Irii Maber! (good afternoon!)
It is Monday now and I’ve been in Uganda for an entire week now! I’ve been so busy it seems like I’ve been here for 6 weeks already! We watched Spain vs. Germany last night at a café in the center of town. We had to leave early in order to catch our ride, but we got to see the only goal scored in the game. Rock on Spain!
I’ve just finished my first day of observing in class. It is much like observing during student teaching. I am sitting in the back and falling asleep while trying to look awake and interested! My classroom is slightly smaller than a portable in CA and has a chalkboard across the front and cement floors. The rest of the room is filled with desks. We had 82 students in class this morning and will have 84 in class tomorrow.
It is strange, but sometimes I forget that I’m in Africa. Last night we watched a movie at the café owned by an Invisible Children worker. (Charlie Wilson’s war) We bought the town out of popcorn and had slightly cool beer. It was awesome! Other times, like in the shower it is hard to forget. Our shower is a tub, a bucket of sometimes warm water and a cup to throw it over your head. I’ve washed my hair only three times since I have been here, and I don’t even care! (Emma think of the shower in Paris, but without running water!)
The eleven of us staying at Christ the King, or C the K, (Joann don’t you love it?!?!) consider ourselves quite lucky. We actually have a working toilet! At the IC house where some of the others are staying, they have a toilet but you cannot flush the paper. So it ends up in a bucket that sits on the side of the toilet. Of course we both have the option of the latrines, the kind with the hole in the ground that you squat over... it’s harder than you think!
Why is it when you travel you always describe the toilets first?!
My schoolmates Wendy and I are resting now, but plan to go into town later so that we can use the internet and find a few things we need. It costs us 1,500 shillings to get to town, which comes out to about 90 cents. We ride on the back of motorcycles, called botas... I think I already wrote that didn’t I! If we ride in skirts we have to ride side saddle, not an easy thing to do with a heavy backpack on. It’s all about balance!
It looks like my other teachers Sarah and Ashley are home now and we will be heading into town so that I can actually post this and say hello to you.
And now I will say goodbye to you, until next time!
Apwoyo matek,
Jolene
Monday, June 30, 2008
Let me catch you up!
Ok people, I have just arrived back home from a graduation party that a bishop threw down the way from Christ the King where we are staying. We danced for a couple of hours with the Ugandan children, were invited in to a hut for dinner (my fifth meal for the day!) and now we are relaxing at home and sharing all of the pictures we have taken over the past week. I honestly cannot explain this experience so far. I will do my best, but bear with me if I am leaving gaps... I will fill them in when I return and make you sit through the thousands of pics I am gathering. I’m going to break this into a few entries, so check to be sure you have read them all!! You will be tested on this!
Made it to NY just fine. Waited for far too long in JFK with my 45 pound bag, little packpack and purse. Imagine trying to fit that and myself into an airport stall! I did it three times... cause I rock!
I spotted an amazingly tall man wearing an Invisible Children shirt. I followed him throughout the airport and met up with the IC peeps. Seriously, John is 6 foot 11 inches... amazing!
We boarded the plane, which was decorated nicer than some hotels I’ve stayed in, and settled in for our the painful 13 hour flight. They fed us three times, I watched two movies (Jenn I finally watched Vantage Point... it was ok) and the stewardess changed outfits three times as well. It was so surreal... but not as surreal as the fact that when we landed in Dubai five of our group went skiing in the mall. They actually built a ski slope inside the mall!! It only cost around 30 dollars to ski for 2 hours. I did not ski. Last time I hit a tree. I didn’t feel like starting off my vacation with broken bones.
We spent the night in Dubai and then boarded a short 6 hour flight to Entebbe. Then we hopped on a Mutatu (minivan) for the 30 minute drive to Kampala. We stayed at the Backpackers hostel for two nights and on Wed. left for Gulu.
Kampala is the capital city of Uganda, so it is like any city. Busy and full of cars, mutatas, bota botas (motorcycles) and bikes. Dirty and crowded, but as we drove around I loved to see all of the colorfully painted houses and storefronts.
While we were there we visited the U.S. Embassy, a school that had a nicer computer lab than my old school, though the dorms were so overcrowded. Students lived in bunk beds that were three high and hung their stuff from the rafters. They slept with their suitcases/trunks on their beds due to lack of space. We visited a mall that was strangely similar to American malls. Our last morning was spent at a wonderful place called Buvubuka. A Ugandan rapper named Silas started Buvubuka as a community center to teach music, dance and knitting to children from the local community. Such a good vibe to the place!
Gulu –
We have been really busy here. Every day seems to be full of new and ever-more eye opening experiences. I have met my teacher, she is called Amono Sarah Priscilla and just about to pop a baby out... like in 4 weeks! I spent the day with her and she took me to her house and her in-laws house, fed me three times and wouldn’t let me leave without taking 4 ears of maize.
Ok peeps, my brain is drained for now. I will continue later.
Apwoyo matek. (Thank you very much in Lwo, the local language)
Jolene
Made it to NY just fine. Waited for far too long in JFK with my 45 pound bag, little packpack and purse. Imagine trying to fit that and myself into an airport stall! I did it three times... cause I rock!
I spotted an amazingly tall man wearing an Invisible Children shirt. I followed him throughout the airport and met up with the IC peeps. Seriously, John is 6 foot 11 inches... amazing!
We boarded the plane, which was decorated nicer than some hotels I’ve stayed in, and settled in for our the painful 13 hour flight. They fed us three times, I watched two movies (Jenn I finally watched Vantage Point... it was ok) and the stewardess changed outfits three times as well. It was so surreal... but not as surreal as the fact that when we landed in Dubai five of our group went skiing in the mall. They actually built a ski slope inside the mall!! It only cost around 30 dollars to ski for 2 hours. I did not ski. Last time I hit a tree. I didn’t feel like starting off my vacation with broken bones.
We spent the night in Dubai and then boarded a short 6 hour flight to Entebbe. Then we hopped on a Mutatu (minivan) for the 30 minute drive to Kampala. We stayed at the Backpackers hostel for two nights and on Wed. left for Gulu.
Kampala is the capital city of Uganda, so it is like any city. Busy and full of cars, mutatas, bota botas (motorcycles) and bikes. Dirty and crowded, but as we drove around I loved to see all of the colorfully painted houses and storefronts.
While we were there we visited the U.S. Embassy, a school that had a nicer computer lab than my old school, though the dorms were so overcrowded. Students lived in bunk beds that were three high and hung their stuff from the rafters. They slept with their suitcases/trunks on their beds due to lack of space. We visited a mall that was strangely similar to American malls. Our last morning was spent at a wonderful place called Buvubuka. A Ugandan rapper named Silas started Buvubuka as a community center to teach music, dance and knitting to children from the local community. Such a good vibe to the place!
Gulu –
We have been really busy here. Every day seems to be full of new and ever-more eye opening experiences. I have met my teacher, she is called Amono Sarah Priscilla and just about to pop a baby out... like in 4 weeks! I spent the day with her and she took me to her house and her in-laws house, fed me three times and wouldn’t let me leave without taking 4 ears of maize.
Ok peeps, my brain is drained for now. I will continue later.
Apwoyo matek. (Thank you very much in Lwo, the local language)
Jolene
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