Pope Paul VI Anaka Drama Club Performance

I cannot express how amazing the students in my drama club are and how diligent many of them were to perform their play! I played drama games with them for the first week and by the second they told me they were ready to perform a play. I said, "Fine, let's do it, but you all have to create it." They developed a play that really relates to their lives, Education Is The Way.  Quick synopsis--rich family with two children who do not value education, poor family with two children who work so hard for their education, digging to make school fees. By the end of the play, the two students from the poor family succeed, while the students from the rich family do not. Enjoy the pictures! I have limited access to internet, so I will write a couple more posts when I get home.

 The drama club at Popavissa has been one of great talent and adaptability! Several students dropped out of the production in the last two weeks. Moments before the performance, the lead girl choose to go into town instead of perform. There were two options--I would have to perform or their mother would be dead. I cannot act out a Ugandan mother as well as the young girl who did it, so we decided to go with the mother being dead. The family in the above picture is missing their mother and they did such a great job improving new material about their mother's death!

Classroom scene--the many different types of students within classrooms. 

 The rich father is dealing with his delinquent children with the head teacher a.k.a principal.

 The poor family and the drunkard father is celebrating his children graduating from secondary school a.k.a. high school.

 Some of the primary kids were our audience. All the sudden, they scattered like little ants after someone kicks the anthill. I asked one of the teachers why and apparently, they were supposed to be in school! The little rascals skipping school already!

 Teachers and students enjoying the show!

 The final drama club...most of them were from the very beginning, but because of some students not being able to pay school fees and others not committing, it was constantly changing.


More Pics!

All of the teachers at Pope Paul who participated in the program.

An amazing mentor to many of the girls who are sponsered by Invisible Children. If you would like to sponsor a child (there are many who need it and I will elaborate on this aspect of education in a future post), please look into the Legacy Program.

This is Juliet and her family. She is my friend from the market and I met her the first week I arrived. 

Favorites of the week!

 Favorites of the week!

Madame Florence and I had some great classes together! The students did an amazing job on their presentations. The students started exams this week, so I have been helping them study.

The students taught us how to carry jerry cans on our heads. Eventually, I could walk across the classroom, but not as gracefully as an African! The students taught us the traditional dance, and laughed at the way we moved (I thought I could definitely get the dance down, but the laughter told me different! We all know I’m better at freestyle dancing. Learning steps is not so easy for me!).

My roomies in Anaka killed the chicken for our dinner! I videotaped it without looking (I knew this was something I had no desire to do because I would not be able to get the images out of my head). After preparing the chicken, we cooked Mexican food for the priests and the staff at the Perish, this meal was inspired because a former American resident had left a pack of Trader Joe’s taco seasoning—sautéed chicken, Spanish rice, salsa (I made the salsa!), guacamole, and black beans. Everyone enjoyed it!

After making our Mexican food, we had so many left-overs, so I decided to eat lunch with my drama club. This was probably my favorite moment! We sat outside in our meet-up spot and kneeled in a circle around the food and ate like a family—we prayed and shared plates. By the time I looked up, many other students had joined us! The students eat posho and beans lunch and dinner, so I think this was a nice break for them. Most of them loved the food, but one student, Alfred, hated it and did not hold his feelings back, “Madame Shockley, your food is no good!” I had a good chuckle. Most people here are extremely honest. This week, I also was told that my Luo language was “crummy!”

My drama club gave me my Acholi name, Aber, which means a good person! I’ll take it!  

Many students have really opened up about their lives. David, my drama student shared his experience with the LRA with me. He escaped within 12 hours.  

Running club was amazing this week. The boys we run with asked a beautiful woman carrying firewood if I could take her picture. People here either love their picture taken or are very hesitant, so it is important to ask. I am a bit timid sometimes, so it was nice to have the running club ask for me! The women here are so physically strong, they walk with heavy loads and then carry their children on their back.

I sat in the girls’ dorm and ate ground-nuts with my favorite students from running club and drama. Winnie is a great runner and the only girl in her grade. Prossy is a talented actress who plays the mother in the play the students developed.

My favorite moment by far was my day in Gulu market. I met up with one of the girls I met the first week I was here. We had some laughs and then I told Juliet that I wanted to hold a baby on my back the way the African women do. She promptly found me a baby from a woman a few booths down from hers’. She tied the baby, Aber (my namesake), to my back and I walked around the market with her. I thought the baby was going to fall off my back, but she was perfectly content back there (even though in the pictures she looks terrified!). Then I tried to put something on my head. It was not easy!

My time here is coming to an end and I have many mixed emotions about it. I am extremely sad to leave, but excited to go home and see you all! Uganda and its people are so special and I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity. 

Madame Florence and I have had too much fun teaching together!

 David, a great student and future director. He loves directing the drama club!

 Strong, beautiful African women!

Fiona, Augustine and Aneck work at the Parish and we have had so much fun eating dinner together and playing spoons.

 An amazing group!

Drama clubs who eat together, stay together!

 Anyone hungry for fried white ants?

 We are!

 They were pretty delicious for insects!

 My drama club was freezing and I thought it was so funny because it was the perfect temperature for me!

 Rehearsal for Education Is The Way

 Aber and Aber! I walked around the market and people really got a kick out of seeing me with Aber!

Aber just found out I wasn't her mom!

I live in a Parish!!!

 

Hello family and friends! Sorry this post took so long to get to you. It is not so easy to use the internet. When I was going to type up a post after my first week of teaching, the power was out at the internet cafe and I could not get to the internet till now. A lot has happened, so here is a little taste and I will try to post pictures this weekend! Miss you all!

Two other American teachers and I left the big city of Gulu for Anaka, a small village, to teach at Pope Paul VI. We live in a parish with Father Martin and Father Thomas, two amazing men of God, who care for Anaka and several other small surrounding villages. In Anaka, there is only one main street through the village. We spend our nights watching football matches and playing cards with the Fathers, like gin rummy and spoons. They love spoons! Friday night was the first night we went out in the town to have a quick drink with the student teachers to celebrate their last week of student teaching. We were the only women out! We only stayed out for an hour because we had to get back for supper with the priests. As we walked back, surprisingly the men were the only ones out having fun, listening to music, playing pool, and having a beer. I asked the women I was with why this was and they revealed that the women never go out because that is the culture; they stay home, cooking, cleaning, and tending to the children.

That brings up the most beautiful aspect about Anaka—the children. I have never in my life witnessed children playing so harmoniously together. After school, we have to walk through the courtyards of the primary school and the kids are playing all sorts of outdoor games, netball (basketball without the bouncing), football a.k.a. soccer, jump rope, and some game where the kids in the middle try not to get hit by the incoming ball thrown by their friends (I played this and was wounded when I got hit—the ball was harder than it looked!).  So all this activity is happening amongst the little angels with absolutely no adult supervision! Imagine that!

This sweet picture is seen throughout the village: we have started a running club with the students and we run on little dirt paths that take us passed the huts and the little kids who run out of the huts join us and run for miles with us; no permission from the parents, they just bolt right behind us (some were so fast, they were ahead of us!). Two 3-year old boys followed us for at least two miles without shoes, they were quite the little runners; I wish I had my camera with me to capture all the little kids running with us—they outnumbered our students! Definitely one of my favorite moments of all times.

Okay, so now to the reason I came to Africa—to get my teach on with the Ugandan teachers! First of all, the students at Pope Paul VI are so respectful and kind, which helps when there are classes up to 70 students. Anyhow, this experience has been challenging to say the least. The educational system is extremely different here; it is based on the British system and the cultural norms that are accepted here would not be tolerated in the United States. I am trying to reconcile some of my frustrations with a cultural sensitivity, but this has been difficult and I find myself, confused, angry and sad, which annoys me because I don’t feel this way often (lucky me!).

Despite the challenges, the two teachers I am teaching with are kind and passionate about teaching. We are trying to implement strategies within the classroom that will challenge the students to become more engaged in the learning process. Most teachers in Uganda do not use student-centered learning strategies because their methods are based on lecture and dictation. The students can definitely memorize notes and repeat text information verbatim. However, when they are asked to think abstractly, it is a struggle. Furthermore, students speaking loudly within the class doesn’t happen and so when I ask them to share with their neighbor, they often look at me with blank stares. Though after a little practice, they have started to feel comfortable with it and I’m happy to say there have been times when the classroom is loud while working on projects or sharing information with each other. Plus, I have started a drama club and I have high hopes of them projecting!

There is so much more to share, but it would become a book and I know we all have busy lives. I miss everyone so much and look forward to seeing most of you face to face to share more about this amazing adventure.

 True!

This is a sign on the primary school building in Anaka.

 Sweet Parish!

 Making posho, which is the staple dish in Uganda. This feeds the students for lunch and dinner...posho and beans, it's whats for dinner!!!

 Some of my history students working on their project. Two of them are part of my drama club! They have come up with quite the play...social issues that they face.

 We attended a primary school debate that was quite controversial--Europeans should come back to Africa (3rd, 4th and 5th grades).

 The sweet kids of the village!

 Sibling Love!

 Celebrating with the student teachers, Linda and Maggy.

 Pope Paul VI Anaka

 Safari tan! On a safari, riding on tops of vans (mutatus).

 Running Club!

 Pope Paul VI students!

 Project Presentation Time!

 Everyone should smile this big!!!

 The kids love a photo!

 This is for real!

Safari sighting!

I will leave you all with a quick cap of what I did last weekend. Saturday night I slept in a hut and then went on a safari Sunday! It was magical. Everything you would want a safari to be—except I did not see lions, maybe next time!

First week in Gulu!

My first full week in Uganda has been a true cultural dream. Being a woman who has grown up with the opportunity and love to travel, new cultures have become my joy and passion. And as far as the different countries and cultures I have been exposed to, Uganda, Africa has been the most different to my own. A big “apwoyo matek/thank you very much” to all of you who helped me get to this beautiful and fascinating land.

Here are a few special moments of my week.

Monday, our first day in Kampala, we witnessed a fierce rainstorm. We were warned about it being the rainy season, but were not prepared for what seemed to be a storm that would wash away the entire city. After ten minutes of heavy rain, the mud streets looked as though there would be a threatening landslide. We thought we would be doomed to stay indoors for the rest of our first evening, but were told that TIA (this is Africa) and the storm will subside soon. Sure enough, that was the case. People were back in the streets only minutes after the downpour, embracing the red mud splashing on their feet and legs.

        

         Oh, the streets of Kampala! It is a sight I wish I could share with everyone, but you have to see it, to believe it. The streets were so busy, it seemed like a Bollywood movie, because it riveled India’s chaotic (to a woman who needs street lights to direct her to slow down or warn her to stop or go) and energetic streets I had only seen in movies. People were selling goods, fixing cars, walking with heavy loads on tops of heads, and riding bikes and bodas (small motorcycles that carry two to three people, not including the driver—we were advised to ride one person at a time, but my friend, Ashley and I broke the rules and did it the local way!).

         Tuesday, we went to the Embassy for a meeting with the United State’s Ambassador. During the meeting, several representatives discussed the US’s role in Uganda. Assisting with education was the most prevalent and we, as educators felt encouraged by this mission because we do believe that education is power!

After the Embassy, we visited the Luga House, which is a local organization that uses arts to empower the youth. Among the founders were local musicians, artists, and fashion designers. Their center was within the homes of the locals, so this was our first time walking in the Kampala neighborhoods, which were filled with little girls with water jugs on their heads and little boys running around. Our time in Kampala came to an end and we journeyed five hours to Gulu. The ride to Gulu, took us through many small villages, where the locals would wave and smile at all the “mzungu/white people.” This ride also took us across the Nile River, which is highly impressive, so words seem silly to try to describe it. We were not allowed to take pictures because it was a military area. We go rafting on the Nile, so there will be plenty of pictures to come.

Upon our arrival to Gulu, we were relieved to find that Gulu, though a major city in Uganda, was not as overwhelming and intimidating as Kampala.

         We had orientation Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. During orientation, we learned about Ugandan culture, the educational system and more about Invisible Children’s efforts in Uganda. We visited the IC headquarters, where we met Okot Jolly Andruvile the head of IC in Uganda and also a former victim of the Lord’s Resistance Army. I would encourage you to find out more about her and Invisible Children. Recently, IC has been scrutinized. I never doubted IC, but after hearing Jolly speak, I felt even more impassioned about the teacher exchange program and honored to be a part of this organization because IC, she says and I now have witnessed first hand is made up of people of the community. This organization is about empowering Ugandans and encouraging sustainability. An example of this mission is IC’s Mend program, which employs women who were formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army. They learn to be seamstresses and the program provides them with counseling and educates them about life skills, such as, saving and investing money. Some women open small businesses of their own.

         Friday night we met our teaching partners. My teaching partners are so kind and I will have more to tell you about them in later blogs. We had a delicious meal and watched a performance of traditional Ugandan dances.

My first boda ride to the Invisible Children's Office. I thought it would be scarier than it was; it felt extremely freeing! 

 Jolly, a phenomenal woman.

 A traditional dish.

 Gulu market

 A seamstress at the Mend house.

 Mission accomplished: The best avocados and tomatoes ever!

 The girls from the market. We giggled a lot, prayed together, and ate together!

 Maurice showed me his favorite picture--we both agreed that we love love!

 Best friends Maurice and Brian. They let me into the group for the day!

She loves my glasses!

         Saturday, I spent all day in town. I walked through the market by myself in search of an avocado and tomato. I have never had such fresh, flavorful tomatoes and avocados! The market is so big and filled with different items. The only items on the outskirts of the market are clothes and tools, so finding the food was quite the adventure. I asked several people and walked through what seemed like a maze, but finally found my dinner for the evening! On my way out of the market, some young girls called me over to visit their stand. Juliet asked me if I cooked and if I wanted to learn how to cook the doughnut like creation she was selling. She took me through each step and then I bought one from her. Before I ate it, she said that we should pray over it together. So the four of us prayed and then ate the doughnut together. Then we proceeded to take pictures!

         Sunday, I went to church and it was beautiful. It was a incredibly similar to the churches back home, so next week, I will go to a more traditional one, Holy Rosary with Juliet and Irene. After church, I went to St. Jude orphanage and met the sweetest kids. Maurice, the artist showed me around and invited me into his home to show me his artwork.

Favorite moments: Laughing with the girls in the market and hanging out with Maurice.

Until next week. Amori! Love.