Money. Oh, how it makes the world go around. The currency here is Ugandan shillings and at the airport they gave me millions of them. The exchange rate is 2,000 UGshillings for every dollar. I don't care, anything over four zeros immediately adopts the value of monopoly money to me. I want to throw it up in the air like confetti. Why not ten zeros or a billion? So needless to say when a motel clerk asks me for 40,000 shillings a night for a week's stay, there is a lot of stress to compute that into dollars and find out how badly he is trying to hoodwink me. I also try not to look incredibly dorky counting on my fingers.
Now, when I mention motel clerk that shouldn't imply we are living in the lap of luxury. In fact, our pad of the week has no electricity, warm water, and the mice tell me my bedtime stories. We probably would have had a much finer time at the place we were SUPPOSED to be staying. The Lweza Training Center, sweet sweet sanctuary amongst a canopy of trees. I has previously wired a downpayment to secure our reservation and on arrival was told they were booked. I popped into Lweza to get my $150 dollars back. The lady at the desk gave me her best Ugandan attitude and told me no money had ever been put down in my name. "You must be confused. A man named Anthony placed it in my name," I retorted. "No, if so, then he should have a receipt," she replied. I had a sinking feeling Anthony might have kept that money. When I mentioned it to Anthony alone, he didn't have the reciept. I didn't press the issue. I cut my losses and looked at it as though I was paying for a really good tour guide. The sinking feeling persits in my stomach.
Moving on. I made the suggestion that we really should get internet set up for our personal use. If OCA is at a standstill until we get more funds (9,000 to finish the children's center and 9,000 to finish the computer training center) then we better start looking up grants. Grant searching takes up a LOT of internet time and the only internet access available here are in internet cafes. Side note: The internet cafes are everywhere. One on every corner. And if you want to see what a girl looks like screaming at a computer come find me in one of these cafes, where they use dial-up and it takes forty minutes to open up the homepage.
We began our search at the main internet/cellphone service providers in Uganda. All the quotes were the same around $1100 for intial start up!!! *@###$%FF!! Sorry, mom. BUT WHAT? Something crazy is going on here. In America, it costs like $180 for inital start up and like $20 bucks a month, not $170. Who is paying off who to make sure that people never get connected? I guess if people could afford it, the major business of these internet cafes would go under.
I was frustrated when we drove out of Kampala. We came to a stoplight, one of the first, if the only one I think I have seen here. James informed me that this stoplight along with several large hotels were quickly built for the arrival of the Queen and a Commonwealth meeting. Sadly, these hotels were turn into dilapidated castles because no one will be able to afford to stay there. What a waste. And as for the stoplight...everyone drives through it. But if the traffic patrol were to stop someone, don't worry, they can easily be bribed. Where are the rules? The code of ethics has given way to an every man for himself mentality.
It's hard to work with that way of thinking. Did you ever play Sim City, Empire, or Civilization? The game where you try to build a city and your decisions will make it grow and flourish into larger cities. Well, I'd like to see if you could build anything if the city is already established, there's a 80% unemployment rate, and the government only embezzles. Hey game programmers, make that version. Ugandan Sim City.
Chances are that version would never work. What good can I really do here or anyone really do? I understand why most volunteers stay two weeks. The "hug-and-gos" as I like to call them. Maybe they have the right idea. Maybe I will just take the rest of my money and treat a bunch of kids to a nice dinner like goat kabobs (what I actually had for dinner last night) and then call it a day and go home. Or if I can't trust anyone I should just do it all myself. Like Oprah. Start my own school or orphanage. Unlike Oprah, I don't need forty million to do it. I could swing it with $20,000...or 87 kajabazillion shillings.
Now, when I mention motel clerk that shouldn't imply we are living in the lap of luxury. In fact, our pad of the week has no electricity, warm water, and the mice tell me my bedtime stories. We probably would have had a much finer time at the place we were SUPPOSED to be staying. The Lweza Training Center, sweet sweet sanctuary amongst a canopy of trees. I has previously wired a downpayment to secure our reservation and on arrival was told they were booked. I popped into Lweza to get my $150 dollars back. The lady at the desk gave me her best Ugandan attitude and told me no money had ever been put down in my name. "You must be confused. A man named Anthony placed it in my name," I retorted. "No, if so, then he should have a receipt," she replied. I had a sinking feeling Anthony might have kept that money. When I mentioned it to Anthony alone, he didn't have the reciept. I didn't press the issue. I cut my losses and looked at it as though I was paying for a really good tour guide. The sinking feeling persits in my stomach.
Moving on. I made the suggestion that we really should get internet set up for our personal use. If OCA is at a standstill until we get more funds (9,000 to finish the children's center and 9,000 to finish the computer training center) then we better start looking up grants. Grant searching takes up a LOT of internet time and the only internet access available here are in internet cafes. Side note: The internet cafes are everywhere. One on every corner. And if you want to see what a girl looks like screaming at a computer come find me in one of these cafes, where they use dial-up and it takes forty minutes to open up the homepage.
We began our search at the main internet/cellphone service providers in Uganda. All the quotes were the same around $1100 for intial start up!!! *@###$%FF!! Sorry, mom. BUT WHAT? Something crazy is going on here. In America, it costs like $180 for inital start up and like $20 bucks a month, not $170. Who is paying off who to make sure that people never get connected? I guess if people could afford it, the major business of these internet cafes would go under.
I was frustrated when we drove out of Kampala. We came to a stoplight, one of the first, if the only one I think I have seen here. James informed me that this stoplight along with several large hotels were quickly built for the arrival of the Queen and a Commonwealth meeting. Sadly, these hotels were turn into dilapidated castles because no one will be able to afford to stay there. What a waste. And as for the stoplight...everyone drives through it. But if the traffic patrol were to stop someone, don't worry, they can easily be bribed. Where are the rules? The code of ethics has given way to an every man for himself mentality.
It's hard to work with that way of thinking. Did you ever play Sim City, Empire, or Civilization? The game where you try to build a city and your decisions will make it grow and flourish into larger cities. Well, I'd like to see if you could build anything if the city is already established, there's a 80% unemployment rate, and the government only embezzles. Hey game programmers, make that version. Ugandan Sim City.
Chances are that version would never work. What good can I really do here or anyone really do? I understand why most volunteers stay two weeks. The "hug-and-gos" as I like to call them. Maybe they have the right idea. Maybe I will just take the rest of my money and treat a bunch of kids to a nice dinner like goat kabobs (what I actually had for dinner last night) and then call it a day and go home. Or if I can't trust anyone I should just do it all myself. Like Oprah. Start my own school or orphanage. Unlike Oprah, I don't need forty million to do it. I could swing it with $20,000...or 87 kajabazillion shillings.
1 comment:
I was looking at those pictures and saw you with those children. Be careful you don't know what they have. Also, I like pUPPIES!!! So cute!! Also, maybe a deer? Make sure you wash your hands alot in the giardia salmonilla diarrhea water!! No HOT SHOWERS!?! I bet you smell like shiiiiiit
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