Orange is the new Charter

SO, after an immensely frustrating, weeklong battle with Orange (our African Internet provider), I have finally regained access! The fact that I can be on the web at all while I’m here is actually pretty incredible, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much. There’s just a bit more to be said now with another full week behind me.

Aside from the technical difficulties, my first week of lead teaching went swimmingly! All of my P2 students have finally reported and none have been chased, which is what happens if they don’t pay their school fees. Now that all of my students are accounted for, the biggest challenge I’ve run into has been helping students adjust to my unfamiliar teaching style. The kids here are extremely well behaved but at times have trouble authentically applying themselves to the material because they are so used to memorization and regurgitation. No doubt, this can at least partially be attributed to language acquisition, but nevertheless they have been working hard and are definitely making progress!

Here are a few snaps from the week!

Alfred, Dorica, and Godwin hard at work.

First homemade visual for the classroom

Story problems for days!

Rockin it out.

To celebrate the completion of our first lead week, we decided to take a daytrip to Fort Portal on Saturday. We’d only been once before on our way into Kasese but were eager to get back for their highly coveted “Italian” pizza.

Before we got around to lunch though, we were able to explore some caves close to town and take a hike in the neighboring mountains. 

One cave in particular led to this hidden gem...

and of course, we had to get our feet wet.

We also took a pit stop at a crater lake

and finally saw the famous Crested Crane! (Uganda's National Bird)

All-in-all, Africa has been fantastic so far! It's unbelievable that in only 40 days it will all have to come to an end, BUT until then we still have so much more to do and see; hopefully beginning with our long-awaited chicken slaughter. (Long story short, the chicken previously gifted to us escaped the compound and was caught pecking around in a neighboring field, which unfortunately meant that someone else killed him before we got the chance.)

Bukyayi for now!