Day at Kiteyagwa

July 25th, 2011

Habari za asubuhi! (Good morning)

We had our first close up encounter with the city and school yesterday.  After running some errands around town and stopping at the internet café we headed off to meet Dr. Anatory Amani. He was meeting with a political council when we arrived but it was important that we stop by and let him know we were in town. He was still very proud of the time he had in Minnesota and even had the news clipping of his visit to Waconia laminated.  We are planning to have dinner with him later in the week.  

Justina, the principal of the Kiteyagwa primary school in Bukoba, brought us to visit and spend some time with the teachers. We will be working with students later on in the week but this first welcome to their school was very touching.  Justina traveled with the Imuka singers the past few months and this was her first time back to the school since the the singers returned. Students were so excited to see her that they mobbed her with hugs as soon as she got out of the van.  

The teachers and students put on an amazing welcome parade. The traditional school uniforms are navy and white but the students in the parade had made hats from banana leaves and red shirts that they wore special.  They saluted and sang Karibu sana, which means “very welcome”.   Some of the higher level female students sang a poem for us about how they were happy for us to come and spoke of their principal Justina as an angel (We will work on one for you Mr. Gustafson!!).  Justina spoke to the students about her time in the United States and how schools are different from what they are accustom but was very passionate about the fact that their learning and education was the key to them bettering their lives.  She used Smart as an example of how he is in America but also in Bukoba helping raise money for their school.

Students sitting outside for the program

Welcome parade

Watching the parade

Girls reciting their poem

The reception was held in the yard of the school and after we finished teachers got students working on things in the classroom while we got a tour by Justina and Felician, the assistant principal.

Kiteyagwa School

Edison, Felician, Smart and Justina

The students are excited to learn English and it was so funny to see similarities with the students in Waconia.  There are the quieter students who do well as the clowns, eager to get in front of the camera and funny enough placed toward the front of the class. I will be spending more days in the Kiteyagwa school and be sure to fill in more details but I will point out that she number of students per level (class) is usually in the nineties with 2-4 students sharing a desk.  

Teachers sat down with us and told about the education system as well and some of the needs for their classes. I was amazed that although food was something that many students lack at home- it was not something the teachers/school thought it was important to supply. They are so focused on education that things like food should be taken care of in the home.

After visiting the school, Smart took us to lunch with Justina and Edison (our resident comic and camera man). We stopped at a place called Kitimoto- Kibeta  or “Hot Seat”.  Our hosts raved about the pork served here and I was quite amazing. We sat outside again but this time we got to eat with our hands (my roommate Kristi wouldn’t make it at this restaurant).   Our meal was prepared in a room across the parking area and I’m pretty sure I watched the chef chop our dinner off from the slabs of meat hanging in the screen.  A server came around with a pitcher of water and bowl with soap. Following our hosts, we washed our hands in the water (not hot and no towels to dry) before digging into pork, grilled plantains and ugali (a corn yeast dough that you dip into a tomato sauce). Not having napkins was uncomfortable at first but at the end of the meal the server came around again with the wash basin.

Kitimoto- Kibeta

cooking outside

Anna, Mary, Hope, Edison, Smart and Justina

eating with our hands

Our fantastic day concluded with a trip to Lake Victoria and grocery shopping at “Cub foods” as Smart calls it- also known as the local market.  I hope to take pictures of the market at a later date but didn’t want to draw more attention to ourselves since our presence alone was causing the prices for our hosts to rise. 

Swahili words important to navigate the market-
     Samahani (excuse me or sorry)
     Hapana (no)
     Bei gani (how much is this?)
     Nataka kuona daktari (please give me a better price)

A special shout out to Bibi and Babu (translated grandfather and grandmother- for Ron and Elaine Larson). We saw the water system that your church provided for the Kiteyagwa school.  You are spoken of as family by the people here.

Today we are off to some of the other school COSAD supports as well as a dinner with the Imuka singers.  

Until next time~
Erika

Safe in Bukoba

July 24, 2011

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” Henry Miller

It has been a busy several days but we have all arrived safely in Bukoba.

It was a very long trip by plane and having Smart with us to navigate the Entebbe customs system was very helpful. Our driver, Geofrey, took us to our hotel an we ended up spending the night in Kampala, Uganda. There have been several fun lessons I have learned in the journey from Kampala to Bukoba.

First- Smart knows EVERYONE in Africa- or at least it feels that way. From the airport security and customs workers, hotel concierge to the restaurant server, and especially the officials crossing the border from Uganda to Tanzania, Smart was familiar with all of them. Everyone is excited to have him back in Africa.

Second- Jet lag and Ugandan stairs do not work well. Steps at the hotel in Kampala come in all shapes and sizes. It takes much concentration and focus to walk up or down them without falling.

Third- Riding as a passenger with Geofrey through the streets of Uganda and Tanzania is more of an adrenaline rush then sky diving. Not that I have any personal experience with sky diving but I will admit to closing my eyes and putting my head back on MANY occasions. Whey they harness and suction cup you into the balloon ride at Valleyfair- we had our adventure without any seatbelts. After the initial shock wore off, we all became fascinated with our driver’s ability to navigate the roads with such ease and confidence. Cars, trucks, pedestrians, bikes and motorcycles all share and average road where there are not road signs, stop lights or even markings to show lanes. If your car fits and you have more bravery then the other drivers then you have the right of way.


Mary, Anna, Geofrey and Erika

Because of the close proximity to others on the road, it was a lot of fun to people watch. Africa is amazing!! It is everything you see in pictures and movies yet overwhelming to see it all around you in person. The people have been very welcoming and friendly. Everyone is eager to talk and help us get around.
We stopped at a restaurant on the road for lunch. There was a buffet of potatoes, rice, beans, chicken, vegetables and green bananas (which are cooked, mashed and and though they are very creamy, they weren’t sweet like I had expected) and gravy to put over everything. The food so far on this trip has been wonderful but eating outside under thatch canopies was an awesome experience.

Hope all is well in Minnesota!

Erika

View from hotel room  in Uganda

Market outside hotel

the green bunches are bananas

Countdown

It has been a busy summer preparing for this trip to Tanzania and tomorrow the journey finally begins!!!  We hope to document our travels through this blog; updating it with messages and pictures of our experience.  

Thank you for following our journey!!