A new "smart" start.

My house is slowly becoming my home. I finally got a broom and some other things for the house. I also bought an African stove, one which runs on charcoal. I was getting too fed up with the camping stove that I brought because it was scorching all of my pans and making everything black! I still need a place for my guests to sit though as well as a shelf for my clothes and books.  Its hard for my to justify spending money on all these things for my house because I will be leaving in October; and like my Dad has always told me – “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

People are constantly trying to rip you off here in the small markets and stores. When they see muzungu (white person) they see money. Its outrageous what some people reply when I ask the price of something…they must think I’m stupid.

Percy/Piercy, mother of Fabienne or Fabrice (its hard to tell because there are 2 families living in 1 hours and there are about 11 children), braided my hair on Saturday. I look like a real African now! It took 6 ½ hours…I sat on the cement the whole time! 

My new SMART hair style!

Jacqueline from the Kamaba Co-op finished my skirt for me!! It is so beautiful. I look very ‘smart’ now. Instead of telling someone they look “nice” or “sharp” like I have heard previously, here they say “smart”. For example, when all the teachers and students saw my new hair-do and my new outfit, I had people telling me all day, “Toni, you look smart!!” It’s a great compliment to receive.

On Sunday I did many things around the house and also went to Jacques to help him with his resume. Him and his family have visa offers for Canada and will be immigrating there in the next couple of years.

Paul came to visit on Monday (13) – I met him in Bujagali and we took a boda to Jinja and then a bus from Jinja to Kampala - - that was the worst bus ride of my life haha. I picked up some more fabric in Kampala so that I could get more smart clothes for the school; as a teacher I am expected to dress a certain way. Thankfully we made it back to Ndejje before dark. After I showed him my house we walked to have dinner at Jacques house. Jacques briefed Paul on the idea for the environmental campaign for the community and the following day they met at school and sat down together to do some real planning. HEAL (Healthy Living and Environment) Uganda is the name of the organization and they both have many great ideas that will change Ndejje.

I taught my first Environmental Education class on Tuesday (14) and it went pretty smooth. I was extremely nervous but thankfully there was only about 15 children in P-6 so that helped calm my nerves. My schedule is finalized now: Monday-Thursday 2-4(or 5 depending on class size) I will teach English to adults Tuesday 11-12 I teach Environmental Education (EE) to P-6, right after that from 12-1 I teach P-7 and then Wednesday from 11-12 I teach EE to P-5. Joseph, a Congolese man who I previously mentioned said he would be interested in tutoring me in French. We have put up a tentative schedule or tutor times for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12-2. This man is very inconsistent though, so we’ll see how well these lessons stick. Paul left Wednesday (15) morning after one last breakfast together.

I feel like the relationship here between the Ugandan Nationals and the Refugees (from Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Rwanda, etc) is similar to some American’s views/relationships with Mexican immigrants. Some Ugandans accuse the refugees of stealing their countries money and work for their people. I have heard of a few fights between the nationals and refugees, one which left my friend in critical condition and on oxygen for nearly 3 weeks. It was 30 men vs 1.

There are many organizations and NGOs that I have read about previous to arriving in Uganda who say that they are helping refugees and doing many things for them – but I am seeing first hand their lack of efforts and their lack of help! These organizations lie on their websites…such as BARC of Uganda. I didn’t realize how drastically life has changed for many of these refugees. Many refugees only receive help if they are living in a refugee settlement – but those are extremely unsanitary, they increase dependency on aid, and are very “dead-ended”. Fabrice went from having a father very high ranking in the military, his own Jeep, two bodyguards, and enough money to not have to worry about things – to fatherless, jeepless, living in a small 2-bedroom house with 12-15 other people. To cope with problems that many of these refugees experience, I have notices that many turn to alcohol. I am trying to influence them to find another solution.

Yesterday (16) Ashal, Eddy and two other boys from P4 stopped over my house after school. They really wanted to be in the EE class but I am only able to teach P5-P7 so I told them that on the weekend I would teach them some things and then we could also do some of the “reuse” activities that I was planning on doing in class. I figure this way I can also practice they activity before class. Today after school they are coming over with a bunch of paper to soak in water over night so that tomorrow, after we go to football at HOPE, we can go to my house to make paper.

Paul and I both became very sick yesterday. I think it was something we must have ate during his visit. Neither of us feels 100% but we are recovering. I was in and out of the bathroom all night - - and if being sick isn’t bad enough…trying being sick when your toilet is a hole in the ground, that makes things 10x worse!

My birthday is in 10 days and I will be going to visit Paul in Bujagali for the weekend. If possible we want to either go to Sipi Lodge, Murchison Falls, or Rwanda for the weekend. I am trying to utilize my time best – splitting it between lesson plans, homework, and studying French.