Eye opening experiences.

Hello loyal followers.
This last week was filled with both frustrating but eyeopening experiences, and some fun moments as well. I'll start with the fun because well, it's just more fun!

This week I went with my friend Alex, Jules, and our program assistant (the most awesome Ugandan ever) Stella to get a traditional Kitenge outfit made. Alex and I left the group "pool-party" at the (primarily white) Acholi Inn early to go and meet Jules and Stella at the tailor. While I had been to the market before, it was still quite confusing to find the place Stella gets her clothes made. There are literally 5 rows of tailors and dress shops in shacks lining the market. So Stella came out to find us on the street and walked us to her regular spot. When we got there Jules was already being measured for her Kitenge. The Kitenge (probably spelled wrong) is usually a two piece outfit tailored to fit your body out the beautiful patterned fabric you pick out and pay for, which means if there is left over, it is yours! There was one wall of the shop devoted to pictures of the different styles, or "fashions" that can be made. I knew that I wanted a skirt that was shorter than the ones I've seen, but I didn't know about the top. So I watched Jules get measured and asked around to see what she was getting made and what people thought would look good on me.

I ended up being measured for a skirt that hits at my mid-calf and has two slits in the front, because it is somewhat like a pencil skirt. I "kinda" copied Jules idea and got a tank top made for myself. But once we went to pick our outfits up on Friday afternoon I noticed how different our tops looked. I had pointed at one of the "fashions" that went slightly off the shoulder and was rounded, and that's what I got. I absolutely LOVE it! The whole thing fit me perfectly the minute I put it on, while both my friends had to get some adjustments made. Both Alex and I wore our new outfits (though she had 2 made, and is now getting an additional) out Friday night to the Acholi Inn for Kim's (another student) 20th birthday dinner. We got lots of compliments from our director and other students.

The biggest event of the week though was our 3 day excursion to Kitgum, a rather small town in the North. To get to Kitgum we had to drive 3-4 hours on the worst road I've seen yet. While 24-26 ish students were in the massive bus, I chose to ride in the truck. Lets just say the truck makes for a much dirtier, bumpier ride. But it could also be seen as better because there are only 3 students, a driver, and every one's favorite.. Stella. By the end of the trip the 3 of us (Jules, Morgan and I) were as dirty as could be. And we immediately had things to do and no showers for a few hours.

Basically, the excursion to Kitgum was a mystery to everyone. It turns out not even our academic director Dr. William knew what we were "really" doing there. We knew we were going to visit the Kitgum Youth Center, but we had no idea what/who that would entail.

As it turns out the Kitgum Youth Center is not in the town of Kitgum, it is in the countryside an hour away. And the youth are people from the ages of 20-35. When we finally got there, after many delays and absolutely NO time management by the staff, we found out we were expected to meet in small groups with the "youth" to share. What that meant we had no idea. What it turned out to mean was that we sit under a tree, some of us students on one side, a translator in between, and a large group of the "youth" involved in different programs in the area.

We tried to ask them questions about their lives in the North and their experiences with the "program" and center, but of course our questions mostly went unanswered. What I mean by this is, when you ask most Ugandans a question they answer it without really understanding what the question is, so they just talk a lot about what they want. When it was their turn to ask us questions we quickly discovered that all the really had us there for was to "fund" or give them aid. I understand how desperately they need help because they are on the brink of famine in this region and they will have no income with no crops. However, for our group to be mislead as to why we were there, and unprepared for their question and to have our own was SO frustrating!

I think we all learned a lot about the hard life that Ugandans of the North live (1 health clinic with no meds, no secondary school or university, no money, far from towns/cities and amenities, very close to Sudan and other conflicts), but at the same time we all came back to Kitgum frustrated, upset and many of us sick. We ended up having what I would call a town hall meeting in the evening with only the students, and we came up with a lot of things about our program that we are going to see if we can change, or just bring up to our director. In fact a small group of us, me included, are talking to William about it tomorrow after class. I could write a lot more about the Kitgum trip, to be honest I am kind of "over it" and ready to look to a brighter future. Of course I will never forget the story of those people, and I really want to help them in the ways that I can once I get back to the states, but as of now I hate being perceived as only an object of money, or as if I can solve ALL the problems people face.

The last thing I'll include in this post is the tid-bit about going clubbing in Kitgum. Everyone was ready to go out when we were in Kitgum, and this was the 1st time we "all" had gone out together. We had heard of a club called Metro, which turned out to really be called Roxy and was the only club in town. It was large, loud and full of people (not only men) ready to grab/pull any woman they wanted to dance with. I had a good time, but it was quite an experience. I was sooo proud of the guys on our trip who danced around the girls being harassed and blocked potential annoyances. At the same time I had a great time dancing with certain Ugandans and people from our group. For anyone going to Kitgum, I would recommend going to Roxy, probably on a week night unlike us. Part of the problem I'm sure was that it was ladies night.

Well that's all for now folks. I should head home since I left many hours ago. I'm excited for this coming week of classes even though there are many more papers coming up. 13-14 days until RWANDA!