Post freak out

My teacher’s daughter is sick today with a “spot” of malaria so I have the day off. A day off alone in Gulu after one has been here for three weeks is not that exciting. The town in only five streets long and three streets wide and there isn’t much to do. So this is the perfect time to email and blog.

I freaked out last weekend…I think that was evident from my last blog. Everyone freaks out in Gulu, it happens.

The Ugandan teachers are so different from American teachers, from the way they view their role as an educator to the way they treat students. It is cultural, it is engrained in their way of thinking and acting, and it is largely unchangeable. The American teachers want so desperately to guide the Ugandan teachers but despite our best efforts we fail. We are educators, we are teachers, this is what we do but in Uganda we continue to fail. On a daily basis in the United States we find ways to teach the seeming unreachable but here we can’t even sway our teachers into coming to class on a consistent basis. We all accepted that we would not reshape teaching in Uganda but now many of us our questioning if we are making even the smallest impact. Some days I am optimistic, Jennifer will amaze and impress me and other days Jennifer will simply not show up to school (FYI- There are no subs here so the students just still in class without a teacher). For my own sanity I remain hopeful. This country has so much potential; with a population of young people that are motivated to an extent that I didn’t know was possible. I remain hopeful.

Regardless of the “issues” that I am having at school one thing remains constant, the people are still amazingly kind. The local “mad” boy accosted me while walking in town; he grabbed onto my arm and wouldn’t let go. In the states, most bystanders would have found amusement in my discomfort but here I had many Acholi come to my aid. They also apologized profusely for his behavior. When I get frustrated I remind myself of how amazing the people are. I also remind myself that this is a new country, less then 50 years old. Where was the United States 50 years after independence? I also remind myself that during those 50 years Idi Amin (Last King of Scotland) terrorized the people, Joseph Kony amongst others created rebel groups committing mass murder, and a man who is undeniably corrupt currently leads the government. Uganda and the Acholi are doing remarkably well considering the turbulent past and bleak future. I remain hopeful.

My freak-out from last week has dissipated and I am once again genuinely enjoying my experience but I have also accepted that before this experience comes to a close I will likely freak out again. However, the next time I will be better prepared.

Less than three weeks until I am home in San Diego… I am unsure how I feel about that.