A Quick Round-Up Of Our First Few Days

Sunday was our first full day, and it began, as it always does at Namilyango College, with mass.  Two and a half hours of worship.  No making of the 'sign of peace', though; a wave suffices as a precaution against spreading disease. In the afternoon we visited a primary school to meet the children and play sports with them, teaching them to play 'team frisbee' with the frisbees we brought with us. It went down very well!

We saw a traditional dance and drumming accompaniment in the afternoon, and tried yam and cassava in the evening.  

Monday saw a very early start as the students experienced 'morning prep' for the first time.  This begins at 5.30am each day, so it meant a 4.30am wake-up (for the girls, at least).

The day began in earnest at 7.15am with 'morning parade' where we introduced ourselves and gave an address to the whole school.

The students went into lessons from 8.00am.  I had hoped to observe some myself, but some chalk was thrust into my hand, I was ushered in to a senior 2 class (Year 8/9 equivalent) of approximately 64 boys, and the door closed behind me.  I was teaching my first lesson in Uganda!  

At the end of the lesson, the students made 'flowers' with their hands by way of thanks, so it can't have gone too badly...

The afternoon was spent in primary schools doing some more sport leadership with the pupils.

The day finished with a walk into the local centre, and a tour of a farm to see the agriculture and livestock.  On the way home we stopped in one of the mud huts where the men were drinking 'ajen'. Students not allowed!

There has certainly been plenty to see and do on our first two full days.  More news to follow soon!

"Travelling Is Only Glamorous in Retrospect"

Well, my plan of keeping everyone up to date with our movements has failed miserably with only intermittent opportunities for wifi connection.  We are well in to our trip and have already enjoyed many adventures.

Our arrival was not as smooth as we might have hoped.  After a horrible four-hour trip to Heathrow where we rarely got above three miles an hour on the M25 and frantic phone calls were being made to ensure that we made the flight, tried to find alternative routes and liaised with the airport parking company, we eventually checked in with a whole minute to spare.  Once we had got our breath back, we were lucky enough to witness a beautiful sunrise over Ethiopia from 30,000 feet.

Unsurprisingly, since West Africa is in the grip of its worst Ebola epidemic for years, there was a disease control checkpoint in the airport terminal as we arrived for our stopover in Addis Ababa. Eleven of our number passed through without incident, but one student was evidently registering a slight temperature and was pulled aside. The removal of a few layers of clothing combined with some anxious gulps of water saw her through at the fourth attempt.  But I'll let Chloe tell her own story...

The flight onwards to Entebbe was only half full, and browsing the inflight magazine I noticed the quotation, 'Travelling is only glamorous in retrospect". 

It might almost have been prophetic, since after a warm welcome at the airport, this happened:

It meant three hours by the roadside 10km out of Kampala, whilst an assortment of Ugandans with varying degrees of mechanical expertise attempted to repair the leaking radiator in the borrowed school bus. It meant that our journey took twenty six hours in total, but the tiredness was offset by some roadside jackfruit and sightings of Maribou stork on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Rival Blog

One of our students has also created their own 'Weald in Uganda' blog:

Check out these links:

http://wealdtouganda.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/off-to-uganda.html

http://wealdtouganda.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/24-hours-on-clock.html

It Isn't A Holiday...

Two more students, Ciaran and Georgie, offer some of their thoughts prior to departure.  Just twenty four hours to go, now...

Ciaran:

At present I suppose you could say I'm slightly too relaxed about leaving my family for nine days, living a very different lifestyle and eating some "interesting" foods. But I guess I am extremely thrilled to be given the opportunity.

A couple of months back when this trip was first presented to me, I was a bit apprehensive to say the least. However with less than 24 hours till my great adventure begins, I'm glad I grabbed this opportunity and am prepared for whatever experiences Uganda throws at me!

Georgie:

When I first signed up to go on the Uganda trip, my initial feeling was just excitement. I was excited about it all: going on the plane, staying at the school, trying new food and meeting new people. Although I’m still just as exited as I was then, it’s only been in the last few days that my nerves have kicked in.

The trips has seemed quite surreal until now, one day before we go. It’s only just hit me what is actually going to happen on this trip. It isn’t a holiday- we’re going to be staying in a completely alien environment for nine days. I’m a little nervous that I’ll get ill, because of the threat of malaria and other diseases out there. I’m also nervous that I might accidentally offend someone, because their culture is a lot stricter and conservative compared to ours.

Although I am nervous, I’m mainly just exited and interested to see how their culture is different to mine. I think I’m going to really enjoy this trip- I can’t wait!

Thoughts Before Departure

How are the students feeling as they make their final preparations?

From Izzie:

Two days to go! I am currently filled with excitement mixed with trepidation for this eye-opening trip. Firstly, I am excited because I can’t wait to see the differences between Uganda and England and have an experience I may never have again in my lifetime. I can’t wait to see whether my preconceived ideas are correct. I am very interested to see their culture and views. However, there are parts of me that feels apprehensive. Mainly because of the food, but I’m willing to give it a try!

It seems unfeasible that I’m going to Uganda. This time last year I would never have believed it.


From Zoë:

At the moment I can’t decide if I am more nervous or excited about going; it just doesn't seem real right now as it has all ways seemed quite a long way off. My arm has been prodded and poked so many times from all of the jabs, my bag is almost packed and I started taking my malaria tablets this morning.

I’m not really sure what to expect to see out there, or what the food will be like or the lifestyle. I’m looking forward to the warmth over there compared to the cold October we have had so far as I really hate the cold.

From Jaida:

I'm not exactly sure how I'm feeling about going to Uganda. It's an amazing experience and one I'm sure I will enjoy; I just don't quite think it has hit me just yet that we are actually going. I am definitely looking forward to going back out to Africa after my trip this summer and I think it will be interesting to make a comparison. I think for me the best part of the trip will be meeting all of the boys, especially if we go to the primary school. Although childcare isn't something I would enjoy as a profession, I definitely enjoy spending time with kids. This trip will be amazing.

The Countdown Begins

It is now just forty-eight hours until our scheduled departure time from school.

My thoughts should be all about the horizon, but in fact I am in no small panic about how things are going to operate at home whilst I am away.  I am leaving my three children for the first 'extended' period of time.  They are 3, 5 and 7 years old and, with my husband working next week, it has been very complicated to organise childcare.  In fact, there is a colour-coded spreadsheet in triplicate explaining where they are and who is looking after them at all times. Now that is in place I can start to look forward again.

Lists have been made. Anti-malarials begin tomorrow. The bag is half-packed.

Deep breath.  The adventure begins in earnest on Friday...