Ah, back again. Yep, it's just as green and beautiful as I remember. Being at site is wonderful, but I'm so excited to be back at McCarthy as a trainer. I can't wait to meet all the new trainees! To get to relive it all over again! To impart my invaluable 1-year-in wisdom! To not have to do my own cooking...
Is that a truck?? Here they come!
There it is! Look at them all spilling out. I bet they're all crazy jet lagged...
Hi new trainees! Look at me! I want to be your friend!! Pay attention to meeee!!! Your truck is leaving, see?
Muahaha, you're stuck with me! Ok, ok, you've been traveling for almost 30 hours, making small talk nearly the entire time, and now you just want to sleep and never come out. I get that. Time for introductions later. Where's your luggage?
... wow. Someone did not read my advice to "pack lightly". Alllriiight, I'll show you the dorms....
This is one of the three dorm buildings. This one (the one with the hedge) just has single rooms. I wanted one, but I was paired with a roommate. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me, but I definitely started off skeptical... Anyway, let's move on to where you'll be spending the next month.
Here they are! On the left, we have the boyz and, on the right, the girls! Notice the clotheslines between the two. We're all gonna be real familiar with each others' laundry habits.
This is another shot, but taken closer to the girls' dorms. The girls are still on the right and the boys on the left. The girls' dorm is called "Banana Dormitory". I'm not kidding...
Wanna look inside?
Ta daaaa!!!! You don't look as impressed as I thought you would... Ok well... let's go down the hallway to your room.
^^ hallway ^^ leading ^^ to ^^ rooms ^^ and ^^ showers/sinks/bathrooms
Ok well! Here's your bed! It looks just like mine when I got to country *nostalgic sigh*
Aaand your rommate's!
I bet you're having your first moment of panic: "oh my gosh... this is my life now! I sleep under mosquito nets!" No worries. That's normal. It's the first reality check on your decision to fly halfway across the world to Africa. But, I promise, mosquito nets are the easiest thing in the world to get used to, and now I really can't imagine how I used to sleep without one. Doesn't it make you feel like a princess?? No...? Ok... maybe give it 8 months...
Yeah, so at some point you might want to shower or use the restroom or wash clothes. Don't drink the water that comes out of these taps, but I'll show you where you can go.
Emerging out of the long hallway, we come to the sinks on our left!
Say "hi long hallway!"
And the showers/restrooms on our right.
The bathrooms are just to the left of this. That big blue tub you see in the lower lefthand corner is full of water. If we're out of running water, the toilets won't flush, but no worries. Just fill up a pitcher with the water in the tub and manually fill the top tank of the toilet with water so you can flush it. You'll be a pro in no time.
Also the shower only has hot water 50% of the time. Good luck with that.
Wanna see where you'll play soccer and volleyball and find $1 beer??? I can tell my pep is not appreciated. I'm sorry. I'm just so excited to be back where it all began. The fields are really close, just right outside the dorm I promise. Just through the door nearest the blue bin...
Ahhh, ok here we are outside. We can see the boyz dorm right there, and we're just gonna do a quick panoramic to our right.
Now that's all at the back of the dorms. In front of both dorms we get a field like this!
Perfect for soccer!! And, do you see that building in the right side of the picture?
Bienvenidos a la cantina! You'll spend so many nights there drinking your allowed 1 beer for $1 and getting to know your cohort. Funny, this feels like a lifetime ago. I can't believe how little I knew everyone 8 months ago... I digress.
Why don't you go rest and I'll show you the kitchen and main hall (where all of our sessions are held) tomorrow. Ok soldier, goodnight and good work.
GOOD MOOOOORNING SUNSHINE! Don't give me that look. The Mosque's call to prayer has blasted, the roosters have begun their incessant, infernal crowing, and it's time for breakfast before our first session at 8:00 AM sharp!
So there it is, the kitchen and coop, conveniently joined. This is on the way to the main hall from the dorms, so the commute is easy. Look! There are even some other PCT's already here eating... sugarcane?
Wow it's dark... someone really rallied you early, huh?
Morning meals will be bread with the option of a toaster, jam, Blue Band butter, honey, tea, room temperature milk, instant coffee, cereal bars and maybe some fruit like small bananas or pineapple. It's not the most filling, but it's pretty American as far as meals go.
Lunch and dinner are basically the same meal: Some kind of meat (fish, chicken, beef, or goat), matoke, beans, posho, a spaghetti thing, fried potatoes, g-nut sauce, fruit, and a soft drink.I might be forgetting some things, but those are the staples. I know the food might seem repetitive, and you're itching to cook for yourself, but having meat prepared for you every day, twice a day, is one of the small luxuries of PST. Savor it.
Ok, now it's almost time for sessions, on to the main hall!
Stepping out, there's the kitchen on our right, and the main hall is up ahead with the purple-flower tree. The dorms and all of those amazing grassy fields are behind us.
That tent you see in the distance is where we'll have our morning meetings each day at 7:45 AM to go over the agenda for the day and answer any outstanding questions or comments from the day before. Usually, I would be running out at 7:44 AM trying not to spill my coffee....
Ahhh, and yep! Here we are. Ok I'm going to let you get all settled in for sessions. You can see the micro schedule for the day here, but when we do mentor groups I'll tell you all about the fun things I would do during my time at McCarthy. Enjoy!
Welcome to your first mentor group!! This is supposed to be a time when I can get to know a few of you more intimately and help you through this transition into Uganda in a more personal manner. This session isn't supposed to be me just talking, but you've all unanimously requested a summary of my time here, so give the people what they want!
I spent my time in sessions diligently paying attention... when I wasn't drawing comics with a guy in my cohort named Bobby. We created an entire comic book full of humorous takes on sessions and PC in general. It was kind of like a handwritten Tumblr blog. I still flip through it on days when I need some encouragement or am just feeling nostalgic. It was a great way to capture our time here. And, of course, it helped keep us sane during some of the dryer sessions...
After mentor groups I would play soccer (football) or, occasionally, volleyball. Even when I swore I had to do laundry, Bobby and the rest of the soccer crew would help me see the light and get me onto the field. Unfortunately, now my knee is kind of busted up (probably not their fault), but soccer was SUCH a fun way to get to know people in the cohort. It was a really low pressure, inclusive environment. We even played with some of the staff and it was a great way to get to know them as well. We would usually play from after mentor groups until we literally could not see the ball anymore (usually around 7:30 PM). Then it was time for a shower (...most of the time), dinner and the evening's activities.
What "evening activities"??
Well.
Generally, everyone would migrate to the cantina I showed you earlier and would grab our allowed 1 beer/smirnoff (I don't like beer, ok?) a night. People would relax outside the cantina, get to know each other, and unwind until the rigidly enforced quiet hours at 11:00 PM. Some nights we also played games! We had one big game of fishbow/hat trick in the main hall where "a city in California named after a woman" was the clue for Lupe Fiasco... so that was a bonding experience.
When we weren't drinking and/or playing, we had a talent show to prep for!
Whoaaa
I know right? No worries, you're going to have one too. Don't look so panicked! It's a lot of fun. Our MC's were hilarious, and the acts were just fun ways to get to see people collaborate on really silly "talents", or actually get to know another side of a PCV. It's a blast.
Did you participate?
As a matter of fact I did. I was part of the greatest band PC has ever seen. A trio of instruments that no man, woman, or child could have possibly thought would sound good together: guitar, ukulele, and harmonica. What we learned was that, in fact, they do not sound good together. So we each performed our own act while all sitting on stage together. The harmonica player started us off strong with "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", the guitarist came in with "Fight Song" and some killer vocals to back it up, and I was the grand finale with a new masterpiece commemorating our time at McCarthy. You want to hear it? Oook. I don't have my uke on me, but just imagine these lyrics to the tune of "3 Blind Mice" with a lilting ukulele in the background.
"Washington, D.C.
Beginning PST
All the PCT's
Bright-eyed to PC.
We came not knowing what to expect,
Our people? I guess... we've only just met
I hope they like me, I'm nervous and yet
It's just PST.
It's only PST.
PST,
Session, eval, repeat
The food we eat here is sweet,
If you like matoke
There's cold showers, long days but not to despair,
We've got soccer and card games and 1 dollar beer
To help us PCT's make it out here
At PST
It's only PST.
Soon we'll go to site,
And have to say goodbye
To friends and trainers and rhymes,
That go on too long sometimes
But we'll come back with adventures we've had
Like Farmer Joe trucking and we'll all be glad
To relive the mem'ries cause it wasn't so bad
At PST
It was our PST"
*AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!*
Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all year. Phew, look at the time. Our mentor session is nearly up but there's so much more to tell y'all about, Thanksgiving, the rat in my room, visiting Kampala... well. I guess we'll just have to do this little fireside chat again real soon. How about tomorrow I regale you will more? Great. Ok go get suited up, soccer's about to start!
