Courtney and Brent

Over the past 3 weeks, I have spent plenty of time at the Sseko Workshop getting to know the employees who are all Ugandan women.  One of the common topics of conversation has been the differences in American and Ugandan women. 

I learned the most from talking to one girl in particular, Aggie, who says she was one of the two girls at her school who were known as “the girls who talk.”  She said that most other people just keep quiet and do not speak very much.   The characteristics vary, but most Ugandan women adhere to similar basic principles regarding secrecy.

Ugandan women keep many things to themselves; they are not supposed to tell their business to others.  They keep most, if not all, of their private life a secret and are encouraged to do so by their mothers.  During a typical family conversation, they speak mostly of surface level things…how was your day at school? have you finished your homework? etc…  You do not talk about your feelings, friends, and especially BOYS.  This definitely would not have worked for me.

Girls never drop hints that they like certain guys.  They will go years without disclosing their feelings to a boy.  If they like him a lot and it eventually gets too hard, they will start going to different areas just to avoid having to be around him. 

American girls often get set up with guys by getting their friends involved behind the scenes.  They try to find out if a guy is interested and if he will call so the girl doesn’t have to call first.  Aggie said, a girl would NEVER go up to a guy and try to set up her friend; that is what the guys do.”  It sounds like the guys are the ones who do the gossiping here in Uganda.  Sounds a little different than the way it is done in the States.

Dating is never talked about.  Most girls are not allowed to date until the age of 18.  Of course, kids find a way around that, but dating before the age of 18 consists of walking each other to/from school or studying together.  Aggie said, “if teenagers are caught dating before they’re 18, the mother will tie them up and give them a good talking to.”  I wonder if it would have done some good for my mom to have used a little rope on me every now and then.  After the age of 18, dating consists of going out to a restaurant or hanging out at the boy’s house.  They still do not tell anyone about who they are dating, and it is all very secretive.   

After the marriage, women are just as secretive with their pregnancies… even when it gets super obvious.  The women are shocked by Americans because we talk about pregnancy so much, especially before you can even tell that someone is pregnant. 

Sseko currently has a woman working for them who is obviously pregnant but has said nothing about it thus far…I bet she is 7 months pregnant at this point.  The employers finally had to talk to her about it just to find out if she was going to take maternity leave after having the baby.  It was so awkward they had the entire conversation without directly referring to the pregnancy.  They just kept referring to her upcoming time off.   So interesting!

There are definitely some universal things about women, but apparently gossiping isn’t one of them.

Emma is one of the Sseko managers that Brent works with on a daily basis. She is really funny and is very good at her job. She is in charge of enforcing the rules with the women and making sure that production is going smoothly.

Occasionally, I help Brent out by doing time studies of the shoe and strap process which requires me to sit with the women for hours at a time. In doing this, I have really gotten to know the women and have engaged in some very interesting conversations. One morning, I got a cup of coffee and sat outside, and the first thing Emma asked me was why so many white people drink coffee. She said as serious as can be, “I heard that it is a brain booster, is that true?” I explained to her that it has caffeine in it and helps to keep people alert. She nodded as if she understood. She also asked Sarah, another girl from the states who works at Sseko, who was putting sugar in her coffee, if white sugar is a brand or if white sugar is sugar for whites to use. She was so serious, but I guess in Africa where brownish colored sugar is what is used on a daily basis, there could be a little bit of logical reasoning going into that question.

Later that day, I had to borrow Brent’s jump drive from Emma to save something onto it. He had given it to her the day before to get some forms off and save onto her computer. She whispered, “You can use it, but I haven’t finished what Brent asked me to do. Bring it back to me and do not tell Brent.” They are all so funny about wanting to impress Brent that they do some very interesting things. Julie, the other Sseko director, reminded me that on our first day at Sseko, Emma wore a flight attendant looking uniform with her Sseko nametag (which they never wear) because she wanted to look super professional and wanted to impress Brent. Guess I’m not the only one trying to keep my image up to keep “the boss man” happy!!

Before making our trip out here, Brent had my mother trying to teach me to cut his hair on 2 separate occasions.  I told him that I don’t think I inherited that skill set from my grandmother or mother, but he was convinced I could do it. 

Just when it was starting to come time to trim Brent’s hair with the clippers, we plugged them in to charge.  We forgot that the voltage here is higher than the US, so instead of charging them, we ruined them.  So there went my chance at honing my skills that my mother had so patiently taught me in preparation of this moment.  I’m not gonna lie and say that I’m not glad that it happened.  I was so nervous about messing up so it is probably better that we were able to avoid an unnecessary fight.

Since me cutting Brent’s hair was not an option anymore, he began asking everyone who got their hair cut here and got a pretty good list going of places to try out.  After a few weeks of procrastinating, Brent finally got his hair cut by an Eastern European.  It actually turned out okay but is shorter than usual.  I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t felt the need to salute him when entering or before leaving a room.  He looks pretty militant which isn’t going to make him any less threatening to the Sseko women than he already was.  I never thought in a million years that I would become an army wife!

In my search for a job over the past few weeks, I met a massage therapist who is here for 9 months teaching 12 Ugandan students massage therapy.  He has a huge canvas tent set up outside of a medical center with 6 massage tables. 

 The first time I met him, he told me that on Fridays they are giving free massages to the general public so the students could practice what they learned each week.  He asked if any of us would like to volunteer.  He didn’t have to ask me twice!!

I went recruiting and told all my friends to sign up.  Four of us went that Friday, and it was actually a really good massage. 

Since I enjoyed it so much and because it was free and really close to the Sseko workshop, I got the bright idea to take the Sseko women the next Friday.  I knew they had probably never gotten a massage.  I took 12 of the women that day and 12 of the women went the next Friday. 

They were so excited about getting massages, but I was a little nervous about what they would think about having to take their clothes off and laying under a sheet.  I began by explaining the process.  I told them that you will be completely covered by a sheet and as the therapist gets ready to massage each body part, they will uncover it and when they finish they will cover it back up.  They will massage your arms, legs, back, and stomach if you want them to.  I told them, “I didn’t want my stomach massaged so I asked not to do that one.”  I told them that it was up to them as to what body part they wanted massaged and how much pressure to allow them to do.  The girls all at once said, “No we want the stomach, the back, we want it all done.  We need this so badly.  We have been working so hard.”  I got so tickled at them because they were being so dramatic.

We got to the massage place, and I took a picture of them before and told them I would get one afterward to show how much more relaxed they are.  Afterward, they all talked about how good the massages were and how we need to do this more often.

A lot of times when I see them now, they will say when will we be going back to get massages, and I just laugh.  They are so goofy!  It was a really fun day and I never in a million years would’ve thought they would’ve been as comfortable as they were in that situation.

The other day, Brent and I were sitting on the couch eating supper when I saw a black flash shoot across the room.  I freaked out, not sure what it was, and forced Brent to start searching.

 Then, I saw it again and screamed.  This time, my questions were answered – it was a mouse. 

 So, I did what any normal girl would do and I jumped on the couch so that my feet were off the floor and screamed for Brent to do something.  He instantly responded “Hush, hush…I have never understood why women scream when they see a mouse; what’s it gonna do to you?” 

 I gathered myself and told him to get the broom.  We began the search.  Eventually, we found him crawling on top of a chair.  When we charged at him, he hunkered down.  We decided that the best thing to do would be push the chair to the door and scare it outside.

 Right before we went through with it, I realized how great it would be to have this encounter filmed.  So I told Brent to wait for me to get the camera.  About the time I get the camera to the chair, the mouse disappeared into the couch cushion.  It never came out that night (I wouldn’t either if someone was trying to smash me with a broom).

 For a few days following, I kept the door to our bedroom closed at night because I didn’t want it coming in on me in my sleep.  After a few days, we wondered if it was still in the house, until we found the evidence.   He had gotten into Brent’s peanuts so we moved all our food to the high cabinets where even I cannot access the food without crawling onto the countertop. 

 Over the next few days, we found that the mouse had eaten into my uncooked popcorn that we can’t even eat because we do not own a microwave.  So at this point, I’m sure that the mouse is still living with us and that it is a girl because of the fact that she is eating my 100 calorie pack popcorn.

 We spent a week, thinking of ways to get rid of our new intruder.  It was totally my fault that she was still here because I just had to film Brent banging the broom against the chair trying to get the mouse out (which by the way, I forgot to film in all the commotion).

 Later that week, our friend Dani came over to have supper with us.  She had already heard the story of the mouse, and I warned her to watch out for it. 

 While in the kitchen preparing our meal, Dani saw the mouse scurry across the tile floor.  She found her in a pipe underneath the refrigerator.  So, we decided that I would stand on one side of the pipe with our electrocuting racket for mosquitoes and she would poke her from the other side.  It worked, and the sparks flew.

 The mouse escaped somehow and headed straight out the back door onto the patio.  It was the funniest thing ever, and I’m hoping that the little mouse will tell all of her friends to steer clear of the Boutwell’s home.  So far so good…it has been 2 weeks and no sign of any new intruders!  Maybe we found just the thing to keep them out!!

So we have been in Uganda for 2 months, and I’m just now finding my place.  I’ve spent the past 3 weeks endlessly searching for a PT job at the local hospitals and NGOs.  I’ve decided that there aren’t any available in the whole country. 

Most of the PTs I’ve talked to that are working only see an average of 3 patients a day which is crazy because there are so many people who need treatment.  There are 2 major problems: 1) lack of public awareness of what PTs are and the type of patients who need PT and 2) lack of insurance coverage for PT services leading to people paying out of pocket for what they see as unnecessary and expensive services. 

This has challenged me to think outside the box.  I really just wanted to come here, find a job, and treat patients each day, but since this is not an option, I have to come up with an alternative.  I’ve got some other ideas of ways to increase the public’s awareness of physical therapy, but I’m not sure yet what that will be.  I will update you once I figure out my next steps.

Through the contacts I’ve made the past few weeks, I found a place where I can have my own private PT practice!  I have to develop a client base but having a place to practice is obviously a great start.

I have also made a few contacts to orphanages in Jinja, a town an hour and a half outside Kampala, where I will be going a few times a month to assess the children there.  Yesterday was my first visit to the orphanages in Jinja, and I was able to assess 11 children with disabilities.  It was well worth the long bus ride to be able to see the smiling faces of these children and the amazing work that the women are doing who started these organizations.

During my job search, I visited a ton of hotels with gyms trying to find somewhere to teach aerobics and had no luck.  I finally decided to just find a gym who already taught classes that I could attend for fun.  Last week, I attended an aerobics class and left the gym as the new spin instructor.  I will be teaching spin twice a week in the mornings at a really nice gym; I’m super excited about this new adventure.  Maybe I should have just participated in the classes in the first place and would’ve gotten a job much quicker.

One other thing that I will be doing over the next month will be working with Brent at the Sseko Designs workshop.  Julie, the other director who works with Brent, is going back to the states for a month.  So I will be helping him keep up with everything so he will not get too overwhelmed.  I’m going to be helping with quality control so I will spend a lot of time checking the leather sandals for imperfections.

It is so crazy that over the past 2 months, I have been begging for something to do to keep my days full.  Now, I have 3 extremely varied jobs and more volunteer work than I can handle!

So the past week and a half has been very interesting to say the least. 

Brent is making a huge change from working in a big 4 firm with male and female coworkers and multiple bosses to being “the boss” and having all women employees and coworkers.  Everything is going great with Brent’s new job so far.  He is super excited about all that he is learning and the direction his career is taking.  Since his first day at Sseko, which was last Monday, he has meshed well with the employees and the 2 directors who miraculously turned Sseko into the company that it is today.  It is so neat to see the atmosphere that they have set up for these women and how good they are at their jobs.  You can check out what Sseko is all about at www.ssekodesigns.com. 

We have met a ton of ex-pats who have moved here for time frames ranging from 2 weeks to indefinitely.  All of them are great people doing so many good things.  I’m just trying to figure out what I am going to do.    

I’m currently searching for a PT job.  So far, I have contacted a few hospitals and clinics, but the ones that could understand me didn’t have any job openings.  The other half asked me to email because they couldn’t understand my accent.  So I’m waiting. 

I spoke with a physical therapist that works at one of the hospitals in town, and she is looking around for me.  She told me of a place that I could use to work in as my own practice if I can find my own clients.  Not sure how to begin finding my own clients when I know very few people here, but I will keep that one in mind.  I’m also looking into doing some work with a few organizations working with disabled children and orphans so I am excited about doing some tours and seeing if I can help out in any way at those outlets.

Last week, I went around and had each woman teach me how to do her station for one hour.  In that hour, each woman made 4x as many shoes/straps as I was able to make.  It was a very humbling experience for me.  Brent is hoping that by the time we leave, the girls will have taught me how to sew so I can do touch ups on his clothes. 

I’ve also started learning how to cook from scratch, even getting recipes for making tortillas and tortilla chips.  Although right now I am doing a lot more learning than actual cooking, I feel like I am going back to the basics on everything.   I will let you know in a few weeks how the cooking challenge is going.

I am definitely in a transitional state right now but am really excited about becoming a true homemaker and finding an outlet to do good for others.  I’m looking forward to this journey that we are taking and know that by the end of it, I will be a much more patient, loving, and a better person because of this life change.

So we made it to Uganda safely after a crazy plane ride! We almost missed our plane at 3 of our 5 layovers.   Since arriving to Uganda, we have had a wonderful experience so far.  The girls from Sseko (Julie and Cam) have been such blessings and oriented us around the city and helped us get settled in.  Brent has been a real trooper going around to all the shops to get the things we need for starting up our apartment.  I found dishes that are very similar to what I got for our wedding gifts for 1/20^th of the price.  If Brent would have known that when we registered, he really would have made me take all my place settings back! 

We have been very fortunate with a good place to live although it does have its quirks…drawers that do not line up correctly, doors that do not completely close, power outages at least once every few days, and mosquitoes finding their way inside the apartment even though Brent has set up blockades.  There are so many great things about being here too…tons of people doing cool things (working with orphans, schools, developing businesses for women, water filtration, engineering), and great fresh fruit and veggies right around the corner (I’ll be eating much healthier in Uganda than the states).

Brent starts work Monday and there is going to be a taxi strike so the Sseko women will not be able to get to work.  We will get to meet all of them Tuesday so tomorrow Brent will be oriented around the workshop and go over some of the financial/business information.  You should definitely check out Sseko’s website to see what they are all about…  www.ssekodesigns.com . 

I am unsure at this point as to what exactly I will be doing.  I’m going to do some touring of the different NGOs throughout this week that are currently working in Uganda to see if they could benefit from having a physical therapist on staff.  We will keep updating you as we learn more about what we will be doing and what is going on here in Uganda!