Many of you have many heard a little bit about the protests and shootings in Kampala over the past week but don’t worry, Rachel and I are both safe! I have included some details of our experience through it and would like to make it clear that everything is now back to normal and quiet again.
Personal and Cultural Development
Monday was a pretty chilled day this week including a little shopping with friends, getting my nails done and a DVD night with a friend, but we knew that Tuesday was going to be a busy day so it suited us w
ell. We didn’t quite realise how eventful Tuesday was going to be though.
Going about our daily routine, we jumped on a boda and headed towards Wandegeya, past the university. Outside the main gates of the university, there were hundreds of people and numerous police riot vans. We were curious as to what was happening but disregarded it quite quickly. It wasn’t until we tried to get another boda home that we realised what was happening. Our boda had to take an alternative route home as the people at the university were holding a protest and had blocked the road. The boda driver informed us that there had been 3 Kenyan students shot on Monday evening, two dead, and the pupils were now boycotting class and protesting against what had happened. Curious to find out more details, we checked online when we got back to our hostel. We found the following website and were warned to stay away from the university until the whole thing had calmed down. Our lecturer told us that she would let us know when it was safe to return to campus. The hostel where the shooting took place is only 500m from our hostel. We didn’t see any more violence though and were told that it was fine to continue as usual as long as we stayed away from the university.
On Tuesday we were invited to the Irish Ambassador’s House for some St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The invite to this occasion was printed on gold rimmed paper and the dress code was described as ‘business attire’. We had no idea what this meant in Ugandan terms as they always seem to dress their best, even if it is just to the market. Thankfully we met the Ambassador at the party last Friday night so he was able to advise us to wear cocktail dresses. It was fun to get dressed up for the occasion and we made our way there with 4 other girls. We arrived just in time for the speeches and the Irish National Anthem (which I didn’t have a clue of). There were waiters circling the guests with finger foods including salmon on wheaten bread, cheeses and chicken skewers, and also a free bar all night. I made an effort to speak to some of the other guests and even managed to bump into a man from Belfast. It was so nice to hear an accent from home because everyone else seemed to have a southern Irish accent.
Wednesday involved more sorting of our student visas! They seem to be a lot more work than we first thought. We had to pay for them in US dollars so we returned to the immigration office to pay and they then sent us to Diamond Trust Bank in the city centre. This bank had so many doors that we were unsure of which way to enter. Four doors later, we found the correct queue and lined up to pay. It took a while but eventually we paid and the woman told us to come back the following day to get our receipt. Only in Africa would it take 24 hours to get a receipt.
There was more trouble in our neighbouring area on Wednesday, but this time the rioting was political. Those who support the politicians were arguing with those who back royalty. We stayed well clear of this area and decided that it might be a good idea to head out of town for a day or two. So on Thursday morning, we ventured to the bank to collect our receipt and then proceeded to the taxi park to catch a taxibus to Jinja. Rachel had previously been to Kingfisher Safari Resort here whilst I was in Ssese Islands and she thoroughly enjoyed it, so she recommended that we headed to stay there again. When we arrived, the resort looked beautiful and the sun was shining so we immediately got changed and headed for the pool. It was amazing to be able to chill in the quietness of Jinja as Kampala is always so noisy and busy. Another highlight of our stay in Jinja was the HOT SHOWER! I do not think that I have ever appreciated a shower so much. The length of time I spent in it probably indicated how much I was enjoying it.
On Friday morning, we received word from our lecturer that things had settled in Makerere and that it would be safe to return to class on Monday. We spent the rest of the day by the pool again and made the most of the weather; maybe a little too much though as my stomach was rather red. The boda driver came to pick us up earlier than he was meant to but maybe it was a good thing otherwise I might have been really burnt. I have phoned him and asked him to come at 4pm but they just agree with you even if they have not understood so he arrived at 3pm.
On Saturday night, I went for some karaoke with some friends. The Ugandans are mostly good singers but some of them were awful. Some of the songs were barely recognizable. I decided not to sing as I wasn’t feeling the best but I did enjoy Rachel (the Irish girl we met) and Nellybrown’s (Ugandan) version of Boyzone’s “Baby Can I Hold You Tonight”
Calvary Chapel was our first destination on Sunday, followed by the slums again in the afternoon. This week’s menu for dinner was beef and rice. The boys had arranged a friendly football match with one of the other slums for the afternoon so we headed to the playground with them as support. We had a warm-up kick about before the other team arrived and also ended up winning 4-1. They boys were so excited and definitely ready for their dinner when they returned. Our friendships with the boys are starting to develop more and more each week and they feel like they can talk to you and tell you things now. Some of the stories are fun but others would break your heart.
Professional Development
Monday morning’s class with Mark was all about the disadvantages of the child centred curriculum. He mentioned some ideas that I had never really considered before which were beneficial but most of the class was merely dictation again, even more so than usual. I’m not looking forward to getting the assignment title as Mark is sometimes a little difficult to understand so my notes may not be completely correct.
It was not safe to attend university on Wednesday or Thursday due to the protests so I am afraid that my professional development this week is not very much. I did get a chance to sort out some work experience within a school for next week though so that is pretty exciting. I am looking forward to getting into the Ugandan classroom.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Week 6 and even more new adventures, including my trip to the slums!
A month and a half has passed already. When I first arrived, 108 days seemed like it was going to be a very long time but 43 days have already gone. I reckon that I am going to be coming home before I know it. I am obviously missing you all lots at home but I don’t know if I am going to want to give up this chilled lifestyle in the sun! Anyway… I shall inform you all of this week’s adventures and development.
Personal and Cultural Development
Monday was Woman’s Day in Uganda and I spent most of the day travelling back to Kampala. I did see a parade whilst going through Entebbe though. Some people were playing instruments whilst others paraded behind them. I think that there were rallies and celebrations happening all over Uganda but I didn’t see many of them.
On the way home, we called into a café at a petrol station to grab some lunch. We were able to get soft whippy ice-cream here. Everyone’s faces lit up when they noticed it. It was so hot and the perfect day for ice-cream, especially when it is such a luxury. Just after our ice-cream, we must have influenced the weather as the heaven’s opened and it poured with rain. Back at Nana’s like a drowned rat, I decided to chill out for a while whilst I had the room to myself. Then Rachel came back from her trip to Jinja and we chatted and had a little catch up session on our weekend adventures. Rachel and I have been getting on well but it was nice to spend some time apart as well. It gave us so much more to talk about when we returned.
On Tuesday, we found out that it had been Roscoe’s (the guy who looks after all our problems at the hostel) birthday and he hadn’t told us, so we decided to make him a belated birthday cake. As the cooking facilities here are basically a one ringed hob, we bought a marble cake from the supermarket and then iced and decorated it. Roscoe came round to visit us that later that evening and he was so pleased with his cake. He told us that no-one ever celebrates his birthday and that he had never had a cake before. Our little small gesture meant so much to him that he started dancing around our room singing Michael Jackson songs.
Thursday was not such a good day for me. I had to take some tablets that I bought from the pharmacy to protect me from the parasites in the water. The pharmacist recommended that I took these tablets as if the parasite lives in your system, it can make you very ill for up to a month. I thought that I would follow this advice after rafting in the Nile and swimming in Lake Victoria. I had to take three tablets, wait for six hours, then take another three, wait another six hours and then take a final two. The tablets made me feel a little iffy and I ended up spending most of the day in bed.
When I got up on Friday morning, I felt so much better and decided that I would be energetic and do some more walking again. I decided to walk to Garden City where I met Rachel (she didn’t fancy the walk) and we had a little nosey around and then I walked home again on my own. It takes about 45 minutes each way but it’s nice to get out into the sunshine for a little while, and also not to have to jump on a boda.
Friday night started the beginning of our St Patrick’s Day celebrations. We were invited by the Irish Society to a party in Bubbles, the local Irish pub/restaurant. This was a good night as we met some people from home and they also served everyone some Irish Stew. We got talking to some people and had a good night laughing, dancing and talking about things from home. There was an Irish band there so they played a lot of typical Irish songs.
On Saturday, I made my first visit to the slums to visit some of the street kids. When I first arrived, we went to buy some food for their dinner and had to go deep into the slums. Even just walking through the area really opened up my eyes. Back at the shelter, I washed all the dishes from the meal the day before. It wasn’t the nicest job in the world but at least I was being helpful. Once everything was clean, I began to boil the rice. I went to add a pinch of salt and all the boys laughed at me and then threw in lots in. I couldn’t believe how much salt they used. Whilst dinner was cooking, I chatted to some of the boys, learnt some funky dance moves from others and was even taught a crazy hand jive. Rachel had her camera with her as well so we took some photos with them too. They all loved the camera.
When it came to the fish to go with their rice for dinner, I was staying well away. The thought of it even makes me feel sick. It comes still on the bone, eyes and all! Once everything was ready, all fifty of the boys gathered round in a circle to praise and thank God before they ate. It was so moving as they have so little, yet were so thankful.
Sunday morning consisted of attending Calvary Chapel Church again. I enjoyed the service but I still hope to visit KPC church at some point as it is meant to be more like my church at home. After church, we headed to the beach in Entebbe. We went with some of our friends who we go to church with, and we also took two little boys from the church with us. You would have thought it was their birthdays, their eyes lit up so much at the sight of the beach and they had a really great day. I was playing with them in the sea and they seemed to love the attention, especially when they would climb on my back and I would throw them off. The boys live in the slums so a day like this is a dream to them. We all had a great day here and were shattered by the time we arrived back in Kampala that evening.
Professional Development
Back to class on Wednesday after 9 days without any seemed strange. Our classmates even commented on how long it had been as they have other lessons which we do not study, so had not had such a long break. The class was all about the child centred curriculum. I liked this lesson as most of lessons at home, if not all of them, are focused on this approach and I was able to contribute ideas on its advantages and disadvantages, and reasons why I liked or disliked it. The others in my class seemed interested in the topic as it is only a new idea in Uganda.
Class on Thursday morning has to be my favourite so far. It was all about ‘Tables of Specification’, and we were asked to get into our assignment groups to design one for our specific subject areas. As I study Primary Education with Mathematics at Stranmillis, I was told to focus on Maths. Everyone else in the class is studying to be a secondary school teacher so they all have specific subject areas. I am working with Rachel (as she studies Religious Education and Mathematics at Stran) and also a guy called Ian. Ian was not at class on Thursday morning so Rachel and I just worked as a pair. As everyone in the class is studying secondary education, all of the syllabuses that we have to work from are for that level of teaching and my assignment will focus on this level. I still think that this will be beneficial to my teaching career though and I will be able to transfer the skills that I develop to the primary level and it might also give me some experience and ideas for an alternative placement if that opportunity comes up.
Hope all is well with everyone!
Keep your emails coming, they always make me smile
Natalie
xx
Personal and Cultural Development
Monday was Woman’s Day in Uganda and I spent most of the day travelling back to Kampala. I did see a parade whilst going through Entebbe though. Some people were playing instruments whilst others paraded behind them. I think that there were rallies and celebrations happening all over Uganda but I didn’t see many of them.
On the way home, we called into a café at a petrol station to grab some lunch. We were able to get soft whippy ice-cream here. Everyone’s faces lit up when they noticed it. It was so hot and the perfect day for ice-cream, especially when it is such a luxury. Just after our ice-cream, we must have influenced the weather as the heaven’s opened and it poured with rain. Back at Nana’s like a drowned rat, I decided to chill out for a while whilst I had the room to myself. Then Rachel came back from her trip to Jinja and we chatted and had a little catch up session on our weekend adventures. Rachel and I have been getting on well but it was nice to spend some time apart as well. It gave us so much more to talk about when we returned.
On Tuesday, we found out that it had been Roscoe’s (the guy who looks after all our problems at the hostel) birthday and he hadn’t told us, so we decided to make him a belated birthday cake. As the cooking facilities here are basically a one ringed hob, we bought a marble cake from the supermarket and then iced and decorated it. Roscoe came round to visit us that later that evening and he was so pleased with his cake. He told us that no-one ever celebrates his birthday and that he had never had a cake before. Our little small gesture meant so much to him that he started dancing around our room singing Michael Jackson songs.
Thursday was not such a good day for me. I had to take some tablets that I bought from the pharmacy to protect me from the parasites in the water. The pharmacist recommended that I took these tablets as if the parasite lives in your system, it can make you very ill for up to a month. I thought that I would follow this advice after rafting in the Nile and swimming in Lake Victoria. I had to take three tablets, wait for six hours, then take another three, wait another six hours and then take a final two. The tablets made me feel a little iffy and I ended up spending most of the day in bed.
When I got up on Friday morning, I felt so much better and decided that I would be energetic and do some more walking again. I decided to walk to Garden City where I met Rachel (she didn’t fancy the walk) and we had a little nosey around and then I walked home again on my own. It takes about 45 minutes each way but it’s nice to get out into the sunshine for a little while, and also not to have to jump on a boda.
Friday night started the beginning of our St Patrick’s Day celebrations. We were invited by the Irish Society to a party in Bubbles, the local Irish pub/restaurant. This was a good night as we met some people from home and they also served everyone some Irish Stew. We got talking to some people and had a good night laughing, dancing and talking about things from home. There was an Irish band there so they played a lot of typical Irish songs.
On Saturday, I made my first visit to the slums to visit some of the street kids. When I first arrived, we went to buy some food for their dinner and had to go deep into the slums. Even just walking through the area really opened up my eyes. Back at the shelter, I washed all the dishes from the meal the day before. It wasn’t the nicest job in the world but at least I was being helpful. Once everything was clean, I began to boil the rice. I went to add a pinch of salt and all the boys laughed at me and then threw in lots in. I couldn’t believe how much salt they used. Whilst dinner was cooking, I chatted to some of the boys, learnt some funky dance moves from others and was even taught a crazy hand jive. Rachel had her camera with her as well so we took some photos with them too. They all loved the camera.
When it came to the fish to go with their rice for dinner, I was staying well away. The thought of it even makes me feel sick. It comes still on the bone, eyes and all! Once everything was ready, all fifty of the boys gathered round in a circle to praise and thank God before they ate. It was so moving as they have so little, yet were so thankful.
Sunday morning consisted of attending Calvary Chapel Church again. I enjoyed the service but I still hope to visit KPC church at some point as it is meant to be more like my church at home. After church, we headed to the beach in Entebbe. We went with some of our friends who we go to church with, and we also took two little boys from the church with us. You would have thought it was their birthdays, their eyes lit up so much at the sight of the beach and they had a really great day. I was playing with them in the sea and they seemed to love the attention, especially when they would climb on my back and I would throw them off. The boys live in the slums so a day like this is a dream to them. We all had a great day here and were shattered by the time we arrived back in Kampala that evening.
Professional Development
Back to class on Wednesday after 9 days without any seemed strange. Our classmates even commented on how long it had been as they have other lessons which we do not study, so had not had such a long break. The class was all about the child centred curriculum. I liked this lesson as most of lessons at home, if not all of them, are focused on this approach and I was able to contribute ideas on its advantages and disadvantages, and reasons why I liked or disliked it. The others in my class seemed interested in the topic as it is only a new idea in Uganda.
Class on Thursday morning has to be my favourite so far. It was all about ‘Tables of Specification’, and we were asked to get into our assignment groups to design one for our specific subject areas. As I study Primary Education with Mathematics at Stranmillis, I was told to focus on Maths. Everyone else in the class is studying to be a secondary school teacher so they all have specific subject areas. I am working with Rachel (as she studies Religious Education and Mathematics at Stran) and also a guy called Ian. Ian was not at class on Thursday morning so Rachel and I just worked as a pair. As everyone in the class is studying secondary education, all of the syllabuses that we have to work from are for that level of teaching and my assignment will focus on this level. I still think that this will be beneficial to my teaching career though and I will be able to transfer the skills that I develop to the primary level and it might also give me some experience and ideas for an alternative placement if that opportunity comes up.
Hope all is well with everyone!
Keep your emails coming, they always make me smile
Natalie
xx
Week 5 and i still feel like i am learning something every day!
Sorry for the delay in getting this post up. I thought that I had already uploaded it until I went to upload week 6 today. It has been really good to hear from some people from home over the past while and I am glad to hear that everyone is doing well. Hope you are all enjoying my blog and if anyone has any questions that they would like me to include the answers to in my blog, please do not hesitate to ask!
Personal and Cultural Development
This week consisted of quite a lot of walking. I have decided that there is no excuse for jumping on boda’s all the time and that I should walk when possible. On Monday I walked to Shoprite Lugogo which is a supermarket about an hour away from my hostel. It was really hot but an enjoyable walk. I even bought a basin whilst there, boiled the kettle when I got back and washed my hair in warm water. Words cannot describe how good it felt, my hair actually felt clean for the first in a long time.
One of my friends didn’t have a very good day on Monday so we had a little girly treat on Monday evening. We went to a restaurant just for dessert. Toblerone fondue with marshmallows, apple, mango, banana and pineapple! Mouth-wateringly good and chocolate is always a girl’s cure for a bad day.
On Tuesday afternoon, one of my Ugandan friends took me on a trip to Baha’i Temple. We just went for a walk around the scenic grounds and then had a quick look inside at the beautiful architecture. There was a tour guide there who was able to answer some questions that we had. It was very interesting to find out what they believe about the numerous different Gods that people worship. They believe that there is only one God but there many incarnations of him. The faith, from my understanding, seems to be a mixture between Hindu and Muslim traditions.
On route to Ultimate Frisbee on Tuesday evening, I witnessed my first road accident in Kampala. A taxibus clipped the rear end of a car denting the car a little but causing more damage to itself. The entire front of the taxi was crushed and the windscreen shattered. No-one in the taxibus was injured, they all just had to pile out and into another one but it was definitely frightening to witness the collision and hear the bang. It has made me choose my modes of transport even more carefully.
For lunch on Wednesday, Tony (the hostel driver) offered to take us to somewhere where we had not yet visited to try some more traditional Ugandan dishes. He took us to a restaurant in Mengo where we were able to taste some Matoke, rice, posha, beans, and chicken. I have mentioned most of these dishes before but posha is a white, stiff porridge made from Maize. Apparently it is made from Maize that has been processed so that it has no nutritional value...oh well. Dessert of some fresh pineapple finished off this meal nicely.
Friday morning was really sunny again after a miserable rainy day on Thursday so Rachel and I decided to make the most of the good weather again and walk to Garden City to get new books. I have probably read more here in 6 weeks than I would in a year at home. When I returned back to the hostel, I really wanted a shower to freshen up. I was meeting friends very shortly after so I planned a quick turnaround but to make things worse, when my hair was lathered in shampoo, the shower suddenly stopped. I had to use a bottle of water that I had to rinse it in a basin with a cup.
The sky is so clear in Uganda that the stars are a real beauty. One of my friends was teaching me about the different constellations on Friday night. I now know all about Orion’s Belt and Sirius, and how many light years they are away. You learn something new every day!
As it is Woman’s’ Day on Monday (8th), it is a public holiday in Uganda so we all had the day off so we decided to make the most of this and headed away on Saturday morning to Ssese Islands. This is the group of islands situated in Lake Victoria. We had to take an hour taxibus ride to Entebbe and then take a three and a half hour ferry journey across the islands. It had been raining throughout Friday night so the roads were pretty muddy on walk between the taxibus (also known as matatu) and the ferry. I was wearing flip flops which were probably not the best idea and my feet were rather dirty by the time I reached the boat. The men on the boat were washing peoples feet as they entered so one took my flip flops whilst another washed my feet (even in between my toes!). It felt so strange!
We spent most of the time on the island on the pure white sand beach. It was like something you would see in a movie with a shipwrecked boat on the shore. I felt like I was on a paradise island until I discovered the toilets. Disgusting is an understatement when describing them. A wooden hut had been built on top of a hill and basically there was a toilet seat with a huge tank below. The smell was vile and everyone avoided using them as much as possible, especially at night time as they seemed even worse when you had a torch.
Sunday morning was spent lying on the beach, and then we decided to hire a fishing boat and spend some time out on the lake in the afternoon. We made a pit-stop at a desert island which we named ‘msungo island’ (white person island) and we swam here and explored the land a little. We also tried to master the art of floating on water but I wasn’t very successful. The guide took us to a spot so that we would hopefully so some hippos but unfortunately we were not so lucky.
I did manage to see some animals back on shore though. When we got back, I decided to have a shower which was outdoors on the campsite. Whilst washing my hair, I could feel several things falling on my head. I could not figure out what it was until I looked up and saw a monkey in the tree throwing leaves at me. It made me laugh but also feel a little uncomfortable as I felt like someone was watching me.
Professional Development
On Monday morning, Rachel and I did not start the week off on the best foot. We got up bright and early and headed to class for 8am to then realise that our class didn’t actually start until 9am. We are obviously just too keen but I suppose it is better to be early than late. The extra hour in bed would have been lovely though. When we attended class at 9am, we studied the child centred curriculum including its history, the ideal environment, extremists, and how it is an attempt to meet criticisms of subject centred curriculum. Yet again, it was beneficial to hear the Ugandans views on this approach and also engage in discussion with them regarding the approach.
Classes on Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled again this week as Mark and Gillian were both out of the country. We did contact Gillian though and she apologized about us not having started in our schools yet as she had passed the responsibility onto someone else, so hopefully we will get started soon. I never thought I would be so keen to get on teaching practice, but I am really curious and intrigued about seeing the difference and similarities in our school systems. I also want to influence the children’s lives as all of the children that I have met so far here have been so inspiring as they have so little but are still so positive and happy. I want to be able to make an input into their education, even if it is only going to be a little.
Hope everything in Stran is good and that as everyone has a successful School Based Work.
Natalie
xx
Personal and Cultural Development
This week consisted of quite a lot of walking. I have decided that there is no excuse for jumping on boda’s all the time and that I should walk when possible. On Monday I walked to Shoprite Lugogo which is a supermarket about an hour away from my hostel. It was really hot but an enjoyable walk. I even bought a basin whilst there, boiled the kettle when I got back and washed my hair in warm water. Words cannot describe how good it felt, my hair actually felt clean for the first in a long time.
One of my friends didn’t have a very good day on Monday so we had a little girly treat on Monday evening. We went to a restaurant just for dessert. Toblerone fondue with marshmallows, apple, mango, banana and pineapple! Mouth-wateringly good and chocolate is always a girl’s cure for a bad day.
On Tuesday afternoon, one of my Ugandan friends took me on a trip to Baha’i Temple. We just went for a walk around the scenic grounds and then had a quick look inside at the beautiful architecture. There was a tour guide there who was able to answer some questions that we had. It was very interesting to find out what they believe about the numerous different Gods that people worship. They believe that there is only one God but there many incarnations of him. The faith, from my understanding, seems to be a mixture between Hindu and Muslim traditions.
On route to Ultimate Frisbee on Tuesday evening, I witnessed my first road accident in Kampala. A taxibus clipped the rear end of a car denting the car a little but causing more damage to itself. The entire front of the taxi was crushed and the windscreen shattered. No-one in the taxibus was injured, they all just had to pile out and into another one but it was definitely frightening to witness the collision and hear the bang. It has made me choose my modes of transport even more carefully.
For lunch on Wednesday, Tony (the hostel driver) offered to take us to somewhere where we had not yet visited to try some more traditional Ugandan dishes. He took us to a restaurant in Mengo where we were able to taste some Matoke, rice, posha, beans, and chicken. I have mentioned most of these dishes before but posha is a white, stiff porridge made from Maize. Apparently it is made from Maize that has been processed so that it has no nutritional value...oh well. Dessert of some fresh pineapple finished off this meal nicely.
Friday morning was really sunny again after a miserable rainy day on Thursday so Rachel and I decided to make the most of the good weather again and walk to Garden City to get new books. I have probably read more here in 6 weeks than I would in a year at home. When I returned back to the hostel, I really wanted a shower to freshen up. I was meeting friends very shortly after so I planned a quick turnaround but to make things worse, when my hair was lathered in shampoo, the shower suddenly stopped. I had to use a bottle of water that I had to rinse it in a basin with a cup.
The sky is so clear in Uganda that the stars are a real beauty. One of my friends was teaching me about the different constellations on Friday night. I now know all about Orion’s Belt and Sirius, and how many light years they are away. You learn something new every day!
As it is Woman’s’ Day on Monday (8th), it is a public holiday in Uganda so we all had the day off so we decided to make the most of this and headed away on Saturday morning to Ssese Islands. This is the group of islands situated in Lake Victoria. We had to take an hour taxibus ride to Entebbe and then take a three and a half hour ferry journey across the islands. It had been raining throughout Friday night so the roads were pretty muddy on walk between the taxibus (also known as matatu) and the ferry. I was wearing flip flops which were probably not the best idea and my feet were rather dirty by the time I reached the boat. The men on the boat were washing peoples feet as they entered so one took my flip flops whilst another washed my feet (even in between my toes!). It felt so strange!
We spent most of the time on the island on the pure white sand beach. It was like something you would see in a movie with a shipwrecked boat on the shore. I felt like I was on a paradise island until I discovered the toilets. Disgusting is an understatement when describing them. A wooden hut had been built on top of a hill and basically there was a toilet seat with a huge tank below. The smell was vile and everyone avoided using them as much as possible, especially at night time as they seemed even worse when you had a torch.
Sunday morning was spent lying on the beach, and then we decided to hire a fishing boat and spend some time out on the lake in the afternoon. We made a pit-stop at a desert island which we named ‘msungo island’ (white person island) and we swam here and explored the land a little. We also tried to master the art of floating on water but I wasn’t very successful. The guide took us to a spot so that we would hopefully so some hippos but unfortunately we were not so lucky.
I did manage to see some animals back on shore though. When we got back, I decided to have a shower which was outdoors on the campsite. Whilst washing my hair, I could feel several things falling on my head. I could not figure out what it was until I looked up and saw a monkey in the tree throwing leaves at me. It made me laugh but also feel a little uncomfortable as I felt like someone was watching me.
Professional Development
On Monday morning, Rachel and I did not start the week off on the best foot. We got up bright and early and headed to class for 8am to then realise that our class didn’t actually start until 9am. We are obviously just too keen but I suppose it is better to be early than late. The extra hour in bed would have been lovely though. When we attended class at 9am, we studied the child centred curriculum including its history, the ideal environment, extremists, and how it is an attempt to meet criticisms of subject centred curriculum. Yet again, it was beneficial to hear the Ugandans views on this approach and also engage in discussion with them regarding the approach.
Classes on Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled again this week as Mark and Gillian were both out of the country. We did contact Gillian though and she apologized about us not having started in our schools yet as she had passed the responsibility onto someone else, so hopefully we will get started soon. I never thought I would be so keen to get on teaching practice, but I am really curious and intrigued about seeing the difference and similarities in our school systems. I also want to influence the children’s lives as all of the children that I have met so far here have been so inspiring as they have so little but are still so positive and happy. I want to be able to make an input into their education, even if it is only going to be a little.
Hope everything in Stran is good and that as everyone has a successful School Based Work.
Natalie
xx
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Week 4 and Kampala is beginning to feel like home...
A full month in Uganda has already past which is unbelievably. People are right when they say time flies when you are having fun. It really does not feel like I have been here that long but I have already built some amazing friendships, visited some beautiful places and also changed as a person.
Personal and Cultural Development
Now that I am really settling into the Ugandan way of life, the chilled and relaxed method of living is having its effect on me. I have time to read; time to go for coffee and time to just generally think about things. On Monday evening, I went to a local café for coffee with a friend and before we knew it we had been chatting for two hours. On the way to the café, a herd of goats ran past us down the street. For anyone who knows me at all, you will instantly recognise that animals freely walking around would be my worst nightmare. Unfortunately this is a regular occurrence in Kampala so I have to get used to it and try to act sensibly when they are nearby. I’m conquering my fear.
On Tuesday, I had made plans to meet some girls that friends from home had put me in touch with. As Ugandans are ALWAYS late, it did not surprise me that one of the girls was an hour late, but I was a little shocked that the other one was nearly five hours late. It was really nice to meet more Ugandans, especially ones who knew some of my friends from home. I had letter s to give them from people at home which they seemed to really love. They were also trying to teach my some Luganda. Hopefully by the time I leave Uganda I will be able to speak a little of the language. It will be particularly helpful when I start in the school as some of the children will probably speak very little English.
Visitors to our room are getting more and more frequent as we make more friends in our hostel but some of them do not understand the idea of a day off. On Friday morning we have no class (hopefully be starting to teach on Fridays soon) so we planned to have a little lie in as we have 8am classes most other days. Someone decided to knock on our door at 8am in the morning and all they wanted was to hang out with us for fifteen minutes before they went to class! I like my sleep so you can imagine how pleased I was at this.
On Friday afternoon, our friend Rachel took us to a local shopping centre to get our nails down. Ugandans tend to take real pride in their appearance no matter how rich or poor they are so we thought that we would too. It took roughly an hour and a half for the man to do my nails but they look amazing. They are really hard to describe but they are natural looking with pink/purple tips. He also drew a funky design on top of the colour in white and finished it off with a little glitter. I am not very good at describing them but they are not tacky at all, they are gorgeous!
Friday also consisted of the funniest taxi journey ever. There is no rule in Uganda for how many passengers a car can carry (or if there is, none of them follow it.) We had the smallest taxi ever with five of us in the back and three in the front. When we all got dropped off at our destination (Chicken Ghetto), the people standing outside could not believe how many of us piled out of the taxi. There are some funny photographs from this journey but unfortunately I can’t get them uploaded.
Saturday consisted of our first clothes shopping experience in Uganda. I was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms as I have been here a month and not been clothes shopping. Rachel took us to her friend Gift’s shop to have a look and she had some beautiful garments. I purchased a few which made my purse a little lighter but they were still very cheap compared to prices at home. Gift was so thankful to us for spending money in her shop as it is what she counts on as a living.
Saturday night consisted of our first trip to the Ugandan National Theatre to see a performance entitled ‘Breakdance’. The two Swedish girls from our hostel invited us to go with them to see it but I was unsure what exactly I was going to see. It included roughly twelve dance acts doing a piece each, including contemporary dance, hip-hop and traditional Ugandan dance. Some of the acts were more enjoyable than others and I’m not sure that I would go to see it again but overall it was fine.
On Sunday afternoon, I went to a neighbouring hostel to visit my friend Line and have a girly catch up chat. We decided just to have some tea at her hostel and whilst I was there the women who worked there decided to give me a Ugandan name. They could not understand why I did not already have one so they named me Tendo which apparently means ‘gift’. Now that I have the name to match, I feel like I truly belong in Uganda.
Professional Development
On Monday morning, Rachel’s leg had become really infected where her blister had burst so she decided not to go to class to avoid further infection but that left me to attend class on my own again. Except this time there was another challenge as it was RAINING! The rain here is never really a drizzle, when it rains it pours. So I made my way to class and was soaked by the time I got there as I didn’t have an umbrella.
Class itself was about a subject-centred curriculum and the criticisms of it. It was quite interesting to see the Ugandan perspective on this as their curriculum is still very much subject centred. They are very aware that children learn better holistically but all of their teachers are trained in specific subjects and usually only teaches that subject so it is very difficult for them to progress away from the subject-centred approach. I was asked which subject I taught at home and when I replied that I had to teach all subjects in the primary school, the rest of the class looked pretty shocked.
Wednesday morning’s class was with Mark again and it was a continuation of Monday’s class on the subject-centred curriculum and we also progressed onto the child-centred approach. When we studied this approach, the class seemed to just be absorbing facts and information dictated by the lecturer as it is an approach that they are unfamiliar with but it was beneficial for me to be familiar with this method as it allowed me to make a contribution to the discussion in class. I think this class was the first lesson when I realised quite how different Ugandan education was even though it has many similarities with the system in Northern Ireland.
On Thursday morning we attended our first two hour lecture with Gillian. It was all about Bloom’s Taxonomy and it was shocking how little I remembered, so when I returned from class I hunted out my old notes on it from last year and revised the topic. It soon all came flooding back to me but there are some differences between the Bloom’s Taxonomy that we study in Stranmillis and the one that we are focusing on in Makerere. In Makerere, they still look at the original version whereas we are encouraged to focus on the revised version. They are both similar so I think that this aspect of my course will still be beneficial even if it is a little out-dated.
We tried to find out some more information on starting our schools again this week but this was unsuccessful. We will continue to ask more questions and try to get some answers this comig week as I would really love to get started and begin my experience. I drove past my school on a boda the other day so now that I know where it is, I cannot wait!
I apologise that my blog seems to be getting shorter as the weeks go on but I do not want to bore you all with every little tiny detail of my week, especially since I have explained the main cultural shocks and experiences before. I am hoping to head away this weekend to Banda island (www.traveluganda.co.ug/banda-island if you want to have a look) and start school soon and then I shall have more experiences to tell you about.
Hope all is well with everyone
Natalie
Personal and Cultural Development
Now that I am really settling into the Ugandan way of life, the chilled and relaxed method of living is having its effect on me. I have time to read; time to go for coffee and time to just generally think about things. On Monday evening, I went to a local café for coffee with a friend and before we knew it we had been chatting for two hours. On the way to the café, a herd of goats ran past us down the street. For anyone who knows me at all, you will instantly recognise that animals freely walking around would be my worst nightmare. Unfortunately this is a regular occurrence in Kampala so I have to get used to it and try to act sensibly when they are nearby. I’m conquering my fear.
On Tuesday, I had made plans to meet some girls that friends from home had put me in touch with. As Ugandans are ALWAYS late, it did not surprise me that one of the girls was an hour late, but I was a little shocked that the other one was nearly five hours late. It was really nice to meet more Ugandans, especially ones who knew some of my friends from home. I had letter s to give them from people at home which they seemed to really love. They were also trying to teach my some Luganda. Hopefully by the time I leave Uganda I will be able to speak a little of the language. It will be particularly helpful when I start in the school as some of the children will probably speak very little English.
Visitors to our room are getting more and more frequent as we make more friends in our hostel but some of them do not understand the idea of a day off. On Friday morning we have no class (hopefully be starting to teach on Fridays soon) so we planned to have a little lie in as we have 8am classes most other days. Someone decided to knock on our door at 8am in the morning and all they wanted was to hang out with us for fifteen minutes before they went to class! I like my sleep so you can imagine how pleased I was at this.
On Friday afternoon, our friend Rachel took us to a local shopping centre to get our nails down. Ugandans tend to take real pride in their appearance no matter how rich or poor they are so we thought that we would too. It took roughly an hour and a half for the man to do my nails but they look amazing. They are really hard to describe but they are natural looking with pink/purple tips. He also drew a funky design on top of the colour in white and finished it off with a little glitter. I am not very good at describing them but they are not tacky at all, they are gorgeous!
Friday also consisted of the funniest taxi journey ever. There is no rule in Uganda for how many passengers a car can carry (or if there is, none of them follow it.) We had the smallest taxi ever with five of us in the back and three in the front. When we all got dropped off at our destination (Chicken Ghetto), the people standing outside could not believe how many of us piled out of the taxi. There are some funny photographs from this journey but unfortunately I can’t get them uploaded.
Saturday consisted of our first clothes shopping experience in Uganda. I was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms as I have been here a month and not been clothes shopping. Rachel took us to her friend Gift’s shop to have a look and she had some beautiful garments. I purchased a few which made my purse a little lighter but they were still very cheap compared to prices at home. Gift was so thankful to us for spending money in her shop as it is what she counts on as a living.
Saturday night consisted of our first trip to the Ugandan National Theatre to see a performance entitled ‘Breakdance’. The two Swedish girls from our hostel invited us to go with them to see it but I was unsure what exactly I was going to see. It included roughly twelve dance acts doing a piece each, including contemporary dance, hip-hop and traditional Ugandan dance. Some of the acts were more enjoyable than others and I’m not sure that I would go to see it again but overall it was fine.
On Sunday afternoon, I went to a neighbouring hostel to visit my friend Line and have a girly catch up chat. We decided just to have some tea at her hostel and whilst I was there the women who worked there decided to give me a Ugandan name. They could not understand why I did not already have one so they named me Tendo which apparently means ‘gift’. Now that I have the name to match, I feel like I truly belong in Uganda.
Professional Development
On Monday morning, Rachel’s leg had become really infected where her blister had burst so she decided not to go to class to avoid further infection but that left me to attend class on my own again. Except this time there was another challenge as it was RAINING! The rain here is never really a drizzle, when it rains it pours. So I made my way to class and was soaked by the time I got there as I didn’t have an umbrella.
Class itself was about a subject-centred curriculum and the criticisms of it. It was quite interesting to see the Ugandan perspective on this as their curriculum is still very much subject centred. They are very aware that children learn better holistically but all of their teachers are trained in specific subjects and usually only teaches that subject so it is very difficult for them to progress away from the subject-centred approach. I was asked which subject I taught at home and when I replied that I had to teach all subjects in the primary school, the rest of the class looked pretty shocked.
Wednesday morning’s class was with Mark again and it was a continuation of Monday’s class on the subject-centred curriculum and we also progressed onto the child-centred approach. When we studied this approach, the class seemed to just be absorbing facts and information dictated by the lecturer as it is an approach that they are unfamiliar with but it was beneficial for me to be familiar with this method as it allowed me to make a contribution to the discussion in class. I think this class was the first lesson when I realised quite how different Ugandan education was even though it has many similarities with the system in Northern Ireland.
On Thursday morning we attended our first two hour lecture with Gillian. It was all about Bloom’s Taxonomy and it was shocking how little I remembered, so when I returned from class I hunted out my old notes on it from last year and revised the topic. It soon all came flooding back to me but there are some differences between the Bloom’s Taxonomy that we study in Stranmillis and the one that we are focusing on in Makerere. In Makerere, they still look at the original version whereas we are encouraged to focus on the revised version. They are both similar so I think that this aspect of my course will still be beneficial even if it is a little out-dated.
We tried to find out some more information on starting our schools again this week but this was unsuccessful. We will continue to ask more questions and try to get some answers this comig week as I would really love to get started and begin my experience. I drove past my school on a boda the other day so now that I know where it is, I cannot wait!
I apologise that my blog seems to be getting shorter as the weeks go on but I do not want to bore you all with every little tiny detail of my week, especially since I have explained the main cultural shocks and experiences before. I am hoping to head away this weekend to Banda island (www.traveluganda.co.ug/banda-island if you want to have a look) and start school soon and then I shall have more experiences to tell you about.
Hope all is well with everyone
Natalie
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