Chop Chop Snip Snip

I just returned from Mbale (eastern Uganda) on Wednesday from visiting a PCV in the field. Mbale is a beautiful and nice sized town (no Chi town of course) with views of mountain ranges, Elgon. The visit was nice because my friend, S, and I had the opportunity to explore the city on our own, unfortunately though without the help of the PCV. N's main contribution to the few days were teaching us that we can cook amazing meals: falafel, guac, mexican beans. The main source of nutrition in Uganda is matooke. Matooke is just another form of a banana which is cooked and then mashed together to make mush. Other foods are just as starchy and include casava, potatoes, and bananas. Luckily our homestayes were briefed on the diets of Americans and know that we like a little color on our plates so I am provided with carrots, tomatoes, and squimich (spinach) regularly. Anyway, back to adventures in Mbale. Tuesday was amazing! It was the most cultural and traditional event I have been to yet. We went to an embalu ceremony (circumcision) which is performed every two years. Hundreds of boys in the village were being circumcised that day. Basically you are not considered a man until you are circumcised. Some are publicly humiliated if they are not cut. Most of the boys were between the ages of 13 and 18. Just getting to the ceremony was an ordeal because we had to climb up a pretty steep moutain. Apparently there is a three day celebration before the actual cutting. We arrived during the end of the celebration with dancing and music. All of the boys who were going to be cut had their faces fainted with a sort of white chalk and some with pink dots. Others had brightly colored beads around their necks. Each boy had their family and friends around them while dancing (stomping up and down). Many families carried around musical instruments. A lot of people were drunk and spitting the local brew in every direction. Let me tell you, we definitely did not come out of this ceremony clean. After the craziness, we waited for the younger boys who would be circumcised the next even year to have mud thrown at them, and then took post at the house we were to watch the boys being cut. Actually, we were specifically assigned to watch the 11th boy. There were 18 rocks laid out for 18 boys to be circumcized at the house. As a curious person (especially when it comes to blood and penis chopping) I made sure to get up front to see the circumcision taking place. This was not an easy task considering most of the family was right up front watching. But we are muzungu (foreigners/white people) with fancy cameras and connections so we were roughly squeezed through the crowd. With the occurence of HIV/AIDS in the country each boy is assigned a different knife. Not sure how clean they were, but mpola mpola (slowly slowly). The chopping of the skin was quick and methodical. None of the boys even flinched. I have heard horror stories about older men getting circumcised and the immense amount of pain they are in afterwards. This was not apparent in any of the boys. Interestingly, this practice mainly occurs in the east and not central Uganda (where I will be stationed). There has been much research out on the spread of HIV/AIDS and circumcised males. The foreskin, which can easily get dirty and lead to friction/tearing and thus increase the chances of spreading the virus. Still, it is still mainly a cultural practice in Uganda. Abuyudaya, the Jewish village, which we passed was right next to the where the ceremony was taking place. I am quite excited to go back there to visit. As in the Jewish tradition, their circumcisions occur when the boys are just babies. Until the next adventure...wheeraba (goodbye)!

Mwasuzeotyano Banyabo ne Bassebo

Hello!
(Explanation of Title) I just greeted you (pl) in Luganda: How did you spend the night? There are approximately 3 main greetings here. Greetings are incredibly important for conversation. Life here has been quite a learning experience...and I have only been here 1 week! I am at an internet caffe in Wakiso right now...spending approximately 750 Ugandan shillings for 1/2 hr. (less than $1; $1=1610ushs) of internet usage. Pretty sweet deal. Our life here right now, and probably for the next two months, is pretty structured. I go from my homestay to the training site every day during the week (8am-5pm), then the "city" Wakiso (more like a very small town). We have language in the morning, then tea (chai), then a lecture (these range from health to the history of Uganda), then lunch, then another lecture. At the end of the day we are all pretty mentally exhausted. Craziness! After the diversity lecture, one of the lecturers (a volunteer already for over a year) came up to me and asked if I went to DePaul. He recognized me and then he told me he graduated with my class in 2006! It is a small world after all. My homestay family is very nice. My jaja (grandmother) speaks no English, so communication with her is difficult, but most of my brothers I, N, A, A, and my sister N speak English pretty well. It is an interesting family dynamic because my jaja's mwami (husband) is no longer living, so there is no male authority figure at all. I actually like it very much this way because many of the other PCT volunteers have fathers who are quite intimidating and rarely speak to them. When I first arrived in my homestay, there were about 13 children ranging in ages from 7 to 19. It is amazing that they have just one maid (O - who is wonderful and helps me with my flashcards in the morning!) for such a large family. Many of my sisters and brothers have slowly disappeared over the week, possibly to school or to their mother/father's house. Family here is incredibly close. Many of my brothers and sisters real mothers and fathers live in Kampala, while they live with their jaja/mama, possibly due to financial circumstances. When I arrive home, around 7pm, we have tea, then maybe play a few games of cards. I taught my family "Bullshit", which they love. It is quite funny listening to them speak in Luganda and then call out "Bullshit" all of a sudden. My sister N also enjoys listening to my music (I knew someone else besides me would like Alanis :P!). For just a week, I can some what get around Wakiso using Luganda. Luganda is the language I am learning, while some of the other PCT volunteers are learning two of the other main languages. Because I am learning Luganda, I will be situated during my two years, around central Uganda. Speaking the language is kind of fun until you realize there are no more words in your vocabulary list to talk with the people in the katali (market). Until I have time to post again...Sula Bilungi! (good night)