Uganda Week 1!

Friends,

Sorry it has taken me so long to update you. I have been busy, busy, busy. Uganda is great! The weather here is very similar to Florida. Maybe a little cooler than Florida and definitely less humid. The late afternoons/early evenings cool off and are a little breezy. Uganda grows a lot of crops that we have in the US, particularly in Florida. I eat bananas with pretty much every meal. Rice, potatoes, avocadoes, pineapples, watermelon, and corn show up at the table pretty regularly. Everyone I have met has been so welcoming and nice. The people at the parish have welcomed me into their family. Father Joe (our supervisor) is really kind. The parish has 2 other priests (Father Bonny and Father Joseph) as well as a seminarian student in residence (Jude). Father Bonny, Father Joseph, and Jude are young men in their 20s-early 30s. They are my friends and they are helping Tabitha and I to adjust to Uganda. They are teaching us Luganda (the native language) as well as helping us with whatever we need. The parish also has nuns here - the nuns are really great as well. The nuns that teach at the primary school have invited us over for tea every morning. We go visit the nuns to get some time with other women. The rest of our meals we take with the priests at the parish house so it is nice to have variety. In a nutshell, this has been my first week in a nutshell:

Sunday, May 23rd - Left Orlando for London-Gatwick. Flight was great. Plane food was good. Watched 2 movies on the plane and slept 2 hours.

Monday, May 24th - Arrived at London-Gatwick. Took a shuttle from London-Gatwick to London-Heathrow. I put my luggage in storage and then I took the train and the tube (London subway) into London town. I walked around London and saw Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, some big Methodist building, the Thames River, and the London Eye. I took a lot of pictures and soaked in the sun. Took the tube and train back to Heathrow. My flight to Nairobi was delayed over 2 hours. Waited a while in the airport. Finally left London for Nairobi, Kenya.

Tuesday, May 25th - Arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. The delay caused us to arrive late in Nairobi so I missed my flight to Entebbe, Uganda. The airline got me on the next flight to Entebbe, but I had to wait all day in the Nairobi airport. The airline also gave me a free lunch so that is nice. I was so tired. I finally left late afternoon and arrived in Entebbe at 7pm. I made it through customs alright and picked up my luggage. Everything made it to Uganda! Father Joe picked me up at the airport and we went to eat dinner. We drove to the parish.

Wednesday, May 26th - Father Joe told me that my job today was to rest. I calculated that since I woke up on Sunday morning, I have been awake for around 48 hours and have only slept about 6 hours since Sunday. I woke up to eat breakfast, then went back to sleep. Woke up to eat lunch, went back to sleep. Father Joe and I went back to Entebbe to pick Tabitha up from the airport. She arrived here safe and sound with all of her luggage too.

Thursday, May 27th - I have spent the day touring the parish and the 2 schools. We saw the parish, the cathedral, the bishop's area, the primary school, and the secondary school. The parish is a compound. Everything but the secondary school is all together on one area of land that is fenced in with a big fence/gate. The property is beautiful. When you see the parish you almost forget that it is Uganda. It looks like property in Florida. Outside the parish gates, you see you are in Uganda. The soil is clay so the roads and buildings are coated with a fine layer of red dust. The secondary school is down the road, about a 10 minute walk from the parish. When we walk to the secondary school, we pass shop buildings, fields, and people's homes. You cannot avoid the poverty that exists around us. Despite the poverty, the people are so joyful. The small children shout "Bye Muzungu!" That means "Bye, white person." I stick out a little bit here. We met with the headmistresses at both schools and found out when we will be teaching and what subjects we will be teaching.

Friday, May 28th - We spent the day resting and preparing for our classes next week.

Saturday, May 29th - Went to early morning mass at 7am. Went to the bank to change some money and visited high school students. Rested some more.

Sunday, May 30th - Attended 3 mass services. 7am English service, 9am Luganda service, and 3pm Healing Service in Luganda. By the time the Healing Service was over, it was time for dinner and bed. Had a great dinner with Tabitha and the priests. We all get along really well together and laugh A LOT!

Monday, May 31st - 1st Day of School for the American Teachers. We missed our first PE class because the Bishop wanted to meet us. When the Bishop calls, you answer. Returned to the primary school for my first Religious Education class with the P4 class (think 4th graders, but the students are all different ages). I wanted to see what the students knew so I asked them questions about different biblical characters. I taught them about Pentecost and the birth of the church. The primary teachers were in a meeting so I stayed with my class from 11am-1pm. I was hoarse from all of the talking. Imagine that! In the afternoon, Tabitha and I went to the secondary school. The Headmistress gave us our schedule and her ideas for what we would teach the students. She wants us to teach Religous Education, but she wants us to do so in a way that conveys our faith and love of God to the students. She wants her students to know that God loves them. We will do our best and God will do the rest. She also wants her students to practice their English so we will have the students memorize and recite scripture. We only went to the Senior 1 class today. The students (think High School freshmen) were so well behaved and polite. They are smart, too. I am really looking forward to working with them.

Tuesday, June 1st - 2nd Day of Class! Went to morning mass at one of the convents for nuns. The nuns had us stay for breakfast. They are so nice. Taught PE with the P1 and P2 students (think over 100 kindergarten and 1st grade students). It was fun, but a little crazy and overwhelming. Went to the secondary school in the afternoon to teach the Senior 1 and Senior 2 classes. They were good, again. In all, it was a good day.

Wednesday, June 2nd - 3rd Day of Class! Taught PE again. The Headmistress has decided to split up the P1 and P2 instead of combining them for PE. That is good. When they are together it is just too many students to interact with them all. Did some lesson planning and taught at the secondary school in the afternoon. After school and before dinner, the primary school students who board at the parish saw me. They invited me to play with them. So I ended up running and chasing after kids for about an hour. A great way to end the day!

Thursday, June 3rd - Uganda Martyrs Day! No School because it is a national holiday. Father Joe took Tabitha and I to Namagongo, the site of some of the martyrs' deaths back in the 1860s. Every year, the Catholics recognize the deaths of these martyrs with a huge mass. Thousands of people gather together to worship and remember these courageous people. Even the President of Uganda and the First Lady made an appearance. We woke up at 5am to go to Namagongo. I sat on a wooden bench from 8am to 3pm. Now I am tired. So I think I will go to bed. Uganda is 7 hours ahead of EST. So at 10pm here, it is 3pm Florida time. Crazy!

I love you all! And look forward to hearing all about what you have been up to. I think of you all and hold you in my thoughts and prayers.

Love from Uganda,
Emily