Ugandan Time

The week here has been quick as usual and we have less than 2 weeks before returning home now. School this week was quiet; Elizabeth and I spent some time planning lessons. I will work to incorporate some of the active strategies activities that we learned in a recent meeting. Our plan is to write the word “Communication” on the board and have the students list words that relate to their personal definitions of the word. She gave me the freedom to create a lesson plan from the speech book I use to teach. I am excited to relay why effective communication skills are important to everyone everywhere, Acholi or Mezungu. The students have started to really open up more in class and upon reading their mock letters to their parents I found that they are excited to talk about “the munu teaching who helps them with English called Madam Mandy”. They are still receptive to the pen pal idea and I have worked hard to relate the discussions back to that idea. During our weekly roundtable meeting Elizabeth told me that they will “yearn for me after I’m gone and miss me very much”. Although teaching here has been a very different experience; I do believe I have had an impact. I am not surprised however to feel that I have been impacted and learned much more from this experience than I could ever give.

Our weekend was full of preparation for the teaching conference focusing on the newly implemented KOBS (Knowledge of Behavior and Self) program. Friday was a long day and we all struggled with small conflicts such as the difference in Ugandan time vs. Munu time. I believe as a group of American teachers we have all learned to accept that everything here is slower, sometimes making the days drag on. The research regarding the process of creating the program was interesting to me and I found that although much was related to war-affected children I found many connections to other forms of trauma that students in the states may face. I am hopeful in incorporating some of the activities in the classroom as they are built around the concept of communication. I am also excited to share the idea of the program with my students in order to discuss the differences in communication barriers that students in different cultures face.

After the conference, Andy, Julie, and I got stranded at the bank while an African rain came through. This turned into a comedy as we watched the river form in the street and the garbage being washed away past us. We rewarded ourselves with cheese sandwiches and cold wine from the Acholi Inn for dinner. Dinner also became a mock business meeting as we collaborated on the necklace business that is “going to be big”. I named Andy artistic director for obvious reasons, he should be creating a schmancy logo as I am typing this. After much pondering and a bottle of wine, we named Julie D.O.M.S. (director of moral support). So, I guess the big news is that the necklace creation that started for the sole purpose of fundraising gets to live on. I plan on coming home and setting up major production....Ya know, websites and real solid stuff like that.

We were invited to Jolie’s home Friday night (she was a vital role in the organization and documentary), and also inspired Andy to learn how to open a bottle with his teeth.) We sat around a fire and listened to her and her husband tell stories about coming to America, the war, and life in Uganda since with I.C. We got home early and went to bed in preparation for the second day of the conference and Safari!

We set out at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday for the Safari in a stacked metatu with Nathan (who is now my brother), Jenni, Andy, Julie, Lindsey, Lisa, and of course, the Swassers. We were warned about the 4 hour ride on non-roads, but nothing could have prepared us for what we encountered. It seemed like we were climbing in and out of pot holes that were as big as my house. It seemed funny at first, Patches Swasser said, “Spirits are high now, but I can feel them fading fast...My stomach is rumbling”. Luckily for me the dramamine held everyone together and the last hour was spent driving through the park siting D.L.T.s (deer like things), wart hogs, and buffalo. We ate a lovely dinner of pasta and vegetables overlooking the Nile from above. The sleeping quarters were delightful, huge tents filled with twin beds and real pillows, and FLUSHING TOILETS WITH SEATS. We woke up and picked up our sack breakfast (cheese sandwich, watermelon, banana, chapati) and headed to the ferry to watch the sun rise over the Nile. We got to sit on top of the matatu and begin our safari adventure seeing giraffes, elephants, hundreds of d.l.t.s, and giant termite hills. It seemed like we were in The Lion King; the sun was coming up, it was slightly cool outside and as you may be able to imagine the scenery was breathtaking. In between the safari and river safari we had the luxury of stopping at a posh hotel and using real toilets...As for the river safari to the falls...We saw many hippos, eagles, crocs, and monkeys. We approached the falls and tied off on a picturesque rock to take group pictures. The falls were also amazing and after the photo-op we climbed on top of the roof of the boat to finish the ride back. Lucky timing in our switch decision as we were able to sunbathe and came across about 14 elephants on the shoreline. We were able to get close enough to get great pictures and to make Nathan’s day, see them “trumpet” ( ya know, trunks in the air with the loud noises).....

The ride home went by quickly as Andy and I shared earbuds of his ipod, we ate g-nuts, and listened to Patches narrate a movie trivia game in which every question began with, "In this movie...." (comical after hours) The windows were open and the smell of burning garbage and rain on the horizon was rushing in, along with red Ugandan clay. Nathan (now brother/rat whisperer) kept turning around saying, "Oh my God sister, your face is so dirty"...Then Jenni took a picture of my neck because apparently that too was brownish red. Andy's hair turned strawberry burnt umberish...When we arrived back home we took family pictures to show off our new skin colors, hot!!! We were classy as expected and did wet wipe bathes in the hallway before trekking out for our new favorite spot for pizza dinner, The Mandy Special (bell peppers, garlic, bbq sauce, and stuffed crust)...Enjoyed while admiring the remnants of red that shimmered in the candlelight on our skin, candlelit not for ambience of course but because the power went out.

More update and pictures (hopefully) to come this weekend.