Second Week: Eight More To Go

Hello Everyone! Sorry it has been awhile, and plenty has happened, so this will get long. This past Tuesday I went to Kiwangala Village (the “K” is pronounced “ch” so phonetically spelled it’s Chiwangala). It is called a CDDP (Community Drug Distribution Program) and the people of that village who are HIV positive come to get a nutrition talk, their CD4 cell count is told to each one, and then their drugs are distributed. TASO only asks that they pay a 1,000 Shilling membership fee (equal to about $0.50) so that they have this sense of obligation and they are not seen as taking charity; it is a maintenance of pride in a time where they feel they have none. On our ride there, two of the men told Maggie and I that we needed to get African boyfriends. The ironic thing is that Maggie does have an African-American boyfriend. They told her she was off the hook but that I wasn’t haha. Anyways, the people we work with love to joke around and mess with us. When we finally made it, the people there are extremely grateful for the time that the counselor gives them and they all respect him. Jukko, the counselor, is this lively man who captivates everyone when he speaks. He has this tone that makes you want to listen because he is friendly but maintains a severity so you still respect him. One concern is the nutrition of the people. Matoke, the staple food, resembles a banana in not only appearance and how it grows, but it turns out to have the same nutritional value. It appears to be starchy and full of carbs but is actually a filler of the stomach full of potassium. Jukko told me that some people only eat Matoke and do not maintain a balanced diet. He encourages beans and avocados.  After that, he tells them their CD4 cell count. Everyone only speaks Lugandan, so about half-way through he turns to me and the other Maggie, he told us in English that everyone in the village has lower cell counts. He is extremely upset and confused about this. No one improved! He becomes apathetic to it especially because he cannot personally watch everyone take their pills at the right time every time. As the drugs were distributed, people started to leave. It was a long day yet very rewarding. Maggie and I (you can only imagine the laughs we get when we tell groups of people that two white girls come from the same University have the same name) did not realize that if you didn’t bring food with you, you have no food. When we got back into town, we ate a Rolex in a matter of seconds. A Rolex is a street food they have here that they hand make in front of you. So they make a Chipate (basically a tortilla but with chopped onions in it) make an omelette and then put fresh cabbage, tomatoes, and carrots inside and roll it up like a wrap. It is actually delicious and very cheap (1,200-1,800 shillings = almost $1). 

On Wednesday I worked in the pharmacy. I counted pills all day to make sure that the proper dosage was there. The pharmacy is literally stocked up with medications for all ailments. I can’t say I had the most thrilling day but I knew what I was doing needed to get done and was important in the grande scheme of things; sometimes you have to do the boring stuff. After work, Maggie and I went to go meet our friends at a local bar because it was Ciara’s (another USF student on the trip) birthday! The bar is so cool, it is in a ditch-like spot where you walk down the stairs to get in but it is still outside. There is a pool table and tv playing as well as lukewarm beer. In Masaka, there tends to be a lot of power outages so you have to cope with warm beer. It was a lot of fun but I don’t like getting home when it is dark so I left earlyish before the sun went down completely. By the time I was 4-5 minutes away from my house, the sun was down and it was pitch black. By this time I know how to get to me house like the back of my hand so I wasn’t worried, plus I was in my village so I knew the people. The next day there was only one group going out on a CDDP which meant only one out of the five interns could go (there are three girls from the University of British Columbia, Canada). After a coin toss, It was decided I stayed and didn’t get to go. I did, however, get the opportunity to distribute drugs on-site which was equally as rewarding and not as tedious as counting pills in the pharmacy. By the afternoon, the pharmacy needed everyone to count pills as a stock check they do at the end of every month. So four of us counted endless amounts of pills until they were all done. 

When I got home from work, I began to feel extremely tired. As the night was going on, I began to feel nauseous and weak. I didn’t want to get off the couch and the thought of eating made me feel even more sick. I then realized something was wrong when I was dripping sweat but had to put a sweatshirt on because I was so cold. I told my host mom that I couldn’t eat dinner and I wasn’t feeling well. I went to bed but I could not sleep. I was sweating but cold but then I would get hot. I had the worst headache and nothing I did made anything better. The next morning I sat down with my host mom for breakfast. It was pouring rain out and the wind was cold but I sat there sweating in a tank top. She then touched me and goes, “you have Malaria. You are not going to work, go to the clinic.” I asked her if she was sure because I am taking anti-malaria pills and she told me that Malaria is so common and she sees it everyday that she knew what she was talking about. Instead of going to the clinic, which is supposedly notorious for saying everyone is positive with Malaria so they pay money for the pills, I went to TASO to go to the lab there and get pills at the pharmacy there; I knew all the people and I could even do the test myself because I was taught the Monday before. When I told people I think I have malaria they kinda laugh and asked if I ‘feared’ Malaria because it is something silly to fear. The medication is easy and manageable. This was the Friday we were leaving for Jinja so I wasn’t going to stay home while everyone went away. 

While the rest of the group paid 110,000 shillings (around $40) to get a private driver to drive them there, Maggie and I decided to be adventerous/save money and take their public transportation system for 18,000 shillings (about $9). That meant take a Coaster Bus to Kampala and then walk from the New Taxi Park to the Old Taxi Park and jump in a 15 passenger taxi car to Jinja and shout your destination. It was an experience to say the least. When we got to Jinja, Maggie and I asked a Boda Boda driver if he could take us to backpackers. After he dropped us off at a backpackers hostel, we realized that we got lucky he took us to the right one because there are a bunch in Jinja. It is exactly like a hostel in the States with a communal bathroom and shared rooms with bunk beds. There were so many other travelers that were there and you almost forget that you are in Africa because you become surrounded with so many white people. The worst was the pricing of everything. Here it is what we call Muzungu prices when we know it is cheaper, especially in Masaka, but they are charging us what we would pay for it in the states. An example, in Masaka a Boda ride costs 1,000 shillings but in Jinja they wanted to charge us 5,000 shillings. Laugh all you want because 5,000 is still not a lot BUT it becomes principle. The next day 5 people went rafting while three of us went horse riding along the nile. It was such a beautiful trail with amazing views and they even allowed us to trot and canter! After two hours of riding in the dead heat, we were ready to get off and shower. We walked to a bar and had a Nile Beer right on the Nile (yeah it was corny but I had to do it). To end our lovely weekend in Jinja, everyone decided this was a good place to experience a Ugandan club. It was interesting, to say the least, but nothing that is shocking that I had never seen in the States. They are extremely similar. I must say though, I was looking good in my moccasins, running pants, and long baggy red shirt with a sports bra on...classy club attire right there. The ride back to Masaka seemed faster than getting there (probably because I didn’t feel like death). Getting back to Masaka was nice because it made me realize how cute, tiny, and safe it is compared to Kampala. It did also make me realize that it was not as exciting as Jinja. 

Something interesting that I have been slowly picking up on is that Uganda seems to be a decade behind. Just the other night there was a news report that smoking is bad for your health. There was also a preview for the news and it said, “Watch tonight to see if swimming is actually good or bad for your health.” My initial reaction was like, oh no, what study came out saying its bad?? But when the news came on it had these two ladies saying that they try to swim for fun and they feel healthier....BAM breaking news that exercise increases your lifespan. In the newspaper, they call it something along the lines of “Lazy Lifestyle Syndrome.” It explains how you can prevent yourself from falling into the trap and you must eat less fried foods and start exercising. They said that diabetes was called the ‘rich people disease’ but is not creeping up on Africans who use fats to cook their food. I wonder if running will soon be ok and people won’t be laughed at? 

I am sure I am missing some interesting stuff but I don’t want you all to get bored. I will be a lot better at writing throughout the week so I can avoid these large chunks. I am fine though everyone, I am feeling 100%. I really appreciate everyone’s love and concern for me. I hope everyone knows that if there were anything terrible to happen that is not manageable, I would contact all my loved ones. I did get a spider bite last night that swelled up like a baseball on my arm, seriously the worst luck here. Well I hope everyone had a nice weekend and continues to relax. I miss you all and love you more!! I will put pictures up very soon!

All My Love from Masaka,

Maggie