Future Site Visit

Future School Visit

So from the 17th to the 20th of December, I visited the school I'll be working at for the next two years. It's pretty far north, about an hour or so from the South Sudan border. We left Shimoni on the 17^th at about 6AM (before sunrise)., and after dropping everyone else off at their sites, I arrived at my site at around 7PM (after sunset). My principal met me in the last large town before mine to drive me the rest of the way. The majority of the journey was made on a rented bus (coaster) which was provided by the Peace Corps.

The roads in Uganda are pretty terrible, and even Ugandans will tell you this. It's one of the things they request most from their government, local and national: fixing/updating/paving the roads. Asphalt is referred to as tarmac here.

The roads between the large city where I can do a lot of shopping and my specific town are worse than I had seen anywhere else yet in the country. The road was more like a collection of potholes with no vegetation. My principal kept talking to me about their condition, and how they were supposed to be worked on at least once a year, even if it's just bringing more dirt to even out the levels. But the ones we were on hadn't been worked on in over a year. We were in a small truck which belonged to the college, and it was still taking us a very long time to reach our final destination.

My school is breathtakingly beautiful. I keep saying this to everyone I meet. Large trees with lots of shade and red dirt paths, green grass and green-yellow hedges, mango trees, giant palm trees, and a nice wind to keep the air circulating. Some people at the school said that God has blessed Africa and Uganda in particular because anything planted will grow. I explained that in America, the percentage of people who grow the food relative to the amount of people eating the food is very small, and many people in cities have problems with hunger. I said that there is no way they can grow all the food needed to sustain them, mainly because of climate. If you can't plant outside, it takes a lot of investment to grow all your food inside. They just shook their head and said that Africa was lucky.

The girls dormitories.

 Classroom block.

 Administration building.

The college vision.

I spoke to my principal about my preference to teach maths and computers and he was totally on board, which was really nice. I'm actually excited to lesson plan (weird) but I'm also excited to move into my house, which I got to see while I was there.

My house is not actually finished, but I got to see the work being done on it. Pouring concrete, laying plumbing lines, and a place where I will probably be able to have solar electricity. Solar is super popular here, and even if most families can only afford one, they get one. Sunlight is guaranteed, so it charges during the day and gives you a few solid hours of light at night (after 7PM).

The really local market is just down the street from my house, and we learned all the market phrases in language class today ( the price is too much – aje tu, how much are the mangoes? - mango mi ozi si?). It's nice because it's sort of a smaller town and that way I don't have to walk far to get food. My house is also just down the road from my school, so even in rainy season it's not hard to get to school. There is a police station across from my house, and I live near a bunch of nuns and priests, so I feel pretty safe. Still locking up my house at night, but I think it will be good be in such a small community.

My principal is a really good guy, and tried to introduce me to a lot of people, many of whom I'm sure I won't remember. But I also greet people on the street all the time (it's what you do) so they will probably remember me.

Next entry I'll talk about our language classes and maybe homestay – with pictures!