お久しぶり

It's been a while. Reviving this blog because I'm inspired to write again.

The only resolution I made at the start of this year was to change my lifestyle and work towards reducing waste in my life.

It just kind of came to me one day, queuing in the hawker centre during lunch hour and watching everyone pack food to go, in styrofoam boxes and plastic bags, with disposable plastic forks and spoons, one-use wooden chopsticks, plastic containers, plastic cups...and I thought about how there are probably hundreds, maybe even a thousand people going through this one hawker centre in one day, and how everyone eats five lunches during the working week, and the unimaginable amount of waste we all generate all the time.

How is it that we are all still doing it?? Despite evidence and news of the devastating consequences it has on the ocean, marine life, Earth. Eight million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, and the figures just keep increasing. The more I read about the environmental problems the more horrified and terrible I feel. It's not just about plastic waste, there are also other issues like deforestation due to palm oil demand. I never used to think about the way I consumed products, but after delving more into the issues I started becoming more conscious of everything I consumed. I looked up the zero waste movement, found many many tips on Pinterest, and decided to start on it.

So far I have made (or tried my best to make) the following changes in my life:

• Switched to the menstrual cup - After watching countless YouTube videos and doing a ton of research, I finally took the plunge and made the switch to the menstrual cup. It was difficult initially, learning how to use it properly, but I have used it for about six months now and have drastically reduced my usage of tampons and pads. In fact I barely use them at all now. Can I also just say that it is the most liberating thing; you don't have to feel like you're sitting in a diaper of blood, get skin irritation from pads, or risk getting TSS from the use of tampons.
• Switched to using shampoo bars and bar soaps - Bar soaps are easy but the switch to shampoo bars took a little getting used to. The first shampoo bar that I bought was from LUSH, and unfortunately I cannot say that I like it because it makes my hair rough, and I feel that it does not clean my scalp properly. It also contains SLS. Did a ton of searching online and finally found a shop where the shampoo bars do not contain SLS, paraben or palm oil, prices are reasonable, shipping isn't exorbitant, and ordered two shampoo bars. Can't wait to receive them and try them out.
• Dined-in or packed my own lunch as far as possible - This is not always possible unfortunately, depending how busy work gets. Earlier in the year I tried to cook and pack my own lunch bento as much as possible, but the amenities at my current work place make it difficult to do so, so now I try to dine in when possible.
• Refused disposable cutlery - I have my own set of cutlery that I keep at work and use whenever I do have to buy takeaway.
• Reduced use of plastic bags when grocery shopping - I bring along reusable bags when I go grocery shopping. Sometimes we do impromptu shopping though and I do not always have a reusable tote bag at hand, so I'm still working on this
• Switched to environmentally-friendly toothbrushes - Bought wheat straw toothbrushes to replace plastic toothbrushes. Right now I am wondering if an electric toothbrush would be longer-lasting, or if it would be wasteful as well. I imagine the plastic brush head would have to be replaced periodically. I should probably look into toothpaste alternatives as well.

It's easy to think that as one person it's impossible for you to do anything impactful, and therefore there is no point in trying. But collectively consumers do have power to make it known to companies that we expect them to do better, through our consumption choices. I am constantly inspired by the zero waste community online and the tips on Pinterest to replace, reduce, reuse or recycle.

Currently I am looking into making some reusable cotton pads for removing makeup, getting a reusable straw and researching on what other small steps I can take. I am still far from zero waste, but everyone has got to start somewhere.

Start doing something

Travelogue: Teaching in Uganda

So. It's been months since I blogged about anything. But I wrote the post below months ago, so I've published it, with some further editing. This brings back so much memories, and I can't believe it's been a year since I lived there. I should really keep up with my travelogues before I forget everything. Thankfully I was quite diligent about writing my diary when we were there, so I have something to refer to for the details.

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Primary education is free in Uganda, and Ibaako had about 14 teachers and 590 students. There are seven levels in Ugandan primary schools (i.e. Primary 1 to 7) and there's only one class for every level. Nicole (my teaching partner from USA) and I decided to teach Primary 4, which had 86 children of varying ages. The children were mostly between 9 to 13 years old, because some of them chose to start school early, some started late and some were retained. We taught English, Math, Science, Art and Physical Education (PE). We shared the topics to be taught for that semester with their subject teachers, e.g. for Math we taught Geometry while the P4 Math teacher taught Fractions. 

One morning assembly at school

Math class prep

The education system in Uganda is in English, so classes were all taught in English. The teachers however, would often mix in the native language to better explain concepts and things to the students. Nicole and I had to come up with creative ways of teaching our Primary 4 kids, who were still not proficient in English. We tried to make everything more visual, we spoke slowly, we repeated concepts and gave a lot of examples, etc. Of course, with 86 children in a class the learning speeds and methods of the children varied quite widely. The teachers told us to go at the speed of the smarter kids, because otherwise they would be bored. But we tried our best to help the slower kids as well by doing revision classes.

English class at the start of the semester

Not all 86 children were in class every day though, and that is one major impediment to some of the kids' learning. The first week of school we only had 20 odd children in class every day. The teachers explained that some of the kids were still needed at home to help out with farming and chores, and in general the parents didn't think the first week of school was useful, despite classes and the curriculum having started. Some children just don't turn up for days, and when they come back they just continue on from where the class stopped the previous day. Some of them lose interest because they miss out here and there, and they only understand bits and pieces of a topic and they don't know what is going on. There is no way for them to catch up or revise a topic themselves, because textbooks are a luxury they cannot afford. All they know is only what they copy from the blackboard in class, and if they don't turn up for class, they seldom bother to borrow their friends' notes to catch up on the parts they missed.

In general my impression of the education system is that it's rather laid-back, at least at the primary level. There is a timetable for lessons but it's really just for show because no one follows it and it's pretty much free and easy. The teachers are required to submit detailed lesson plans every semester, but all it really entails is copying the previous year's onto a new sheet of paper. The syllabus is also really just a guideline, because no one worries that they can't finish the syllabus. And there are multiple textbooks with varying syllabi and the teachers just pick any to teach. The students are required to be on time, but the teachers don't really come in till later. 

The teachers do not get paid very much and during the time we were there, two or three teachers did not appear at school for about a week, because they had not been getting paid for two months. When they came back they apologised for having been away and leaving all the teaching to us, because they had gone to demonstrate. Later on when they received news that they had been paid, they were so happy they paused class to exchange words and handshakes. 

The only photo I have of the school, taken on the last day

The teachers in school were really warm and friendly. During break or in between classes, they would sit with us in the staff room and share with us about their way of life in Uganda, inform us about the prices for vegetables at the market so we wouldn't get overcharged, tell us where to buy certain things, etc. In turn, we would talk about our lives back home,

Lunch at school was something we had heard about even before we started the semester. The previous volunteers wrote about it in a common diary, which was handed to us during our induction course. Basically they hated lunch at school, and someone described that they "felt like puking a little in [their] mouth every time they ate it". So we kind of dreaded it. But after the first meal Nicole and I felt it wasn't as bad as they had described. In fact, we looked forward to lunch every day and cleaned everything off our plates.

Pocho and beans

One of the staple foods in Uganda is known as pocho, which is made from flour and water. The flour is stirred into water in a pot and cooked until the flour becomes cakey and solid. The texture of pocho reminds me somewhat of ketupat, which is rice wrapped in pandan leaves, a dish known in Southeast Asia. Beans with gravy are cooked separately and poured on top of the pocho and served. It's not a healthy meal, with barely any nutritional value, but it is really filling and that is what most locals eat every day. Lunch was provided only for the teachers every day. The schoolchildren (only the girls) would be rostered to help with the cooking in the kitchen, and would bring the pail of food and crockery to the staffroom at lunch time. One teacher would take it upon herself to divide the pail of food amongst all the teachers present. The kids either brought their own lunch, walked home to eat and came back, or went hungry. On days when there are leftovers in the pail (which is rarely because everyone there is a huge eater), a teacher will go outside and randomly pick a child loitering around and he/she would sit in the staffroom and eat. 

After discussing with the headmaster about what we could do to help the school, we started our own little projects. We fixed the pile of 100 broken baby chairs for the younger schoolchildren, called in a carpenter to install new shutters for some of the classrooms and painted the shutters ourselves. We also painted the exterior of one of the school buildings and one classroom with the help of the teachers and schoolchildren.

I will do a post about the children themselves later on. 

Moonless midnight of the mind

Travelogue: Transport in Uganda

So we taught at school five days a week and basically spent the week in the village. On Fridays though we'd all come home at about 1 pm, have lunch and take the matatu to a town called Jinja, which is about 1.5 to 2 hours away. The matatus are white minivans with a sign saying "TAXI" on them and is the locals' way of travel for longer distances (between villages, towns and cities). There are thousands of matatus around, and they all go the same few routes, so it seems like a public transport network, but they are really all operated by private individuals.

First time on the matatu

The above is the only picture I have of our numerous matatu rides, taken the first time we took the matatu, because it was such a bemusing experience. It's enough to make me never complain about public transport in Singapore ever again. Legally the matatu is supposed to seat only 15 people; the driver, two in the front and three on each of the four rows in the back. But to maximise profits there would usually be 20 people (or more) in the minivan. Four people sitting in each row, plus a conductor who'd just sort of crouch over (see the guy in yellow in the picture) or hang out the window. Sometimes you'd have a stranger half-sitting on you, sometimes you'd have to carry someone's baby for them. At least twice I had to sit on my friends, 'cause I was the lightest and just bend my head so I wouldn't bump it on the car roof when the minivan went over bumps or potholes. And because it's the main mode of transport for locals, they'd sometimes have insane amounts of luggage. We've had live chickens in the same taxi, bulky household items and baggage either carried or tied or shoved under our feet. Once the entire van of people had to alight because this lady had these giant sacks of flour packed into the van and they had to unload them for her. It never ceased to amaze me how much they could pack into just one minivan.

Another thing about the matatus is that they do not leave on time. There is no "on time". They come and go whenever they want. A matatu could just be sitting there by the roadside the entire day and not move an inch, until they fill up the seats. And if you happen to be one of the first passengers, good luck with waiting. The longest we had to wait was about 50 mins, just sitting in the matatu waiting for other people to come by, but our local friends told us it can even take hours. If you try to exit and find another matatu, they'll cling to you and try to convince you that they will leave soon, and you'd just have to be really firm, as I've seen some other locals do. With us though, because there were five of us, more often than not the matatus would be too packed and we'd have to cram ourselves in or wait for the next one, which would come whenever.

And there no designated stops, no bus stops nothing of the sort. You just tell the conductor where you want to go or stop and he will somehow remember it. The matatu stops whenever/wherever it wants to, especially if they see someone standing by the roadside, or if someone wants to alight in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes you tell them where you are going and they will ask you to get in, but halfway through the journey they will tell you to alight and change to another matatu, and you'd just have to follow instructions. So when I said it would usually take us about 1.5 to 2 hours to get to Jinja, it depended on how often we were stopping and whether we had to change to a different matatu to get there. Initially too, they'd try to overcharge us because we were mzungus ("white people", or any foreigner really). 

Another common mode of transport, usually for shorter distances, is the boda-boda. These are motorcycle taxis and we'd usually take them to go between villages, or around town on the weekends. You just settle on a price with the motorcyclist, hop on and off you go. No helmets, roads full of potholes, sketchy riding skills and all. The drivers were mostly pretty skilful, but sometimes they would try to squeeze in between two vehicles even when there is barely any space and you find yourself brushing up against the car beside you. Or they will speed up when it would have been better to slow down. Legally they are only supposed to take one pillion rider, but we would usually ride two on one. Some days to save a few dollars, three of us would ride on one (so that would be four adults on a bike, including the driver, uh-huh), because they would try to overcharge the one riding alone. Riding at night was actually pretty dangerous, because the roads have no streetlights and are full of potholes and sunken parts, but we got so used to it we didn't think twice about hopping on anymore. One night though, there were three of us on the bike and because it had rained and one stretch of the road had caved in and flooded and the driver was going so slowly, the engine died and we had no choice but to get off and wade through the muddy ankle-deep water. 

So yeah. The other day I was taking the MRT and they announced that there was a train delay of 20 minutes and I was going to be late and it was a little annoying. But I thought of how we were all standing in an air-conditioned station even though it was crowded, and how people were getting restless but for the most part were queuing in an orderly manner, and then of all the things I just got used to in Uganda and wondered if tolerance levels changed according to where you were. Sometimes I think it's really just a matter of taking things into your stride and changing your perspective.

Travelogue: Village life in Uganda

About two months late, but hey, better late than never right? I figured I should write about it before I forget even more of it. I've not really shared all my travel stories, or even much of them, even with close friends, because really, there's just so much to tell that I simply don't know where to start. And it would take days and days and some moments were really just "you have to had been there" and everyone would get bored because they have no idea what I'm talking about.

So from May to August this year, I lived and taught in Uganda. I lived in a little village called Busesa, which is located on the eastern side of Uganda, along the highway to the border crossing between Uganda and Kenya. I arrived on my own, a day earlier than the other volunteers who were flying in from UK. It took me 1.5 hours to get through immigration 'cause the queue was sooo long, and by the time I got out I was worried my backpack would be gone and so would the driver sent by the B&B I was putting up at. Thankfully the driver persisted in waiting and I found him amongst the sea of expectant faces when I stepped out, holding a sign with my name on it. Spent one night in Entebbe at a B&B called The Colonial Residence, which is opened by a friendly couple.

First breakfast in Uganda at The Colonial Residence

After 5 days of orientation at a campsite along the River Nile, our dear representative sent us to our village house and left the five of us there to our own devices. And from then on we were on our own. We had our own little house, which was equipped with little modern luxuries that we did not expect at all, thanks to the kindness of our (relatively wealthy) landlord. We had a small refrigerator, a gas stove, a water dispenser, running tap water, a flushing toilet, a shower. Some nights we would be left in the dark with candles and torchlights, but for the most part we had electricity.

Us on our first day in our village house - 2 Brits, 1 Canadian, 1 Singaporean and 1 American

We had to be really conscious of saving water, because it had to be manually drawn from a well to fill a huge 5,000l tank in our backyard and if it had run out we could probably have paid someone to do it but it would be a lot of hassle. So the toilet was only flushed once a day (mostly we used the outhouse), dishwashing was done as efficiently as possible, showers were much shorter 'cause it was cold (if we even showered at all...don't judge :X). It was still very different compared to life back home, but you really learn to appreciate little things more.

We had to sleep in mosquito nets, and for some of us it was essential. I attract mozzies like flowers attract bees, and the first night in the house I had to sleep without a net because the one I bought online was too small to fit over the bed and it was a waking nightmare. I spent the entire night huddled under the sheets that I thankfully bought in the supermarket earlier that day, perspiring like crazy but not daring to show even an inch of flesh because I could hear the deafening whine of mozzies buzzing around right above me. For others though it seemed fine, like my Canadian roomie Kat, who eventually gave up on her mozzie net and slept without one. Malaria is a very real problem there but malaria aside the itching from the mozzie bites is enough to drive you crazy. So we had to get used to taking anti-malarial pills and putting on mozzie spray day and night.

I taught at a public primary school called Ibaako Primary School, which is a 20-minute brisk walk along the highway every morning. We'd get up at 7, eat breakfast and start off for school and reach at about 8. School typically ended at about 4 or 5 pm for my teaching partner Nicole and I, and for the other three who were in another primary school, they came home at varying times. We would walk pretty much everywhere, around the village, to and from school, to the nearby village and it was fine mostly. At mid-day the sun would be scorching though, and when it rained it was terrible, because the roads would turn to mud. One Sunday we came home from our weekend in town and it was pouring and the 5-minute walk from the highway in to our house felt like forever because it was getting dark (there are no streetlights so it is literally pitch dark at night) and the roads were muddy and slippery and the rain was in our eyes and down our faces and we were absolutely drenched.

Hand-washing our laundry at 6 am

Lugging 18-litre bottles back home

Chores-wise we did our own cooking, dishwashing, cleaning and all, but thankfully the landlord also had a houseboy, who lived in a small house attached to our backyard, and we could pay him to do our laundry weekly, and also to run errands like getting drinking water. We did our own laundry once at 6 in the morning when it was still dark, because the houseboy was ill, and it was no joke. Hand-washed a week's worth of laundry and it took forever, because the soap suds just wouldn't seem to come out. ALWAYS BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR WASHING MACHINE GUYS IT IS THE BEST INVENTION EVER.

Communal shaving day in our backyard

World Cup mania even in the village

After we got home from school, we would usually be ravenous so we would snack, maybe exercise a little and then cook ourselves huge portions for dinner. Evenings were spent chilling in the backyard, playing cards, listening to music, planning the next day's lessons, reading on our Kindles, writing in our journals, making friendship bracelets or just sitting around and talking. Bedtime would be at about 8 or 9 pm (crazy early I know), because we would be so exhausted and sleepy by that time and just troop off to bed. When World Cup started, some of us went out at night to these little viewing rooms in the village like the locals, where you pay an entrance fee to watch the night's matches. Life was really simple and peaceful in the village. And it's surprising how quickly one adapts to the simple life and after a while you realise you don't need very much to live well and be happy. Every week would pass pretty quickly and before we knew it it would be the weekend.

Rainbow spotted on the way to Idudi village

Some days after school Nicole and I would walk with our kids to Idudi, another village about a 20-min walk from our school, to do grocery shopping in their local market. Idudi is larger than Busesa, so it also has a larger market with more variety of produce. We would go there about once or twice a week for avocados, bananas, eggs, potatoes etc. Usually in Busesa we would be able to get only tomatoes, green peppers, eggplants, onions, cabbage and eggs. Five days a week in the village we would be on a vegetarian diet pretty much, other than eggs. They do have meat in the village, but the meat would usually be strung up outside their wooden shacks and it would be covered in flies and it never looked appealing enough to risk trying. So we would only eat veggies and fruits on weekdays and gorge on meat over the weekend.

Also, depending on when you go, the crop that is in season would be really cheap. When we arrived it was mango season and mangoes were practically free. They sold them really cheaply in the markets, and the children gave them to us every day in school as gifts. One week we had over a hundred mangoes in the house and we had to give them away because otherwise they would rot over the weekend while we were away. And then it was maize and pineapple season.

The walk home from school along the highway

Some people have asked for details of living, volunteering and/or travelling in Africa and so I thought I'd write it down, both for myself and for whoever is interested. And I'll be happy to answer any more questions. I don't claim to be an expert or to know the place very well, having just been there for only four months and a handful of countries really, but I have been there and all I can share is what I've seen or learnt from my own experience and I would say a hearty "YES" to anyone who wants to go.