Returning to America

I have now been back on U.S. soil for a week and a half. 5 days were spent in North Litchfield, one day at the lake, and 4 days in Columbia and back at work. Uganda is never far from my mind. I do not miss the pit latrines, the sporadic electricity (especially once the World Cup ended), the miserable drive to Keyo on the back of a boda boda, and the same 5 meals over and over. However as I write this, I realize those are simply inconveniences. What I do miss is much more important and definitely outweighs these silly complaints. I miss my friends at Keyo SS, listening to Ojok Albert laugh and seeing Komakech Stephen’s smile when I walked into S2B. I miss looking out at the Ugandan landscape and feeling awe over its beauty. I miss the sunrise over Pece Stadium, the only thing that made exercising worth it. I miss visiting with the ladies in the market. I never thought I would say it, but I miss African time because it demonstrated that interacting with people was more important than what the clock said. I miss the complete trust in the idea that what needed to get done would get done. I will always remember that it is important to greet others and ask how they are first before starting your task. I will always remember children staring and when I spoke to them, them erupting into laughter. I will miss the enthusiasm to learn that the students had, and I will miss their smiles when they made a connection. I will miss the engaging talks with my fellow teachers and the support felt from them.
Most importantly, I must remember that no matter how critical others are of the work that educators do, educators are the ones who have the ability to create a future better than the present.

Last Days at Keyo SS

Harriet and I spent our final days in the classroom together collaborating to the end. Our final lesson was filled with team teaching, and I really felt that Harriet saw the advantages of activities that were more student-driven. The teachers in northern Uganda have a tough road ahead; until the government provides enough textbooks for each student to have one, dependence on lecture and note taking will continue. However I have worked with Harriet to supplement the lessons with student activities to enhance the learning. Harriet is big into competition, so I am sure the activities that I made into competitions will definitely continue.
The administration and faculty gave Lindsey, Amanda and me a send off fit for a queen. On Friday, we all rode out to Keyo for the 2:00 pm ceremony. We had asked Calistas, the head teacher, to keep time as we had to be back to Gulu for our final night celebration. To his credit, our ceremony started only 20 minutes late, and that was because we were waiting on the dignitaries, the chairman of the Board of Governors, the chairman of the PTO, and another board member. The ceremony lasted two and a half hours, and did we feel the love. They opened with some remarks about the impact that Invisible Children has had on Keyo and how wonderful the time that we had been there was. We then had lunch, and it was a feast: beans, rice, meat stew, hot cabbage, posho, bo and soft drinks!! After lunch, each of the dignitaries spoke, and they were so great. Each spoke briefly about the past, but they focused on their hope for the future. They also mentioned that we would always have a home at Keyo and they hoped to see us again soon. The Chairman of the PTO kept referring to us as “his daughters.” We were each given a full size heart shaped cake to cut and share with everyone. During the ceremonial “cutting of the cake” one of the board members should up a bottle of Sprite and exploded it like champagne. It was hysterical and so fitting. Lindsey spoke on behalf of the American teachers, and we presented Keyo with 5 fruit trees to plant (one for each of us) around the school. They then gave us gifts to take with us, and boy did they outdo themselves. I loved being at Keyo SS; I think it is one of the best schools that I visited during both summers in northern Uganda.
The camaraderie of the Keyo staff is so amazing. I will never forget sitting in the staff room and listen to the chatter around me, or the boys’ club sitting under the trees outside. I will always remember Mzae inviting us to the Village Savings and Loan meetings and Florence asking us to join it. In an environment of so little and so much to be frustrated about, these teachers work hard every day to make life better for their students. They demonstrate professionalism and class, something that I think American teachers could learn from. I will miss my Keyo family, but hopefully I can take the lessons they taught me and be a better teacher and person.

Sunday, July 11- The Kampala Bombings

On Sunday, July 11, two places were bombed in Kampala, the capitol of Uganda. It was during the World Cup 2010 finals, Spain and the Netherlands. Several of us went to Kope Café in Gulu to watch the game. I stayed through the 90 minute regulation, but decided not to watch the overtime as it was pretty late already, and I had school the next day.
I woke up to Lindsey’s phone ringing the next morning. It was her mother calling, but I still did not know what had happened. Needless to say, I found out pretty quickly, but I did not have all of the information at that point.
Kampala is in the southern part of Uganda, and Gulu is about a six-hour ride north, so we were not in any immediate danger. There were many rumors coming out of Kampala: mzungus were the target, Ethiopians were the target, not all of the bombs went off, etc. It was later in the day that we found out about Nate, one of the IC roadies, who had arrived to Uganda early. He was at the rugby venue, watching with some friends, and he was killed in the explosion. I think that information is what the United States focused on, although I have not had the opportunity to really look at American news feeds.
I felt pretty secure in the fact that my family and friends did not know about it because our local news is pretty terrible, and let’s be honest, few people really are concerned about what occurs in African countries. However, when I called my parents around 2:00 pm Ugandan time (7:00 am EST), they were a little frantic. I assured them that I was safe and pretty far from Kampala. To be honest, I didn’t understand why my parents (as well as others’ family members) were worried. Upon reflection, I realize that it is because in their eyes, I was so close to the bombings. I was only 6 hours away as opposed to half a continent and an enormous ocean. And that is when the impact of the bombings hit me. Nate had come to Uganda because of his belief in Invisible Children and his connection to his Ugandan friends here. I am the same; our only difference is that he was watching the soccer match with friends in Kampala and I was watching it with friends in Gulu.
IC has taken measures to assure our safety while in country, as well as our safe departure coming up. They are working with the American Embassy, and I am certain that everything will be fine. However, it has reminded me of two things: 1) I am so fortunate to live in the US. I feel that terrorism can happen anywhere (as it has), but I also feel that for the most part, Americans have a high level of tolerance of others. If we don’t understand someone or something, we work until we do understand. And our first response is not violent. I am not sure I can say that about other countries, especially those that have such a violent past as in Africa. And 2) Life is short and can end at any minute. I am pledging to myself that I will work to appreciate every day, so at the end of my life, I can look back and smile at the amazing people I encountered and the unforgettable experiences.

Thursday, July 15- Visiting Sir Samuel Baker SS

I finally got the opportunity to return to Sir Samuel Baker SS, the school I taught at last summer with IC Teacher Exchange. Lindsey and I took bodas bodas out there, and it was so nice to just have a 15 minute boda ride as opposed to a 40 minute ride to Keyo SS.
I am amazed at the physical changes at SSB. The Belgian government has partnered with SSB and is building a ton of buildings there. They have renovated most of the building and built several new classroom blocks and dormitories. They have also added a fence around the front part and a brick wall around the back part, separating it from the bush. They have renovated the room where we watched the prefect handover ceremony last year. It has tile floor and wooden and glass doors and is now so beautiful. The students plan to use it for a dining hall and are waiting on the furniture to arrive. They have also built a new kitchen off of the dining hall. Renovations on the administrative offices and the assembly hall are currently happening, and then they will work on the staff room. The school is so beautiful, and it was so nice to be back.
While there, I spoke to a student and asked him about the dormitories. He looked at me and said, “Lisa?” I replied back yes, and he said that he had been in contact with me throughout the year. He turned out to be Ocan Joel, a student that I had email correspondence with throughout the year. Joel gave Lindsey and me a tour of the campus, and it was so great to see that he was doing well. He is on an IC Legacy Scholarship, and he should be sitting for his exams this year.
I also saw Grace, my partner teacher from last year. It was so great to see her, and she was so exited to see me. We had a great reunion. She is doing well, and her children are living closer to her, so she is able to see them often. She reported that her S4 students from last year tested very well, which is a great accomplishment. I also spoke with several other friends as well as the head teacher and the deputy head teacher.
It was a great visit, and I felt like I had come home. I had such a great summer at SSB, and it was so fun to return and see all of the great changes. Hopefully, they can continue to progress and improve the school and guide students to successful lives.

Only in Uganda (or Africa, probably)...

Only in Uganda (or Africa)…
does a 4 year old babysit a 1 year old.
• Can you take a shower and still not be clean.
• Can you ride on top of a mutatu (large passenger van) going 50 kph over bumpy roads and be okay.
• Can you get a sharp cheddar cheese sandwich for breakfast.
• Can you walk into a fancy hotel, pay $2.50 for two cups of coffee and feel ripped off.
• Can you be sitting at a bar, drinking a beer, have a family of warthogs run past you, and not think twice of it.
• Can you go to the “restroom”, see an actual toilet, and wonder what you are supposed to do with it.
• While in a motorized vehicle, do you only honk your horn at people crossing the street and not brake for them.
• Can you dye your hair rustic blond and get a spray tan by riding inside a mutatu.
• Can a van that normally holds 6 passengers, carry 14.
• Do they leave the cars running at all times, even for longs breaks.
• Can you get carpet burn on your butt and knees while riding in the back of a mutatu because you are bracing yourself for impact at all times.
• Can you get excited about less than 5 minutes of paved road.
• Can you see the most beautiful views that you have ever seen in your life.
• Can you live with 30 people and two bathrooms and still be friends.
• Is peanut butter considered “gold” and for crunchy peanut butter, you would sacrifice your first born.
• Does the pedestrian NOT have the right of way.
• Does a boda boda driver spend $0.25 on gas and think that it will be enough for a 40-minute boda boda ride.
• Does Wikipedia the main source for questions at Quiz Night.
• Is OJ Simpson a baseball player.

Murchison Falls National Park Safari

We left Saturday immediately after the conference to take (quite possibly) the most miserable mutatu ride ever to Murchison Falls National Park. Calling it a road would be like calling a double bacon cheeseburger healthy.
The safari was amazing. We did both the land safari and the river safari on Sunday. Even though I did this trip last year while here, it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful it is to see these animals in their habitat. I have decided that my favorite animal is the giraffe; they are so graceful. Francis, our guide, said that giraffes are so peaceful and easy going. They don’t fight; they are just calm. We also saw oribbe, heart of beasts, kobs (the Ugandan animal); these are all DLTs (deer like things); they are pretty cool to watch as well. The elephants were awesome; we saw several babies, which is so great to know that the population is rebuilding. One the river safari, we saw hippos, tons of hippos. I really wanted to see the crocodiles as we did not see very many last year. Ask and you shall receive… as we got closer to Murchison Falls, Anthony, our river guide, took us closer to the shore. We saw a couple of crocodiles laying low in the water. All of a sudden, from a shade tree near the shore of the Nile, crocodiles started emerging. There must have been 15 crocodiles that emerged, and let me tell you, they are scary looking. It was incredible. As we left the viewing of Murchison Falls, we saw a herd of about 15 elephants on the shore. Anthony drove the boat closer for us to take pictures; the elephants heard us, and immediately rounded up to protect the babies. They form these circles, put the babies in the middle and stand guard. It was so great to watch and so beautiful.
I know that in times of great stress when I am back in the States, I simply need to think of the beauty of Murchison Falls and know that everything will be okay. This beauty confirms my belief that God (or whatever you choose to call it) does exist, and that He is so loving. Beauty like that is not just evolutionary chance. There is a higher power at work on this planet.

IC Teacher Exchange Teaching and Learning Conference

On Friday and Saturday morning, we participated in the 4th Annual Invisible Children Teaching and Learning Conference. The theme of the conference was KOBS (Knowledge of Behaviour and Self), a curriculum developed by Invisible Children to work on the emotional wellbeing of secondary students. It is currently taught in the 11 partner schools to S1 and S2 students.
It was a full day of information. Stevan Radoja, the creator of the curriculum, gave a presentation on the evolution of the curriculum. He gave some sobering statistics, and it reminded me that even though the war has moved out of Ugandan borders in the last couple of years, the effects are still very real. He showed us some saddening statistics about the effects of what people had witnessed. It is connected to PTSD, which is what we think of with soldiers in war like situations. However here, we are talking about children. Children who have witnessed events that most of us can’t even fathom. These same children are still expected to attend school, concentrate in school, and be successful in school. Can you imagine seeing a family member killed and then attend school to study math? These are the effects of war that will take much longer to heal, but in fact, it is the most important aspect of rebuilding a war torn country. However it is often overlooked. Organizations come in, rebuild the physical aspects and then leave, and the country is not healed. This KOBS curriculum is one step closer to meeting the needs of the future generations. The Ugandan teachers who are administering the curriculum like it very much. It opens dialogue in a very safe way, and it builds relationships among the students as well as between the teacher and the student. We modeled a couple of lessons; they are student driven, active and engaging. Most importantly, they are personal and reach the student in a way that the Ugandan academic curriculum can’t.
All in all, the conference was successful, and it was a great time to share with our Ugandan colleagues. The Keyo teachers are so wonderful, and we all have a good time together. We come from very different worlds, but at the end of the day, we are not so different. Experiences like this make me realize that hate is simply a lack of understanding.