Life as intern

The darkness of early morning greets me as I wake up in order to prepare for the day at my internship site.  I have a long day ahead of me and I am anxious with excitement for what tasks the day will hold.  The drive to my site is bumpy, (very) dusty, and, at times, pulse-raising.  Although I have been driving on these roads for a couple weeks, I still am in awe at how individuals are able to drive in such conditions.  Coworker after coworker piles into our vehicle along the way and soon the small space is full of conversation.  There really is no “typical” work day for me, but my mornings have become pretty consistent and familiar.

It has been a challenge to figure out “my place” at my internship site.  I was expecting challenges, as with any internship, but the difficulties that I am having here are not at all what I had in mind.  One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome at my internship site is the language barrier between me and the mothers.  Luganda is widely spoken in this region of Uganda.  English is a very common language and many individuals speak English, such as my coworkers, but those who do not have much education do not speak as much, if any, English. 

I did not realize the importance of how verbal communication is used to connect with other individuals until I had the inability to speak with others.  I have been on about 15 home visits over the past couple of weeks and it is difficult to sit through hours of unknown conversation.  My coworkers will oftentimes translate the conversation for me, but there are times when this is not as available to me.  I am frustrated that my lessons need to be translated because I somehow feel like I am not able to fully connect with the mother.  A key social work competency is being able to work through the ambiguity and it is a humbling experience to be dependent on others as well as not being able to have complete control over the situation through language. 

It is quite frustrating to be a mzungu intern in Uganda.  Whenever I go out into the field, I feel more like a clown than a professional.  Children follow me throughout villages either quietly, laughing, or saying “hi/bye mzungu.”  While I do not mind waving or the curiosity of others, the attention can diminish the sense of professionalism I feel out in the field.  There are times children will stand outside of doors or windows to mother’s homes to stare at me and my coworkers will have to tell them to leave.  I never imagined that the attention I would receive as an outsider would be so great and make me feel more like an outsider than as a part of the team.

Another distinct challenge I am finding is trying to find the balance between social work as I learned in America and social work outside of that context.  There are concepts that I have learned in my courses, such as confidentiality, that look very different in this context.  I am surprised by the way that we do work.  I have been fortunate enough to have a placement that would like me to become actively involved in the field work.  On my very first day within the first two hours, I was already in the home of a pregnant mother who was interested in becoming a part of the program.  They have even allowed me to fill out assessment forms, take pictures, and teach lessons.  In fact, the direct nature of how they have put me into the field reveals another way in which they do work here. This hands-on-experience and observation has led me to make many connections and wrestle with the differences. 

I am slowly starting to get into the grove of what it means to work at this site.  This means taking tea with others and sometimes sitting with “nothing” to do.  It means feeling quite awkward while teaching lessons on all of the details of breastfeeding to mothers with newly-born babies.  It means being okay with sitting in a home for an hour or two with a mother.  It means being okay with not “efficiently” getting work done in a timely matter.  I still have a lot to learn and what seems like very little time to learn it.  I only have 10 more weeks at my site and I am hopeful that these weeks will continue to push and challenge me to become a better-rounded professional.

xoxo,

Emilia

My trip was made more financially affordable thanks to the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program)!