do they have the sun in america?

wow ... i didn't realize it had been so long since my last update. the past couple weeks have been busy, busy. i'm now sitting in a much quieter house, save the crickets and bats outside. my texas housemates left a couple hours ago to head back to the lone star state. while i am more accustom to bachelorette living, i enjoyed having them here to live and work with my first few weeks in uganda. i'm glad i have my "quote book" to remember our time together. so, for the next few days, i have the place all to myself before the next batch of minis arrive. it's not much different than my home life in wilmington ... i eat most of my meals over the kitchen sink, i'm too tall for my bed, and i put the trash by the door until absolutely necessary to take it all the way out even though i pass by it's final destination all the time.

last sunday, i went into town with joann neal, one of the ROS here. she is well-traveled and knows all about good food. woman after my very own heart. she told me the places to eat while i am here in kampala. we had a great lunch and i loved hearing about her life and travels. she will be transferring to the rafiki village in ethiopia in march. i know she and her yummy desserts will be missed. the texans were gone on safari which was apparently quite boring. oh, unless you count this baboon jumping in the back of their van ...

this past monday started the 2009 rafiki school year. what wonderful chaos! there were a few frustrations -- mistaken identities, missing uniforms, power blips -- but with 179 students and 20-ish teachers bustling around, we did quite well. in the mornings, i "subbed" for nancy ballman, who arrived just the day before with her husband art to begin their new life as educators at rafiki. my mornings were language arts with P4 and P5 and my afternoons in computer/study hall with the same two classes. armed with nothing more than a plush frog, quick wit and lots of prayer, i somewhat reluctantly powered through to mold the minds of the youth of uganda. (lesson plan? curriculum? what are those?) P4 and P5 ... talk about two ends of the spectrum! P4 is comprised of all but four rafiki residents (including the two oldest anderson kids). elijiah, shira, brian and ritah are new to the school (and it's structure and pace and american accents). the "veterans" are so helpful with their new classmates. our discussions ranged from the use of pronouns to the new york subway system to my marital status to WWII. i'm going to love getting to know these kids. and teaching them completely useless slang.


P5 was a different story. even though they are a grade level higher, they are all new day students. the first couple days was me versus the deer-in-headlights look. i can't say that i blame them. the first day of school can be pretty overwhelming. add in lots of structure and movement and mzungu teachers. just giving simple instruction proved to be a challenge for them and me. it made it all worthwhile to eventually see their faces light up each morning and to hear "goodbye teacher lora!" as they made their way to the gate at the end of the day. i don't know how much wisdom i'll impart to those in my classes, but i hope they will learn love and laughter every once and awhile.

and, hopefully, when to turn the computer on and off.

this week, i'll begin my school schedule for the duration of my stay -- preschool in the mornings and continue with P4 and P5 computer/independent study. the education director has really been amazed that i will be here for the entire first term ... my computer classes are taking the place of a kswahili class that had to be postponed at the last minute. talk about sweet timing.