A day in the life of IOB Master student Sarah Vissers
the day a day in the life of an iob master student
Sarah Vissers , 25 , is from the
Netherlands . After a Bachelor in Communication Science and a Master in Political Science , she undertakes IOB ’ s Governance and Development program to delve further into topics that truly interest her , which are generally at the nexus between political science and development studies , and more specifically cover the social and political dynamics surrounding the extractive industries . Her interest in Sub-Saharan Africa , especially the Great Lakes region , has grown steadily over the past four years and strengthened with her internship at the Dutch Embassy in Rwanda ( from September 2013 to February 2014 ).
She decided to write her Master dissertation on the governance of oil in Uganda with a focus on manifestations of power surrounding oil infrastructure developments and social changes occurring in oil regions .
From June to late July 2016 Sarah carried out fieldwork in Western Uganda and the country ’ s capital , Kampala . An average day in the field consists of meetings and interviews with different types of actors involved – from public to private , from national to local , and from powerful to powerless . It did not take long for the very distinctive and sometimes incompatible stakes of these various actors to become apparent .
We asked her to write up an outline of a typical fieldwork day . First , she notes that
It ’ s not your average “ I don ’ t want to be inside anymore ” experience
A day in the life of IOB Master student Sarah Vissers
“ having a routine is nearly impossible here – you can agree on a time to meet , and you are lucky if people are only an hour late ! The best approach is to ambush people , I have learned . And I am not the one doing the ambushing : I have found that a well-connected local partner is absolutely vital here . Oh , where would I be if it wasn ’ t for my Hoima-based friend . Most people would not have been so responsive , I ’ m quite sure ”.
Days like these were so intense that I hardly had time to think about other things , like home . I did try to connect to my family on Skype twice a week , but Internet can be a bit unreliable ,
“ Having a routine is nearly impossible here .” especially outside of Kampala . Luckily I don ’ t tend to get homesick easily . I also used WhatsApp to stay connected to my family and friends . I sent them pictures and shared anecdotes about some of the nice , funny , or ridiculous things that happened to me that day .
An example was the mild culture shock that I went through when I first arrived in Hoima , the largest municipality in the oil region : it honestly felt like I was the first white person there in years . People thought I was a missionary . Everybody would stare at me as I walked down the street , and some whispered “ you ’ re welcome ”. At the supermarket a man in his mid-40s came up to me and said “ You look like that !” – pointing at an old white mannequin in the corner . How considerate . On another day I was surprised to see a massive camel on the road in the middle of town ( camels are not indigenous to the area ) which had amassed a following of kids . But as soon as the kids saw me they lost interest in the camel and flocked towards me , screaming “ MZUNGU !!!!” ( white person ). Seriously ?!
But I soon noticed that the local people were great actually , they do not take long to open up . People at the local NGO I was partnered with , and people at the hotel I stayed in , were very curious , talkative , and always willing to help . I think in the few weeks that I was in and around Hoima , I met one fellow “ mzungu ”, who was a PhD student at the University of Leeds . She was lovely . I had no interest in going out of my way to find more foreigners there , especially because I had been assured that most of them are deeply religious and very different from me . I was very happy to see and do as the locals do . It made me understand the people better , and it gave me an idea of the issues that are on their minds , like ethnicity . Such insights could contribute to my dissertation . Moreover , I was introduced to ‘ pork joints ’, where people share a giant plate and eat with their hands ! I would never have come up with that if it wasn ’ t for my local friends .
10 Exchange to change May 2016