Author Archives: scott

Sunday.

Posted on by

Sunday night, I was with Lisa and Ilaria when we got a text from Susan, who was in Kampala, that there were two explosions at clubs during the World Cup. From there we called everyone we could to make sure people were alright, but we knew very little and couldn’t get ahold of everyone.

Over the next 24 hours, it’s sunk in more and more. In the morning I found out that more than 50 people had been killed, and I got confirmation of what Lisa had speculated the night before – that al Shabaab had done it in retaliation for the AU troops in Somalia. It wasn’t until the early evening that Monica told me the restaurant hit was Ethiopian Village, her favorite restaurant and a place I probably would’ve visited before leaving. It was a while later that I found out that the one American killed, Nate Henn, was a former IC intern and was close to a lot of my friends. That’s also when I found out Tony had been with him. It wasn’t until Tuesday that I found out that Brian and Susan had been at a bar just 500 meters away from the rugby club.

The attack gradually sunk in more and more as the day went by. With internet only marginally working and running out of time on our phones, it was all I could do to make sure my parents and Kim knew I was okay.

It’s an eerie feeling, being here – even in far away Lira. I mean, when 9/11 hit I was thousands of miles away and had never been east of Missouri. I knew people who were in England during 7/7 and in Moscow during the train bombing earlier this year. For me, I had been in Kampala just seven days before, in the same area. If I had found myself in Kampala during the World Cup, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had found myself close to one of the two places hit. It’s surreal to know and think these things when you’re just a few hours away and know people who were directly affected. I’m glad I’m safe and everyone I know is safe, but my thoughts are with all of those who weren’t so lucky.

For those that are worried, I’m safe in Lira – a small, northern town that’s presumably not an attractive target to foreign militants concerned with mass gatherings. I’ll be remaining up north for the next few weeks, but will inevitably be in Kampala for at least a couple of days before my departure. For now, all is well in Lira town.

A Busy Weekend.

Posted on by

This last weekend was perhaps one of the best times I’ve had here, and it ended on one of the worst and saddest possible notes. A full post on Sunday night’s events will go up soon. Most of this is a post typed up as an e-mail draft throughout the weekend, my opinion of the weekend’s end has definitely shifted due to recent events.

Friday night started poorly, as my laptop charger literally exploded on me, and I started a four-day, $60 effort to get it fixed. I went to Brian and Susan’s house for a barbecue where I helped Brian with the cooking a little bit (and by “helped with cooking” I mean we used plates to fan the heck out of the coals) and hung out with them and Lisa and Alison. Some other guests were there but they generally weren’t that cool. I also got to meet Lisa’s friend Ilaria who came up from Kampala. All in all it was a lot of fun getting a chance just to hang out with friends.

I spent Saturday with Lisa, Ilaria, and Alison, and we met an American named Ben who was sharing the Sankofa balcony with us. Alison had tracked down her favorite local spirit – a brand of vodka that comes in a plastic bag. Needless to say, bags were being emptied into fantas all day (I naturally sipped at virgin cokes). Eventually, we ended up back at Lisa’s place drinking the night away while playing a new card game called shithead. It was a lot of fun, but I’m definitely not good at it (or at thinking proper) and was the four-time gracious loser.

Sunday was a nice adventure as I spent the day walking around town with Lisa and Ilaria before going with Alison back to Lisa’s and hanging out. We spent a lot of time talking about the whole process of going home and about development in general; it was really nice to talk to people and really get an idea of what people were thinking, even if my perspective was very different from their 12-18 month stays in-country. We went to dinner at Whiskers (and I’ve officially been to all 5 restaurants!) and watched the World Cup match there. All in all the weekend was a lot of fun and I’m glad I got to hang out with a great group of people and really got to talk about all sorts of things.

As the night wound down Lisa, Ilaria, and I quickly got news of the bombings in Kampala and tried to get ahold of as many people as possible. While Lisa and Ilaria made a few calls, I got ahold of Morris and George, but couldn’t get ahold of Tony. Brian and Susan had been the ones that informed us, so we knew that they were safe.

School’s In For Summer

Posted on by

Typed on the 7th of July

Tuesday marked the beginning of the second five-week session of summer school at ASU.  For the first time since driver’s ed, I’m taking summer school!  Going into this summer, I was worried about whether or not I’d be able to pull off overseas adventures and interning with fast-paced classes.  The main motivator behind signing up was to clear the field for this fall semester’s schedule.  So, I’m fulfilling my internship but also taking a class on the history of exploration and imperialism and another on the culture of teaching.

The history one is looking a bit intimidating, like all history courses. Lots of reading, lots of papers.  In the five weeks of class I am to read four books and write five papers.  I got some heads up on the reading and have been chipping away at book #1, and on the first day of class I actually started and finished my first paper (due next week).  I’ve never been very good at keeping up with online classes during the actual school year, so I was hoping that the environment here would be more accommodating for it, but regardless I resolved to get started quickly and do everything as soon as possible.

The education class is pretty up in the air.  Like most education classes, it seems like a breeze.  It shouldn’t be too intensive, but the number of assignments is a lot bigger, albeit probably made up of easier work.  I’m just hoping to stay on the ball and get everything done and out of the way.  I have a few days to decide if anything is too much and I can kick a class off, but as of right now I don’t intend on doing so.  Ideally, I’ll get these out of the way and free up an already busy schedule this fall.  We’ll see how it goes!

Back in Lira

Posted on by

So, all of my posts from Adventure Week have been posted, many with pictures!  I’m back and settled in Lira for now.  Things at work are unfortunately right where I left them – with nothing to do.  The passed week was a really busy whirlwind, but I really enjoyed it despite several parts of it going wrong.  All told, I spent 7 days in 5 cities in 2 countries.  I spent way more money than I anticipated and the trip lasted moved one or two days later than it meant to. I also got to meet up with all three of my friends in Kampala, got to meet Jacob and see the IC office in Gulu, visited two genocide memorials in Kigali, hung out with Alison in two cities, met a group of cool Americans, saw fireworks.  I also rode in two company cars, one private hire taxi, four buses, about a dozen matatus and two dozen bodas, along with two dugout canoes and a speedboat.  I spent four nights in hotels, two on buses, and one in a friend’s room.

For the visually inclined, here’s a map of my travel!  As a caption I decided to sum up my trip via links to older blog posts, which is completely unnecessary.  This is much more for me to put things in order, but you can enjoy the map if you’d like!

A ( behind the H) – Lira town, Uganda. Started Adventure Week with a ride in the ACF car with Maxwell.

B – Gulu town, Uganda.  Hung out in a cafe and met Jacob the first night, and visited the IC office and had lunch with Alison.

C (behind the G) – Kampala, Uganda.  Literally sat in a bus station for three hours, and then was off again.

D – Katuna, Kabale District, Uganda & Gatuna, Rwanda.  Spent a long time going through immigration.

E – Kigali, Rwanda.  The first day was mostly going to banks and checking into a hotel. The second day was a national holiday, but the third I turned into an intense memorial day.

F – Lake Bunyonyi & Kabale town, Kabale district, Uganda.  After a boda-bus-boda-speedboat connection, I spent a day at Lake Bunyonyi canoeing and lounging about.

G – Kampala, Uganda.  Spent a little over 24 hours in the capital meeting friends and celebrating the 4th of July.

Fireworks!

Posted on by

Typed on the evening of the 5th back home in Lira.

Yesterday was a busy, busy day.  I tried to see everyone I could, which resulted in saying hi to George when I woke up before flying across the city to Nando’s, a food court I had never visited while in the city before.  After having a bite to eat, I walked to Garden City – a big shopping mall, and called Tony on my way to meet up.  Wandered a little bit before meeting up with Tony for a drink.  Tony is one of the Rough Cut boys from Invisible Children, and I hadn’t seen him since he came to ASU as a part of the Legacy Tour last fall, so it was really nice to catch up.

From there I got a call from Alison, who also happened to be in the city, and Tony and I went to a cafe next to Nakumatt to meet her and her friends (a group of girls from Jefferson University who were staying with the same mutual friend as Alison).  From there I made my way back across town to Wandegeya and met up with Morris for a bit.  All in all a very back-and-forth day but I’m so glad I got to see everyone – the only people I didn’t get to see were the NACWOLA group in Nsambya but I will do that before I leave!

In the evening I joined up with Alison, Ross (her friend in Kampala), Tina, Anne, Shari (Jefferson group), and a girl named Kristin from Minnesota (all staying with Ross) and made our way to the American Recreation Association for the 4th of July party.  We laid a blanket out on the lawn and saw some local tribal drummers which was pretty cool.  After that we grabbed a bite to eat – and that was small boiled hot dogs which was a little disappointing.  Regardless, I still had three hotdogs and my fair share of soda.  Then there was a presentation by a crew of children, presumably of expats.  Not only did they do the Virginia Reel (a variation of the square dance, apparently) and sing “God Bless America,” but they also recited their oath and their code.  It was surreal.  The fact that the oath included a praise to “our lord and savior” didn’t help.  It seemed really out of place.  Afterwards they brought out the expected giant American flag cake, which turned out to be less than savory according to Anne but I didn’t have any. That said, I had a lot of fun hanging out with the girls (Ross inexplicably vanished and then would return with a drink and then vanish again) and getting to know everyone.  Kristin was doing a data study on (i think) meningitis.  The girls from Jefferson were working on a project (Rotary-funded!) to bring motorcycle ambulances to a small village in the country.  And after some so-so performances, a group of local dancers and drummers came out and put on a really good show.  My camera was dying I was able to get a few gems:

Finally, the big show!  At 8 o’clock (which seemed early to me but it was definitely dark enough) the fireworks started firing.  I was pleasantly surprised at how long the show lasted and how big some of the firework displays were.  I used up my camera in the final minutes of the show:

My friends, enamored by fireworks!

The gals: Shari, Tina, Kristin, Alison, Anne

The Lake

Posted on by

Typed on the 4th of July at Nando’s in Kampala.

Friday night I rolled into Kabale later than anticipated.  Because of the lateness, things got a little expensive: I took a boda across and out of town and then up and around some mountains (cold, cold wind!) before getting to Rutinda, the lakeside area.  I got to the Byoona Amagara dock and called the hotel at which I had reserved a room.  Due to the late hour I had to pay for a speedboat to come get me, which sucked and ended up almost doubling my bill :(

But!  The ride to the island was so, so neat.  It was a cold night (most nights are cold since it’s so high up) but I could see so, so many stars in the sky and I could make out the shapes of different islands as we skipped by on the water. It was really a neat sight.  That night I just settled into my room (a big dormitory of 12 beds, but I was the only visitor in the room) and tried to use my computer for a bit (no electricity) before going to bed.  But I woke up to quite the view: This lake (and specifically this hotel) had been recommended by too many people for me to resist it.  Heidi said it was the one place I had to go. Alison said it was her favorite spot in the country.  Erik just came back and said it was really nice.  So, I made it.  After failing to communicate with the outside world (computer died, phone was out of airtime, and the hotel’s internet sucked), I hired a canoe and threw caution to the wind.  I knew that A. I had not canoed since like five or six years ago in Durango, 2. I had not brought sunscreen and the sun might kill me on the lake, and III. The winds had caused some movement in the water that I might not handle.  That said, I spent a little bit of time rowing in circles and corkscrews before trying to paddle my way around.  Here are some pictures of one of the prettiest places I’ve seen in a long time:

I finally set my sights on a particular goal: Akampene Island.  Looking at the map, it was about 1.5km for a straight and narrow pilot, and I definitely was not one.  Plus, once I started really getting the hang of things and making some headway, I emerged from the cover of Bwama Island (the biggest island on the lake) and got stalled by winds and waves.  I struggled for a good two hours to get as close to the island as possible and got this picture before letting the current take me eastward.  This is Akampene Island.

Punishment Island, with its one tree.

It blends in with the background a little, but it’s just a patch of grass with one tree on it.  It was where the locals sent the unmarried pregnant girls.  It’s got one tree and looks to be a pretty lonely punishment. Just halfway out, I was getting pretty sunburned.  I ended up wrapping my washcloth around whichever arm was more in the sun as I rowed, and as I moved into my fifth hour on the water I booked it to the hotel.  As I arrived a group of four were getting lunch while I checked out.  After resting a bit, I grabbed all of my bags and headed right back out on the water where one of the hotel staff and I rowed back to Rutinda.

At the dock I met a TON of people arriving for the weekend, I guess I missed a very packed hotel!  Headed back to Kabale and walked around town a bit.  I tried to find a bus, but the soonest one to Kampala originating in Kabale wasn’t for until 11pm (5 hours away) so I decided to flag down a bus from Rwanda.  Grabbed a quick bite to eat before standing by the junction and I found a guy who called a Kampala-bound bus driver and made sure there was a seat.  In the end, I left 4 hours earlier and saved 5000 shillings so it was a victory.  Ill-planned, though, I arrived in Kampala at 5 in the morning and snuck into George’s place and, back in the city, took a nap until sunrise.

Remembering

Posted on by

Typed on the 2nd of July at Bourbon Coffee Shop (with the internet down).

So, today was a day that I had been anticipating for, well for a few years now. I had in mind two goals, two places I wanted to go. First was the Kigali Memorial Center, the city’s memorial of the 1994 genocide and an exhibit about other genocides in history. It was really interesting and really informative, which is what I expected. The exhibits were split into Rwanda before, during, and after the genocide and addressed issues like ethnic divisions and justice after the war. Here are some pictures from the memorial.

But the thing that loomed ahead was the memorial I had wanted to see since I first read about the incident a couple of years ago. The church in Nyamata.  In early April of 1994, when the genocide first began after the President’s plane was shot down, thousands of Tutsis fled to the church in Nyamata.  They were safe for a couple of days before the Interahamwe militia broke down the gates and lobbed grenades at the church before using guns and machetes to kill those inside.  I’ve heard figures of up to 10,000 victims.  It’s something difficult to imagine, and seeing the memorial was something that really struck a chord.

So after a half hour matatu-ride and a short trip on a bicycle, I got to the church. It was a simply brick building with a serene lawn, with everything draped in purple and white flags. I walked in and immediately was taken aback by the pews. Each pew in the church was covered in piles of clothes – the clothes of the victims. The clothes were also scattered all over the floor throughout the church.

From here I went into the vault immediately under the church. Here there was a three-tier shelf that laid it all out for me. The very bottom was a casket draped in white cloth. Above that was a shelf with row after row of skulls. In the center were some bracelets and identification cards (each of which said “Tutsi” on it). The top tier, just about at eye level, was a pile of bones – femurs to scapulas to ribs, laid bare. I knew the memorial was displayed like this, but I was still a little on the defensive, and when I saw that someone had scribbled a name onto one of the skulls I got weepy. After reflecting for a bit I got out of the church.

After walking out of the church I faced the most daunting task – the mass grave behind the church. First, there was a grave for an Italian humanitarian worker beside the church – she had warned about the impending genocide and called on people to intervene before she was killed. Behind the church were two large slabs of stone marking the grave. Each one had a staircase that led underground to the tombs. Inside were stacks of caskets (each with the bodies of far more than one victim), shelves lined with hundreds of skulls and bones, and dozens of purple and white flags. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but you at least know what you’ll see.

Needless to say, it’s a powerful statement, seeing these reminders of the genocide.  It is such a different idea of remembrance that we have at home, and it’s such a different way of addressing an issue like this. It definitely brings out emotion, and if you’re like me it just makes you think that the event this church represents isn’t a solitary event. This happened all over the country in 1994, and things like it have happened around the globe in the passed century. Seeing the memorial was something I had to do, and I think it’s something that will stick with me for a long, long time.

Why is July 4th Important?

Posted on by

On our way to the 4th of July party yesterday, a friend-of-a-friend was explaining to our driver why the 4th of July was important.  The driver was trying to figure out why we celebrated a day that we signed a paper on not the day the the Revolutionary War ended.  A few hours later I saw a friend’s facebook status explaining that we didn’t become an independent nation until years later.  So, why is July 4th, 1776 so important?

Yes, the Revolutionary War didn’t end until late 1781 with the Battle of Yorktown.  Correct, the Constitution (the law of the land) was not ratified until 1787.  True, George Washington didn’t take office until 1789.  But on July 4th, 1776 we made a statement that meant more than just “we’re independent.”  Even though it would be a decade before our country had a real government and decades still before this government could stand up on its own, 1776 was the birth of our nation in a totally different sense.

The Declaration of Independence isn’t like any other out there.  Many declarations simply cite that one group of people no longer wish to be under the rule of another and wish to separate and be, well, independent.  But our Declaration didn’t say the people in the thirteen colonies were claiming independence from Britain.

More than that, our declaration states that when any government mistreats its people, that it is the right (and duty) of the governed to fix or change that government.  Only after making this bold statement does the declaration go into why the colonists sought separation from England by listing grievances “to a candid world.”  Maybe it’s the freedom-loving side of me or the historian side, even the human rights side, but I’m pretty sure our declaration brought about a sea change in the relationship between the government and the governed and I think it is great that we can celebrate that – it’s not just the literal independence from a foreign ruler, which didn’t take place for another five years.  It’s the celebration of a new idea for the world.  I’d light a few fireworks for that.

Winding Down

Posted on by

So, I have a lot to post about, I know.  My week-long hiatus has been a busy one and only periodically had decent internet, but I’ve accumulated a fair number of posts that need some pictures.  On my last day in Kigali I saw some pretty eye-opening things, Lake Bunyonyi was really pretty, and I got to celebrate the 4th with a lawnful of Americans.

All in all, it’s been good.  I got to meet a lot of people and see a lot of things.  I’ve spent over 500,000 Shillings – but I blame Rwanda and modes of transportation for that bit.  I’ve also spent about 32 hours on buses and 2 hours in an NGO vehicle (going to add a good 5 or so to that figure today).  I’ve spent four nights sleeping in hotels, two nights sleeping on buses, and one night sleeping in George’s bed.  I’ve been on too many bodas to remember, and a handful of matatus to boot.  But!  The Lira>Gulu>Kampala>Kigali>Nyamata>Kigali>Lake Bunyonyi>Kabale>Kampala>Lira sequence has almost run its course.

Hopefully I’ll toss up a few blog posts soon enough and you can look at pictures.  Happy Fourth of July to all you American readers out there! And happy 4-5/7/10 to everyone else.

Rwanda: Take Two

Posted on by

So, today was my second try and doing things in Rwanda, and it turned out to fail just as much as yesterday did.

Yesterday, I was delayed several hours and planned poorly in regards to money.  Today, well I planned poorly in regards to today being National Day.

My plans for today included a post office, two hotels, a couple of matatu rides and two memorials.  I did almost none of these things.  After stopping off at Bourbon Coffee Shop for some internet and eggs, I headed to the post office.  First of all, the post office is no longer there even though my map is relatively new.  Second of all, the post office – had it been there – was closed for National Day.  So, giving up on mailing things, I walked down the street to see if a well-regarded bookstore, the Libaire Caritas, was where it should be.  It was, but it wasn’t open.

Not to be bested by a public holiday, I set out to… wander.  I was going through the sort of second-guessing bad-thoughts about what could’ve been had I left Gulu earlier or taken a different bus from Kampala, but after some moping I sucked it up and went to a tourism center to ask if the Kigali Genocide Memorial would be open on a public holiday.  The tourism guy told me it was definitely closed, but said if I wanted to try I could go and monetarily persuade them to let me in.  Tried, but never even got around to it before being told to come back tomorrow.  Bummed, I thought about the odds of the Nyamata or Natarama church memorials being open and instead decided to visit the Hotel des Mille Collines (of Hotel Rwanda and An Ordinary Man fame).  After sipping an expensive soda at a really fancy hotel, I talked to one of the clerks who told me the churches might be open since they were out of town.

So, I set off to check in at a hotel and drop some weight off before heading out to Nyamata.  I had originally been unsure about how many nights I’d be in Kigali, and when I decided on staying another night I thought I’d try the Hotel Kigali instead of the Auberge les Caverne (where I stayed last night) because it seemed just as nice but a lot cheaper.  Except it didn’t exist anywhere along the road it was supposed to be on.  Defeated, I headed back to Auberge…. which was full.  I ended up finding accommodations at the Hotel Garden City, which cost even more than Auberge – ironic. no?  After checking in I pretty much collapsed on my bed and fell asleep after about 5 hours of walking with two bags on my shoulders.  Woke up annoyed by my nap, but determined to make it to Nyamata.

I was determined and juzzed for the trip, and booked it to the bus park at Nyabugogo.  Arrived, tracked down the matatu I needed, and got in.  It was less than half-empty (see that pessimism there?).  So I waited and waited.  While waiting, I started playing out numbers in my head.  It was almost 5.  It takes 30 minutes or so to get to Nyamata.  I didn’t know how frequently buses went from Nyamata to Kigali.  I didn’t even know if the church was open.  After racking my brain of scenarios that included waiting for a matatu in an unfamiliar town where nobody speaks English after dark, I lost my mojo and bailed.  Went to a fancy restaurant run by a Belgian expat and then booked it over here to the coffee shop.

Tomorrow has been planned thus: Breakfast.  Bank.  Kigali Memorial.  Bus to Nyamata or Natarama.  See chosen church memorial.  Bus back to Kigali.  Lunch at New Cactus.  Bus to Uganda.  I sure hope it all works out.  At least I got to sip a coke at the Mille Collines today.