So school this past week has been absolutely awesome!  I played tic-tac-toe with my P1 class!  I divided the class into 2 groups (X and O) and I had a list of questions.  If they got the question right, they could put their mark on the # that I put on the blackboard.  The first 2 games they weren’t quite sure about what was going on or how to play it.  By the 3rd game, they got into it, and started blocking the other team and by the 4th and 5th game they were yelling and cheering and trash talking the losing team!!  hahaha  It was so much fun!!  The “O”s won, 4-1!!

Last weekend we had gone to Jinja and checked out the craft markets.  I got to see some more of the craft shops than I saw 2 weeks ago when I went.  I got to meet some extremely talented local artists too!  One of them showed me his studio where there was a ton of artwork that wasn’t on display.  He actually has a website and said that some of his stuff is in the USA!  The card he gave me has 2 websites and I haven’t checked them out yet, but if you would like to, they are www.storenvy.com and www.jinja-art-kale.com.  His name is Angelo Masike Edrine.  I would have bought some of his stuff, but I couldn’t for 3 reasons.  I didn’t have the money, I would never be able to fit it in my suitcase, and there is no way I could have just chosen one!!  Oh, and one more reason.  I have no where to put it.  hahaha  Minor detail though, right?

So on a more serious note, and I realize that this last journal entry is all out of order and a mishmash of information…  This was my last week at the school.

I had my last day of teaching said goodbye to my kids yesterday.  I gave them some of the disposable cameras I brought and they all went nuts!  I know I am going to get lots of pictures of half faces because they love to do closeups and I am sure they got WAY too close on a lot of them…  One of the kids was actually taking pictures of a car!!  I was like, I dont want pictures of a CAR!!  I see those all the time!!  I want pictures of YOU!!  hahaha 

Kira who was also saying her goodbyes, came up and basically said we had to leave NOW.  She had said her goodbyes and was on the verge of tears.  Well, we finally made it out of there 20 minutes later, and at that point I was straight up bawling.  I started crying when I got my stuff.  I looked at all their faces and said “I am going to miss you” and that was it.  The tears came out of no where and there was NO holding them back.  I just started crying right there in front of 30 kids and they all looked at me like, “what is this crazy mzungu crying about??”  I think the older kids understood but the younger ones were a little confused.  One boy thought it was his fault that I was crying because I had a few pictures left on one of the disposable cameras and he snatched it out of my hand.  So he came back in and handed me the camera with the pictures still available on it.  haha  I gave it back to him to take more pictures.  I cried as I left that room, cried as I got that last camera back, cried as I walked up the road out of the school compound, and cried for about 5 more minutes while walking down the road.  And writing about it now, is making me teary eyed again.  I definitely did not want to leave those kids.  I wish I could stay.  I wish I could stay and help teach there forever.  I wish I could watch them grow up.  I wish I could bandage their wounds because they get a lot of them.  I wish I could watch them learn and hold them when they cry.  I wish I could teach them more games, and see them get excited.  I wish I could give them more.  So many wishes…  I have decided to donate on a monthly basis to the Global Volunteer Network Foundation (http://www.gvnfoundation.org/programs/projects/uganda/real/).  If you see the different programs for Uganda that GVN has been working with (partnered with The Real Uganda), you will see one listed as the Hope for Africa Children’s Village.  That is where I have been teaching.  They just finished putting in the energy saving stoves for the kitchen that feeds the kids breakfast and lunch.  Their next project is to move the latrines.  They built a new school building with the funds donated and were able to knock down most of the temporary structures that are always getting destroyed by storms.  My P1 class is still in one of those structures.  They might be able to have a classroom in an actual building in the future. 

So yeah, I had a very emotional day yesterday…

Today is Kira’s birthday.  It is also her last day in Lugazi.  I know for a fact that she should be packing right now and all she is doing is lying on her bed listening to her music and thinking of how much she doesn’t want to leave.  I know she is doing that because I caught her doing it and because I know I will be doing the same thing on Sunday when it’s my turn to pack up and get ready to leave…  I just know I am going to break down either on Sunday or Monday…

So on a final note… 

This trip was an incredible experience.  I have worked with some amazing people, made friends with other volunteers from all over, fell in love with my host family and all the kids I taught, and realized that traveling halfway across the world and volunteering in a 3rd world country is not as scary as I thought it would be.  Sure I had my issues and I missed some comforts of home, and I can’t wait to have an actual shower with an overhead spout and hot water and water pressure…  But these are minor things that you never realize that you can go without until you don’t have them as an option.  I thought I was going to freak out at all these crazy bugs and it turns out that I saw maybe 5 cockroaches, a handful of little spiders, got only 2 mosquito bites, and had more of an issue with flies on the last 2 days of school than anything else.  Oh, and there are ants everywhere.  Mostly just the little ones, but yeah.  They are everywhere.  You get used to it after a while.  The bugs were definitely not something I had to worry about.  Oh but be careful if you have long hair.  I had some get caught in my hair on more than one occasion.  hahaha  That’s not fun… 

I finally got my hair braided and yes it has some funky color.  I have been told that I look very “smart” which is their way of saying that I look very good with the hair braided.  I have also been told that I am African now.  hahaha  I think I need more of a tan…

I got proposed to often, heard the words “I love you” in passing, been told that I am the future wife of whoever.  hahaha  My host mom says that there have been men that have followed me back to the house (I have never seen them) and she also said that they all know I stay with her and they ask her if I have a boyfriend.  She tells them that of course I do and that even if I didn’t, their wallet wasn’t “happy” enough to keep a mzungu girlfriend, and that they had to compete with mzungu millionaires.  hahaha  She is too funny…  I also apparently have a stalker that I haven’t met and who doesn’t know where I live.  hahaha  He isn’t a very good stalker.  He has shown up about 5 times at the Mukono house for volunteers and says that he is with me, or looking for me.  Every time he shows up I am not there.  So the other volunteers are like, “well, you can’t be with her because she isn’t here and doesn’t live here.”  So he makes himself comfortable there and starts reading or talking.  hahaha  He doesn’t knock to come in, he just walks in.  It’s really funny.  I hear it every weekend.  “Hey Cristina, your stalker was here!”  I think it’s probably one of those random guys in Mukono that asks for a name and we give our names and mine was probably the one he remembered.  Eventually he is going to realize that “Cristina” isn’t getting him anywhere and he will use someone else’s name.  It’s very entertaining though. 

So my last big Uganda experience will be tomorrow.  I am meeting up with people in Mukono and we are all heading to Kampala for the Ugandan Cranes rugby game!  woohoo!!! I can’t wait!  I have never been to a rugby game and my first one will be in Uganda.  hahaha  That’s awesome.

Thanks to everyone at home for supporting me and helping me get here!  I appreciate all of it and this has been an unbelievably awesome experience!  Thanks to my family for realizing that this was something I needed to do and for helping me when I needed it.  Thanks to everyone for the prayers I know where said!  I told some to pray that I write in this journal and I did!! hahaha  And most of all thanks to the people in Uganda.  They are beautiful wonderful people who were full of warm welcomes, big smiles, hugs, and gifts!  I received massive amounts of avocados, mangos, passion fruit, jackfruit, etc…  hahaha 

I hope to come back again someday…

Oli otya??  How are you??  I am fine! 

(”Kikati” is pronounced chee-ka-tee and its an informal greeting and means hello.)

Things are great here in Uganda!  I am into my second week teaching and have revised some of my lesson planning but I pretty much planned the rest of my time here.  I actually am teaching for only 3 days this week and 3 days next week.  We generally don’t teach on Fridays because we go into Mukono for our Lugandan lessons.  And there is a national holiday this week and next week.  This week we have Martyr’s Day tomorrow.  There is a church that was built just outside of Kampala where some priests were Martyred many years ago and people from all over Uganda and also Kenya and Tanzania make a pilgrimage and walk to the church for a service.  There are thousands of people walking right now and it’s all over the news.  So there is no school tomorrow.

Next week on the 9^th is Hero’s Day.  I am still not quite sure what this is all about…  I am pretty sure it’s not a holiday for Superman or Spiderman… hahaha  I know that it’s a huge celebration and I think it’s like a festival or something…  I know it’s a very big deal.  I will have to find out more details on that one…

So things at the school are great!  I decided today to give some of my students some stickers so I had them hold out their hands and I put stickers on them.  Well, as soon as they ran out the door and others saw, I was mobbed with kids from every class within 1.5 minutes!  They were all sticking their hands in my face and pushing the kids in front, and so I had them make a line and was handing out stickers for about 20 minutes!  I had a lot of stickers…  I had enough for everyone from every class to get 2 but one boy got hurt and was crying quite hard so I knew he was really hurting.  So I put the stickers away and went to comfort him.  He was ok.  No broken bones, no bleeding.  J  Maybe just a bump on the head.  I put a sticker on his head.  All better.

The kids in my classes doubled in numbers.  I walked into my Kindergarten class yesterday and was shocked to see almost twice as many kids!  Apparently they get from 60 to 80 kids in that class.  And Sarah keeps them well entertained by mixing in songs that require actions so that they can move for a bit if they have been sitting and writing for too long.  If they start to get tired, she tells them to go outside and run from “here to that tree and back!”  And they run as fast as they can!  It’s cute to see the little ones trying to keep up with the older kids.  That gives them an extra burst of energy to get through the next part of the lesson.

I am working on teaching them “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” but unfortunately the name has changed to “The Wincy Wincy Spider”.  Hahaha  At least the spider is now climbing up the “water spot” instead of the “water spice”.  Hopefully they will correct it to “water spout” soon…  J 

I have also become very impressed with one of my students in P1 who is an amazing artist!  Every time I have the class draw, he does an outstanding job!  I have started calling him Michelangelo.  I mentioned Michelangelo to the teacher and she didn’t know who that was.  Now granted, I was first introduced to Michelangelo through the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… hahaha  But I eventually found out about his other works.  I told the teacher that he was a famous artist who painted the Sistine Chapel in Rome and that he is known around the world.  That’s enough information for now, but I would love to get my hands on an art book and show her some things.  I told the boy that I will see his art in museums and that I will buy his paintings one day and they will be very expensive.  Hahaha  He clapped his hands and gave me a giant grin.  He is very quiet and wasn’t in class all last week.  His name is Kisige Denis, so look for the name in about 20 years!!

Kira and I got spoiled last week and were driven to and from the school, but that time is over and now we walk.  We catch a taxi to Bulele and then walk for about 40 minutes to the school.  We are all sweaty and dusty by the time we get to the school, but it’s all good.  The kids make the same walk.  The road conditions are terrible, so we walk.  We could take a boda to the school but they are expensive and we don’t need it.  We got a ride in today because Valance had to meet with the teachers, but we walked back.  I have a sunburn from the walk, that will darken into a nice tan.  Since we wear long skirts and pants, I will have to go tanning when I get back just to even things out!!  Hahaha  

We get a new volunteer coming in tomorrow!  I can’t wait to meet her!  We will have 3 mzungus in the house!!

So the school session started yesterday and my fellow volunteer, Kira, and I went up to the school.  We spent the day observing, seeing what the children knew and what we could teach them.  I decided to take the kindergarten class and the P1 class.  The kindergarten class is split into 3 age groups.  Age 3, 4, and 5.  I was very surprised to learn that they start kindergarten at age 3!  The teacher for the kindergarten class I was working with (ages 4 and 5) is Sarah and she is a phenomenal teacher!  She gets the kids energized, she gets them involved, she makes sure that they understand the English words, how to spell them and what they mean.  I was very impressed.  I knew that there were a lot of kids that just said “yes” to anything that you said, and I encountered that with the P1 class today…  But now that Sarah is on board with the program, I know that the children will get a very thorough education in kindergarten and be ready for more in P1. 

So today I walked in to the kindergarten armed with books and games and balloons.  So I decided to play a VERY simple game where I blew up a few balloons and the kids would have to keep them from touching the ground.  Well, that backfired when they got so excited that they were climbing over furniture and crashing into each other to get the balloons!  hahaha  And it was windy outside, so the smaller balloons kept getting sucked out through the bars in the windows!  With the floor being covered in dirt and the balloons and kids all over the floor and then bumping into me, I came home quite dirty… 

I went to the P1 class next and since most of the other kids were dismissed, I wasn’t sure if there was supposed to be a class, so I walked in after all the other kids who ran into the class area (it was a “shelter” outside) and i asked them if they were supposed to be out playing or in here for class.  They said “yes”.  So I said, “do you have a class?” and they said “yes”.  Then I asked where the teacher was and some said “yes” and one ran off to get her.  Then it started raining.  When it rains there, they immediately go to the building structures.  The “shelter” they had outside, there were more but some had collapsed.  YOFAFO is in the process of building a new school house.  They are very excited about this and so am I!  There are 40 kids in the kindergarten getting a great education because of YOFAFO and the people who donate and financially help the organizers.  Working with Valance (founder of YOFAFO) and seeing the villages and school that he is worked hard to build and help, it’s inspiring and I feel honored to be a part of it! 

And on a side note, I am staying with Valance and his family (wife and son).  His son is 5 months old and an absolute sweet heart.  He is such a happy baby!!  When I am at the house, I am spending most of my time playing with him. 

So I am very excited for the rest of the week!  And this weekend I am going to Jinja.  It’s a tourist city that is on the Nile.  I keep hearing about this restaurant there that is on the Nile and has a fantastic view!  I will be sure to get pictures!

Oh, and I think we should have boda-bodas in New York!!  hahaha  They are scary and exciting and awesome!  A boda-boda is basically a motorcycle with a seat for a passenger behind the driver.  Women ride it sideways, kind of like a side-saddle and they hold the handle on their side, on the back of the seat.  I haven’t tried it that way yet.  I keep thinking that if they lean too far to the right, I will fall backwards!  So I ride it like most people ride a motorcycle.  And they know it’s the first time riding for this Mzungu because I am holding on for dear life as the bike weaves through traffic and occasionally is facing on-coming traffic!!  And most of them have no helmets… 

Ok, that’s all for now!  Hopefully the internet will cooperate with me and I will have another entry next week!

Well here I am in beautiful Uganda!  I still have trouble believing I am here sometimes…  It’s been almost a week now, and so far so good!  I am not crying for my mom, I am not screaming at every bug I see, and I am eating food that I would normally refuse back home!  I am all together very proud of myself.   

I am working with an organization called Youth Focus Africa Foundation (YOFAFO).  So far I have visited 2 villages.  One of them is (believe it or not) called the Cockroach Village!  The Lugandan name of the village means cockroach.  So most people call it the Cockroach Village.  It’s up in one of the hills near Lugazi and you COULD take a car there, but I wouldn’t recommend it…  There road isn’t very good, and then it disappears into a path about a foot and a half wide.  There are many mud huts and mud houses in that area.  YOFAFO has a program there called the Piglet Project.  What they do is give a piglet to a family and see after a year what they have done.  This is related to Animal Husbandry.  This is a program used to help these people generate some income.  They get the piglet, take care of it, and when it gives birth, they sell the new piglets for money.  They then can use that money to pay school fees for the many children in the village.  There is one boy there that we got to meet briefly who will be the first graduate in the village!  The people there do not have much, but what they definitely do not lack is food.  Almost every house I went to, they offered large quantities of food!  I was so full by the time I got home that I couldn’t eat the delicious meal that my host family made!

Today we went to another village where YOFAFO has a micro finance project.  They give loans to very poor village women who have no collateral, and the women use that money to start a business and pay that loan back in 20 weeks.  Because they have no collateral, the women have to come in groups of 5.  That way, if one can’t pay their portion of the loan, the other women help out.  It’s a great program and many women are benefitting from it! 

I can see the improvements that YOFAFO is making in the community and it really is inspiring.  I visit the Childrens Village next week.  That is where I will be spending most of my time.

My host family is fantastic and they have a 5 month old baby who I get to play with on my down time. I am also with another volunteer who has been placed with this organization and family before so she has been a big help. 

There are many luxuries that I am learning to live without and some that I REALLY miss… like my shower…  But I am learning how to do bucket showers and I am getting pretty good at it!  Here the Ugandas are very clean.  They bathe every day and always look very nice.  Sometimes I feel like I am the one underdressed…  maybe I should go shopping… hahaha

I am meeting with some other volunteers on Friday for a lesson in Lugandan, the local language.  It will be fun!  And I can learn more that the 3 words I got which are “Masa” – stop and “kali” – yes/ok, and “Mzungu” – white person.  I hear that last one about 200 times a day.  And about 195 of those times it’s from kids.  When I walk by, all I hear is “Mzungu!  Mzungu! Bye Mzungu!” and then I end up with a trail of kids following me, the Mzungu…  hahaha  I feel like a celebrity sometimes.  It’s funny.  Everyone is watching, people are talking about me, and kids are following me around and wanting to hold my hand or shouting “Mzungu!” and waving until I finally wave back at them.  Then they get all shy and just smile. 

Oh!  And at the Cockroach Village, they like to name the volunteers that visit them.  My name is Nansubuga.  It is Lugandan for Leslie.  And since there is already a Leslie who lives in Uganda and works with YOFAFO and founded the organization The Real Uganda, they called me “Baby Nansubuga”.  And after the first time of calling me that, they just shortened it to baby.  hahaha  So I was called baby for the last few hours in the Cockroach Village.

Well that’s all for now.  More to come!

I can’t believe that in 48 hours, I will be boarding a flight to Amsterdam and then heading to Uganda!  I am so excited!

I feel like I still have a million things to do, when all I really need to do is laundry and finish packing… 

I finished training the person taking over my responsibilities at work, and I know she is going to do amazing.  I now have to make sure that things are ready for her when she steps in.  There is still so much to do!

I received word that I upon my arrival in Uganda, I will be staying overnight at a hostel.  It sounds exciting, right?  Well I saw the movie…  And for those of you who have seen the movie, you know what I am talking about… hahaha  I swear people make movies like that to freak out people like me.  It doesn’t bother me when I see it, but then when I hear I am staying in a hostel, I suddenly get freaked out!  haha  I know it won’t be like that.  It’s just the first thought that pops into my head…

I can’t wait to meet the other volunteers and get to know the people I will be working with.  All I keep hearing is that the people in Uganda are friendly and generous and wonderful.  And this is from people who have volunteered there in the past, and from the people at TRU.  I am so excited to meet everyone!  I am hoping that I won’t be too shy. 

So I am really going to try and write here once a week.  I wrote in my daily journal already… about 3 weeks ago….  But it’s really supposed to be a daily journal for when I am in Uganda!  So that doesn’t really count as me slacking on the writing, right…?

Well that’s all for now!  I will write soon!

~ Cristina