Has it really only been one day???

We arrived this morning at 7:30 am Kampala time after two nights on airplanes. My flight to Heathrow was on a double decker plane, and then I hung out for 12 hours at the airport (shopping, eating, reading, napping). I have never flown British Airlines before. Their economy class is called “world traveller”. I got quite a kick out of my ticket (see, I even took a photo). Even in economy class we were given a little bag with headphones, eye blinders, toothbrush and toothpaste, and fresh socks! I laughed at the socks, but was happy to have them late in day 2 of travel.

There were ten of us on the 8.5 hour flight from Heathrow to Entebbe (50 min outside Kampala). Only two of us had our luggage upon arrival. Ironically, one of the first times I was actually prepared with three days of clothes in my carry-on and my bag arrived.

It took a while to get out of the airport with all the missing baggage reports and then we dropped our things off at the hostel and grabbed breakfast before heading out to exchange money and go to the grocery store.

Then we went to the US Embassy where a woman who works for US-Aid described their work here in Uganda and the education system in general. They had an acronym for everything: UNITY, PIASTRA, REPLICA, EDP, QUI, SUPER, BEPS etc. Basically their goals include providing funding for professional development for teachers, AIDS prevention in primary school, community integration into school life, and policy. A full 25% on US-Aid funding for education goes to Northern Uganda and includes other initiatives such as peace education, and performing arts as a means to disseminate messages.

Honestly, the woman sounded very frustrated with the situation. She talked about a “dependency-syndrome” – since primary school had been made free, the parents and community were less invested. Also teacher absenteeism is a big problem as many teachers work at more than one school in order to make enough to live on. I had to snicker a little when she said they were having trouble finding women teachers because “women can’t do maths” and Math is compulsory for teachers.

We then went to a secondary school located very close to the hostel. This was so interesting. After a general description of the curriculum, we were paired up with teachers of our subjects. I had a wonderful conversation with one of their Physics teachers. Physics is a compulsory course from grade 8 to 11. The teacher described it as the most loved and the most failed subject. We talked about curriculum, differences in teacher training and styles.

He mentioned a principal in Toronto who is from Gulu and writes a column in the Ugandan paper: Opiyo Oloya.

We then toured the school visiting the library, computer lab, art room, and girl’s residence. There are 3000 students at the school and it is ranked 10^th in Uganda. It was incredible to pass by classrooms with over 70 students at desks. The students were remarkably polite. I am really looking forward to getting to Gulu tomorrow.

Now to try to get some sleep although the music is pumping at this hostel tonight.

More from Northern Uganda!

e-x-h-a-l-e

Phew! I can't believe the time is finally here. I am sitting at Pearson airport just waiting to board my flight. I expect them to start pre-boarding any minute now.

It has been a totally insane week of yearbook. I worked between 12 and 17 hours each day. Yesterday I got to school at 5:40 am (second day in a row) and at 5:40 pm we submitted the pages. At that point in time I had a friend sitting on my back deck waiting for me to come home to say goodbye and a party starting at 7 pm. Unfortunately, my apartment was still a mess, I had no groceries, and I hadn't even begun packing. But as usual all worked out. . .

I got home at 6 pm and Santosh, Rekha, Matty and I picked up everything resembling mess and moved it into my bedroom and closed the door. While discussing the fact that I had no food and still had to shower and guests were expected in 40 minutes, the idea of a pizza party came up. WHAT A PERFECT IDEA! I said goodbye to Santosh and Rekha and hopped in the shower.

Of course Aaron and Megan arrived while I was in the shower. I hadn't seen them since they were home from Cambodia last summer and their son Owen had grown so much (now almost two). Other guests arrived and I ordered the pizza. All in all it was a wonderful evening. I have such great friends. Also since I have dinner parties a few times a year, they are all starting to get to know each other. It was so good to see everyone as for the last two months it seems like I have been working non-stop and hadn't seen anybody.

I woke at 6 am this morning in my disaster-area of a bedroom and did some final yearbook edits. I will finally relax when I see the edits appear on-line. I have to say it is one beautiful yearbook! Sneak-preview at right. Not that I can take credit for the super cool table of contents, it was done by one of the students.

Matty and I walked to the coffee shop and then I had to have a nap. It has been a long time since I felt so physically exhausted. When I woke, we went to the drug store for some final necessities (like malaria pills, ear-plugs, and wet wipes). I finished packing with almost 40 minutes to spare. Not bad, if I do say so myself. The only thing missing was "Pedagogy of the Oppressed". I have NO idea where I've lost it. Sigh. I will google it and see what I can find out in preparation for our conference.

My flight is scheduled to leave in 30 minutes although it has already be delayed once and there is no mention of pre-boarding yet. Oooh, I see flight attendants, that is a good sign.

Ok, off to find some info about "Pedagogy of the Oppressed."

Stay tuned!

graduation and one week to go!

This Thursday was graduation at our school, and also closing ceremonies for the grade 9-11 students. It was really wonderful. It is so funny because when I woke up in the morning I thought, oh I don't feel like getting dressed up, and this is going to be a LONG day (our first meeting was at 8 am and I got home at 11 pm). But of course, I loved it. It is so nice to celebrate the students' achievements. You also get a chance to appreciate the relationships you've developped with the students over the year or years as it is with some students. I had three students graduating who had been in my mentor group since they were in grade 9. It was amazing to watch them walk across the stage and think back to talking to them about what to expect in high school. I also thought about the grade 9 mentees I had this year and think about how soon they too will cross the stage. This year's grads have so many opportunities before them and I am certain they will do amazing things.

I can't believe that I leave for Gulu in ONE week! Today I will do some errand running as I will be working on the yearbook in every free hour between Monday and Friday. I have been told to bring lots of wet wipes for those in-between-shower days. And I have to find clothing appropriate to wear to school, they really like the women to wear dresses or skirts but they have to be approximately mid-calf length, and we have to wear a slip underneath. I found a few things in my closet but will find a couple of other outfits.

I watched the documentary War Dance last weekend, filmed in 2005. See the trailer below. It reminded me that although there is peace in the area now, it is very fresh. The children I will teach have all been touched by war. At one point in the film there is a break in the competition. They children are taken on a tour around Kampala. I found this part very touching as the children marveled at the multi-story buildings covered in glass, they played in Lake Victoria -- rolling up their pant legs, and they went to the airport to watch planes take off and land. It is really remarkable how many people live their entire lives within 100 km of where they were born. For these students, the trip to Kampala meant the world.



I am so excited to go. The next update will be written in either Heathrow Airport or Kampala.