The Week that Was

It has been an interesting few days. On Monday I had the opportunity to go to the National Curriculum Development Center and meet with Mr. Christopher Muganga and other members of the curriculum department. I learned a little bit about their plans for their new curriculum and national exams. We discussed the importance of developing 21st skills in Ugandan youth, and I was able to talk to them about what I had been doing at Kyambogo thus far.  I was also able to bounce ideas off them for my second round of breakout sessions, which was immensely helpful in focusing my content for the upcoming week. That evening I got home from school only to discover plaster

 falling from the ceiling and water all over the floor in the living room. There was a workman doing some work in the ceiling outside of my apartment and apparently a pipe burst. The front office staff and I then spent the next forty five minutes moving my stuff to an empty apartment across the foyer. So I am now ensconced in my new (but smaller) apartment.  The view from my bedroom terrace isn't the same, but it's definitely quieter on this side of the building.  No rooster to wake me up at 4am.

On Tuesday a driver from the US Embassy picked me up to take me to my security briefing. While there I met up with Annalise Klein (annaliseklein.wordpress.com), a teacher from California who is headed to the eastern part of Uganda to work on STEM education in a rural school.  After returning from the embassy I decided to pamper myself the rest of the day and had a pedicure at Nails and Chill, followed by lunch and a yummy spiced mojito at Romeo's.

On Thursday I visited two other schools and did a co- presentation with Diana Nalule, a teacher from a nearby secondary school who completed a Fulbright assignment to New York five years ago. Diana has been immensely helpful in giving me insight into some cultural differences that I have found puzzling.  Both of the schools we went to today were outside of the city. We first went to Bulenga Modern Primary School, a school of 180 students from 3 years old to P7. We present the concept of growth mindset to all of the school's twelve teachers.  This is a concept that holds true at any educational level, and my personal feeling is, the earlier you can lead children to a growth mindset, the better their educational experience will be in the long run. Diana then expands on the idea of "the power of YET" and leads the teachers through an activity. Before we head to the second school I go on a tour of the primary grounds, and am surprised to learn that even at this young age some children are boarders.

                                                           
 The second school was a secondary school called Temangalo High School. The school only has twenty students, very few teachers-- only three teachers are there on any given day), and no electricity.  It is explained that this school is basically for neighborhood children who can't afford a higher level school like Kyambogo.  The school only has three classrooms and students take combined classes. The situation here is more dire than any of the other schools I've visited. The children can't always afford uniforms, or school fees or supplies, or anything really.  Once child tells Diana and me how her parents refuse to pay school fees for her because she has two older sisters and they told her she has to wait until they are out of school first. So this 17 year old girl now lives on her own in a room, working as a waitress at night so she can pay her school fees herself.  Getting an education is that important to her. All of my prayers tonight will be that she manages to hang in there and over come these challenges. She was a late starter because of her parents refusal to pay for her education, so she still has four years of school left. Even though it wasn't in the planned activities we decide to talk t the students anyway about having a growth mindset and why it's important, because if I've ever seen a need for people to maintain a growth mindset, it is these children who all have hopes and aspirations, but see no clear path to their future.

                                                                           

On Friday I was formally introduced to the students at KCS during their morning assembly. They all looked very "smart" in their uniforms. I addressed them for a few minutes about persistence and perseverance and overcoming challenges. Academic perseverance takes on a new meaning here. They are appreciative for all they have and for everything you do to help. I was then introduced to Donald Musikili, the young man who is a recipient of the scholarship my family has provided. Donald is a Senior 4 student who has aspirations of going on to university and becoming an engineer. He is extremely self possessed and focused so I know he will go on to achieve all of his dreams and I'm very happy to know that we had even a little bit to do with that. 

 

Weekend Shenanigans

On Friday afternoon the students staged a performance for the entire school. It was in Luganda (the local language) so I didn't understand a lot of it, but I understood that the format was that of a news report that went to "on the scene" reporters for local news, weather, sports, and entertainment. The troupe entertained the faculty, staff and the rest of the student body with some incredible storytelling through music and dance. The final dance was an original composition of theirs which was about the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic.

There is a wonderful area of Kampala called African Village located on Buganda Road. It is a maze of shops owned by people offering local crafts, clothing, and paintings for sale. I went here yesterday to get the bulk of my shopping out of the way. Note to self: I'm not good at bargaining. I'm getting better. And when I'm tired and fed up with the shopping process I'm really good. I purchased a lot of handcrafted items here that I hope the people back home will love.
  

I then had lunch at Cafe Reze, a vegetarian restaurant located across the street fro  African Village. I had the vegetable fried rice extra". After lunch I visited the craft shops located behind the National Theatre. I hope to be able to catch a performance while I'm here. After a full day shopping I had Yiga take me home to Dina Apartments.

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Today I went to church with Madame Helen, the head teacher at KCS. All Saints Cathedral in Kampala is a large church that is getting larger. I'm very happy that I have found great churches to attend while I am here.  After church we went to lunch at Piato Restaurant, which was very good.  It was great to spend time with her away from school although we did indulge in quite a but of shop talk, because the task at Kyambogo is that large and important. On Tuesday I'm scheduled to go to the U. S. Embassy where I will most likely meet up with the other American teacher that is just arriving in Uganda today. I hope her experience will be as great as mine has been!

 

To Jinja and Beyond!

   

 
Made a check on the bucket list this week: on Wednesday I took a cruise on the Nile River. It’s so green and beautiful, yet the environment there is being destroyed. Damming of various sections have led to flooding and the submerging of Budhagali Falls, as well as forests, and an island that used to be in the middle of the river. Rippon Falls, the source of the Nile, has been submerged since 1954 when they opened Owen Falls Dam. I didn’t see any crocodiles but I did see my first monitor lizard. Because of the dams there is only so far you can go now, so the cruise took a little less than two hours total. The riverboat was small- about half the size of the riverboat in Montgomery, and lunch was provided. We also had the entire boat to ourselves (five of us) which was a bonus.

Random thoughts

I admit that I am somewhat confused by Uganda. There is so much beauty standing
shoulder to shoulder with abject poverty. On my ride into Entebbe today as we drove
down the highway I saw large beautiful houses in various stages of completion
situated on red dirt roads next door to hovels made of tin. I don’t understand it.
There is neither rhyme nor reason  to it. Beautifully manicured yards with mature
mango, papaya, and banana trees, next to yards with mounds of piled trash. 

You need four things to drive in Kampala, shocks,

brakes, a horn, and nerves of steel. The streets

are forever crowded with masses of people, cars,

bicycles, and boda bodas-- motorcycles that zoom

out of nowhere, dodging in between cars.

Sometimes they even drive on the wrong side of

the street. If I die here it will be in an automobile

accident. According to Madame Patricia, accidents

involving bodabodas are so numerous that there is

an entire ward in the hospital just for them! 

Riding in a car is like playing chicken with your life. 

I’ve started keeping my eyes closed. I’d rather 

NOT know when I’m about to die! The vast 

majority of the roads are in horrible shape, and ALL 

the roads— good and bad — have excessive 

numbers of speed bumps! On some roads, instead 

of “chicken”, the game you are playing is “dodge 

the potholes”! You can  pretty much buy anything 

you want on the street here. Street vendors are everywhere, selling everything from 

chewing gum and children's toys to floor mats and windshield wipers!

Have I mentioned that it is the rainy season in Uganda? 

I should have brought my water shoes. When it rains— 

and it has a little bit each day— rivers of red muddy 

water flow through the campus. I managed to step in 

quite a puddle on my way to the staff room for lunch. 

You can pick whatever fresh produce you want to eat
here. Everyone owes a small plot of something. And
you will gains a number of crops growing by the side
of theroad. Corn, tomatoes, pumpkin, potatoes,
sugarcane, pineapple, plantains, cassava, beans,
peanuts, collards, and there are jackfruit, avocado, mango and banana trees in
abundance. Tea also grows in abundance.

This morning I mentioned to Ms. Tina, who is the head of the cafeteria and teaches food
and nutrition classes,  that I had fresh jackfruit for the first time this weekend. There are
jackfruit trees on the grounds. So she sent for a jackfruit and made sure to had some fresh
for me at lunch today. Lunch is a leisurely affair here. The teachers all eat together at the
same time in the staff room. It’s supposed to start between 1:00 and 1:20 but it kind of starts
whenever. They also have staff announcements during lunchtime. And they have morning
tea in the staff room every day at 10:20.

               

Tea time!

Fresh melon and jackfruit for dessert

                                   

Weekends are for culture

 

While my weekdays will be spent working at Kyambogo College, my weekends are reserved for cultural experiences, and one post per week will be dedicated to those weekends. On Friday evening, I went to an African cultural center called Ndere Centre with several faculty and staff members from KCS, and Ms. Diana, a teacher from another school who recently completed a study abroad in New York. The Ndere Centre preserves Africa's heritage through music, song, and dance. The troupe that performs there has been in existence since 1984, and as it happens, Mr. Idris -- one of the assistant administrators from KCS-- is one of the original members of the troupe. He delighted us by getting up from our table and performing with them for a few minutes. The Ndere Center is amazing.  The architecture of the buildings there are created with traditional materials used in Africa for centuries and are representations of those ancient structures. They also sell handmade African crafts in the gift store, and I am an avowed gift shop shopper!
                                                           

                                                       

On Saturday Joan called me an Uber so I could go visit the Kasubi Tombs, the houses and tombs of some long dead kings of Africa. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When we got there it turned out to be closed for renovations, and it has been since a fire in 2011. But Yiga, my driver, talks to the men inside and they agree to let me in for a fee, but first they make me put on a scarf to wrap around my waist because I am wearing pants. Uganda is a very traditional, conservative society and women here rarely wear pants, and certainly not in a work environment or at a religious site. The scarf is so beautiful that I want to keep it. We enter first into the guard house and get a bit of a history lesson before being escorted into the courtyard that leads to the king's house. 

The Guard House

The king's house is what was burned in 2011 in what is to believed to be an act of terrorism.  There are numerous structures surrounding the courtyard and when I inquire about them I am told that they were the houses of the king's wives, and that he had one from each tribe in order to keep peace in the country.  There are people who live within the grounds of the old palace to this day and they are descendants of some of those secondary wives. There are two cemeteries on the grounds, the smaller one are the tombs of the widows-- I took that to mean the king's widows, and the larger one is that of the direct line of the royal family. It turns out that my guide is a grandson of one of the people in the cemetery.

Houses of the King's Wives

Royal Tombs

On Sunday I attend church service up the street from my apartment at St. Luke's Church of Uganda. These are very religious people. St. Luke's is a beautiful octagonal structure with one big open space inside. They have three services each Sunday, 2 in English and one in Ugandan. I went to the second English service. Praise and worship, scripture readings, litanies, announcements, and a teaching. I felt like I was home.

Sunday evening, Yiga picked me up to take me to the Zoo in Entebbe, one of the places on my list of things to do while in the country. It's a forty five minute drive but well worth it.  The zoo is interesting. There are monkeys just roaming free throughout the grounds. And there is a lot of signage warning against feeding, teasing, and taunting them. The animals are in open air environments (except for the snakes of course). I see my first ever rhino.  They are a lot larger than I expected. The baboon enclosure contains a warning-- not that I was going to try to cross the barrier anyway. I found a gift shop (of course!) and purchased a mask that I will proudly add to my collection when I get home.

                                                                       

Lake Victoria- the source of the River Nile