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.