Week 2 it feels like much longer...

Sorry this has taken a while to update. Schedules have been hectic and power at the internet cafe has been spotty.

I have almost completed my stay at the Nagenda International Academy of Art and Design (NIAAD). Teaching photography here has been a roller coaster of an experience. My goal was to have each student have a developed roll of black and white and a developed roll of color film they shot, have a final assignment approved, and have used all they different types of cameras I brought (Minolta, Pentax, Practika and Sears).

They had 4 days of basic instruction - going over the parts and functions of the camera. When I said opening (meaning aperture) they thought I was saying upside which posed as a problem for a day or so. We talked about it and then practiced different shutter speeds and f-stops on my digital so they could see the results right away and correct their mistakes. I gave mini class assignments and each student worked with the class to accomplish the result (for example use spot metering to take a photography of a dark skinned person with a white back ground or make a silhouette). That went well and we started shooting film on Monday. after filing out a quiz/worksheet. I told them to experiment trying different camera angles and settings. They really seemed to enjoy the freedom and opportunity telling other teachers that is was going really well. It was great to see them answer each other's questions and work together. After the word was out that they were going to be shoot they were there at 8:15 which is when class technically starts, but in Uganda is unheard of.


Developing here was a quasi-nightmare. There is no darkroom at the school so we are taking it to a lab that was recommended by Nicholas who I taught with for a few days. We got to the city Wednesday night and were assured that we could drop it off and pick it up that night. After getting 7 sets of directions from 7 very nice people that sent us all over town we got to the lab after it closed. We still dropped them off and were told they would be ready by the next morning by 9:30. Back home, wake up, back to the city. Power had been out for the morning and the film wasn't done until 11ish. On top of that it seems that some rolls were not loaded correctly and did not turn out, others had scratches or chemical spots that were not rinsed properly at the lab. We won't be going back there again.


It was frustrating to the students which I understand, but they went right back out and shot more that I am waiting to get back hopefully Monday. They are documenting what was in each photograph as well as their shutter speed and f-stop so they can match them up and see what different settings look like.

Additionally, I went down to the school last night to work with them after dark for an hour. We did light drawing with long exposures. I brought a few lights a flashlight and a head lamp that had a red setting. We put the light behind a banana tree leaf for green, a water jug for yellow, and a wash basin for blue. Around 11 of my 25 students came out and we had a really great time. They were dancing around with the lights and trying different things. It was nice to have instant gratification on the digital camera screen after a week of photos not turning out. Monday will bring new photos and a new assignment. I am at NIAAD until Wedneday.

Other updates and news. Despite what the international news might be saying about riots in Kampala, things are mostly under control and expected to cool down after today. The king of Buganda (a region in the central) had planned a trip to parts of his kingdom and the president ordered the police to block him from entering some main cities. This upset the people who want to the king to visit so it was civilians vs. police. People blocked roads, there were some cars burnt, and rocks were thrown. I am close to the city and have seen trucks full of police and military driving into the city, but I am safe and not close enough to Kampala to have any problems. What I have heard is the president and his family own 40% of all business here and they are trying to rid the country of tradition. The government has shut down the news radio station in Kamplala so most news in international news, second dayy newspapers and word of mouth. Kizito who started NIAAD also mentioned that Bush had a working relationship with the president and supported his tactics and Obama has pledged that no U.S. aid would go to countries with corrupt governments. An example of the corruption is Uganda had a 2 term limit placed on the presidency and he changed the constitution because he claims he will serve 10 more years. Elections are in 8 months and people fear that what happened in Kenya will be replicated here. I am very interested in the politics here and talk to as many people as I can.

Everything started on Thursday, but I went into the city that night because Kizito was having us over for dinner (it was my birthday). The city was not it's bustling street vendor self, but there were no problems at all. He has a great small house in the campus of Macarea University and a little mop top daughter and shy son that sat next to Loil (an Israeli volunteer who is here for a month and lived with Zeevic and myself) and ate dinner with us. It was a nice end to a stressful day.

I went to the radio station concert over a week ago with Annette who works at the school to see Emmanuel Jal. You should all check out his music, but most especially his documentary War Child. I saw it at the Cleveland Film Festival and it was wonderful. All proceeds go to building a school in Jal's village in Darfur. He was full of life and emanated peace. It was great. The other performances were not so great. They were all about God like the lyrics, "I am not a BASTARD (repeated by the crowd) - I am born in the light of Jesus." Not my cup of tea. Every performer had a group prayer for the radio station - even weirder. It was worth it to see Jal though. Mostly college age and young adults in the crowd and very much like a music festival in the US.

There is so much more I can write, but I don't trust the power is going to sustain itself much longer.

I am having fun and am glad to make new connections in a different area of the country. I will hopefully have a book to put together when I return home with the student's photography.

Thanks for reading.
peace,
Lauren