Pictures of my time

I'm back in Canton, Texas and looking forward to sharing my experiences in person with each of you. If anyone else besides Canton Elementary would like to arrange a chat, please email me at laurenmteel at gmail.com

Here are a few other pictures from my time:

My foot next to a hippo footprint


Nile crocodile


Impalas


This elephant was very close to our car!


Sipi Falls: a beautiful natural landmark of Uganda


Tea time is very important in Uganda. These are mugs from our school's dining hall. Tea is served to all guests as well as taken by everyone in the morning and in the evening. It is given as a way to show to show others that they are valued.


My host family and neighborhood friends at our farewell dinner


Some Ugandan and American university friends

The End

The semester is coming to a close and I am finishing my last term paper. We leave for Entebbe on Sunday for debrief and the USA on Tuesday. I look forward to posting more pictures when I return to the US and also seeing you in January!

This semester has held many cross-cultural and cross-geographical experiences. From visiting Murchison Falls on safari to hiking at Sipi Falls, homestays in the city and rural areas, attending class with Ugandan and American professors, befriending Africans young and old, I have learned so much. One of the coolest things you should learn from my experience is that you can do this too! Dream big; you are going places!

Until we meet again,
Lauren

Safari

I spent the weekend on safari in Murchison Falls National Park. It was vast, majestic, and had vibrant colors! I will upload more pictures later when the internet is possibly a little faster.


Giraffe


Hippos!


A warthog and a baboon

Learn Ugandan English

Uganda was colonized by Great Britain and is still a member of the Commonwealth. Therefore, many Ugandans speak English along with their native tongues (languages). The Commonwealth is a loose association with all other former British colonies (excluding the United States of America).

Some words used here but that are not necessarily used the same way in America are (listed as their word then our meaning):

football-soccer
coursework-homework
torch-flashlight
latrine/toilet-bathroom (a bathroom here is a place for bathing, which can sometimes be a shelter outside or a special room inside)
lecture-class
chips-french fries
Fanta-any soda or coke
macaroons-spaghetti or noodles
boda boda-motorcycle
rolex-egg burrito
biscuits-crackers or cookies
pawpaw-papaya
trousers-pants

:)

Grasshoppers, coffee, and water!

I ate fried grasshoppers yesterday! They tasted a little like salad, corn, and french fries somehow mixed together. We are entering mango and grasshopper seasons.



On our way back from "the bush," we stopped in the coffee producing region of Uganda. Coffee is Uganda's number one export. We saw (and participated in) the coffee process from the plant to our cups. I am smashing the beans to get the outer shells off of the dried beans before they are roasted, then ground again, then mixed with water to make coffee!



My rural host family did not have running water, so water had to be fetched from a nearby stream to bathe, drink, and cook with. Ugandans carry water in gerry cans on top of their heads. I am carrying a small one with the help of my hand, but other members of my host family could carry a jug three times as large without even holding it!

Rural homestay

I spent a full week in "up country" Uganda. I stayed with a family in a rural village and experienced life without electricity, running water, cell phone reception, or internet. It was a wonderful time. Without television to distract me, my family and I spent time working in their fields, shelling peanuts, visiting with friends and family, fetching water, threshing and winnowing millet (like grain), listening to the radio, and laughing at their many animals.

My family included Papa Moses, Toto Loy, a nephew named Nesmus, a brother named Hezron, a granddaughter named Apio, Tata (Toto's mother), and "The Old Man" (Toto's father's brother). Extended family often lives together and families are very close knit. Staying with us that week were Ruth and her daughter Julie.

All of these people are in the Ateso tribe and speak Ateso. The Ateso tribe was generous, kind, and joyful. They gave every visitor something to eat, even if they were just passing through (which is much more frequent than in America).


The hut I slept inside of at night


Beating/threshing millet to make bread


With Papa, Toto, and Hezron

Learn Luganda!

Most of the people in Uganda speak English, but many also know their tribal language. The local dialect in Mukono is called Luganda.
Here are a few words and in parentheses how to say them:
Nyabo(knee-ah-bow)-Ma'am
Ssebo (say-bow)-Sir
Amazzi (ah-mah-zee)-water
Dodo (dough-dough)-spinach
Bulungi (bull-ooh-ng-ee)-good
Njagala (nah-jah-gah-lah)-I like/I want

Lauren

Tribal ceremony and laundry

The ceremony


Walking to the ceremony; note the mud on my feet


My host mom and her sister doing laundry

This weekend we went to a tribal ceremony in Mbale, about four hours away from my school and near Mt. Elgon. To reach the celebration, we climbed about two miles in the mud up a foothill. It was a blast! We crossed a creek on a plank, and almost all of us fell down in the mud. Children from the village held our hands to keep balance and generally tried to help us not fall.

We were with the Bagisu (a tribe) and the whole community came to celebrate. There were drums, dancing, and food. It was a joyous experience!

The nearest washing machine that we can use is in Kampala at a laundromat. So, we do as everyone else here and hand-wash our clothes. I soak my clothes for about an hour, then use a bar of soap to wash them. A bar works better than laundry powder because it gets more suds and is easier to put everywhere on the clothes.

One thing I know I will miss is eating in the open air dining hall with a view of Mukono as the sun sets above it.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions. My email address is laurenmteel at gmail.com

Members of my host family and me!

From left to right: Annet holding Sedrick, me holding Cathy, Christopher behind Hilda

Lots of happenings!

I have just finished my home stay with a family in Mukono. I stayed there the past two weeks, ending last Friday. They had a nine month old son name Sedrick, a four year old daughter named Cathy, a seven year old son named Christopher, a ten year old daughter named Hilda, and a fourteen year old niece named Annet living with the mother (Florence) and father (Christopher). The father is a primary school math teacher, and the mom sells treats to kids at the school and takes care of the baby during the day. They served me pawpaw, which I think is papaya. It is very good. Coming home from school every day, Cathy, the four year old would run to greet me and hug me. Every else says “welcome back!” when I get close to them. Hospitality is a way of life here.

We saw the Archbishop of Mukono (the town where I live) brought into power two Sundays ago. President Museveni also delivered a speech!

They live in a house right next to the school and have big tanks that collect rainwater that they use for everything. They do have electricity though.
One of my roommates decided to spend the rest of the semester with her host family. She loves singing with them.

There are red clay brick roofs outside of my classrooms. I really love my classes here, especially with the American professors. They have come from similar places as me and are relatable role models.

I decided to be a part of the debate team and the International Justice Mission here. In the United States, the IJM fights slavery and here it fights for the rights of widows.

This past weekend we went to the Source of the Nile. It is where Lake Victoria feeds into the Nile River. I also had a great time getting to know the Honors College students better.

This weekend my friend Kim and I are going to Kampala, the capitol of Uganda. I hope to update you soon!

Children at Church in Rwanda

My friend Esther and me with children outside of Masuza Church in Rwanda

Lunch!

In the middle portion is matoke (mah-toke-ay). It is a banana-like mashed plantain that is served at almost every meal. It sits on the dining hall's tray with beef and a potato to the right.

Rwanda and classes starting

I spent the last week in Rwanda! We left at 5 am to go to drive there. We drove about 8 hours, crossed the border (where an amazing Ugandan girl named Brendah helped me exchange money), and arrived just in time for tea. Tea is very popular here, and is pretty informal. UCU’s meal plan includes two tea times-morning and evening! Usually there is black sweet tea or milk tea that is sweet. Some places had instant coffee or drinking chocolate (hot chocolate with no sugar).

The girls spent the night in a one room dormitory for the 25ish of us. A minister met with us about Rwanda, and then on Sunday we broke up into groups and went to churches. My group went to the second most rural parish named Masuza Parish. We drove up and there were a ton of people milling around, and we later estimated there were about 800 people there. The service lasted almost three hours but seemed to fly by quickly. There were at least three choirs that sang, and at one point everyone got up in the congregation and danced around (mostly jumping) in the center of the room. It was exhilarating and loud and wonderful.

On the way back from Rwanda, we saw zebras on the side of the road! We drove by so quickly that I could not take pictures, but they do exist here!

The classes I am taking are Faith and Action in the Ugandan Context (F&A-our core study abroad class), African Literature (Lit), Introduction to Ugandan Politics (UP), East African Politics Since Independence (EAP), and African Traditional Religions, Islam, and Christianity (ATR).

Fun facts:
- White people here are called mzungus. Muh-zoo-ng-ews.
- Also, calling someone on the telephone without them answering is called “beeping.”

I hope to get pictures up soon, but the internet is not very fast here! Have a good week!

A Bit About My Life

Uganda has beautiful red dirt and I awake in the morning to the singing and squawking of many types of birds. It is lovely to wake up to, especially in my princess-like canopy that is called a mosquito net. We walk everywhere we want to go, even the town that is about a mile away. Our dormitories and the classrooms have walls, but the dining hall is a huge pavilion that is open on the sides. There is no air conditioning anywhere I have been so far, so the windows are usually open. The climate is a balmy 65-85 most of the time, so it is very pleasant and organic-feeling wherever we go because we are so close to nature. A friend and I went to a canteen (cafe) today to get a Coca-Cola and a chicken was just hanging out next to our table.

The time difference is eight hours between Mukono and Canton (or the central time zone), so it is currently 9:40 at night while it is 1:40 in the afternoon. The moon comes out at 7 p.m. and the sun comes out at 7 a.m.

Most of the students are on holiday (vacation) until the semester starts at the beginning of September. I am excited to meet more of them and have classes start. We leave for Rwanda on Saturday for a week, so I doubt I will update between now and then.

Talk to you later,
Lauren :)

PS-I'm working on uploading pictures. Hopefully soon!

इ ऍम हियर!

I am here! I don't know what's going on with the title, but I'll fix it later. Now it's bedtime. I will sleep under a mosquito net!

Lauren

This blog

I (Lauren Teel) plan to use this blog while I'm in Uganda.

I wanted to set it up now so I could disperse the address before I leave.

Love y'all!