Saturday 6.6.09 update...

I cannot say enough how grateful I am to be here. Thank you all for your prayers and support. I am sitting outside at night right now on the compound patio. There are bats flying around my head every now and again which is kind of creepy, but it’s okay.

I will warn you that I will probably talk a little strange for a while when I come home. The way that I phrase my sentences now is different and I’ve picked up a couple of their phrases as well. For instance, instead of saying “me too” or “I agree”, they say “even for me”. So, I find myself saying, “Even for me, I would love to go into town”. Funny.

I am very intimidated by the amount of work that I have ahead of me. It is going to be very intense. I will be working every day from 8-6 p.m. I will have about 8-12 classes a day and there are at least 70-80 students in each. Each class is 40 minutes. Florence, my partner teacher, tells me not to be afraid. That is will be no problem (parac). But, I just don’t know what to expect. On top of the teaching, I will also be doing research and interviewing other teachers, students and community members to find out more about the interaction between school and community to rebuild during this transition from conflict to reconstruction. At the end of four/five weeks I will have comprised a handbook with my partner teacher of our experience together and we will present it at a two-day Education conference in Gulu. Crazy tunes…this is different than I expected, but I am glad because now I will feel the purpose in my stay here and being so busy will help the time go faster.

They love Obama here. Florence even made up an acronym for him. Originally Born in Africa to Manage America. Awesome. Apparently, he descends from the Lwo tribe in Kenya. Back in the day, (which was a Wednesday…Dane Cook fans???), the Acholi (Gulu people) and the Lwo (Kenyan people) were one tribe in Sudan. Then, when they crossed the Nile River, one brother went to Kenya and one stayed in Gulu, so the tribes split. But they are still part of a brotherhood. So, they can claim Obama and are so proud of it. I try to reinforce that. The President here, Musseveni is a complete asshole. He has no respect for the Acholi people in the North. Some people believe that he paid the LRA to attack the North during the war. The other day he gave a speech saying that the Acholi people are “stupid” and cannot and should not be helped. This is their President. If he’s not looking out for them, who will?

That’s right, me. J Just kidding, but seriously…I have never felt more fulfilled than to see the smile in the eyes of the Acholi people when they ask, “Why did you come to Gulu?” And I say, because I heard your story and it broke my heart and I wanted to come and meet you. It is a beautiful moment. You truly can see the pain in their eyes. And when you think about the horror that they have been put through, you can understand. But they persevere. Everyday…it’s awe-inspiring. Florence was preparing me today for the children in the classroom. Many were kidnapped by the LRA and forced to do the unthinkable. Many girls were abducted and now have children from their time there. Again, I can’t imagine.