Winter's coming in Canada, dry season coming in Gulu

I find myself back in Montreal, back at school and missing the sunshine in Gulu.  But you know the grass is always greener.  I'm quite sure if I was in Uganda at the moment, I'd probably be suffering in the sun as the dry season begins in the north of the country.  I've never had the chance to experience the hottest of days there or the cold winds blowing at night, but if rumors hold true, it really isn't the best season of the year.  I feel the same way about winter in Canada, minus the hot ofcourse.  And extra cold wind.

I was recently talking with some friends of mine in Gulu, ok to be fair it was in August, but I was discussing with them the challenge of explaining to people in Canada that my aspiration in Gulu is to one day own a house with a flushing toilet.  In Gulu if you have indoor plumbing you are doing pretty alright.  Maybe like having a hot tub in Canada?  I'm not sure.  But it's a status symbol, and a cultural security blanket I dearly miss some days.  I think I know maybe 4 or 5 people who have flushing toilets in Gulu, but trustly me I know where everyone that is marginally public, or at least accessible to white people, and I take full advantage of these every chance I get.  I don't want to say I plan my day around it, but it's kind of a big deal.  Especially on certain days.

I bring up the toilet because this inability to communicate about things too far outside one's culture go both ways.  Just as people in Montreal may shake their head that at my dream of a porcelain posterior rest, people in Gulu often shake their head in disbelief or confusion when I talk about Canada.  To begin no one quite understands that if white people are rich, as we are largely stereotyped to be, how come we don't own land?  Winter is another topic difficult to explain.  How do you tell people that you miss the sun, when they see it for the same amount of time every day?  The best proof I can offer is to bask excessively in it when I have the opportunity.  I have a running joke with several friends that I lay in the sun to charge my solar panels or maybe inverter, to keep me warm in the night.  Ugandans rarely are sitting or visiting in direct sun if they can avoid it.  If there is the shade people will use it.  Somehow I like so many other white people struggle to learn this message.  I justify that I have to make up for lost time because of Canadian winters.

Will I miss the changing of the seasons?  This is likely to be my last full winter in Canada for a couple years.  From this vantage point DEFINITELY NOT.  While the changing of the leaves is fun, and the smell of autumn unique, I don't enjoy seeing less and less sun, wearing more and more clothes, and spending more and more time indoors.  I love that in Uganda open shoes (known commonly as sandals or flip flops in Canada) can be worn 12 months of the year.  That shorts are not friends you get to see only 3 months a year.  I know snow is nice and all, I used to plan my life around access to it and mountains, but at the end of the day, I choose SUN.  Even if it means giving up a flushing toilet.
 

muzungu diary, entry 1

Blogging during the months of July - Nov 2011 was not much of a success.  I had technical problems accessing the blog from Uganda, as well I lost some of the motivation simply because in my daily life I was a lot less plugged in to the internet (or electricity of any kind) than I am when in Canada.

That said I still like the title for this blog as Thomas in Uganda since I will continue going to Uganda regularly ( I was there for 3 weeks fin Feb 2012 and will be back in 2013 to do research for my Masters). In the coming years I hope to spend more and more time in Uganda, for personal and professional reasons.

All that said, I'd like to share my own view of Uganda a little, especially in light of the fact that there is now such a buzz on the web about UG as a result of the Invisible Children media campaign 'Kony 2012'.  If you want to learn more there are tons of resources online and in print, so get informed and the best option of all: VISIT UGANDA.  I guarantee you will love it.

First Uganda despite being a small country is very diverse.  Geographically, economically and in terms of ethnicity the north is different from the west, central, south or east.This is in part a direct result of the insurgency by the LRA and other rebel groups, which has left the north less developed and has reinforced ethnic divides and mistrust. Since the end of hostilities and violence (2008 onwards) hundreds of abducted soldiers have returned from the bush and thousands have moved out of IDP camps in the northern districts. The reconciliation and re-integration of the community has been peaceful and successful largely due to the efforts of the Acholi religious leaders and elders. As an outsider I am always struck by the strength and ability to forgive of people I meet in Gulu, as the war affected so many and so many atrocities were committed by both sides fighting.

Today Gulu is a fast growing city, and the main access point to Southern Sudan.  This means there is a lot of business and money flowing through the area.  Also while many NGOs are re-locating out of Gulu as the emergency situation which saw night commuters, and incredibly high mortality rates in the camps, other business domestic and foreign.

In Western dollar terms the majority of the residents in Gulu live in poverty as they earn only $1-2 dollars / day on average, live without electricity or running water in their homes, and have limited access to quality, affordable medical care.  But the people there are very happy, and I would argue live a much healthier lifestyle in many ways than we do in Canada. Almost everyone has a garden where they or their family are able to grow a large amount of the food they eat.  When they eat meat most often it is a chicken they raise or buy live and slaughter. People eat an organic diet that makes a hundred mile or other western mindset look a joke.  And they know where their food comes from, always eat it fresh, and because of African hospitality and sense of community there are very few with nothing to eat.

My own plans are to live the majority of the next 5 to 10 years in Uganda.  I look forward to farming there, and also working with different individuals and groups to find innovative and integrated solutions to some of the many challenges that face the region.  School fees, maternal health, malaria and other treatable illnesses still kill children, are all major problems.  But people live in a dignified manner which seems so much more logical and natural than my own lifestyle in Canada.  The solutions to the most pressing problems are within the community, and so many people are moving towards developing and implementing them.  I look forward to learning so much in the years to come living in Uganda, and I hope that I can also share some of my own knowledge to help people all around the globe improve our interconnected communities.

Send me your comments or questions, and watch for more posts forth coming.  But don't only listen to some muzungu activist/academic.  Below are a few links for Ugandan media outlets, and I'm sure Google can help you find a million more. The more informed we can get and the more critical discussion we can generate, the closer we get to a deeper understanding of Uganda. 

Daily Monitor

http://www.monitor.co.ug/

New Vision Group

http://www.newvision.co.ug/

Uganda Pulse

http://www.ugpulse.com/

The East African

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/