Finally, an update!

I now finally have regular internet access.  Woohoo! 

I have so much more I wish I could say, but here’s the brief version with a few highlights…   

Training is already a blur in my memory.  I thought the 10-week Peace Corps training program was about nine weeks too long!  I was so anxious to get out there and get to work.  During training, we each lived with Ugandan host family, which was wonderful but also very challenging at times.  This nightly occurrence at the dinner table is what I remember most about my host mother, Ruth:

 

Ruth: “You have taken very little matooke!  I add you more?”  (matooke = mashed plantains: the staple food in Uganda)

Me:  “Oh no, this is enough for me, thank you.”

Ruth:  “Sure?”

Me:  “Yes.”

Ruth:  “Sure?”  (bringing the huge spoonful closer to my plate)

Me:  “Yes.”

Ruth:  “Have more.”  (plop)

 

I tried to be a good sport and eat it, but it became a real problem.  Dinner was usually at 10 p.m. (which is common here), and I was going to bed with an absolutely stuffed stomach.  I woke up every morning with bad stomach ache, and I usually ended up running outside to the latrine.  Then something worse happened: halfway through training, I saw myself in a picture, and did a double-take when I noticed my bulging stomach from my huge overload of carbohydrates in my new Ugandan diet.  WHAT?!  I hadn’t seen myself in a full-sized mirror since I left the U.S.  This had to stop!

 

Aside from being stuffed with food, I had a good time with my host family.  I taught them out to make guacamole, which they loved.  They ate it plain by the spoonful, sometimes for dessert.  I’m not sure they ever learned to pronounce the word “guacamole” correctly—usually it sounded more like “quock-mo.”  I enjoyed answering their many questions about life in the U.S.  I was chopping onions one day with their 21-year-old daughter Doreen, and she said, “I don’t think people in America chop onions.  Don’t you have machines to do it for you?”

 

Then, on a day I thought would never come, training was at last over and I finally got my assignment.  I was going to a very rural district in western Uganda.  My job would be to build the capacity of an organization which works primarily on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.  The organization is a young organization which has had a lot of Peace Corps support, but my job is to help with strategic planning and staff training so that they will be able to stand on their own two feet after two years.  Sounds cool!  I was so excited.

 

My housing description read as follows:  “House is nice with four rooms, an indoor bathing area, outdoor latrine, and outdoor kitchen.  Rooms include a living room, a main or master bedroom, plus two other bedrooms.  House is located on a private compound surrounded by a living fence.  There is also an opportunity for a garden!”  WOW!  Sounds NICE!  (Haha… I was soon to learn that in Africa, things aren’t always the way they sound…)

 

We packed our things and went to a hotel in Kampala.  The next day we were going to be sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers.  A pang of anxiety was starting to boil up inside of me, subconscious at first, but growing more and more intense by the hour.  I was finally leaving the safety of my little training

More posts coming soon!

I know it’s been a while, but don’t give up on me! My internet access has a promising outlook. Check back soon!

How to pack for 2 years in Africa

New Blog Experiment

Recently I heard some people talking about how freeing it is to type with your screen off—no worrying about the way the words look or sound, just a constant flow from brain to fingers. Sounds fantastic! Here goes! Please excuse my typos.

I’m not sure have the mental energy to blog tonight. Oh well. It’s been way too long.

I can’t believe I’m leaving in three days! The whole thing still hasn’t set in. I hate saying goodbye. Strangely enough, my biggest consolation is Facebook. Somehow, I kno that the friends I’ve made aren’t lost and gone forever. I love that.

This is kind of hard. I keep peeking at my monitor!

Anne read a part of an Austrian short story to us. An old woman is in a telephone booth, trying to cll for help. First, she calls the good, but the good were busy. Next, she calls the enlightened, but I don’t remember why it didn’t work. Next, she calls the rich, but the rich are asleep in bed. Then she calls someone else, and it doesn’t work either. I wish I could remember the story better, because it was bueatiful! That part about the good being busy keeps replaying in my mind. I worry that that’s me—always out trying to save the world, but missing the wonderful opportunities there are to connect with the people right around me.

It reminds me of a passage from The Alchemist, when an old man teaches the boy the scret of life. The boy is in a mansion, nd the old man gives him two drops of oil in a spoon. The man instructs the boy to wander around, without spilling the oil in the spon. He does this, and returns to the old man. The man tells that boy that it’s great that he didn’t spill any of the oil, but asks if he noticed the beautiful tapestries hanging throughout the mansion. The boy says that he didn’t, so the man sends him out again. This time, the boy sees all of the wonderful sights of the mansion, but accidentally spills the oil. After the boy retunrs, the old man explains that the key to life is to enjoy the scenery, while not spilling the oil.

Wait, is that from  The Alchemist?

Engaging

If there’s one skill that I want to master before I die, it’s engaging people in efforts to improve the community/world.  I’m learning more and more about how I want to be engaged.  Looking back over the things I’ve been involved with, I’m realizing that I could have helped this group or that group more had I been a little more self-aware.  In things related to grant writing and fund raising, I’d much rather contribute my ideas and advice, rather than actually doing the on-the-ground work.  Is that how most people are with most things?  Or is it mainly that way when the person feels they have expertise in that specific area?  Who can we find to do the on-the-ground work?  Possibly people who are looking for experience in that area?

And then there’s the omnipresent challenge of finding people who want to be engaged by opening their pocketbooks.  These people can be precious.  But what motivates them?  Perhaps wanting to be involved, but not having time or energy to contribute?  Guilt?  I remember taking on a volunteer position once, and later feeling guilty for having to quit after a year, so I decided to commit to a three-year financial gift instead.

Maybe the biggest challenge isn’t the type of work, but the way it’s structured.  Looking over my experience trying to engage people, it seems that people are happy to show up for a meeting or project, but despite the best of intentions, people aren’t willing to take a portion of the work home with them.  I often feel the same way.  I think it’s a matter of how we budget our time.  For nine hours every day, I know I’ll be at work.  For one hour each week, I know I’ll be at a service club meeting.  When tasks from these activities spill over into my unstructured time, it can become a drag!

Someday I’ll have it down…

We love you, Oma

Liselotte Ludwig Fleischer
Liselotte Ludwig Fleischer 4/29/1923 ~ 12/16/2008 Liselotte Ludwig Fleischer, age 85, passed away December 16, 2008, at Willow Creek in Sandy, Utah. She was born April 29, 1923, to Karl Friedrich and Katharina Brecht Ludwig in Gruenwettersbach, Germany. She immigrated to Utah in 1953. Lotte obtained employment at the LDS Hospital, where she loyally and proudly worked until she retired. She met her husband, Alfred Kurt Fleischer, in Salt Lake City in 1956. They married on Feb. 21, 1957, and were sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on Aug. 12, 1957. She was a devoted member of the German Speaking Ward, where she served as a Junior Sunday School teacher, then Compassionate Service leader. On her own accord, she drove miles every Sunday to assist elderly ward members to attend church. Her hobbies included driving, traveling, sewing, assembling picture albums, and crocheting. She always prided herself on her excellent penmanship. She is survived by her children, Rebekka Ward and Martin Fleischer, her grandchildren, Marla, Chris and Mandy Ward, Meigan (Nick) Scholes, Kimberley (Paul) Amatangelo, and Amber Fleischer, her great-grandchildren Caiston and Morgan Scholes, Braxton and Kade Amatangelo, and Tanner Harding; her siblings in Germany: Walter Ludwig, Helmut Ludwig, and Nora Dopf, and loving relatives in the Salt Lake and Las Vegas areas, and in Germany. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and siblings Martha Steinbach, Ewald Ludwig, Lore Hug, and Ottmar Ludwig, all of Germany. Funeral services to be held on Friday, December 19, 2008 at 11:00 at Mountain View Memorial, 3115 E. 7800 S. at 11:00 a.m. and 9:30 prior to services. Interment beside her husband, at Mountain View Memorial Cemetery, 3115 E. 7800 S.

Belonging to Each Other

(Note: This post refers to several different people, not just one.)

This weekend was wonderfully disastrous. Our house seemed to be haunted by Murphy’s Law. Some of the things that happened were minor mishaps; some were substantial losses. Yet it was wonderful because it gave me some perfect opportunities to serve, reminded me of what’s important in life, and jolted me out of this stagnant feeling I’ve had for the past while.

I keep thinking about what it means to belong to each other, as members of humankind. As Mother Theresa beautifully said, “If we have no peace, it is because we forget we belong to each other.” (Thanks, Lauren!) If I belong to you, and you belong to me, then your losses are my losses, your burden is my burden, and your joy is my joy.

Then that means that…

• Those cooked potatoes that feel on the floor? The hot chocolate that boiled over in the microwave? My mess too.
• The pain and anger you felt when he said goodbye? Mine too. (So is the anguish he felt as he agonized over the decision, and the deep sense of loss you both feel.)
• The unexpected and sweet peace you felt all the while, as if God were telling you, “Don’t worry. I’ve got you”? Mine too.
• The satisfaction of seeing your preparation turn into a job well done? Woohoo! Also mine.
• The incredible strength you showed as kept yourself together and carried out your duties “with your head up and your eyes ahead, with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child”? I’m proud to share this.
• Your uncertainty as you contemplate the big changes in life, wondering how you will be able to adjust, and wondering who will catch you if you fall? Yep.

Thank you for the chance to talk with you, stay up late to work alongside you, shed a few tears with you, and to give you the blanket I made to hold during your last days (or weeks, or months) of life.

And, thanks for sharing…

• The frustration I felt after I cut the fabric wrong (several times!)
• The strange feeling of watching death slowly creeping over my grandma’s face, wondering each time I see her if this will be the last
• The difficult task of learning to be okay with not knowing what’s next, and learning to embrace and love my imperfections

When I remember that we belong to each other, I’m filled with joy, and I understand my purpose in life.

“We don’t set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts.”
-Pema Chodron

“It doesn’t interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.
I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.”
-”Self Portrait,” David Whyte

Bailouts and Handouts

We all know that the problem with handing out bailout money is that it’s not long before everybody wants a piece. I found this opinion piece asking for a nonprofit bailout interesting:

“Where is the storm of media coverage, the persuasive rhetoric, the public outcry to save critically needed services, such as child care, assisted living, home healthcare and hospital services? Who is documenting our agony? Where are the desperately needed cash infusions to help us restructure in this troubled economy?”

There’s no doubt that the faltering economy has created enormous challenges for nonprofits, who are now trying to meet exploding community needs with less and less resources. I can only hope that this crisis reminds us all of how much our individual fates are tied to the fate of one another. As my favorite observer of American democracy, Alexis de Tocqueville, noted so eloquently in 1835: “There is, indeed, a most dangerous passage in the history of a democratic people… they lose sight of the close connection between the private fortune of each, and the prosperity of all.” I hope that the economic crisis reminds us of this, and that our individual actions and government policies follow suit.

But… how far are we willing to take the bailout game, anyway? And isn’t it ironic that those nonprofits and individuals in need who embrace a “handout” mentality are criticized time and again, but when you make handouts available to the corporate world, they’re so quick to jump on the bandwagon?

Impressive!

The Social Media Curse

Life gets more and more complicated, doesn’t it?

I’m an avid reader of nonprofit/philanthropy news, and (no surprise) everyone’s talking about how organizations can use blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc., to engage and interact with people. We’ve tried some of these methods, but I feel like the momentum hasn’t caught on yet. Despite the gobs of advice out there, we’re somehow not offering people what they want. I see the potential, but I wonder if it’s worth the time.

Here’s an excerpt from an online discussion from the Chronicle of Philanthropy that overwhelms me:

Q: How does an organization start to participate in this type of fundraising? Processes? Real explanation? Thank you.

A: Start with a blog. Then start three other SM sites: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook. Use google alerts and Tweetbeeps.com to find out what people are saying. All of this, of course, should start with your brand. That will drive the quality of the conversations.

It kind of reminds me of a great line from the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy:

Here you find civilized man. Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment. Instead, he adapted his environment to suit him.

So he built cities, roads, vehicles, machinery. And he put up power lines to run his labor-saving devices. But he didn’t know when to stop.

The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier, the more complicated he made it. Now his children are sentenced to years of school, to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat.