Connected!
on Thea's Blog (Uganda), 23/Jan/2010 18:37, 34 days ago
So the blog entries are coming thick and fast because, after a week of I’m-gonna-throw-this-effing-computer-out-of-the-window-and-possibly-jump-out-after-it outbursts induced by my initiation in to the university’s hopelessly intermittent power/internet supply, I decided to take the bold and un-volunteery step of investing in MY OWN INTERNET.Okay so it costs 3½ days salary per month and is still pretty painful as a result of my INANELY SLOW if comfortingly familiar old laptop, at least it works without (quick tap on the wooden table) apparent interruption. And they tell me if I ever upgrade my computer’s memory, it will be fast enough for all manner of fancy caper like movie downloads and skype-video.As anticipated, it was a somewhat frustrating week as I hung around the university like one of the many stray dogs in town, pretending I had a job and was desperately busy with it. The sad truth being I had no such job and was desperately busy with nothing but trying to look desperately busy. Finally on Friday I received my expected summons to the office of Professor Kasenene, the Vice Chancellor, to effectively plead my case for employment. I had met Prof K before and knew he was not in any way scary, but I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of nervousness nonetheless. So when the Prof, after hearing a somewhat stuttered summary of my proposed workplan, erupted in a huge smile and said ‘Thea,’ (he even got my name right!), ‘you are most welcome,’ I had to crush an impulse to hug him.So I have a job. First hurdle cleared. And I now have a job description, largely of my own crafting. I even have, thanks to Buhara Edward, a newly fixed bike on which I can propel myself along the dusty, sweaty road to the out-of-town campus where I’ll be based. All I need now is a desk, a computer, and a bit of will among my colleagues to point me in the right direction and get me settled in. I don’t want to prematurely nay-say, but I do have a certain hunch that this latter will not be especially forthcoming. The clear lesson of my not-quite-first week is that self-sufficiency and doing-it-yourself where no one else is obliging is sometimes the only way to get anywhere.