I'm going to be in Kitgum!

Training is almost over: on April 21st we are sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) and disperse to our designated sites. Which reminds me, my future site is an all girls secondary school which was originally formed for child mother (girls who were abducted by the LRA and made into “wives” of the soldiers) in Kitgum District (about 3 km outside of Kitgum town)—one of the northern-most districts in Uganda (link to map of Uganda). There are 2 volunteers doing Community Health and Economic Development in Kitgum town and another science teacher from my training group will be about 20 km away from me. Looking at the map of Uganda with all the volunteers on it, I believe I have become the northern-most volunteer…so if you want to go to Sudan….it’s only about 70 miles away. I have been also reassigned as a General Science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry) teacher rather than just a Math/Chemistry teacher. I’ll go to my site on Thursday for a quick site visit so I can find out if anything’s wrong with the site and what I need for my home (so that if I need to get it in Kampala, I can) and meet my counterpart in the school. Funny story, so my house is actually going to be a hut-house: meaning mud walls and a thatched roof, but word on the street is that it also has windows and running water—it was built by a volunteer (not PC) who was working at or near the school and decided that he/she was tired of sleeping in a classroom so I am excited to see and live in a Northern Ugandan tradition house with a bit of western spice.
Three weeks ago, I went to stay with Hellen, a volunteer in Lira for two weeks (Lira is just south of the Acholi region, was part of the war for the last two years—the 20 year war is said to have gotten more violent towards the end—and they speak Lango which is similar to Acholi, but just different enough to make my head spin). The purpose of the visit in addition to language practice, was to observe Ugandan classrooms, to get some more practice teaching, and to learn from a volunteer (the two of us who stayed with Hellen really lucked out, she has a wonderful school, is a veteran teacher with a wealth of knowledge and has organized some amazing programs—including two events while we were there)—let’s just say, she set the bar high, but staying with her has helped us a lot on the way to being successful volunteers. The first weekend I was up there, I went to Gulu (which is in Acholi region) for a conference on the psychological aftermath of the war in the north. About ¾ of the PC volunteers currently serving in the North and the senior staff of PC Uganda (this is a pretty big deal seeing as Gulu is not exactly close to Kampala) attended the conference which was led by Sister Margaret, a nun native to Gulu and trained in counseling who has worked a lot with child soldiers and Benjamin Porter, who specializes in post-trauma counseling. They reviewed the history of the conflict and discussed the statistics (which were staggeringly high) and symptoms of Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder, Depression, and Acoholism in addition to relating scenarios they had incountered and tips for how we can process the emotional stress that comes with living in a post-war environment. It’s definitely a very impressive group of volunteers up north right now and so I’m happy that I will have a good support system and be surrounded by wonderful resources.
Uganda has had a lot of activity in the last couple of weeks. Two and a half weeks ago, the Kasumbi Tombs (the burial place of 4 Bugunda/Central Uganda Kings and a global cultural site) were burned down. When President Musevini tried to visit the site, he met a riot of people and his gaurds fired on the crowd, killing 2. Later, 3 more were trampled during prayers around the Tombs. This is quite a blow to the Bugunda people because their monarchy is a very precious part of their culture. It’s also unsettling for a country that is already strongly divided by tribal affiliations and languages and that has heated election in just one year (Musevini will now be running for his 6th term as president, having amended the constitution to do away with the 3 term limit). So just like -----
Another lesson learned: So the name “Heather” does not exist in any way, shape, or form here. I may be having the greatest conversation in the world, but when I tell people my name, their faces go blank and they just say “okay” and move on (sometimes literally walking away). The brave few actually attempt to pronounce this foreign name , but the closest people have gotten to it is a mixture of “either” and “ether” with a strained look on their face. And so, the moral of the story is that every person should go to a priest/rabbi/library before they go to Africa and pick out a Christian name. For me, I opened the Bible and decided that Esther was the closest. So as of now, I have 7 names: Esther (my go-to holy name), Aber (“the good one” or “one who is good” in Acholi), Muzungu (foreigner/traveler in the South), Muno (foreigner/traveler in the North), Heather/Edder/Either/Ether, Randolph (not a chance in the world that this is better than Heather), and Pasley (this might still be a winner b/c there’s a load of paisley in the fabric designs here). If you cannot relate to this story again or don’t see the “funniness” about it, please go to your nearest library and check out “Tiki-Tiki-Tambo-No-Sorambo….” or go to an authentic foreign restaurant and try to pronounce the dish you’d like to eat…in this case, bring a friend to take a picture of your face when you’re trying to pronounce the dish’s name and you’ll see a look I now know better than my own face.
I hope all is well! Thank you for all the emails! I soon will have internet! So the skype option is on the horizon! You are all in my daily thoughts and prayers.