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

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

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 =)

Wangi (yes)

Weather in Uganda currently:
When it rains, it's SUPER muddy. When it's dry, the dirt is cracked. Average temp over the last couple days? About low to mid 70s. MUHAHAHAHAHAH.....It's hotter in California than it is in Africa!

So here is some Uganglish I found funny:

Pants = underwear
Hotel = restaurant
Mariah (pronounced malayah) = prostitute
Chai = coffee or tea. Usually tea and no it's not chai tea.
Rolex = rolled egg. say rolled eggs fast and it sounds like rolex. Also, if you ask for an egg roll, they literally roll an egg and give it to you.

And funny/annoying things in Lugbarra (my dialect):

1. e'fu is pronounced F-U and means morning.
2. like chinese, lugbarra is a tonal language. So I can say ti ti and mean the cow hanged itself. there are a ton of tongue twisters...
3. mi = you, ma = me
4. to tell time: 7am = 1, 8 am = 2, etc. then... 7pm = 1, 8pm= 2, etc. -___-- Oh! what time is it? It's 2 (8 am/pm).

On a side note...

As I was walking down the street, some local girls started asking me questions. Religion, of course being the main topic.

Local girl: "TIffany, did you know that the bible says it is wrong for men to wear women's clothing and for women to wear mens clothing?"
Me: "Does it say that? I don't recall anything in the bible saying women can't wear pants or men skirts."
Local girl: "Yes it does. I will show you the verse."
Me: "Please do."
Local girl: "Women who wear trousers are prostitutes."
Me: "I've seen many local women wear trousers."
Local girl: "At night?"
Me: "No, during the day."
-she didn't really respond after that.

Finally...I GOT SOY SAUCE!

bum bum bum...

okay….

ugandan tv is…uh interesting? Most drama shows seem to feature about 3 not great actors (usually 2 girls and a guy) in one room and the whole story happens in that room in luganda (which i don't understand so I can't tell you about what's going on). Then there's news, which can be quite graphic and of course the Spanish novellas. Wait what? Yes, Spanish novellas. But wait! There's a twist. It's a Spanish soap opera featuring a Spanish title but the actors (who are terrible- worse than Kristen Stewart) speak in English. But that's not the worse part…there's a male voice over in luganda that is sometimes on top of the English, sometimes behind it and sometimes in front of it. And of course, the male voice is monotone for every line of the script, whether male/female, happy/sad/angry, etc. And he's loud -__-.

Bottom lime…I've given up on Ugandan tv. Not that I'm much of a tv lover to begin with.

But I did see an interesting ad on tv tonight while waiting for dinner (which was french fries and a scrambled egg courtesy of the family as they know I don't eat matooke). Here's the ad:

"Raising voices--because a violence free childhood is every child's right."

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above ad/quote.
-And yes, child abuse/domestic violence (and even more animal abuse) happens here. But there are TONS of organizations working on fixing these issues.

Moving on…

Yesterday, I went to a Japanese orphanage here in Wakiso. FYI, most organizations here are based on foreign funding and will fail without it. Somehow, it seems like it hasn't occurred to them to actually try to become financially sustainable? Anyways, I've posted a picture of some paper beads the orphanage is making to help raise a tiny bit of funds. They cost about $10 and are made by the workers/kids of the orphanage. These bead necklaces are common here and if you are interested in ones that are cheaper and don't help the children, I'd be happy to find some for you too. Let me know! Picture of the beads is on tibbyme.tumblr.com.

Today, we checked out a restaurant owned by a local female. The restaurant was started by her mother 25 years ago. Uganda has a high rate of startups and failures in businesses so we went to the community to talk to them to figure out the motivation behind the businesses and how the business is run.

So apparently, as a single mother, the only option you have to make money is to own a business. However, owning a business appears to be a last resort? At least, that's what the staff made it sound like. So for this particular business, which sells traditional food, they were one of the first restaurant (if not the first) in that particular location so they managed to develop a loyal customer base. I did ask whether they ever do any type of advertising or marketing or anything to attract new customers. Answer: no. Has it ever occurred for them to? Answer: no. Okay, record keeping? She (the owner), like many Ugandans, keep the figures in her head. Nothing is ever written down. However, she did know the exact number of plates she sold today as of the exact time I asked her (69 plates). Cool?

So…lessons learned from today's business training session:
1. Ugandans love to copy and paste. Ex: that business works, lets move across the street and make the exact replica. Obviously, their in business, they must be making money so I will too.
2. Feel free to take any knowledge you learn and make your own shop. Who cares if you steal someone else's recipes and use them for yourself.
3. Ugandans are afraid of change…hence copy and paste.
4. In the area I am to be posted, most likely the people have yet to learn algebra and have limited reading skills.
5. Everyone wants to start a business but no one thinks the idea out thoroughly. There may be 8 people who want to open the same thing in the same place at once. Or the ideas aren't feasible or sustainable.
6. I have ALOT of work cut out for me. Fun stuff!

Other facts I've learned about Uganda:
1. I live in a petri dish. Seriously, everything's here…Everything. And everything grows here.
2. For a place that can pretty much grow anything, they have seriously bland food. They have avocados, tomatoes, and tons of other veggies but it has never occurred for them to mix stuff together to make new foods instead of eating everything separately. So salads are an introduced item. And for a place that produces a ridiculous amount of bananas and pineapples, I have not seen any dried fruit…
3. If you figure out where Peace Corps or other foreigners live (not in Kampala), you can make a killing selling them American food/items. Seriously, in Wakiso, where I am right now, all someone has to do is rent out a store 2x a year (when the volunteers come in) and sell non Ugandan items and they'll make a ton (in Ugandan standards).
4. Don't touch the water. Seriously, you'll most likely get shiest if you touch any lake water. However, it doesn't mean you shouldn't go water rafting on the Nile. Apparently, that's worth it. You can self treat afterwards anyways. There's no need for prescriptions in Uganda. Everything's over the counter.
5. Oranges here are green! Try explaining to someone why oranges are called oranges =)
6. Greetings are VERY important. They can determine whether someone will help you if you ever need help.
7. If someone calls you fat here, it's a compliment. Following that line of thought, skinny is an insult!
8. Don't talk about homosexuality.
9. Prepared to be asked a million times about your religion by everyone.
10. Now I know how famous people feel when they have fans all over the place. Little children LOVE to yell and wave and jump up and down when they see foreigners. They usually say "see you muzungu (white person)" or "how are you china". I do get tired of waving at every single kid though…

Finally…I think I'm broke (unless I change money or wait until next week when I get allowance). I spent my funds on…Head and Shoulders Shampoo! Cost me 15000 Shillings!!! (divide by 2701 to get USD) But totally worth it over some generic brand here. I should still have enough money to get a coke or a chapati or other small snack (like popcorn). If not, well…hello friend! Thank you for sharing =). (Don't worry, I'll share back too…)

And that's all folks! For now….
-and I did post some pictures today (www.tibbyme.tumblr.com). It cost me $2-3 to post those pictures! That's how much uploading kills my air time. I'm going to have to find a better method to post pictures.

<3 Tiff

i got my first mosquito bites...

at least it took this long for them to bite me!

and from my group....George says hello!

O, and im eating way too much potatoes and bread/rice.

i eat:

breakfast: egg, bread, tea, banana, maybe a bite of cookie or energy bar
tea time: samosas
lunch: rice, beans, veges, meat, fruit
snack: potatoes or chapati (thick tortilla)
dinner: rice, veges, meat (lately),

theres also another tea time in there but i usually dont eat that...

here's a picture of matooke (steamed banannas): matooke and rice
posho: posho
and chapati: chapati

Njagala Nanas!

2 observations:

1. I have been eating a ridiculous amount of starch. I need to watch my diet
2. my computers getting slow…start up is taking much longer than it used to.

Today, we went to the market. I learned a couple new vocab words.The locals were delighted when they saw that I had purchased a pineapple. So as I walk home with a pineapple, I hear "muzungu/china nanas!" (white person/chinese pineapple). And so I replied to their laughter, "njagala nanas!" (i like pineapples).

There also happened to be someone playing American country at the market place. So of course I had to sing along…= laughter abound.

what is a typical day during PST?

-wake up at 7
-breakfast and walk to school, arriving at 8
-8-5 is class with 1 tea break (which serves food) and a lunch break
-after school, hang out with friends at the bar or another gathering spot until just before sunset (around 630)
-arrive at home at 7. optional tea time (they serve it but im excused from eating/drinking if I don't want to)
-dinner between 8-830. I am usually served rice (omuchere), cabbage/vegetables (enboga/nakati) and lately I have been getting some meat, which is great.
-bucket bath at 9 and then bed whenever I decide to sleep.

I get to go to immersion for language in my region in 2 weeks so that'll be exciting.

on a side note….someone please help me think of tips to stay awake! As I'm sure many of you know…I'm terrible at staying awake during lessons/lectures/anything that requires a lot of other people talking and me listening with no interaction. I have tried 1) counting tiles 2) doodling 3) sitting up front 4) paying attention and nothing seems to work! Everytime, I end up dozing for a couple minutes. It sucks! And everyone seems to think it's because I'm on medication or something. So por favor… lol please help me think of ideas to stay awake.
-I have no coffee here. It's either too weak or nonexistent so that's of no help.

okay. that's all the down low for now. I did get a chance to use a swimming pool today which was nice but pricey (we were charged muzungu pricing).

Cheers,

Tiff