Souvenirs

I have been back in America now for about 24 hours and realized that I have been pretty emotionless throughout my Journey back home. The 24 hours of flight time and re-adjusting to everything has had me a little zombied-out. And considering it is 4:41 pm, and my body is  telling me it is 12:44 am, I am a bit tired. But my emotions are coming back, and to tell you the truth, it is hurting a little bit.

 I was sitting on my American bed this morning in my American room, and glanced to a corner where I saw my African drum—the same drum that was sitting in the corner of my room in Uganda just 72 hours earlier. Here, it occurred to me that it was no longer an African drum sitting in the corner of my Ugandan bedroom, but it was suddenly a souvenir. I could project future conversations of, “Oh my, where did you get that drum?” “I got in when I was teaching in Uganda for two months.” “Why it is beautiful!” The fact that my personal items had suddenly been rendered souvenirs of a time that once was really struck me and brought tears to my eyes.   Though I knew my time teaching at Rwentutu would come to an end, it is difficult to now accept that it is over.  

I left for Uganda not really knowing what to expect from it. I knew I would be teaching at Rwentutu Christian Community School, I knew I would be living in a house with a woman named Doryn in Kasese, and I knew I was going to probably have a wonderful time. What I could not have known prior to my departure though was how much I would fall in love with my students, the wonderful people I was surrounded by, and the school where I taught. Having to leave my students not knowing if I would ever see them again was so tough. Though I intend to visit Rwentutu again in the near future, I do not know what exactly the future holds for my student, and that scares me. I just wish I could ensure they live well, and avoid the many challenges faced by children and families in rural Uganda. I grew to love them all so much, and saying goodbye to everyone that made my time there so great was one of the most challenging things I have had to do. As teacher Rau and others put it, good-bye is the saddest word, and the hardest word to say.

Rick Ridgway, a well-known rock climber, once said that the best journeys are those that answer questions you had never thought to ask. My journey to Uganda did just that. Not only did I learn a lot about education and culture, I learned a lot about myself. Wikipedia describes the word “souvenir “ as a token of remembrance, or an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it (Yes, I am quoting Wikipedia). Though it will be nice to look at my souvenirs I brought with me back from Uganda from time to time, they are completely unnecessary as reminders, because my time there was literally unforgettable. The relationships I built with my students, cooperating teachers, Doryn, Samson, and others will be sincerely missed, but never forgotten. The memories I have acquired have made me undoubtedly wealthy in terms of happiness. Rwentutu has a permanent place in my heart, and I will always remember those that inspired me along the way. Thank you Rwentutu. You have left footprints on my heart.             ThankYou.                          Thank You

Atmosphere

As I lay in bed at Makarere guesthouse staring at the ceiling through my mosquito net, it is hard to believe that I will be leaving Uganda in about 12 hours.  While I will be excited to see my family and continue teaching in Madison, there are things that I will sincerely miss about this place. This is a short (non –conclusive) list.

-I will miss hearing the grass brooms on cement each morning and throughout the day.

-How  children’s faces light up when they see a muzungu, or how they crack up after I greet them in their language.

-I will miss seeing the students at Rwentutu drum, dance, and sing.

-The beauty of the Rwenzori Mountains.

-Seeing bikes packed with goods, people carting things on their heads, and trucks stacked high with travelers.

-Eating with my fingers in public..

-I will miss the sound of Doryn’s voice, her cooking, and her presence.

-The wardrobes of women, and the many ways they wear their hair.

-Seeing baby Evan growing up so fast!

-Seeing the prehistoric-looking crested cranes perched throughout town.

-Going to the market for food as opposed to visiting the grocery store. .

And just feeling like every day has the potential to be an adventure and learning opportunity. Though it is much easier for me to do here, I hope this is something I can somewhat continue feeling even though I am back home. It is a great view to possess waking up in the morning, and it makes the day much more meaningful. 

Doryn's Birthday!

The traditional birthday march.

Doreen's outstanding cooking.

Footprints

Unreal. As I sat at assembly today, it was almost as  if I had blacked out upon my first arrival to Rwentutu Christian Community School. I came to sitting upright with a group of anxious students to my left, a choir of students serenading us to the right, and  a bunch of caring school staff sitting across from us. I could not help but wonder how it all had gone by so fast, and if I were just dreaming. Literally, it felt like a dream because everything was perfect enough to be just a bit out of order.

To explain further, today was my last day at Rwentutu Christian Community School for my student teaching placement. It was such a great day due to the efforts of the staff and students. This morning I started the day by teaching a math lesson. This was to be my only lesson of the day because of the assembly that would interfere with English. The lesson went well. We looked at different ways to represent multiplication problems, like using pictures or grids. These types of lessons are good for these students because they are mostly used to recitation over exploration. At the end I passed out class gifts and read a speech I had prepared for them. This was the first potentially tear-jerking action of the day. Though a few times I wanted to tear up, I withheld. It was especially hard when looking at my students and seeing some of them cry as I read to them.

After taking some class pics and what not, a farewell assembly was called for us. It was truly amazing. I felt so important and special as a result of their efforts. They sang us beautiful good bye songs, sang personalized solos for us, gave speeches, had us speak, and then we ate a well-prepared lunch with the rest of the staff. They told us many times that goodbye is the saddest word. Rwentutu was so generous. Such character is difficult to walk away from. As teacher Rau suggested at the assembly, we have left a footprint on their hearts. Likewise, the Rwentutu community has left a footprint on mine. During my speech I copied and changed another quote from teacher Rau. He had stated that East, West, North or South, home is always better. I ended my good-bye by saying that for the past two months, Rwentutu has been our home. So when we go home and talk to our families and friends, we will tell them that East, West, North, or South, Rwentutu is always better.

One thing I have realized today is that taking things for granted is a natural human tendency. Every day I spent here I tried to take everything in. But even with that, it will never be the same on the last day anywhere. The mountains looked just a little different on the way to school this morning, the students seemed a little sweeter, the food tasted a just a tiny bit more Ugandan, and my thoughts were just a little deeper. Though I never did not appreciate the luxuries I had hear, I did somewhat take it all for granted—but that is just the way it is. All good things must come to an end. Luckily, this experience will remain in my thoughts and memories forever.  

Dear Students of P4

It feels like just yesterday that I was driving up to Rwentutu for the first time. I remember feeling excited, happy, and even a little nervous to be in a new place. Now it is already time for me to go. It pains me to have to leave this beautiful school and this wonderful class behind. Though I am sad because it is the end of my time here, I am happy because it is not the end for you. You are all the future of your school, communities, and country, and I know you can do great things for them all.

For you, it is normal to see teachers from U.S.A. come to Rwentutu for a short time and then go. Most of them you will probably never see again. But you should know that we teachers will always have you in our minds and in our hearts. We do not forget the students of Rwentutu. You truly help to change our lives, make us better teachers, and better people. Teaching here has been the greatest time of my life. I am blessed to have met you. I hope I was able to teach you, but I have learned more from you than you could ever learn from me.

Know this—do not ever let any teacher or classmate deceive you into believing you are not smart. I have seen how amazing you all can be. If you work hard and help teach one another you will always be strong and respected. I will miss you and you all will be in my heart forever. Live well, do good work, and believe that you can do great things for your families, school, and country. Thank You for everything.

Sincerely, Teacher Steve

Patience

It is Tuesday morning and I am just waiting to leave for school. I thought I would get some of my thoughts out since it is my penultimate day teaching at Rwentutu. Though I will be sad to leave, I can’t help but think how much I have truly enjoyed my time here. Though my physical presence here will soon be no longer, the memories I have of Rwentutu and the work I did here will always be. At church on Easter Sunday, King James discussed something that made me feel very good about the position I am in. He implied that we have done wonderful things for Rwentutu, but he said teachers must be patient. They may not see significant results of their energies initially, but 5 years, ten years down the road the results will really surface. This made me feel good as a teacher because it reminded me that my influence can be lasting, which encourages me to do good work and do my job with care. So though I will ultimately be forgotten by most of the students I have worked with, the energy I put in to being here will always remain in some form, both here in Uganda, and with me personally. I am looking forward to the next two days I have at Rwentutu. It is a privilege to be here. I would not trade it for anything. 

Happy Easter from Uganda!

Neighbor's Easter Bunny Somehow Ended up in our Yard.

Happy Easter from Uganda! I hope everyone had a great day, whether you celebrate Easter or not. Today, I had a very nice time celebrating with friends of ours in the Village. Here is a brief summary of how the day has gone so far…

Having forgotten to set my alarm for a later time to wake up this morning I was up and restless at 6 a.m. I had some time to kill before our 9:30 departure for church so I hid some Easter eggs that we had decorated last night for the others to find when they woke up. Since that did not take long, I still had plenty of time with nothing to do. I remembered Kayla and the others talking about Easter baskets, so I grabbed some Tupperware, added some cut up colored paper to them, and threw a few gifts inside each. Then I cooked omelets and gravy for everyone. It was a nice way to pass the morning time and it seemed like they appreciated it, so I was happy for that.  The girls always joke around too and call me Dad because they feel I have dad like characteristics. This just fulfilled the stereotype.

So we left the house after the quick hunt for eggs (it was Doreen’s first time) and headed to the Village to meet with King James. Upon meeting him he showed us the site where they are planning to build a new church. They are making payments to the landowner, so it is being built in stages. They had just recently flattened the foundation. He was excited about a new place to worship, and he predicted we would be very surprised when we saw his current church.

After about a minute or two walk, we came upon King James’ church. I cannot express in words how beautiful I thought it was (the pics don’t do it justice either). Everything around was so green, the mountains rose into the skyline in the background, and the church itself was gorgeous in its own way. It was a small mud building with a tin roof. Inside there were chairs, plants hanging in the rafters, and small area in the front for the pastor. King James co-ran the service and did a lot of the translating from Luhkonzo to English or vice versa.  The sermon was great, but the singing, drumming, and dancing I found to be inspirational. Not to mention I am jealous about how so many kids can just jam on the local drums!

King James' Church

One thing that was amazing was the generosity and genuine care of church. They insisted that us Americans and Canadian stand to introduce ourselves. We felt very welcomed and felt so special being there. Then, at the end of the service, they again thanked us and slipped Frankie 5000 shillings to buy us all a soda to share. She accepted as not to make a seen, but we gave it back to King James outside to put towards the church. He was reluctant to accept. He told us that in their culture, even if you do not have much, visitors are highly respected. He said the 5000 shillings would not build a new church in itself, so he wanted us to take it as a cultural gift. We finally told him that their culture has already given us much, so we would rather it go to the church so we can come back to a place to visit. He accepted.

We were also warmly welcomed when we arrived at our next destination, Teacher Margaret’s church. This one was larger and made of cement. When we first walked in, there were men in the front selling chickens and other foods to the people inside. After the sales  we were again asked to introduce ourselves in the front, and were received kindly. It was also really great for me to visit this part of the village because I was able to see some of my students outside of school. One of my students, Dorris, introduced me to her grandparents and siblings. Her father also gave us a bag of potatoes for teaching in the Rwentutu community. This is another example of the cultural generosity that exists here. Rwentutu made me feel like it was our day and it was touching.

We then left and walked a short distance to Teacher Margaret’s home where we were served an excellent mean consisting of rice, matoke, chicken, beef, spinach, tapeoke, bananas, and homemade gravy. Unfortunately we left right after we ate because it started to rain. If the rain were to last, driving out of the village would be difficult. I also found out that one of my students was related to Teacher Margaret. I had no idea! So this too was nice because I was able to get a glimpse of how he lives and where he stays (and how far he must walk to school every day!).

One of my P4 Kiddos, Elton

Between Margaret’s church and the first one we visited, King James took us to show us a homemade bridge that was built about four years ago. It was inspiring to look at because of its back-story. He informed us that many women here die from pregnancy, so a while back a clinic was built not far from the village where we were. The problem was that anytime someone from this side of the village needed to go to the clinic they would have to cross the river with no bridge. As you might imagine, when the water is high it also moves very fast. Consequently, he told us that many women and lives have been lost to the river. So, the bridge was built and has eased the transport across the river, saving many lives.

Seeing things like the bridge that slightly bounced as you walked across, the homes built from mud and grass, or the many people digging in their fields throughout the day reminds me of how underdeveloped most people would say this place is. Though as a cultural outsider it is somewhat inspirational to see people living this way, I can’t help but think that the hardships that arise because of the living conditions are far more challenging than most of the challenges I have ever faced or will ever face. I am only a spectator here, and don’t get the full picture of what, for example, living in the village would be like. I never really understood the saying, “those are first world problems,” until recently. Some of the problems that stress me out back home seem just ridiculous here. The point is that it is inspirational to see how people get by here, and I wish I could just be of some service to every one of them. I struggle to even put my feelings into words at this moment. Thus I will move on and return to this topic in a later post.

Some Random Bridge Walkers

The Bridge. 

So, if you asked me how my day was I would tell you that it was filled with excitement, happiness, and love for the country I will be leaving in a few short days. It was an amazing opportunity to spend Easter Sunday in Uganda, and I feel truly privileged to have gotten to know the people I spent it with. To think that 5, 10, 15 years ago these people were getting along just like me, with no way of knowing we would one day meet and get to know each other. The fact that I have met them and have been a part of their lives for whatever reason is astonishing. It is the law of attraction. I feel I met them because they are truly good people, and I can’t imagine the others that will be brought into my life in a similar way in the future. Happy Easter all.  America, see you soon.