Notes from the Field 2009

By Sarah Brunsberg
Uganda

It is amazing what people can get used to. I am at a point where I do not think twice about bucket bathing or going to the bathroom in a hole in the ground. I haven't even thought about the fact that there is no refrigerator basically since I got here. Although it would be nice to be able to store food, it is also nice being able to buy all my food fresh each day. I think the reason for this is that they don't eat food here that needs to be stored. The downside to this is that the food selection is extremely limited and I would kill for a brownie.

Although it is still frustrating, I am getting used to working with limited resources. The unreliable electricity and internet force me to use my time wisely and it has been a great lesson for me to learn how to produce quality work with so little. I think this is a lesson in patience and hopefully I will bring it home with me.

Another thing I am getting used to is all the animals/bugs that live in the vicinity of my bedroom (and by vicinity I mean within 30 feet and the grossest ones live the closest). I have learned that bats are the grossest looking creatures that ever lived, but I am not as afraid of them as I once was. The cockroaches are awful but I am actually getting used to seeing them around. Goats, cows and chickens are often wandering around our site in the middle of the roads and no one seems to think twice about it. Whose animals are these? I also have a Gecko that likes to sleep in my bedroom that I have tentatively named Henry. At first he made me nervous but Geckos are everywhere in Uganda (restaurants, in people's homes etc.), so now I kind of enjoy his company. In addition, we have three roosters living in our site right now that we plan to slaughter and eat. I have never seen my meat slaughtered in front of me, but I plan to try to watch the entire ordeal. I think it will be very difficult to watch them get killed but am also okay with it for two reasons: apparently roosters do not only crow at dawn; they crow all the time and especially at night while I am sleeping, and two is that I think they have had a better life than the majority of the chickens in the United States.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is also amazing what Americans are used to that Ugandans are not. Part of my scope of work is to complete staff development trainings and I have focused on computer skills. I recently taught a "file saving and file organization," training as well as an "Excel" training to the Ugandan staff at our site. Some of the staff had never used a computer before. It was awesome to teach them something new since the majority of my trip has been spent learning new things from all of the staff. Even more exhilarating was how intently they listened and wanted to learn. In addition, cars are a luxury in Uganda. It is not considered a necessity here as it often is in the States, and even if it was most people could not afford them. It is probably a good thing more people do not own cars here because the roads are very hilly and rough and they tend to drive in the middle of the road while approaching a rough hill. Lastly, I don't think any Ugandan would know of the word "privacy." The idea of your own space does not seem to exist here. I often wonder when I get back to the States if it will be hard for me to be alone because I do not think I have been alone for more time than it takes in the bathroom.