This was written on September 12, 2009

Attempting to wash my clothes

Grandma and my brother Chris

The road to class

Again, I couldn’t find internet yesterday.

Our lectures started on Tuesday and we have had two each day (or three if the Acholi language class is included).  So far, the quality has varied quite a bit.  The first speaker was a man whose daughter was kidnapped and gang-raped by the LRA while they were still active in Gulu; it was hard to understand him because of his thick accent, but I think he said she committed suicide as a result.  If not, she was killed by the rebels; either way, she died during the attacks.  A few years later, his wife was blown to bits when a vehicle she was riding in ran over a landmine in their home village.  His story is devastating, but his lecture was meandering and impossible to follow, which is a recurring characteristic of many lectures we have heard.  I think Ugandans by nature have a very different approach to thinking and speaking than we, as Americans, have.  Speakers’ answers to questions are often so longwinded and circular that by the time they reach their end no one can remember how they began.  Contradictorily, they find Americans’ questions to be too longwinded to the point where they (Ugandans) simply cannot follow.  We often preface our questions with “I was reading an article the other day that was talking about ________ and I noticed that ___________ and I was just wondering if ________” etc. etc.  Ugandans, however, are very direct with their questions and skip all the unneeded background information.  At the end of some lectures I feel like I have learned absolutely nothing; others, such as the one on Acholi traditional justice, are very concise and informative.  Regardless, there are two future lectures that I am particularly excited about:

1.  Gender, Conflict, and Peace Building in Uganda

“Women play many different roles in the context of armed conflict.  Women are particularly vulnerable to sexual crimes during armed conflict.  Women are disproportionately affected by the social and economic impacts of armed conflict.  Violence on women increases during and after conflict.  This session examines what can be done to address the above issues and the idea that peacebuilding cannot succeed if half the population is excluded from the process.  Research in Sudan, the DRC, and Uganda suggests that peace agreements, post-conflict reconstruction, and governance do better when women are involved.  Women make a difference, in part because they adopt a more inclusive approach toward security and address key social and economic issues that would otherwise be ignored.  But in Uganda, they remain marginalized in formal processes and under-represented in the security sector as a whole.  The Government and the international community must do much more to support women peace activists.”

 

2.  Gender, conflict and peace-building in Rwanda

“Women have an important role to play in peace-building and reconstruction.  We will learn more about women’s representation in different government institutions and about their participation in organizations that promote reconciliation and healing in Rwanda.  Furthermore, we will investigate the question in how far women have different challenges in the post-conflict society and how their needs are being taken care of.  What are their opportunities and how do they see their future role?”

 

Plus, there are assigned readings to go along with each.  Besides applying to my studies, this also means that I can do my independent study project in either Uganda or Rwanda; therefore, if I’m dying to get back to Uganda after a month in Rwanda (which seems to be the case with many students) I could do my research here, providing that the violence in Kampala subsides.  Still, I think that the situation in Rwanda still appeals to me more – especially with the female-dominated parliament. 

My homestay has been going well.  I found out today that the woman who I thought was the mother is actually an older sister (I think) so I’m not sure if there is a mother in the house.  Next week we have to write a paper about our family’s origins and draw a family tree and I already feel uncomfortable because I feel like it is not my place to barge in and ask about family members.  Their grandmother lives here and doesn’t speak English and she is always speaking to me in Acholi but I only know the absolute basics, such as how to count.  It is always awkward when it is only the two of us in the room and she speaks to me in Acholi because there is no one to translate and I have no way to respond. 

Breakfast consists of soda, tea, bananas, and lots of bread and butter.  I try not to waste any food but on Wednesday the bread they served me was harder than toast (it wasn’t toast) and smelled exactly like old vegetables that you find in the back of your fridge that have been rotting for half a year.  The taste was worse.  I took four bites but I couldn’t stomach any more.  Today they offered me an after-breakfast beer but 9 AM is a little early to get started if you ask me.

Every night for dinner we have beans, greens, cassava, and rice.  Some people have said that they couldn’t eat the same thing every day but I don’t mind.  My stomach has been feeling pretty rough for the last few days, though.  I’m probably lacking a lot of nutrients by now. 

Today I tried to learn how to wash my clothes by hand and my brothers and sister laughed hysterically before telling me to go inside and rest so I don’t waste any more time.  They made me come back out with my camera so they could take pictures of me washing my clothes by hand so I could show everyone at home; I told them I would tell everyone that I was really good at it.  They were amazed by the idea of washing machines. 

Tomorrow I think I am going to have to go to church.  I have the choice between Pentecostal and Protestant.  I think I will try to find out which one is shorter.

 

- Christian

 

*I ended up writing a much more negative entry last night before I went to bed about some issues I’m having with my family’s ideals and the whole society and culture in general, but as of right now I’m not going to post it.  I will see how things go.

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