Author Archives: compassrosequeen

I’m back from Uganda! And it was wonderful. A much needed vacation. We saw and did so many things!

I went with five of my coworkers/new friends, and we stayed with a couple that used to work at our school. We didn’t talk shop until the end of the week. It was fantastic! Uganda is beautiful. It is so green! I hadn’t realized how much I missed the color green from my home state of Oregon. The air was warm and moist but not too hot or muggy. The house we stayed at was fantastic- they even have a big pool and a view of Lake Victoria! And most of us got brave (thanks to Luke who started it) and jumped into the pool from the balcony of the guest house. Terrifying but fun! We also ate dinner on the roof of the guest house, with Lake Victoria as the backdrop. Lovely. OUr hosts were wonderful and made great food for us and even goodie bags for our arrival.

In Kampala, we shopped at craft markets, went out for brunch at an outdoor restaurant called Prunes, and went to an outdoor jazz restaurant called Jazzville for a concert by a cover band (they weren’t amazing but did a decent job of a couple Abba songs). So much fun! We also went to the grocery store by bodaboda (motorcycle taxi). It was a little harrowing, especially with no helmets, but most of all when we rode through a herd of cattle with really long horns!

The most adventurous part of the trip was definitely the safari. We went on a three day camping trip into Murchison Falls National Park, the largest national park in Uganda. A-maz-ing. After staying a night at the main lodge of the company in Kampala (with a lovely sunrise in the morning), we rode in a safari van with our driver Sam for several hours to get to the park. When we neared the park, we saw babooons and various birds as we drove through tropical rainforest. And fought with a vengeance to keep the tsetse flies out of the van since they bite hard. After a short hike, we saw fantastic views of Murchison Falls in tandem with Uhuru Falls, both of which were powerful and beautiful. Then the hike led to the top of Murchison Falls. One of the guides told me that Uhuru Falls was named for the independence from Britain, because Uhuru means “freedom.” Then we rode to the base camp, where we camped in canvas tents (which was a little nerve racking with hippos and warthogs roaming the camp; not for the faint of heart!) and ate meals in a giant thatched roof open air hut. The campfire overlooked the Victoria Nile. And that next morning had a breathtaking sunrise, as well.

We set out early in the morning for the first of two morning game drives through the savannah. For this drive, we had a guide employed by the park named Martha. We drove toward Lake Albert, and saw giraffes, antelope, buffalo and all kinds of animals on the way. However, we never made it there, since we got stuck in a giant mud puddle for well over an hour. We blocked the way of some of the other safari vehicles with European tourists. Many of them, along with Sam and Martha, tried to help us get our van out of the mud, but to no avail, even when “Uganda Jones” drove up in his jeep and his apparent awesomeness. His rope was wimpy though and broke, and he finally gave up and ditched us. At last, all the guides decided to split us up and have us ride with the Europeans in their various vehicles. Katie and I were assigned to a van and were about to leave after everyone else had, when the real “Uganda Jones” (or I called him Crocodile Dundee) drove up in his bigger jeep with giant horns on the front, and a strong chain. Katie and I and other tourists and guides got back in the knee deep puddle and pushed while he pulled from behind in his jeep, and we finally got out! And then Katie fell in… so funny. So Katie and I got to ride by ourselves in our van for quite a while until we picked up two others from the van they’d been assigned to, and Sam let us ride on top up front. We got some epic video of the ride. And saw some giraffes “necking” (according to Sam, but we’ve been told they were actually fighting). Sam drove fast to get us back to the ferry over the Nile in time, and when we got there, a baboon stole a jar of nuts out of someone’s van. He then got chased by other baboons and went around and around the trees. Hilarious!

That afternoon, we took a river cruise down the Victoria Nile and saw lots of hippos, crocodiles, and up close views of elephants, as well as skunk-colored monkeys and all kinds of birds on the way to and from a view of Murchison Falls from below. The next morning, we went on one more game drive as we drove out of the park a different way. This one was less commonly used, so we saw lots more animals close up. An elephant freaked us out by walking toward us on the road. Later, another one was right by the road. We drove out to hike to yet another powerful jungle waterfall. This one won’t last much longer though, as there is a dam slated to be built upstream. Lovely views. We passed by many small villages of huts as we drove home. Beautiful, but sometimes I wondered what effect tourism has had on the country as children shouted “Musungu!” (foreigner) and waved as we passed.

We didn’t rest a lot on the trip with all our adventures, but it was all so refreshing. The clear blue and cloud-dotted African skies, the jungle green of the rain and savannah forests, the savannah green of the grasslands, and the fun times with new and old friends all helped to restore our souls. Now back to the craziness of teaching. Bring on school!

Drive through the jungle

Uhuru Falls and Murchison (Kabarega) Falls on the Victoria Nile

The Victoria Nile

Sunrise over the Victoria Nile, seen from our campgrounds

Trees in the Savannah

Introvert Giraffe (became an inside joke for our group)

Baboon steals a snack

Dramatic cliffs along the Victoria Nile

Oliphaunt! We got really close to a few elephants.

Karuma Falls, which won’t be there much longer due to a planned hydroelectric dam

I can’t believe it’s already fall break! And I haven’t blogged since before school started. Teaching is kicking my butt! But I love it.

In this post, I’ll tell you all about living and teaching in Central Asia. Then in my next post, I’ll describe our adventures this week on vacation in Uganda. Right now we’re in the Nairobi airport on our way home, and I’m writing this in Word and will post later. It’s been nice to have the week away and not think about teaching. So hopefully my brain has processed a bit of all the craziness and fun of the past several weeks.

Where do I begin? My 9th grade Algebra class is a blast. It’s my fullest class, but very fun. Then there’s Consumer Math, which is mostly juniors and seniors. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy teaching students that old, but they’re a great group. Some of them have very specific dreams for their future careers, and are very driven to achieve them. I only have two girls in the class, but one of them wants to be a corporate lawyer. Then there’s the boy who wants to be an auditor. Next is 8th grade physical science. That’s my hardest class management-wise. Only 4 girls and a whole bunch of boys that are great individually, but set each other off in class. And there’s the fact that I’m not really a science teacher. But it’s a good challenge, and we’ve had some really fun moments together. Fortunately, I’m almost done with the last chemistry unit, which is the hardest for me. Plus, I love middle schoolers, so I’m grateful to get the experience. My biggest challenge content-wise was Pre-calculus class. It was getting so difficult for me to explain the content (and it’s still in the easiest section), so my director swapped me classes. He’d taken on a 7th grade Pre-Algebra class, and due to scheduling issues, taking it on means I now teach it at the same time as my Consumer Math class. It was a very difficult decision because I wanted what was best for all the students. I also didn’t want to give up on a responsibility that I’d accepted. But I wanted the students to get the best education they could, and the director is a great math teacher. Both classes are small and self-motivated, so it’s been okay so far, but it will be a challenge. I’m glad to have more middle school math experience, though. Which brings me to my last class: Math Foundations. It’s 7th and 8th graders that are struggling with their regular math classes. It’s very small so I get to give more attention to them and give them extra practice in skills and help with their regular homework. So now, most of my classes are within my licensure.

And I’m loving it. Teaching my cute little 1st graders in China was fun, but this is much more fulfilling for me. My students are full of character and I’m relishing getting to know them. I’m trying to think of specific examples (hey, I’ve been on vacation for a week!). Math night was especially fun. It was for the elementary classes, but the secondary math teachers were asked to offer extra credit for volunteers to help. I didn’t even tell my kids about the extra credit at first (and never did for my science class), and I had well over 20 kids sign up to help! And almost all of them showed up. I ran around that afternoon trying to get them all to the various classrooms and stations to help, and it was fun watching them. One boy had a great time running the “cookie walk” (a cake walk where they had to do simple math problems to see which number was the winner). Other students were really sweet helping the little ones do the games the teachers had set up. I also got to meet a mother of one of my students, and got the official 3 cheek kisses greeting that are part of this culture.

So that’s a bit about teaching here, but what about living? Well, living in Central Asia has some similarities to Eastern Asia, at least where I lived in China. You have to remember to brush your teeth with water from the water cooler, and throw away toilet paper in the trash can. And of course there’s squatty potties. We also have mountains around the city, which I love, and appreciated when I was in China as well. Then there are things that are more particular to this region, like dressing to respect the culture and blend in more in public. Like China, there is the warmth and hospitality of the people when you get to know them. And the music. People here love music and dancing. They love Indian music and Bollywood, but they also have great pop music of their own. And they consider bread and cats sacred, and are very passionate about soccer. Love it!

Then there’s the culture of the international staff that lives here on campus. Most are from all over the States. I’m the only one from Oregon, besides one teacher whose parents recently moved there so he stayed there this summer. So now I have friends from all over, bringing their traditions and interests with them. Slacklining is a pastime I’ve attempted to take up. I can only get about 8 feet across so far, but it’s fun! There’s also a lot of musical talent amongst the staff. We like to play music and sing together and may put together something fun for Christmas. We also like to get together to watch movies at each other’s houses, and have watched some movies on a projector screen in a nice yard of one of the other teachers. Very fun! Going out for dinner is also fun. My favorite meal out so far was bbq lamb, and here at school my favorite meal is kabuli palau. Delicious!

I haven’t had a chance to get out and see the city a lot with being busy teaching, but I did go to a lovely park and will try to include a picture or two from that. I also have pictures of the rugged mountains around the city, which when we flew in today had a dusting of snow on them. There’s also a crispness in the air that is very refreshing (although I already miss the warm humidity of Uganda). Bring on autumn!

I’m now fairly well settled in to my new home for the year in Central Asia. It needs a spot sheetrocked and a fresh coat of paint, but my room is quite cozy, complete with a crimson colored Persian rug. The weather’s been great here since I arrived, so I just leave my windows open and it stays quite comfortable. My three housemates are really nice, and our dining room/living room is quite elegant with crimson furniture and matching rugs. This afternoon I saw my classroom, and I love it! Small-ish (but bigger than the one I had in China), and sunny, with nice cupboards for storing math manipulatives and science supplies. But enough about my new digs. I’ve got to tell you about the journey here and what I’ve experienced so far.

All the new staff met in Dubai for a few days for some orientation. We live in very specific circumstances, and there is a lot to learn. It was great to spend time with each other and some of the administrative staff. And they treated us to some great experiences in Dubai!

Dubai is a land of superlatives. We saw the world’s tallest building, which was the backdrop for what I’m assuming is the world’s most amazing water fountain show (we ate dinner at a balcony at TGIFriday’s that overlooks the show). Then, one of my fellow new teachers who has family in Dubai took some of us gals shopping for abayas in an old district of the city called the City of Gold, and on the way to it, we walked right by the world’s tallest man! Then there’s the heat. It’s been two years since I lived in subtropical southern China, so I’m not sure which place was hotter and more humid, but Dubai was certainly in the running for being the hottest place I’ve ever been. And of course, there are the shopping malls. We went to two of them. Dubai Mall has a huge artificial waterfall with statues of divers all over it, as well as a huge aquarium complete with a shark. That may have been my first time seeing a shark, unless I blocked that memory from the Newport Aquarium.

Then we flew to the high desert in Central Asia. It had (miraculously) rained the night before and a bit that evening as well, so the dust wasn’t as bad as it is normally, or so I’ve been told. Dust is everywhere. The dustboogers it creates are nearly as big as the buildings in Dubai. But it has been much, much, cooler than Dubai, not to mention less humid. Today is my third day here, and it’s been

Tallest building in the world

very nice out. I’d say in the 70s and 80s. Which is a blessing since us females have to layer and cover. It’ll probably get hot just in time for me to start teaching. Oh, well. I’m happy as long as I don’t see any live versions of the dead scorpion one of the other teachers found the other day (and kept to show off and give us all nightmares, of course!)

Most of my time has been spent on the campus, setting up the house I share with three other teachers and getting to know my other coworkers. Our teaching staff is awesome! I’ve met some of the local national staff as well, and they seem very nice and very fun. Our cook is awesome. He’s made some Western food and some local food, and it’s all been very good so far. The maid for my house is very nice as well, although she doesn’t know much English so I haven’t spoken with her personally, just through one of my roommates that knows some of the local language. Today a couple of the teaching staff gave us an overview of important words to know in it, so that will help. Our drivers are very entertaining and kind. One of them missed his lunch today to drive some of us to a grocery store, so we got him a kebab on the way back.

At the store, a young lady behind me in line spoke English fluently, and I chatted with her a bit. She is studying architecture in Europe, and was excited to hear that I’m a math teacher since she uses math in her studies. Then she told me that she liked how we dressed (us gals wore our abayas today to shop) because we dressed like them. I thanked her. She wished me luck for teaching, and I returned the sentiment for her studies. It was a brief encounter, but made an impression on me. I hope she is very successful in her career.

I’ve been waking up at 4:30 a.m. since I got here, because it gets dark early and gets light early (and jet lag probably has something to do with it as well, although I’d gotten used to the time in Dubai and it’s not much time difference here). Each morning I lay in bed for a while, but then I turn off my fan and listen to the sounds of the morning. Voices of people chatting. Birds chirp and stray cats cry. Then there’s the ice cream cart, which comes around periodically throughout the day starting around 6:30 a.m. with the Happy Birthday song playing. I’ve been told that sound will get old really fast, but I haven’t lived anywhere with an ice cream truck for years, so it’s fun for now.

Today is Thursday, which is this part of the world’s Saturday. We did have a meeting today since all the staff has arrived by now. But tomorrow is Sunday and we can sleep in. Well, maybe I’ll sleep till 5:00 or even 6:00 a.m. this time… Goodnight, world!

For the first part of this year, most of my writing was either newsletters for the DHS Diversity Committee, or teaching job applications. The latter paid off! In May I accepted a position teaching math in an international school in Central Asia. I’ll be heading over there this month. I can’t wait!

So now it’s time to dust off my trusty blog site, and get it ready for international posting again. I’m not very good at e-mail newsletters, so this is the easiest way for me to update friends and family. Eventually I’ll have time (after I figure out how to teach pre-Calculus) to work on my fiction writing again, and will hopefully use my blog for more literary purposes as well.

I’m going to a region that isn’t always very stable, so I won’t be as specific or as frequent in my travel blogs as I was when I was in Shenzhen. But I hope to capture some of the beauty I will see in new places I live in and travel to.

Next time I post, I’ll be on the other side of the world!