Homestay updates

Intye nedi? That is how you greet in Dhapodhola, my local language. I am having so much fun learning it and it is not that hard, you don’t have to conjugate verbs, make plural, or make masculine or feminine…its awesome. The days are super super long, but I am picking up a lot and I feel very confidant that I will be able to integrate well into my community. Tororo is a really nice part of Africa; we are only miles from Kenya, there are large hills that I will explore, there is a really large rock in the middle near town that I will climb, and they grow all types of food. I am getting along really nicely. Also, my host family is the coolest! They make me such amazing food and teach me how to cook it, there are four young kids whom I get to play with all the time, and my mom is so smart and knows a ton about Uganda and America. I have taught the kids uno, tons of card games, different words and phrases, silly games, and even a little Spanish just for fun. The family is always laughing, is so hospitable and welcoming, and  is helping me to learn the language. I truly got really lucky. The children’s time is mostly spent preparing meals on a charcoal stove, cleaning the house many times, and playing. The mother and father both work long hours during the day. Also, though they feed me when I am used to it, 7ish, the families here eat dinner between 9 and 10. I am convinced that they do not sleep because they work so hard, go to bed after me, and are awake before me.

In Tororo, people typically live in a condensed village setting, though there are some more developed parts. The house I am staying in has electricity, running water, a garden with mango trees, and a tv! It is crazy, the dish sometimes picks up US tv. Their time is mostly spent preparing meals on a charcoal stove, cleaning the house many times, and relaxing. The mother and father both work long hours during the day. Most families will not have so much, but depending on where in the district you live electricity may be common and getting water from a tap is also possible. I do have my own room, which is separate from the main room, so I get my me time when I need it. And boy do I, the days are so long that I am usually in bed and asleep by 9:30 (it isn’t taking me half an hour to fall asleep!) It is still rainy season here, so the days are not super hot and it actually gets cold at night. However, it is hot enough to make me worry about the dry season. But, because of climate change, the weather patterns in Uganda have changed a lot and it is no longer predictable when the dry and wet seasons will be. I have not seen my soon to be home or site of the next 2 years yet, but I have heard it is in a more developed part.

I am very intent on integrating here. Culturally, greetings are very important and just saying a few words in the local language goes a very long way. I hope to just say hello to everyone in my area and introduce myself so they get used to me and will hopefully accept me. The hardest part of being in Uganda so far is being stared at as you walk, simply because you are unfamiliar. If I can get rid of that, life will be great. I am adjusting to most other things and trying very hard to be ok with not doing much during down time. I get to run in the early morning before class and before it gets hot and I think I may stick to doing that…it gives me another excuse to go to bed early. Oh and my phone service is pretty good here, so as long as I can charge things I can communicate home, currently I can’t put up pictures. Hopefully I will get a mailing address soon. I love and miss everyone dearly and if I can’t post before I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We are all getting together and having a big mizungu party!!

Off to homestay

I have news!! I am going to sandwich it though because it comes with a little bit of a sad note attached. We finally found out which region of Uganda we are going to be placed in and what languages we would be learning. I am going to Tororo district in the East. It is hilly, very green, can get pretty hot, and borders Kenya. It is also not too far from anything in the Eastern part. So I am pretty happy with this part of the country! The down-side is that I am not in a region with any of the people I have become really close with. I sort of hit my first low point since being here when that really hit me, it felt like I was right back at square one. However, I came to Peace Corps to push myself and I did not have these friends before coming, so I know I can handle this. I think all those…wow this might happen…realizations are actually hitting me now, all at once. But I am excited to be where I am at. I have a fellow runner there so we can train together for the marathons that Uganda does host. Also, best part of all, I am going to be in a primary school!! This means that I am working in a primary school coaching teachers on how to include more student-centered  and critical thinking activities. I was told I was given this role for a variety of reasons, one of which was that my trainers feel like I have a strong personality and a lot of background from which I can be a moving force in a lot of real change. It felt really empowering to know my trainers thought I could handle so much and I am super excited that I am going to get to work with kids every day. I don’t know exactly what my role consists of yet, and the first three months are observing and assessing anyway, but I will have a ton of chances to teach in a classroom!

All that said, we are finishing up practice school this week. I had a ton of fun and already we saw some positive changes in how the students were participating in class and how the teachers were teaching. I personally think the Ugandans have a natural way of teaching and being in front of pupils, especially when there are dozens, so we both have a lot to learn from each other. Our last day they threw us this big celebration and it was so genuine and hearfelt. We even got awesome handmade gifts and the kids came up to me and asked me not to go, I might have cried a little (of course) haha. It is going to be very sad to leave my friends and I am a bit nervous for homestay, but now I will finally see what this country is like. I may not have any internet or phone access, depending on electricity at my host home, so if you don’t hear from me for three weeks that is why. Wish me luck!

School-house Rock

Alright so I am now in week two of “school-based” training, where we get to finally practice our teaching methods. Let me first set the scene for you. I am staying at a somewhat affluent PTC, Primary Teacher’s College, about 40 minutes out of the capital. A PTC is school for 17-20 year olds who want to become primary school teachers. They spend two years here, living in the dorms and taking classes…teaching at a college is a potential role for any of us volunteers. The dorms, which we stay in, are sort of like military barracks. But, we get electricity, running water, and pit latrine trainers (a pit that has some porcelain and a flush). Food is still great but there are no animals to play with. However, it rests on a hill so we can see for miles and the sunsets are jaw-dropping. It also rains every other day for about 20 minutes, but we get an occasional lightning storm to sit and watch.  We spent week one learning all sorts of teaching methods. Let me say, I feel so grateful for having a background in education and getting so much useful experience working at Epiphany…we are even working with the same book “Teach like a champion.” It is really reassuring to have that base to work from and there are so many people here with so much knowledge that bouncing ideas off of them has been so much fun.

Now for the meaty stuff, working with the kids!! We travel every day to a small rural primary school to practice co-teaching. We are technically here to be literacy trainers and teaching coaches, so most of us won’t have our own class but will co-teach with a Ugandan teacher to bring some new, more child-centered and critical thinking methods. Ugandan teachers are great and their curriculum has so much to work from, what they don’t do is a lot of in-depth teaching or putting the learning on the student, it is mostly lecturing, memorizing, and repeating; and the occasional physical punishment (yea that freaked me out). But, our amazing trainer has given us tons of strategies to bring positive reinforcement and child learning into the classroom. So this past week we made all our teaching materials from scratch (they don’t have any resources or materials at school) and I got the chance to teach a math lesson to P2 (5-6 yo), Social Studies to P7 and a science lesson to P6. It did not go exactly as I would have hoped, but I learned a ton from it and actually had a really successful co-teaching class with a Ugandan named Ghad. A couple days later though, I had a FANTASTIC lesson about birds and all the kids were super engaged.  And let me just lay it out there, the kids are freakin awesome. I also do small workstations with P2 and they all run up to me and pounce on me, begging for high-fives. I am smiling all day!

So yea, I am learning non-stop and ideas are generating like wild-fire in my head about what I can do when I get to my school. I found out there will be two of us per site so we get to collaborate and work together to make super successful schools haha, that is how I am looking at it. I have managed to stay positive and peppy while here (who doubted that would happen?) and I am adjusting really well. I think all things considered I have already fallen in love with Uganda and can’t wait to make a life here for a while. Pictures will hopefully come soon. =)

Initial reaction

Hello all!!

So I am all settled in and the wowing has already begun. This whole first week of training has been a ton of information and it has honestly felt like a month. I don’t have great internet where I am at, so I have not been able to update like I would, but I will try to sum it all up for you. First of all, Uganda (what I have seen) is gorgeous. I am staying at a site used for teaching organic farming (!!!), which is surrounded by rolling jungle-like hills that offer tons of great running trails. The weather has been awesome, where it is pretty warm during the day and cool at night with very little rain. The food is pretty cool: a lot of mashed plantains, posho (a starchy grain), matoke (a bland plantain mixture), potatoes, rice, some variety of beans, and a green of sorts. Not a lot of raw veggies since they are likely to contain bacteria that will make me poop a lot. Oh yea, pretty much any virus or bacteria you can think of is found in Uganda. They also mimic the Brits a lot and have morning/afternoon tea..which to my delight also includes instant coffee! There are tons of animals, that usually get eaten. But I am able to stay a vegetarian here cause of all the beans and nuts! However, they also have 2 dogs and a cat that I have become very close with. I was jokingly voted to be the first to get rabies in my group haha.

The people in my group are amazing!!! Everyone is so different but we all get along like we have known eachother forever. I have some really great friends already. I am doing yoga a ton and running a bunch. But most importantly, I am laughing and enjoying myself constantly. I have learned some of the language here too! And I don’t know a ton about what I am doing yet, but I am super excited from what I can tell my projects will be based on. I have also had some interesting attempts at bucket bathing and learned that I am very good at taking a “long call” aka poop in a pit latrine. Celebrating my birthday here was spectacular, they made me a cake and sang and I got to see a monkey in the trees. Overall in the short time I have been here I have become super happy and excited. The local Ugandan staff never stop smiling and laughing and I feel very comfortable...they and the current volunteers even threw us a Thanksgiving dinner that had American food, which some of us contributed to by making apple pie in a clay oven.  I miss everyone at home, not a ton because I am so busy, but I am thinking of you. Give me updates!!! Love ya!

Contact me!!!

Friends and Family,

            Here is a list of contact information for you to have while I am away. I will be missing people tons and looking to hear from everyone as often as you can, so feel free to try and reach me with any of the below ways.  Keep in mind that communication and mail are not totally reliable so I may not get letters fast or respond quickly, don’t get worried. Also, Uganda is 8 hours ahead of NY, in the (EAT) time zone when you are in day light savings mode…aka now.

Email—mrtrav1888@gmail.com or mraymond@epiphanyschool.com

Facebook—Matthew Raymond

Skype—matt.raymond18

Blog-- http://mattsgonetouganda.blogspot.com/

            - Bookmark it and follow or comment to your heart’s content ;)

Parent contact (in case):

            Email—saddle42@aol.com

            Facebook—Pattie Quinn Raymond or Peter Raymond

            Phone—845-440-8640

            Address—21 Aspen Court

                              Fishkill, NY 12524

My Mailing Address (while in Kampala, the capital, until mid-January):

            Matthew Raymond, Peace Corps Trainee

            P.O. Box 29348

            Kampala, Uganda

Helpful hints-number the letters in upper-right corner cause I may not get them in order. If you send a package write on it with red ink, label it “religious materials,” and tape it up the wazoo; all that will minimize the chance it gets rummaged through.  When I move to village I will find out my permanent mailing address for letters and packages that I can use for 2 years. I will update you all when I get it! Also, if I get a cell that can receive/send calls I will dish that out as well…you may be getting texts through gmail.

                                                                                                                        Love you!

                                                                                                                        Matt =)

It's actually here...

Wow. I can't believe it. When I started the application last November it seemed like this day was so far away.

Well, the last few weeks has been really bittersweet. I had to say some of the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to make to some of the greatest people on this planet. I can't even describe how much it hurt to leave my Epiphany family, my home in Boston, all my friends whom I feel like are apart of my very being, my soul mates, and my family at home. If anything were going to make me reconsider, it is not what I am going to face, instead what I am leaving behind. However, I was also blessed with a rare chance to see, hear, and feel how truly loved I am by all those people I had to say goodbye to. That love and closeness is one of the many things I am going to realize I take for granted so much while living home. It was such an incredible and soul-touching feeling to be so loved by students, family, and friends. I also realized how much everyone has impacted my life and taught me thus far, therefore although I am leaving it is not really goodbye but see ya later; wise words from Diamond one of my great students at Epiphany. So, in short. I LOVE YOU and I thank you for all you have done.

I am about to go do some great work, have some incredible experiences, live very differently, challenge myself, and grow a ton. All in all, I can't wait!!! I will be posting regularly on this with updates, information, pictures, and love. I am also putting up a contact information post so that you can all stay in touch with me as often as possible.

It is not very often that one gets to accomplish ones dreams so early in life or that one can make such a meaningful change in ones life. I really am truly grateful to have this opportunity and I am going to pledge to you all that I will do my best and be my best at serving the country I am going and telling my new family and friends about everyone back home. =)

"Happiness is wanting what you have, not having what you want."

A dream come true

Ever since I was in Middle School, I always dreamed of going to Africa with the Peace Corps. The idea of going to this far off world that had all the planets coolest animals and people that lived so radically different than I seemed like the perfect adventure. As I grew up this dream was constantly being figured into my life: it will happen some day, maybe right after college, after I get a job, when I get tired of a job, etc. My intentions of going also evolved as I grew, turning from wanting to see animals and jungles to wanting to understand different ways of living and making friends around the globe to finally hoping to learn something deeper about human nature/life and applying that knowledge to my career as a teacher. Well this past year it seemed liked the timing in my life was perfect, I seized the opportunity and applied last November. It was a looooong and nail-biting process, but I was finally placed. As of November 15th, 2012 I will be living and working in Uganda! As all my friends shared in the anticipation up until this moment, you all how I thought eagerly about where I was to be placed. Part of me was hoping for Ghana or maybe even Senegal, someplace northwest. When I got the formal invitation to serve in Uganda, it felt...perfect. As I told all my friends and family saying I was going to Uganda rolled of the tongue and felt right; yes this experience is something I am meant to have.

Just some quick facts about where I will be going:
- It is nicknamed "The Pearl of Africa"
- It was colonized during the 1800s by the British but then won independence in 1962
- There was a tyrannical rule with a lot of bloodshed, but for the past decade it has been very peaceful
- It houses about 94 species of monkey, including the Silver-back Mountain Gorilla
- It is on the equator, so if I am close then I will have beautiful weather year long!
-They grow a wide variety of crops, including bananas and coffee
- It is landlocked, but has many major rivers and lakes like Lake Victoria
-It borders: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and the Congo
-The national languages are English and Swahili
-The national religion is Christianity
- A major source of tourism is their Safari trips and white water rapids
- They are a very poor nation, but doing extremely well in innovation and dealing with HIV
- I have heard they are amongst the friendliest and most welcoming people on earth!

As I am busy learning about my new home and planning the next few years of my life, I am getting increasingly more excited by the day. I am going there officially as a teacher trainer, but unofficially as a harbinger of American culture and a sponge of Ugandan culture. I will be working closely with teacher colleges and preparatory programs as well as schools in a few neighboring villages, which is super cool! I imagine I am going to learn a TON and hopefully meet some kids as cool as the ones I have been working with at Epiphany.