The Search for Jubilee in this month of June

Sorry it has been so long since I wrote anything.  The truth is I've been in a funk because it is the beginning of June and usually this means June Jubilee.

In Texas, a large number of friends have their birthdays in June.  School is also over.  The combination results in constant celebrating the entire month, hence June Jubilee.  This weekend was the graduation of the third class of students I taught (so proud!) and following the graduation, my friends (as is tradition) are packing up and having a week-long vacation somewhere in Texas.  I'm not with them (in spirit yes, physically no).  I'm so glad they've kept the tradition going and will really need to find a way to be there next year for Doublewide Cinco (yes, this vacation is called Doublewide because the first place we ever rented was apparently a Doublewide - according to my friend Andria who seemed to be some sort of expert in the topic).

Without the Doublewide and without my Houston friends, I'm struggling to feel the jubilation of June.  That's normal, right?  Yes, I have friends here and yes life, for the most part, is continuously surprising me with it's awesomeness... but for the moment June feels a bit less jubilant.

Thankfully it's only June 4th.  For the rest of the month I will focus on making my own sort of Colombian June Jubilee.  A friend and I have already discussed that we should go out more and enjoy the month because while we do have to work, we don't have to teach.  I also just stepped away from a bound-to-be-toxic relationship situation with my pride and self-esteem fully intact - definitely something worth celebrating if you ask me and a sign that my 29th year of life is going to be fabulous because I'm not acting a fool (quite as much at least...a little foolishness keeps life interesting).  Still, I am on the hunt for even more jubilation in this very special month.  I am open to suggestions and hope to share some stories and pics with you as the jubilee transpires. :)

Just a few pics to commemorate the wonderful tradition of June Jubilee and Doublewide:

Hot dogs, Texas Tea, and Rachael showing as the she "got your crazy"...what more could a person ask for?

First thing after my arrival in Texas last summer for the kickoff - a beer at Cedar Creek.

Love this B!

2 years ago, June Jubilee included skydiving on my birthday.

Going to the Dentist - Part 2

My view from the Transmilenio.

So today, I traveled on the Transmilenio alone AND I went to the denist...alone.  I felt so adventurous because the teachers in my van were so impressed that I was taking the Transmilenio alone and going to Quirigua (far, far away).  Really it was not that big of a deal but the weather was perfect and it was mid-afternoon so I was happy.  Also, now that I've identified some of my frustration as part of my stage 2 culture shock, I'm really trying to accept my new home with all its surprises and differences... on my way home, however, I decided that the healthcare system - especially for dental care - is just not something that I will ever get used to.  No. Way.

Two weeks ago,  I made an emergency appointment to visit the dentist because I was convinced I had cavities.  After 2 or 3 minutes of poking around, she told me she could find nothing wrong with my teeth.  She did sign off, however, on x-rays (which I still have not gotten because I have to go to another location and then return to the dentist for her to look at the x-rays....and then of course if I have cavities I have to make another appointment and return to the dentist.  No thanks.

The dentist also suggested I get my semi-annual cleaning, so today I returned this time on my own to get my teeth cleaned.  When I got to the dentist I had to wait about 45 minutes (even though I had an appointment).  The problem was the building lost water for awhile...awesome.  When they called my name, I signed a consent form and then sat in the chair.  The dentist poked around my mouth again, sprayed some water, had me spit every 15 seconds because they don't have that convenient sucky tool, and then she asked me if I brought my toothbrush and floss.  I did because I brushed my teeth at school before leaving for the dentist...but what?!?!  She then proceeded to instruct me on how to brush my teeth using my toothbrush and toothpaste to sort of clean my teeth.  So weird.  Yes, I'm judging, I know.   Anyway, that was it.  An hour to the dentist and an hour back to my house for a lesson on how to use my toothbrush. 

I'm wondering if my complete astonishment with this system is evidence of my privilege in the U.S.  I've always had health insurance and a good job (or parents with good jobs) to cover a large chunk of the expense.  But what is the health care like for folks without insurance?  Or work?  I know there are clinics - many of my students used them in Houston.  Do they also receive this absurdly low level of service?!  Yes my dentist visit was free, but now I'm wondering what I could get if I was willing to pay $25 (the typical co-pay for a visit to the doctor in the U.S.).  In six months, I plan to explore these other options - even if that means paying a little extra...or maybe even a lot extra.  If anyone knows more about the health care system in the U.S., please share.  I've become very curious...

Culture Shock

So, I've obviously heard about culture shock and experienced it briefly while I was in Florence.  I specifically remember a trip to the grocery store just outside of the city and wanting to buy sugar...but I didn't know the word for sugar and couldn't find anyone in the store who spoke English.  After about 30 minutes of scouring the aisles, I found the sugar in the beverage aisle next to the bottled water.  I mean, what?!?!?

I've been in Colombia about 6 months now, so I figure I'm out of the culture shock zone, right? Wrong.  About two weeks ago I started finding myself feeling frustrated with everything.  My bus is late every day, the Internet isn't dependable, I don't have a bathtub, I just want a gosh darn salad, the traffic is horrendous, teachers spend more time talking than working, my God the RAIN!!!!, my salary is too low, I miss my car, why is the health care system so freaking confusing and why do I have to travel a total of 2+ hours to see a dentist for 10 minutes!?, where are all the brilliant English-speakers who enjoy sitting around and talking about education, love, life, etc., and why is there not a single cutesy coffee shop in this city for me to do my work!?!?!  (Note:  Logically I am aware that some/ the majority of these comments are greatly exaggerated, somewhat insulting, and sound as if I believe Colombia and the U.S. are one and the same....emotionally, none of that matters)

At first I chalked it up to PMS...but PMS doesn't last two weeks...three weeks...  I'm also suuuuupppper tired all the time.  I have a list of things that I want to do - places to visit, things to try, books to read, Spanish to study, friends to write to - but I found myself spending more and more time watching episodes of all my favorite American television programs on Cuevana.tv (and some of my not-so-favorite shows... I mean do I really need to watch Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars?  I'm pretty sure the answer is no).  I can also sleep for 14 hours straight when given the chance.  That is also not normal for me.  Some folks told me before I left that because I'd be spending so much time translating in my head to communicate in Spanish, that I would be very tired, but after six months?  I wasn't so sure.

Last night I began to do some research and I've self-diagnosed myself with culture shock.  Turns out culture shock has several stages.  The first is the honeymoon stage.  This I think is what we all usually experience when we travel - we are excited and in awe of our new environment.  We love learning and trying out a new language, the new scenery is gorgeous, and the food is just so good!  We meet new people and soak up all the glorious novelty of it all...and then come the second stage: negotiation.

According to Wikipedia says (yes, I know, not acceptable for graduate research papers...or any research papers for that matter...but for this situation, it serves my purpose and describes to a tee):

Negotiation phase

After some time (usually around three months, depending on the individual), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. Excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as one continues to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one's cultural attitude. Language barriers, stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food accessibility and quality may heighten the sense of disconnection from the surroundings.^[4]
While being transferred into a different environment puts special pressure on communication skills, there are practical difficulties to overcome, such as circadian rhythm disruption that often leads to insomnia and daylight drowsiness; adaptation of gut flora to different bacteria levels and concentrations in food and water; difficulty in seeking treatment for illness, as medicines may have different names from the native country's and the same active ingredients might be hard to recognize.
Still, the most important change in the period is communication: People adjusting to a new culture often feel lonely and homesick because they are not yet used to the new environment and meet people with whom they are not familiar every day. The language barrier may become a major obstacle in creating new relationships: special attention must be paid to one's and others' culture-specific body language signs, linguistic faux pas, conversation tone, linguistic nuances and customs, and false friends.

The red, bold, italic, and underlined phrases are those that I can especially relate to.

Now this post is not meant to be a depressing one.  In fact, it is a relief!  I'm not losing my mind and I'm not clinically depressed.  This is normal and according to Wikipedia (and other sources - don't worry) by the time I've reached a year I should feel more like myself and be able to navigate my new country with ease and a sense of normalcy.  I'm also hoping that if anyone out there is every feeling this way when they travel - they will have read this if they are a close friend or it will miraculously appear in Google to help a fellow traveler out.

Until I reach 12 months, I'm trying to stay fully aware of my feelings and why I'm feeling/acting the way that I am.  I'm exercising and eating well.  I'm studying/practicing Spanish to try and overcome some of the more frustrating communication barriers.  I'm setting up Skype dates with friends and family (let me know if you're interested!).  And I'm letting people know what I'm going through so that the friends that I do have here don't abandon me and so I can talk through it and laugh about it, until it disappears.  Still, that doesn't mean I wasn't slightly (okay extremely) perturbed today when I went to school early to play basketball with the girls team only to find after practice (when I begin my weekly pray for hot water) that there was no water...none.  Which meant I didn't get to shower.  It also meant the availability of coffee was limited (you do NOT want to be around me before I've been caffeinated).  Throughout the day the school also lost electricity, followed by Internet...oof. 

Still, a wonderful friend from who lives in Houston, Texas but is from Colombia offered these wise words to help me along:

Do not worry, everyone of us who happens to live in a foreign country has to face the same feelings and cultural shock. You'll survive and the experience will be really wonderful for your life...it also means that you're out of the box. A difficult situation for a little while with the best results for your life. When you are in a foreign country your cultural awareness and background get stronger, and the best of all, you'll begin to see the world in its real dimension. The best for you.

Thanks Stella. :)  I hope to see you soon in Bogotá!

Que chicharrón!

Today I was finally planning to get out of the house for the night and meet an acquaintance (from when I was here in March) for dinner. It was going to be a restaurant called Local that serves typical Colombian food (yum!).

Was is the key word because today it also rained. Public transportation in Bogota as far as I can tell is pretty terrible. Additionally, there are a LOT of people living in this city and too many cars on the road...and when it is rainy - everyone decides to drive.

This evening my host my called 3 taxi companies for me trying to get me a ride to the restaurant. None had cabs available. Her daughter's boyfriend agreed to drive me. This restaurant is 60 blocks from my house - blocks are pretty small though. After driving for an hour I was 20 minutes late. I don't have a phone yet (getting one tomorrow after I pick up my Colombia ID card which should be ready) so Jose (the driver) called my friend for me. He was still at his office standing outside trying to get a cab - and had been for an hour. Augh.

So, Jose and I returned back to the house - after another 45 minutes in the car of course. It turned out to be a good Spanish lesson because Jose speaks no English and so we did our best to make conversation in Spanish - wish I had it on video!

Still, while there are many wonderful things in Bogota - traffic is not one of them. Today was the perfect situation to use my current favorite word: chicharrón (loosely translated: pain in the ass, complicated/unsolvable situation).

Will have to try being social another night. And I need to figure out the buses - although they also looked like a nightmare to be on today - people were packed like sardines.

La gripa or Soroche?!?!

I just completed by second week of teaching and I am totally wiped out. Yesterday, I was nauseous with a fever, a headache, and a sort throat. Most of these symptoms are symptoms of both the flu (la gripa) AND altitude sickness (Soroche). Not sure what it is but I slept from 4:30 pm on Friday until 11:30am on Saturday. Still have a sore throat and feel terribly weak – but have been able to get around – do laundry, get some school work done, etc.

Despite feeling sick – two weeks into this adventure I’m still confident it was the right decision.

My Spanish improves a little bit more each day and getting familiar with the Bogota slang: querida = very nice, friendly, good, wonderful (usually about a person)
chicharron = a situation that’s a total pain in the ass
chevere = cool
…there’s a few others as well but they are less appropriate for this space. ;-)

Teaching 6th and 7th graders is a challenge – but I’m glad I’m doing it because it’s making me a better teacher. I’m learning so much about how children learn, it’s awesome – AND exhausting. Even more so when I feel like crap.

Hoping to get my energy back soon so that I can explore that city and work on building friendships here in this new city.

Setting up shop in Bogota

I cannot believe it has only been four days since I arrived - my brain is on fire (constantly translating things from Spanish to English and English to Spanish!) and I've been going non-stop.

On Monday morning I began teaching. My schedule is different each day. Some days I have no classes, some days I have a little over three hours of classes. The students are adorable, incredibly organized and eager to learn. As with all 6th and 7th graders, some of them are a bit hyper and many of them need you to spell out every detail for them - they are not yet comfortable making decisions on their own (Kate, do what's the title? Kate, do we need to copy the instructions? Kate, can I throw this out? Kate.. Kate... Kate..) And yes, at my school teachers go by their first names - I LOVE it.

The school seems to be a really great school. The students have a lot of independence - even as middle schoolers - but they seem to be able to handle it very well. They are punctual and respectful. The staff is also so kind. Many teachers do not speak English and so I am getting a lot of practice and learning new words and phrases each day. My department head has been by my side working every day - helping me get my keys, my supplies, complete paperwork, prepare my scope & sequence, etc. It is a lot of extra work for him but he does not let it show that I am inconveniencing him.

Today I had no classes, so I was given the day to get all my errands done so that my paperwork could be completed. One of the staff members met me at 7:30 am and was with me until 5 pm running errands all around the city. Again - the hospitality is unbelieveable. It would have been nearly impossible for me to get everything done today without her. I should note, she speaks no English. So I survived an entire day in Spanish. It was tough in the beginning but she taught we a lot and we even found ourselves laughing a few times at our jokes. It was great fun. So what did I have to do? First I had to get a medical exam. Then I needed to find out my blood type so I had to go to lab to get my blood taken. (Turns out I'm A+ if anyone's curious) :) Next we had to go to two banks - one to make a payment for my tarjeta de extranjera (kind of like a green card) and one to open a bank account. I then had to get photos made and finally (before lunch) I went and applied for my tarjeta de extranjera. I am now official in the eyes of Colombia because I have my own I.D. number. Hooray.

After lunch Melida and I looked at several apartments and I am happy to announce that I have found one! They were all pretty nice but I will be living in a home with a mother and her daughter who is in college. I have my own bedroom and bathroom and then share the kitchen and other living spaces. It is in a gated community that is absolutely beautiful and is in a more residential area in the northern part of the city. They have two dogs (pugs - so cute!) and the mother is very crafty - she makes jewelry, knits, bakes, etc. She also owns a farm in the mountains outside of Bogota and goes there every weekend. She has told me that I can join her whenever I would like - SWEET!!!!

So a very successful day and successful few days. I will be living in the hotel until August 31 and will move into my new place on Thursday, September 1. As is probably pretty apparent - I am extremely happy and cannot wait to see how things continue to play out.

6 weeks is just not enough time!

I am in love! This country and the people are teaching me so many lessons about myself and the world daily that I just do not want to leave in 2 weeks time. If I could stay and teach at Sir Samuel Baker for the next year I would. I love the staff at the school. They are hilarious and seem to have really welcomed me into their lives. Already they are talking about how they will miss me and cannot even remember their lives without me – I feel the exact same way. I’m just starting to develop bonds with my 150+ students and would love to stick around and see them progress even further. They work so hard to impress me with their abilities and I just know that we could really kick butt together if I were to stay. The beauty of living here is the balance. I can plan and work my butt off in the classroom but then I come home and the pace of life is much slower – there is more time to reflect and to enjoy friends and to appreciate the little things. I want to take this back with me but fear that I will get swept up into the normal fast pace that my life follows back in the States. Someone, in September when I am stressed out, please remind me I said this.

I think next steps are grad school and then hopefully working on education policy internationally. It is fascinating and there is so much work to be done. I’m not an expert but I can certainly see myself spending the rest of my life trying to become one.

Apwoyo Uganda!

Pictures: 1) View of from the front porch of Katharina's Hotel 2) The hole in the floor that serves as a toilet 3) My bed - thankfully I have not gotten Malaria yet! 4) The courtyard where we all hang out in the evenings

It’s been five days since I arrived in Uganda and already I am in love! This is a beautiful country with beautiful people. They are friendly, hard-working, and ver

y welcoming.
A lot

has happened so I will I will try and include some of the big things I’ve observed and/or experienced:

-Driving is crazy. There is a driving school in Gulu (where I’m living), however, I’m not convinced that there are any rules at all…except to stay to the left…if you would like.

-While there are many more white people in Uganda now it is still a novelty. Most times when I walk down the street I hear a chorus of “muno, muno, muno!” or “Muzungu!” – translation: White Person! I am learning Lwo (pronounced luo), the language of the Acholi people, the tribe that is common to the area of Uganda I am living. This is helping to better interact with the people. MOST people speak English as well, as it is the national language. But a greeting of “Apwoyo!” (Hello) or “Iri maber” (How are you?) really make the people happy and are great conversation starters

-We lucked out with our accommodations. Katharina, the owner of the establishment, spent a LOT of time getting the place ready for us. While the accommodations are still pretty basic, they are AMAZING for the typical Ugandan abode. I have my bed and bug net. I have my buckets (in case the water is low and so the showers do not work…sponge bath!). We have laundry service – this is the greatest thing ever since I do NOT have this in the States. Only challenge has been the toilet – it’s a hole in the ground…but I have overcome this challenge and am now a pro. (Sorry…this may be too much information for some)

-I walk a lot but for longer distances I take a Boda Boda…basically a dirt bike that serves as a taxi. More interestingly, it is most acceptable to ride side saddle (both legs hanging to the left). Thankfully I have also mastered this art as well.

-I begin teaching on Monday with my team teacher. I meet her tonight and cannot wait to tell everyone all about her! This week has been filled with training on Lwo, the history of the war in Uganda, Education in Uganda, information on Invisible Children, discussions around teaching practices, and wonderful meals!

-The food is surprisingly delicious! Many people disagree but I love food so of course I love this food as well. It is usually meet with a starch. Beef, chicken, smoke fish with matoke (pronounce ma –toke-ay and made of mashed plantains), posho (white starch looks kind of like mashed potatoes but feels more like dough), potatoes, and many others. There are also beans, many cooked greens, and delicious fruits. I drink ginger beer everyday – it’s non-alcoholic and tastes like really strong ginger ale but sweeter.

This is the best I can do for a summary so far. Once I get my teaching schedule, I am hoping that I will have more time to get to the Internet cafes and talk with friends and family. Sorry to everyone who has e-mailed or wanted to call. Definitely check this and I will do my best to respond to e-mails. Also, I have yet to take pictures in Gulu town - I will try and include those in my next post.