Suitcases and Cameras

For the past few weeks we’ve been trying to decide what to take and what to leave.  We have come to the conclusion that we are woefully ill-prepared for extended travel.  This past weekend included a visit to REI for some bug repellant and a few other odds and ends (all recommended to us by travel-wise folks).  Next, we need some new luggage. The old stuff is coming apart and probably wouldn’t survive transatlantic travel.  The choices on this item alone are overwhelming (but we think we’ve narrowed it down to one or two choices….it’s only taken us three weeks to do this).

The new camera arrived yesterday and I’ve been learning how to operate it today.  It’s not an overly fancy camera (a Canon PowerShot), but it does take panoramic pictures and HD video. I’m posting my first experiment with a “stitched together” shot of the Gorge. It looks good but I realize that anyone can take good pictures at Menucha!

So, for those of you following along, some advice would be appreciated. Please share…

1)      Tips on things we really do need to pack

2)      Tips on taking a good picture (I am definitely not a photographer)

Thanks in advance!

Spencer

A Change of Plans

There has been a slight change in plans.  Last week, after hearing about the upcoming trip to Uganda, Sarah’s boss offered her the entire month of March off as vacation (thanks so very much!).  This means that she will be with me for the whole trip and not just the last week as previously planned.  (What a bonus for both of us!) It also means that we’ll be traveling together and not separately (much better for both of us).  With this in mind, we’ve decided to ditch the time in Europe after Uganda and just focus on Uganda. So as it stands at this moment…..we’ll be leaving Portland on March 1^st and arriving in Entebbe late on the 2^nd (I think there is a 12 hour time difference as well).  We’re scheduled to return home on March 30^th.

We are slowly learning about the area  where we’ll be living.  I finally managed to pinpoint it on Google Earth.  The school is about 2 kilometers north of Kamwenge on the main road (main road in Uganda seems to be one that is wider than most…I don’t think I’ve found a paved road for miles in the area).  Here is a bit about the school (taken mostly from their website and other materials they have provided):

KSVI (Kamwenge Secondary and Vocational Institute), which opened February, 2007, is located on 20 acres of land in the district of Kamwenge, western Uganda. This area has a population of 300,000 people, and is considered one of the poorest among Uganda. The Kamwenge community is made up of “double refugees” who first were forced from their homes and country under the cruel dictatorship of Idi Amin in the 1970s, into refugee camps in Tanzania. In 2001, long after Idi Amin was deposed, these people were returned by their Tanzanian hosts as refugees to their homeland. When they returned, their homes and land were occupied by other people. As a result, the Ugandan government resettled them in the Kamwenge District.  The Ugandan government has offered land for these families where they survive on agriculture and live in grass huts. Secondary school is unaffordable for families, increasing the cycle of poverty.  Some find places in public primary schools but have no way to progress to the secondary level. These Ugandans are extremely under- resourced, have little education and few skills to support themselves.

Primary education in Uganda is tuition free, but still involves costs that are beyond many families.  This only takes a student through 7^th grade.  Although tuition is free, there are not enough schools around to handle the number of kids involved.  Some schools have student/teacher ratios of around 100:1. Some areas don’t even have schools.  In any event classroom resources are pretty scarce.  You are only eligible to attend a secondary school if you’ve passed your Primary Leaving Examination.

Secondary education really is beyond most families.  It covers the next 4 years and most resembles middle school in the US.  Again classroom resources are scarce, student/teacher ratios are high and the number of schools for the given population low.  To give you some idea of the kind of poverty involved, tuition at KSVI for one year is about $360 per student.  Teachers there make between $2500 and $3600 per year (the higher salaries go to math and science teachers).

This is shaping up to be a challenging month.  But we remain excited and eager to be put to work!  More next time…

Links: http://www.pim-africa.org

Preparations

I have been planning my sabbatical time for almost a year.  This will be my very first sabbatical so I’ve had no prior experience in planning one.  I started out by making a wish list.  It wasn’t too long (I’m pretty easy to please).  I wanted 1) an international experience, 2) an English speaking country (I speak a little Spanish, but not enough to really get by), 3) some place warm and sunny (I live in Oregon…I get enough of cold and rainy), and finally 4) somewhere I could do meaningful work.   Through a series of circumstances I found myself talking to folks about working in Uganda.  Some months back it all seemed very theoretical.  As the time grows close for my departure it becomes more real.

Yesterday we (Sarah my wife) made a visit to the travel clinic and endured the battery of vaccinations needed in order to travel to Uganda.  I feel a bit like a pin cushion (I can’t remember having so many injections at once).  They also gave us one oral vaccination (we’re also in the process of taking that over the next week or so) and a few “just in case” prescriptions to have filled before we leave.  It seems that Africa in general (and specifically Uganda) has a number of unpleasant things that one would rather not pick up (mostly in the water and insect born).  I was very fortunate in so much as the attending physician visits Uganda annually.  He works in a clinic (I think in Entebbe).  He was a really good source of information and answered a lot of questions.  (Of course the second I walked out of his office I thought of about a million more I wish I had asked.)   All in all, I’m pretty excited (okay…I’m REALLY excited).

I’m fast approaching my departure date and there are so many details yet to do.  I still need to decide on what clothes to take (oddly enough, even though I’m pretty near the equator, they recommend long pants and long sleeves), what things I just can’t live without (should I really take that heavy book of Sudoku puzzles, and what about just reading for pleasure….I should have asked for a Kindle for Christmas!), and do I need a converter, adaptor or both for the very small number of electrical things I’m carrying.  There is still much to learn.

Next time….exactly where I’m going and what I’ll be doing (this part is still pretty sketchy as the lines of communication between Uganda and Oregon are sporadic, then there is that difference in cultures that makes things so very interesting.)