Week 10 and its Easter

This was the second week of the Easter holidays so we decided to make the most of it again, especially since the girls from Ireland were still over. We joined them for some more activities and had another really enjoyable week.

Personal and Cultural Development

I don’t want to rub it in or anything, but I spent Easter Monday at Speke Resort whilst everyone at home had to embrace the typical ‘baltic’ Northern Irish weather. I spent the day lying by the pool, having the occasion dip whilst sipping sodas and listening to music. It was the perfect way to spend the day as it was so hot. On the way home from the pool, Nora (a Ugandan girl who we were with) took us to her sister’s house to visit her. It was meant to be a quick pit stop but she ended up pulling out the photo albums and making us omelette, chocolate rolls and FRESH passion fruit juice. The juice was unbelievable. I don’t think I have ever tasted anything like it. She had just been to the market and bought some fruit so it was as fresh as ever. She gave me the recipe but it is a shame that we have a lack of passion fruit at home. I will definitely attempt to make it before I come home though.

Roscoe came to deliver post on Wednesday, and whilst he was there we taught him how to play ‘Jack change it’. It was the funniest game ever as Roscoe called clubs ‘flowers’ and anytime a two was played he shouted ‘fireworks’. To help him learn, we played the first game with an open hand. This was not such a good idea as everyone was playing tactically as they could see everyone else’s cards. So a note to oneself… be prepared for competitiveness when teaching a Ugandan how to play cards. Roscoe was the most tactic of all and he had only just learnt how to play.

This week also seemed to be a week of football. Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool played three consecutive nights in a row. I managed to see all the matches which was so really good as Arsenal and Manchester United got beat and Liverpool won! I was so happy that I text my dad to which I got a reply saying ‘I have brought you up well’. I know all you United and Arsenal fans are going to come back with the comment ‘at least we are qualifying for the Champion’s League’. I know that, but let us have this little moment of glory; it’s been a bad season.

On Thursday, Rachel and I went to the New Life Homes. As well as teaching the boys, we got to spend some time with them and get to know them a bit better. To begin with, they were rather quiet but they soon became chatty and humourous. They were singing the song ‘Get out, right now’ by Jojo. It made me laugh so much as they didn’t know all the lyrics so some of their words were completely wrong. I have promised them that I will bring the lyrics for them the next time I visit though. Spending this time with the boys made me realise how important it is to get the boys off the streets. All of these boys were on the streets until Abaana helped them, housed them and found them sponsors so that they could get an education. These boys far more educated than the boys in the slum and it is apparent to me that they have a greater hope of being able to look after themselves when they are older. The boys in the slum can defend themselves but have no skills or education to get a job in order to provide for themselves.

Saturday was a rather boring day filled with work so we decided that by Saturday evening we deserved to go out and do something fun. The evening began with me, Rachel, Dave and Mark having some Indian food at Nawab restaurant. The conversation topic over dinner managed to get to our cultures at home so we began discussing the similarities and differences between America, Canada and Northern Ireland. I assumed that our ways of life would be pretty similar as they are all westernized countries but we all ended up doubled in two laughing at some of the aspects of each other’s culture. The comment that made me laugh the most was when the boys started to ask about the ‘fighting’ in Northern Ireland. In jest, we mentioned that people get kneecapped daily just walking down the street and the boys believed us. The even more concerning thing is that they didn’t know what kneecapping was. They thought it was when someone hit your knees with a baseball bat. Our conversation made me realise how badly Northern Ireland is perceived, but also how we all have typical views of other countries as some of the Canadian and American ways are different than what I thought.

After dinner, Emily, Rachel and Brian met us and we headed to the Bowling Alley for our first Ten Pin Bowling experience in Uganda. This was the first time that I have worn socks since I arrived in Uganda. It felt so weird and warm…but I suppose I am going to have to get used to it again when I come home. I came third overall but first in my lane so I was pretty happy although I did lose a nail in the process!

On Sunday, we spent some more time with the street kids. We hadn’t managed to visit on Saturday due to the vast amount of work that we had to do, so we thought we would call to see them. Kate had just arrived back to Kampala that morning after being home in Northern Ireland for her sister’s wedding. It was good to see both her and the boys again. Every time I see them I want to take more and more of them home in my suitcase. I just have to convince Emirates to let me through security and also my mum to house them when I get home. I reckon the only problem would be Emirates as mum would definitely fall in love with them too if she met them.

On Sunday, I also experienced the need to order precisely what you would like to eat. I tried to order some toast from the Nana Restaurant. It wasn’t on the menu but they sell French toast so I assumed that they could make me some toast. When they eventually brought it out (after some discussion in the kitchen of what toast is, I assume), it was literally two pieces of bread set on a plate with a dollop of butter on the side. I decided not to argue with them but instead just to eat it. If it had have been good old Kingsmill or Sunblest it would have been fine, but Ugandan bread is sweet so after half a slice, I was already rather sick of it. I managed to eat one and a half but then I had to give up. Lesson learnt though: order something on the menu!


Professional Development

There was no class on Monday morning as it was the public holiday for the Easter period. Unfortunately I also didn’t make it to class on Wednesday morning as I was unwell. Rachel attended though and by the sound of it, I didn’t miss much. Mark only turned up fifteen minutes before the end of class. I managed to copy up the notes that I missed but it didn’t take me too long as it was a rather short class.
Thursday morning’s class with Gillian was rather practical again with a focus on true or false questions. We had to relate them to our main subject and submit it as part of our coursework. Her ideas and class was interesting and made me consider using this type of questions in ways in which I had never regarded before but I do not think they are overly relevant for mathematics.

On Thursday afternoon, Rachel and I headed to Gayaza to the New Life Homes set up by the charity Abaana. We arranged with the charity that we would spend some time with the boys there and help them with any mathematics that they were struggling with at school. I was assigned to the Year 5 boys (Year 6 at home) and asked to teach them how to change fractions into decimals and then how to divide. The boys were keen to learn and A* pupils when it came to effort. Some of them caught onto the principles and methods quicker than others but I hope that they all benefited from the lesson.
I attempted to also do some work for my assignment this week before I have the stress of assignment and teaching next week. I have been searching the internet for some ideas and it is proving to be more difficult than I first thought. The title I have been given is “To what extent is the secondary school curriculum in Uganda designed in such a way that its graduates are assets other than liabilities in the society.” Not only am I struggling with the Ugandan curriculum as I am teaching in an international school, but also, I am a primary school teacher. Even if I was in a Ugandan school, it would still not be very relevant to this title. I am discovering some interesting information though through my research and I hope to learn more as I continue to research the topic.


I received some post on Wednesday from my small group and from Eagles (the little children’s club I help in) and it really made me smile. Thank you all for being so thoughtful and generous whilst I have been away. Hope everyone at home is still keeping well and all emails are still very welcome 

Natalie
xx