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My Great-Grandma Tyne
This picture taken two summers ago. May she rest in peace! Wow, I apologize for taking so long to update this thing. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for four months. Time has really flown by! I’ll have to do several blogs to catch up on everything that has happened. I have successfully finished my first term at the high school. As far as I can tell, the students enjoy my teaching and seem to understand me pretty well. This first term was really kind of a trial run. I hadn’t a clue what I was doing or what to expect. So hopefully next term I will be a bit more organized and be able to help the students more.
I have officially been given my African name: Nagawa which has no meaning other than I belong to the monkey clan called Nkima in Luganda. My African Father- Uncle Paul, calls me by it all the time. Which is fine. But whenever I try to tell people my African name, they normally laugh at me. Which is also ok. A mzungu with an African name is bound to make anyone smile! Oh, and because I am part of the monkey clan, I am now forbidden to eat monkeys.... I think
I can handle that.
This term has definitely had its ups and downs. I have managed to hold off the homesickness pretty well, but for those of you who know me and my strong aversion to the month of March will understand when I say March was the hardest month so far. To start, my great-grandmother Tyne, 101 years old, passed away. She was indeed and incredible woman, the cornerstone of the family. And then, just last week, my Papa Keith also passed away. My family is doing ok, as am I, but need I say that this has been kind of a sucky time of year to be away from family. Also, the country of Uganda was rocked by several awful events during March. There were two fires in two different markets- one being Owino Market, the largest Uganda, where I had bought my hat and some other shirts just a week earlier. Then a plane, carrying important officials, crashed into Lake Victoria. Next was the building that collapsed in downtown Kampala, which killed more than a hundred people. It was so awful to watch it on TV- to see just graphic things like dead people being pulled
from the wreckage. Death is a constant companion here. There is always someone I know who has to go to a funeral of a family member or friend. Somehow, death is handled differently here, it feels different here. Of course it is still devastating, they still mourn. But it is… common and expected.
OK…On to lighter subject! This school term the students started in the laboratory doing some lab practicals, and it was fun for the kids to get their feet wet. Students who had never touched a microscope were looking at amoebas and blood smears. The senior four students especially are eager to work in the lab. So this next term I’ve been planning extra lab time for all classes. Its good for them to get exposure since their national exams focus a bit on laboratory work. And I have bought new needed lab equipment, which really excited everyone. Using the donations from my work SVL Analytical and the Rotary club of Redmond, I bought lab coats for the students, new weigh scales, and other equipment. We also finally got the electricity hooked up into the laboratory so the students didn’t have to work in the dark. The
Senior Four Physics Practical
Their first physics practical of the year! students (and teachers) say they feel like doctors in their labcoats. Its pretty much awesome.
Also, two students attended a national speech competition. The topic was on taxes, as the sponsor of the event was the Uganda Revenue Authority. So it wasn’t that interesting to listen to, but the students really enjoyed themselves. Our score was happily in the middle of all the schools, so we were proud. And we got tee-shirts and other little gifts, so that was nice.
The tough side of all of this is that I am not only a teacher and lab manager, but also a school councilor. As kids will be kids, there are the ones who behave and the ones who don’t. It was difficult to deal with students who misbehaved or cheated on an exam. The normal punishment is a good spanking with a stick. But I preferred more creative punishments like making them write a paragraph 100 times over that apologized for their wrongs, or make them pick up trash around the school (and there is a lot of it, believe me!) I’ve noticed, that just like teens back home, they value their social time. With a beating
Owino Market
Where I bought my hat and shirts- just a week before it burned down. (as they call it) you get smacked, it hurts, but you’re done and can go back to being social. But with my way, it takes their time away from them. And boy do they hate it! Mid way through they often beg for a good beating, just so they can be done. Punishments taking time is definitely a new experience for them.
And then being a councilor can sometimes be embarrassing. Teens are naturally curious, and plenty of girls have come and asked about boys, and boys have asked about girls…I’ll let you figure out the rest. But this is all with a twist, since tradition and culture is much different from the USA. So some of their “theories” about the opposite gender and sex can leave me a bit bewildered at times. And then I am often burdened by the harsh life some of these girls have endured. In Uganda, the idea of a girl being victimized by rape is basically non-existent. That is, they think the girl somehow asked for it or was misbehaving. If she admits she was raped, she may be ostracized by her family and village. Things are getting a little better now as people
Cute kids playing
They were using large straws as guns to shoot at the passing cars. A little disturbing, but boys will be boys. are more educated, but many girls are still suffering. They seem happy, though, to be able to talk to me about it, in a safe, non-judging environment.
And then being a councilor has its up sides. I can’t help it. I know I’m not suppose to have favorites, but I do have favorite students. Some are academically brilliant, and I am so proud of them, and then others, I just relate to well and it has nothing to do with academics. On days when I’ve had to deal with bad and cheating students, and I’m in a bad mood, wondering why I put up with Africa, I just remember my favorites- and I remember that I am here in Uganda for them- those good young people who, with a little help and direction, are going to be the great leaders of Uganda’s future. And I am so beyond happy that I get to be apart of their growing up.
One last note, a huge thanks to Joe and Kareene Todd, and whoever else helped, with raising some money to help pay the school fees of two Senior 6 students who would have dropped out of their final year of
The House I'm Living In
Uncle Paul and Auntie Molly's home. More than 20 people live in this house! school due to lack of money. They are bright, happy students, studying hard for their future national exams coming in November, and so thankful for your help!
Ok, next blog will come really soon…..
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Melissa
non-member comment
I'm so glad you updated! I've been wondering how things are going. I know you're okay because you're on Facebook, keeping in touch with us all, but I wanted to hear more about life there. Keep on updating!