Oriho ota, America!

After an 8 hour plane ride to London, a nine hour layover exploring the city, an 8 hour flight to Entebbe, and a 6 hour car drive to Kyrarusozi… we finally made it! The sisters welcomed us with open arms and it took us all of three hours to become best friends with the village kids!

Sister Jacinta teaches at Kyrarusozi Primary School right by the convent, Sister Mary and Sister Beth are both nurses at the health care clinic, and we accompany Sister Edith to Moreau Primary School. We were so excited our first day there and our students greeted us with an adorable welcome song! It only took about 5 minutes for us to realize just how different their Rotoro language is from English. BUSTED.

For the past week, the three of us were each placed to work in a different classroom. Frannie is currently teaching/helping in top class (3 ½ years-five years old), Mary is in Primary 1 (5-7 years old), and Steph is in Primary 2 (7+ years). We have each given at least a lesson a day… and have eaten some “delicious” porridge. It’s hard to resist the water/flour mixture when our students kneel down and give us a full cup saying, “Teach-ah!” Not sure if you will ever hear these three American girls say, “Please, Sir, can I have some more?”

This is just a quick overview of what has been going on in this part of the world.

(Artie singing) These are my obsessions!

Obsession #1: The Sisters! ‘nough said.
Obsession #2: PRICILLA- The most defiant and adorable three and a half year old you will ever meet. While the rest of the class is reciting their alphabet, Pricilla stands silently with a chair on her head. Today, Frannie walked in on Pricilla coloring her nails... with a permanent marker. We always seem to come with new Pricilla stories.
Obsession #3: Village kids- These aren’t the kids that go to our school, but the kids that live right by us. They’ve turned amazing days into unforgettably amazing days. Without a doubt before 5 PM every day, they are waiting for us at our gate. Shout outs: Happy, Ricky, Patience, Yassini, Amidu, Brian, Angel, Jackie, Jombhaim, Johan, Davis, Dalphine, Danny, Miles, Francis, Mary, the other Francis, Shakela, Joseph, Annette, and so many more!
Obsession #4: Monkeys on the road (Yes, we did get out of the car. No serious injuries were inflicted, but two bananas were lost to the cause.)

These are my Anti-Obsessions!

Anti-obsession #1: Turkeys. Thanksgiving has new meaning in our book. So… loud.
Anti-obsession #2: JAFAR- one of the lizards currently cohabitating with us. Frannie explained to him before leaving to teach today, “Jafar, this will no longer be a witty banter between us if I find you in my laundry bag tonight.”
Anti-obsession #3: Monkeys on the road. (Busted! How are we going to get back IN the car?!)
If our power stays, we will update soon! Miss you all… and Sue Sylvester!

XOXO

Go and Seek Adventure

Today is a day of thanks. After a morning of thoughtful discussion in class and a deep-fried lunch (we will not miss that in Uganda!), we spent the day with the people we have to thank most for the opportunity to go on this trip. We had a meeting with Dr. Traxler, our advisor and mentor from the Education Department (Hi Elizabeth!). She helped us cram more supplies and books into our already overflowing suitcases for the Moreau Primary School in Uganda. After acquiring our newly rented flip cameras (we are all way too excited about these... particularly Frannie), we went to the convent on Saint Mary's campus. Sister Madeline Therese Wilhoit, who is in charge of communication between our program and the Sisters in Uganda, welcomed us to her office to discuss aspects of African life and what to expect in and out of the classroom. There, we met Tony, the assistant director of the Ford Family Program at Notre Dame that focuses on human development studies and solidarity. (http://kellogg.nd.edu/fordprogram/) He shared with us his years of experience teaching in Uganda and we enjoyed hearing about the program he is involved in through Notre Dame. The Sisters of the Holy Cross invited us to brinner (they served breakfast for dinner). They were so excited and happy for our adventure! We felt just as popular as Justin Bieber does when he enters a middle school! Many Sisters shared there past trips to Uganda and Africa. Most expressed their desire to come with us and gave their blessings and prayers in our safe travels. They were all so thankful for their experiences abroad and we are grateful for their guidance and aide in ours. One of the Sisters shared with us a small slice of wisdom that we all hope will sum up our experience. "Don't go there shooting for the moon, but don't be surprised if it falls on your lap!"

Hey Soul Sister!

FINALLY! We met Sister Lillian! In our second class today, we had the pleasure of meeting one of Sisters of the Holy Cross who lives and works in our destination village: Kyarusozi. She was able to give us some insight as to what we should expect, while we entertained her with numerous questions. (Example questions: How old is this King Oyo?! Sister Lillian, is the skirt I'm wearing long enough..? So what new language are we going to learn?)

Sister Lillian also addressed the three of us as to what we should expect in the elementary school. There are 79 students (YAY! We have a number!) ranging from three-year-olds to nine-year-olds that will be broken into four levels, each in a separate classroom. We cannot wait to arrive and meet the students and other teachers with whom we will share all of our colorful and exciting lesson ideas! And we know we will learn from the lessons they will teach!

Outside the classroom, Sister Lillian told us about what life inside the complex will entail. Every morning we rise with the sun and contemplate "how to solve a problem like Maria" followed by singing and frolicking in the hills...wait, that's not right, is it?! Although we may not have the same Swiss Alps in our backdrop, we cannot wait to fall in love with the Sisters as much as the Von Trapp Family fell in love with Maria! Our breakfast is pick-up and we eat lunch at school, but we are looking forward to supper each night with all the Sisters as well as the Nursing majors. This will be our time to come together, share the events of the day, and grow in a unique sense of family. Throughout the week we will enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables from the Sisters' garden. Yum! Oh, and can't wait to meet and name all of the animals living just outside our door-chickens, and turkeys and goats, oh my! On Sundays, we will be responsible for cooking supper for the five Sisters we will be living with-any recipe suggestions?! =) After being greeted by the frantic turkeys and chickens at our new home in Uganda, we expect these animals will appear calm next to our shrieks of joy and excitement in finally arriving and finally meeting the Sisters!

Still counting the days and if anyone reading has any connections with Mother Nature, we would really appreciate if she held off a little around the world till we arrive! Mother Nature, you know what we mean...step away from Iceland!

XOXO

South Bend... Yahtzee!

Here we are coming to you live from 502 Regina Hall waiting to embark on our summer of a lifetime! Brace yourself Africa! Pending all strikes and volcanic eruptions, we will arrive in Uganda a week from today! Until then, we will continue our final preparations, reading for our East African history class, and cramming of our suitcases! Oops busted :) All of this will be done with the distraction of our favorite compilation of inspirational tunes playing in the background:
"Waka Waka - This Time for Africa" Shakira
"Circle of Life" Disney's Lion King
"Wavin" K'naan
"Yellow" Coldplay
"Don't Let Go" Joy Williams
"One Tribe" Black Eyed Peas
"Greatest Love of All" Whitney Houston
"One Love" Glee Cast
"Son of Man" Phil Collins
"When You Believe" Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston
"Beautiful Day" U2
"At the Beginning" Anastasia
"All These Things I've Done" The Killers
"Sweet Disposition" The Temper Trap
"Taking Chances" Celine Dion

Counting the days until we arrive in the pearl of Africa!
XOXO