Nyiga Okwogera Luganda (I am learning to speak Luganda)

Here’s a little about my family and I written in Luganda. Enjoy and try to appreciate what I’ve learned in about two weeks time. Hope everyone had a great holiday! Happy New Year.

Ammanya gange nze Olivia Smith. Nava New Boston, NH mu America. Kumpine ME, MA, ne VT. Naye kati mbeera Mityana mu Uganda ne mu amakaga Sebwatto. Nkolanga munakyewa mu Peace Corps nga musomesa ne nsomesa abaana okusoma.

My names are Olivia Smith. I have come from New Boston, NH in America near Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. But now I am staying in Mityana, Uganda with the Sebwatto family. I work as a volunteer in the Peace Corps as a teacher and I teach children to read.

Mu America Nnina taata ne maama. Maama wange errinya lye ye Joanne. Ava NH. Maama wange muwanika. Taata wange errinya lye ye Jeff. Ava ME, naye kati abeera NH. Akola nga yinginya. Nnina omulala baganda bange babirri ne mwanyinaze omu. Nze Nakato. Muganda wange babirye errinya lye ye Michelle. Michelle musawo. Muganda wange omulala errinya lye ye Alex. Asoma mu New England University mu ME. Ayagala okuba musawo. Mwanyinaze errinya lye ye Zack. Asoma ssomero lya Hooksett Memorial mu sinyia ya mukaaga.

In America I have a father and a mother. My mother’s name is Joanne. She comes from New Hampshire. My mom works as an accountant. My father’s name is Jeff. He comes from Maine, but now he lives in NH. He works as an engineer. I also have two sisters and one brother. I am the second born twin. My twin sister’s name is Michelle. She works as a nurse. My other sister’s name is Alex. She studies at NEU in Maine. She wishes to be a Physician’s Assistant. My brother’s name is Zack. He studies at Hookseet Memorial school in sixth grade.

Nnina mukwano gwange ye Brian. Ava Stonington, CT, kumpine RI mu America. Naye kati abeera Milford mu NH. Akolanga omuwanika wa Fidelity Investments mu Merrimack, NH. Nmwagala nyo.

I have a friend, his name is Brian. He comes from Stonington, CT near Rhode Island in America. But now he lives in Milford, NH. He works with money at Fidelity in Merrimack, NH. I love him very much.

Nsoma Luganda. Weebale ku osoma kyange blog! Sula bulungi

I am studying Luganda. Thank you for reading my blog! Spend the night well.

Sidenote: letters are always welcome. If you send one, be sure to write your most creative religious sayings and quotes on the envelope to ensure no one looks through it/decorates the post office wall with your beautiful letters and pictures! ;)

Future Site Visit: The positives and negatives of being a PCV at a site that is new to PC

            I'm going to be incredibly honest in this blog post. I had my first real low since being in country during this time and I feel it's important to share. Last week, our entire cohort was divided into our different regions (Central-my region, Southwest, East, North, West, and West Nile). From this morning on, we would all be separated until the swearing in ceremony coming up on January 22! It was tough for all of us. Goodbyes are never easy; especially when they’re coming from friends we’ve all made over the last five weeks we’ve been in country training together. Reality definitely set in for me when I said my goodbyes and loaded into the SUV. The thought that I wouldn’t see anyone in the group for more than a few days at a time from now on was to foreign to me. We created comfort zones and support networks with each other. For this reason and many others, my Future Site visit (FSV) was quite an emotional roller coaster. It started on an uphill climb when our cars traveling to the southwest region got to stop at the equator. Naturally we took lots of photos and stood in two places at once…I mean how cool is that, not many people get to say they've lived in both hemispheres.

            I arrived at my site shortly after the stop at the equator. It was both incredibly scary and exciting at the same time. I was greeted at my school’s gate by about 20 students and four of the teachers I’ll be working with over the next two years. They were playing the drums, singing, and smiling from ear to ear. In that moment I felt so incredibly lucky. I knew some people would show up at their sites with no one there to greet them.  The teachers and students took my bags from me-- I learned this is because it’s incredibly impolite to be seen with a guest who is holding their own bags (and also because they think white people are weaker than them)—I was ushered into the office and given break tea which consisted of Tea masala and two pieces of white bread. Shortly after I was given my food, I learned that my supervisor had no idea what Peace Corps was, let alone that I was a Peace Corps Volunteer coming to stay with them for two years. This was the first red flag. In my head I was thinking, “How did you sign up to take on a volunteer without knowing what the organization does?!” but out loud I tried to briefly explain all of the amazing things PC does in countries all over the world.  Following this conversation, I was given a tour of the school and finally shown my home. I live on campus with the rest of the teachers. I’m lucky to have a real toilet, not a pit latrine, INSIDE my home and not far away from the house. I have two pretty big rooms, one with my bed and desk, and the other with my water tank and living area (hopefully some furniture to come!)

 After the tour of the school I was off to meet about 20 people in the town who consisted of the Chief of Police, the LC1 (Local Consulate—this man has a guy talk for him, and not because he can’t speak English, just because he can), a priest who studied in Scranton, PA for two years that has great English, five former and current teachers, and many others whom I don’t quite remember at this point. Needless to say I was exhausted, but the day wasn’t over yet. My counterpart and I paused for lunch around two. Let me tell you something about African meals… they are HUGE. People think Americans have huge portion sizes, but they’ve got nothing on Africa. I must take a picture sometime. On my plate was three small fried irish potatoes, a cup and a half of white rice, a cup and a half of matooke, a chicken leg, and what Africans call “salad”, which is about a half a cup of thinly sliced cabbage and two slices of plum tomatoes. Africans are obsessed with carbs and they eat, on average, three meals plus two break teas a day. Following lunch I walked the town even more to meet some other locals, bathed and watched the news with the teachers at my school then had dinner around eight. Finally got into my bed at 10:30 and woke up to do the same thing for the next two and a half days.

   I struggled a bit during FSV because I had no downtime aside from when I was sleeping, and even that was interrupted by the constant ring of my neighbors cell phone and her radio on full volume, not to mention the rooster crowing beginning around 4am. On top of this, I kept hearing “We’re so happy to have an American at our school” as opposed to “We’re so happy to have YOU at our school”. All three days I heard their interesting views of America and was asked about whether or not another American volunteer would replace me when I leave in two years (sheesh can you let me stay for a while before you already start thinking about another person?) While my future coworkers, supervisor, and counterpart were so excited to have me there, I began wondering if they were only really excited to say they know an American, and that they’re going to get to keep her for two years. This is when my downward spiral began. I didn’t truly feel appreciated, I just felt like a product they were testing out. I wasn’t Olivia, the teacher who works hard to help her kids and others, I was just “the American”; the American who they’ve put on their timetable as the P4 teacher for the entire year even though Peace Corps doesn’t allow that. No matter how much I tried to explain this, they didn’t get it. The only thing helping me not acknowledge my thoughts of quitting and returning home was the fact that I would be back with some of my cohort members for four weeks of language training and homestay at the end of FSV. In my heart I knew I couldn’t give up. I had to persevere and work through language training so that maybe my coworkers would respect me on another level if I could speak with them in their local language. The weight was lifted off my shoulders after I debriefed with friends and language trainers and settled into my first night with my homestay family (more on them in a future blog post!). I’m feeling MUCH better this week and am so excited to share what I’ve been learning in class!

Here’s to a great holiday vacation (our first actual break since arriving in country), incredible next four weeks until swearing in, and a positive return to my Site. Missing you all at home. Happy Holidays!

'Tis the Season

           The idea of a Ugandan Christmas is something I’ve been trying to get used to since I knew my cohort was leaving in November. It's my first Christmas away from home and all of my loved ones. I have been putting this idea off in my mind because for a while it’s been a sad thought. Over the last month since I’ve been in Uganda, I’ve made some truly incredible friends. From the very beginning our trainers have been calling us a family. At first, this was just a nice idea and thing for them to say to us. A sentiment meant to make us feel whole together. However, in my mind, family is a bond that grows over time. It doesn’t just form instantly upon arriving at a hotel to begin the next chapter of our lives. Family is a home for your heart. Family is irreplaceable and completely unique. Yes, family can be broken, but it can also be put back together again.

           The latter is something I feel all 37 of the trainees and I (maybe just me—don’t want to generalize too much) have felt since arriving in Philadelphia for staging back in November. In small ways we have broken our families up as we committed to 27 months of service with the Peace Corps. As long as we are gone, our families are not whole. I have struggled with this since arriving in country. But, as the last month passed, our trainers’ notion that we are a family has become truer as each day passes. We’ve been labeled the “clingy” group (as every cohort has a label apparently). At first I hated that word, clingy. To me clingy is a bad thing, but in our cohort it really means supportive. Being shoved in close quarters with 37 strangers with some of the same end goals in mind, it’s hard not to be supportive. Though we are slowly realizing that our group as a whole is unique in this way (We are one of the first cohorts in a long time that, by this point in training, hasn’t lost someone who has chosen to go home for one reason or another). I feel blessed to be going through this experience with these talented and passionate people who I know will back me up every step of the way. I know it is not by accident that we were put here together, which is why, slowly but surely, our family has been forming.

           Our Peace Corps family, like our family at home, is *irreplaceable and completely unique, it is a bond that will continue to grow, not only over the next 26 months we have left in this beautiful country, but long after we’ve come back home as well. Our family that we are creating here together is becoming a home for our Peace Corps hearts. I hate to already be thinking about when this family will be broken apart. Yet it’s comforting to know that no matter how far apart I am from my family at home or my Peace Corps family, it is bonded again by the love and support that is shared by every individual involved.

          An example of this family bond was experienced by some of us last night. We have been staying at a Primary Teacher’s College in Kira (pronounced Cheera). The students here are tired and at the very end of their school year, but they still have a zest for learning and life that is unmatched by any students I know. After a long year, they still took the time to sing Christmas carols with a small group of us last night. I’d been sick all week long with some food borne illness, yet I felt so uplifted by this experience with the students. The holidays are a time for families to come together. This year, I have the opportunity to become closer to my Peace Corps family, while also sharing this connectedness and uniqueness with my family at home. 

I love you all, Happy Holidays :) Pictures and some videos to come! 

Oli Otya!

Hello everyone! I have made it safe and sound to Uganda. I have to warn you this post is going to jump around too much because I have so much to say! So just be patient. :) 

We didn't waste any time diving into training. Each day has been filled with training sessions from 8-6. As you can imagine, trying to stay awake during those sessions while battling jet lag was quite humorous the first week. We're going into our third week of training! We have just moved from a sort of bubble of a site to a teacher's college. Here we will have one last week of sessions then next week we finall get to start practice lessons at the nearby primary school. I am beyond excited to finally get to this step. It will be a much needed change of pace. 

As far as my emotional state goes, I'm doing so well. I had a minor dip after using a hole as the toilet for the first time, but now it's the norm. I have found some solace in talking to the other people in my cohort...which is the BEST. The people I have traveled and lived with over the last couple of weeks have each inspired me in different ways. I feel blessed to have met them and to have the chance to teach with some of them starting next week. 

Here's a little background on what we're doing here. We are all education sector volunteers. Some of us have lots of teaching experience, and some of us don't have any. The motivation level is the same across the board. We are a special group, not only for PC Uganda, but for peace corps as a whole. We are the first group to train for and implement an amazing literacy program during our service. Many of the other countries came to a conference a few months ago to learn more about it and begin planning on making it happen in their own countries. If we are successful, education in the PC could change in such amazing ways. I'm grateful to be a part of such a groundbreaking group. 

With that said, I have reflected a lot since I stepped onto the plane to head to Africa. I have come to the realization that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this point in my life. It's hard to explain the feeling completely, but it was so powerful when it happened. My family, my home, my awesome friends and loved ones mean the world to me. Leaving all of them was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through, but the sense of belonging I have in this beautiful country is so intense. I'm lucky because I get to share my experiences that I've had at home with the people of UG and vice versa. How many people get the opportunity to do something like that? I hope that I can do this country justice and share as much as possible with all of you. 

I will update and spill my thoughts as much as I can! 

Last important thing, we got our site placements on Friday! For those of you that would like to look up my town on a map of some sort, it is called Masaka. In the central region of Uganda! 

Love you all. Xo

One of the most amazing girls I have ever met, Emery, and I on the day we both got awards for trainees of the day! :) 

Home Stretch

           It's been a while since I've updated, but I was waiting for some juicy news. See all those green check marks in the above picture? That means that I've completed ALL of my medical tasks i.e. seven different shots (with more to come during training), a physical, an eye exam, and a women's health exam. This is such a huge weight off my shoulders!

          Enough about my physical health (which is pristine, by the way), I feel it's necessary to comment about my emotional health these days. A common question I hear now from most everyone I talk to about my rapidly approaching departure to Uganda is, "Are you nervous?"  I'd like to invite people to answer that question for me after I give you just some of the things I've had to mull over in my mind about deciding on the PC: moving to a third world country for 2 years; leaving behind my family, friends, amazing boyfriend, and the comfort of America; knowing I may not have daily access to: family, great food, clean running water, electricity, beloved Wi-Fi and phone calls to friends....my list could go on. So to answer everyone's question: OF COURSE I am nervous. I think it would be unnatural not to be. I'm walking, almost blindly, into a world (because third world countries are truly worlds of their own) that I know very little about without the comforts I'm so used to here in the U.S. I'm dealing with the pressures I'm putting on the relationships I have with my family and Brian and what they may look like over the next two years.
         It's a lot to think about and come to terms with for sure, but at the same time I can honestly say that I am wicked excited to begin this new adventure. I know that this is the perfect next step for me both as a person who lives to help other people, and as a someone who lives to learn as much as possible about the world around me. The way I view the world and myself will surely change and I will come back a stronger person for it. The latter being something that became a huge factor in my decision to go into the PC to begin with. The closer I get to my departure date (which has been moved to Nov. 10th instead of the 12th!), the more I think about all of these things and the impact I'm about to make, not only on my own life, but hopefully on the lives of the people I meet abroad.   T-73 days!!

        Side note: I am beyond grateful for the amount of support I've gotten from everyone around me. I'm also so lucky to be a part of the Bedford High School Volleyball program this fall as the new Freshman Girls coach (my team ROCKS). This has posed as a great distraction and ease to my daily anxieties. I couldn't think of a better group of girls to spend my few remaining months in the states with. If only all of that energy could translate into packing (which I wouldn't even consider to be started yet)....   Missing my Kinderkids this fall as they just began their new year as first graders yesterday! Can't believe a year ago I was just starting my Master's program with them. My Dad was right, time really does speed up as you age--just when you learn to appreciate it more (how unfair).

Happy Thursday, love you all! :)

Shots All Around!

...but not the good kind of shots ;) 

            Figured this huge Peace Corps medical day was enough to warrant a blog post. My day started off with my usual egg sandwich, a great workout, some cleaning, and a trip to the post office. What happens next I do not wish on anyone. The nurse came in with a big lovely smile on her face. "I come bearing gifts!" she said in the most cheerful voice (maybe this is why nurses choose to practice, they get to stick patients with needles every day while they sit back and feel nothing--Chel? thoughts? I'm sure it's fun...) On the nurse's tray were five huge needles--images of some of my battle wounds can be seen below--She went with the tetanus first in my left arm...not so bad. Been there, done that. Next came the polio vaccine in my right arm...this one hurt a little more. After this I hear the nurse say, Now this one is for chicken pox and it goes in the fat of your arm (way to make a girl feel good about herself, lady!)...that one hurt the worst. Not even sure what the next vaccine was, but it was followed by a TB test in my forearm, five vials of blood taken and two urine samples. Following many pokes in my sore arms, my doctor began the usual awkward medical questioning as she filled out the forms Peace Corps requires, which consists of about 20 different sheets of paper (not including my dental and eye prescription forms) My body had had a rough day at that point and I began to think that I deserved another kind of shot...
         FINALLY I am able to leave this awfully long doctors visit and, though it can be rough getting so many shots at once (with another thought in the back of my head that I have many more shots to receive in the near future), I had to remind myself that enduring about ten minutes of needles and peeing in cups is WAY better than actually contracting any one of these diseases. Next up, Yellow Fever shot at a travel clinic (pretty soon I'll be a walking immunization) and a few more medical visits to ensure my clean bill of health. Bring it on, World. 

Sidenote: Happy first day of July! This is one of my favorite months because it means the fourth is coming up, which means fireworks at my grandparents and many beach days ahead. July also means that this "big bald soldier", Chris Moffett, that stole the hearts of my kindergarteners is coming home SOON. Yay! They'll be happy to hear about his safe return.  

T-163 days until staging!

Life is Either a Great Adventure or Nothing At All...

**UPDATED as of 8/14!!

According to my Peace Corps assignment booklet:

Program: Primary Education Project
Job Title: Teacher Trainer

Dates of Service: January 25, 2015-January 25, 2017
**Staging Dates (In USA): November 10, 2014 (originally scheduled for 11/12/2014)!
Pre-Service Training (In Uganda): November 14, 2014-January 25, 2017  

          When I am in the training stage of the process I will be living with a host family for three months. It is at this time that I will be focusing on learning the local language (Luganda) and receive technical and cultural training, job specific training, and safety training. Once I successfully make it through these three months, I will officially swear in as a PCV and begin the two years of service!

          As a teacher trainer (according to the booklet), I will use a variety of skills to plan training programs for primary school educators (including teachers and school heads), monitor and evaluate educators through observation and feedback, develop and maintain education resource centers and libraries, and work with parents and communities to increase educational achievement in schools. (To me this sounds like I've completely traded places with Maria, Bruce, Kristen, and the administrators who have been doing this with me as an intern this past year! --scary) As a resourceful teacher trainer I will be placed in a Primary Teacher's College (PTC) or a Primary School affiliated with a PTC in a small town or rural area.

           The booklet explains that the plans I will develop with my counterpart may include:

1. Improving technical skills of primary school teachers by introducing participatory learning activities for young children aimed at developing basic skills in literacy, math, science, and life skills.   AND,
2. Strengthening school-community connections through school improvement activities and projects.

          As a Peace Corps volunteer, I will also have the opportunity to come up with my very own projects unrelated to my job title. This could be anything from rain water conservation projects to presentations about health topics to building a sports court/field for the children to play on, and so much more! This is the great thing about the PC. Your personal projects are ones that you come up with on your own and with the people in your community based on what you see they may need help with or what they desire for their community. 

         In addition to all these wonderful things, part of my role as a PCV will be to inform the people who I will live and work with about America while also learning about their country and culture. This will not only help me educate my Ugandan community about the place I come from, but it will also help me better educate my American community about the rest of the people in the world too. 

I've found my next great adventure... T-175 days and counting :)