Shana Tova U'Mituka

Happy Almost New Year!

                Since the new year is going to reach me before it reaches all of you, I thought I would give you a little shout out, but I swear I won’t ruin any surprises! I am finishing up things here at work and then will be on me way to Nairobi, Kenya for Rosh Hashana services and some touring. There is no synagogue near me in Uganda and since it is a long weekend anyways- it seemed like the perfect time to go. I am extremely excited to go to Kenya and I can’t believe I can just take a bus there, but the actual travel process is not one that I am excited about. In a few hours, I will go to the bus station for a 10-12 hour bus ride into Nairobi. Nope, not a typo, those are the right numbers. I get super antsy when the bus ride from New York to Boston takes more than 4 hours and now 12 HOURS!! I have everything I need for the weekend in a little bag so I will be fine on space. I brought some cards to play with my roommate who is coming with me (thank god) and an ipod. My roommate has some mild sleeping pills to help us sleep but not bad enough that we won’t be able to come to when we cross the border. If anyone has any other tips for the long bus ride- let me know!

                Other than that, I just cannot believe I am starting the new year in a new continent, let alone Africa. I feel super blessed and wish everyone a happy and healthy new year (even if it just means that you get two days off work)

Be Safe (and yes, I will take the same advice as well)

Shira ZK

Getting Around Kampala

Greetings from the beginning of my second week in at work,

                We have recently lost power and while the generator is booting up, I thought I would tell you about my last few days in Kampala. First off, though I do miss my sweaters and boots, the weather here is delightful. It gets pretty warm during the day but cools off enough at night to sleep comfortably.  Rainy season is coming soon and that makes me nervous, because of course, I did not bring the right clothing. In fact, my packing job may rival 1998’s trip to Seattle as the worst packing job ever!

                Tomorrow we are talking as a committee about what kind of things I will be able to do at work over the next few months that are helpful and sustainable. However, on Friday, the executive director and I took a trip to the national curriculum development center- NCDC. (I know this may be hard to believe, but Ugandans love their acronyms even more than Americans. Everything has an acronym here, and as you may be have guessed, many have the letter ‘U’ in them…) We went to meet with the curriculum specialist for special education for Uganda. That’s right, the head of special ed curriculum for the entire country. Don’t worry, I’m just kind of a big deal…After waiting for two hours- ok, maybe I’m not THAT big of a deal- she talked to us about some readers and books that are being made especially for inclusive classrooms so children with disabilities can be in general education classrooms.

                It was very interesting for me to see how similar the American and Ugandan systems are. They may be a few years behind, but we still all have the same difficulties. Maybe the US has some readers already made and has teachers learning about differentiated instruction when they are still in classes as opposed to already in the classroom but the idea that some children need much more skills based learning to make sure they have some skills when they leave school has got to be universal. She started talking about how if there is not enough attention to a student and their needs, they are more likely to drop out with no skills to their name and become involved in illegal activities- umm… has she been to Washington Heights or is she just taking a wild guess? She was very knowledgeable and said she could send us the adaptable curriculum that they give to teachers who have special needs students in their class. It has only been adapted up until P-4 (around 5^th grade) so they are still working on any middle or high school curriculum.

                My first real weekend in Kampala was delightful and weirdly similar to what a weekend in New York might have been like except blackouts and sex-workers… Let me explain. One of my fellow AJWS volunteer is working with an NGO that is trying to network all of the sex workers in Uganda and get them rights that they do not have. She has been on many field visits but they don’t want to take her at night to places where it may be dangerous. Instead, on Saturday night, after they went to a particular area of Kampala to pass out condoms, they went to the next neighborhood over which is pretty young and invited us to come out dancing. We hung out with some ex-sex workers (NOT prostitutes) and one person who wants to start the first NGO for transgender sex-workers in Uganda, and we danced up a storm! It was a lot of fun and they even played our Lady Gaga requests and didn’t laugh too much at our Muzungo attempt to dance. Next time they said they would take us to a more traditional African dance- but this was pretty amazing! We also had brunch the next morning and I got some fish tacos. They called it ‘rolex with a twist’ but it had avocado so I called it fish tacos since I will always be in need of Mexican food. See- just a normal weekend for me!

                I think it’s about that time to try to explain the transportation situation here in Kampala. For most there are 4 ways to get around- I say most because one of the ways is forbidden to AJWS volunteers- do you think you can guess which one? Ohhhhh an interactive blog…  1) you could walk. 2) You can take a special hire which is what you or I would call a taxi. You call one, they give you a price and then they just drive you and your party where they want to go. 3) You can take a matatu or what Ugandans call a taxi. This is what we would refer to as a bus since it makes several stops along a road- what road?…. That’s sometimes unclear. It drives along and when there is room in the van, the conductor, different than the driver, stops to see if a person on the road is going the same direction as they are. They then fill up the van as much as possible and are on their merry way. When you want to get off you say Masow or stage and they stop where they are, try to get you to pay more than you owe-if you are a muzungo- and then make every else get off so you can get off too. So far, I have usually paid around 1000/- (Ugandan shillings- around 40 cents each way to and from work)  The system works pretty well except for the insane traffic, but nicely they don’t charge you extra for that.  There are also Matatus who try to find hidden shortcuts along the way to deal with the traffic which is almost always appreciated except when you are in the front and going over some traitorous terrain- then its not so fun... The last choice is 4) a boda boda. This is a motorcycle that darts in and out of traffic and fits up to three extra people on the back of the bike. It is slightly more expensive that a matatu but generally gets you places faster since the boda bodas refuse to wait in traffic. One of these things is not like the other… can you guess which one it is????

                I hope all your weekends were delightful as you prepare for the new year. I am planning on going to Nairobi for Rosh Hashana because there are actually no synagogues in Uganda. There are a few AJWS volunteers in Kenya and we will spend the Rosh together. My work has been very kind in giving me Thursday and Friday off, which is weird because this is the first time in my life where I have actually had to ask for that off! One woman at work wanted to know more about the holiday and then got super confused at how Jesus was Jewish but I did not believe all of the miracles that he had performed. “So you re Jewish” “yes” “and Jesus was Jewish” “yes” “but you don’t cross yourself” “No, that’s a Christian thing to do.” “Wait, you’re not Christian?” Delightful! Sooo excited for Yom Kippur…

Love to all and hope to write once more before the New Year!

Shira ZK

Muzungo and proud of it!

                So a man just came in to fix the internet on my computer which worked for around 5.7 minutes, so I need something to take my mind off the next three slightly boring hours ahead of me. I am finishing up my first week at work and trying to get a sense of what it is I will be doing here for the next three months. What I have gotten so far is there is education involved… No! I will definitely be working with some teachers, some schools, and some parent groups and my NGO which works with children with disabilities and their communities to make sure they are afforded all the rights they deserve (helpful, Ellen?)

                I did get to go visit two schools yesterday and that was delightful! I first met with the head teacher at each place and explained my background, although I did forget to mention that my dad was a headmaster of a school as well. We discussed the main issues affecting the school, facilities and money, and affecting children with disabilities, stigma and money. There is a belief prevalent in Uganda that if you have a child with disabilities, it is because you were cursed and you shouldn’t show this child around to show people, but instead keep him or her at home- not at school.

                I then got to go into a couple classrooms and holy shmajoly- were they adorable! First of all, the excitement at seeing at white person was clearly uncontrollable in anyone under the age of 35. That was fine with me, because I could not control my excitement at how freaking cute they were. They were all in uniform (all 98 in one classroom!!) and stood up as soon as we walked into the room. Loudly they all chanted “good morning to our visitors.” (Clearly, this was not their first time) and then waved and giggled as I walked to the front of the class to introduce myself. In talking to the teacher, I learned what level they were at, P-1, P-3 or P-7- don’t worry, I had no idea what those meant either. When I tried to get their ages to see what grade that would be equivalent to in America, she said that they were all different ages. This kid was four while the kid in the middle was 9 and that kid back there was 16. Ok, clearly, I need to learn more about the public school system in Uganda. I did get that it is rarely actually free and although mandatory, few measures are taken to enforce that law.

                This was all in hopes of meeting some children with disabilities that I may be lucky enough to work with them or their parents in the coming months. I quickly got the sense that they think of and deal with disability a heck of a lot differently than in the US or NYC. There are very few cases of mental disability or intellectual disabilities as they are called here. It is almost all physical, visual or hearing disabilities- the ones that can be seen from just looking at a child. Also in the slums, there is such a little amount of health care that a disease in a healthy child can quickly lead to a disability that can last the rest of their lives. The schools that I visited also have no qualms about pointing out these differences or disabilities in front of whoever will listen. They pulled Marla* to the front of the room to say hi to me in front of 97 of her peers. They took another kid out of his class and started to make him take off his shoe and show me what was wrong with his ankle and ask if surgery could fix that. Although this is not te type of special needs I normally work with, I think I could have understood without forcing him to disrobe in the middle of the yard.

                I think this blunt attitude and language is something of a cultural difference that I need to start getting used to. I always think of beating around the bush to ask a question or how to phrase things in the most polite way- even though this usually does not succeed. Here, you have a question, you ask it. For example, Paul* from work (I know you were all hoping a Paul story was coming) walked into my office today to ask what I thought about the Israel- Palestine conflict- since I was Jewish and all. Didn’t I hate Muslim?. While this was a FUN conversation to have, once it was over Paul said: “Now tell me. If your daughter came to you and said she was only attracted to women- what would you say to her?”  He definitely gets right into it. Another co-worker Violet* also is quite blunt. Today while sitting and waiting for lunch, I felt her eyes on me and when I turned to her, she said “wow, you’re really hairy. You don’t shave?” Violet has been a delight to have at work and will talk to me for long periods of time when I am bored, but this comment in particular made me feel REAL special.

                Let’s end on the good note of food, more specifically LUNCH! It’s getting to be my favorite time of the day. There is a woman at work who cooks every day. There are the staples of rice, matoke ( I would explain what that is in more length if I could, but it is definitely a starch with little flavor) and some sort of green. Then there is usually a third starch and a protein. Since my protein sources are limited, she has been amazing and making me fish and g-nut sauce. This is pretty much purple peanut butter cream. I know that sounds heinous, but… I guess I’ve gotten used to it. She is so nice and doesn’t make me beef or pork and it is 2500/- (Ugandan shillings.) This equates to around 90 cents. It is amazing! Everyone takes the 1-2 hour off for lunch and we go to boardroom and talk of the correct marriage age and why homosexuality is illegal in Uganda- what could be bad?

                The blackouts are more regular now, every other night so at least I can plan ahead. Also it turns out a man in my office is from Mbale and went to school with some people from the Abuyudaya tribe, so we are trying to figure out the best time to go up there- Rosh Hashana? Anybody wanna come with me? It’s supposed to be great! Super, see you in Uganda in a week!

Love to all and keep telling my mom how I’m doing a good job!

Shira ZK

Good News and Bad News

Hello Three Followers (I have the best sisters!)

      I was trying to decide how often I should be writing, but when the power keeps going out, that kind decides for you.We have had limited power for the past three nights and it will be interesting to see what happens next.  Funnily enough, I am using electricity to also decide when to shower… but I don’t know if that is going to work out as well, namely for my roommates and those who have to sit next to me at work.

     Speaking of which- good news! I have survived two days at work and it has been pretty darn great! Maybe that’s because I have enough free time to check who won the emmy’s and play a little spider solitaire, but also because the people are pretty much amazing! I was picked up by a man who works for my NGO and they were very welcoming right when I got there and showed me around the space and introduced me to everyone. We then had my very first staff meeting. When I say first, I don’t just mean in Uganda, this was a first for me. I have never really worked in an office, so all my office etiquette will be learned here. Everyone went around and said what they did last week and what their plane were for this week and it was then asked if anyone had any reactions. I think I was the most excited person there. It is rather small NGO- there are around 7 people who work here full time- and I loved hearing about all that they do while they were itching to get out of there and asked people to keep their speaking points to around 5 minutes so it wouldn’t take two hours like last time. My personal favorite part was the prayer before the meeting. We all bowed our heads to thank the lord and ask for guidance of where we should go in our meeting. Impressive if you ask me and we did get it just under an hour so looks like it worked.

After the meeting everyone in the office (all 5 who made it to the end of the meeting) had to sign up for a time between 5 and 20 minutes to meet with me and tell me what they did. I got to talk to almost everyone, some were a little busy, and even had my first meeting with the executive director where we chatted about the organization and what my role would be in the months ahead. Around 5 minutes after meeting a man we will call Paul* (everyone’s name has been changed for security purposes, and because AJWS told me to.) he gave me a strange look and asked if he could tell me something. I said sure and he said  “when I look at you, I think you are Indian.” I guess it doesn’t matter what part of the world I am in, that Indian look will follow me through life. Of course, some agreed, while some said they thought I was more Pakistani. By the time Judaism came up, no one had any idea what I was talking about.

                The topic of Judaism was one that held people’s attention for around an hour. One man was more knowledgeable than me explain to everyone else that Judaism could be a religion, or a culture, or an ethnicity.  I tried to bring up The Abuyudaya tribe, but no one had heard of them except to tell me that that means “the Jews.”  We then got on the topic of, what else, circumcision.  There was talk there is a tribe up north that does circumcision on their men as a sort of right of passage “just like your bars” one man said. Paul again made one of the best comments of the day: “I would get a circumcision now because I have heard it is healthier, but I have heard it will put you out of commission for a while, and I really cannot afford to do that.” Oh Paul, way to get the day started out right. Besides that, people kept coming in and out of my office (yup, that’s right, I have an office like place… it is right next to the door so not too private, but at least I can say I had an office at some point in my life. And no one can see my play spider solitaire unless I want them to.) They wanted to chat about who-knows-what, including my choice of earrings and how to get here and there. Pretty nice first day!

                The only bad news so far is my roommate’s wallet got stolen. It was so sad and we should have known something was up. We were taking a taxi, which is like a shared taxi in a huge white van. It wasn’t too crowded but they asked Daniela to sit up front. We just thought they thought she was pretty, but we really should have known better! They asked her to hold the door shut- clue #2- and she says she say one trying to open her bag. They then forced us to get out of the van early –clue #3- even though we lived around 5 minutes away. Right when she got out of the van, she knew her wallet was gone.

                I was super impressed by how she handled herself. She called Bank of America and Visa right away while I was sure I would have been balling on the phone to my mom before I even got home.  She figured out how to get her bank card to Uganda and was only mad that they had made her (and really all of us) feel uncomfortable in the only form of public transportation we can take. (we are not allowed to go on boda boda’s, the motorcycles that literally litter the streets) Her NGO counterpart was livid, not only that she had gotten her wallet stolen but that these men had given her such a bad impression of Uganda and what Ugandan people are like. She assured her “this is not what we are life. Don’t let these men ruin Uganda for you.” She is going to try not to, but I was definitely nervous when I was put in the front of my matatu (taxi) yesterday and hung on to my backpack for dear life.

                Again, if you have reached the end of this, congrats! That was a lot- probably because I have had much down time at work today. I had an article and a meeting and lunch and 9 hours to do it! Hopefully my next post will be from my home where there is power and where I have taken a nice (if not long) hot shower!

I miss you all and though slightly embarrassed to admit it, I miss America and it’s electricity as well!

Shira ZK

My First Blog!

Hello All, (or just hi mom and dad)
       I am sitting in my brand new house in Kampala, Uganda feeling very nervous. Not only do I start my first day tomorrow at my NGO in Kampala, but this is also my very first blog post ever and I don't even know where to begin. It reminds me of trying to start a paper in high school and waiting for my mom to help. I don't know if that strategy will work this time.
        I got to Uganda last Friday morning, the 9th, at 8am and I know this is wrong, but I really got a Lion King feel right away. There was a huge field right outside my window with the sun coming up over a one giant tree and all that was missing was Max singing "Naaah Sipuena"
       I spent the past week at a hotel in Seeta, a neighborhood around 30 minutes from the city center at an orientation with American Jewish World Service. We spent time talking about international development (I have never had any training in this before), history of Uganda and even how to blog correctly. (I am sure I am not doing this right.) It was quite interesting to hear about all the differences between the two cultures. Even more surprising was that there are many, many similarities. Yes, they only point with the whole hand, not one finger. Also, you can cross your legs, but you shouldn't let the person next to you see the bottom of your foot. And the concept of personal space is one that is not common in Uganda. However, we had all our NGO counterparts with us for two days and found many similarities as well. Both cultures put a high importance on education, we went exploring and found supermarkets, technology shops and malls all around Kampala. Of course, getting around Uganda, it is going to be much more important to keep track of the differences as to not offend. I also found that skirts need not be all the way to my ankle- darn packing list!! Wish I had known that sooner.

     And now we are in our new place! It is gorgeous- and I mean, gorgeous! I honeslty don't think I have stayed in a house this nice ever- nothing against 277 Homer Street, but it is no Plot 22 off Semabawata Road in Ntinda. The house is new and I am living with 3 other lovely ladies with 4 other Americans right next door. If you ever are on skype, let me know and I would love to give you a tour.

    Our first weekend has mostly consisted of getting our bearings and the essentials: Phones, internet, and food! Our real adventure was on Friday night we went to see, wait for it, Sean Kingston in concert in Kampala. In case you don't know who that is (but who doesn't know?? Ohhh, all of you, fine) he is pop singer who has hits like "beautiful girls" and "fire burning" -my dad's personal favorite. It was $30 for VIP seats, which, by the way, is 75,000 Ugandan shillings. In return we got great seats/ places to stand, four beers, 2 sodas, 2 waters, and a plate of food. Not too shabby for $30 bucks. Sean was fine, as was his opening act Flavour from Nigeria. The really interesting part was we were with a few other Muzungos (non-Africans/ white people) and then more and more kept coming. It seems Sean was something of a Muzungo magnet and they all knew each other! It was hysterical and we got out before the crowd so definetely a fun night.

Last but not least I want to end on an important note- especially for me: FOOD. What the heck have I been eating? My first week consisted of Matoke, G-nut sauce, beans, and rice. Keeping kosher has not been too difficult, but to be honest, I have not asked too many questions. I have kept very full and now that we are close to a super market and a outdoor market, I will be even better. Tonight I had a rolex for dinner which consists of an omlette made with tomato and onion rolled into a fried bread concoction called chipati and then we added some fresh avacado and cheese- AMAZING! The veggies are super fresh, but we need to wash them or peel them first. I have not gotten sick yet and hope to not any time soon.

That was a lot and if you got through it- Mazel. Otherwise, I'll try to write shorter ones from now on. Now off to get ready. I feel like its the first day of school and I have to pack my bag and get my clothes ready for it.
Wish me Luck!!!