Part 1: Research Workshop

So, part 1 of this conference is over. On Monday and Tuesday we hosted a group of researchers who were part of our global project (see first posting), during which they discussed their work in-depth and prepared key policy messages. Tomorrow, the policy conference starts, during which the researchers will be meeting with the policymakers from project countries whom they have invited to this conference. So, while the first part is over and was pretty successful with a few minor mishaps, Im dreading the second part a bit because of the amount of people that will be here.

I have been surviving on God's grace with minimal sleep and lots of running around. Today I actually overslept, but was still able to be on time at the meeting.Tomorrow we are going on a field trip, which could be quite stressful in terms of organizing, but also quite exciting since we will get a taste of a Ugandan countryside.

One thing that has been sooo refreshing and perhaps kept me smiling while being stressed is the MONKEYS!!! It has been amazing to find out that our hotel is located between a Wild Animal Park and Botanical Gardens. The monkeys, who live in the Gardens, daily migrate to the Zoo in the morning and then back to the Gardens in the afternoon. Monday night, while waiting for transportation to take us to the reception at a neighboring resort, we had a chance to observe tons of monkeys just walking around the hotel parking lot, playing with each other, jumping around, and staring at us. The cutest thing was to see the little baby monkeys who were very curious and not a bit shy (one got pretty close to me as I was trying to take a picture, but then decided against trying to approach me). It is amazing to see the mama monkeys running around with the little babies hanging on to their stomachs. While being sleepy and anxious this morning (since I had to literally jump out of bed once I realized that I had overslept), I was revived by seeing the monkeys on my way to the meeting hall...what a way to start your day!

Few days in Entebbe

The past few days have been a whirlwind of running around the hotel making sure the logistics for the conference are taken care of and meeting with my colleagues to make sure that the content portion of the conference is straightened out. So, the show starts tomorrow, and Im relying on God's grace to carry me through the next week.

Several tidbits from the few busy days:

-Nice walk in the Entebbe Botanical Garden with my boss talking about non-work matters

-Having dinner outside on a nice cool African night

-Finding out that our local collaborator is a Christian and learning the inspiring story of his conversion and his family

-Tons of starch-filled delicious foods: all sorts of plantains, arrow roots, cassava, sweet potatoes (plus avocados every day)

-Having the hotel put my boss in a huge suite so she is excited

-Hanging out with a parrot that was sitting near my window and feeding him bananas

-Gorgeous views outside my windows (the lake, lush greenery, colonial-style buildings)

-Hilarious security guard: short, in a grey business suite, and sunglasses

First day in Uganda

After a very long flight consisting of 3 parts (DC-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Nairobi, Nairobi-Entebbe, Uganda), we (me and my coworker Esther) are finally here. It is super warm and a bit humid, but the nice breeze from Lake Victoria makes it very bearable (besides, I would much rather be hot in Entebbe than freezing my tail off standing at the busstop in DC). Our hotel, for which we are paying a pretty penny, turned out to be a disappointment. While the original structure is good, it has not been maintained very well, and things just seem to be somewhat run down and old. The service leaves much to be desired as well.

Today was dedicated to the preliminary visit of the field trip sites, to which we will be taking the larger group next week. First, we went to a burial society about an hour away from the hotel into the Ugandan countryside. A burial (funerary) association is formed by people in the community who each contribute a small amount to the joint fund upon which they can draw when someone in the family dies. It is a form of life insurance and more and more becoming a form of health insurance, especially in the countries plagued by AIDS. We were very warmly by the leaders of the association, most of whom turned out to be women. They took us to a gravesite for one of the clans and explained a bit about how they operate. The gravesite was located on the communal land attached to one of the members' gardens, where I for the first time was able to see cassava and sweet potato plants. We also planned out the agenda for the visit.

Next we went to Kampala (the capital) and had a delicious lunch of matooke (mashed bananas or plantains) with peanut (groundnut) sauce and all kinds of tubers (cassava among them). After lunch we headed off to another site called Mabira Forest where we visited the forest association officials and planned out the group visit there. The forest has been made into an eco-camping ground and looked very serene and lush, resembling the rest of the Ugandan countryside.

Now we are back at the hotel, and, since my jetlag is kicking in, Im planning to put in a few hours of work before I drop dead onto the bed. Overall, even though so far Im not as crazy about Uganda as I was about Kenya, the people seem to be extremely friendly and jovial, the countryside very green, and the food very delicious. Besides, the view of the Lake from my windows doesn't hurt either:)

Going back

Im sooo excited that I get to go back to Africa next week for about 2 weeks. My program is having a conference that I was actually responsible for planning. It has been quite a headache to plan this conference since we are inviting not only researchers, but also policymakers. This is the final event in the 3-year global research project on the topic of "Collective Action and Property Rights for Poverty Reduction" that includes studies in 7 countries: the Philippines, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.

We are staying in a very nice (at least, from the website) hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, Uganda (about 40 minutes from the capital Kampala). We are also going to go on some field trips to a forest community and a burial society (more on that later). Even though Im not taking time to do any personal travel this time, I am hoping to visit a chimpanzee sanctuary, which makes me super excited (keeping my fingers crossed:).

Besides, getting out of the freezing DC is a big bonus!