Uganda (1 of 3): Friends

Five months later and the posts about my Uganda trip are finally here! Thank you for your patience, faithful readers. I think I was overwhelmed by the amount of pictures to cull through and the amount of stories to retell. (Plus formatting pictures and text on blogger is horrible! Sorry for the weird formatting.)

I was nervous about this trip. My foreign travel have always been alone or in a small group of friends with The Lonely Planet guiding our improvisations along the way. We are discreet. We ride public transportation. We spend as much time as possible with locals. We try to speak quietly and to pretend that we can blend in. 

Traveling with African Promise Foundation was a different experience: we were 14 boisterous American women wearing matching bright-colored shirts traveling together in a tour bus.

As soon as we were in country, I was hypersensitive about our presence. But after a few days with many opportunities to connect with individual Ugandans, I felt more at ease. Connecting with local people is the thing that I love most about traveling, and even though there were a lot of us, we could often break off from the pack and have private moments with individuals.

I want to introduce you to some of the awesome Ugandans I got to know:

Fredrick Ocaya Bese

Fredrick is an engineer educated at the University of Surrey in the UK, and he is a devoted member of Rotary International. He has taken on African Promise Foundation as his primary Rotary volunteer projects. He finds and screens all the students that we sponsor, and we send him the money to pay their school fees. He took a week off of work from his company, Frontline Engineering and Investments, in order to be our personal tour guide through Gulu, his home town. He met up with us every morning and stayed with us until the evening, acting as our both our language interpreter and cultural mediator. With great charisma and diplomacy, he would answer all of our questions and tell us how to act culturally appropriate. One night he took us to his favorite dance club. 

One of the all-time highlights of the trip was when he had us over to dinner at his parents' house. His mom spent all day preparing a huge traditional feast for us. Frederick's siblings and other friends came too; there were more than 25 of us sitting in plastic chairs in a wide circle around the cement dining room. After the meal, we spent about two hours doing formal introductions by the light of a camping stove because the power had gone out. Frederick added "supplements" to everything we said about ourselves. Because I was Suzy's assistant, when he gave my "supplement," he referred to me as Joe Biden. Best compliment ever!

Rogers

Our driver, Rogers, was with us for the entire 10 days, and we had a complicated relationship with him. He was quiet, awkward, and because his English wasn't very good, we never knew for sure that he knew where he was going. But he never got lost, and he drove us very safely over dirt-filled, pot-hole-filled, motorcycle-filled, and water-filled roads. We often clapped when he got us through particularly rough patches.

When we were out in the National Park, there was some panic in the bus when we got stuck in the mud, but he remained calm, recruited helpers (anti-poaching police), and got us moving again. When we got a flat tire, he showed equal sangfroid. I think that he quite enjoyed the challenge of these little misadventures.

Early on in the trip, he told us that he was married and had two daughters named Precious and Precious. We could not figure out why he had named his two daughters the same thing and tried to get him to explain how he would tell them apart.  It wasn't until the last day of the trip when we asked him again that we realized that he was saying "Precious and Patience." Aha!

George

George works for a non-profit called Aid Africa and coordinates their projects with local villages. One day, he invited us to go with him to distribute rocket stoves in a village, and the next day, we went with him to drill a well in another village. It was amazing to see him in action. Gender norms and rules are very strong in Uganda which result in the women doing almost everything from child care to "digging" (farming/cultivating/gardening). When George was doing his spiel in the village community center about the rocket stoves, there was a snotty crying baby in the front row. George picked him up and held the little boy's naked bottom while he spoke. It was a powerful example of a Ugandan man showing warmth and care for a child.

George is loud, funny and engaging, and immediately
gained the respect of every village crowd he talked to. When we went with him to drill a well, he explained the whole process to the village, and then walked around for just a minute before he spotted the place he wanted to drill. (Near big trees and where the ground has a slight decline.) He is married and has two kids and was himself raised in a village and is dedicated to improving the lives of villagers even if he does not make much money doing it. His wife used to run a hair and nail salon, but her salon burned down, so now she does home visits.

Sister Assumpta

Sadly, I don't have a picture of Sister Assumpta, but these are some
of her students at St. Monica's Tailoring School.

Sister Assumpta is the acting nun in charge of the girls school where we stayed called St. Monica's Tailoring School for Girls. They have an extra series of dorm rooms that they rent out to foreign visitors like us. The founder of the school, Sister Rosemary, gained international fame when she was named a CNN hero of the year, but she was out of the country while we were there, so all of our interactions were with Sister Assumpta. She is a devoted Catholic nun who worked tirelessly to make sure that we were comfortable and to help set up some of our projects. We would call her numerous times a day, and she was always willing to answer our questions and to provide us with assistance. Her entire life is dedicated to improving the lives of the girls at the school. 

Sofie is third from the right, wearing a brown dress.
Her daughter, who does all the bookkeeping, is wearing the bright blue dress.

Sofie

This woman runs a cooperative of beaders in Kampala. All the women she works with either have AIDS or are HIV positive. Most of the beading cooperatives have a foreigner working to source paper, sell, manage and coordinate. Not this woman. She runs the whole collective herself and is a strong and meticulous manager. We put in a special order of beads with her and got great results.

Florence and Irene 
A senior missionary couple serving in the local Mormon ward in Gulu found out that we were coming and wanted to help us with some of our projects. The wife came with us to distribute reusable menstrual kits at a local school, and she brought along with her two members of the ward: Florence and Irene. Florence is a widow and the mother of 10. She joined the church about a year ago and is currently serving as the ward Relief Society president. Irene has been a member a few years, is married to a dead-beat man and has a toddler. They both helped us to translate our presentations into Acholi, and Irene would do wonderful embellishments that made our explanations even better. She was so friendly and warm, and we formed an instant bond. 

Clare Acan

Clare was educated in international non-profit work at the best university in the country. Her mom is a member of the Ugandan National Assembly, and Clare started her own non-profit organization called Women and Children Protection Initiative. She told me that it is great that foreigners come in and start NGO's in her country, "but we know better what we need." She was one of many people we met who love their country and are truly devoted to working - for practically nothing - in order to make it a better place. I was so impressed with her work, and she and I really hit it off. She also gave me insight into what it's like to be an educated single woman in her 30's in Uganda - turns out it's a lot like here.  

Alex

Suzy met Alex at the airport when he was returning home to Uganda after his two-year mission in Zimbabwe. She quickly learned that he was coming home to no one. His parents were both dead and his siblings were dispersed and not supportive of his mission. Suzy took him under her wing for a few days and they have remained in touch, so he met up with us in Kampala for the last few days of our trip. He took a course on chauffeuring and now he works as a driver for an American family at the US Embassy. 

When he found out that I had served a mission, he was so excited: "You served a mission?! I served a mission! We have so much in common." He immediately told me how badly he wants to get married, and asked me if I was interested. I declined the offer, but that didn't keep him from trying to steal a kiss from me at dinner.

Jennifers
Every time we would introduce ourselves to a group, there was always a little cheer or laugh when I would say my name because - who knew? - Jennifer is a common name in Uganda. I would make a special effort to introduce myself individually to the other Jennifers in the group and to get to know them. Here are a few of them. 

Greetings from Uganda!

Check out some of my trip updates here: africanpromise.blogspot.com
It's the blog for our whole group, and I'm helping with some of the posts.

Things are great. I love it here - it reminds me a lot of where I served in Brazil - and it is fun being Suzy's assistant trip leader. There have been no major mishaps yet, and even though she put in charge of all of the money and hundreds of dollars have passed through my hands, we're currently only one dollar off: a miracle!

I have been so inspired by some of the amazing Ugandans we have met. More stories to come, but in the mean time, check out the trip blog. Love you all!

An All-American Week

The best thing about spending time with my brother Jeffrey is that we laugh at the same things for the same amount of time in the same rhythm. This happened the whole week that I spent visiting him in D.C., and we started noticing that we mostly laughed at things nobody else was laughing about...

Here are a couple of those moments:

When we started singing the National Anthem in church, we realized there was no flag in the room, so we took matters into our own hands (which effectively put us into a giggle fit):

We went to dinner one night at a D.C. exclusive: Denny's. We just wanted some comfort food, but it ended up feeling a lot like this scene from The Santa Clause.

We also discovered an app called Vine, which kept us busy in between the funny moments. (It's definitely worth clicking on that link!)

The rest of the week was purely AMERICAN:

We bonded with Eleanor and Franklin.

We got a special tour of the Capitol building from one of Jeffrey's friends who works there,
and we even got to ride the underground train.

 We went to Mt. Vernon and were inspired by George Washington,
his greatness and his quotes.

We walked around the National Mall on the 4th of July and looked at all the Americans and saw the ginormous American flag that inspired the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. 

And we watched fireworks from the Potomac. 

(Note the Washington Monument behind the scaffold.)

We visited the Naval Academy and saw our Dad's cousin, Marsha,
in Annapolis, Maryland.

 And we went to a Nationals game with our friend Kristen Erekson.

Shasta Part Deux

Some of you may remember the tragic Shasta post from last year, where I spent one of the coldest, most miserable nights of my life.

But this year, on June 22, we made it to the top! This was my fourth Cascade volcano, and my second 14,000 foot peak.

Some trip notes:

Experiencing both the summer solstice and the Supermoon on a mountain at 10,500 feet was magical.

I noticed that there weren't many women on the mountain and that Melissa and I were the only all-women team. That somehow made it even more satisfying when we passed groups of men on their way up or after they had given up and were on their way back down.

The smell of sulfur is so strong on Shasta, and it makes dealing with the altitude even more difficult. It's cool to think about how alive the mountain is and to wonder when it is going to blow again.

I liked the variety of terrain on Shasta: snow fields, narrow canyons, rock fields. And everything was made even more beautiful by the fact that we had the perfect weather window: sunny, no wind, comfortable temp.

Melissa kept telling me that I was stronger and more efficient than when we did Adams and Rainier last year. I give credit to my training with the Mountaineers and my boot camp instructor at the gym.


True confessions: I ate the cold leftovers of my re-hydrated mountain meal for breakfast. Typing that makes me want to gag a little.

I stabbed myself in the thigh with my ice axe while I was glissading down. At first, all I noticed was the small puncture in my pants, and then later I noticed blood and a bruise. We ran into a guy who had completely mashed up his hip with his ice axe and looked like he was on his way to the hospital.

Friday 3 pm - Depart from Bunny Flat trailhead, approx 7,000 ft.
Friday 7 pm - Arrive at Helen Lake and set up camp, approx 10,500 ft.
Saturday 6 am - Depart for summit approach
Saturday 11 am - Summit! 14,179 ft.
Saturday 2 pm - Arrive back at Helen Lake and break down camp
Saturday 6 pm - Back at the trailhead and the cars

 At the trailhead. There she is looming behind us.

 Mt. Shasta's morning shadow.

 It doesn't look steep in this picture, but it is in fact a long steep snow field.

 Through the red rock canyons. I had to duck for a rock fall on the way down. Scary!

 A proud American at the summit.

Summit Crowd.

Foster High School Graduation

The most diverse school district in the country
African-American, Argentinian, Bhutanese, Black, Bosnian, Ethiopian, Hmong, Mexican, Mixed, Samoan, Somali, Vietnamese, White
All have sat in my blue Ikea couch chair.
The loudspeaker warbles the words of the commencement speaker, the daughter of a Bosnian refugee:
We represent the unity of the world

When the principal leads the pledge of allegiance,
I am the only one in my section of the bleachers who knows the words.
But even without reciting it,
they understand the dream, the promise of
liberty and justice for all
because today, their daughter is the first from their family to graduate high school.
This is what they have worked for, yearned for -
for their next generation.

Today they celebrate with
tears,
Congrats Grad! balloons (some float up and away during the ceremony),
layers of peanut butter cup and bubble gum candy leis,
an out-of-tune performance of Pomp and Circumstance,
new high heel shoes,
posters plastered with computer print-out pictures of their grad,
yells and screams and chants
that are occasionally drowned out by the airplanes passing overhead -
this is the town that neighbors SeaTac airport -
where some first arrived from their country,
where others will never walk onto a plane.

For almost every student who proudly hoists up their diploma,
there is one who has not, who will not.

I know both their stories.
She had a baby April, came back to school and finished all her missing work.
He struggled with depression and in the end, could not make it out of bed to come to school.
He won a turn-around scholarship, raising a 0.4 GPA to a 3.4 GPA in two years.
She was suspended three weeks before the end of school for marijuana possession and never came back.
She stayed on the honor roll after her parents kicked her out and she couched surfed with friends.
He got his girlfriend pregnant and left school to start working for diaper money.

Today with their families
we celebrate the victories
the sacrifices
the future plans
the diversity,
and work and yearn for those who are absent.

(The pictures are from 2012 because my 2013 graduation pictures did not turn out as well)

Summit: Mt. St. Helens

Last weekend, in honor of Mother's Day, I climbed to the summit of Mt. St. Helens wearing a dress. It's part of a tradition originating in the late '80's that both men and women participate in. I got my dress at a thrift shop the day before the hike, but full disclosure, I didn't actually wear it for the entire climb. It was so hot after the first mile, that my hiking companions and I all took off our dresses and did not put them on again until the summit.

I went with five other lady friends, and it was a long, steady climb: we ascended 4,500 feet over about 5 miles to reach the summit at 8,365 feet. (Prior to the 1980 explosion, the summit as 9,677 ft!) It took us a little under 6 hours to get to the top, and then only 2.5 hours to come down because we glissaded, or slid down a snow trail on our butts. This awesome youtube video that shows exactly what we did and gives you a great flavor for glissading. It basically makes you feel like you are on a large adult playground.

At the summit, we couldn't get too close to the edge of the crater because the snow cornices could give way at any moment, but I did get close enough to snap this picture that captures the dramatic gap in the mountain where the whole thing gave way in 1980. Notice the small mound at the bottom where a new "summit" is forming. If you zoom in enough, you can see the steam. That's Mt. Rainier off to the far right!

It is amazing to be a part of nature that feels so alive. It's a double bonus to do it in honor of mothers everywhere. I LOVE MY MOM!

More pictures from our climb are here: 

Before and After

P.S. Today is actually the 33rd anniversary of the explosion of Mt. St. Helens! In discussing my climb, I learned that two of my friends were actually conceived on this day: truly an historic moment. 

Come to Uganda with me!

Suzy Gillies, founder of APF

Jewelry - hand-made by Ugandan women from recycled paper - at one of the house parties I threw last year.

I am co-leading a service learning trip to Uganda this August 12th-26th, and we are still looking for a few enthusiastic volunteers!

Over a year ago, a friend introduced me to Suzy Gillies, a Mormon mom of five and founder of African Promise Foundation, an organization devoted to helping women and children in Uganda. I became involved with the organization by doing house parties to sell their hand-made Ugandan jewelry, and then I got invited to be on the board.

In addition to selling jewelry, every year Suzy leads a trip to Uganda that is part service and part cultural exposure.

There are ten volunteers signed up so far, and we still have room for two more! At this point, it's an all-girls trip with ages ranging from 13 to 44, but men are welcome too.

Here are the details:

DATE: August 12-26, 2013

COST: $1,800 plus air fare. (Trip fees over lodging, food, ground transportation, supplies)

WHERE: various locations in Northern Uganda

See more details in the link below, and let me know if you are interested or have any questions. Please spread the word!

http://africanpromisefoundation.org/go-to-uganda/

on bookstores

I snapped this picture of a quote hanging on the wall of my favorite Seattle bookstore, The Elliott Bay Book Co. It's so beautifully accurate.

After taking the picture, my two girlfriends and I wandered around the store, primarily between the women's studies section and the greek mythology section. We examined various titles, thumbed pages, read passages out loud to each other and debated their meaning. As Jane so elegantly put it, leaving was hard:
 

“Leaving any bookstore is hard, especially on a day in August, when the street outside burns and glares, and the books inside are cool and crisp to the touch; especially on a day in January, when the wind is blowing, the ice is treacherous, and the books inside seem to gather together in colorful warmth. It's hard to leave a bookstore any day of the year, though, because a bookstore is one of the few places where all the cantankerous, conflicting, alluring voices of the world co-exist in peace and order and the avid reader is as free as a person can possibly be, because she is free to choose among them.”

Inocente

My favorite moment in the Oscars was when Inocente won for best short documentary. Inocente is the name of a homeless, undocumented, teenager living in San Diego. She is also an artist. The film shows how she has used her creativity to bring a measure of joy into life. She fills her life with color: on her clothes, on her canvases and even on her face. Creating is what makes her resilient.

The film moved and inspired me, and I choked up when she appeared on the Oscar stage with the co-directors of the film. She was crying, and one of the directors, Sean Fine, said:

“We want to thank this young lady who was homeless just a year ago and now she’s standing in front of all of you. She’s an artist and all of you are artists and we feel like we need to start supporting the arts. They’re dying in our communities. And all of us artists, we need to stand up and help girls like her be seen and heard. It’s so important. Thank you.”

I wanted to shout amen to his plea for the arts. Our ability to create - art, food, music, dance, crafts, space, words - is part of our divinity. Tapping into that creative power is healing. It's empowering. It's spiritual.

Inocente's story makes me want to create and build and express more. I find a lot of joy in experiencing others' creative powers, but I would like to spend more time tapping into my own. Like Inocente, let's change our lives and the world through art!

P.S. You can watch Inocente's film on itunes.

P&R

 

I've been in a pretty good mood for most of 2013, and I've been trying to figure out why. It could be that I've been taking 5,000 IUs of Vitamin D every day or that I've started a new work-out routine. But I think the real cause of my bliss is this: I've been watching episode after episode of the comedy sitcom Parks and Recreation.

For those of you who haven't seen it, it's like a combination of Thirty Rock and The Office, but the context is a local government office. And it's better. However, I recommend that you start watching from the beginning of season one or two because the background on the characters make the current episodes far more enjoyable.

It takes me longer than 22 minutes to watch each episode because I laugh so loudly and for so long that I have to keep pausing it so that I don't miss what happens next. 

I love the juxtaposition of Leslie's earnest, idealistic view of government with Ron Swanson's disdain for it. (Ron is single-handedly softening my view of Libertarians.) I love that Leslie's office is covered with pictures of her female political heroines: Eleanor Roosevelt, Sandra Day O'Connor, Madeleine Albright and Nancy Pelosi. I love all the askance glances at the camera, the improvised monologues, the short scenes after the credits, and especially, ESPECIALLY, Ben and Leslie's love story.

Some days I have to remind myself that I don't actually live in Pawnee, Indiana and that I can't actually go on a lunch date with Leslie Knope. I knew that things were getting bad when I was hanging out one Friday night with a friend, and all I could think about was when I could go home to watch another episode. Some nights, I get too busy or too tired to watch even one short episode, and I start to feel homesick for Pawnee and my friends there.

I just finished season 3, and frankly, I'm a little worried about what is going to happen to my mood when I am all caught up with season 5, and I have no more to watch. Road trip to Indiana anyone?