As I sit on the plane, I realize that my previous post (“Getting Used to It”) is borderline incoherent.* Since I’m saving up what little motivation to edit my own writing I have for graduate school; I figure I will just try to illustrate what I was getting at with an example. Hiring – and… Continue reading Paradoxes of Poverty
Pursuant to some lab results received today, I think I can now officially state that I survived my trip to Africa (wait – what’s the incubation period of malaria again?). Now I have two weeks at home, which is a good opportunity to try to process what was, all in all, a pretty complicated and… Continue reading Africa, Minus Elephants
I made it back. While I realize this isn’t a particularly surprising statement, the fact that I was able to walk – rather than be carried – off the plane was a bit in doubt by the time I left Kampala. All in all, it’s absolutely fantastic to be home, and amazing to think of… Continue reading Two Days, Two Worlds
My first day in Uganda, I met up with Delia – the professor who invited me into the project – at Kabira Country Club, an absurdly fancy fortified country club serving the white residents of Kampala. When we sat down to start working, I quickly realized that, for all the place’s luxury, there was one… Continue reading Getting Used to It
Feel free to prime yourself for this blog entry with this YouTube video, which was totally hot when last I was connected to U.S. popular culture (okay, that’s never, but you get what I mean). Okay, apparently the video is not available in Uganda, so just google “Like a Boss.” Uganda is not my first… Continue reading Like a Boss
I don’t have the greatest track record with summer jobs. In high school, I worked at Sandia Labs in Albuquerque. Aside from the obvious ethical downsides of working in a weapons laboratory, I had nothing to do and spent most of my days watching Home Star Runner (which now sounds almost as dated as playing… Continue reading Shatya
Our research requires us to find a place where we can divide 70 people into numerous groups and conduct several activities both simultaneously and confidentially. In tiny communities like the ones we are visiting, schools tend to be the only places that fit the bill. As a result, I spend most of my days in… Continue reading Words to Know
I worked hard in college. But I never pushed myself physically very much. While people around me would get in fights about whom was more sleep deprived, I can count on two hands the number of times I worked past midnight. The typical cycle of exhaustion mediated with caffeine and exacerbated with alcohol was, for… Continue reading How Far Our Bodies Go
I’ve stayed faithful for months now. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to give into temptation, but I resisted. But, it had been a long week, marked by not enough sleep, too much work, and constant frustration. The never-ending deprivation from things I’m used to was really starting to set in, and I needed a pick-me-up.… Continue reading Cheater
I’ve been told that Ugandans are very indirect (as compared to Kenyans, who are apparently quite blunt). This indirectness is, hilariously, exemplified by Ugandans who are – you guessed it! – giving directions. Every day of our field research is a series of semi-contained catastrophes. The fourth or the fifth disaster of the day tends… Continue reading “And that, my friend, is the way you don’t go”
Alex V. Barnard - Sociology 