooked under hot conditions and prepared right in front of us- yet they failed to get an introduction (at first). My mom suggested that we get oven mitts for the women for the day of our visit, and although at the time I thought this was a silly gift idea, it amazed me as to how thankful and appreciative these women were of this simple gift. It wasn't until one of the adult travelers and students pointed out how all the men and farmers were receiving gifts from us, but none for the women, where it really hit me. I was happy that my mom's silly idea was actually a great one! Collectively- a woman's worth and their roles in Uganda have greatly surprised and impacted me and I give my utmost respect to the women of this country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jacki in that you can read about foreign places and research them all you want and it isn't until you actually go there that you realize how ignorant you really are. I feel like I learned so much so quickly in Uganda because being there and experiencing the country and the culture and seeing what I've read about first hand is so much more informative. You really get a lot more out of the reality than you could ever get from research. At this point in the trip, I already felt like most of my ideas about my project changed because of things that I had learned, like that QENP has 11 villages within its boundaries. I think that the first half of the trip was really overwhelming as we all got used to the culture shock. In the end, I think there is no way you can leave a trip like this without your life and your ideas about life changing forever.
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