Photography

As of yet, I have not had the capacity to walk among the people of Gulu and photograph the way in which they live their lives. I also can't quite convey what exactly is preventing me from doing so. I can only say that it makes me uncomfortable; it makes me feel like I am exploiting a beautiful people and an equally beautiful culture. I am here to learn and experience and observe. I would love to have photographs to better remember and better explain the time I spend here. But taking pictures--treating people like spectacles or oddities--I'm not there yet and I don't know that I will be while on this trip. Although this environment is different, new, and in some ways shocking to me, this is the only life the people who live here know. When I pull out my camera, I feel awful. This may seem dramatic or unclear; I don't really know how to best explain what I mean. Maybe I'll better work out what I'm going through with the taking pictures ordeal as the semester progresses.

Fortunately, however, I am almost entirely alone in this shortcoming. Many of those in my group take pictures constantly and one student in particular is a photography major; awesome and a half. As everyone is willing to share, I should be able to compile something to share with people at home. The internet is very slow and somewhat inconsistent, which makes uploading pictures a time consuming task. But, due to the fact that we're all on lock down in the seminary, more and more pictures are showing up on facebook and in other students blogs.

Here are some taken by one SIT student in my group, Jessica:






Here are a few I've managed to attain with or on my camera:










In regards to the elections:

So far, all is quiet around the area our group is staying for the weekend. Although there were incidents surrounding voting yesterday, for the most part the elections have been a peaceful event. The Daily Monitor is an excellent source for online updates if anyone is more interested on that topic.

Best wishes and thanks for reading.