This week was so stereotypical of the good, the bad, and the
ugly that is life as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
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| My competing pupils and super helpful teachers at the Lusoga Spelling Bee. |
My teachers now know how to make a cake!
I gave a lesson to them introducing measuring units/items,
wet and dry ingredients, and what a Dutch oven is. After their “vocabulary”
assessment, we did a demonstration by making a yellow cake. I also put up recipes
of other food stuffs I’ve baked them this year. I don’t think they’ve ever paid
so much attention or took such vigorous notes as that time. It was a lot of
fun!
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| Lydia reading the recipe and adding and measuring ingredients |
Now time to get very real with you.
The day I had actually planned for this “workshop” to
happen, I was bringing the stuff to school when I passed the P7 classroom. (P7
is the last grade for Primary School and since it’s coming to the end of the
school year, they have been working very hard from early morning to late at
night (7am-9pm) studying so they can pass their Primary Leaving Exams which
determine if they can be promoted into Secondary School.) So while I was
walking, I heard the too familiar *whacking* sound of a stick hitting a child. Turns
out the entire class of 97 pupils was lined up for beatings. When I asked why,
they only gave me the response that they had refused to do a test. *smack smack
smack* I went into the staff room where my teachers were waiting for my lesson
to tell them I could not make a cake while children were being beaten a few
doors down. So I went home, furious and upset with my staff, until I calmed
down to talk to them later.
It’s like this.
I understand that’s all they know and that’s what they’re
used to doing. But I have been here for almost a year and there was a volunteer
before me here. I have had talks directly with these teachers before about this
subject even. Sometimes Peace Corps feels like such a waste of time and that
you might as well be talking to a wall. You ask yourself questions like “Why am
I here?” “What have I even accomplished in the last two years?” I can tell you
that day I was so ready to be done with this place. The feeling only grew when
I had to go to town the next day and my taxi took a very long detour for no
reason and the boda (motorcycle) guys were harassing me more than usual.
Today was an interesting combination of frustration and
fulfillment.
I have been organizing a Local Language Spelling Bee for
schools in my Basoga region for some time now. During Term 1, I walked around
to many schools in my area and reached out to local leaders for supports to
inform more schools about it. During Term 2, I called in the 20 schools I’d
received applications from for a training on how to conduct on with their
pupils. 13 of them showed up.
Today, I held the competition inviting those 13 schools.
Only 10 of them showed up. Yes, this was a bit of a letdown
and it didn’t help that the sound system people I’d hired showed up 2 ½ hours
late. Frustrations rose when teachers started to complain about unfair
advantages of other schools and also becoming mad that their pupils were “out”
after misspelling a word, even though the rules were very clearly explained by
a Ugandan in local language.
But I consider the event a success.
Everyone got to enjoy a very nice tea break, coloring books,
singing songs, dancing to music, eating a big lunch, and getting a prize and
certificate. The judges I had invited worked together very well to compile the
words into organized lists, my MC was energetic and kept the attention, and my
speakers actually gave short and concise speeches. As everyone was leaving,
spirits had risen, pupils were smiling, and teachers were actually thanking me
for the good initiative. Hopefully everyone got a little more appreciation for
their culture and language out of this.
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| The competition underway! |
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| One of the prizes was a book I made in English, translated into Lusoga, and illustrated by pupils. |
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| Everyone also got their own certificate and some sweets. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place got a backpack full of games, colors, and books in addition to this. |
I write this post not to sound bitter, but to give a more
clear insight into what working here is like beyond the romanticized idea of
living in Africa. I really love Uganda and I am so happy to have been placed
here, but sometimes it really sucks. What keeps me going is that even in the
worst of times here, I can always find a good outcome and know that it will
always be worth it in the end. Now that I only have 2 months left until I “gong
out” as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I’m even starting to appreciate these bad
moments because they are what have really shaped me into the person I am today.
When I’m home with my family at Christmas in 10 weeks, I think that even the
bad memories will turn into good ones and I’ll tell them with a smile because
they are what makes this place I’ve lived the last 2 years, home.
