What an amazing week this was! I have a ton to write, so I might have to finish this entry tomorrow.
Last weekend I visited Gulu with my friend Shanda. We had an amazing time with friends and were able to spend Saturday with Agnes and her newborn baby boy! Friday and Saturday night we sang songs and worshiped with some kids at my friends Ron and Joy's home and on Sunday the kids performed a song in front of the church. It was awesome!
I returned to my village early Monday morning and prepared for the performance at school. Monday, July 6th, was the day for St. Maria (whom my school is named after) so we celebrated with a church service and entertainment.
During the service, many children were baptized and the kids performed the songs we had practiced on guitar. The pastor and parents loved it!
The entertainment portion was rad! Along with performing the traditional dance, the kids recited poems about their school and performed really cute songs and dances.
After the celebration I attended a burial with the other teachers for an old man who died in the village. It was crazy! There were hundreds of people all seated on the ground around the house and everyone sang songs as he was being buried.
The rest of the week was filled with teaching and training for the soccer tournament I organized with a nearby school where another volunteer is working. I was fortunate enough to coach the boys (and even had some of the girls practice with us!) and we won the match 4-2! It was so fun!
Madame Christine, a fellow teacher and great friend, and I are both super competitive and were on our feet yelling and jumping throughout the entire match. The kids thought we were hilarious.
Saturday was my last day in the village, so Friday and Saturday were filled with hundreds of tears and also lots of singing and dancing the Maquarana, which became the kids favorite dance after I taught them during my first week. I have SO much more to write, but am out of time for today.
Tonight I am taking my friend Usher from the village, along with some other volunteers and their friends, to the Ryder Hotel to eat dinner and watch a traditional dance performance. It should be amazing.
I will try to write more tomorrow. Miss you all!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
week 3!
What an amazing week! I have, of course, fallen even more in love with Myangayanga and can't believe I only have 1.5 weeks left.
This week was super busy as we prepared for the celebration on Monday. Madame Christine and I held practice for the choir and dancers every day after morning lessons for about 5 hours. The kids have been working very hard and are sounding GREAT! I even learned the traditional dance! (and will show all of you when i get home)
Yesterday, Madame Mary and I took a huge group of kids to her garden to pick corn. Her husband, an awesome guy, donated the land to the school to grow maize for porridge. Getting to the garden was quite the adventure!
We made the journey through extremely thick bush with about 100 of the kids. She showed me her cabbage, sweet potatoes, sweet banannas, cassava, and maize. It was beautiful and very interesting to learn about agriculture in Uganda. I ran the entire 2 miles back laughing and joking with the kids, who if i slowed down would shout, "Madame you hurry! You chase us!"
I don't have much more time to write but I will tell you that I DROVE a boda-boda! I do not know if I have written anything about my friend Usher, but he is awesome and my closest friend in the village. Usher informed me that we could rent a boda-boda for 1 dollar to take me to the place where i catch a taxi to get into mukono town (where the guest house is located). Best dollar I've ever spent! Usher, an experienced boda driver, drove most of the way, but i drove for about 1km! It was a quite the thrill!
On a more serious note, I have been learning about the beliefs and customs of my village this past week. The majority of the population calls on witch doctors to cure diseases, place curses on people, or seek good fortune (one witch doctor lives a few yards behind my place, however I have never seen her).
My friends have told me countless stories of people being possesed by demonic spirits, and horrible curses placed on neighbors and enemies. I am so thankful that God has protected me from the evil that surrounds the village. Though i don't sleep well at night, I feel safe.
Please pray for the hearts of the people of the village and continue to pray for the school!
This week was super busy as we prepared for the celebration on Monday. Madame Christine and I held practice for the choir and dancers every day after morning lessons for about 5 hours. The kids have been working very hard and are sounding GREAT! I even learned the traditional dance! (and will show all of you when i get home)
Yesterday, Madame Mary and I took a huge group of kids to her garden to pick corn. Her husband, an awesome guy, donated the land to the school to grow maize for porridge. Getting to the garden was quite the adventure!
We made the journey through extremely thick bush with about 100 of the kids. She showed me her cabbage, sweet potatoes, sweet banannas, cassava, and maize. It was beautiful and very interesting to learn about agriculture in Uganda. I ran the entire 2 miles back laughing and joking with the kids, who if i slowed down would shout, "Madame you hurry! You chase us!"
I don't have much more time to write but I will tell you that I DROVE a boda-boda! I do not know if I have written anything about my friend Usher, but he is awesome and my closest friend in the village. Usher informed me that we could rent a boda-boda for 1 dollar to take me to the place where i catch a taxi to get into mukono town (where the guest house is located). Best dollar I've ever spent! Usher, an experienced boda driver, drove most of the way, but i drove for about 1km! It was a quite the thrill!
On a more serious note, I have been learning about the beliefs and customs of my village this past week. The majority of the population calls on witch doctors to cure diseases, place curses on people, or seek good fortune (one witch doctor lives a few yards behind my place, however I have never seen her).
My friends have told me countless stories of people being possesed by demonic spirits, and horrible curses placed on neighbors and enemies. I am so thankful that God has protected me from the evil that surrounds the village. Though i don't sleep well at night, I feel safe.
Please pray for the hearts of the people of the village and continue to pray for the school!
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