[Ok, I have to write this really quickly, because I'm supposed to be packing up the last of my stuff (ackkk trying to squeeze 3.5 months worth of stuff into a backpack and a small suitcase is REALLY HARD) and I promised I'd make Eric chocolate chip meringues before I left and I'm supposed to be leaving for the airport in an hour so.... great.]
So today I'm heading off on a trip to Uganda and Rwanda, where I will be spending the fall semester. I'm hoping to use this blog to keep people updated on what I'm doing, updating hopefully about once a week, depending on internet availability.
Just to give you a sense of what the plan is, here is a brief overview of the program I'm going to be doing, called "Post-conflict Transformation: Uganda and Rwanda" through SIT (School for international training)
For the first few weeks, I'm going to be living in Gulu, Uganda with a host family. Gulu is in the northern part of Uganda, and will probably be one of the most rural places I'll be. A very simplistic version of local history: Northern Uganda has been wracked by civil war for the past twenty years, as the Lord's Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony, has led a rebellion against the current government. Joseph Kony hopes to take over the country and rule by the Ten Commandments. His army has carried out massive human rights abuses against the local population, including abducting children to serve as soldiers and/or child brides. Recently, the region has been much more peaceful, and people have been returning home from the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps, as the LRA has been massacring its way across Eastern DRC.
After we leave Gulu, we will go to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, for about ten days. Kampala is supposed to be a big, busy city (at least compared to Gulu). We will be staying in "guest houses" -- which I guess means program housing or something.
From there we will go to Butare, a university town in the southern part of Rwanda. Again, we'll be staying in guest houses, and will be using the university's facilities. Then we will spend two weeks in a homestay in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Throughout these two months, I'll be taking classes with the other students in the program (the group is about 25 people). There are three classes, one called "National and Ethnic Identity," which I expect will be a lot like the class I took last semester, "Nationalism and Contemporary World Politics," but with a specific emphasis on Ugandan and Rwandan identity (and hopefully a lot less reading!!). The second class is the seminar specifically designed for this program, called "Post-Conflict Transformation Seminar," in which we will be learning about theories of conflict resolution, reconciliation and redevelopment, the sociopolitical history of the two countries and conflict dynamics in the region. For this class we'll also be making "excursions" to other parts of the two countries, including visits to rural communities. The third class is about how to do field research, which comes in handy in the last month:
I'll spend my last month doing research for a project of my own design, and I'll end up with a research paper of about 40 pages. This is definitely the part that I'm most excited about! I think it will be so cool to do something so independent and self-directed. I don't know yet what I'll be researching, but right now I'm really interested in doing something relating to refugees.
Ok, I think that's all I have time for for now. Please also send me emails about what *you* are up to, and I'll try to respond in a somewhat timely manner.
Back to packing!!
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