Ups & Downs

So, now I’m having a strange time warp of sorts: part of me feels like I’ve been here in Kampala for ages, and the other part of me feels daily, as though I’ve just arrived last night! But I’m already having trouble keeping all the days straight—thank goodness for this blog! Monday, Monday, what did I do that day?...let’s see….I began making a big brightly colored poster of the alphabet in the morning and in the afternoon I made bugs with P-3. They each got to make a small bug in groups of four—but with almost 60 kids in the class, that was still 15 bugs. That’s the problem really, with so many students in the school (well over 200), there is simply not enough individual attention or supplies to be doled out. I’m trying to conserve supplies so they last, but it is so hard when the children just reach out for one more crayon or one specific color, calling “Madam, please, madam!” The poster—it’s a large cloth hanging really—is meant to bring some color and decoration to the school.

I just moved into my permanent apartment (well, as permanent as any will be this year!) and I will be there into December. It’s in a very nice, quieter section to the east of the city center, called Bugolobi. We have a nice big kitchen, living room and veranda, and I have a nice room with a window, all-important mosquito net, and far too much closet space for the approximately 10 items of clothing that I brought with me. Where was this space when I needed it (NYC)!!! My roommate, Amy, is a Brit expat who moved to Kampala about a year and a half ago and just recently started her on travel agency. She is very lively and has been really sweet helping me get settled. So that’s an up, and here comes a down: I am a bit stuck on transportation. The walk from the new place is about an hour to the school (some of this is passing hairwhipping traffice a mere inches away mind you!) so I’m trying to assess my options between, bicycle (currently needs a repair), bodaboda-ing (safety in question), hitching rides with various people part of the way (this is what I’ve been resorting to the past few days), taking a change driving Amy’s friend’s car that is available for use (I don’t really trust myself), and walking, walking, walking (I’m getting quite good at this!). So there we have it. There is much to sort out still. I had finally gotten my routine down (sort of) after a couple weeks, and now I feel like I’m back to the proverbial drawing board. But such is life, and it always turns out to be a worthwhile experience.

And then of course it is made okay by the fact that this place is still so fascinating to me (not sure if that will ever really change) and there are so many bright spots for all the daily challenges. I was walking back up the hill from school on Tuesday, and a little boy from P-3, Richard, joined me as he was walking in the same direction. He explained to me the games they like to play in the schoolyard: football and a variation on dodgeball for which he didn’t seem to have a good translation. Then he said, quite out of the blue, “You know, my dream is to be a doctor. People in my country are sick and I would like to become a doctor so that I can help them.” Oh my, I had a huge lump in throught! Well, I asked, when did you decide this. “When my father got sick,” he said. “I want to study science and math, so that I can become a doctor.” Oh goodness, if only I could export him to the U.S. so that some students there could see the competition that they are up against! These children here have so little (Richard lives with his aunt and cousins after he left his village a few years ago and was taken into the school by the director) but they still have such an unshakeable spirit that is just awe-inspiring at times.