Muzungu Byebye

Well whenever the weather feed on this blog says light showers it is actually beautiful, and at no time yet have I experience a continuous rainfall. Every day I walk to school in the beautiful weather, sticking out like sore thumb of course, and the children yell as try to dodge a boda that is fly right at me, "Muzungu Byebye." I know Muzungu is the word for white person yet I dont think it is as bad as gringo, but I don't know what the byebye is all about.
I picked up quite a few more classes. Now I have eleven a week, but I most look forward to classes at Holy Cross primary. The P.6 class there treats me like a celebrity yet they pay attention, and learn much easier than the St. Andrew's P.6. class.
The kids that come out every night to play football are starting to pick up the game. They are catching the ball and running toward the endzone, and they no longer throw the ball when a defender get close to them.
It is the weekend, and I think I will get some good reading in, and then I will tune in on CSTV for the ND game.

Muslim Funeral

I was supposed to teach in Holy Cross primary today, but classes were cancelled. Instead many students and teachers were attending the funeral of a girl in P.6 who died yesterday from an asthma attack in which she could not get proper help quickly enough. I will be teaching P.6 tomorrow, so I went to the burial with Father Pascal and Jimmy, an ND grad who is also a teacher at Holy Cross. Despite going to a Catholic primary school the little girl's family is Muslim so they had a traditional Muslim funeral. They burried the girl behind her house and said a bunch of stuff in Lusoga that I could not understand. I did not witness it, but apparently they burried the girl naked according to their traditions, but they kept her hidden from view the entire time. Once she was placed in her grave all the men took a turn to shovel dirt in while the women stayed behind.
After that it was about time to go to my evening class at St. Andrew's which went quite well.
I am working on posting pictures, but this computer seems to slow to download them.

-Andrew

First Day of Class

Well I went to my first class today, and it went quite well for the first hour. Then, the teacher who was supposed to teach english the next class did not show up, so the headmaster told me to continue teaching, but I had not lesson planned for two hours of class. All in all I broke even. One hour of progress and the next hour to confuse the hell out of them and bring them down to where they were when I enterred the classroom. I then ate lunch which was mashed plantain type bananas that we ate with our hands.
After a boda ride back I walked over to Holy Cross primary to lesson plan for one of the three other classes I picked up (P.5 Algebra). I also expect to be teaching a computers course at St. Andrew's.
I just got back from a backyard football game. I was steady Q, as the Holy Cross students ran around trying to catch the ball.

Saint Andrew's

Today I woke up at 2:30AM, and could not fall back asleep. I hope this does not continue, but on the positive side I was awake when it was time to go to St. Andrew's Primary School which has a beautiful view over-looking Lake Victoria. Father Pascal had arranged for me to speak to the headmaster to talk about what I could teach for them. Luckily Father Pascal wanted to come along and show me around so I rode in the car with him, and was spared the two mile walk in the terribly intense sun. I got there and was showed around the property. The boys dormitory was in the beginning of what looked like would be an overly drawn-out construction phase so the sixty or so boys that are boarding live in a class room with mini triple bunks from wall-to-wall with no space in between, and a boy that may have been too old for primary school would literally have grown out of it. The girls dormitory was constructed and under marginally better conditions than the boy's sleeping quarters. In the girls dormitory there was a little girl who looked to be about eight years old and was suffering from malaria. She was not a boarding student, but she was the only one in the dormitory when I walked up. She was completely comatose, was burning up, and was nearly nonresponsive. The house mother said she had come from her home the past two days and just lied in the bed. I would bet anything that the dilapidated dormitory was a hundred percent better than what she had to live in.
When walking back from St. Andrew's after meeting and lesson planning for tomorrow's P.6. math class, I was easily persuaded under the blistering sun to hop on a modern boda boda, which is a motor bike that you hop on the back of, a traditional boda boda being without a motor. So far from what I have seen the capacity is about five.
I get thrown into the fire tomorrow, and I hope I don't return with amusing stories of me bombing, but if there are such stories I will be sure to post them.

-Andrew

Storks in Trees

As you can see from the title there are storks in the trees out here. It is very beautiful here, yet I can not show you as of now b/c I forgot the cord to put my pictures on the computer, but I think one of the ND grads has one I can borrow. The past few days have been great. I have not done much, but I have relaxed and read. One thing I am very pleased about is that we have some football enthusiasts here, and they enjoy throwing the pig skin. There also some kids in the school next the house that want to learn to throw and play. So now I have have discovered my mission, it is to bring American football to Africa.
Along with my main mission, it looks like I will be teaching math and science at St. Andrew's primary school. I find out more tomorrow when I go there for the first time.
I went to the English mass this morning, but I might as well have gone to the Lusoga mass because I could not understand a word that the African priest, Father Pascal, was saying. Everything is going great, and I am really enjoying reading my book "Bringing Down the House." The food will take some getting used to, but I will discuss that later.
Go Irish!
Beat anyone!

-Andrew

Arrival!

I arrived at about 8:15 last night, and walked off the plane and couldn't stop smiling. It was a little outrageous walking out into the heart of Africa where I would be living for the next 80 days. I walked out and was greeted by Mathew, an ND grad, and Ciprian, an African deacon who I am living with at the Moreau House in Bugemebe. The following three hour drive from the airport to our house was definately the scariest of my life accompanied by a soundtrack of Britney Spears and Jojo. The road was pretty much just a free-for-all. We got in late and I fell dead asleep until lunch-time today. The house is actually very nice and I am very pleased with my room. Along with Ciprian, the others who live in the house are Father Serrapio and Father Pascal, and others join during meal times.
I recently found out that I am seven hours ahead of EST. I also just got my cell phone working. I will figure out what one would need to dial to reach me from the US, and post it later today along with some pictures.
-Andrew

I am very tired

Tonight I probably won't have any trouble getting sleep, and this is evidence to me that this whole Africa thing has not really sunk in. That realization will come in time, but as of now I am just thinking about not being in my comfortable bed and the comfort of my home where everything is so easy, and life is good.
This is quite wierd doing something so unbelievably different. I do NOT know what to expect, and as things come along I will definately post them, but right now I just feel like sleeping.
My flight leaves at 4:40 PM tomorrow and I fly to Amsterdam (8hrs) where I have a five hour lay-over, then I procede to Entebbe, Uganda (another 8 hr flight). I'm not sure what the time difference is, but when I care to do the math I'll let you all know.
I am getting a cell phone once I get there, and I will post the number, and I will keep in touch. I will miss you all!!

All my Love
~Andrew