A Bladder Full of Patience

 Last week Caitlin and I attended the Primary Teachers’ Education Curriculum Roll-Out workshop in Bushenyi district. Two other Volunteers were joining us from Mbarara district; one of the highlights of the conference would be to spend with our friends. Originally we thought the conference would be only 3 full days with two travel days, but we were surprised (and endlessly pleased) to hear that it would go through Sunday.

We stayed in the student dorms on the PTC, (in)complete with no curtains in our dorm, no drain in the showers and no accessible pit latrines.

The experience proved to be… telling. I got an important insight of what it’s like to work in this country and to get things done. First, we pray and officially open the workshop, and spent the first day talking about what we would be talking about (but not actually learning anything), and then pray again. The curriculum was being reviewed for the first time since 1995, shocking to think that it took nearly 20 years for a curriculum revision. We looked at the integration of Peace Education into every aspect of the curriculum, another term for conflict resolution. Our facilitators showed us a picture of what a good mediator looks like, including a small mouth, big ears, a big heart, and of course, a bladder full of patience. Whatever that means.

Another thing: when you give a Ugandan a microphone, you can expect one of three things (or all 3 if you’re really lucky): a prayer, a speech that rambles on for at least 20 minutes, and a heartfelt song (Celine Dion or Backstreet Boys). We enjoyed a long week of roundabout speeches, stories, laughter, dancing, songs from the East, songs from the North and praying, so much praying. We came up with a new book idea, along the lines of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”—but change it to the culturally fitting title “If You Give a Ugandan a Microphone.” Still a work in progress…

The first two days were rough, I finally succumbed to reading my book in the back of the audience; I was perplexed by listening to someone speak my native English, yet could understand nothing of the content. Finally, at the end of the second day, our boss from the Peace Corps (and engineer of the literacy program we were piloting as Volunteers) came to join us at the conference and give us the willpower to make it through each session. We had just finished three months of training and were well-versed in Daily 5 Literacy Tips, lesson plans and how to teach reading systemically! When she sensed the session going awry, she quipped “it’s like bringing four tuned Ferraris to a demolition derby.” We had a good silent chuckle over that.

Most importantly I learned that things are done here extremely different than they are at home. That was to be expected of course, an expectation that is drilled into our heads since Staging, but the realization was truly taking effect at this workshop.