Saying Goodbye

Well ladies and gentlemen, this is the last post being written while in Africa. I will post some more pictures next week, once I have fast internet again.

Here is the plan for tonight: eat dinner, get to the airport ridiculously early (O’Hare has trained me well), get on a plane, and go to sleep. I will be getting into Chicago tomorrow (Friday) at 1:00 pm.

As everyone warned me before I came here, I have mixed feelings about coming home. I will miss my new friends, the weather, and UNAD. But I am ready to be home where I do not break the cultural norms on a regular basis. I never thought I would say this…but I miss the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). I appreciate the fact that in Chicago, I can look at a map and know where to catch the El. And I am ready to be back with my friends and family. I now appreciate all the more the crucial role that you all play in me life. I’ve been amazed at the outpouring of love and support that has come my way over the past 2 months. I couldn’t have done it without you.

I did not learn a ton of USL and I’m sure I will forget some as I return to ASL, but I will never forget the signs I learned and used everyday to explain who I am and why I’m in Uganda, especially the word “research.”

Love, Sarah

Research is finished!!!

Wow, it has been a lot longer since I last posted than I realized. Since my time here is about to end, this past week has been crazy busy with souvenir shopping, finishing up my research, and saying my goodbyes.

This morning I met with Alex Ndeezi, who is the first deaf Member of Parliament. I also met with Martin, who is director of HIV education programs for NUDIPU (please don’t ask me what it stands for, some of the letters mean National Union of Disabled Persons…or Individuals? I don’t know). These were my very last two interviews. Yay!

This afternoon I went to the Entebbe Wildlife Education Center with Renee and her kids. I don’t think I had ever seen an ostrich in real life…or at least this close. Thank goodness for the fence, because the ostrich standing about a foot away from me did not like having his picture taken. My camera battery is currently charging, so I can’t post any pictures tonight.

I went to an amazing (4 hour!) dance performance this past Sunday. It had dances and storytelling from all around Africa. Most of the pictures turned out pretty awful (despite my vast experience taking photos of dance shows), but I will post some of the decent ones later.

So, did I mention that I have been spelling muzungu wrong all along? Well, not wrong, but not the most common spelling for the area I’m living in. I discovered it when I say a tourist t-shirt that says “My name is not Muzungu!” This is unbelievably funny since every person along the side of the road addresses me as such. What I can’t figure out though is why they are surprised that I know they’re talking about me when they’re chatting with others in Luganda…they all yell muzungu all the time, so why wouldn’t I know it means white person? And it always means me because I’m the only one around.

Tomorrow I am going to UNAD to say goodbye to everyone. Then I’m running errands like picking up some African clothes I’m having made and buying some books for the plane ride home.

My flight leaves Entebbe airport at 11:00 pm Thursday night and I arrive in the US sometime Friday. See you soon!

Sarah

Member of Parliament

Want to hear a funny story? So way back in January when I started researching for this trip, I read about Alex Ndeezi, the first deaf Member of Parliament in Uganda. He is quoted in multiple articles discussing the dangerous results of not educating the deaf about HIV/AIDS. He compared the lowering HIV/AIDS rates among the general population due to national education programs to the deaf community that remained at risk due to lack of effective communication with health educators. His urgency is part of why I chose Uganda as the site for my summer of research.

Important side note necessary to understand the rest of the story: Mr. Ndeezi is technically the executive director of UNAD, so his picture his on the website, but he is not in the office on a day to day basis.

So last Monday, I e-mailed Mr. Ndeezi to ask if we could have a meeting. On Tuesday, I went to UNAD and was waiting for the staff’s all day meeting to break for lunch. A man walked through the lobby and into one of the offices. It took me a second to place him, but I suspected it was Mr. Ndeezi. So here’s the first funny part (aka Sarah doing something dumb): I didn’t want him to know that I was talking about him so I signed to a woman nearby asking if that was indeed him. But he’s deaf and could not have heard me AND I chose to speak in the language he does know, so he would have understood me if he came back in the room AND the woman is hearing and knows English so I could have asked out loud.

So I went up to him and introduced myself as the researcher who e-mailed him the previous day. He grabbed an interpreter and asked me about my project, work with UNAD, etc. I asked if we could meet and he said he would e-mail me by Friday and we would meet the following Tuesday or Wednesday.

So Friday came and went and so did the days he said we would meet without hearing from him. This afternoon, I was hanging out at UNAD, working on wrapping up my research. Mr. Ndeezi walked into the room and stopped and looked at me. I smiled normally, but he smiled so slowly and gave me the guiltiest look I have ever seen. So we are meeting this next Tuesday at 8:30 am in the UNAD building. I never knew that guilt was such a powerful scheduling tool.

Sarah

Jewelry and an Anglican Church

Hello, here is what I have been up to for the past few days.

Friday (August 22), I spent the day with Renee. In the morning, all of the children from Julianne’s school came over for a play date (I think there are 26 total). I helped supervise the craft project (turning vegetable cans into pen holders). After that, Renee and I spent quite a long time counting jewelry. One of the many things done by Hope Alive is micro-financing small jewelry businesses for two Ugandan women. Once we had a complete inventory, we went to the Hope Alive office to meet with one of the women…and count a few hundred more necklaces. The jewelry is absolutely stunning. Here is a picture of Renee holding one of the many bundles of necklaces.

Here is a picture of Jennifer (known as Mama Cici because her oldest daughter is named Cici, so Renee is known as Mama Julianne) and me wearing some of her jewelry.

Next, Renee and I went to the craft market and picked up pizza for Friday-pizza-movie-night! We watched Arsenic and Old Lace, which is the funniest movie I have ever seen.

Saturday (August 23), was very uneventful. I spent the day uploading and editing pictures and interview videos. Our next-door neighbor, Jack, came over for dinner. Jack is quite…eccentric. But he is really interesting to listen to. He had just returned from an eight day silent Anglican retreat in Nairobi. For one evening, I was not the only token Anglican :)

Speaking of Anglicans, Sam and Alice (from Focus) took John, Cindy, and me to an Anglican Church service this morning(Sunday, August 24). Unfortunately, it was the praise and worship service (no Eucharist), but it still gave me the feel of Anglican churches in Uganda. The sanctuary holds about 800-1000 people, plus there are two overflow tents outside that hold easily that much, if not more. The tents have projectors and screens so people can still see what’s going on in the church. We literally had to push to get seats in the sanctuary.

Jon, Jen, and Megumi came over for lunch after church…and they stayed until dinnertime. It was a really fun afternoon. It’s weird to hear Jon tell a story about his mother being a teacher and serving ice cream once a year as part of a fundraiser and realize that he’s talking about Tate’s in Wheaton. Sadly, I had to say goodbye to them because they are leaving for language training in Masaka at the end of this week. Here is picture of the gang outside the guesthouse next door.

I’m not 100% sure what I am going tomorrow, but I will report back if it is something interesting.

Goodnight.

Sarah

Silent Theatre

Hello,

This is my new roommate.

Yesterday and today have been super productive research days...which is good because I am going home in 2 weeks.

Yesterday, I had two interviews in the morning with deaf individuals who don’t work for UNAD and I had three more this morning. I only had two scheduled, but one guy wanted to be interviewed so he showed up. These interviews have been really helpful; everyone has different opinions on how the deaf should be educated about HIV/AIDS, so it should lead to an interesting paper.

Yesterday afternoon I watched the rehearsal of the Deaf Silent Theatre Company at UNAD. One of the actors and I were chatting during the tea, samosa, and chapata (flatbread) break. My Ugandan Sign Language skills are pretty minimal, but my ability to communicate with people at UNAD has greatly improved. I can’t really explain it…I guess I understand a lot more than I can say. Anyway, at the end of our conversation, he was telling me that I should get my hair braided to surprise everyone in the US and Florence (who has taken me under her wing) starting watching our conversation. She turned to me and asked, “You understand him?” And I said that I did, and the look on her face was the happiest thing in the world. She looked so proud, and I smiled and signed, “I’m learning.” It made me feel wonderful.

Today, after my three interviews, I went to the performance of the Deaf Silent Theatre Company. They performed at some kind of legal fair; people were waiting in tents to talk to lawyers from different organizations. Honestly, I’m not sure what was going on, but they performed about the discrimination against persons with disabilities in the legal system. It was really educational and entertaining. The audience really enjoyed it. I taped most of it, so let me know if you are interested in seeing a little. Below is a picture of a skit based on a true story where a witchdoctor stole a baby from a deaf couple who were forced to sign a statement they didn’t make (no interpreters) and couldn’t read (no education) at the police station.

Tomorrow will be another full day…but I am taking a day off from research. I am finally going to go souvenir shopping at the craft market, which should be fun.

Goodnight.

Sarah

The Nile

Hello,

It has been a busy week, and next week will probably be even busier. Here are some highlights.

Tuesday, August 12 was one of the BEST days I’ve had in Uganda. Maybe in my whole life. I rode a boat on the Nile. I saw where Lake Victoria ends and the Nile begins. This is a lifetime dream come true. We also went to Bujagali Falls, which is absolutely beautiful...but really are more just rapids on the Nile.

I went with a short-term mission team visiting Uganda to work with Hope Alive. They had a couple extra seats so they brought me, Jenny, GJ, and two Ugandans that work for Hope Alive, Lonnah and Robert. We had the best time taking a ridiculous number of pictures. Here is a picture of Lonnah, me, and Jenny in the boat on the Nile. That man in the picture below is pointing to the source of the Nile, where Lake Victoria ends and the Nile begins.

Wednesday, August 13, I returned to the Ntinda School for the Deaf. The deputy to the headmistress (who I interviewed last week) gave me a tour and I took pictures. I am going to send them the pictures when I get home, and they are going to sell them as a fundraiser. I am happy that I can help in some way. I also interviewed a deaf teacher there. She did not seem thrilled to be answering my questions, but it was short and really helpful to me. Here is a picture of the children clapping in a classroom.

Thursday, August 14, I went with Renee and the female members of the short term mission team to a small fabric market. I bought fabric to have two outfits made, which is really the only way to get Ugandan clothes here, all the rest are imported from other continents. For dinner, we went to a really nice Thai restaurant in honor of the short term mission team’s last night in Uganda. Below is a picture of Christian and me swinging at the Thai restaurant.

Friday, August 15, I went into town to order outfits from a tailor. On a recommendation, I went to see Harriet, who is a member of Kampala Baptist Church. She is making me one dress and one outfit (both blouse and skirt). I am really excited. I go back in a week and a half for a fitting.

Saturday, August 16, was a special day at Hope Alive because it was a “Fun Day” (we played games the whole time) and because it was GJ and Jenny’s last Saturday Club before returning home (to the Netherlands and Colorado, respectively). Jenny and I took hundreds of pictures, so a pretty typical day for me. Here is a picture of me and Jenny trying sugarcane for the first time. It is a lot of work to eat.

Today (Sunday, August 17) consisted of a church service at Lugogo Baptist, a walk with Jenny to the Kamwokya market, and a goodbye dinner for GJ at the mall. I will post pictures from the walk in Kamwokya later in the week.

Tomorrow, I am heading to UNAD to watch a rehearsal of the Deaf Silent Theatre Company, and then I am babysitting the Davis kids, so I probably won’t be online until Tuesday.

Goodnight.

Sarah

Photos!

Hello,

Here are the pictures from the past week or so. We drove over the equator on the trip to Masaka!
I think this is a really interesting sign. It is in Luganda (I think), but an English version is in Kampala that says "Would you let this man be with your daughter? Then why are you with his? Cross-generational sex stops here." I learned from a seminar I attended last spring that this is a serious issue in East Africa that contributes to the spread of AIDS.
This is a roadside stand selling fruit and baskets on the road to Masaka.
These are kids on a field trip to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe playing with one of the monkeys that run loose.
This is the national bird of Uganda, the Crested Crane.
A couple of students visiting the wildlife center.
Children came up to me to shake my hand all the time. In the picture, you can only see some of the group gathered around me.
This is a picture of the group I went to Entebbe with standing in front of Lake Victoria. John and Cindy (who I live with) are on the left, and I am between Alice and Sam, who are their friends from Focus.
I hope you enjoyed these pictures. It took more than an hour to upload them! I miss everyone at home, but I am over halfway done! I am getting used to being here though, and everyday is a bit easier.

Sarah