After a short stint away from teaching, I finally got back on the horse, so to speak. Sometimes it felt like the holiday break had been going on forever. Not that I hated working at GBI, because I actually did enjoy using my admin gifts even if it sounds totally nerdy, but it is not where my passion lies.
For me, I love the look of excitement on a student's face when they are learning something new, when they really GET IT for the first time. I love being a part of that, even if it is the faces of teachers learning new ways of teaching a subject they had, for the most part, ignored in the past.
The latter of the two is what I got to experience this last week. I was the teacher of teachers. A friend had asked me a of couple weeks ago if I would come to the school he worked at to do a training on teaching reading. I was more than happy to do it.
There were about 25 teachers at the training from all levels, pre-school to 7th grade. Fortunately, it wasn't too big of a stretch to tell them that they could use most of the strategies I was teaching in any level, especially since kids are currently leaving primary school without basic reading skills. I got a lot of great feedback from the training, and I actually really enjoyed myself while doing it. One teacher was nodding at everything I said like it was the most genious thing anyone had ever told him, and then he came to ask more questions during the break and at the end(and I'm pretty sure it wasn't because he was looking for a mzungu wife!). I figure it's a good sign when teachers ask additional questions...it shows they were listening and want to know more.
Now, the kids will be returning on Monday for the second term of school. My time is running out quick, but I'm excited to work with them for at least a few more weeks and I'm hoping that the teachers will continue to use some of the reading strategies I've shown them.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Facing a Fear
I faced my fear today...it only took 10 months of living here to do it.
I was afraid to get my hair cut in Uganda. I've heard some bad stories...seen some bad pictures.
But, we went to a "nice place" and I was quite impressed. I like the cut...pretty much looks like it would if I had done it in the US, but for half the cost.
There's nothing much to fear hear...as long as you go to the right place :)
I was afraid to get my hair cut in Uganda. I've heard some bad stories...seen some bad pictures.
But, we went to a "nice place" and I was quite impressed. I like the cut...pretty much looks like it would if I had done it in the US, but for half the cost.
There's nothing much to fear hear...as long as you go to the right place :)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Girls' Weekend
Sometimes a girl just needs to get away from home for a few days with other girl friends and have a slumber party. That's exactly what I did this last weekend...
A friend of mine, Sydney, invited me along on this girls' weekend to Suubi, one of Watoto's orphanage villages (www.watoto.com). I had gone out there with Sydney one other time and met the headmistress of the primary school, Winnie, who invited us out for a girls' weekend the next time we came.
The weekend got off to a rough start trying to leave Kampala. With horrendous Friday-night-traffic and irritated police officers, there was one point that I really believed our weekend was going to end before it even got started. After talking sense back into the officer who took Sydney's license away, we were back on the road again!
The weekend didn't consist of anything particularly spectacular, but overall it was exactly what we were looking for! We stayed up late, watched numerous episodes of Flight of the Conchords, slept-in, and played games. On Saturday afternoon, Sydney and I walked down to Suubi 2, a new part of the Watoto village where teens from Gulu now live. We brought a volleyball with us and played with them most of the afternoon. These young adults from Gulu have extraordinary stories, former child soldiers and abductees now living in a place where they are accepted as God's children and learning how God can change the future of their lives.
We also attended the village church service on Sunday morning. It was a nice way to wrap up our time at Suubi...hearing about how we are not good on our own, but through Christ, who works in us, we become good.
A friend of mine, Sydney, invited me along on this girls' weekend to Suubi, one of Watoto's orphanage villages (www.watoto.com). I had gone out there with Sydney one other time and met the headmistress of the primary school, Winnie, who invited us out for a girls' weekend the next time we came.
The weekend got off to a rough start trying to leave Kampala. With horrendous Friday-night-traffic and irritated police officers, there was one point that I really believed our weekend was going to end before it even got started. After talking sense back into the officer who took Sydney's license away, we were back on the road again!
The weekend didn't consist of anything particularly spectacular, but overall it was exactly what we were looking for! We stayed up late, watched numerous episodes of Flight of the Conchords, slept-in, and played games. On Saturday afternoon, Sydney and I walked down to Suubi 2, a new part of the Watoto village where teens from Gulu now live. We brought a volleyball with us and played with them most of the afternoon. These young adults from Gulu have extraordinary stories, former child soldiers and abductees now living in a place where they are accepted as God's children and learning how God can change the future of their lives.
We also attended the village church service on Sunday morning. It was a nice way to wrap up our time at Suubi...hearing about how we are not good on our own, but through Christ, who works in us, we become good.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Chess Anyone?
Every few days I walk over to the primary school to check in and to make sure they don't forget I'm still around (since I've been working over at the Bible Institute the last 2 1/2 weeks). Today, I found three of the guy teachers huddled around one of the new computers.
"Beth! Oh Good! You came at the perfect time!"
Huh? This was not the quiet, yet respectful, greeting I typically received when arriving.
Well, the guys had discovered Chess on the new computer and had no idea how to really play. They were just clicking on pieces and making moves blindly...and thus, kept losing.
"Do you know how to play?"
"Sure."
So, with my limited expertise, I spent a few minutes going over the moves each piece can make, some strategies, the goal of the game, etc. We played a "practice game" while I was there, and they started to catch on, a little, but I could definitely see the wonder growing in their eyes. It's that look kids get when they get a new video game and end up playing for hours...mouth open, eyes wide. I imagine those guys may still be there 8 hours later playing away! I think I successfully managed to give the teachers an excuse not to get any work done this week as they become more and more addicted to the wonders of computer games.
"Beth! Oh Good! You came at the perfect time!"
Huh? This was not the quiet, yet respectful, greeting I typically received when arriving.
Well, the guys had discovered Chess on the new computer and had no idea how to really play. They were just clicking on pieces and making moves blindly...and thus, kept losing.
"Do you know how to play?"
"Sure."
So, with my limited expertise, I spent a few minutes going over the moves each piece can make, some strategies, the goal of the game, etc. We played a "practice game" while I was there, and they started to catch on, a little, but I could definitely see the wonder growing in their eyes. It's that look kids get when they get a new video game and end up playing for hours...mouth open, eyes wide. I imagine those guys may still be there 8 hours later playing away! I think I successfully managed to give the teachers an excuse not to get any work done this week as they become more and more addicted to the wonders of computer games.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Didi's World
Uganda has an amusement park...yep, an amusement park, and it happens to be just down the street from where I live. So, why not take a trip down to Didi's World on a nice Saturday afternoon?
We pulled in to an empty lot...ah, the first ones here! We paid the Sh5,000 ($2.50) entrance fee and walked into the eerily quiet amusement park.
Nothing was working yet and it was already after 10am, so Kadin and Noah killed some time on the playground. What we soon found out was that we just needed to go get on a ride and wait for one of the workers to come over and turn it on for us. The ride was over when the boys were bored and wanted off. Here's the boys on their first ride...the Orient Express.
Most of the rides were county fair type rides for little kids, but there were a few that they let the adults on: teacups (which the conductor hand-spun as you passed by him), bumper cars (with only 4 them working), and the pirate ship (which made weird creaking noises and safety bars that didn't lock). I tried to get on the motorcycle ride, but they kicked me off before they actually got started.
Half the rides weren't working and the other half looked like they had seen better days, but it was a fun way to kill some hours on a Saturday afternoon. There was even an arcade, which cost Sh1,000 per game, so we just sat and pretended to ride those (we weren't going to pay the Sh1,000 per game on the principle that we only paid Sh5,000 for unlimited rides on everything else).
We pulled in to an empty lot...ah, the first ones here! We paid the Sh5,000 ($2.50) entrance fee and walked into the eerily quiet amusement park.
Nothing was working yet and it was already after 10am, so Kadin and Noah killed some time on the playground. What we soon found out was that we just needed to go get on a ride and wait for one of the workers to come over and turn it on for us. The ride was over when the boys were bored and wanted off. Here's the boys on their first ride...the Orient Express.
Most of the rides were county fair type rides for little kids, but there were a few that they let the adults on: teacups (which the conductor hand-spun as you passed by him), bumper cars (with only 4 them working), and the pirate ship (which made weird creaking noises and safety bars that didn't lock). I tried to get on the motorcycle ride, but they kicked me off before they actually got started.
Half the rides weren't working and the other half looked like they had seen better days, but it was a fun way to kill some hours on a Saturday afternoon. There was even an arcade, which cost Sh1,000 per game, so we just sat and pretended to ride those (we weren't going to pay the Sh1,000 per game on the principle that we only paid Sh5,000 for unlimited rides on everything else).
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