Beautiful Acholi Dances

One of the most special evenings spent in Uganda was one I hadn't been expecting. One afternoon as I was heading into town I was told that I boy was waiting outside to see Blake. This was how I met Francis, who was a student of Blake's last summer when he taught at Awere SS. After I called Blake for Francis, he asked me it I had had the opportunity to see any traditional Acoli dances yet. I admitted that unfortunately I had not had the chance.

Francis said that he really wanted me to see the dances so that I could tell everyone at home about them. He said he would organise the dancing if I told him when I could come. This was the final week which was packed with activities, but I suggested that some of us could probably go on Wednesday night. He checked his exam schedule and said that he thought it would work. The next day he was at the gate to confirm he would pick us up on Wednesday at 5:30 pm.

As promised, he was prompt (even early). Blake, Michelle, Francis, and I set off on our bodas (motorcycle taxis) with Francis leading the way. We drove through back roads and then we were driving on a narrow path through tall grass, we had to pass between some very large cattle. We had no idea where we were going. We had all assumed that Francis had organised some of his friends to dance near the school. The boda ride took almost half an hour when we pulled into a very small village and saw approximately 30 people ranging in age from 6 to 20 ready to dance. There were three woven chairs set out for us.

I asked Francis how he knew all these people and he told us that this was his clan. I can even really describe what an incredible experience it was. Others from the community joined us in watching the dances. Children who were too young, as well as elderly members of the community danced off to the side of the performers. We were treated to four dances:

1. Dingi Dingi - young women's dance
2. Laraka raka - courtship dance, where the men use toy axes to draw the women closer.
   
3. Bwola - the dance to honour royalty
   
4. I don't remember the name of the last dance, but I will get it from Blake

The performance lasted over an hour and the sun set as they danced. Afterwards everyone gathered around for our reaction. Then we were each served a bottle of soda.

We had to leave rather quickly as it was getting dark and the path was not exactly easy for the boda drivers, who had stayed with us for the whole time.

The experience though was just so special. I so appreciate Francis for arranging it and sharing his culture with us in such a powerful way.

Feel free to check out my facebook album for other photos: Beautiful Acoli Dances

Last few days in Gulu

I'm am sorry I've fallen so far behind. I have many posts in the works.
Hanging out in Gulu
Acoli dances
Odong Robert Oryema, my partner teacher
The boys of Layibi
and thoughts on aid.

For now I am just enjoying the final moments with people I've met in Gulu. We leave Gulu on Saturday morning. That night we will stay at Jinja (the source of the nile) and Sunday night we are in Kampala. Monday night: airplane, Tuesday night: NYC, Wednesday night: Toronto!

Eeeeeek!

Safari at Murchison Falls

This past weekend was our safari at Murchison Falls. On Friday night we went out in town to say good-bye to the group 2 Teacher-Exchange teachers (which means we are down to our final two weeks). Saturday morning instead of excitedly getting ready, we were trying to comfort the sick members of our group. A total of four people were feeling miserable. We passed around the immodium and advil and convinced them to still come for the trip.

To say the van drive was bumpy would be an underestimate for sure! At least I was not feeling sick before we set out. We stopped in Anaka to pick up the five teachers from our group who teach and live there. Anaka is a former Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. Since the conflict in the North ended (within the last couple of years), many people have left the camp and returned to their land. The school only recently relocated to their original site (within the past few months), having been displaced during the conflict due to sercurity concerns. Teaching in Anaka is certainly a different experience to teaching in Gulu, especially as compared to St. Joseph's Layibi College. I've included a few photos of the school (including temporary classrooms and the invisible children laboratory block). It was great to finally get the chance to see what it is like for the Anaka teachers.

We got back on the road and continued on to Murchison Falls. From the gate to the boat dock we saw elephants, giraffes, hartebeests, waterbuffallo, and more, all very close to the van. We were so excited! At the ferry dock, we protected our food from the babboons before boarding the boat. There were SO many hippos, nile crocodiles, waterbuffalo along the way. I was also excited to see the bee-eaters (birds) as it was African bee-eater habitats we worked to manage in Hungary on the Round Square environmental service project. The birds migrate to Hungary.

We had a lovely meal at Red Chilli's campsite and then went to bed early (wearing shower caps in case of lice) to avoid further illness. We were up before 6 am to get in line for the ferry in order to get out on the game drive when the animals were most active. It was a great game drive. We sat on the luggage rack on top of the vans and had a wonderful time. We even saw lions which are far from a guarantee. The last place we stopped was the delta where the white nile flows into Lake Albert. At this point, we were directly across the river from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It was sad to drop off the Anaka crowd on the way home but we will see them again next weekend.

For more photos of the safari follow this link to my facebook album: Murchison Safari Album

Physics is Phun!

It is really hard to believe that I am wrapping up my first four weeks in Uganda -- just two weeks to go. However, it does mean that it has been long enough for the students to feel like they are getting to know me.

The senior 4 students are in exams now. They will write 3 papers for Physics, each one is over 2 hours long. One is a practical exam (lab exam). Robert has been busy this week to ensure that there is enough equipment for everybody. For this reason the class was split into three groups of 60 students and those 60 students were split between two classrooms. One classroom had equipment for the required mechanics lab and the other classroom had the materials for the optics and electricity labs, of which the students chose one. I was so impressed with their industriousness.

Because Robert has been so busy supervising exams, I have taught the last two senior five classes on my own (120 minutes yesterday and 80 minutes today). The senior five classes is comprised of more than 100 students. The photos on this page are of that class. As I mentioned, many students crowd at the very front of the classroom, so they are actually writing on the lab demonstration bench where I have my materials. Today I was 25 minutes late for class because it was raining and the bodas (motorcycle taxis) don't go when it is raining.

Typically, at the end of a lesson, a group of boys will come to the front with copies of questions from old exams and ask me to explain how they should be solved. It is so much fun, because since returning to Canada, I have only taught grade 11 Physics, and these questions cover topics from grade 12 and Advanced Placement Physics. Topics I really enjoy like torque and circular motion.

Yesterday when I walked out of the senior five class, there was a group of boys from senior four waiting with questions. We sat in the shade of a tree and reviews nuclear decay and standing waves. It was really fun. Seriously - even during summer vacation.

I had a challenging year this past year, where I had trouble getting through to some of the boys in my classes, especially in the grade 11 classes. It was very hard to watch really bright students seriously underacheive. Teaching a typically boy-friendly subject like Physics, I feel that it is very important not to alienate them. I have been listening to lectures by Dr. Michael Thompson (http://www.michaelthompson-phd.com/) on the matter. And I recently bought "The Minds of Boys" by Michael Gurian.

When I was first assigned St. Joseph's Layibi College, I was nervous about being in an all-boys' school. By the end of the school year at home, I was feeling better about the whole issue. It was especially nice that so many of the grade 12 boys seemed to enjoy talking with me about Science and life in general and also many of the grade 11 boys were achieving better results towards the end of the year. I left feeling optimistic about next year. This experience has further increased my confidence. The boys at Layibi seem to really enjoy Physics and often approach me with Physics or Math questions.

I just downloaded a video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster to show them as an application of resonance. Now, I must head back to the school for the senior one vs staff football (soccer) game. Don't worry, I am not playing.