So, I haven't had much happen this week that's worth writing about. I was sick for two days, which means I mostly slept a lot. I did feel like writing a blog entry, though, so I solicited questions from the peanut gallery -- I should have known better. I think this entry is going to be pretty long.
From Mom: What effects are you seeing from the conflict in Sudan? Are refugees pouring in?
Uganda and Sudan have a long history of hosting one another's refugees. Many Ugandans fled to Sudan during the Idi Amin years, and many Southern Sudanese in particular have found sanctuary in Uganda during the decades-long civil war between North and South that officially ended in 2005. Though most Darfuri refugees are in Chad (actually, most Darfuri "refugees" aren't refugees at all -- they're internally displaced persons, still living in Sudan), there are a number in Kampala and refugee camps elsewhere in Uganda. However, I assume this question has to do with the recent fighting in South Kordofan (if you don't know what I'm talking about, do a quick Google search... it's pretty horrific stuff). In that case, the answer is: I don't think people from South Kordofan have made it as far as Kampala. My impression is that they're mostly internally displaced persons (IDPs), and have fled into neighboring North Kordofan and further into South Sudan. It's possible there will be a surge into Uganda, but Sudan is big -- the biggest country in Africa, in fact -- and that means that getting out requires a lot of travel and a lot of time. This most recent round of fighting only began 10 days ago, which means it's early days yet.
Lise asked: What do you find the most frustrating about your living/working experience so far - and what do you find the most fulfilling/rewarding so far?
I've already talked a little bit about the frustration of working on the law in a part of the world where the law doesn't hold much weight, so I'll focus on the "living" part of this question. I think the most frustrating thing about living here is that everybody is always trying to rip you off. There is a "mzungu price" for pretty much everything -- boda rides and taxi rides being the main things I spend money on. It's a constant argument. For example, the other day I was trying to get a minibus taxi from Kamwokya to Kisaasi. The conversation went something like this: "How much to Kisaasi bypass?" "1,000." "1,000? Are you out of your mind? I'll give you 600." "Okay, get in." The mzungu price is always just an opening bid, and I can almost always get them down to what I think is a reasonable price, but it's very frustrating... and if I didn't know already that the price should actually be 500 or 600 shillings, I could easily be taken in. On the one hand, 1,000 UGX is literally less than $0.50... on the other hand, it's the principle of the thing. I hate getting ripped off so much, and it wears on me just a little bit to feel like every encounter I have with strangers all day long is a battle somehow. I'm genuinely surprised when boda drivers offer me what I think is the right price to begin with, and I'm usually so grateful that I end up over-paying anyway.
In terms of what's most rewarding, I'm going to have to come back to work. I didn't really want to work on cases this summer, as it didn't seem "big picture" enough for me. But I have been working on a few individual cases over the last week or two, and I've found it very rewarding. The reality of making progress towards justice, even just for one person, is very satisfying and makes me feel pretty important.
In terms of your other question (Are you cooking at all? If so - what is your specialty?)... I don't really cook here. To be honest, our kitchen is disgusting, and I try to go into it as infrequently as possible. I don't know how it gets so gross -- I never use any dishes as I hardly eat in the apartment. There's a woman at the office who makes us lunch every day, and Ugandan food is very rich/filling, so I generally don't really even want dinner... but on the rare occasion that I do, the grossness of the kitchen is usually enough to put me off food.
I did make ramen noodles the other night. I am a master chef.
From Grandma: I'm interested in families in Uganda: Can you describe the "typical" family living in the villages as compared to a family living in a city like Kampala (how do they live, work, play? How are the elders cared for? etc.)?
Unfortunately, I am ill-qualified to answer this question, as I have spent no time in the villages and don't really know very many Ugandan families. But I'll tell you what I do know about urban families, at least. Most people I know with young children have at least one nanny -- apparently live-in nannies/maids are very poorly paid, as little as $10/month, so it's not a status symbol to have one like it is in the United States. The one marriage I've had cause the observe closely (Bruno and Diane) confirms what I heard at the wedding I went to: men are in charge. It's not in a domineering way, but there's a definite power imbalance, and Diane at least seems to think this is the way things should be. In terms of caring for elders, I know from a conversation I had with one of Bruno's friends that the "Western" practice of putting aging parents into nursing homes appalled him; he couldn't understand how children could be so ungrateful. I got the impression that here, the parents move in with the adult children and are taken care of that way. That's about all I can tell you, sadly.
And finally, a barrage of questions from Grandpa:
What are you doing in Uganda to bring about a better life for the people there?
In fact, nothing. Since I'm working on refugees' rights, my work has very little positive impact on Ugandans. I find it a bit awkward to tell Ugandans what my NGO does for that very reason, and I often am deliberately vague and say I'm doing "human rights work." Unlike the time I have spent in South Africa, I'm really just using Kampala as a base to do regional work. It's a strange situation to be in, because Uganda itself clearly has so many humanitarian needs.
What do they produce? Do they export, and if so, what do they export?
Uganda's main export is coffee. They also have natural resources like copper and cobalt, as well as some largely-untapped natural gas and oil reserves.
How do you find the people there? Are they friendly?
People here are exceedingly friendly, as long as you make the first move. Generally, people walk around sort of scowling, and I get a lot of stares and strange looks because I'm white. However, I find that a determined smile and a wave almost always cracks the veneer of unfriendliness, and 95% of the time, I get a genuine smile, hand wave, and/or "How are you?" in return. The people who recognize me -- the guys doing construction on my street, or the woman at the stall where I buy bottles of water in the morning -- are always very happy to see me and want to know how I am every day. One of the construction guys has taken to saying "Welcome back, my friend," whenever he sees me on my way home from work. People often respond to a simple "hello" with "I'm fine," anticipating your asking them how they are and answering before you have the chance to ask. Occasionally, I get a chatty boda driver, which is always fun. I had one the other day who was deeply impressed that I would be here for three months, and wanted to know why I was leaving in August. I told him I had to go home to study law, and he seemed duly impressed. There's a stereotype here (as there is in the United States) that lawyers are money-grubbing corporate types, so I always make sure to tell people, "I want to be a good lawyer, not a bad lawyer!" This boda driver laughed at me when I told him that, and said that it was a good thing to be a good lawyer.
Okay, that's just about a long enough entry, I think!
From Mom: What effects are you seeing from the conflict in Sudan? Are refugees pouring in?
Uganda and Sudan have a long history of hosting one another's refugees. Many Ugandans fled to Sudan during the Idi Amin years, and many Southern Sudanese in particular have found sanctuary in Uganda during the decades-long civil war between North and South that officially ended in 2005. Though most Darfuri refugees are in Chad (actually, most Darfuri "refugees" aren't refugees at all -- they're internally displaced persons, still living in Sudan), there are a number in Kampala and refugee camps elsewhere in Uganda. However, I assume this question has to do with the recent fighting in South Kordofan (if you don't know what I'm talking about, do a quick Google search... it's pretty horrific stuff). In that case, the answer is: I don't think people from South Kordofan have made it as far as Kampala. My impression is that they're mostly internally displaced persons (IDPs), and have fled into neighboring North Kordofan and further into South Sudan. It's possible there will be a surge into Uganda, but Sudan is big -- the biggest country in Africa, in fact -- and that means that getting out requires a lot of travel and a lot of time. This most recent round of fighting only began 10 days ago, which means it's early days yet.
Lise asked: What do you find the most frustrating about your living/working experience so far - and what do you find the most fulfilling/rewarding so far?
I've already talked a little bit about the frustration of working on the law in a part of the world where the law doesn't hold much weight, so I'll focus on the "living" part of this question. I think the most frustrating thing about living here is that everybody is always trying to rip you off. There is a "mzungu price" for pretty much everything -- boda rides and taxi rides being the main things I spend money on. It's a constant argument. For example, the other day I was trying to get a minibus taxi from Kamwokya to Kisaasi. The conversation went something like this: "How much to Kisaasi bypass?" "1,000." "1,000? Are you out of your mind? I'll give you 600." "Okay, get in." The mzungu price is always just an opening bid, and I can almost always get them down to what I think is a reasonable price, but it's very frustrating... and if I didn't know already that the price should actually be 500 or 600 shillings, I could easily be taken in. On the one hand, 1,000 UGX is literally less than $0.50... on the other hand, it's the principle of the thing. I hate getting ripped off so much, and it wears on me just a little bit to feel like every encounter I have with strangers all day long is a battle somehow. I'm genuinely surprised when boda drivers offer me what I think is the right price to begin with, and I'm usually so grateful that I end up over-paying anyway.
In terms of what's most rewarding, I'm going to have to come back to work. I didn't really want to work on cases this summer, as it didn't seem "big picture" enough for me. But I have been working on a few individual cases over the last week or two, and I've found it very rewarding. The reality of making progress towards justice, even just for one person, is very satisfying and makes me feel pretty important.
In terms of your other question (Are you cooking at all? If so - what is your specialty?)... I don't really cook here. To be honest, our kitchen is disgusting, and I try to go into it as infrequently as possible. I don't know how it gets so gross -- I never use any dishes as I hardly eat in the apartment. There's a woman at the office who makes us lunch every day, and Ugandan food is very rich/filling, so I generally don't really even want dinner... but on the rare occasion that I do, the grossness of the kitchen is usually enough to put me off food.
I did make ramen noodles the other night. I am a master chef.
From Grandma: I'm interested in families in Uganda: Can you describe the "typical" family living in the villages as compared to a family living in a city like Kampala (how do they live, work, play? How are the elders cared for? etc.)?
Unfortunately, I am ill-qualified to answer this question, as I have spent no time in the villages and don't really know very many Ugandan families. But I'll tell you what I do know about urban families, at least. Most people I know with young children have at least one nanny -- apparently live-in nannies/maids are very poorly paid, as little as $10/month, so it's not a status symbol to have one like it is in the United States. The one marriage I've had cause the observe closely (Bruno and Diane) confirms what I heard at the wedding I went to: men are in charge. It's not in a domineering way, but there's a definite power imbalance, and Diane at least seems to think this is the way things should be. In terms of caring for elders, I know from a conversation I had with one of Bruno's friends that the "Western" practice of putting aging parents into nursing homes appalled him; he couldn't understand how children could be so ungrateful. I got the impression that here, the parents move in with the adult children and are taken care of that way. That's about all I can tell you, sadly.
And finally, a barrage of questions from Grandpa:
What are you doing in Uganda to bring about a better life for the people there?
In fact, nothing. Since I'm working on refugees' rights, my work has very little positive impact on Ugandans. I find it a bit awkward to tell Ugandans what my NGO does for that very reason, and I often am deliberately vague and say I'm doing "human rights work." Unlike the time I have spent in South Africa, I'm really just using Kampala as a base to do regional work. It's a strange situation to be in, because Uganda itself clearly has so many humanitarian needs.
What do they produce? Do they export, and if so, what do they export?
Uganda's main export is coffee. They also have natural resources like copper and cobalt, as well as some largely-untapped natural gas and oil reserves.
How do you find the people there? Are they friendly?
People here are exceedingly friendly, as long as you make the first move. Generally, people walk around sort of scowling, and I get a lot of stares and strange looks because I'm white. However, I find that a determined smile and a wave almost always cracks the veneer of unfriendliness, and 95% of the time, I get a genuine smile, hand wave, and/or "How are you?" in return. The people who recognize me -- the guys doing construction on my street, or the woman at the stall where I buy bottles of water in the morning -- are always very happy to see me and want to know how I am every day. One of the construction guys has taken to saying "Welcome back, my friend," whenever he sees me on my way home from work. People often respond to a simple "hello" with "I'm fine," anticipating your asking them how they are and answering before you have the chance to ask. Occasionally, I get a chatty boda driver, which is always fun. I had one the other day who was deeply impressed that I would be here for three months, and wanted to know why I was leaving in August. I told him I had to go home to study law, and he seemed duly impressed. There's a stereotype here (as there is in the United States) that lawyers are money-grubbing corporate types, so I always make sure to tell people, "I want to be a good lawyer, not a bad lawyer!" This boda driver laughed at me when I told him that, and said that it was a good thing to be a good lawyer.
Okay, that's just about a long enough entry, I think!
Great questions and answers!!!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Gail
Bargaining is something I totally get! Italians are masters at it - your uncle refused to bargain (in fact, your uncle refused to talk much at all to the Italians - at certain moments I wondered if he had suddenly lost his ability to speak at all!!) but your aunt has NO shame! Its part of the game...and while it seems like they are "ripping you off" - its really more of a cultural thing that you have to just accept I guess...like life-threatening taxi reides! But I applaud your efforts to stand your ground! Regarding cooking...well...your mother informed me that unlike law, cooking was not exactly an area of strength for you! :) That said - it sounds like you're doing just fine in that area...what can I say...I worry about people not eating enough! Thank goodness for ramen noodles (one of Sarah's favorite staples too!) Keep the blogs comin' - totally lovin' learning all about a part of the world I really know so little about! Love, Lise
ReplyDeleteIn my defense (as weak as it may be), I was quiet in Italy because my darling wife speaks fluent Italian. Everyone loved talking with Lise and were so impressed with her language. I also tend to think that the (mostly) male salespeople will give a better deal to a woman. Mostly, I think, it is because your dear aunt never lets me get a word in, in any language!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your answers. I love reading this every day. One more question: What's been the single best thing so far?
xoxo,
Larry