Gulu is such a wonderful, promising place. Yesterday, I let the small frustrations creep into my head, and bother me. This morning, I woke up and realized that although this is a place of sorrow and turmoil. It is more fundamentally a place of perseverence and overcoming obstacles. Students struggle, students misbehave, but it is in Gulu SS and Awere SS, where I have seen students above all will do anything to learn. As Henry and I walked out, the students were asking if they could do Physics on Saturday. They may have been kidding, but probably not they had just had a mid-term, recognized they needed more work, and were trying to find a way to get it.
This afternoon, I started distributing the 20 or so letters I had from Nerinx students (left over from September), but I think this time it will work. I also gave the students small slips of paper with the names of other students who would like to receive a letter. Within 45 minutes of this distribution, I received a wonderful letter to Allie F. (Class of '11). Henry and I had a great two classes, and he was real happy with the binder I had put together. If I had been able to print on my printer, it would have been better---but Henry did not know that and he was impressed with the way it looked. All of that time fretting yesterday over something insignificant, really hit me again that it is these small things that do not matter. Although, Sarah asked about my day last night, and I told her it was full of small problems. She said that sometimes she welcomed these Gulu problems, because it reminds her of how fortunate we are in the United States or England.
After 2 stops with no people and no results, I went to Awere and found the bursar. I was able to pay the school fees for a young S2 student who has become my friend. Last year, I had done something similar and it had cost about 12,000/=, this time it cost 49,900/= which again startled me until I realized it was less than $33 US. So after two summers in Gulu, and a stupid printer, maybe this is the lesson that all of these events is trying to teach me. To have the courage and the selflessness to find out what is important and truly means something, and also to have the patience and the wisdom to not spend time worrying about the small bumps.
On the way to Awere, I was joined by 4 students from Gulu SS. It was a wonderful walk and a wonderful conversation. They, of course, asked me if I was coming back, and then the questions quickly moved to New York and the rapper 50-cent. I tried to tell them, they should dream about coming to St. Louis instead of New York. New York is too big, and St. Louis just really feels like home. We talked about how parts of New York were not too safe, and how I feel safe in almost every corner of Gulu. We hit a fork in the road, and they said good-bye and we parted ways.
Finally, when I went home, I read a letter that a student had given me today. The students call the teachers, "Sir and Madame" and the letter was addressed to Sir John Magee. I have a couple of drawers of wonderful things students have written me over the years. If you are my student and wrote me a note, yours is in that drawer. The letter from this Senior 2A student was a wonderful thank you for me coming to his school and spending time to help him and his fellow students. He also urges me to spread the word about him and the people of the Acholi sub-region of Northern Uganda.
So once again, this year I will be a brother, a son, a teacher, a softball coach, and maybe a basketball coach, but throughout all of these activities if there is a free minute or five, I will probably share with you a story about Henry or Odong Collins Otika or Opiya James or scores of others.
John
No comments:
Post a Comment