mac lunch

Blog 7 July 2^nd 2008

 

I can’t believe that I’m only a half-day behind in my journaling and I feel like I have to catch up on so much! I guess I’ll start with yesterday afternoon and the nighttime.

 

After I met up with Kyle and Sarah for lunch at Mac Café, they went back to their classes at school and I headed off to the market to brave it alone. I was actually really productive and proud of myself. I walked with purpose like Amy told us to, and I managed to pick up a bundle of sweet bananas and 3 avocados with no problem. The woman at the avocado stand actually picked out 2 ripe ones for me, and gave me a third for free. The food here is great some times, bearable other times, and unrecognizable sometimes too, so it’s great to have some extra snacks around in times of need. After my little adventure I hopped on a boda and came back to the convent, stripped down to my underwear and laid down in the empty dorm with my fan and my ipod. I’ve been watching parts of the Tin Man while I’ve had some down time, and I really like it. I’m not  a sci fi chick but I really like the way the film was made. I only had about 10 minutes of alone time though, because Ashleigh and Sarah came back not too long after to get ready for a run.  They didn’t even get a chance to go, however, because for th first time since we’ve been here it RAINED! It was the craziest hour of rain that I’ve ever seen. It came down in sheets, so hard that an umbrella would be completely useless. I took a video of us crazy munu’s running out into it, we were so excited to get rid of some of the dust.

 

Sister Appelonia invited us to an Acholi wedding reception, and although some us didn’t want to go because we were tired, most of us sucked it up and went anyway. Everyone who went decided that an Acholi wedding doesn’t come around everyday, so we seized the opportunity. I have to say I’m so glad we went. It was at Diana Gardens, the buffet restaurant. We sat and ate and then went into the party for some CRAZY dancing. Those ladies seriously know how to get down and have a good time. Casey and I planned ahead, and bought some Fantas at the bar to bring back to the convent with us. Here in Gulu, if you want to take a soda with you, you have to pay extra because they save all of the glass bottles. They reuse them too, so drinking out of a straw is key, although that’s not always possible. I haven’t gotten sick yet though, and I’ve drunk out of some bottles and brushed my teeth with the water, although I spit it right out. I’ll probably jinx myself while I’m typing this, but a mosquito hasn’t bitten me yet.  One of the girls from group one at the IC house actually contracted malaria, even though she was on the pills, and she said she wanted to die for 2 days. The latrine at our school is pretty scary too, when you open the door the walls almost look black because they’re covered with mosquitos. Imagine squatting down over a hole swatting your hands over your ass because you forgot to bug spray your cheeks, definitely an experience.

 

Today was my first day of actual teaching, and I had S1, S2 and S4. Ironically enough S4 is my favorite, I think because we’re discussing honesty in the media, and I’ve been able to bring current events into the mix and talk to them about things like Mugabe and Obama. One student was very outspoken in class, Steven, and I’m really looking forward to picking hisbrain while I’m here. From the first day I picked him out as the “leader” of his class, and I was surprised when he sat captivated during my media talk. Their book spoke about not letting your opinions get in the way of your comprehension when reading newspaper articles, and I was able to speak to them about 9-11, and the effect it had on people in my area and their world perspective. I learned that they have 2 newspapers here, one that is independent and one that is government run. I’m bringing both into class tomorrow so the students can analyze them. They all agreed that if Zimbabwe had a government run newspaper that the world may not know about the illegitimate elections there.

 

In the beginning of each of my classes I told the students that their first assignment was to understand my accent, and to tell me immediately if I talk too fast. I explained to them that in the United States, people in New Jersey probably talk the fastest, and that even my father tells me I speak too quickly, so they have to let me know. One student immediately raised his hand and asked me to slow down, which was pretty funny.

 

The students have testing next week so I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing. I plan on visiting St. Jude’s again if I can, but I’m not sure if I’ll get the chance.