What a day!

Wow! What a day. Since I last posted so much has taken place it is difficult to put all of the ideas and events in an order that makes much sense. Here it goes… After a while the rain stopped mid-day. We had a meeting with Dr. Gillian Kasirye. She talked with us about Uganda’s system of education, and prepared us for what we might be able to expect when we begin teaching. It was especially interesting to listen to her speak about the values and practices inherent to Uganda’s system of education. While there are still questions that linger, I now have a better understanding about the culture of schooling in this country. I will explain more about the system education here and our conversation with Dr. Gillian in a later post.

After thanking Dr. Gillian, Samson drove us into town. Enoch showed us around a market in Kampala. I couldn’t help thinking about my older sister he whole time I was there! She would have absolutely loved it. There were numerous rooms connected to one another set up as store fronts. While it was touristy and many of the items sold in the various shops were similar, each had its own character. Exploring today will help us choose what we will buy to take home with us upon our return to Kampala. My favorite part was looking at the artwork and talking to the artists bout their paintings. Each artist had their own wall with similar, yet very different styles. Enoch also made many comments on the paintings. He is a very thoughtful man. For example, in one particular painting he said to us, “You see the burden of the woman?” He was commenting on how the painting captured the great responsibilities many African women experience from an early age. Enoch has been an excellent cultural guide thus far and some of the stuff he says you might think was originally intended for inspirational posters. When he speaks, it is worth listening.

We then drove back to the Makerere guest-house to have dinner. Accompanied by African tea , I had an egg sandwich and fries. Both the sandwich and side was delightfully tasty. Speaking of driving back to anywhere…After driving once through Boston, MA I developed the idea that the driving in Boston is crazy. Well, after having been in a car in Kampala I will never ever again say that driving in Boson is crazy. Driving in Kampala is! I don’t think pictures or text could do the experience justice. To give you an idea, Ugandans drive on the left side of the road. In the city, there are people everywhere. As you drive there are people merging, bikers biking, people walking on the side of the road, people crossing traffic EVERYWHERE, vendors walking up to the window when stopped, motorcyclists weaving in and out of traffic, etc. As an outsider I have probably been most shocked so far by our car rides through the city. It is an unbelievable experience that I am happy to have had. Not to mention as we drive I am trying to take in everything around me. Samson even had a vendor chase us a ways today until we could stop so he could purchase a steering wheel cover! It is all exciting and somewhat overwhelming (in a positive way) at the same time. Anyways, as I said, I will stop trying to describe it. Hopefully I can get some video of it to share.

Local Artist Trying to Sell his Work

Enoch Explaining the Burden of the Woman

So after dinner we packed back into the with Samson and Enoch and went to pick up Enoch’s sister in law. She was a wonderful woman who has had an unbelievable past and she was super insightful. We picked her up at her home in a Kampala community that would in no way reflected communities I am used to seeing based on appearance. On our way out from her house we got stuck going up a hill to the main road. We all got out of the car and Samson was able to power through the slick spot. Enoch apologized, but we told him there was no need since getting stuck is a familiar experience being from Wisconsin. So we were back on the road and shortly arrived at an outdoor venue where we sat and watched an African performance that told some of Uganda’s history and culture through song and dance. Enoch noted how the performance helped to keep traditions alive in Uganda. The performers were both entertaining and talented. While sitting and watching it really clicked that I was in a new and wonderful place. We even got to go down and dance with the dancers at the end. Though I am not much of a dancer myself, I am trying to embrace every opportunity I have while immersed in a culture different from my own.

So here I am back at the guest house for the fourth time today wondering if it was today or yesterday that we went to town to exchange cash. And while it has seems like a weekend vacation is coming to an end, I am so excited to because tomorrow we will drive to Kasese where I will be teaching for almost 2 months. I look forward to many challenging experiences and smiles along the way. I will keep you updated.