So…it's been a crazy week!
We had tech immersion this week and I was sent to Kyrumba, which is a small village 1-1.5 hours from Kasese (which is 1 hour from Ft. Portal, which is a huge town).
So here's the low down…
-went to Kasese via link/charter bus which was filled with over 50 chirping chicks
-after arriving in Kasese, had to hail a taxi to shove the 10 of us in a 7 (minus the driver) seater car.
-after 1-1.5 hours on a bumpy road being squished through potholes and mud and the driver stopping every 10 minutes to check his water level, we arrive in Kyrumba
-we meet the town drunk
-our new accommodations have no electricity, cold water only, and features 4 beds per room
-Kyrumba is BEAUTIFUL!!! check out some of the pictures I posted on www.tibbyme.tumblr.com
-2 days of learning about the organization there -- Bukonzo Co-op (they do coffee…www.bukonzocoop.com), hiking the steep hills, and meeting people
-we decide to move back to Kasese for night 3
-ride back was a tight squeeze as I sat with one butt cheek on plastic cup holders and the other butt cheek on chair
-got back early to take a shower…
-got stuck in the shower. had to bang and yell and more pounding for 15 minutes for some local ugandan lady to come and ask me if I was stuck.
-found a bed bug in my bed and then some other bugs
-got scared so I only got an hour of sleep
-woke up at 4:30am to get on the bus back
-got back to Kampala and had a good time eating sandwiches, coffee, etc.
-back to Wakiso
The org was fabulous! Best trip I've had during training BY FAR. Learned a ton and it was really motivating =)
Today…I saw a puppy! That just happened to be female and about 4 weeks old. Maybe…
Also, what else did I learn? Apparently, when we teach Ugandans about safe sex, we should make sure they actually understand. Here's what one of our health groups said today during processing today:
They teach Ugandans how to put on condoms using a banana. Ie. slide the condom on the banana. The Ugandans learn and can correctly put on a condom. Then girl gets preggers. Why? Because the man thought safe sex meant putting the condom on the banana. So he put the condom on the banana correctly and then put the banana on his night stand and slept with the girl without the condom because condoms go on bananas.
Nice. -___-
Okay! Anyhow, not my best post but will have to do for now.
Cheers!
Tiff
Friday, September 30, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
So apparently charcoal catches on fire. LOL
I went to the market today and bought water and they gave me 2 bags of instant noodles which came in super handy!
Apparently, my jaja wasn't feeling well so I was like how about I cook for you. So I made 2 bags of instant noodles. Then, I decided...eggs would be awesome with instant noodles! So as I was preparing a new pan for eggs, somehow I caught my sigiri and eventually the pan on fire. I have no idea how that happened -__--- there was nothing in the pot!
Anyhow, ends up jaja cooking the eggs and putting out the fire. I did manage to make toast too! So that's my story of the day. And new lesson learned: charcoal catches on fire!
Apparently, my jaja wasn't feeling well so I was like how about I cook for you. So I made 2 bags of instant noodles. Then, I decided...eggs would be awesome with instant noodles! So as I was preparing a new pan for eggs, somehow I caught my sigiri and eventually the pan on fire. I have no idea how that happened -__--- there was nothing in the pot!
Anyhow, ends up jaja cooking the eggs and putting out the fire. I did manage to make toast too! So that's my story of the day. And new lesson learned: charcoal catches on fire!
Monday, September 19, 2011
OMG! Asian Food!
So...I had the best weekend everrrrr~ (in Uganda).
I had Asian food!!!!!! We had met a lovely Japanese JICA volunteer named Miko and she invited Mami (a private Japanese businesswoman), me and Tomas to go have her home made japanese food. Actually, it was more like a japanese cooking lesson. But it was asian and good! We made okonomiyaki, oyakodon, tsukemono, and avocado sushi. Can you say YUMMMMMMY?! Ahh...it was sooooo nice! We talked all about Korea, Japan and China and alll the wonderful food we've had before..and to top it all off, I had fabulous chocolate milk and delicious eggs for breakfast.
Apparently, there's a Korean restaurant in Kampala I need to check out and a Chinese supermarket that has EVERYTHING (almost).
Ohh...AND Miko had a scale! I plan to buy one before site =). I weighed in at 127. Woot~
Today...I gave my host family a solar lamp as a gift for hosting me. They were ECSTATIC! I think that was the most excited and happy I have ever seen anyone react to me giving them a gift. Made me feel Oh So Good! =) They really needed a solar lamp too...they've been using crappy battery operated flashlights.
And I did a good deed yesterday! I was walking in the rain (to Miko's house) and I saw a local Ugandan girl who was on her way to church. I decided to walk/talk with her and shelter her from the rain. LOL
Have funnnnnnnnnnn folks~
Tiff
I had Asian food!!!!!! We had met a lovely Japanese JICA volunteer named Miko and she invited Mami (a private Japanese businesswoman), me and Tomas to go have her home made japanese food. Actually, it was more like a japanese cooking lesson. But it was asian and good! We made okonomiyaki, oyakodon, tsukemono, and avocado sushi. Can you say YUMMMMMMY?! Ahh...it was sooooo nice! We talked all about Korea, Japan and China and alll the wonderful food we've had before..and to top it all off, I had fabulous chocolate milk and delicious eggs for breakfast.
Apparently, there's a Korean restaurant in Kampala I need to check out and a Chinese supermarket that has EVERYTHING (almost).
Ohh...AND Miko had a scale! I plan to buy one before site =). I weighed in at 127. Woot~
Today...I gave my host family a solar lamp as a gift for hosting me. They were ECSTATIC! I think that was the most excited and happy I have ever seen anyone react to me giving them a gift. Made me feel Oh So Good! =) They really needed a solar lamp too...they've been using crappy battery operated flashlights.
And I did a good deed yesterday! I was walking in the rain (to Miko's house) and I saw a local Ugandan girl who was on her way to church. I decided to walk/talk with her and shelter her from the rain. LOL
Have funnnnnnnnnnn folks~
Tiff
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Site and the US Embassy (OMG ICE!)
What a crazy weeek!
So site visit was interesting! And we went to the US embassy for a 50th anniversary party for peace corps!
Okay, site visit first…
I am working with ACORD (Arua Rural Community Development)--yes, I know it doesn't quite spell ACORD but they pronounce the org as that. There was some problems in the beginning because apparently they are my second site. My first one fell through but no one updated the contact info so I had contact info for other people that were not my supervisor or counterpart. But it all worked out in the end. =)
ACORD is a community based organization that is headquartered in Arua but works in the Arua and Maracha Districts--more specifically, the most rural county of Maracha and Arua, Tara. Including me, there are 7 full time staff (4 men, 3 women) and some other sort of staffs located around the districts. The office is a rented room from the local red cross and the size of a closet =).
I will be mostly working with the women's groups, 27 to be exact in Tara county (which is 1.5 hours ish away by car -_______-- think bumpy/terrible roads, mud and flooding, etc). My job is to help the women's organizations develop sustainable and replicable income generating activities (IGA) based on the activities they are currently doing, which is awesome! What's not so awesome is that most of those women work around subsistence agriculture and uh…I don't know anything about agriculture, but I'm excited to learn and work with others who do) and also, Tara county is so rural I have no idea how I'm going to get there to integrate with the community as I have not seen taxis go there and I'm not allowed on boda bodas (motorbike). We'll see how it goes.
About housing…I have a TINY place but it's definitely better than I was expecting at first. I have 2 rooms total and the bathroom is in the 2nd room making it a even smaller room. I do have a toilet and shower but the drainage system looks like it could be an issue. There's a small little porch(?) area outside as well. It's about 3 feet wide. And then the community latrines are right outside my door. Those are for my neighbors, I do have a couple of them.
So…when I first saw my house, I was excited about it. I was like nice! 1 bedroom and a living room and a toilet and shower! Than…I heard others got 2 bedrooms and a sitting room and I was like poo! But then I realized that it was better than I had been expecting so I'm okay with it. I'll make it work. They even teased me with the possibility of moving me to a bigger house if I shared with Betty (another volunteer) and I was all excited cause it was BIG! and had a stove and a fridge and an oven! Oh wells….
About everyone else in my group? George is at St. Josephs Arua with a nice gig, I forget what. Marcy is working with Arua Hospital as a nurse teacher. Laura is at Kuluva Hospital as a nurse teacher. Brady is now the new director of the St. Josephs Maracha hospital--he was only supposed to assist with the hospital but somehow because of someone quitting somewhere he ended up with no counterpart and is now the new director in charge of the future health program of the largest hospital in Maracha District and responsible for a ton of stuff. And Tom is working with NACOLA, a women's group.
Oh Ho! On the way back from Arua, I saw...elephants, baboons, antelope, etc. And it HAILED....in Uganda. Crazy. And poured, and flooded. It was like a river of mud gushing from the hills. Crazy. Anyhow, for any of you with whom I have considered doing muddy buddy with...there is no way I ever want to see or touch mud after these next 2 years. I will have had enough mud to last a lifetime. Sorry!
Moving on…today we went to the US Embassy! OMG…
Can I say Air Conditioning? and ICE! It was amazing--like I just stepped back home for a minute (which technically I did as the embassy is considered US soil). The buildings, the toilets, everything felt like home. It was soooooooooooo nice! The food was amazing, and we danced and ate and drank and it was great!
And now I'm home…one more day of school then I can do laundry. Can't wait. My family did do some laundry while I was gone (nice of them!) but my 3 articles of clothing now smell like raw meat and had a bug on it. So I'm definitely rewashing! Okay. That's it for now folks.
Cheers,
Tiff
So site visit was interesting! And we went to the US embassy for a 50th anniversary party for peace corps!
Okay, site visit first…
I am working with ACORD (Arua Rural Community Development)--yes, I know it doesn't quite spell ACORD but they pronounce the org as that. There was some problems in the beginning because apparently they are my second site. My first one fell through but no one updated the contact info so I had contact info for other people that were not my supervisor or counterpart. But it all worked out in the end. =)
ACORD is a community based organization that is headquartered in Arua but works in the Arua and Maracha Districts--more specifically, the most rural county of Maracha and Arua, Tara. Including me, there are 7 full time staff (4 men, 3 women) and some other sort of staffs located around the districts. The office is a rented room from the local red cross and the size of a closet =).
I will be mostly working with the women's groups, 27 to be exact in Tara county (which is 1.5 hours ish away by car -_______-- think bumpy/terrible roads, mud and flooding, etc). My job is to help the women's organizations develop sustainable and replicable income generating activities (IGA) based on the activities they are currently doing, which is awesome! What's not so awesome is that most of those women work around subsistence agriculture and uh…I don't know anything about agriculture, but I'm excited to learn and work with others who do) and also, Tara county is so rural I have no idea how I'm going to get there to integrate with the community as I have not seen taxis go there and I'm not allowed on boda bodas (motorbike). We'll see how it goes.
About housing…I have a TINY place but it's definitely better than I was expecting at first. I have 2 rooms total and the bathroom is in the 2nd room making it a even smaller room. I do have a toilet and shower but the drainage system looks like it could be an issue. There's a small little porch(?) area outside as well. It's about 3 feet wide. And then the community latrines are right outside my door. Those are for my neighbors, I do have a couple of them.
So…when I first saw my house, I was excited about it. I was like nice! 1 bedroom and a living room and a toilet and shower! Than…I heard others got 2 bedrooms and a sitting room and I was like poo! But then I realized that it was better than I had been expecting so I'm okay with it. I'll make it work. They even teased me with the possibility of moving me to a bigger house if I shared with Betty (another volunteer) and I was all excited cause it was BIG! and had a stove and a fridge and an oven! Oh wells….
About everyone else in my group? George is at St. Josephs Arua with a nice gig, I forget what. Marcy is working with Arua Hospital as a nurse teacher. Laura is at Kuluva Hospital as a nurse teacher. Brady is now the new director of the St. Josephs Maracha hospital--he was only supposed to assist with the hospital but somehow because of someone quitting somewhere he ended up with no counterpart and is now the new director in charge of the future health program of the largest hospital in Maracha District and responsible for a ton of stuff. And Tom is working with NACOLA, a women's group.
Oh Ho! On the way back from Arua, I saw...elephants, baboons, antelope, etc. And it HAILED....in Uganda. Crazy. And poured, and flooded. It was like a river of mud gushing from the hills. Crazy. Anyhow, for any of you with whom I have considered doing muddy buddy with...there is no way I ever want to see or touch mud after these next 2 years. I will have had enough mud to last a lifetime. Sorry!
Moving on…today we went to the US Embassy! OMG…
Can I say Air Conditioning? and ICE! It was amazing--like I just stepped back home for a minute (which technically I did as the embassy is considered US soil). The buildings, the toilets, everything felt like home. It was soooooooooooo nice! The food was amazing, and we danced and ate and drank and it was great!
And now I'm home…one more day of school then I can do laundry. Can't wait. My family did do some laundry while I was gone (nice of them!) but my 3 articles of clothing now smell like raw meat and had a bug on it. So I'm definitely rewashing! Okay. That's it for now folks.
Cheers,
Tiff
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
New Address
Tiffany Tai
PO Box 933
Arua, Uganda
Please use the same instructions for mailing as before. Be sure to write "par avion" on the package and whenever possible, please put jesus stickers and or bible quotes on the package. It is more likely to arrive intact that way.
Thanks!
Tiff
PO Box 933
Arua, Uganda
Please use the same instructions for mailing as before. Be sure to write "par avion" on the package and whenever possible, please put jesus stickers and or bible quotes on the package. It is more likely to arrive intact that way.
Thanks!
Tiff
Saturday, September 10, 2011
I got a new name!
Why hello everybody!
I know it's been awhile but...1. I needed to gather info to talk about and 2. my internet does not seem to want to work in the West Nile region.
So here's the low down~
Tiffany is now (*subject to be changed) Project Advisor for the Arua Organization for Rural Community Development (somehow it becomes ACORD).
-the organization apparently works with red pepper farmers (co-op?), other agriculture projects, and education. All this I got from a third party source as both my counterpart and supervisor apparently live and work in another major city more than 5 hours away by bus...
--anyhow, I'm still not 100% positive who my counterpart is now or where I will be staying except that it should be in Arua.
---I know nothing about agriculture!!! =( I thought pineapples grew on trees. Apparently, they grow from the ground. And there are no coconuts in Uganda. And strawberries spread across the ground. Yata yata yata...you get the point. I don't know agriculture. Unfortunately, I don't have a green thumb either...I killed the poor orchid Jon gave me in a week even though I followed mom's instructions of care (sorry Jon!). But I am excited to be working with farmers on co-ops (and getting red peppers!) and I have ideas in mind for the education aspect and hopefully can introduce some marketing concepts among other things. Also, one of the women in my group has work that's given me plenty of ideas...and the women in town have given me plenty of ideas.
So about Arua...
1. Arua= prison? Apparently, Arua hill used to be a place to keep prisoners or something like that
2. ...it's beautiful!
3. There's electricity (sometimes), running water, a golf course, and a HUGE marketplace where I can get a ton of stuff.
4. certain streets here make me feel like I'm walking around an American town
5. I met a Chinese lady who runs a grocery store here. But I don't think she'll give me any discounts =( Damn Chinese and their money...
And on the way up to Arua...
1. I saw elephants!!!!!
2. I saw huts!
3. There was an amazing set of rapids, a waterfall, the Nile river, etc
4. Let's just say public toilets are uhh...really public and not so sanitary
5. The terrain changes so many times! From plains to rolling hills to brush etc (and all currently green thanks to rainy season)
6. oh, and it's a 7.5 hour bus ride from the capital to Arua
So today, I got a new name! I went to the bus station to buy a bus ticket home. As I write down my name for the ticket and greet the guy. He says to me, "I give you a new name, Lugbarra name. Ayikoru. Means happy." LOL, so I am now Ayikoru. Cool!
Earlier in the day...as we were walking to town, I saw bow and arrows! Here's the conversation:
Me: What are the bow and arrows for?
Vendor: To shoot birds, animals, and thieves in the night.
Me: To thieves in the night? Like security?
Vendor: Yes, intruders.
Me: -___- Great, so security in Arua are bow and arrows and dogs (and the occasional night guard)
Brady: And machetes!
Laura: Ya, we saw lots of machetes in the market.
Soooooo... that has been the last couple of days. Tomorrow I should hopefully meet with my counterpart and figure everything else out. We'll be here until Tuesday and head back to Wakiso on Wednesday. Embassy party on Thursday and more training.
Thanks for staying tuned!
Tiff
--
Tiffany Tai
www.caldigit.com
www.tibbyme.tumblr.com
I know it's been awhile but...1. I needed to gather info to talk about and 2. my internet does not seem to want to work in the West Nile region.
So here's the low down~
Tiffany is now (*subject to be changed) Project Advisor for the Arua Organization for Rural Community Development (somehow it becomes ACORD).
-the organization apparently works with red pepper farmers (co-op?), other agriculture projects, and education. All this I got from a third party source as both my counterpart and supervisor apparently live and work in another major city more than 5 hours away by bus...
--anyhow, I'm still not 100% positive who my counterpart is now or where I will be staying except that it should be in Arua.
---I know nothing about agriculture!!! =( I thought pineapples grew on trees. Apparently, they grow from the ground. And there are no coconuts in Uganda. And strawberries spread across the ground. Yata yata yata...you get the point. I don't know agriculture. Unfortunately, I don't have a green thumb either...I killed the poor orchid Jon gave me in a week even though I followed mom's instructions of care (sorry Jon!). But I am excited to be working with farmers on co-ops (and getting red peppers!) and I have ideas in mind for the education aspect and hopefully can introduce some marketing concepts among other things. Also, one of the women in my group has work that's given me plenty of ideas...and the women in town have given me plenty of ideas.
So about Arua...
1. Arua= prison? Apparently, Arua hill used to be a place to keep prisoners or something like that
2. ...it's beautiful!
3. There's electricity (sometimes), running water, a golf course, and a HUGE marketplace where I can get a ton of stuff.
4. certain streets here make me feel like I'm walking around an American town
5. I met a Chinese lady who runs a grocery store here. But I don't think she'll give me any discounts =( Damn Chinese and their money...
And on the way up to Arua...
1. I saw elephants!!!!!
2. I saw huts!
3. There was an amazing set of rapids, a waterfall, the Nile river, etc
4. Let's just say public toilets are uhh...really public and not so sanitary
5. The terrain changes so many times! From plains to rolling hills to brush etc (and all currently green thanks to rainy season)
6. oh, and it's a 7.5 hour bus ride from the capital to Arua
So today, I got a new name! I went to the bus station to buy a bus ticket home. As I write down my name for the ticket and greet the guy. He says to me, "I give you a new name, Lugbarra name. Ayikoru. Means happy." LOL, so I am now Ayikoru. Cool!
Earlier in the day...as we were walking to town, I saw bow and arrows! Here's the conversation:
Me: What are the bow and arrows for?
Vendor: To shoot birds, animals, and thieves in the night.
Me: To thieves in the night? Like security?
Vendor: Yes, intruders.
Me: -___- Great, so security in Arua are bow and arrows and dogs (and the occasional night guard)
Brady: And machetes!
Laura: Ya, we saw lots of machetes in the market.
Soooooo... that has been the last couple of days. Tomorrow I should hopefully meet with my counterpart and figure everything else out. We'll be here until Tuesday and head back to Wakiso on Wednesday. Embassy party on Thursday and more training.
Thanks for staying tuned!
Tiff
--
Tiffany Tai
www.caldigit.com
www.tibbyme.tumblr.com
Friday, September 2, 2011
Charizard!
I think I'm better off not looking at the food I eat/have prepared for me…
There are flies all around…red stuff in the eggs, a spider crawling around the watermelon…'nuff said. JUst eat it. don't look and I'll be happier.
So yesterday we went to check out this farm. It's supposed to a high tech farm in Uganda. What it REALLY means…is that they:
1. Sort their crops on tarps and not on soil
2. Practice composting
3. Try to grow organically…everything is grown together rather than in separate fields
4. They have animals too
5. They utilize some newer techniques
6. They have more than an acre or two of land.
What did I get away from the session?
1. I can be a advanced farmer if I learn to sort my crops and make use of shared space farming
2. Every plant is useful, I just have to open my mind to the possibilities
3. They are not making the most use of their land (mostly due to lack of funding) and not maximizing their potential in selling their yields (both crops and animals)
4. I have now seen a pig castrated and a dog eat said pig's scrotum -___--. AND I have the neuter on video if anyone's interested (I shot it while looking away)
5. Farming's not my thing…I don't think I have a green thumb anyways (hence my poor orchid died in a week--my bad).
The farm we went to is really cool though. They're doing things that are advanced for Ugandan society and I do see a lot of potential. They spend a lot of time training people from all over Africa about better farming techniques for sustainability and quality. They have a bunch of programs to better agriculture in Uganda. You can check out their website at www.kulika.org.
Moving on…as some of you may know, I'm interested in getting a dog here (and taking it home)! I've looked up a bunch of stuff regarding how to take a dog home and how I will take care of one here. I've also spoken to a bunch of people that have pets here. It's not a light matter and it is a ton of responsibility but I am willing!
I'm currently debating between a male/female and would love advice on whether I should get a male or a female. Right now, I'm leaning more towards a female. I will be meeting vets next week in my region to pick a good vet and I'll probably go look at some puppies if I can. If not, puppies will have to wait until Oct. I currently also REALLY like the name Charizard (Char for short)…but I do feel like I should have a Ugandan name. LOL. We'll see….
hmm.. I don't really have much to update. I'll go back to watching my host sisters exclaim (very loudly and excitedly) over the game of snake on my cell phone they're playing with.
O, btw…did I mention the era Ugandan things are in? Dollies are so in here! My house's electric iron looks like it came out of the 60s. Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey (when she was skinny!) are super popular. So is R Kelly and News Kids on the Block. Everything's pretty old school looking here. It's kind of cool and kind of weird. At least, I'll be able to relive my boyband years all over again =). I really liked the era of BSB and NSYNC and Britney etc.--I like the choreographed group dancing =)
There are flies all around…red stuff in the eggs, a spider crawling around the watermelon…'nuff said. JUst eat it. don't look and I'll be happier.
So yesterday we went to check out this farm. It's supposed to a high tech farm in Uganda. What it REALLY means…is that they:
1. Sort their crops on tarps and not on soil
2. Practice composting
3. Try to grow organically…everything is grown together rather than in separate fields
4. They have animals too
5. They utilize some newer techniques
6. They have more than an acre or two of land.
What did I get away from the session?
1. I can be a advanced farmer if I learn to sort my crops and make use of shared space farming
2. Every plant is useful, I just have to open my mind to the possibilities
3. They are not making the most use of their land (mostly due to lack of funding) and not maximizing their potential in selling their yields (both crops and animals)
4. I have now seen a pig castrated and a dog eat said pig's scrotum -___--. AND I have the neuter on video if anyone's interested (I shot it while looking away)
5. Farming's not my thing…I don't think I have a green thumb anyways (hence my poor orchid died in a week--my bad).
The farm we went to is really cool though. They're doing things that are advanced for Ugandan society and I do see a lot of potential. They spend a lot of time training people from all over Africa about better farming techniques for sustainability and quality. They have a bunch of programs to better agriculture in Uganda. You can check out their website at www.kulika.org.
Moving on…as some of you may know, I'm interested in getting a dog here (and taking it home)! I've looked up a bunch of stuff regarding how to take a dog home and how I will take care of one here. I've also spoken to a bunch of people that have pets here. It's not a light matter and it is a ton of responsibility but I am willing!
I'm currently debating between a male/female and would love advice on whether I should get a male or a female. Right now, I'm leaning more towards a female. I will be meeting vets next week in my region to pick a good vet and I'll probably go look at some puppies if I can. If not, puppies will have to wait until Oct. I currently also REALLY like the name Charizard (Char for short)…but I do feel like I should have a Ugandan name. LOL. We'll see….
hmm.. I don't really have much to update. I'll go back to watching my host sisters exclaim (very loudly and excitedly) over the game of snake on my cell phone they're playing with.
O, btw…did I mention the era Ugandan things are in? Dollies are so in here! My house's electric iron looks like it came out of the 60s. Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey (when she was skinny!) are super popular. So is R Kelly and News Kids on the Block. Everything's pretty old school looking here. It's kind of cool and kind of weird. At least, I'll be able to relive my boyband years all over again =). I really liked the era of BSB and NSYNC and Britney etc.--I like the choreographed group dancing =)
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