Goodbyes Are Not Easy

Well my adventure in Uganda has basically come to a close…the only event left is the drive to the airport and the long flights home. Whenever I travel…it doesn’t really hit me until the actual day of my departure…well today is the day of my departure…I will be leaving for the airport in about 7 hours. This past week has been good, however, somehow surreal…for it is interesting to look back at my time here and realize that I have spent half a year in Uganda! Anywho, work was pretty simple Monday and Tuesday…then Wednesday came…and oh boy was it a celebration and a half…hehe! The day began with all us PROMETRAns meeting the community of healers at a local church near Buyijja Forest. The church was reminded me of the Methodist church I grew up in back home in Sheridan, MT. All the healers and us PROMETRAns squeezed into the church…music began and prayers were announced…it was a very beautiful service that gave me a feeling of comfort as the healers prayed for my safe travel and happiness. After the church service ended, all us PROMETRAns and the healers journeyed back to Buyijja to then venture down into the forest. This day there was to be no training…instead, the day turned into a going-away celebration for me. At first, healers began reminiscing about my past six months with them…the words they spoke were so thoughtful and kind! Then music and dancing began as I received gifts from groups of healers. In Buganda culture, when someone receives a visitor, it is a belief to value that visitor and a blessing to provide the visitor with any type of gift. I had been the visitor for the past six months, and now that I was returning home, people wanted to give their blessings :) It was a day of thanksgiving and blessing! The entire day touched me to my very soul. After enjoying my last forest meal, it was my turn to speak and address the healers. All I will say is that it was not easy and brought tears to my eyes. I will never forget that forest day when such thoughtful words were spoken and blessings were given. In the middle of the whole day rain came and caused all of us to run for protection with a smile on our faces…for rain brings good luck! The Wednesday forest day was brought to a close, evening came, and us PROMETRAns journeyed back to Kampala. Thursday and Friday I prepared my things for the journey home…for sure I pack too much…hehe! Then Saturday came and it was another day of goodbyes. One of my PROMETRA colleagues invited me to his house to have a small but significant going-away party with him and his family. We basically ate and lounged around, while watching music videos of local Ugandan artists. It was a nice and relaxing day…that once again brought tears to my eyes…for sure goodbyes are not easy! Saturday then ended with me giving my farewells to a few more of my PROMETRA colleagues. Now it is Sunday and I am bound for home in some few hours. Once I have processed my entire stay here in Uganda I will write more…but for now I can say…when I came to Uganda back in January, I was welcomed with open arms by beautiful, caring, loving, and honest people. I was then cared for as though I was part of everyone’s family. This experience has taught me so much about not only the world and Uganda and traditional medicine, but also about myself. I came to Uganda a young woman, senior in college, simply looking for an adventure and hoping to discover my path for the next few years…I will return still a young woman now graduated and now knowing some of the path my heart and soul will take. My experience in Uganda has been one I will never forget…and I know I will return when the time is right! Thank you all so much for your love and support throughout this journey…without you this adventure could not have been possible! Wish me a safe journey home…I shall be seeing you all very very soon! :)

Keep the spirit alive – Ann Kyamulabi

My Ugandan Made Dresses

My adventure in Uganda is coming to a close…I have about a week left before I will begin my long journey home this coming Sunday evening. I must admit, it will be a long flight full of two emotions…I will be so happy to see my family and friends that I have been away from for six months, but I will be very sad to leave the life I have created for myself in this beautiful country of Uganda. It’s a very surreal time right now. Today is my last official day volunteering for PROMETRA Uganda. Thankfully today completed one of the steps we were taking in formulating a 5 year strategic plan…so I believe it is a pretty good note to end on. I know I will keep in touch on some of these projects that will continue in my absence…work must go on…hehe. Later this evening, all us PROMETRAns will venture out to Buyijja…for my last visit to the unique and powerful traditional healer forest school. I have been told that tomorrow will be my going away party…in some sense…hehe. It won’t be easy to say goodbye to a community of people who have inspired me beyond expectation…I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity for the past six months! Well before I officially do return home, I should give you all an update on what I have been doing these past few weeks. So two Thursday ago I spent the entire day roaming around Kampala city on a bodaboda with my PROMETRA Uganda colleague in order to find information on how to register an institution. We first began by visiting Kyambogo University at the Commission of Higher Learning. After gathering some information there, we journeyed to Kololo and spent almost an hour driving up and down streets in search of the Center for Basic Research…an intense ride in the heat of the day! We finally decided to let the search go, for the Center was not a top priority place to visit…so we then journeyed to the Ministry of Education and Sports. Come to find out when we arrived there, we were actually in the wrong place…yes it was the Ministry of Education, but it was not the right building…there are actually two separate buildings, streets apart, that both perform similar activities but yet different at the same time. So we got directions to the proper building…we found ourselves in the city center pulling up to a building that towered over us and every other building in site. When we made it to the entrance, I handed over my ID and received a visitor’s badge that ‘must be visible at all times’…hehe. We then worked our way up twisting-winding stairs to the 3rd floor, which I think was actually the 4th…hehe…to then walk down a long hall-way to the office of the Commissioner. After finally arriving at the right location, we sat and waited for some time…I was kept amused by the ladies in the office eating away at their delicious smelling lunches. After almost an hour, we were called into to visit with the Commissioner. The short but sweet meeting went well…we received the information we were looking for, only after waiting about another half hour for copies of documents. The time spent there was very successful…no matter the wait. So we journeyed back down the twisting-winding stairs, I returned the visitor pass, collected my ID, and hoped back on the bodaboda with my colleague. The regular work-day was almost over, so we decided to end our day’s search there…for now. The next program scheduled for the day was for me to pick-up my dress! :) I was really quite excited to see the final product. So I and one of my PROMETRA colleagues ventured through heavy traffic and crowds of people, finally ending up at the proper location and greeting the woman we were looking for. She pulled my dress out of a small bag and held it up for me to observe! I was awed by how beautiful it looked! She asked if I wanted to try it on…I responded “Yes Please!” So we weaved our way up some narrow stairs and simply found a corner for me to quickly slip into the dress. Unfortunately the first attempt was somehow unsuccessful…I couldn’t get the dress pulled over my chest…hehe. So she decided the best solution was to sew a zipper in the side. My friend and I decided to sit and wait. The working environment we were in was quite interesting. In this building there were probably 30 or so seamstresses huddled together…each in their own corner or spot…there was simply one little walk-way path down the middle. My friend and I found a place to sit on two little benches that was just barely out of the way… still right in the middle of the all the commotion. Forty-five minutes later the zipper was sewn into the dress, and I was set for round two of trying it on for size. This time the dress slipped over my head…and my chest…successfully…she zipped me in and there I was in my own unique fitted dress…just for me. The dress was very comfortable and fit me perfectly…I must say I am very happy and satisfied with the final product! :) After the successful fitting, I quickly changed out of the dress and back into my regular clothes. I thanked her so so so much for doing such a wonderful job…it was getting late, so my friend and I began the journey back to Kawempe after a long day’s work. The following day, on Friday, events were quite different…I attended my first African burial…I wasn’t sure quite what to expect other than the fact that burials in Uganda are very very important and many people always attend and they are most often conducted outside at the respective burial grounds. All us PROMETRAns ended up traveling to a near-by village and spent time eating, conversing, singing, praying, then conducting the actual burial ceremony. Before sunset, we were all headed back to Kawempe…the day was over and the weekend had arrived. As for the weekend, Saturday was a fun day of roaming around Kampala city center once again in search for fabric for my second tailored made dress…this time traditional Ugandan style! Days before, I had seen a woman wearing a traditional dress…the exact style I was looking for. I snuck a picture of her and her dress…hehe…then brought it to the woman who had sewn my previous dress. That Saturday we picked out the perfect fabric…with yellow, white, and blue…she took my measurements and told me to return the following week to pick up the dress :) I left full of anticipation! On Sunday, I decided to attend a church service at an infamous Born Again church within Kampala city center…one that many people constantly talk about. The service was literally all day long…from early in the morning till late in the evening. I must say it was the most intense church service I have ever attended…there were literally HUNDREDS of people, music pounded the atmosphere, and the sermons were preached with a certain power no one could explain! All the hundreds of people were completely mesmerized throughout the entire service. The pastor for the church is well known throughout Kampala has having special healing powers…and let me tell you…massive crowds of people come to observe and/or experience the healing powers of the ‘Man of God.’ It was an extremely intense service…after leaving the church service later that evening, I remember feeling completely exhausted both mentally and physically…but for sure it was an experience to remember…a very unique one! So the following week soon arrived. The only really exciting event that took place was on Thursday when I went to pick up my dress…once again…hehe! This time when I arrived, the talented seamstress asked me once again whether I would like to try the dress on for size…I responded with a very enthusiastic, “Absolutely!” So we found our way up the same winding, twisting stairs as before, where I simply stood in a corner and tried the dress on. This time the dress slide onto me perfectly…and fit me just perfectly!!! I was oh so happy as we weaved up the stairs to find a mirror. The dress turned out exactly as I imagined…and even better! I must say, she is a very talented seamstress! After Thursday, the weekend came and went pretty quickly. Now it is Tuesday and I am slowly, but surely preparing for my long journey home. Oh, but before I forget…hehe…yesterday coming home from Wandegeya, I caught a ride on a bodaboda. It was quite an interesting ride, for the gentleman driving me was wearing the most peculiar bright orange felt hat…cowboy style…with strings to keep it on the head…hehe! He was a character and half…even with the way he acted…hehe…the most interesting bodaboda ride I have had thus far…a lot of fun and quite entertaining :) Well that’s about all I have to say right now! My time here in Uganda is ending one day at a time…causing me to reflect on my past six month experience! What I can say right now is that I have had an experience of a lifetime and regret absolutely nothing. I can also send a big THANKS to all of you out there who supported me at any time during my adventure…Thank you so very much…I am truly blessed! I look forward to seeing you all very very soon!

Keep the spirit alive – Ann Kyamulabi

The Perfect Fit

Well excitement is still in the air…the World Cup games are narrowing down to the championship game which will be this coming Sunday on July 11th. I am quite excited to see who will be battling each other for the Cup! Games have definitely been more intense lately and people’s enthusiasm has been reaching its climax…everyone watches the games…people even take time off from work and events to find a television, sit down, and enjoy the thrill of the game! Well anywho, things here in Uganda are still going really really well. My time here is narrowing down…sad but true. All I know is that I must take in as much as possible and live every experience to the fullest. So last Thursday completed my field research…and the day was beyond successful. I had three interviews scheduled, but ended up conducting four separate interviews with a total of seven people. I was so happy and satisfied! My PROMETRA colleague and I only had one minor “road-block,” when we discovered the front bike’s tire was low as we reached our last interview site in Kibibi Sub-county. We first decided to complete the interview and eat lunch before venturing to the nearest mechanic to fix the tire. The interview was successful, the food was delicious, and the mechanic was ready and waiting to fix the tire. Good enough we had been to this same mechanic before a couple weeks back when we had a similar bike problem. It’s funny…as I sat there waiting for the tire to be fixed, I realized that every time I ventured to Kibibi Sub-county on the bike, something happened to the bike…first time the bike ran out of fuel, second time the bike’s back tire broke some spindles, third time the bike’s back tire went flat, and fourth time the bike’s front tire went flat. Each time I traveled to Kibibi during my research excursions I experienced a bike problem…how ironic…there must be something in the air at that sub-county…hehe! So the tire got fixed just in time for us to cruise the last leg of the journey to Kampala arriving home at a decent hour. The weekend soon came and brought relaxation and a fun journey. I have realized during my stay here in Uganda that many women at one point in their lives end up having a or many dress(es) of different styles made for them. So I decided I wanted to have that same experience for me…especially since it is much much cheaper here and truly an amusing experience, where you spend time gazing at all kinds of fabrics from high class silk traditionally reserved for Gomez to simple cotton…hehe. So on Saturday I spent part of the day roaming around Kampala town center trying to find the perfect fabric for making me the perfect dress. I initially went with ideas in my head, but ended up changing my mind many times. I had originally thought of a style slightly more traditional but while shopping around with the help of one of my PROMETRA colleagues and his sister, I came to realize I wanted something a little more fancy…like a party dress…in some sense. So finally after journeying from store to store to store and looking at various fabrics, I found the fabric that would be perfect for me…a soft blue color, like ocean blue, with shapes of sunflower-like stitching on it. After finding the ideal fabric, I began explaining to the seamstress the dress style I had in mind. We decided to journey across the street, through an ally-way, and up the road a bit just to show her a dress hung a manikin that was of the style I desired. The seamstress looked it over and agreed it would look good and work well with the fabric. So we journeyed back down the road, through the ally-way, across the street and into the store to purchase the fabric we had put on hold. We made the purchase, then found our way to the seamstress’s area of operation, where she measured me from shoulder to toe, and told me to return next Thursday…this coming Thursday…to try the dress on for size :) I left feeling quite satisfied and full of anticipation. It’s funny how the ideas we plan for can change instantly in the midst of progress depending on the materials and time available. My dress idea turned out not quite as I originally planned…but I believe the final product will prove to be very nice and stylish…and a nice dress to wear to some kind of event in the future. In the end, it’s all the about the experience. So that has been the excitement of my past few days. This coming weekend I hope to journey to Entebbe and visit its Botanical Beach/Gardens…we shall see how time permits itself. I hope you all are enjoying the nice summer weather…OH and I hope you all back in the states had a wonderful 4th of July celebration! I hope the fireworks displays were just fabulous! :) Shall be seeing you all soon!

Keep the spirit alive – Ann Kyamulabi