Lydia's Final Day

Lydia’s final day in South Carolina was spent at the Richland County Public Library Book sale, Target and packing. Lydia was able to get several books and videos for very little money at the book sale, which was really great. We then spent two hours (!!) at Target so she could pick out some gifts to take home as well as some things for her. I was really sick of the store by the time we left; it will take me a while to head back into Target, which will probably be a good thing for my wallet.

Miraculously, Lydia was able to get everything into her luggage. I will have to bring some books for her this summer, but otherwise, it all fit. I said goodbye to her at the airport security. Neither one of us really wanted to say goodbye, so it is fortunate that I am heading back this summer for the IC Teacher Exchange. I will miss Lydia and witnessing her discoveries in my world. She is amazing, and I know she will continue to make a positive impact on her students and her country. With her knowledge, experience and passion, things can only get better.

Lydia's Farewell

On Friday night, we celebrated Lydia’s final days in the U.S. Because if her Wii bowling experience, I decided we would go actual bowling, since it truly is American and you can see some true Americana in a bowling alley.

We arrived at the bowling alley a little after six as I had to stop and get gas. As the gas was pumping, I got back in the car because it was so cold outside. Lydia asked, “Is the fuel that you put in your car a liquid or a gas?” I replied that it was a liquid. She said, “Then why do you call it gas?” “It’s short for gasoline,” I said, “Although I am not sure what the gasoline is made of. Is it methane?...” Again, it’s one of the things I take for granted and don’t know much about. Lydia tends to laugh at me at moments like this.

At the bowling alley, we were able to get the “corporate rate,” which meant that we had enough people to get $1 off each person for two hours of bowling and shoes. We ended up with three lanes, two for adults and one for the children so they could put the bumpers up (although I could have used the bumpers on my lane as well). I had forgotten how much fun bowling was, especially when you are with such great people. Teaching Lydia how to play was interesting. She quickly got the concept, but like with any sport, putting it into action is another story. I think the first couple of bowls were gutters, but then so were mine, so what can you say? We bowled two games and had a blast. The scores reflected the fun more so than the talent. By the end of the second game, Lydia had the hang of it, as her score was higher.

After dinner, we headed to D’s Wings for dinner. It was very uneventful. We had decided that after dinner, we would head over the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for some dessert. As we were driving to the bowling alley, I remembered that I promised Lydia I would let her taste a Krispy Kreme doughnut. When we got to Krispy Kreme, the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign was blazing, and the store was packed.!! It had been a long time since I had been to Krispy Kreme, but I have never seen so many people there in my life. The drive thru line was wrapped around the building, and the line inside was almost as long. When we walked in, I began showing Lydia how the doughnuts were made. I think she was very interested in the mechanical process including the conveyor belts. Nicole had given us coupons for a free doughnut. I got the Valentine’s Day special: the heart shaped doughnut with white chocolate and sprinkles!! Lydia got the glazed and lemon filled. When she tasted it, her eyes lit up. She said, “I think if I lived here, I would be spoiled by these doughnuts.” I was worried that it would be too sweet for her. I think it was but still yummy for her.

Bowling, wings, and Krispy Kreme… it doesn’t get any more Southern than that.

Visiting Charleston and Bull's Island

I took Lydia to Charleston, SC for the weekend. Charleston is one of my favorite places of all time, and I have such great friends there so I knew we would have a good time. Brooke went with us, and we left after school on Friday. We stayed with my friend Caroline at her house on James Island.

On Friday, we went to dinner at Vickery’s downtown. It is one of my favorite restaurants, and I figured it has such a vast menu that Lydia would find something
‘’light” that she was looking for. There were five of us at dinner: Lydia, Brooke, Caroline, Maura and me. Lydia and Brooke shared two dishes (the sharing is rubbing off on her); as we ate our meals, Lydia said, “this is not eating light. If I was at home, I would eat a lemon.” We all laughed at the different definitions of “eating light.” After dinner we headed back to Caroline’s to get to bed as we were all tired.

Saturday morning, we woke up early to meet my parents at SeeWee Outpost to take the boat to Bull’s Island, a barrier island that is owned by the federal government as a wildlife reserve. It is truly a beautiful island, and I had not been there for many years. We left early to try to beat the rain that was supposed to move in later in the day. We picked up Maura at Starbucks and headed to SeeWee Outpost, a country store near the boat landing. Lydia and I grabbed ham biscuits there for breakfast, and we waited in the rocking chairs for Mama and Dad to arrive. Once they arrived, we headed to the boat landing and put the boat in. Then we were off. It was a beautiful morning and a great ride to Bull’s Island. Once we docked the boat, we began the walk through the woods to the front beach. It was a great time, and we stopped to take pictures at an enormous live oak. Lydia was amazed at the size of some of the trees and even more impressed when she learned that they were hundreds of years old. It was great to have Mama and Dad along as they had so much knowledge about the island and the wildlife. Once we got to the front beach, we began walking toward Boneyard Beach, an area that is filled with old trees and driftwood. I think Lydia was in awe of the beauty of the beach, and we all really enjoyed witnessing her first time experience with the beach and Atlantic Ocean. We pointed out different shells including conchs, sand dollars, starfish, etc. It began drizzling, but even the rain did not dampen our spirits. After a couple of hours, we made it to Boneyard Beach and got out our picnic lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pretzels and FULL SIZE Snickers bars. It was so great as the rain had stopped. After lunch, we made our way back to the trail. On the way back through the woods, we saw a baby alligator, some deer and lots of birds. I think Lydia really enjoyed being outside and seeing all that Bull’s Island had to offer. The rain picked up again, so the boat ride back to the landing was cold and prickly. It was getting close to low tide, so Dad had to really navigate the middle of the channels.

After the boat trip, we headed to SeeWee Restaurant across the street. It is a local place that has delicious fresh seafood and great southern cooking. We had a wonderful meal, although Lydia still has not eaten any other seafood other than fish. After lunch, we said goodbye to my parents and headed back to Caroline’s for a much needed nap. After the nap, we got ready to go see The Blind Side. The movie was awesome, and Lydia really liked it especially when she found out that it was based on a true story.

Sunday we ate breakfast at the Variety Store at the Ashley Marina and then headed back to Columbia. Lydia said she had a wonderful time seeing another city in South Carolina. I had a wonderful time showing her the city. One the way back, we discussed how involved our federal government is as well as comparing weddings in the U.S. and Uganda. Lydia is very progressive for her country, and I am not sure what she feels when she sees the equality and freedom that women in the U.S. have. Uganda is still very steeped in the patriarchal society, and Ugandan men are very slow to change. This is frustrating to see as an American female because I know the wonderful power that women have and how good that power would be for their country. Hopefully with programs like Invisible Children, while the change may be slow, it will come nonetheless.

Visiting Riverbanks Zoo

Thursday was a half-day for students due to the end of the semester. Since it was a half-day, I asked Dr. Martin if it would be possible for us to leave early to go to Riverbanks Zoo. It was the warmest day that we have had since Lydia has been here.

We left school and headed to MVista, an Asian restaurant in the Vista. Lydia had never eaten Asian food before, so we felt the need for her to try several different dishes. For appetizers, we ordered lettuce wraps, sushi tuna, and edamame (it was more than just the two of us eating). For her main dish, she had the fried rice with chicken and shrimp. We got her a pair of beginner chopsticks, and she did a really great job with them. She did not like the sushi tuna very much or the lettuce wraps, but she really liked the edamame. We ate a lot of food for lunch that day.

After lunch, we headed to the zoo. It was the perfect day to go as the weather was warmer and yet most students were still in school. It felt like we had the park to ourselves. She really enjoyed seeing the elephants and the penguins. She had taken her son to the zoo in Uganda before, but from the way she made it sound, it wasn’t that great. She loved the open space of the zoo and the foliage. She loved that there was so much information about the animals to help educated those who visit.

After the zoo, the original plan was to go to the Oyster Bar. However we were still too full from lunch to think about dinner. Ellen made the executive decision for us to go to Nonnah’s and have dessert for dinner. There were five of us at this point; we decided that each of us would order something different and then share. Five desserts arrived, and we each took one. The plan was that we would each take two bites and then pass our plate to the person on the right. This was a genius plan!! The desserts were delicious. However Lydia had never done this before. I think it took her a minute to get used to us sharing. She just kept laughing at us. Once we were done, we headed home. As we were driving home, she said, “Sharing plates. Do you do this often?” I replied that I did as it was an opportunity to try different foods without ordering or eating too much. I think she has gotten used to it as she and Brooke shared food the next night.

Guitar Hero

After school, Lydia and I went to Target. It was Lydia’s first visit there. I had a list of about 10 items that I needed to get, but it was a slow trip. I know that Lydia had not been in a store like this one ever. She said that the choices that were offered were overwhelming. We looked at the “dollar” section to see if she saw any toys to take home to her son. She found a couple of things but decided not to purchase them at the time. It was fascinating to see Target from her perspective. We as Americans are so spoiled with all of the options that are right there. And half of the stuff we do not need. I told Lydia that I take a list to Target, and more often than not, I end up walking out of the store with more than what was on my list. When we were leaving, she asked, “Lisa, did you get only what was on your list?” I replied, “No, Lydia. I got more.” Shameful…

After Target, Lydia and I went over to Nicole and Ashley Walker’s for dinner. I was really excited to have a wonderful home cooked meal cooked by someone else. There was a great group of people there: Brooke, Nichole, Lydia, Nicole, Ashley, their daughter Ashton and myself. We began the evening by snacking on some great appetizers. Then I discovered Nicole and Ashley’s Wii. Nicole set up Rock Band for us, and Lydia got a guitar and Brooke got a guitar. And they were terrible. They kept getting booed off the stage, so I stepped in thinking that I would be able to help… I am not sure what I was thinking as I have only played Guitar Hero twice before. So we started… and were terrible. Nichole stepped in and helped Lydia get farther. However we did laugh a lot. Dinner saved us.

After dinner, we decided to try Wii bowling. Lydia, Brooke, Ashton (4 years old), and I played. As were were playing, Lydia said she had never seen bowling before or heard of it. My mouth dropped open as she was close to beating me at the game. I told her we were going to go actually bowling before she left. Surely she can’t be as good at the real thing.

Tuesday's School Board Meeting

On Tuesday, Lydia and I met some friends at Wild Wing Café for some drinks and dinner before the Richland 2 School Board Meeting that night. It was fun to really just hang out and relax with everyone. Lydia was being introduced at the board meeting during the special recognition section as a special guest. We knew that they were fitting her into an already busy schedule so we only had 2-3 minutes. 2-3 minutes is certainly not a long time to speak about Ridge View’s spring service project with Invisible Children. I was also told that Lydia should thank the board members for their support of her and the project.

When we arrived at the board meeting at Dent Middle School, we found Elaine Delk, Director of Community Relations, who had set it up for us to be there. She said she was not sure if Dr. Hefner, the superintendent, was going to introduce Lydia or if I was. A couple of minutes later Dr Hefner came over and introduced himself to her. She said her full name, and he said that he couldn’t pronounce it so he would have me introduce her. After the invocation and the pledge of allegiance, he introduced us. I was so nervous as I really wasn’t sure how to get all of the information into the introduction into one minute. I truly have no idea how I said it, but I think I was able to mention our spring project, my teacher exchange to Uganda this past summer, and Lydia’s visit. Then Lydia spoke. She was amazing and able to express herself well in such a short time. She mentioned the board and her appreciation, how the two worlds were similar, and how much she was learning and how she wanted to leave an impact.

We left after the introduction. Elaine mentioned that the board loved her and were so glad that she was able to speak. She makes such an impact on whomever she meets and has left such impression on all of us.

Dinner and a Show

On Monday, Lydia and I had tickets to the Broadway in Columbia series, “Wizard of Oz.” The plan was to head from work to dinner and then the show. When discussing what type of food she was interested in, she mentioned that she had really enjoyed eating pizza while in NYC. I told her that I was planning on taking her to my favorite pizza restaurant, LaBrasca’s Pizza, later in the week. We ended up going to Harper’s, which is also one of my favorite restaurants as I wanted to show her a little nicer dining establishment. While looking over the menu, she said she was interested in eating fish; did the restaurant have anything similar to the fish in Uganda? Well, the options at Harper’s were honey glazed salmon, pecan encrusted trout and the special was swordfish. Growing up under my father’s tutelage, I am well versed in different types of fish, and I did not think that any of these options were similar to the Ugandan tilapia or Nile perch. Just to double check on the swordfish though, I called Dad; Mama answered and said he was at his church’s men’s club meeting, but she would try to catch him. She called back to confirm what I thought: swordfish is not like tilapia. I told Lydia the closest item was the trout, but she was not interested in the “pecan encrusted” part (sometimes it is just difficult to describe American food). She finally bravely settled on trying the salmon, but instead of the honey glazed, she said she wanted something “savory.” Between Gary the waiter and I, we decided she should try it blackened. I ordered the Chicken supremes salad, one of my favorite dishes, and the pesto pasta salad. When the food arrived, we dug in. I had her taste the pasta salad; her comment was “the pasta is cold.” I told her that here we serve pasta hot or cold. She liked her salmon, and when I asked if she would order it again, she said yes and that she would try it with the glaze. The great thing about Lydia is that she is willing to try anything. While dining, Lydia mentioned that the service was really good; “they are very attentive to us.” I explained that is where the tipping comes in. I don’t think she really understood the tipping until last night because while in NYC, we never experienced really great service anywhere. It also could be that service in the south is very different as we hold that “southern charm” so important.
Lydia also enjoyed the “Wizard of Oz.” At intermission, she said, “It is just so creative.” I am so glad that I was able to watch the show with her as beforehand I was not so excited about seeing it. I mean, I have seen the movie a gazillion times and the play before, and the story does not change. However, seeing it with Lydia allowed me to see it through her eyes, and that made the experience great. When you look at it through new eyes, the story is creative and the characters are endearing. It’s no wonder the story has remained so popular for so many years. On a more personal note, it was also very interesting to watch after having seen “Wicked.” I just can’t hate the Wicked Witch of the West anymore… she is so misunderstood. And Glenda the “good” witch?... Ha.
We have a busy week ahead of us and then the trip to Charleston this weekend. Pray for sunny weather Saturday so we can go out on the boat.

Visiting the Lake

Lydia and I spent the weekend at the lake with my parents. They live on Lake Marion, which is about an hour and fifteen minutes from Columbia. We left Friday after school and got to the lake around 5:30pm. It was dark when we arrived, so Lydia was unable to see the lake. We settled in and had dinner with my parents. Lydia has enchanted my parents, and they truly enjoyed having her visit. On the way to the lake, Lydia asked, “So do we not take a gift to them for hosting us?” Jokingly I replied, “Lydia, our presence is the gift. They will enjoy having us.” Yes, I know I am spoiled. For dinner on Friday we ate Debbie Boyer’s chicken casserole, broccoli, and fruit salad. The casserole is one of my all time favorites, and Lydia liked it as well. She is willing to try anything that is put in front of her, and I think she is experiencing some great new foods. For dinner on Saturday, we ate fried catfish, sweet potatoes, and hushpuppies. She really enjoyed the hushpuppies, so I am going to send her back to Uganda with some hushpuppy mix.

Before dinner was ready, I had the TV on the Disney channel, one of my favorite channels, as there was a JONAS marathon. I explained to Lydia who there were, and we watched several episodes. I am not sure what she thought about them, but at one point, she asked, “Are they really brothers?” When I replied that they were, she said that she thought that was nice. During dinner, the Disney movie Ratatoullie was on, and so we watched it. She said that she enjoyed watching cartoons and that she enjoyed the movie.

Saturday afternoon, we headed to the farm to plant some trees. Mom and Dad ordered 500 red cedars to plant in different areas around the farm. Dad said if the temperature got to 40° farenheit that we would plant the trees. It got up to 38° so we bundled up in many layers and headed out. As we drove along the farm, we pointed out the beaver dam and beaver house. Lydia had never seen a beaver before; fortunately, we have a stuffed beaver in our house, so we were able to show her what one looked like. We spent about an hour and a half planting 230 trees and then called it quits. It was pretty fun and very interesting to participate in the process. I told Lydia that if teaching didn’t work out for her that she had a career in planting trees. Once we returned to the lakehouse, we went out front and looked at the lake and took some pictures. I was freezing so I asked Lydia if she was cold. She replied, “Yes, but I do not want to leave this beautiful view. If I lived here, I would never stop looking.”

Lydia and I have had several discussions on the roles of men and women in Uganda and in the US. The expectations are very different for men in each world. I feel that she has been intrigued with how much my dad helps out in the house. Dad usually helps clean up and more often than not does the cooking for breakfast. He also fried the catfish and hushpuppies for dinner. I am sure Lydia is not used to seeing men participate in the domestic chores. She has mentioned often that the father of her son did not offer help or be the man she needed him to be, so she made the decision to leave. I wonder how seeing my father and his actions affects her view of men.

First Experience with the Washing Machine

I think Lydia is seeing a whole new world. On Thursday, I had to attend a Junior League meeting, and Lydia decided to stay home. I reminded her that we were heading to the lake on Friday and would leave straight from school, so she would need to pack that night. I also asked her if she needed to wash any clothes, and she said, “Yes, I have dirty clothes.” We took her clothes out to the washing machine in the garage. I showed her how to put all of the clothes into the machine, set the machine to wash, add the detergent and then push start. We followed these steps and started the machine. She said, “What do we do now?” I said, “We walk away and find something else to do.” She looked at me like I had grown a 2nd head. “But what about the water?” she asked. I replied, “the water goes in through a hose in the back.” “But how does it work?” she asked with wide eyes. In my unoriginal thought process, I said, “I don’t know- it just does.” “So we do not do anything else with it?” she asked. “No, we walk away from it and then come back out when it is done.” She gave me one last look of slight incredulity, and then said, “I am going to return home a lazy Ugandan woman!”

I have also showed her the microwave and the dishwasher. I think she is a little in awe of the conveniences, and I feel lazy showing them to her. In theory, these conveniences should allow for me to live a fuller life and have time to do great things. But I don’t. Maybe I should change that…

Lydia meets USC's Cocky

Last night (Tuesday), Lydia and I went to the University of South Carolina Men’s Basketball game. They were playing Longwood, and even now, I am not sure where Longwood is from. There were very few people at the game, and it was not a close game (USC won), but we had a great time. It was very relaxing. Lydia said she had seen basketball before in movies, but she was more familiar with Ugandan girls playing netball. I think the two are similar, but I am not sure of the details of netball, so I hope to learn more about it when I return to Uganda this summer. I think one of Lydia’s favorite parts of the game last night was watching Cocky, the USC mascot, dance to the music during timeouts. I wanted Lydia to get a picture with Cocky, so during halftime, we walked down towards the court. As we got closer, I asked two men where Cocky was, and they replied that he was “eating chicken food.” I told them that Lydia was visiting from Uganda and I wanted to get a picture of them together, so they replied that he would be back out after halftime. We sat and waited, and soon after the 2nd half began, Cocky returned. He immediately walked over to us and made the motion for us to take the picture. I was able to get a great picture, and Cocky gave Lydia a big hug. It was a great moment, and I say this being a Clemson Tigers fan.

Today Lydia spoke at Ridge View’s Student Council meeting. Student Council will begin the planning and implementation of our spring service project for Invisible Children, so I wanted them to hear from Lydia. She was inspirational, and I think made a huge impact on the students. Several of them spoke to me after and mentioned how much they really enjoyed hearing what she had to say. One of the statements that she made: “Never say I’ve done enough.” I love this statement as it fits right into what I think is becoming my life philosophy. I also think the students really needed to hear that. She also encouraged them to continue to work hard for Invisible Children as it was improving the lives of so many people.

One of the students asked how Ugandan students compared to American students. Lydia replied that the students were more similar that she had expected. The big similarity was that both US and Ugandan students need to be motivated on a regular basis. In terms of differences, she mentioned that US students do not have to wear uniforms, Ridge View students express their opinions freely, are encouraged to research and discover their own answers and conclusions as well as having greater access to materials and technology.

Invisible Children Reciprocal Teacher Exchange Begins

First of all, Happy New Year!! One of the great things about Invisible Children is that the organization is always willing to try new things. I have been fortunate enough to be chosen to participate in the 1st Reciprocal Teacher Exchange where Ugandan teachers travel to the United States to teach for 3 weeks in January 2010. For this inaugural time, 6 teachers (2 females and 4 males) have traveled to the US to spend 3 weeks in various places teaching in a middle or high school. Two teachers have gone to St. Louis, Missouri, one teacher is in San Francisco, two teachers are in Colorado (Denver and Pueblo), and one will be in Columbia, South Carolina at Ridge View High School. Her name is Akullu Lydia, and she is a teacher in Health and Nutrition at Sacred Heart, an all girls school in Gulu, northern Uganda.

The host teacher (me) and team teacher (our Health Sciences teacher, Diane Melton), and I traveled to New York City on December 30 for a 4 day orientation. It was an awesome experience watching our Ugandan colleagues experience the US for the first time. Their eyes were wide trying to take everything in. The cold was shocking to them, especially considering they come from an area of the world where there is no winter; it is either the wet season or the dry season. New York was especially rough, and they saw beautiful falling snow. It blanketed the city in white and was so gorgeous.

We also had the opportunity to go ice skating. This was my first time ice skating as well, and I was very nervous. We all did well, and several Ugandan teachers were pretty good by the end of our time. We also saw the Broadway show Memphis: the Musical. On a personal note, the music and lyrics were created by David Bryan, the keyboardist for Bon Jovi, so obviously I was so excited about seeing this show. At the intermission, I asked Lydia what she thought of the show so far, and she replied with wide eyes, "It is breathtaking." The show was wonderful, and it was such a pleasure to watch it with my new friends.

We had a busy 4 days of orientation, so we were excited about flying back to South Carolina on Sunday. As we navigated the airports, I took the time to show Lydia the process as she will have to make her way back to NYC without me on January 24. I kept promising her that South Carolina would be warmer than NYC, but I was proven a liar as we have had very cold weather, and some weather forecasters are calling for snow later this week. For those of you who know me well and how cold I keep my house, I have raised the thermostat to accommodate Lydia.

When we returned to Columbia, I took Lydia to Publix to pick up some food for the week. This was her first experience in a grocery store, and while we were trying to move quickly, I think she was amazed by two things: the variety of offerings and the fact that you can get pretty much any type of food you want whether it is in season or not. She likes to drink hot tea, and it took us a while to pick out tea for her to try (we finally chose a variety pack). Last night, I made spaghetti with meat sauce, and her comment was, "Your meat is different than ours." Is that a compliment?!?!

One final story from orientation. We stayed in a hostel, and the morning after we arrived, the Ugandan teachers took showers. Each shower had one knob that controlled the water and its temperature. However we failed to tell them how to make the water hot, so they all took ice cold showers (in a NYC winter!). Once they heard that the water temperature could be changed to hot, one teacher said, "We suffered needlessly!" Can you imagine witnessing the United States for the first time?!?

I look forward to the next three weeks and the experiences that we will have together.