Today was one of the most incredible days of my life, from start to finish. I feel so blessed to be in Africa and to be in Gulu, the people here are so sweet and welcoming and appreciative.
I traveled with Amy, Matt and Casey to Saint Mary’s in Lacor today to meet our teachers and it was about a 10 minute Boda ride from the compound. We met up in the teacher’s lounge and went over our schedules and walked around the school for a little bit. Alice is so nice and open, she seems like one of the most laid back people that I have ever met. The school only has eight classrooms, and in one day Alice teaches every grade of secondary school. The largest class is S1 (freshmen) and there are about 179 students. Next week I will be observing her all week, so we both decided that it would be better to figure out how we would plan then. The school was fairly empty because it’s Saturday, but I was able to meet a couple of the students. There is one girl in the school in a wheelchair, their only “special ed” student, and I got a chance to speak with her a little bit. Coming from a special ed teacher’s perspective, it still blows my mind that special education is limited to physical disabilities, and not cognitive.
The three teachers from Lacor, Alice, Dennis, and William went out to lunch with Matt, Casey and I. Alice and Dennis drove Casey and I on their Boda’s, and Matt caught a ride with a local Boda driver from town because William, his teacher, thinks the Boda’s aren’t safe, which I kind of agree with. Unfortunately I can’t get over how fun they are, and I find myself smiling like an idiot when I’m on them, which only gives me a mouth full of brown teeth because the roads are so dusty. It hasn’t rained here in weeks, and every night I come home with a darker layer of dirt on my skin. I’ll try and take a picture of my feet tonight, because Lord of the Rings is the only way I can describe how nasty my feet are. Alice took me a back way through town, and we passed Lacor hospital, which is run by Italian doctors and nurses. It also has locl NGO’s working there, and the work they do for the local people is so helpful. They provide everything from immunizations to gynecological care, and give the people a general snse of well being. I originally thought that the women delivered their babies at home here, but to my surprise they have maternitey wards in both local hospitals. When I was riding on Alice’s boda I had to sit side saddle because I was wearing a skirt (imagie sitting side saddle on a motorcycle), and I had to hold one hand over my knees because they were exposed, and exposing your knees is equivalent to flashing someone your breasts here, no joke. Another difference in language here that I find very interesting is the word they use for turning, they say branching.
Alice’s Boda got a flat on the way into town, and conveniently there were a few mechanics (?) sitting near the road and they patched it up in just a few minutes. While we were standing there however, a white pickup truck with Acholi music blasting from speakers on the truck bed drove past with a lot of men running after it in Manchester United tee shirts. Football is huge here, and the Eurocup is occupying most of the men’s conversations.
We got back on our way, and met up with casey and the other St. Mary’s teachers at a restaurant called the Franklin. It was very inexpensive and the service was fast, which is very rare for Gulu. Kyle told me later on today that he waited 3 hours for his food today. After we ate the teachers treated us to some beers on the patio of the restaurant, and I was able to have another Nile special, an amazing beer that is brewed in Jinja, at the source of the Nile. The bottles are about 16 ounces, and I felt a little tired after I drank it, but the male teachers wanted to keep going! We politely declined however.
Alice doesn’t drink as her ex husband (of 2 weeks), is an alcoholic, and would abuse her. She told me this the night we met. She has three beautiful little girls and she lives with her parents now. When I asked her if she was happy she said yes, and that her girls never asked for their father because they used to witness the abuse. Unfortunately in Gulu, many men and women are alcoholics as a result of the insurgency. Just today, on the way from St. Mary’s to downtown, Alice and I saw a man literally laying spread eagle on the side of the road, hands in the bush and legs on the dustry street. I thought he may have been dead, but Alice said that he was kidnapped by Kony when he was just six years old, so when he was rescued at 16, reassimilating was almost impossible for him. Alice said he spends most of his days drunk.
Alice took us to the market after lunch, and I was able to sneak some video because I held my camera down next to my knees. There is a term they use here called “conflict tourism”, where foreigners come to take pictures of human suffering, but don’t have an intention to help the situation. Even with shopping in the market, you have to “walk with purpose” as Amy says, and refrain from window-shopping. The people know that Americans have the money to shop, and just perusing is regarded as a large insult.
We went to a graduate party with Sister Appelonia tonight and I danced my butt off! Best night ever, and I took a lot of video!
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