Hey everyone!
Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I had stayed in the village two weekends ago and it didn't work out for me to come back last weekend so it ended up that I've spent the last three weeks in the village but it has been great. The teaching continues to be an amazing experience and the kids are so wonderful. They are a lot of fun and I will have a bunch of photos to share when I get home.
The last three weeks have also been more challenging as far as struggling to see where the money goes in the organization and not really feeling like I'm able to trust the people who started the foundation. The government here in Uganda has a lot of curruption and so it's easy to see how it could be modeled pretty easliy by an NGO. I have realized that its not uncommon for whats happening in my situation to happen in a lot of NGO's in Uganda. They don't see it as corruption. They see it as normal and how things are done. So I'll have a more in depth blog about all my experiences when I am home and able to process everything.
Sorry this is so short but I don't have a lot of time. I am looking forward to sharing picutres and stories with all of you when I return home and will have a much longer blog about the last three weeks and what I was up to.
I have three more days here in Uganda after which I will be heading back to Minnesota. Today, Sunday, I am in Jinja visiting the town and seeing some sights and tomorrow I will be heading back to Katebo until Wednesday. My flight leaves Wednesday night at 10:20pm from Entebbe airport and I will be flying to Amsterdam for a 7 hour layover. The second flight will take me to Toronto where I will have a short two hour layover and I will arrive in Minnesota at 8:07pm on Thursday July 31st.
I'm hoping to find a Starbucks at the Amsterdam airport and enjoy an Iced Passion Tea Lemonade. I'm not a hardcore Starbucks drinker but t's the one thing I've decided that I've missed the most about summer, as far as summer food, and it's going to be a a great treat.
I hope you are all doing well and I'm super excited to be heading home! Look for another update in about a week or so and I will have pictures to share as well!
Lots of love,
Lea
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Hey everyone!
I just wanted to give you a quick update while I am able. This weekend I am in Kampala with Gina and Vickey and the 11 volunteers from Australia. It's been really fun having that many volunteers around in the village and I know the children are loving it. Tomorrow Vicky and I are going to make a trip out to Jinja, which is about an hour and a half north of Kampala (don't worry, it's just as safe to be in Jinja as it is to be in Kampala). We are going to be going White Water Rafting on the River Nile, so we are both super excited and looking forward to that. I'm sure it will be a fun story to share when we return.
Teaching has been going great. I've definitely fallen into a groove and really gotten comfortable around the children and other staff. It's been so much fun getting to know some of the other teachers and children. It's a lot of fun to joke around with the kids in class and really start to have relationships with them. It's also been challenging to really be the best teacher I can be to these kids while I am here. I am teaching mostly math and a few English classes and I've started to plan my lessons the night before so I feel prepared. It's helped a lot to have Vicky here since she has her Masters in Special Education. She has really been a great help to me as far as ideas and showing me how to lesson plan. My P4 math class has been really struggling with addition of fractions with different denominators and it's been really encouraging to see how they have progressed and how I've come with different ways to get the process across to them. As much fun as it is, there are definitely moments when I feel over my head, but I'm not surprised considering that I am in over my head. It's a good thing though and I'm learning a lot.
This next weekend Vicky and I are planning on staying in the village. I have been wanting to stay and hang out with the kids on Saturday and it will be Vicky's last weekend. So next weekend I'll be living the "rough" life with no electricity and a bucket of water for a shower :) It's crazy how many things I take for granted and how easy people live their lives here without any of the things I would consider necessary. So with that all said, you probably won't here from me for a few weeks but don't be alarmed. I have not joined a tribe to been eaten by a gorilla.
Love always,
Lea
I just wanted to give you a quick update while I am able. This weekend I am in Kampala with Gina and Vickey and the 11 volunteers from Australia. It's been really fun having that many volunteers around in the village and I know the children are loving it. Tomorrow Vicky and I are going to make a trip out to Jinja, which is about an hour and a half north of Kampala (don't worry, it's just as safe to be in Jinja as it is to be in Kampala). We are going to be going White Water Rafting on the River Nile, so we are both super excited and looking forward to that. I'm sure it will be a fun story to share when we return.
Teaching has been going great. I've definitely fallen into a groove and really gotten comfortable around the children and other staff. It's been so much fun getting to know some of the other teachers and children. It's a lot of fun to joke around with the kids in class and really start to have relationships with them. It's also been challenging to really be the best teacher I can be to these kids while I am here. I am teaching mostly math and a few English classes and I've started to plan my lessons the night before so I feel prepared. It's helped a lot to have Vicky here since she has her Masters in Special Education. She has really been a great help to me as far as ideas and showing me how to lesson plan. My P4 math class has been really struggling with addition of fractions with different denominators and it's been really encouraging to see how they have progressed and how I've come with different ways to get the process across to them. As much fun as it is, there are definitely moments when I feel over my head, but I'm not surprised considering that I am in over my head. It's a good thing though and I'm learning a lot.
This next weekend Vicky and I are planning on staying in the village. I have been wanting to stay and hang out with the kids on Saturday and it will be Vicky's last weekend. So next weekend I'll be living the "rough" life with no electricity and a bucket of water for a shower :) It's crazy how many things I take for granted and how easy people live their lives here without any of the things I would consider necessary. So with that all said, you probably won't here from me for a few weeks but don't be alarmed. I have not joined a tribe to been eaten by a gorilla.
Love always,
Lea
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