Week 2 in Ruhija (June 5th - June 12th + extra info for June 1st)

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June 1st, 2016



I also loaded up some data on my MTN dongle so hopefully I’ll be able to access some internet to do some basic necessities, such as paying my credit card and cell phone bills and sending some important emails. I had a nice walk into town with Silas today during which we enjoyed a nice deep conversation. I’ll have to remember to keep in touch with him after I leave. It doesn’t seem like we’ll be doing much tonight in terms of community placement work since the MUST students, specifically Clement, Lynn, and Julian seem to prefer sleeping or charging their electronics so that they can watch tv series or movies. That seems to be the main way they spend their time here.







June 5^th, 2016



Visited warden at 8am. He said he’d meet chief on Friday and then give us answer, but I get the feeling he didn’t even remember about our request to track gorillas because once he saw us and we said our intros, he immediately picked up his phone to call the chief. I’m very sick of Ugandans doing this push-off responsibility thing. From what I gathered from the daily gorilla trackers, this warden has the ability to grant us permission. Why push it off to someone else when you could have just given us a direct answer of no on Friday? I dislike this aspect of Ugandan culture. Maybe I’m also getting frustrated at Ugandans here in Ruhija always saying no to my requests. Or, more likely, it’s a combination of both issues.



Afterwards, I came back, ate breakfast, relaxed, washed everyone’s dishes, visited the nearby community rest camp (which is a gorilla tracking lodge on trip advisor), ate lunch (James made soup with carrots, beans, rice, spaghetti, and banic? Bread), discussed our finances and firing Emmanuel, our cook, as a result of not having enough money to pay for the food we’re eating each week (we’re keeping Emmanuel on for another 3 days before switching over to cooking for ourselves completely), finished reading James’s mindfulness mediation book (Where you go, there you are?), worked out, charged equipment at ITFC (had the idea of directly connecting Ethernet to a computer to get internet, which I’ll have to try some time when no ITFC staff are around), came home, ate dinner, relaxed and slept. I feel like I’m about to cave in terms of using electronics for watching tv series or movies or studying. I can’t do enough in a day to keep myself completely off electronics. =( I also use my computer already for writing my blog entries (I write all my entries into a word document so that once I get internet, I can post them all with copy paste, rather than having to write all of them, esp. since I have so much time now). I could write it into a journal and then type it onto the word document, but that’s an extra step and time that can be avoided.





June 6^th, 2016



Woke up today with the room being super smoky. I rushed up and into the living room to discover a cloud of smoke in the entire room. I immediately rushed to open the windows and doors to let some fresh air in, but the strong wind outside was playing antagonist to my hero. Once the smoke started clearing out, I quickly discovered that a fire had been started in the fireplace and the strong wind outdoors was pushing the smoke from the chimney back into the living room. Fortunately, I later learned that the fire was only started to boil some water for tea and coffee in the morning. Everyone should be aware now so we shouldn’t have the problem again.



On a different note, I’ve noticed that in the past few days, I’ve had moments when I really miss my family. The comfort of family is unique, undying, and unconditional. I miss you mom, dad, and Jim.



After everyone woke up at the late hour of ~10AM, the group as a whole debated about our project for a bit. Gordon and Silas left to the health centre to collect some data on IPT1 and IPT2, so I went with them to give them company. Ugandans are interesting and frustrating in that they have an opinion on every little thing, but for some reason, aren’t willing to take the initiative to perform any actions, particularly despite their opposition. They’re a very 被動 group of people… almost bordering on lazy in Western culture. Fortunately, when I came back from the health centre, some stuff had been done. Some posters had been drawn up for stuff like action plan, challenge model, etc. though there hadn’t been any material written in.



I’m feeling really close to caving and getting movies or tv series from the Ugandan students to kill time. After lunch, I came up to ITFC to get clean, boiled water. I pour it into a cup, wait for it to cool, and then transfer it to one of my plastic bottles for later consumption. Waiting for the boiled water to cool takes quite a bit of time so I use this time to write blog entries.



After coming back, we played some Kaiser, ate dinner, and then chilled by the fire until bedtime.







June 7^th, 2016



Woke up at 7:50AM, ate breakfast, and went to the healthcare centre today. Went with James, Silas, Gordon, Richele, and Montana, but the others came later. This turned out to be turning point for Silas and James to bring up the issue of professionalism and punctuality within our healthcare work. While they bring up certain points, I can’t help but feel that in our positions, the healthcare work is not quite appropriate for us. So we shouldn’t be making such a big deal about it. James in particular seemed too confrontational. I’m becoming less and less fond of him. I get the feeling that he’s sitting on a high horse, which is annoying and frustrating. Why can’t you just let it be, particularly since this issue doesn’t need to be as important as you make it out to be. Besides, it’s not like this healthcare work is affecting you or your career in anyway. The way I’ve written it may sound as though his attention and criticism is directed towards me. This couldn’t be further from the case. If his criticism is directed towards anyone, it’s Lynn, our only medical student. However, I still can’t help but find his attitude annoying. The only way I can simplify it is that I dislike him more and more. This is turning out to be more of a rant, but hopefully putting this down in writing will help ease my bitter feelings. Additionally, lately I’ve been finding a need to have my alone time. Otherwise, I’m not sure how I can handle living in close quarters with the variety of different people, in particular people with stronger personalities.



Anyways, after we came back from the health centre and ate lunch, this is when the meeting for professionalism and punctuality came up. I tried to be quiet throughout and let them discuss it, since it wasn’t an issue that particularly annoyed me as I’m quite easygoing. But they’re trying to set rigid schedules and basically make everyone work more than usual, even though I personally think the work that we can do is already so limited and we’re only there to be there. If James were the doctor here, I think he would think and act differently, but obviously it’s easy for him to criticize in his position as all he can do as a nutritionist is help Silas in the pharmacy to load up prescriptions.



Maybe I’m ranting on James because I dislike his personality more and more. But his personality is really getting on my nerves more and more. It’s the hard-headedness and unwillingness to go with the flow. It’s his preference to bring in our own western culture values into a place that just isn’t the same culturally speaking. It’s his fucking sickness and the fact that he’s perhaps passed it partially to me. And it’s his constant fucking necessity to speak and be involved, while not being able to take a step back and relax. FUCK.



On a related note, perhaps I’m starting to burnout and this just me being my burnt out self, rather than my usual more easy-going and tolerant self.



Ok, so after lunch and the meeting, some others went to the market since it’s market day, whereas I went to the pick-up some matoke with Silas and then came back, brought my computer to the community rest camp, watched a bit of captain America: civil war, wrote this blog entry, and chilled and admired the view until 6pm, and then visited the market before going home. The market has really limited stuff: clothes, shoes, everyday goods, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, beans, pumpkin, jack fruit, avocados, matoke, and some weird round veggie. The selection is really limited compared to the markets in Entebbe or Mbarara.



Cabbage and rice and spaghetti for dinner. I get really hungry even though I’m eating decent portions. I’m not sure why I get so hungry. Perhaps it’s because the food is all carbohydrates or maybe it’s higher energy expenditure due to all the walking and hiking I’m doing on a daily basis?



*edit* My rant about James was simply a rant. It's not actually as bad as I may have written it out, and there's no ill harbored feelings against him now. James and I have and continue to get along fine together.







June 8^th, 2016



Started to feel a bit more sick so I told the group that I’d stay back and rest for today. Woke up crying from a dream about talking about cloning dogs, specifically cloning Verda. I think the disconnect from family is really getting to me and even Verda is popping into my mind. I miss Verda too ;( She was such a great dog. Just imagining her standing tall and me petting her is making me into a wreck.



On a separate, but related note, I really do think I’m burning out. I’m realizing just how significant and important having family support is to me. Even though I knew how important it was for me to have family support, it’s only after being deprived of it that I truly feel it’s scope. I’m going to call jim, mom, and dad later today because I need to hear their voices.



My no shower, no shave challenge is still coming along. I’m actually going to try giving zero care into my external appearance and see where it takes me after the month. I’ll obviously clean up after the month, but I’m curious to see how raggity and gnarly I can look.



Went up to ITFC after I woke up and ate a tiny breakfast. Charged equipment, watched captain Americaa: civil war again, and filled up my water bottles. Went back down at 1PM for lunch. After lunch, I tried napping, but couldn’t fall asleep, so I went to the community rest camp to see if I could find some avocados that had dropped from their tree. I tried calling Jim and mom, but I think Jim is in Spain, and mom is either still in Canada and doesn’t have phone to receive my call, or is in Taiwan and just didn’t choose to receive my call. I also learned how to make chapattis (flour, baking powder, oil, and water+salt) and cabbage (diced cabbage, diced tomatoes, oil; add oil, add diced tomatoes, add salt, add diced cabbage, and then mix/stir, can also add curry powder or Royco mchuzi mix (spicy beef flavor)). At 5:30PM, we worked on fishbone and then had dinner and watched Brooklyn 99 until bed.







June 9^th, 2016



Woke up feeling better from my sickness, but still having a slight sore throat and runny nose. I stayed behind again today to help cook, since Emmanuel stopped working for us today. Richele and Julian also stayed behind. So I woke up, ate breakfast, and then chilled until lunch. I checked the community rest camp for avocados. The gang which went to the health centre came back around 12:30PM because they actually managed to finish seeing all the patients. This, however, was only possible because the health officer and in-charge were both working today to diagnose patients (and Lynn, the usually disruptive, unhelpful one, went to buy groceries with Clement instead of going to the health centre today). We ate matoke, rice, and gnut sauce for lunch, worked on our 5 Why’s, health challenge prioritization, and resources required list for Dan from USAID.



I got a call from mom and dad! It was sooo uplifting to hear their voices and their support. Even if they were scolding me, it wouldn’t matter because I would know it’s coming from a deep bond of care and love. I really want to take this moment to jot down just how much family means to me and that, as a reminder, don’t ever take them for granted. Use this moment to remember how much I want to be in close contact with them and to cherish each and every moment we have together. Mom also mentioned an interesting idea of writing down a message to my future self after graduating veterinary medicine. Write it as though you were just starting vet school. So here goes:



“Ian, at this moment, you’re about to embark on a one of a kind journey. At the moment of writing this, I’m kind of cheating because I’ve already completed a year of veterinary medicine, but in many ways, it offers an even better perspective to write from.



There are going to be many tough moments and times when you may question your path towards being a veterinarian. But remember just how lucky you are to be in your position. And remember the lives you’ve touched along the way, as well as the lives you’ll touch after this moment.



There are going to be times when you may feel you don’t fit in or times when you feel you’re not getting as much as you should out of your education. Use those moments as reminders that you are who you are, and there’s absolutely no shame in that. You are the culmination of all your experiences and you already know how happy and satisfied you are to be the person that you are. Remember that learning is a lifelong process and you worked hard to qualify to become a veterinarian just like any of your peers. But those moments also serve another purpose. They’re fuel and determination to push harder and to train yourself to be more disciplined. They’re reminders that you can always improve and to be cautious of becoming complacent with where you’ve settled. Be happy with who and where you are, but don’t stop improving yourself.



The veterinary profession offers a world of open doors. Try not to look back on your career with any regrets.



And finally, let me end with a quote. “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants” – Isaac Newton. Don’t forget all those who have led you to where you are today. Whether it’s your unconditionally loving family, whether it’s your unique collection of quirky and interesting classmates, whether it’s your devoted and dedicated instructors, or whether it’s anyone you’ve come across along this journey, remember them.



I love you and good luck!

Ian”



To sum up the rest of the day, I came up to ITFC with Silas to get some hot water for tea. Since today is actually a national holiday (Heroes Day), I’ll have to come back again tomorrow to fill up my water bottles.



Tonight, I’ll probably simply watch some tv series (the blacklist) which I got from Silas and sleep.



*edit

Yesterday night, I helped cook dinner (cabbage+posho+spaghetti), chatted with James, Montana, and Richele, before finally heading to bed. Thankfully, Richele gave me a Tylenol night pill which helped me get through the night quite smoothly.






June 10^th, 2016



Today I woke up feeling much better. My nose wasn’t as clogged and my throat wasn’t sore at all anymore. All that remained was phlegm, in my throat and a bit in my nose. After waking up at 7:45AM, I went with the group to the health centre where we saw all the patients and finished at around 11:00AM. While we were at the health centre, I met the in-charge, who’s actually a lady. The previous guy who I thought was the in-charge was actually just a health officer. We discussed our HPV project with the in-charge to find out some more information, but the end result was that HPV vaccinations are already done quite prevalently and cervical cancer (which HPV is supposed to prevent) is at an unknown prevalence in Ruhija. So it seems our community project is going to need backtracking and IPT may need to be reconsidered. The in-charge did mention that the main issues in Ruhija are malnutrition and sanitation. However, these were the 2 issues that our supervisor Gad, said that we should avoid as they’ve already been done in the past. But if they’re still serious issues in Ruhija, why should we not consider doing them?



I’ll write more after lunch, which is still being cooked by Lynn and Clement now.

After lunch, we worked on our community project. Much of what we’ve done now requires approval from our supervisor, Mr. Gad, so we compiled a bunch of our information, such as our health challenges, data collection and sources, and our scanning of community needs, and sent it off to Mr. Gad in an email. We’ll be able to do more once he replies, hopefully. After working on the community project, I went up to ITFC to fill up my water and also help some others charge their electronics. As I was at ITFC, mom called so we talked for a good chunk of time. She’s leaving for Seattle today and staying there for a couple days, after which she will go back to Taiwan. So I probably won’t hear from her until after she gets back to Taiwan. She also told me about a girl she wants to set me up with. I’m open to the possibility and looking forward to meeting this nice girl. Talking with mom is always comforting, whether we talk about philosophical life stuff or if we just talk about what’s happening. It’s odd how hard it is to truly appreciate family time when you’re together, and how much it’s appreciated when you’re separate.



Finally, I came back around 6PM and dinner was still being prepared. I’ll update again after dinner. Tomorrow’s a Saturday so my only current plans for tomorrow are to visit the orphanage and visit the youth soccer team. I got Eliab’s number so we can keep in touch after I leave. I should get his email too…. assuming he has email.



So dinner was gnut sauce with spaghetti and posho and potatoes. After eating, some played cards, some disappeared into their rooms, I wrote more into this blog, started a fire, and then went to sleep.







June 11^th, 2016



Today, I woke up at around 8:30AM and ate breakfast. Went up to ITFC for charging some electronics and their hot tea. Saw a baboon on the way up! Watched a couple episodes of the blacklist and then came back down for lunch. Ate lunch, and then headed out for visiting the orphanage and youth soccer group. The orphanage was entertaining. We made them say their names and draw out the first letter of their name with their hips/belly button. Then, we “taught” them how to play Frisbee. Taught in quotations because they never really grasped the concept. Finally, we danced with them before heading off to see the youth soccer team. After arriving and watching the youth soccer team, I joined them for their training session before giving a motivational speech at the end. James, Silas, Montana, and Richele all gave their own speeches too before we shared some candies and stickers. Again, Eliab is an inspiration and a person doing good in this world. I have to remember to keep in touch with him. Then, I came back to home, washed some dishes, waited for dinner, ate dinner, watched a few episodes of Brooklyn 99, checked email, and then slept.







June 12^th, 2016



Woke up pretty late today, around 9:20AM. James had prepared breakfast for everyone as a celebratory event for Richele’s birthday. We had boiled eggs, biscuits, and pineapple. After finishing breakfast, I left around 10AM for church! I went alone, but the church made me feel quite welcome. The Anglican Church is right beside the field where the youth soccer team practices, so I walked over and arrived a bit before 10:30AM. The church was completely empty so I asked a nearby person when church was supposed to start. She said 10AM, but when I showed her the current time, she said “they are late”. I guess even church has Ugandan time. At around 10:40AM, I see the church pastor and workers moving into the church so I grab a seat and get ready for service. I was told that the whole service should be about 2 hours. We started with some singing interspersed with verse readings. Most of their music was vocal with some drum beats to accompany the lyrics. Some greetings were shared and everyone was welcomed, particularly me since I was a muzungu. They asked me my name and where I was from and whether I was an Anglican Christian. I said yes. The pastor then proceeded to speak his sermon and at around an hour and forty minutes in, offering was taken and the church turned into a market with bidding to exchange all the crops that were offered into cash. After about 40 minutes of bidding without seeing an end, I left and went home.





At home, some rice, matoke, and gnuts sauce were waiting for me. I ate and then headed up to ITFC to get more water and charge. I’m using my computer quite significantly recently, whether for writing my blog entries, writing articles for WCVM about my experience in Uganda, or studying. This is leading to a greater requirement of trips up to the ITFC office. I finished editing my official blog entries for posting onto our group blog today. But, there’s still lots of work to do for the WCVM articles, studying, and daily unofficial blogs (which is what you’re currently reading). I went down to our guesthouse at around 5PM and started cooking dinner with Silas. We’re preparing cabbage with posho and spaghetti. After dinner, we played mafia for a bit and then went to bed.

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