Not Just Educational, but Inspirational

Wow! What a day! I really wish I could begin to describe the numerous emotions and all of the information that was experienced and taken in today.

My morning started with getting up shortly after seven and going through the routine of getting ready. Not only did my alarm wake me up, but so did the chicken crows. They are so loud in the morning. We had the bus loaded by 8, and it was off to MUBS for breakfast. I had my usual toast. Definitely not very exciting.

At 9:30am, all of the students on the trip that are pharmacy majors, there are 5 total, left MUBS to  go visit the Pharmacy Society of Uganda, or PSU. PSU is a professional pharmacy organization that is in charge of regulating the curriculum and profession of pharmacy.

It was an extremely enlightening and interesting hour that we got to spend with the secretary of the organization. We learned about some of the requirements for pharmacy students in Uganda, how they become licensed in Uganda, and we went over some of the regulations. It turns out that there is a National Drug Administration here, which is comparable to the FDA in the United States. The differences you may ask? We are actually forced to abide by the rules and legislation that the FDA comes up with, the NDA, not so much. We were told today that many of the rules and regulations are broken all of the time because of the limited amount of resources.

We also learned that there are a total of about 300 pharmacists in Uganda, so each one is allowed to own or work at two shops, or what we would consider retail or community pharmacy. They must spend 20 hours a week in each shop, and during the rest of the time pharmacy technicians, nurses or nursing students run their shop. However, many pharmacists abuse this system by saying they are at the other shop when called, and in actuality they are at neither shop. Because there are so few pharmacists in the country, the secretary told us that many pharmacists have a poor work ethic. They are hoping to see it improve in the next few years since they are now up to having about 100 pharmacy graduates a year.

Pharmacists here have pretty much the same areas that they can go into after they graduate. The main difference is if a pharmacists goes into a hospital setting they are mostly in charge of ordering the prescriptions and making sure that they are what it is actually suppose to be since drugs are tampered with a lot, to make the strength lower or even more like taking a placebo instead of the correct dosage. We were told that some private hospitals are working on having more of a clinical pharmacist, but it is a slow growing area.

There was so much more that we learned and experienced in that short amount of time, but I don’t want to bore you all with my nerdiness. Yes, I took 3 pages of notes during our short visit. Yes, I loved every single minute of it. Yes, I made sure I soaked it all in.

Next it was off to actually see a community pharmacy that is in a urban setting. Trust me, it’s a lot different from the rural one I visited earlier in the week ;) It was really neat to get to see. This pharmacy actually had some prescription medications at it, and they enforced the need to have a prescription to get them. They also had a lot of over the counter medications as well. However, everything was stocked so that you needed the help of one of the workers to get anything.

Lunch today was at MUBS and consisted of rice and noodles. It was good and was plenty for me since my stomach decided to start churning a little bit before lunch.

After lunch it was off to visit The AIDS Support Organization, also known as TASO. This was the most incredible experience. We not only got to hear about how the organization got started and how HIV is being treated in the country now, but we got to hear their drama group perform. This group is made up of TASO volunteers, most of who are HIV positive. The group goes around performing at different functions and areas, including schools, education the public about HIV/AIDS. They did a great job! I was extremely impressed. In fact, the last song they performed today made me cry.

The organization is doing such a great thing. The drama group members introduced themselves towards the end of their presentation, and I was shocked to learn that some of them had been living with HIV since 1990! 21 years, and they seemed to be doing really well. They are definitely beating some of the negative stigmas that still can be heard at times in Uganda. They were extremely inspirational, and their music was very well put together and touching. Not to mention that is very informative. Their biggest mission at TASO is to make sure that someone who gets HIV doesn’t give up hope, and they are doing a fantastic job of it!

With renewed spirits and full of hope for HIV victims of the future, we left TASO behind to go exchange money again for those who needed to. Then it was off to a shop to buy soccer jerseys for the upcoming soccer game. Since I’m not a soccer fan, and I don’t follow the sport, I passed.

We ate supper tonight at Faze 2, which was a mixed restaurant with lots of different food choices. I had chicken in a basket because I’m missing food from home now. I’m starting to get tired of the same foods over and over. It was really good. After a couple of hours there it was back to Red Chili for the night where I will work on my journals and packing for the next couple of days.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Murchison Falls National Park. We will be traveling pretty much all day to get there. Apparently we sleep in something similar to tents while we are there. The next day we will be going on a game drive in the morning, and the afternoon will consist of a boat tour of the area. I’m really looking forward to it, and finally getting a chance to see some of the wildlife that most people expect to see when they think of Africa. Friday will consist of the drive back.

I will have my computer while we are there, but I am not sure how much internet access we will have. I’m in charge of the blog that our class is doing, so I’m hoping the internet is good enough that I am able to get at least that blog post up for the day. I will still make sure I have my blogs written out, and I will post them as soon as I get a chance.

So until then, I leave you with this….

A Day of Rights and Royalty...Plus Homemade Chapatti

The day began with me getting up at 7:15. We left for breakfast at MUBS, and once again it was toast for me. I'm definitely starting to fight a cold, and toast seemed completely appropriate.

Once we were done with breakfast, it was off to visit the Human Rights organization. It was really interesting. They are really underfunded, and they said sometimes it can be really hard to advocate for different rights. This is because the country is really Christian, and therefore, fighting for certain rights tends to clash with some of the country's religious beliefs and values. This is especially seen in the new fight for equality with homosexuals. It isn't going well right now, and the organization is really struggling on how to help without going against the beliefs of the country.

However, they also fight for a lot of other groups. They are also fighting for women and children, and they recently went to court for better rights for prisoners, especially with fighting the death penalty. It was an extremely interesting morning, and we got to learn a lot about some of the social issues plaguing Uganda. We also learned how the Inspector General of Government is viewed by those fighting for human rights. They often think that he targets the 'small fish' instead of going for the 'big fish' of corruption. They want them to go for the 'bigger fish' because that will lead to more discouragement of committing corruption, which is making fighting for some rights even harder.

Of course, while visiting the Human Rights organization, I got a bloody nose and had to leave for a little bit. Super embarrassing. This cold really isn't cooperating with me at all. Oh well, I'm fine, just working on getting over the sniffles, cough and sore throat.

(A picture of most of the group in front of the Human Rights Organization's building)

We had lunch at MUBS today, which consisted of chicken, rice and chapatti. Yummy. After lunch it was off to visit the Buganda Parliament. Buganda is one of the five districts in Uganda. It is then divided into 56 tribes. It was originally it's own area, and it had a king. The kingdom was no longer allowed to rule in 1966, but it was reestablished in 1993. There was a huge celebration in the Buganda kingdom when the King was restored to power. It is extremely hard for me to comprehend having a kingdom within a democracy, but they work together to make sure everything runs smoothly.

(My lunch)

All national rules apply, and the King often helps to enforce rule or new ideas by telling his people to do them. However, there is some conflict among the government and the Buganda kingdom since the government hasn't returned all of the original land that was part of the kingdom since it has been reinstated. They said they were working to overcome this conflict. We learned some fun facts about Buganda and Uganda too.

When we first arrived at the parliament some of the students on the trip had on sandals because we didn't pack a lot of different shoes. We learned that they did not allow sandals to enter in the parliament if they were rubber because those are thought to be used as shower shoes here. However, they were allowed to enter as long as they removed their shoes. Apparently entering barefoot was better than entering with rubber sandals. It was a little funny, but really frustrating as well.

(The Buganda Parliament is behind the statue, but the statue is of the current King when he was first put into power in 1993 after the long break.)

It was an early night, so we invited the MUBS students over, and they volunteered to help us learn to make chapatti. We spent the next few hours learning how to make what is probably my favorite dish here. It was a lot of fun. Sadly, I don't have pictures of it. I was busy learning how to make it, watching closely and taking notes. (Don't worry Mom, others got pictures instead.)

Then it was supper at Red Chili after the chapatti since it was more of an appetizer. I had a hamburger. It was not nearly as good as any hamburger that I have ever had at home. I'm definitely looking forward to some "American" food when I get home.

I apologize for the short post, but today we really didn't do a lot.

So until next time, I leave you with this...

(This trip is definitely wearing us down. So I had to capture Evelyn while she was catching some zzz's on the bus :)

Seeing Each Other As Equals

Today started later than the past few days. I got up around 7:00 this morning, and we left for MUBS and breakfast around 7:45. Breakfast this morning consisted of the usual toast and a donut. It was a plain donut, but the donuts here are more like a mix between donuts and croissants. It was actually pretty good, and it was nice to mix it up a little bit ;)

After a different breakfast, we went to a grocery store to pick up snacks for lunch today because we were suppose to meet the Chairman of the Board of MUBS for a late lunch early dinner. The grocery store was 2 stories and had an escalator that was just a moving ramp to the 2^nd floor, which was very convenient for shopping carts and people with strollers.

(The escalator and some of the grocery store.)

We quickly got our groceries, and we left for SURE, a school for disadvantaged children. This school has 302 students, and 100 of the students have some kind of special need or disability. They are working hard to make the community more aware of disabilities and that they are not bad. This organization works hard to give these kids a place to live and a primary education. They receive funds by having an inclusion program. There are 3 “normal” kids to every 1 “disabled” child. The 3 “normal” students pay, and the disabled children attend the school for free. This is because the students with disabilities are usually from poor areas and are unable to afford the tuition. The children there were absolutely precious, and it was extremely touching to see that the kids that were “normal” were able to see past all of the disabilities.

(This picture was drawn by a partially blind girl. It was absolutely phenomenal!)

SURE is working hard to inform Uganda that disabilities are not contagious because it is a common misconception in this area. They are also trying to inform the citizens of the advantages of employing people with disabilities. In Uganda, your company can receive a tax cut for employing a certain amount of disabled people. The school not only provides a nursery level education, similar to a preschool education, but also a primary level education. Like at City Secondary School, the kids are also taught numerous different skills that can help them in the future such as cooking and tailoring. This way if they are unable to continue through all of their secondary education or do not make it to university they still have skills that they can use the rest of life and make money from.

(She was one of the students, and she was absolutely adorable :)

The children there were absolutely ecstatic to see us, and they loved the candy we had to offer them. They also adored having their picture taken and then getting to see the picture afterwards. We realized today, they especially like seeing the picture after because many of them do not have mirrors to look into, so they don’t really know exactly what they look like. It’s amazing what we take for granted back in the United States. There are numerous ways for us to be able to check and see what we look like everyday.

(Gathering around Dr. Bishop for candy)

After SURE, we headed to the shores of Lake Victoria, where we enjoyed the snacks we had purchased at the grocery store earlier. We also took numerous pictures of ourselves in front of the largest lake in the world. It was absolutely beautiful, and it expanded for what felt like forever. It’s really hard to say exactly how far it went on for since we couldn’t see the other side of the lake.

(The girls I'm rooming with here)

Next it was off to the Chairman’s country home. In order to get there, we had to take what we later learned was called Drake Boulevard. Sadly, Drake Boulevard is in BAD shape. If you think some of the potholes in the states are bad, they are no where near the condition of some of the roads we have driven on. It was all clay, and of course the day had started out in rain, which definitely didn’t help the road conditions. We got stuck at one point, so a lot of us got off the bus and walked to the house to make it easier for the bus to travel up the road.

(Drake Boulevard, and the hole we attempted to pass through.)

The Chairman’s house was absolutely gorgeous. He had the biggest lawn I have seen yet, and he said he owned 5 acres. However, a majority of his 5 aces was farmland, which seems to be really typical in Uganda. They are trying to be self-sufficient by growing a lot of the food they use in day-to-day life. He said if he wanted to he could easily live off of his crops for a month without having to go into town. How many of you can say that? I know I can’t. His 2-story house had an amazing view of Lake Victoria, and I had to seriously consider if I actually wanted to go back to the US. (Mom, you said you’d be willing to travel to wherever I am, so I hope you mean it ;) The view from his 2nd story balcony was even better though. Once again, I wish my pictures captured the true beauty of seeing it in person. It was absolutely breath taking.

(Breath taking view of Lake Victoria. Not even close to the true beauty.)

(Definitely took advantage of the swings for a little relaxation.)

We had what ended up being a fairly normal supper (by eating at what would be considered a ‘normal’ supper time). Tonight supper consisted of rice, potatoes and chicken for me. I was extremely disappointed to discover they were out of chapatti by the time I got to the serving area. Chapatti is quickly becoming one of my favorite foods here, so I’m really excited that some of the MUBS students are coming to Red Chili tomorrow to teach us how to make it. They are also providing us with the recipe, so I plan on making it at home sometime too.

(Supper tonight)

After supper, we just spent the next few hours just enjoying the view and each other’s company. Toward the end of the visit, we played some childhood Ugandan games that the MUBS students taught us. They were a lot of fun.

The ride back down Drake Boulevard was definitely an interesting one. There was one point the bus was so far into a crevice in the road we all seriously questioned whether the bus was going to roll over. This all made us think back to a comment the Chairman had made earlier in the night. He told us that if he wanted to donate the money to fix the road he wouldn’t be allowed to because it’s the government that is in charge of infrastructure, and they fix roads when they have the time, also known as when they feel like it. Otherwise, the ride wasn’t real eventful. Now it’s back at Red Chili for the night and writing in journals.

We are down to one Internet modem (stick) for 4 cabins, so our cabin, which usually shares a Wi-Fi connection with another cabin, didn’t get Internet tonight. We have to write a blog daily, and one of the other cabins needed the Internet so one of their members could write their blog entry for the class. So once again, I apologize for the lateness of this. I promise I’m writing these daily, I just don’t get to post daily anymore.

Tomorrow we are going to a talk about Human Rights and then it’s off to visit the Buganda Parliament. Buganda is one of the districts in Uganda, so it is similar to a state in the United States.

So until I am able to get another post up, I leave you with this…

(I definitely look like a muzungu (white person), but they loved having their picture taken, and I couldn't say no.)

Is This Iowa...?

Yep, today was our rural visit. We got to visit a farm, so I felt like I was practically home, except for a few crop differences :) But all that really mattered was there was maize (corn), so it was just like being back in Iowa....kind of :)

Last night I went to bed at 10 pm, the earliest since I've been in Uganda, with what I think might have been a fever. At 5:30 am I woke up sweating and had to remove my sweatpants and sweatshirt to help cool down, but I was glad to feel less feverish. 45 minutes later I was getting ready for the day.

We loaded the bus for breakfast at MUBS at 6:45, and we left MUBS right before 8 to get going to the farm that we would be visiting. After and hour and a half of driving we arrived at the farm. The farm belonged to a man named John. The next three hours were spent getting a tour of his 10-acre farm. He farms it all by hand.

(This is John, one of the farmers, showing us a coffee plant. This is the cash crop in the Kampala region.)

In Uganda, they are constantly keeping crops planted due to the climate and temperatures here. They are also much better at crop rotating than we are in the United States to keep the soil as fertile as possible. They use an extremely limited number of pesticides and other chemicals on their fields. In fact, they try to keep it as natural as possible. Around some plants they plant or place extremely hot peppers around the plants because when the insects come they get to the peppers first and it completely drives them away from any other plant because of how hot the peppers are.

(The hot peppers they planted around to keep bugs away. Great natural pesticide!)

They also plant certain crops in certain areas. They plant coffee, Jack fruit trees, avocado trees, and banana trees in the dried soil, while they plant tomatoes, cabbage, maize (corn), and ground nuts in wetter soil. This means that they don't have to irrigate fields or destroy the land to make it work for them. Instead they work with the land and try to keep it as natural as possible, allowing dry areas to remain dry and wet lands to remain wetlands.

(Once again, I couldn't resist. Got to love reminders of corn! Who would have thought it would be in Africa? Definitely not this girl.)

I absolutely loved getting a tour of the farm. However, after walking around in the hot sun for 3 hours it was nice to get to enjoy some shade and try some Jack fruit. It was really sweet and extremely messy to eat. I was happy to try it, but it's not something I'd eat on a regular basis, not to mention I haven't ever heard of it being sold in the United States before.

(Jack fruit)

We also gathered for discussion as we cooled of in the shade with our snack. Then it was off to the village for some water a few more different fruits before we tackled a project for the village. We were to paint their town meeting place. We were all excited about helping and couldn't wait to get started. It was a lot of fun, and it felt really good to be helping the village out. They definitely showed a great amount of appreciation.

(This is the building that we helped paint today.)

After painting, we went back to John's house for lunch. I ate white and brown rice, a little chicken and potatoes. After lunch, we had a more formal discussion, and we were given the opportunity to ask questions about the farm.

(Lunch today. Yummy!)

Then it was off to tour the village. We brought candy with us, and the kids knew it. They came in swarms to get the candy from us. I couldn't believe it! They also tried to be really sneaky and hide the candy you had already given them to get more.

During the tour of the village we found a pharmacy, and we got the chance to go 'in'! It was really exciting. I was surprised at how little they stocked. Most of it would be considered over the counter products in the US. They didn't appear to have anything that would need a prescription for filling. However, they also told us that usually if it comes to needing a prescription, which you usually don't need to get medicine in Uganda (only for certain drugs), the person usually visits the hospital for that kind of medication. So if you wanted to fill any kind of medicine that we would require a prescription for you would need to visit the nearest hospital.

We also got to go into a clinic that is also a mini pharmacy. Once again, I was shocked at how little they had on hand. Here we learned the closest hospital is 10 kilometers away. The clinic was also the village’s birthing center. We got to have a tour of the building. There were chickens running around in it! Could you imagine having a chicken running around your clinic back home?! I'm more than certain that I wouldn't be going back anytime soon, and I would seriously consider how safe that clinic was. However, here it is all they know, and they seem fine and content with it. I was just grateful for the opportunity to get to see what a clinic and village pharmacy was like. It was really neat and truly very interesting and enlightening.

(One of the two pharmacies that we visited. Not the greatest picture, but it gives a good overview of how small and limited the supplies are.)

We then left to head back to Kampala for supper at an Italian restaurant. I had spaghetti. We even got to have dessert because at this restaurant they served gelato! It was my first experience with gelato, and it was absolutely delicious!

(My spaghetti. Delicious!!)

(Me with my first gelato. It was amazing!)

We're having Internet troubles yet again, so once again I apologize for the lateness of this post.

Tomorrow we're visiting SURE, a school for the disabled, and in the afternoon, we are visiting the chairman of the board at MUBS at his country home. It ought to be quite a day. I know I'm excited.

So until then, I leave you with this...

(Yep, I saw a real live chameleon today. It was awesome. However, they change color really slowly, at least this guy did.)

Learning to Live in Ugandan Time

Today was another early morning. Up at 7:00 am after an okay night of sleep, and on the bus at 7:45 am to go to MUBS for breakfast. Yep, you guessed it. I had a wonderful breakfast of toast yet again :)

After breakfast, all of us students went to the main hall on campus where were met with a professor to find out where we would be sitting during the graduation ceremony for MUBS. None of the students that we are getting to know were graduating, and none of them actually knew anyone graduating. However, we had received special invitations by the President of the college, so we couldn't just say no. We later realized just how much we wished we could have.

There ceremony cannot officially start without the arrival of the Chancellor of the college. The chancellor is the person that is the head of the college, but he is rarely on campus. This is because the chancellor usually holds a position in the government, so he can fight for funds for the institution, and he can help the college have a voice in the government. In other words, he's a pretty big deal to the university.

Before he arrived, there was lots of entertainment by some dancers doing traditional Buganda (one of the districts and tribes in Uganda) dances of celebration. It's really neat watching the tribal dances, and it makes me wish we had something similar to express our own culture in the United States. Of course, the Chancellor wasn't on time. Something we are coming to learn about Uganda. No one is ever on time. We've started to call it Ugandan time because they seem to have their own schedule, and their own way of figuring out time. So naturally the ceremony started an hour late! It was already suppose to last 3 hours, so none of us were really excited about the idea of being there for an extra hour.

The speakers didn't shorten their speeches either, so we continued to grow more and more behind schedule. However, due to the eruption in Iceland the guest speaker was stuck in London and unable to make the ceremony. This helped us catch up a little bit of lost time. Then we listened in the sun and heat as the students were congratulated. They didn't go up and receive their diplomas, but instead they stood when their degree/school was called and were all congratulated at once. The MUBS students told us they got to pick up their transcripts (instead of diplomas, they're called transcripts) after the ceremony.

I was also shocked by the amount of security at the ceremony. They were more strict at the ceremony than at any of the government buildings we have been to so far. They wouldn't allow us to bring in any type of camera, but here are a few of the pictures I got before we went through security. The robes the graduates wear came in three different colors. If they had red on the edges of the black it meant they were a post-graduate student, yellow meant they were a student graduating with their bachelor's degree, and pink meant they were graduating with a certificate, which is similar to graduating from a technical school in the US.

(Just to give you an idea of what they wear. It's extremely formal attire. Most of the girls that were graduating were in what I would consider prom dresses!)

(This is extremely nice attire for the women. It can also be seen worn on Sundays.)

After 4 and a half hours, the ceremony was finally completed and we were able to eat lunch at MUBS. It was a meal of rice and potatoes. I didn't really feel like eating anything else as I wasn't feeling the greatest, and it was extremely hot! In fact, during lunch it started to storm. This wouldn't have been so bad if we were eating somewhere else, but when we eat at MUBS, we eat at the guest house in the Canteen. The Canteen looks a lot like what a picnic shelter would in the United States, so there isn't a whole lot of protection. It lasted about an hour and then it stopped.

With the rain gone and more sunny skies, we took off for Movit. Movit is a cosmetic company in Uganda that sells different hair and skin products. The presentation they gave was mostly about marketing, so once again it was hard to follow along and really enjoy the speakers. However, it was still interesting, and we all enjoyed ourselves still. We even got some free products out of the deal. Since we were still on Ugandan time the presentation went much later than it was suppose to, which definitely wasn't helped by the fact that we had shown up later than we were originally suppose to.

(One of the semis used to transport their products all over East Africa)

(Some of the hair care products Movit sells)

From Movit, we went to Shop Right, a grocery store in Kampala to give students the opportunity to buy an groceries they might need. Many students bought candy to bring with them on the rural visit since the children here absolutely love candy! Then it was back to Red Chili for supper and the rest of the night.

I didn't have anything for supper as I wasn't feeling well at all. I had a stomach ache, headache, and achy body and stuffy/runny nose. I think I even developed a fever later on since my body seemed to be burning up while I was shivering. I used the sweatpants and sweatshirt I thought I would never need. Since the internet wasn't working last night, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to get everything done and crawl in bed early in the hopes of fighting whatever I had. (Don't worry Mom, I don't think it's serious. Probably just a cold. Lack of sleep probably isn't helping and my immune system isn't adjusted to all of the bacteria/viruses here, so I'm not worried. You shouldn't be either)

Tomorrow (or actually today) we are going on a rural visit to see how agriculture is done in Uganda. In fact, we get to meet Dr. Senteza's dad tomorrow too since he helps set up the rural visit.

But until I get that post up, I leave you with this...

(An incredible view of one of the seven hills of Kampala. I just wish it captured all of the beauty of actually seeing it.)

From Campus Tours to Corruption...

This morning it was up at 7:00 am to shower and get ready for the day. We were expected to meet the Inspector General of Government today, so it meant dressing up and looking nice. We loaded the bus at 7:45 to head to MUBS for breakfast.

Breakfast was toast again, I know, I'm super exciting. Then it was a morning discussion with all of the students and professors about the trip so far. It was really interesting to get more into depth about what everyone else was experiencing on the trip and not just me and the people I'm living with. We had some really good discussion.

We were suppose to go visit a pharmacy today too, but I guess it's been rescheduled for Tuesday. This seems to be a common theme on this trip. Oh well, I'm learning to adapt.

After discussion, we got to be taken on a tour of the campus by the MUBS students. It was really big compared to Drake. Everything is really spread out, and it doesn't seem to be very well organized. It also doesn't help that a majority of the buildings are only one level, so the campus requires a lot more buildings than Drake does. They also have about 15,000 students that attend there, so it's also about 3 times bigger than Drake.

Lunch came next, which consisted of noodles, rice, potatoes, and some type of bread like substance made from maize. It's kind of like cornbread except not as fluffy or good. We got to take our time with lunch today and enjoy some good conversation. I'm amazed at how quickly we've all gotten to know each other. I'm also extremely grateful for the amazing friendships I've already made with the MUBS students. I can already tell that I will be keeping in touch with a lot (if not all) of them when I'm back in the states. There is no way I want to give up all that I've gained from these wonderful people.

(The delicious lunch for today)

Once we were done with lunch and some social time, it was off to visit the Inspector General of Government. This person is in charge of keeping corruption out of Uganda and the government. He actually was out of the country, so the next person down stepped in to give the presentation. It was really dry since he read the powerpoint slides word for word, but it was also somewhat interesting. It sounds like the program is extremely underfunded, so actually being able to catch someone and having enough evidence to convict them of corruption is extremely difficult. Plus the constitution says the person must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which makes it even tougher. This often means that a confession needs to be heard on tape or the person needs to be caught in the process and somehow videotaped.

They also told us that a lot of citizens look up to the wealthy, no matter how they earned their money. So it's harder to catch them if there are somehow involved in corruption. Another fun fact, the President of Uganda cannot be investigated as long as he is in office, so the president could commit corruption while in office and no one would be able to do anything until he was out of office. Finally, they talked about how cooperation is extremely important among other countries to help the fight against corruption. Overall, it was interesting. Sadly, it was hard to pay attention to today though. Also, we weren't allowed to take pictures here (for security reasons), so I don't have any pictures to share of this :(

Next it was off to see the National Theater quickly and then to some local craft shops for some shopping. Once again it was nice having the MUBS students around to help us barter. It was really fun, and I enjoyed looking in all of the shops at everything they had to offer. A lot of shops sell very similar stuff though, so it makes me wonder how they are able to make a profit at the end of the day when people next to them are selling almost the exact same thing.

(This is the National Theater in Kampala)

(Some of the shops at the craft market we visited.)

Finally, we ended the day with supper at a Mexican restaurant. It was pretty good. I had a cheese quesadilla. It was funny watching the MUBS students look through the menu since none of them had eaten Mexican food before, so they had no idea what anything was. It was nice to be needed by them for a change :)

Now it's completing my journal for the course, and my personal journal. Then bed. We have a very early day tomorrow, as we have been invited to attend the MUBS graduation ceremony. It starts at 9:00 am and goes until 12:00 pm. We are visiting a company in the afternoon as well, but I can't recall which one since the schedule changes so much.

Now it's off to bed, so until next time, I leave you with this...actually, just kidding. Pictures are taking forever to upload tonight, so they'll be added tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.

(The hill in this picture was created by termites! I was absolutely amazed by the size of the mound they had made. Don't want these guys in your house!)

And in Other News...

The day began at 7:00 am this morning, and we loaded the bus for breakfast at MUBS at 7:45. I had my usual breakfast of toast, and we left there shortly after 8:30 to go to the Daily Monitor, an independently owned newspaper in Uganda.

The Daily Monitor is the second largest newspaper in Uganda, and it's the biggest independently owned paper. It is printed daily, in English. It was really interesting learning about the paper and some of the challenges it faces since the biggest newspaper company is the New Vision, which is owned by the government. Another problem arises, with the fact that the constitution states that there is freedom of the press in Uganda. However, the government doesn't truly allow freedom of the press. The editor of the Daily Monitor today told us how the government has tried to prevent them from publishing certain articles because they don't want the readers to find out. They have even arrested reporters or taken their gear. The reporters that were arrested were charged with CRIMINAL penalties too, which really surprised me. However, they usually aren't actually charged because in court they bring up the constitution and the section that talks about freedom of the press. When some of their reporters go to 'get the scoop', they wear bullet proof vests to protect themselves. Pretty scary stuff! The editor told us that they do compensate their legal fees and medical bills if they are arrested or injured on assignment since they know their job is a risk to their lives.

(The printing press)

We were suppose to visit the New Vision today as well, but they had some kind of conflict. Our visit has been rescheduled for next week (at least for now, we'll see if that stays the same), and I'm really interested in hearing the different view points since it's owned by the government.

After visiting the Daily Monitor, we went to the hotel that a friend of Dr. Senteza owns for lunch and a little relaxation by the pool. Lunch today consisted of chicken, rice, and potatoes.

(Part of the hotel)

(Lunch)

Next it was time for a run. My run didn't last real long because it was so hot in the room, and they didn't have fans or any form of air circulation. It was really hot today and humid. It was probably in the 90s, once again assuming I'm good at estimating temperatures.

(Yeah, it's not me running, but I promise I did...after I took pictures)

A cool down in the pool definitely sounded good after the run, so I got in my suit and went for a dip. However, due to the change of our schedule (since we were suppose to be at the hotel in the morning and the Daily monitor in the afternoon) a group of school children arrived for swimming lessons. We let them have the pool since there was a LOT more of them. Instead I settled down on my towel and chatted with the MUBS students and read some of a book I brought, and I soaked up the rays (after applying sunscreen of course). It was just what we all needed.

(They all seemed really excited for their swimming lessons.)

The afternoon was interrupted with a shower of rain, but it only lasted about 30 minutes before the sun was out and the cement was dry again.

We had the supper at the hotel as well. It was delicious. Tonight I ate, more chicken, chapatti, a roll, potato fries, rice and cake (though it's nothing like cake in the United States). During and after supper, I got in a lot of conversation with the MUBS students, and I started to learn quite a few Lugandan words. It gave them a good laugh since I struggled with the pronunciation the first few times. But I'm learning and having a great time with it. The plan is to learn a few new phrases everyday. Who knows, maybe I'll come back fluent ;)

(supper tonight)

Tomorrow we are having discussion about what we've experienced so far (this is a class after all) and visiting a pharmacy in the morning! I'm so excited. Our afternoon is going to be filled with visiting IGG, which I'm not really sure what it is, but I'll find out tomorrow.

So until then....

(as requested, a little bit of Kampala)

Sorry this post was late. We had some internet issues last night. Enjoy anyway :)

Getting Back to Business...

Literally, today was a day all about business. While it was my 'dream' day, it was still very interesting and exciting to learn some more about some of the business side of Uganda.

We got to start off our day by sleeping in! After I got to bed last night, I actually slept really well, so sleeping in was extremely welcome. My cabin was up around 8:30am, and we just ate breakfast here this morning, so I traded my toast for a granola bar. It was still delicious :) Some of the other students ordered breakfast at Red Chili, so I got to try passion fruit this morning. It was really sweet, but it was okay. Not my favorite, and it won't become a part of my diet anytime soon :)

(Passion fruit, you eat the green part and the seeds from inside)

At 9:30am, we met at the main lobby building at Red Chili to go over the plan for today since last night it was still pretty up in the air. We found out that we would be heading off to the Uganda Securities Exchange (their stock exchange) and to Uganda Investment Authority (UIA). There was also the option of going to the Uganda Museum today, but I opted out and went to the stock exchange instead. This was because we were told it hasn't been done very well and we wouldn't be there very long, so I decided to learn more about the stock market instead.

At the USE, we were searched upon entering the building, which is actually quite common (now that I think of it). The MUBS students told us that since the bombings during the World Cup, security has tightened and almost all buildings have machines similar to airport security in the US, without the x-ray machine for bags. They just hand search those (which means they take a quick peek). We then headed on up, where the exchange actually happens. Uganda currently has 14 stocks! Yes, only 14. They also have 8 stock brokers, and they do everything by hand on a white board. It was pretty interesting. The person in charge showed and explained exactly how it all works. He also told us that within 5 years they hope to be all electronic, but right now it's a slow process since there really isn't a need. Only brokers can deal with stock. It is never done on an individual basis. Also, the person writing on the board must wear the green jacket, otherwise, whatever they write can be argued about and end up a huge mess. The brokers all wear red jackets, and the supervisor wears a navy blue jacket.

(The green jacket is in charge of writing on the boards, and the stock broker is in red.)

It was extremely interesting, and I actually understand how the stock market works now...at least to an extent. I'm pretty sure our stock market back home would completely overwhelm me though. I really enjoyed just having to look at the 14 stocks.

(And again, but this time you can see there are 3 white boards. Two have the stocks written on them. The 3rd has the end of the day information and what the abbreviations mean.)

It was off to MUBS, after the USE for lunch. Lunch today consisted of rice, noodles, and chapatti. Once again, I was told I don't eat enough, and if I didn't add more to my plate they would for me. I didn't add more, and neither did they. I was also full after my meal, so I don't see the problem. They do tend to have full plates EVERY meal though. I'm not sure how they do it!

(Lunch today, still yummy :)

After lunch, we got on the infamous blue bus, and we headed off (as a full group) to UIA. UIA is an investment company. This company pretty much advertises and sells Uganda land to buyers who are trying to build companies. They also regulate the companies and make sure they are going to benefit Uganda. It was an interesting presentation, though much harder to pay attention to than the morning session. The presenter explained what areas Uganda was trying to improve in, expand upon, and that they are trying to make more industrial parks. I definitely learned a lot, but I don't think I'll be investing in land here anytime soon. Don't let me stop you though ;)

(UIA, not a lot of other pictures from here. It wasn't real exciting, sorry.)

The visit to UIA was the last thing on our agenda for the day. During lunch we turned in the journals we were given before the trip to reflect on our visits everyday, so Dr. McKnight and Dr. Senteza were not along with us. Fred from MUBS was instead, and no one really knew what we were suppose to do since our agenda changes so much, and they hadn't really told us. So we headed back to Red Chili.

Once we were back at Red Chili, we were told we had the rest of the night to ourselves, which was extremely nice. I don't have any 'homework' to do tonight since I can't write in the journal for the course. Instead, tonight is all about rest and relaxation, maybe a little free reading, making sure my personal journal is update, and feeling in all of my wonderful blog readers :) It's also about going to bed early. We also ate supper at Red Chili tonight. I had a ham and cheese sandwich, yep, I really went outside of the box ;)

(My ham and cheese sandwich. I like them better in the US.)

Tomorrow we were suppose to visit the New Vision (one of the two main newspapers in Uganda), however, they had a conflict so our schedule has changed yet again. I definitely have to give the professors a huge pat on the back for being able to find stuff to add to the schedule last minute. Now we are visiting a hotel that a friend of Dr. Senteza's owns. We get to swim and work out for the first part of our morning, and the afternoon will consist of visiting the Daily Monitor, the other newspaper in Uganda. Sounds like quite the day to me. Definitely can't wait :)

So until tomorrow, I leave you with this...

(For a snack, the MUBS students brought us grasshoppers they had made. Yep, the plucked off the wings and the legs, fried them up and salted them.)

(And I tried one! Trust me, I wasn't smiling while or after eating. It was really salty, but still had a funny taste. But hey, I tried it right? Next time, I'm going to question my sanity a little more though. Special thanks to Ann, for taking the head off for me before I ate it.)

Extraordinary?

Today, the group I am traveling with from Drake and MUBS were referred to as extraordinary guests. However, I will have to agree with what Dr. McKnight told them, it was them who made us feel extraordinary.

Today began earlier than usual with getting up before 7 am. We were on the bus at 7:45 am and ate breakfast once again at MUBS. My breakfast was once again, toast. However, it was still super delicious. Toast is just as good here, as it is at home ;)

Today when we left MUBS we were headed to City Secondary School. Secondary school is 6 years here, and it is very similar to our middle school and high school years in the United States. When we first got the school we were shocked to discover they had made a sign welcoming us! It made us feel extremely special. We also thought it was slightly funny that they put we were from the United States on the sign.

(this is the sign that greeted us)

Then we started to hear drums. We were so surprised to learn that they were for us! They sent their small marching class out to greet us! It was extremely touching, and I was tearing up.

(the marching band coming to greet us)

After our amazing greeting, we listened to their headmaster tell us about the education system in Uganda. It's definitely a lot more complicated than here in the United States. They have levels 1-6 in secondary school. The first four are done at Ordinary Level (or O Level), and the last 2 are done at O Level or Advanced Level (A Level) depending on how well you perform in O Level. The school we visited only had 20 students in A Level classes. They also write a lot more papers than we do instead of doing regular homework assignments or taking tests for grades. They also take a final exam at the end of each year. This final exam determines if they make it to the next level or not. After their 6th year, this exam determines which colleges they can go to and what they will study. If someone wants to be a pharmacist, but doesn't score well in science and math, pharmacy isn't going to happen for them. The MUBS students have told us it's a lot of pressure, and I'm really glad we don't have it in the United States.

We then got to watch 2 traditional dances, that I got on video. It was extremely amazing to watch since we don't have anything like that back home. I also have realized I'm not nearly as talented at dancing as I thought I was after the 13 years I practiced it. I could never dance and shake/move my hips the way they do, trust me, we all tried here :)

(Preparing to dance. It was amazing!)

Next, was a skit that the performed on HIV/AIDS. It's one of the way that they teach the dangers of the disease. Once again, I have it on video. It was a very good skit, but I felt it might have almost been too light hearted in nature. I want to make sure the students understand the seriousness of the disease, and while I"m glad they are learning about it, I just hope they truly 'get it.'

Following the performances and another speech or two, they allowed us to participate in a art activity they do. It was very similar to tie-dying. But I now have my very only beautiful linen cloth that I dyed myself in Africa :)

(It's going to be in my apartment. I'm proud of it :)

After that is was time for lunch. Lunch consisted of some sort of meat (I'm not sure what kind, and it tasted funny, so I didn't eat much) and rice for me. I could have had more matokee, but it's starting to not taste as good as I originally thought, or maybe I can only take so much of it...

(Lunch today. I was told I don't eat enough because I mainly ate the rice)

During lunch we were divided into groups to give the students opportunities to ask us about ourselves, and us to ask questions of them. They were extremely shy at first, but by the end of lunch they were asking for my address, email address, and phone number. They also wanted their picture taken with us....all of the time. We answered their questions to the best of their abilities, and they usually did the same with us.

(One of MANY pictures of me with the students. They LOVED the cameras!)

We then got a tour of their campus. They have their own mini agricultural system there where they grow maize (corn), plantains (bananas), papaya, and a few other items. They also have cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys on campus as well as a fish pond where they get most of their meat. Yep, I pretty much felt right at home in this area :)

(Yes, this picture was necessary. Got to love the piglets :)

We also got to play them in volleyball. It was a lot of fun, and it took us awhile to adjust to the different rules. They use their feet occasionally! Sadly, we didn't win. However, we did win the 2nd match and the 3rd one we only lost by two. It was definitely a lot of fun!

(Right after shaking their hands for a good game)

Finally, we visited the dormitories that they stay in. It's similar to what I would imagine can be found in an orphanage. It's definitely a lot different from Drake's dormitories. I was really impressed by their sheets though. Instead of making their beds, they fold their sheets in neat patterns!

(The girl's dormitories for levels 1 and 2)

(Someone's sheets in the shape of heart! Super impressive!)

The day at the secondary school ended with them presenting us with a token to remember them by. There 'small' token, was a beautifully engraved trophy!

(This picture doesn't do the trophy justice! It's so pretty!)

We ended the day with a supper that the President of MUBS invited us too. We were extremely late, once again thanks to traffic and the need to change, but it was still pretty good. I had rice, chapatti (similar to a tortilla), and potatoes (though not as good as the one at MUBS). We watched 2 more traditional dances and came back to Red Chili.

The agenda for tomorrow is up in the air, so it's as much a surprise for you as it is for me.

But until then, I leave you with this....

(Eat goats at City Secondary School...and this is what happens to you. Yes, that's a dead cobra. Guess what? Dead cobras STINK! Really, they smell awful!)