Learning Runyankole

I've spent a good part of this week starting to explore the mysteries of Runyankole. I NEED to learn this language. Except in official meetings and when someone is speaking directly to me, all the talk (and lots of laughter) is in Runyankole so I feel like I'm missing so much of life here. Also, most people in the village speak no English so even to get my basic needs met I need the language. I have bought what I think are the only Runyankole grammar and phrase books and have a tutor in the village for Monday-Wednesday and a tutor in Mbarara for Friday-Sunday. Some of the things I learned this week: Most educated people don't read and write Runyankole. Despite spending their whole lives speaking it, they were taught in school only to read and write English, (This is changing and there is now some curriculum in Runyankole literacy) which I think explains some of the incredible variation in speech (some people say... and some people say..; also lots of variation in spelling). According to my grammar book, Runyankole is an 'agglutinative' language. It starts with root words and adds on prefixes, infixes (new to me- it's when you stick the extra part in the middle of the word) and suffixes. All the words in the sentence tend to agree with subject but there are 13 different classes of subjects and the agreement for adjectives, objects, etc. are each different so all very confusing. This is to say nothing of modified verbs and their tenses. I am learning more about parts of sentences than I ever learned for English. But, I think because of never studying Runyankole themselves, no one was able to explain to me why a word that meant the same was different in different contexts. The grammar book was written in 1957 and is a bit dated. Some of the phrases I'm meant to memorize are, "The smith forges spears", and "How fine the cows are!". I'm passing on the first, have committed the second to memory. I've been asked (by Americans) what the language sounds like. (Try to tell someone what English sounds like!) Here goes- There are lots of syllables and, because of the agreement of words and probably just because, there is repetition of syllables- e.g.'please to meet you' is "nashemererwa okukushanga". R's are rolled. There's a lot of "ch" sounds though it's written 'ki' and 'ky'. Most people speak very fast and, in sentences, connecting vowels are dropped. A lot of friendly chats are loud and sound urgent and there tends to be lots of laughter. There's about 6 ways each of saying 'ehhhhh' and 'hmmmm', ranging from 'ok' to 'are you kidding?' to 'how great!' to 'how terrible!'. Runyankole is a tonal language though I don't even know enough to understand when it makes a difference. I learned last night that to say noon, you say six. (1 o'clock is 7 o'clock and vice versa). No one could explain why but my trusty grammar book says time is counted from dawn so there's daytime hours- time from 6 am- and night time hours- time from 6pm. Since this is the equator, it's conveniently consistent! I have been ready to give up (it seems so impossible) but last night someone repeated word for word (a very short conversation) an interchange I had had with a shop keeper a week ago and told me how enthusiastic the shop keeper was about my attempts; and I can now pick out some words in conversation. Putting together the meanings of sentences will have to wait!

health care and elections

I've spent another week in the village and another week with failure of technology- this time my computer wouldn't even turn on! I have learned a lot about putting things in perspective since arriving here, though, so failure of this machine now ranks a bit lower on the list. In any event, it started working again and I am grateful. I spent the week observing at a hospital in one of the MVP villages. I watched deliveries, observed an HIV clinic, and went on hospital rounds in addition to interviewing staff and examining records. There is considerable drama in watching people care for serious illness in the context of profound poverty, understaffing and very low resources. Tests, treatments, and amenities that I've taken for granted are not present (x-rays, many blood tests, consistent availability of medications, water, electricity in some health centers, sheets on the beds, food for the patients). Since my task is quality of care, I've found room for improvement but what is being accomplished and the energy expended in trying to improve the system is impressive. Besides the drama, there's a lot of waiting- another life skill I'm learning about. Some random thoughts: In Ruhiira and throughout the country elections will take place at the end of August. On many days, trucks with singers and dancers pull into town to campaign (I have no idea if there's a political message but the music is great) for a candidate. The pictures are of my favorite candidate and Ruhiirans enjoying the music. Yes, the milky way is beautiful in Ruhiira. And I'm reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri that starts out at Mt Auburn Hospital (!) and Banana Cultures (of course) about the importance of the banana in history. I would appreciate any recommendations for books (especially that are available on Kindle since others will have to wait!)

Nights in the village

Nights in the village have taken on a rhythm. The main evening task is dinner preparation. Without refrigeration, the preparation begins with buying fresh food. There are a number of small stores in Ruhiira but most are unmarked so it requires peering inside open doors to figure out what's there (is it a store or someone's home?). The stores tend to be small, dim (no artificial lights and usually no windows), and crowded. Once inside I usually point and smile with a questioning look. Most people in Ruhiira do not speak English and I am painfully feeling my ignorance of Runyankole. My latest phrase is, "Nsassara, nimanya Urujungu rwonka" (Sorry, I know English only). I've also picked up the words for matches, eggs, and tomatoes this week and can now count to 9,999 (important to get past 100 since 2200 Uganda Shillings= $1 and the smallest coin is 100 shillings). A row of women sit on one side of the main open space every evening. Each has what appears to me as an identical array of small piles of tomatoes, garlic cloves, and avocados in front of her. The women and most other people are quite amused by me. A Ugandan I was with commented that people 'liked me so much' but I corrected him that I believe they are laughing at me- a bit different.

Cooking itself takes a long time. I now refuse to peel matoke as the resin made my hands so sticky it took an hour of scrubbing to get it off (I clearly don't know the right technique). The lack of any refrigerated leftovers, the one functional burner, and fetching water when needed slows the process. By the time we're cooking, darkness has fallen and light in the kitchen comes from a candle. Dinner is eaten either in the dark sitting on the concrete step in the courtyard of the 'intern house' or seated on low stools in the candle-lit kitchen.

The darkness is intense in Ruhiira. I find it impossible to walk without tripping though the villagers seem to do just fine without a flashlight. The stores remain open after dark and are lit with usually a single gas lantern so that the spaces become darker still. I find them a bit more foreboding (even harder to walk into unknown territory) but also find them appealing in their intimacy. The stars are predictably impressive. Nights are cold and windy by Ugandan standards so reading in bed (after great challenges I can now download onto my Kindle to Uganda!) with my headlamp is a cozy event.

First week in the village

I've spent my first days in the village of Ruhiira and liked it! (most of it- bathroom facilities take a bit of getting use to). It takes 45 to 60 minutes to travel from Mbarara to Ruhiira, so living in Ruhiira increases considerably the time available to be in the health centers. All my technology failed me this week so no working phone or internet and, at baseline, no electricity or running water. Water was delivered in jerry cans, though, and there was enough for washing (a very good thing since dust coats everything this time of year).

I spent most of the week in the Ruhiira Health Center (there are 5 others in project and I visited two others this week- In the next few weeks I'll be visiting each for 1-3 days to do a baseline assessment of the resources and clinical care). I observed births, watched patients evaluated and treated (in a 2 hour period, the clinician saw 16 patients and diagnosed (confirmed by testing) seven cases of malaria- everyone laughs when I tell them that I've treated 2 patients with malaria in 26 years of practice),and attended meetings with midwives, doctors, and community health workers where MANY challenges and many ideas were discussed. The photos are of the Ruhiira health center, preparations for my morning bath, our pantry (with 2 types of bananas) and the cooking area.