Last weekend, the other interns and I went to a town a few hours away from kampala called Fort Portal, where the Rwenzori Mountain chain begins! It was definitely an adventure, and I feel like I became more in tune with nature haha. The first night we arrived, we went to watch the US vs. Slovenia game in an Italian Pizzeria. There were mostly white people there, but it was still fun, especially when the Ugandan bar tender taped up an American flag next to the TV!! Too bad we didn’t win, eeek!
The next day, we rented seven bikes (which were probably from like 1960) and we biked for a RIDICULOUSLY long journey through the mountains. The roads were dirt and they had a gazillion potholes in them (like pretty much everywhere in Uganda, haha). I pretty much almost got run over quite a few times, especially one time when a huge truck with a motorcycle next to it were zooming towards me and honking (“which means get the heck out of the road, because I am not stopping”). So I swerved onto the side of the road and crashed into a hill, but it’s all good because I am still alive! Haha
The mountains were beautiful. We left our bikes and took a hike through the jungle to a waterfall. It literally looked like the amazon rainforest or something, there were so many trees and we were dodging so many vines that we basically had to bend over the whole time. We also went to some caves, which happen to be the home of some African killer bees. Lovely! Then we left the jungle and hiked to a crater lake that was in between the mountains. We climbed to the top of the hill that was next to the crater lake…I felt like I was climbing mount everest. But then we just got to sit on the top and enjoy the AWESOME view. I definitely felt more like a hippie afterward!
That is mostly all we did in Fort Portal (besides when I bought an awesome Ugandan hiphop CD), and we were sitting at the bus stop about to head home when something crazy happened. All of the sudden, when we were just sitting there, we heard like 3 or 4 loud pops that kind of sounded like a tire had blown out. I didn’t really think anything of it…until then there were at least 4 or 5 more pops and a lot of the Ugandans started to look scared. We peered down the street, and I could see a man frantically running around a white SUV and opening all of the doors. Then we realized the loud noises had been gunshots!! So we ran to hide in the bus station, and the women was about to close the doors and lock us in so that no one could come get us, but then things started to calm down a little. A huge crowd started to form where the gunshots came from, and eventually we got to ask people what happened. It turns out that the people in the SUV were smugglers from the DRC (which is like 40 miles from Fort Portal). They had apparently hired a Ugandan driver to take them across the border into Uganda, and they refused to stop for the police because they didn’t want to pay taxes on what they were smuggling (which apparently were African purses, but I really think the purses must have been lined with cocaine or something…because why would they risk getting shot over some bags??). Anyway, so the police had ended up shooting the driver in the legs 8 times to get the car to stop ( I am guessing the smugglers were threatening the driver and telling him NOT to stop…I do not know what I would have done in that situation eek). Then they dragged the smugglers to jail and sent the driver to the hospital.
It was quite interesting being so close to an even like that and it was sort of a “cool” experience, although I hate that I actually thought that since people obviously got hurt. I did definitely feel strange when the police, who I assume had done the shooting, were walking non-chalantly away from the scene. And even though I don’t agree with shooting people, I don’t know enough about what goes on here to criticize what the police do. Uganda has been amazingly safe for me so far, so the police and Ugandan citizens are obviously doing something right. But it still reminded me that nowhere is completely safe, no matter how comfortable or at home I feel. Dang!
So that was Fort Portal! It was definitely really cool, and I rediscovered my desire to go to Congo (where the smugglers were from). But I suppose that can wait for awhile, hopefully it will become a safer country for everyone. There was another really sad part of my journey back from Fort Portal, besides the shooting. We were driving back through Kampala, in an area where there are a lot of street children. One little kid, maybe about seven, came up to our window and just stared inside at us. I have never seen such utter sadness in someone’s eyes in my life. Ever. I sort of wanted to cry. I could tell he was supposed to be begging for money on the street, and probably would have to give whatever money he made either to his family or to someone who exploits him. My heart hurt, so much, so I looked in my purse and looked for something I thought HE could use for himself. I ended up just giving him a half-full water bottle, which I know isn’t much. But I did see, just for a moment, a little bit of that sadness disappear from his face, right before he chugged he water in about 2 seconds and afterward held onto the bottle like he would die if something happened to it. I hope it made his day just a little bit better.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Mubende, engagement ceremony
This weekend was amazing! Two of the other interns and I went with our "boss" to a traditional engagement ceremony in Mubende, which is about 2 hours outside of Kampala. The drive over was beautiful, and I was glad I got to see more of what Uganda looks like, especially in places where there is less clay and dirt and lots of pretty trees! The only not so fun, but still interesting part of our ride over to Mubende was peeing in the bush on the side of the road! I suppose it was a good experience, haha, since Margaret (our boss) says "that is how we do it in Africa!" It is probably more clean than using a latrine, so it was fine until a bunch of people walked by me...eekk!
Mubende was a cool place to see, especially because Lauren (another intern) and I decided that no muzungus had ever been there (instead of waving and yelling muzungu, most people just stared in awe at us. Some people even called Scarlet, an intern from China, Jackie Chan!!!). Mubende is apparently surrounded by 99 hills, so it is a really beautiful place. Our hotel was literally on top of a mountain, how beautiful! We got to visit a special tree, called Nakayima tree, that is a very sacred place in Ugandan culture. It was HUGE, and i may have been imagining things but I felt like it did actually possess something sacred. The tree trunk even looks like a face, and the roots are so big that you can walk in them like a room (each one is dedicated to a different god). We made a donation and prayed with an old woman who was the caretacker of the tree. It was a really cool experience, but it was sort of awkward because there were Ugandans who were actually on a pilgrimage to the tree while we were just sitting there taking pictures. Is that bad??
Anyway, the next day we went to the engagement ceremony, which was for Margaret's niece, Joan. The ceremony is supposed to be a formal introduction of the bride and groom to each other's parents, before the wedding a few months later (it ended up sort of being like a wedding reception in the US). The bride gets to pick one of her aunts to put on the ceremony, so Margaret was in charge of everything, and we got VIP treatment! In fact, we were actually in the ceremony....awesomely and sort of awkwardly. We wore traditional ugandan dresses called Gomesi, which are these dresses made of cool fabric with crazy pointed sleeves. It was cool to wear them, even though I probably looked incredibly strange, haha (the brides maids got to wear really cool strapless dresses, which Margaret said were the original Ugandan fashion until European missionaries came and told Ugandans they were too scandalous). We sat in the front row, and had to greet the grooms family when they came (in Luganda, of course). I think everyone thought it was a hoot! haha. I definitely had fun learning a little more luganda, except when I was walking and greeting the family and I hit my head on a jackfruit hanging from a tree...TWICE! everyone laughed:) We also got to parade out with the friends of the bride and dance to african music while everyone watched. oh goodness. They handed out "candy" to thank us for participating, but the candy actually ended up being cough drops...bahaha.
The rest of the ceremony was definitely interesting/ cool to watch, although it was in Luganda and INCREDIBLY long (like 9 hours, at least). During most of the time, the families just make jokes to each other back and forth, and then the grooms sister "looks" for the bride (pretending not to know who it is), and the bride's aunt "looks" for the groom. Then after they have been formally introduced, the grooms family brings a LOT of presents for the bride's family...sort of like a dowry I guess. The family lined up and carried in their gifts, which were all very practical things (like salt, cooking oil, some chickens, and a cow leg!!...which wast chilling in a bad with its hoof sticking out). Then we all danced the night away to African music under the stars..it was so cool!
It was such a good experience, and I cannot imagine what the wedding would be like if the engagement ceremony is so elaborate! But it also made me wonder about a couple of things...like can most people afford parties like that?? It made me realize that there are different socio-economic classes of Ugandans, even though sometimes it doesn't really look like it from the outside. Apparently engagement ceremonies are actually quite rare, because most people cannot afford them. It was sort of a weird feeling experiencing the more "upper class" side of Uganda for the weekend. While I was seeing that some Ugandans could live comfortable lives, I was getting more and more mad that most people couldn't. Whenever we drove through town and saw people who were obviosuly struggling to survive and feed/take care of their families, I would actually get mad...like almost pissed off. Like if a bus carrying a lot of people drove through town, all of the street vendors (even if they were like 60 years old) would literally sprint to the bus almost in desperation to try to make some money. But I still can't really articulate what or who I was mad at... i mean whose fault is it that so many people have to live in such utter poverty? Maybe instead of looking at it that way, we all need to realize that it is everyone's responsibility to help out in every way we can.
At the same time, I do have to remind myself that even if someone is poor in terms of money and resources, they still could be more satisfied emotionally, spiritually, and especially regarding relationships than the richest person in the United States could ever be. One evening I had a conversation with Raymond about how we really want all of the bad things in the world to change (and we want to help change them), but so much of the world's problems are insanely complex, and many times people think their interests conflict. And how are we supposed to change anything if true evil does really exist, and people continue to commit horrible atrocities against each other? It's almost too overwhelming to think about. Raymond and I both acknowledged that this kind of thing is what makes us wonder if any sort of god really exists.
Mubende was a cool place to see, especially because Lauren (another intern) and I decided that no muzungus had ever been there (instead of waving and yelling muzungu, most people just stared in awe at us. Some people even called Scarlet, an intern from China, Jackie Chan!!!). Mubende is apparently surrounded by 99 hills, so it is a really beautiful place. Our hotel was literally on top of a mountain, how beautiful! We got to visit a special tree, called Nakayima tree, that is a very sacred place in Ugandan culture. It was HUGE, and i may have been imagining things but I felt like it did actually possess something sacred. The tree trunk even looks like a face, and the roots are so big that you can walk in them like a room (each one is dedicated to a different god). We made a donation and prayed with an old woman who was the caretacker of the tree. It was a really cool experience, but it was sort of awkward because there were Ugandans who were actually on a pilgrimage to the tree while we were just sitting there taking pictures. Is that bad??
Anyway, the next day we went to the engagement ceremony, which was for Margaret's niece, Joan. The ceremony is supposed to be a formal introduction of the bride and groom to each other's parents, before the wedding a few months later (it ended up sort of being like a wedding reception in the US). The bride gets to pick one of her aunts to put on the ceremony, so Margaret was in charge of everything, and we got VIP treatment! In fact, we were actually in the ceremony....awesomely and sort of awkwardly. We wore traditional ugandan dresses called Gomesi, which are these dresses made of cool fabric with crazy pointed sleeves. It was cool to wear them, even though I probably looked incredibly strange, haha (the brides maids got to wear really cool strapless dresses, which Margaret said were the original Ugandan fashion until European missionaries came and told Ugandans they were too scandalous). We sat in the front row, and had to greet the grooms family when they came (in Luganda, of course). I think everyone thought it was a hoot! haha. I definitely had fun learning a little more luganda, except when I was walking and greeting the family and I hit my head on a jackfruit hanging from a tree...TWICE! everyone laughed:) We also got to parade out with the friends of the bride and dance to african music while everyone watched. oh goodness. They handed out "candy" to thank us for participating, but the candy actually ended up being cough drops...bahaha.
The rest of the ceremony was definitely interesting/ cool to watch, although it was in Luganda and INCREDIBLY long (like 9 hours, at least). During most of the time, the families just make jokes to each other back and forth, and then the grooms sister "looks" for the bride (pretending not to know who it is), and the bride's aunt "looks" for the groom. Then after they have been formally introduced, the grooms family brings a LOT of presents for the bride's family...sort of like a dowry I guess. The family lined up and carried in their gifts, which were all very practical things (like salt, cooking oil, some chickens, and a cow leg!!...which wast chilling in a bad with its hoof sticking out). Then we all danced the night away to African music under the stars..it was so cool!
It was such a good experience, and I cannot imagine what the wedding would be like if the engagement ceremony is so elaborate! But it also made me wonder about a couple of things...like can most people afford parties like that?? It made me realize that there are different socio-economic classes of Ugandans, even though sometimes it doesn't really look like it from the outside. Apparently engagement ceremonies are actually quite rare, because most people cannot afford them. It was sort of a weird feeling experiencing the more "upper class" side of Uganda for the weekend. While I was seeing that some Ugandans could live comfortable lives, I was getting more and more mad that most people couldn't. Whenever we drove through town and saw people who were obviosuly struggling to survive and feed/take care of their families, I would actually get mad...like almost pissed off. Like if a bus carrying a lot of people drove through town, all of the street vendors (even if they were like 60 years old) would literally sprint to the bus almost in desperation to try to make some money. But I still can't really articulate what or who I was mad at... i mean whose fault is it that so many people have to live in such utter poverty? Maybe instead of looking at it that way, we all need to realize that it is everyone's responsibility to help out in every way we can.
At the same time, I do have to remind myself that even if someone is poor in terms of money and resources, they still could be more satisfied emotionally, spiritually, and especially regarding relationships than the richest person in the United States could ever be. One evening I had a conversation with Raymond about how we really want all of the bad things in the world to change (and we want to help change them), but so much of the world's problems are insanely complex, and many times people think their interests conflict. And how are we supposed to change anything if true evil does really exist, and people continue to commit horrible atrocities against each other? It's almost too overwhelming to think about. Raymond and I both acknowledged that this kind of thing is what makes us wonder if any sort of god really exists.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Church, fishing, and stolen ipods!
Sunday morning, I went to church in Katosi with Heidi, the peace corps volunteer. I don't usually go to church, but I wanted to see what it was like in Uganda and I thought it would be a good cultural experience. It was! there is something spiritual/ a little haunting about listening to people singing and praying in another language. maybe that is why priests in the US used to do it in latin?? Anyway, it was nice to hear, but at the same time it reminded me of rwanda. I had not been in a small african church like that since going to two churches in Rwanda, where tens of thousands of people were killed during the genocide. The churches became memorials, and there were hundreds of skulls lined up all around, with bones and bloody clothing in piles on the floor.
So when I was sitting in church in Katosi, in a church that looked exactly like rwanda's genocide memorials, i almost started to hyperventilate. I started to wonder if everyone in katosi tried to take refuge in that church during some horrible violence or something, what would happen? Could the people that were praying and singing so beautifully next to me be slaughtered by their neighbors? Could I be?... Even if I was not in Rwanda, things like that can happen anywhere under the right circumstances (and yes, even in the US), and that is scary. But I decided I would just have to have faith in people (and be careful, of course) and do everything I can to make sure nothing like that ever happens to anyone ever again.
On a lighter note, yesterday afternoon I went fishing! Raymond, Heidi, Avery, and I took a boat across Lake Victoria to a little peninsula in the area, and then we stood on some rocks and tried to catch fish. We had these gigantic wooden sticks to use as poles (they were at least 3 times my height!) and we dug up worms to use as bait. It was an absolute failure; None of us caught anything, and i never even saw one fish in the water. That is one problem in Katosi. it has historically been a fishing village, but there has been so much overfishing that there are hardly any left. That is why the women in the area founded the organization I work at, in order to empower the women to find alternate sources of income.
Anyway, even though I caught no fish, it was seriously so much fun. I kept trying to throw my bait in the water, but the hook kept getting caught on the trees behind me, and i kept almost falling in the water. Some villagers came to watch, and of course they thought it was hilarious...which it was! I had so much fun I do not even care that I probably got schistosomaisis again. ok i do care, oh hell! I kept getting splashed by the waves, and eventually my entire feet were soaked and so were most of my legs. Then later that night, my feet started to itch, just like last year when I got schisto. this time, we could even SEE the snails that the parasite lives in floating around the lake, so great. but oh well, at least i know it is curable! On the way home, the sun was setting over the lake, and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Another ridiculous thing that happened...we had our first encounter with theft! Avery and I have a window in our room that we have open when we are home. Even though there are bars in front of it so that no one can climb in, we found out that that does not stop people from reaching in the window with sticks to steal our things. Avery had left her ipod on her bed while she was in the living room, and the window was open. When she came back, her ipod was gone, even though it had been at least four feet from the window! we looked around for it and finally we told raymond that is was missing, and he guessed it was stolen. Avery was sad, but figured she would never see it again. But Raymond told the man across the street (who has a loudspeaker) to announce a reward for whoever would return the ipod! a little kid (who apparently used two sticks to reach in a grab the ipod throw the window) returned it to the loudspeaker man apparently because he was afraid there was some tracking device inside it.
So we were very happy when we found this out! except then the loudspeaker man told us we had to pay him for the ipod. WHAT?? thats right. he made avery buy back HER OWN IPOD (which even had her name engraved on it). How ridiculous, haha! and then he acted like he was the good guy, and said "i will address the boy who stole the ipod and fix the problem." but HE is part of the problem, right?? he made avery buy her own ipod when he knew it had been stolen from her. That is just how they do it here though, and at least we got it back! Avery asked if it would have been good to go to the police, but Raymond said that would probably make things worse (one of my friends was mugged by the police when he was in Uganda...haha). They even do mob justice here, as opposed to going to the police. Like the other day on the way home from teaching, we saw a big crowd with people fighting in the middle. We later found out that the crowd was beating up a man that had stolen something! It was interesting though, because the atmosphere was not this aggressive, dangerous feeling that you might expect. it was more people were laughing and doing what they believe is the right thing to do. it even seemed like the guy getting beaten up felt like that too. It was interesting, but I could not stay and watch.
I hope everyone is doing well,
love colleen
So when I was sitting in church in Katosi, in a church that looked exactly like rwanda's genocide memorials, i almost started to hyperventilate. I started to wonder if everyone in katosi tried to take refuge in that church during some horrible violence or something, what would happen? Could the people that were praying and singing so beautifully next to me be slaughtered by their neighbors? Could I be?... Even if I was not in Rwanda, things like that can happen anywhere under the right circumstances (and yes, even in the US), and that is scary. But I decided I would just have to have faith in people (and be careful, of course) and do everything I can to make sure nothing like that ever happens to anyone ever again.
On a lighter note, yesterday afternoon I went fishing! Raymond, Heidi, Avery, and I took a boat across Lake Victoria to a little peninsula in the area, and then we stood on some rocks and tried to catch fish. We had these gigantic wooden sticks to use as poles (they were at least 3 times my height!) and we dug up worms to use as bait. It was an absolute failure; None of us caught anything, and i never even saw one fish in the water. That is one problem in Katosi. it has historically been a fishing village, but there has been so much overfishing that there are hardly any left. That is why the women in the area founded the organization I work at, in order to empower the women to find alternate sources of income.
Anyway, even though I caught no fish, it was seriously so much fun. I kept trying to throw my bait in the water, but the hook kept getting caught on the trees behind me, and i kept almost falling in the water. Some villagers came to watch, and of course they thought it was hilarious...which it was! I had so much fun I do not even care that I probably got schistosomaisis again. ok i do care, oh hell! I kept getting splashed by the waves, and eventually my entire feet were soaked and so were most of my legs. Then later that night, my feet started to itch, just like last year when I got schisto. this time, we could even SEE the snails that the parasite lives in floating around the lake, so great. but oh well, at least i know it is curable! On the way home, the sun was setting over the lake, and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Another ridiculous thing that happened...we had our first encounter with theft! Avery and I have a window in our room that we have open when we are home. Even though there are bars in front of it so that no one can climb in, we found out that that does not stop people from reaching in the window with sticks to steal our things. Avery had left her ipod on her bed while she was in the living room, and the window was open. When she came back, her ipod was gone, even though it had been at least four feet from the window! we looked around for it and finally we told raymond that is was missing, and he guessed it was stolen. Avery was sad, but figured she would never see it again. But Raymond told the man across the street (who has a loudspeaker) to announce a reward for whoever would return the ipod! a little kid (who apparently used two sticks to reach in a grab the ipod throw the window) returned it to the loudspeaker man apparently because he was afraid there was some tracking device inside it.
So we were very happy when we found this out! except then the loudspeaker man told us we had to pay him for the ipod. WHAT?? thats right. he made avery buy back HER OWN IPOD (which even had her name engraved on it). How ridiculous, haha! and then he acted like he was the good guy, and said "i will address the boy who stole the ipod and fix the problem." but HE is part of the problem, right?? he made avery buy her own ipod when he knew it had been stolen from her. That is just how they do it here though, and at least we got it back! Avery asked if it would have been good to go to the police, but Raymond said that would probably make things worse (one of my friends was mugged by the police when he was in Uganda...haha). They even do mob justice here, as opposed to going to the police. Like the other day on the way home from teaching, we saw a big crowd with people fighting in the middle. We later found out that the crowd was beating up a man that had stolen something! It was interesting though, because the atmosphere was not this aggressive, dangerous feeling that you might expect. it was more people were laughing and doing what they believe is the right thing to do. it even seemed like the guy getting beaten up felt like that too. It was interesting, but I could not stay and watch.
I hope everyone is doing well,
love colleen
St. John Bosco
This past week in uganda has been awesome!
Avery and I started to get more involved in the community, especially in the schools. Every monday and wednesday, we spend half a day (which actually ends up being about six hours) teaching at the primary school called St. Johnny Bosco that is about an hour walk from Katosi. We have been teaching together in the 4th grade classroom everyday so far, and I think that is working well because even though we are only working with one class, i think we are much more effective together (teaching is harder than I thought, especially because i am not the best at explaining things, haha). The way they teach here in Uganda is a little different in the US, especially because the schools pretty much have NO access to resources. There is a chalkboard in every room, rows of benches (the kids have to kneel on the dirt ground and use the bench as a table when they are taking a test), no electricity or water, and each kid only has one notebook. Each teacher only has one or two workbooks that they can teach out of, and apparently all the teachers at St Johnny bosco are volunteers (very dedicated ones!). So basically in order to learn something, the teacher says a sentence to the class, and then repeats part of the sentence again and the students finish it. Like for example, in one social studies lesson we watched, the teacher said "ok class, the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic needs." and then he repeated "the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic what?" and then the class said "basic needs!" in unison. Even though it is hard to tell if the kids are actually learning the meaning of some things as opposed to simply repeating what the teacher says, I think it is the best option they have. It is also slightly funny, one of the other interns said she went to a conference on domestic violence, and at the beginning the leader said "So today we are going to discuss domestic violence. Today we are going to discuss domestic what?" and then everyone repeated "domestic violence!" That just seems a little ridiculous, but baller nonetheless! (especially since the women here clearly work to empower each other).
Anyway, so the yesterday at St. Johnny bosco, we taught math and social studies (which was more like geography because we were learning about physical features of Uganda, yay!!). Then, when the kids were looking a bit bored, we decided it was time for physical education so we went outside and played duck duck goose. They had never played before, so it took awhile to get started, but they absolutely LOVED it. I think they thought it was cool because it gave them an excuse to chase each other, haha. and I am pretty sure they were saying "dog dog goose" instead of duck duck goose, but hey, that works too!! I also brought out my frisbee, and I showed them how to throw it around for a few minutes! they were sooo excited, i felt like i was throwing a bouquet at a wedding because they all crowded in front of me and when i threw it they would scream in their little high pitched voices and all try to catch it! then i had to go inside for something, and when i game back it had been broken into two pieces! but luckily i brought like five, haha.
I am also helping the peace corps volunteer build a community garden at another primary school. I am going to learn how it works and everything, and then I am going to introduce the idea to st. Johnny bosco. I think it would be cool because it will help the kids work together and also give them some extra food to eat at lunch. right now, the school can only provide them with pourage (i have no idea how to spell that word haha). You can plant cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and things like that in key hole gardens, and you use compost and dirty water and things like that to make the plants grow. I also might have each class come up with a mural design to paint in their class rooms! a lot of schools and buildings have murals, but st johnny bosco just opened, so it does not have any yet.
I also have some other projects that I want to do, although they all may not actually work out. but anyway, I am going to host a kickball tournament at one school, and at another I am going to teach the kids how to play field hockey! The headmaster asked me what my favorite sport was, and i told him field hockey but i didnt think i could teach them because I did not bring any sticks! but he said, "we can MAKE field hockey sticks!!" so I guess that is what we shall do!...perhaps out of dead trees?? hahaha, we will see.
And I am going to talk to Katosi's town clerk on thursday, because I heard he wished there was a map of Katosi!....I am going to see if he wants me to try to make one (which is perfect, seeing as how I love maps!) I do not know how that will work, but i think any map is better than nothing.
Anyway, I think everything is going well, even though it is still going slowly. But last night when I went to buy an egg, I ran into the headmaster of St Johnny bosco. He was not at school yesterday, but he said the teachers told him Avery and I were really good teachers, and that they want us to come back as much as we can. It felt good to hear that!!
Avery and I started to get more involved in the community, especially in the schools. Every monday and wednesday, we spend half a day (which actually ends up being about six hours) teaching at the primary school called St. Johnny Bosco that is about an hour walk from Katosi. We have been teaching together in the 4th grade classroom everyday so far, and I think that is working well because even though we are only working with one class, i think we are much more effective together (teaching is harder than I thought, especially because i am not the best at explaining things, haha). The way they teach here in Uganda is a little different in the US, especially because the schools pretty much have NO access to resources. There is a chalkboard in every room, rows of benches (the kids have to kneel on the dirt ground and use the bench as a table when they are taking a test), no electricity or water, and each kid only has one notebook. Each teacher only has one or two workbooks that they can teach out of, and apparently all the teachers at St Johnny bosco are volunteers (very dedicated ones!). So basically in order to learn something, the teacher says a sentence to the class, and then repeats part of the sentence again and the students finish it. Like for example, in one social studies lesson we watched, the teacher said "ok class, the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic needs." and then he repeated "the advantages of a nuclear family are that children are more likely to have access to basic what?" and then the class said "basic needs!" in unison. Even though it is hard to tell if the kids are actually learning the meaning of some things as opposed to simply repeating what the teacher says, I think it is the best option they have. It is also slightly funny, one of the other interns said she went to a conference on domestic violence, and at the beginning the leader said "So today we are going to discuss domestic violence. Today we are going to discuss domestic what?" and then everyone repeated "domestic violence!" That just seems a little ridiculous, but baller nonetheless! (especially since the women here clearly work to empower each other).
Anyway, so the yesterday at St. Johnny bosco, we taught math and social studies (which was more like geography because we were learning about physical features of Uganda, yay!!). Then, when the kids were looking a bit bored, we decided it was time for physical education so we went outside and played duck duck goose. They had never played before, so it took awhile to get started, but they absolutely LOVED it. I think they thought it was cool because it gave them an excuse to chase each other, haha. and I am pretty sure they were saying "dog dog goose" instead of duck duck goose, but hey, that works too!! I also brought out my frisbee, and I showed them how to throw it around for a few minutes! they were sooo excited, i felt like i was throwing a bouquet at a wedding because they all crowded in front of me and when i threw it they would scream in their little high pitched voices and all try to catch it! then i had to go inside for something, and when i game back it had been broken into two pieces! but luckily i brought like five, haha.
I am also helping the peace corps volunteer build a community garden at another primary school. I am going to learn how it works and everything, and then I am going to introduce the idea to st. Johnny bosco. I think it would be cool because it will help the kids work together and also give them some extra food to eat at lunch. right now, the school can only provide them with pourage (i have no idea how to spell that word haha). You can plant cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and things like that in key hole gardens, and you use compost and dirty water and things like that to make the plants grow. I also might have each class come up with a mural design to paint in their class rooms! a lot of schools and buildings have murals, but st johnny bosco just opened, so it does not have any yet.
I also have some other projects that I want to do, although they all may not actually work out. but anyway, I am going to host a kickball tournament at one school, and at another I am going to teach the kids how to play field hockey! The headmaster asked me what my favorite sport was, and i told him field hockey but i didnt think i could teach them because I did not bring any sticks! but he said, "we can MAKE field hockey sticks!!" so I guess that is what we shall do!...perhaps out of dead trees?? hahaha, we will see.
And I am going to talk to Katosi's town clerk on thursday, because I heard he wished there was a map of Katosi!....I am going to see if he wants me to try to make one (which is perfect, seeing as how I love maps!) I do not know how that will work, but i think any map is better than nothing.
Anyway, I think everything is going well, even though it is still going slowly. But last night when I went to buy an egg, I ran into the headmaster of St Johnny bosco. He was not at school yesterday, but he said the teachers told him Avery and I were really good teachers, and that they want us to come back as much as we can. It felt good to hear that!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
water, volunteering, raymond
This week in Katosi has been busy, but also not busy at the same time. Avery and I have been resting and getting adjusted a lot of the time, but i feel like that also takes a lot of energy! Like this morning, we had to walk about two blocks to get water. Usually they have a gigantic rainwater collector right on the compound where we live, but it has not rained in a really long time here. So we ventured down the road to a shallow well, and filled up like 5 jerrycans of water. All of the children around were laughing at me, because they said I pumped the water so peacefully...haha! The cans were sooo heavy, I could only carry one at a time, and on the way home the entire village was laughing at me because I was struggling and spilling water all over myself. I guess it would be funny to see a tall american girl who is much weaker than the children here who can carry two at a time or the women who carry the cans on their heads! That made me realize even more how hard it is in a rural village to just do the tasks you need to survive (when I did my laundry from a bucket the other day, it literally took me an hour and a half). And it made me realize how important it is not to waste water! (if you take a bath out of a bucket, you'd be surprised that you only need like one bowl full of water!)
I also have really liked just walking around the village. All of the kids run after me, and I feel like everywhere I go I have a crew of children following me! I have waved at so many people that the other day, I almost waved at a goat. it was a cute goat though, haha.
Yesterday, I had my first experience volunteering! Avery, Heidi (the peace corps volunteer) and I got up really early and walked to one of the new primary schools outside Katosi. It took us an hour to walk there, and then Avery and I taught a few subjects to a fourth grade class! Math went well, we just did practice problems and things like that! But when I tried to teach about the solar system, everyone just looked at me like I was crazy! Maybe we could make a solar system as a class project...out of oranges or something..!? Avery and I are going to go back to the school two days a week! It was SO exhausting, and when i got home I thought I might die of thirst and my feet were dirty and swollen. I can't imagine having to walk so many miles barefoot everyday like most of the children in the area. but even though I was exhausted, it was definitely worth it. On the way home, we saw a spring where the neighboring village gets drinking water and washes their clothes. It was probably the size of two bathtubs, and it was so dirty. It made me sad, so I gave some of the little kids following us my bottle of water.
There is also a Ugandan guy, named Raymond, who is staying in our house for a couple of weeks. He is really cool, and he speaks english so we have had some interesting conversations! He taught me a lot about Ugandan ethnic groups, and he said that even though Africa has many different nationalities and ethnic groups, it is made up of one people. We talked a little about Ugandan politics too, especially about how a lot of the country has been happy with Museveni's rule but they still want him to step down and not run in the next election. Raymond said he likes Museveni, and thinks he should stay in power even though he has been ruling for about 20 years, because it would impossible to get anything done if the country changed leaders as often as the US. We also started talking about the Nile for some reason, and I commented on the fact that both Rwanda and Uganda claim to have the source of the Nile. I thought Uganda was right because the Nile starts at lake victoria, which isn't even in Rwanda! Raymond said that Rwanda claims one of its rivers that runs into lake victoria is the source, because when bodies were thrown into that river during the genocide, they were found in Uganda..even in the capital city. jesus.
But anyway, it has been fun to have raymond around, we have been playing cards and scrabble (although he likes to make up words and say "I just have a feeling that this should be a word!") haha. Avery and I are going with him and Heidi to Kampala next week to watch the opening match of the world cup!!!
-colleen
p.s. the man sitting next to me in the internet cafe has one of obama's speeches as his ringtone. how baller!
I also have really liked just walking around the village. All of the kids run after me, and I feel like everywhere I go I have a crew of children following me! I have waved at so many people that the other day, I almost waved at a goat. it was a cute goat though, haha.
Yesterday, I had my first experience volunteering! Avery, Heidi (the peace corps volunteer) and I got up really early and walked to one of the new primary schools outside Katosi. It took us an hour to walk there, and then Avery and I taught a few subjects to a fourth grade class! Math went well, we just did practice problems and things like that! But when I tried to teach about the solar system, everyone just looked at me like I was crazy! Maybe we could make a solar system as a class project...out of oranges or something..!? Avery and I are going to go back to the school two days a week! It was SO exhausting, and when i got home I thought I might die of thirst and my feet were dirty and swollen. I can't imagine having to walk so many miles barefoot everyday like most of the children in the area. but even though I was exhausted, it was definitely worth it. On the way home, we saw a spring where the neighboring village gets drinking water and washes their clothes. It was probably the size of two bathtubs, and it was so dirty. It made me sad, so I gave some of the little kids following us my bottle of water.
There is also a Ugandan guy, named Raymond, who is staying in our house for a couple of weeks. He is really cool, and he speaks english so we have had some interesting conversations! He taught me a lot about Ugandan ethnic groups, and he said that even though Africa has many different nationalities and ethnic groups, it is made up of one people. We talked a little about Ugandan politics too, especially about how a lot of the country has been happy with Museveni's rule but they still want him to step down and not run in the next election. Raymond said he likes Museveni, and thinks he should stay in power even though he has been ruling for about 20 years, because it would impossible to get anything done if the country changed leaders as often as the US. We also started talking about the Nile for some reason, and I commented on the fact that both Rwanda and Uganda claim to have the source of the Nile. I thought Uganda was right because the Nile starts at lake victoria, which isn't even in Rwanda! Raymond said that Rwanda claims one of its rivers that runs into lake victoria is the source, because when bodies were thrown into that river during the genocide, they were found in Uganda..even in the capital city. jesus.
But anyway, it has been fun to have raymond around, we have been playing cards and scrabble (although he likes to make up words and say "I just have a feeling that this should be a word!") haha. Avery and I are going with him and Heidi to Kampala next week to watch the opening match of the world cup!!!
-colleen
p.s. the man sitting next to me in the internet cafe has one of obama's speeches as his ringtone. how baller!
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