Dear Bloggees,Welcome to Edible Rat, home of Letha's random, irreverent, and hopefully inoffensive blog page.
If you are reading this, you are either stalking me on the internet (I love you, too) or I finally made contact with you to let you know that I have decided to start communicating with my friends and loved ones while I am away from your loveliness. I will first answer a few questions:
Letha, where are you? I'm glad you asked. Since April 25 and until August, I am based in Gulu, Uganda. Check out the map.
Gulu is the main town in Acholi-land (composed of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, and Amuru districts), part of northern Uganda and close to South Sudan. While I'm here I will spend a lot of time outside of the town, in various IDP (internally displaced persons) camps and smaller towns in Acholi.
Ginger, what are you doing? Angelina Jolie is my mentor, and I thought I would be like her and try to adopt abroad. You know, for shits and giggles.
Actually, I am working as an intern for the Justice and Reconciliation Project, for which I have been a researcher for the last year (but from the Vancouver office at the Liu Institute, UBC). I am also launching the research on a new project called Peace Girl.
Northern Uganda, and primarily Acholi-land, has been in a war for the last 22 years. Over 60,000 kids have been abducted and forced into service in the Lord's Resistance Army, while over 90% of the population have been forced to live in IDP camps. JRP (which is all staffed by locals) conducts research in these camps, meeting with war-affected people and finding out how justice and reconciliation can be realised for them. I'm here to help with that research and with the writing of reports.
Lots and lots of girls have been kidnapped as well, and forced to become the 'wives' of rebel commanders. Some have escaped or been rescued, but they come back to lives of stigma, poverty, and despair. They come back with children in tow and have no way of taking care of themselves, let alone their kids. Peace Girl is trying to help them help themselves and each other.
I am perfectly safe and have nothing to fear security-wise (except for maybe from the R.O.U.S.s: see below). The area is the safest it's been in years and the final peace agreement is just waiting to be signed. People are starting to gain confidence that they might be able to go home soon.
Weirdo, why is your blog called 'Edible Rat'? First of all, why not 'Edible Rat'? Secondly, I decided to give it this title because in northern Uganda, people eat edible rat, and as a munu (foreigner/whitey) I find this delicious, from a cultural (not a culinary) perspective. Edible rats are different from household rats (although some people do eat household rats too; poor Rizzo) in that they are large (think corgi-sized) and generally inhabit the forest. Although to date I haven't tried edible rat, I've heard that it does not taste like chicken: it tastes like rat. Yummy!
Munu, why are you so slow to write? It turns out that culture shock is shocking, and it has knocked me flat on my intellectual butt for the last two weeks. I also have a very sporadic internet connection, and my laptop only works when it's plugged in (and I often have no power at home). These are my excuses.
I have been writing everything down, though, but haven't really wanted to share anything up until this point. So from now on I will be blogging and picking out the juicy bits from my journal (so, there will be a bit of a back-blog for a little bit as I get you caught up on my adventures).
So sit back, relax, and enjoy my heavily censored blog entries. I hope you still respect me in the morning.
P.S. This post is called the Itchy and Scratchy Show because my feet and ankles are really itchy from a lot of mosquito bites. That is all.
If you are reading this, you are either stalking me on the internet (I love you, too) or I finally made contact with you to let you know that I have decided to start communicating with my friends and loved ones while I am away from your loveliness. I will first answer a few questions:
Letha, where are you? I'm glad you asked. Since April 25 and until August, I am based in Gulu, Uganda. Check out the map.
Gulu is the main town in Acholi-land (composed of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, and Amuru districts), part of northern Uganda and close to South Sudan. While I'm here I will spend a lot of time outside of the town, in various IDP (internally displaced persons) camps and smaller towns in Acholi.
Ginger, what are you doing? Angelina Jolie is my mentor, and I thought I would be like her and try to adopt abroad. You know, for shits and giggles.
Actually, I am working as an intern for the Justice and Reconciliation Project, for which I have been a researcher for the last year (but from the Vancouver office at the Liu Institute, UBC). I am also launching the research on a new project called Peace Girl.
Northern Uganda, and primarily Acholi-land, has been in a war for the last 22 years. Over 60,000 kids have been abducted and forced into service in the Lord's Resistance Army, while over 90% of the population have been forced to live in IDP camps. JRP (which is all staffed by locals) conducts research in these camps, meeting with war-affected people and finding out how justice and reconciliation can be realised for them. I'm here to help with that research and with the writing of reports.
Lots and lots of girls have been kidnapped as well, and forced to become the 'wives' of rebel commanders. Some have escaped or been rescued, but they come back to lives of stigma, poverty, and despair. They come back with children in tow and have no way of taking care of themselves, let alone their kids. Peace Girl is trying to help them help themselves and each other.
I am perfectly safe and have nothing to fear security-wise (except for maybe from the R.O.U.S.s: see below). The area is the safest it's been in years and the final peace agreement is just waiting to be signed. People are starting to gain confidence that they might be able to go home soon.
Weirdo, why is your blog called 'Edible Rat'? First of all, why not 'Edible Rat'? Secondly, I decided to give it this title because in northern Uganda, people eat edible rat, and as a munu (foreigner/whitey) I find this delicious, from a cultural (not a culinary) perspective. Edible rats are different from household rats (although some people do eat household rats too; poor Rizzo) in that they are large (think corgi-sized) and generally inhabit the forest. Although to date I haven't tried edible rat, I've heard that it does not taste like chicken: it tastes like rat. Yummy!
Munu, why are you so slow to write? It turns out that culture shock is shocking, and it has knocked me flat on my intellectual butt for the last two weeks. I also have a very sporadic internet connection, and my laptop only works when it's plugged in (and I often have no power at home). These are my excuses.
I have been writing everything down, though, but haven't really wanted to share anything up until this point. So from now on I will be blogging and picking out the juicy bits from my journal (so, there will be a bit of a back-blog for a little bit as I get you caught up on my adventures).
So sit back, relax, and enjoy my heavily censored blog entries. I hope you still respect me in the morning.
P.S. This post is called the Itchy and Scratchy Show because my feet and ankles are really itchy from a lot of mosquito bites. That is all.
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