Celebration Day at Awere
Today there is no school at Awere, there is a whole day planned of speeches, dances, a Mass by the Anglican bishop where confirmation candidates will be confirmed, and more speeches. The dances and the presentations by the students will be great, but I am curious how the speeches of the leaders will be. Not to worry, lunch is scheduled at 3.30 pm.
There are 5 teachers here, and I have been lucky to see two of my colleagues, Wendy and Trisha just have some wonderful interactions with students. Wendy is from Colorado and has a family and friends that are very proud of her. If any of you ever read this your pride has been warranted. Wendy has taken her whole big personality and brought it to Awere school and has done great things. Trisha is a science teacher who is always working at being more curious about the world. She gave us a wonderful Astronomy course the other day at the house. You would not believe the stars you can see on a clear Ugandan night with a new moon. I saw the Milky Way, and Jupiter, and Saturn, and Anteres and many other (stop reading if you are not Frank Hellwig--but no Frank I did not see Uranus). Trisha has a father she talks about fondly and if you saw what your daughter was doing here, you would be so so proud (as the Acholi would say). I took videos of one of her rocket launches so you will be able to see. Watch that video twice, sir, and look how captivated her students are. Amazing.
Tomorrow a whole group of us, are taking a mutatu to the site of the real Awere school. If you remember Awere is a displaced school in Gulu, because of the war in the North. I am really looking forward to seeing this part of Uganda, it is supposed to be a very beautiful place. Whenever you get to the top of a hill or high elevation here, you can just look out and see beautiful green and foliage.
I am unfamiliar with their work, but “Fall Out Boy” is flying over from America this weekend. They are filming a music video in one of the IDP (internally displaced person) camps. It has all of the Invisible Children staff doing a lot of extra work, but the video will do two things. It will be another way to bring the faces and smiles of Northern Ugandans to the world, and also supposedly Fall Out Boy is paying for all of their expenses and also making a contribution to Invisible Children.
So next week will be my final five days with the children of Awere, and sadder still my friend Nyeko Alfred may not be there as he is taking a course at Makere University. I cannot really tell you the story of Alfred playing the headmaster at last Saturday’s presentation or just the ways he reacts to each student with discipline and dignity I wonder how many friendships are still out there in my life to be formed by people across the world. Whether it be Ocen Juma a 12 year old boy who was tending cattle at Prison Primary yesterday, and smiled and talked to me as I took his picture with his cows, or a tall secondary school student I met on the path home the other day who after hearing I was a math teacher told me that he was going for first distinction on his Senior 4 exams (the highest level in the country. But today I will end my thoughts with my friend Nyeko Alfred, just a teacher teaching math to Senior 3 in the Awere secondary school. . I am honored and humbled to call him my friend and my colleague, and he amongst a collage of smiles and greetings of many Acholi people will have a special place in my heart for the rest of my life.
Peace
john
Walk to Atanga SS
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Wash Day Surprises
I TRIED MY BEST TO POST YESTERDAY, BUT A SIMPLE PAGE TOOK 5 MINUTES TO LOAD SO I GAVE UP, BUT THERE ARE 2 POSTS TODAY
Wash day Surprises
Today it was kind of nice knowing that I would not have to get to school by 8 am. We do not have a class this early, and Alfred is working on some stuff of his for his University schooling. So I got out of bed with no urgency, and remembered today was my wash day. I got most of my clothes out and then went back and thought I should look to make sure I had not missed anything. I saw a grey t-shirt, it was either on the floor or on a chair, I do not remember where (this makes a difference in the story later so remember this fact). I then walked out to the eating area, which is outside, and saw some of the women eating. I then thought what is in my shirt, it was heavy, like maybe I thought a cel phone or an iPod, as I worked to get it out.----All of a sudden, my old friend, the black lizard leaped onto the ground from waist high. I screamed and the lizard start running toward the girls who also screamed and then he ran away. Quite a wake up call. Does anyone know if lizards return home like salmon or the swallows of the Capistrano, if so please let me know immediately.
I have not heard from Coach Nesbitt and I am curious how U of I went and how the summer league is going. If anyone knows, please e-mail me. It is always good to have news from home.
P.S. I have grown addicted to your comments and love the little messages from home on the blog, keep them up and thanks.
John
Wash day Surprises
Today it was kind of nice knowing that I would not have to get to school by 8 am. We do not have a class this early, and Alfred is working on some stuff of his for his University schooling. So I got out of bed with no urgency, and remembered today was my wash day. I got most of my clothes out and then went back and thought I should look to make sure I had not missed anything. I saw a grey t-shirt, it was either on the floor or on a chair, I do not remember where (this makes a difference in the story later so remember this fact). I then walked out to the eating area, which is outside, and saw some of the women eating. I then thought what is in my shirt, it was heavy, like maybe I thought a cel phone or an iPod, as I worked to get it out.----All of a sudden, my old friend, the black lizard leaped onto the ground from waist high. I screamed and the lizard start running toward the girls who also screamed and then he ran away. Quite a wake up call. Does anyone know if lizards return home like salmon or the swallows of the Capistrano, if so please let me know immediately.
I have not heard from Coach Nesbitt and I am curious how U of I went and how the summer league is going. If anyone knows, please e-mail me. It is always good to have news from home.
P.S. I have grown addicted to your comments and love the little messages from home on the blog, keep them up and thanks.
John
Ohhh and the Keeper was not ready for that one
Oh and the Keeper was not ready for that one.
Some of you remember, Toby Charles broadcasting soccer on Sunday morning. Well, the faculty of Awere with ample help from student teachers challenged the high school team after school on Wednesday. The Ugandans number the whole field 1 to 11 and asked where I wanted to play, they told me they had put me in 1. Which of course was the goal keeper. After taking shots from students, and blocking a few with literally a crowd of 600 students, and another 300 or so curious primary students looking on. I felt good about my debut in goal, but not great. Too bad, I did not have Bonnie Kuhn or the freshmen Augs to give me a few pointers. 30 seconds into the game, from about half field, one of the students launched a high arching shot, that because I was a little out of the goal looped over my head!!!!!!! Into the goal. He beat me high. And then I heard Toby Charles in my head saying, “Oh the keeper was not ready for that one.” I ended up stopping 4 of 12 shots, 3 were goals, and 5 were wide, until I was graciously replaced by a Ugandan teacher. Halfway into my experience, the students screamed and rain, and then I saw a hellacious rain storm, headed our way. We got drenched and the rest of the game was played in either a downpour or a very wet field with huge puddles. It was a blast although the faculty was on the wrong end of 6-nil score. I think I may have gained some credibility with the students of Awere for my feeble American effort at football.
I just went through another 12 pack of malaria pills, it is amazing how fast my time is going here. I will be home before you know it. I am looking for a bar on Friday the 27th to go hoist a Bell, or Nile Special with you my friends, or if they don’t have those I guess we could purchase a local St. Louis product.
peace
john
Some of you remember, Toby Charles broadcasting soccer on Sunday morning. Well, the faculty of Awere with ample help from student teachers challenged the high school team after school on Wednesday. The Ugandans number the whole field 1 to 11 and asked where I wanted to play, they told me they had put me in 1. Which of course was the goal keeper. After taking shots from students, and blocking a few with literally a crowd of 600 students, and another 300 or so curious primary students looking on. I felt good about my debut in goal, but not great. Too bad, I did not have Bonnie Kuhn or the freshmen Augs to give me a few pointers. 30 seconds into the game, from about half field, one of the students launched a high arching shot, that because I was a little out of the goal looped over my head!!!!!!! Into the goal. He beat me high. And then I heard Toby Charles in my head saying, “Oh the keeper was not ready for that one.” I ended up stopping 4 of 12 shots, 3 were goals, and 5 were wide, until I was graciously replaced by a Ugandan teacher. Halfway into my experience, the students screamed and rain, and then I saw a hellacious rain storm, headed our way. We got drenched and the rest of the game was played in either a downpour or a very wet field with huge puddles. It was a blast although the faculty was on the wrong end of 6-nil score. I think I may have gained some credibility with the students of Awere for my feeble American effort at football.
I just went through another 12 pack of malaria pills, it is amazing how fast my time is going here. I will be home before you know it. I am looking for a bar on Friday the 27th to go hoist a Bell, or Nile Special with you my friends, or if they don’t have those I guess we could purchase a local St. Louis product.
peace
john
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Acholi--Always Friendly, Always Working
No Water Still!!! and Cleanliness
The euphoria of showering in the rain was a little short-lived as it is now Tuesday afternoon and we still do not have water. Sarah Hartley, kind of the boss, told me that these water outages have lasted as long as 10 days. Btw, when I say no water we do have drinking water, in a old-fashioned water cooler, except that it is not cool. Except tomorrow morning we had no drinking water either, luckily I had a little bit in a water bottle on my dresser, and I also had some in my fake Nalgene bottle. So I again shaved with sunscreen, that is actually quite easy although it does gum up the razor a bit. And I used my bucket of rain water to mini-shower in my room. The flush toilet is starting to get quite nasty, so this afternoon I donated my rain water to the cause. Unfortunately, it did not flush, so it was just wasted. Through all of this life is actually easy, it (the shortages are just annoying). Doreen still makes us a wonderful breakfast and dinner each day. Doreen had a good Monday, because some of the staff played Chicken poker. Tournament poker where instead of $10,000 buy-in like the WSOP, the buy-in is one live chicken. Jamie and Karl did not get to the market in time and were unable to find the buy-in. But anyway Doreen was the recipient of I think Chris’ win as she was given most of the chickens. They ran around between the houses for awhile, but soon Doreen put in a basket. Just to mess with them, I coughed out “dinner” every time I passed them. I could not tell, but their chicken noises sounded a lot like, “When is the last time you showered, fat man, b-balk, b-balk”. But then again my chicken is not that good.
While we acknowledge the obstacles that this means, we are living better than most of the Acholi people. On our way to Awere, we pass the latrines for the Prison Primary School, and on the wrong day, that smell is something I wish I could capture on film or on videotape just to share. Btw, Prison Primary School is by the prison, it has nothing to with the prison, and the Acholi have no problem being practical and naming the school by the prison, the Prison Primary School. I guess if one of the town’s names is “Man who pees himself”, prison primary sounds pretty good.
Wow, I still have not made the point I wanted to make. The Acholi spend a lot of time cleaning. Agnes sweeps and mops my bedroom floor and the rest of the house 5 times a day. When I get to the Awere faculty room, the same women is sweeping out the entire room. They do not use brooms, but merely straw tied together, so to sweep you have to really bend over. She then wipes down every table. The dust and dirt is everywhere, and I can really tell why they use the red earth theme in a lot of their flags. But they constantly work at sweeping, even the street (wider mud path) in front of their business. There is no trash pickup, so everything must be burned, and there are no real trash cans. It is amazing how much less I throw away knowing that I do not have a big trash can to throw it in.
Had a great class this morning, and it was filmed by Amy Collins, so there is video although the students were less involved than they have in the past. Had a real good time with my class in Senior 3C. Then I rushed back to the IC house, so I could take a boda to Sacred Heart. It was a long boda ride, and a lot of the mud had been washed off the road, leaving big rocks. The boda drivers were very skillful, finding the six inch wide smooth path amongst the 18 ft wide road. I talked with several of the teachers at Sacred Heart and then sat in a class of Senior 6A students. At this time in their secondary schools, the students have specialized to only 3 sometimes 4 areas of study. And Senior 6 might translate more appropriately to first year of university, but still the concentration and skill level of this class would rival the very best of our Nerinx Hall students on their best day. Calculus here is not the end of the line, but more of a tool they use in the middle of the class when they need a slope. The whole class was impressive. I am trying to send two pictures of the class along with this blog. Hopefully, Jack Magee can get them posted quickly.
The message I conveyed to the Director of Studies at Sacred Heart. He told me America was great and the confidence of Americans is extraordinary. I told them that I thought America could be great, but we needed to know more about the world. So there is both of our challenges, me to deliver the message and the experience of what I have seen. And for you my family, friends, students, and colleagues that we together open our eyes to all of the people of this world, and realize just a few simple actions of Americans can change the world. And if you knew or had met the Acholi, this goal would be one you would feel compelled to do.
Peace,
john
The euphoria of showering in the rain was a little short-lived as it is now Tuesday afternoon and we still do not have water. Sarah Hartley, kind of the boss, told me that these water outages have lasted as long as 10 days. Btw, when I say no water we do have drinking water, in a old-fashioned water cooler, except that it is not cool. Except tomorrow morning we had no drinking water either, luckily I had a little bit in a water bottle on my dresser, and I also had some in my fake Nalgene bottle. So I again shaved with sunscreen, that is actually quite easy although it does gum up the razor a bit. And I used my bucket of rain water to mini-shower in my room. The flush toilet is starting to get quite nasty, so this afternoon I donated my rain water to the cause. Unfortunately, it did not flush, so it was just wasted. Through all of this life is actually easy, it (the shortages are just annoying). Doreen still makes us a wonderful breakfast and dinner each day. Doreen had a good Monday, because some of the staff played Chicken poker. Tournament poker where instead of $10,000 buy-in like the WSOP, the buy-in is one live chicken. Jamie and Karl did not get to the market in time and were unable to find the buy-in. But anyway Doreen was the recipient of I think Chris’ win as she was given most of the chickens. They ran around between the houses for awhile, but soon Doreen put in a basket. Just to mess with them, I coughed out “dinner” every time I passed them. I could not tell, but their chicken noises sounded a lot like, “When is the last time you showered, fat man, b-balk, b-balk”. But then again my chicken is not that good.
While we acknowledge the obstacles that this means, we are living better than most of the Acholi people. On our way to Awere, we pass the latrines for the Prison Primary School, and on the wrong day, that smell is something I wish I could capture on film or on videotape just to share. Btw, Prison Primary School is by the prison, it has nothing to with the prison, and the Acholi have no problem being practical and naming the school by the prison, the Prison Primary School. I guess if one of the town’s names is “Man who pees himself”, prison primary sounds pretty good.
Wow, I still have not made the point I wanted to make. The Acholi spend a lot of time cleaning. Agnes sweeps and mops my bedroom floor and the rest of the house 5 times a day. When I get to the Awere faculty room, the same women is sweeping out the entire room. They do not use brooms, but merely straw tied together, so to sweep you have to really bend over. She then wipes down every table. The dust and dirt is everywhere, and I can really tell why they use the red earth theme in a lot of their flags. But they constantly work at sweeping, even the street (wider mud path) in front of their business. There is no trash pickup, so everything must be burned, and there are no real trash cans. It is amazing how much less I throw away knowing that I do not have a big trash can to throw it in.
Had a great class this morning, and it was filmed by Amy Collins, so there is video although the students were less involved than they have in the past. Had a real good time with my class in Senior 3C. Then I rushed back to the IC house, so I could take a boda to Sacred Heart. It was a long boda ride, and a lot of the mud had been washed off the road, leaving big rocks. The boda drivers were very skillful, finding the six inch wide smooth path amongst the 18 ft wide road. I talked with several of the teachers at Sacred Heart and then sat in a class of Senior 6A students. At this time in their secondary schools, the students have specialized to only 3 sometimes 4 areas of study. And Senior 6 might translate more appropriately to first year of university, but still the concentration and skill level of this class would rival the very best of our Nerinx Hall students on their best day. Calculus here is not the end of the line, but more of a tool they use in the middle of the class when they need a slope. The whole class was impressive. I am trying to send two pictures of the class along with this blog. Hopefully, Jack Magee can get them posted quickly.
The message I conveyed to the Director of Studies at Sacred Heart. He told me America was great and the confidence of Americans is extraordinary. I told them that I thought America could be great, but we needed to know more about the world. So there is both of our challenges, me to deliver the message and the experience of what I have seen. And for you my family, friends, students, and colleagues that we together open our eyes to all of the people of this world, and realize just a few simple actions of Americans can change the world. And if you knew or had met the Acholi, this goal would be one you would feel compelled to do.
Peace,
john
Monday, July 9, 2007
Shower from the Roof and a Monster Lizard
Last night, at 9 pm the rain came, and as Jamie, Carl, and I realized what that meant, we all sprang into action. I quickly put a bucket under where it drips heavy off the roof, and soon was able to flush the toilet for the first time in 20 hours. All of a sudden, I saw Carl, who was really bumming after playing basketball and sweating that there was still no water, sprinting in his underwear with a bar of soap and a towel to the edge of the house. Jamie soon followed. Not knowing how long the rain would last I also sprinted. My hair was wet enough that I was able to apply the Fructis shampoo that I had sprinted to get. Then when Carl was done, I got the prize spot of standing where a steady stream of water was running off the roof. Although, we were giddy about taking a “shower”, I was not ready for the coldness of the water or stepping into a 12 inch hole of equally cold water. BUT THAT SHOWER WAS ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE EVER TAKEN. IT FELT SO GOOD TO BE CLEAN. Btw, 12:30 Monday afternoon and still no water.
Later I was looking all over for my phone, see Uganda is just like America, I picked a pillow off the ground. I was startled to see a lizard lying where the pillow used to be. This was not the small gecko that Hadley had found a day earlier on my mosquito netting. This was a lizard. I am not saying it was big, but it was just a step below a Kimodo Dragon. I went to get help to capture it after it ran under the bed, but when we came back it was gone. I do believe it is just a coincidence that although I had planned on sleeping on the lower bunk, I slept on the third level. This had nothing to do with the lizard that may or may not still be sharing my room. I also talked to Sr. Mary Cara Ajio, the head teacher at Sacred Heart (a Catholic secondary school for girls) and I will be visiting there tomorrow.
Yesterday was our first day off of the trip. It was kind of nice just relaxing and not doing anything. Most of the teachers went for lunch at Bambu, but since I was at Da Pub, the night before I did not wake up early enough for 9 am Mass, so I again went to noon at Holy Rosary. Not quite as crowded or as hot as last week. The sermon was the three things that were needed for peace in this region. Point number 1 was division. I listened intently as the Italian priest mentioned all of the divisions that Gulu and Uganda has and it reminded me of the division in America.
But then I thought, here I am halfway across the world and althought almost everything is different, almost everything is the same. There food is different, and their mud brick huts are obviously different, but the pride they take in their home, and inviting people over for dinner reminds me a lot of Jane Magee and 7486 Woodlawn Colonial. As I picked up my lap top, and started writing this. Agnes is hand washing our clothes out back. Since we still do not have water, she had to go to the bore hole to fetch water to wash the clothes. She walked up the dirt path with two gerry cans full of 5 gallons of water each. She takes great pride in what she does, and I do not think I have ever seen anyone scrub clothes with the gusto she has. You have now seen pictures of Awere and realize the classroom is very different. Yet there are kids that pay attention when others do not, and there are kids taking copious notes. There was a boy today who stood up for the watchman who delivered a message that disquieted a teacher.
So as I walked home from Awere through the village that translates too, “The man that pees himself” (I am not joking about this, they said it either got its name, because a man did this after he had been drinking or maybe not). I shouted to the people after the children’s call of “Moo Nu!” and asked them how they are doing, and of course they replied, “I am fine.” I had to smile and laugh with them, because we are not so different after all.
Peace,
john
Last night, at 9 pm the rain came, and as Jamie, Carl, and I realized what that meant, we all sprang into action. I quickly put a bucket under where it drips heavy off the roof, and soon was able to flush the toilet for the first time in 20 hours. All of a sudden, I saw Carl, who was really bumming after playing basketball and sweating that there was still no water, sprinting in his underwear with a bar of soap and a towel to the edge of the house. Jamie soon followed. Not knowing how long the rain would last I also sprinted. My hair was wet enough that I was able to apply the Fructis shampoo that I had sprinted to get. Then when Carl was done, I got the prize spot of standing where a steady stream of water was running off the roof. Although, we were giddy about taking a “shower”, I was not ready for the coldness of the water or stepping into a 12 inch hole of equally cold water. BUT THAT SHOWER WAS ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE EVER TAKEN. IT FELT SO GOOD TO BE CLEAN. Btw, 12:30 Monday afternoon and still no water.
Later I was looking all over for my phone, see Uganda is just like America, I picked a pillow off the ground. I was startled to see a lizard lying where the pillow used to be. This was not the small gecko that Hadley had found a day earlier on my mosquito netting. This was a lizard. I am not saying it was big, but it was just a step below a Kimodo Dragon. I went to get help to capture it after it ran under the bed, but when we came back it was gone. I do believe it is just a coincidence that although I had planned on sleeping on the lower bunk, I slept on the third level. This had nothing to do with the lizard that may or may not still be sharing my room. I also talked to Sr. Mary Cara Ajio, the head teacher at Sacred Heart (a Catholic secondary school for girls) and I will be visiting there tomorrow.
Yesterday was our first day off of the trip. It was kind of nice just relaxing and not doing anything. Most of the teachers went for lunch at Bambu, but since I was at Da Pub, the night before I did not wake up early enough for 9 am Mass, so I again went to noon at Holy Rosary. Not quite as crowded or as hot as last week. The sermon was the three things that were needed for peace in this region. Point number 1 was division. I listened intently as the Italian priest mentioned all of the divisions that Gulu and Uganda has and it reminded me of the division in America.
But then I thought, here I am halfway across the world and althought almost everything is different, almost everything is the same. There food is different, and their mud brick huts are obviously different, but the pride they take in their home, and inviting people over for dinner reminds me a lot of Jane Magee and 7486 Woodlawn Colonial. As I picked up my lap top, and started writing this. Agnes is hand washing our clothes out back. Since we still do not have water, she had to go to the bore hole to fetch water to wash the clothes. She walked up the dirt path with two gerry cans full of 5 gallons of water each. She takes great pride in what she does, and I do not think I have ever seen anyone scrub clothes with the gusto she has. You have now seen pictures of Awere and realize the classroom is very different. Yet there are kids that pay attention when others do not, and there are kids taking copious notes. There was a boy today who stood up for the watchman who delivered a message that disquieted a teacher.
So as I walked home from Awere through the village that translates too, “The man that pees himself” (I am not joking about this, they said it either got its name, because a man did this after he had been drinking or maybe not). I shouted to the people after the children’s call of “Moo Nu!” and asked them how they are doing, and of course they replied, “I am fine.” I had to smile and laugh with them, because we are not so different after all.
Peace,
john
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Da Pub
Last night about 8 of us went out to a place called Da Pub. It was the first bar I have been to in Uganda. Sorry Frank no AB products what is the deal with your distribution anyway. It was great to just relax and have several beers with people. I enjoyed listening to Sarah's stories about her mom meeting John Lennon, and just talking about Gulu. It was a good end to a good day.
Thanks Nora Thiemann, this morning we had no water again, so I used your little tube of sun screen you gave me to shave with. I also stabbed myself with a screw driver, attaching a handle to the bath room door, it was starting to stick and had no handle on one side. I looked through 9 wood screws to find the best four and they were still bad screws. Then I had to buy a too small of screw driver, so the slot would fit in my bad screws, then the only handle I could buy was kind of bent. It is amazing how lucky we are to have a home depot. It was just a slight cut, so I am using the band-aids with neo sporin the Thiemanns also gave me, I believe that one was from Kurt, sorry gotta go I only have a minute left. Magees why don't you call me at 1 pm your time if you are all together.
john
Thanks Nora Thiemann, this morning we had no water again, so I used your little tube of sun screen you gave me to shave with. I also stabbed myself with a screw driver, attaching a handle to the bath room door, it was starting to stick and had no handle on one side. I looked through 9 wood screws to find the best four and they were still bad screws. Then I had to buy a too small of screw driver, so the slot would fit in my bad screws, then the only handle I could buy was kind of bent. It is amazing how lucky we are to have a home depot. It was just a slight cut, so I am using the band-aids with neo sporin the Thiemanns also gave me, I believe that one was from Kurt, sorry gotta go I only have a minute left. Magees why don't you call me at 1 pm your time if you are all together.
john
Saturday, July 7, 2007
read the next two posts together
Sorry the next two posts should be read together, and I can't change the title on the one.
Sorry Danielle, Margot, and Catherines
Sorry Danielle, Margot, and Catherines
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