Well, it really has been a roller-coaster few weeks! My
students are finally settling back into routine after the winter holiday, and
new curriculum is pursued with vigor, at least by the teachers. My upper
classmen are no fonder of reading than they were in November, but I’m working
on them. The seniors are reading Jane
Eyre, one of my favorites, and I know they’ll be surprised when Thornfield’s
‘ghost’ is revealed! (Actually, I’m rather counting on it to convince them to
finish reading the book.) The eleventh grade is almost finished their final
projects on A Streetcar Named Desire,
and it was truly amazing to see them read and respond to the play. If you haven’t
read Tennessee Williams’ masterwork, do!
But there I go, teacher rambling again. For Valentine’s Day,
I took the end of last week off and went to the town of Jinja, situated near
the source of the Nile. My boyfriend and I made it an escape weekend, and
wandered around the town, enjoying some amazing (and mostly Western,) food.
Because of its proximity to a major tourist point, there are some really nice restaurants.
My favorite was The Keep Café, which was decorated by its American owners to
look like a medieval castle on the inside. I got chicken wings and an
Africanized soft pretzel, and though below par for Philly standards, my
companion was thoroughly impressed. I gave him half for his French onion soup,
and he enjoyed it.
The View from Our Room
Hotel Pool!
Just Relaxing in the Beautiful Weather
The journey home on Friday was another adventure in itself.
After we reached the city we parted ways for our separate homes, and I caught a
boda from the mall in town as I have done a zillion times before. Except this
fellow turned out to be drunk! He fooled me by being completely normal as I
negotiated a price for the ride, but after we were underway for a few minutes he
started shouting at every other person in sight. I asked him to stop, and he
began swearing. So I told him to stop so I could get off, but he refused.
Eventually he had to slow for traffic and I jumped off, though he dove after
me, clawing at my jacket and bags. Fortunately, he backed up as I retaliated,
punching and striking at his eyes until he moved away. Other motorbike drivers
stopped and restrained him long enough for me to get away with another driver,
but then the chase began. The drunk ended up running my new boda and I off the
road and tipping our bike in the process. I have some very cute bruises and a
few scratches, though I count myself very fortunate. The drunken screaming got
a dozen other boda drivers to stop, and they said they would drag him to the
nearby police barracks. As that progressed, I finally got away, and caught one
more boda the rest of the way home. I had been especially nervous because I was
carrying my laptop home from the vacation, but it and I wound up fine. Never
dull, as my Dad likes to say!
That same night we had our school’s youth group Valentine’s
dinner at a local restaurant. The sight was enough to chase any remaining upset
completely out of my system. All of the kids were dressed up, many in shades of
red. Some had the courage to invite dates, and it was a trip to see the middle
school boys nervous. But the older boys were gentleman and offered guidance,
and well as being quite chivalrous to their own dates. Much good food was had,
pool was played, and some of the kids even got up to dance. At the end of the
night, after waiting for parents to come collect their charges (remember, in
Africa things happen 1-2 hours later than one intends,) the school’s chaplain
and his wife gave me a lift home.
I’ve been using the rest of the weekend to plan for classes
and hide from the heat of the daytime. I’ll be glad to get back to work
tomorrow- it is a little weird to have been out of the classroom for so long.
I’ve also started keeping an eye on the job market back
home; as much as I have loved parts of this experience, it’s time to get back
to the States. It’s been hard to be away from my family as they have faced some
difficult times. And at the risk of sounding old, I’m warming up to the idea of
settling down and starting some semblance of a career. And yes, I will be
hoping for snow next winter!
Lots of Love,
Diane
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