As per usual, Cosmas, my counterpart, has been MIA this term. Despite my countless calls and text messages about the library and my progress, he has refused to respond. I do not really need his help, but I thought he might like to know my work plan for this term. Last week, I was in Kampala for my mid-service medical check-up (I am a healthy girl!). After my 4-hour bus ride back home - sweaty, dirty and longing for a nice bucket bath - I arrived at Namengo Girls to find Cosmas waiting for me. Of course. He really does have stellar timing. Rather than unpack and bathe, I had to meet with him. He asked me to meet him, again, at Butove Primary the next day so we could give the school feedback on their resource room (over 2 months later!). He also wanted to go over my progress report. I was not thrilled about trekking 45 minutes to this school and I really wanted to work on the library. I figured, however, that I might as well go because who knows when I will have the chance to see him next.
I met Cosmas at Butove and we discussed “our” progress. Translation, I told him about my progress with the library and teaching life skills so that he could write it all down and take credit for it with his supervisor. Afterward, we met with the teachers to finally give them their evaluation of the resource room that we filled out back in April. While we were sitting in the resource room, a girl started yelling in another classroom. We could see a lot of commotion outside and a bunch of students were crowded around a classroom. I asked one of the teachers, “Is everything okay? What is going on?”
Teacher: “Oh yes. That girl does this a lot. She is possessed by demons.”
Me: “Possessed?”
Teacher: “Yes, you must pray for her. She is always disturbing us. She is possessed.”
I looked outside to see four girls carrying her out of the classroom. Two girls each had an arm and the other two each had a leg. It was one of the most absurd things I have seen, and it took everything I had in me not to laugh. It did not take long for me to figure out that she probably has some form of autism. I tried to explain this to the teachers, but they looked at me like I was crazy. Considering my knowledge of autism is pretty slim, I probably did not do the greatest job of explaining it either. I am not even sure if she was autistic, but I thought that is a better explanation that demon possession.
Dom: “Ok, he got big ears”
Sara: “Ok who u talkin about? Imma talk sense into Courtney. Gross”
Dom: “Yep he molded. No he blown. She iz 2 pretty for him duh.”
Sara: “Why are we writing on this book. Dats rude.”
Things like this make my day! I also get excited when I come across books like Goosebumps, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter, and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. There have also been books that look interesting for me to read. I am sure some books will be way to difficult for most of the students and my teachers to read, but at least I will be able to use them! Plus, if another Peace Corps Volunteer replaces me when I leave, then he or she will have a great selection of books.
Francis, my neighbor, has taken to only speaking to me in Lugwere. He has decided that I need to learn the language, finally. Unfortunately, I have forgotten pretty much everything except for the greetings and food. At first, I was just responding “kale” to everything he said. An appropriate response, which means, “okay.” Francis is no dummy though, and he quickly caught on. So the other day he asked me in Lugwere, “Do you want to go dig?” (Dig is the word they use for gardening.) I responded, “Kale.” He smiled, passed me a hoe, and said, “You just said you wanted to come dig!” Good one, Francis. Thankfully, I know how to say, “I don’t want” so I was quickly able to get out of yard work.
My cousin, Jane, is in Uganda for a World Health Project, which is great! We are meeting up in Jinja this weekend and we are going to go rafting. Yes, this is my fourth time rafting the Nile! The third time since I have been in country. I guess you can call me the Queen of the Nile. If I do not get shisto by the time I leave here, then it will be a miracle. (For those that do not know what schistosomiasis is, Google it. It is rampant in Uganda).
I met Cosmas at Butove and we discussed “our” progress. Translation, I told him about my progress with the library and teaching life skills so that he could write it all down and take credit for it with his supervisor. Afterward, we met with the teachers to finally give them their evaluation of the resource room that we filled out back in April. While we were sitting in the resource room, a girl started yelling in another classroom. We could see a lot of commotion outside and a bunch of students were crowded around a classroom. I asked one of the teachers, “Is everything okay? What is going on?”
Teacher: “Oh yes. That girl does this a lot. She is possessed by demons.”
Me: “Possessed?”
Teacher: “Yes, you must pray for her. She is always disturbing us. She is possessed.”
I looked outside to see four girls carrying her out of the classroom. Two girls each had an arm and the other two each had a leg. It was one of the most absurd things I have seen, and it took everything I had in me not to laugh. It did not take long for me to figure out that she probably has some form of autism. I tried to explain this to the teachers, but they looked at me like I was crazy. Considering my knowledge of autism is pretty slim, I probably did not do the greatest job of explaining it either. I am not even sure if she was autistic, but I thought that is a better explanation that demon possession.
I have been working in the library a lot these past few weeks. I am not really teaching this term because I want to get the library up and running as quickly as possible. I have logged 34 boxes so far, which turned out to be over 1,500 books. I have about 20 boxes left and I hope that I can finish them in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I saved the children’s books for last and those are the most tiresome to log. There are over 100 in a box and there are a lot of miscellaneous items that I just have to end up throwing out.
Logging books is a little monotonous – even when I’m jamming out to my iPod. The dull day, however, sometimes gets a little interesting when I come across a great book. With over 50 boxes, there are bound to be some treasures. Here have been some of my favorites:
Logging books is a little monotonous – even when I’m jamming out to my iPod. The dull day, however, sometimes gets a little interesting when I come across a great book. With over 50 boxes, there are bound to be some treasures. Here have been some of my favorites:
- Potty Time With Elmo: I am sure this book is great for potty training your kids in the US, but I do not see the value in Budaka. First of all, we do not even have toilets. The instructions to “sit” and “flush” do not translate well. Second of all, the book says to wipe with toilet paper, which is a novelty for my neighbors and students. Most of them use leaves or loose leaf paper. As you can see, I am sure this book will just be a form of either comedy or confusion.
- Super Grueso! Yo Pudeo Decir: Mi Dia: For those that cannot tell, a Spanish book. This is not the first Spanish book I have found either.
In addition, there have been a few books that have personal photographs, old homework assignments, and notes inside. They are pretty fun to look through. My favorite was a Psalm Book that had some notes being passed in it. Here was the conversation. I am only sure of one of the names, so I am just going to call the other girl Sara.
Sara: “Hey Dom! Yes they r’, just watch them. And if I look at Glenn imma laugh. You look at him”
Sara: “Hey Dom! Yes they r’, just watch them. And if I look at Glenn imma laugh. You look at him”
Dom: “Ok, he got big ears”
Sara: “Ok who u talkin about? Imma talk sense into Courtney. Gross”
Dom: “Yep he molded. No he blown. She iz 2 pretty for him duh.”
Sara: “Why are we writing on this book. Dats rude.”
Things like this make my day! I also get excited when I come across books like Goosebumps, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter, and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. There have also been books that look interesting for me to read. I am sure some books will be way to difficult for most of the students and my teachers to read, but at least I will be able to use them! Plus, if another Peace Corps Volunteer replaces me when I leave, then he or she will have a great selection of books.
Francis, my neighbor, has taken to only speaking to me in Lugwere. He has decided that I need to learn the language, finally. Unfortunately, I have forgotten pretty much everything except for the greetings and food. At first, I was just responding “kale” to everything he said. An appropriate response, which means, “okay.” Francis is no dummy though, and he quickly caught on. So the other day he asked me in Lugwere, “Do you want to go dig?” (Dig is the word they use for gardening.) I responded, “Kale.” He smiled, passed me a hoe, and said, “You just said you wanted to come dig!” Good one, Francis. Thankfully, I know how to say, “I don’t want” so I was quickly able to get out of yard work.
My cousin, Jane, is in Uganda for a World Health Project, which is great! We are meeting up in Jinja this weekend and we are going to go rafting. Yes, this is my fourth time rafting the Nile! The third time since I have been in country. I guess you can call me the Queen of the Nile. If I do not get shisto by the time I leave here, then it will be a miracle. (For those that do not know what schistosomiasis is, Google it. It is rampant in Uganda).
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