... I was just about to publish this post when I lost the internet connection... now I have to start again. :(
I have almost reached my final destination. I flew into Juba this afternoon, the capital of South Sudan, and am spending the night at the South Sudan Hotel. It feels weird to be in an air-conditioned room with my own TV and fridge and wi-fi to boot! This is not the South Sudan I am accustomed to. I even had my first hot shower today since I left Canada. Juba is the only developed city in the South and, as my first time here, I have to admit that I'm quite impressed. One of the big problems I have observed in the places I have visited in Africa is garbage. There is no disposal system- people just throw it on the ground wherever they are. This may have worked in the past when most things were biodegradable, but now the streets and trees are lined with plastic. In Juba, sections of the street are actually quite clean. It appears that someone is making an effort to collect the garbage as it was more in concentrated piles. I think this is an important consideration for the country as it undergoes rapid development.
Like Juba, Nairobi has this weird mixture of past and present. Imagine driving down Portage Avenue and having to dodge men pulling, what I would call, donkey carts loaded down with materials and other men herding their cattle on the grass down the centre boulevard... Val lives in an enclosed, developed neighbourhood and yet, when I went for a walk, 100 m down the road the pavement ended and I found myself in a slum (see the pictures that I added to the previous set)... Val's house has electricity but we still had to head water separately for bucket baths... Val's house also has a microwave and fridge and yet the cooking was done primarily on a coal "oven"... this awarded the perfect opportunity to bake one of my favourite camping treats- banana boats! (You take a banana, slice it lengthwise but not all the way through, stuff the "boat" with chocolate and cook it in the coals). Val's family all agreed that it is a delicious treat! Once again, it was a neat opportunity to stay with them while I waited for the "go" into South Sudan.
So, tomorrow morning I will catch an early morning, 1.5 hour flight from Juba into Aweil. From there it's a 3 hour, bumpy drive into Marial Bai. I will make this journey with Simon, a Ugandan who is heading to the school for the second year as a teacher. Unlike the Sudanese teachers, Simon has been trained and has 10 years of experience under his belt. He seems to be very passionate about making a difference in the lives of the students. I am looking forward to working with him and meeting/reuniting with the rest of the teachers tomorrow. I found out that the grade 12 students began their classes in February in order to get a head start in preparation for the national exams they will have to write in order to graduate. The rest of the students will be arriving to begin their classes in April. Now that I am in South Sudan, I feel closer to "home" and I am getting more and more excited to settle in. In the meantime, Val has me working on some interesting projects- writing a letter to the government to nationalize the school (in order to get government funding; right now the school runs entirely on donations); a proposal for a national drama festival (like the one in Uganda captured in the movie "War Dance"); and editing a collection of stories that he hopes to publish as a culturally relevant, educational resource for primary school English teachers since nothing like this exists in South Sudan. It worked for me! One story describes a boy's first flight in South Sudan and the process he goes through with the luggage for the flight to Juba. Unlike in Canada, before you get on the plane, you have to point out which pieces of checked luggage are yours from the luggage cart before they put it on the plane. If I did not know this, I would have just got on the plane and my luggage would have been left behind!
I am already learning so much, particularly from Valentino and his knowledge of the affairs in South Sudan. I am definitely being stretched personally and academically and so even though life seems to be moving at a much slower pace, I still do not feel as though time is being wasted. Until next time...
I have almost reached my final destination. I flew into Juba this afternoon, the capital of South Sudan, and am spending the night at the South Sudan Hotel. It feels weird to be in an air-conditioned room with my own TV and fridge and wi-fi to boot! This is not the South Sudan I am accustomed to. I even had my first hot shower today since I left Canada. Juba is the only developed city in the South and, as my first time here, I have to admit that I'm quite impressed. One of the big problems I have observed in the places I have visited in Africa is garbage. There is no disposal system- people just throw it on the ground wherever they are. This may have worked in the past when most things were biodegradable, but now the streets and trees are lined with plastic. In Juba, sections of the street are actually quite clean. It appears that someone is making an effort to collect the garbage as it was more in concentrated piles. I think this is an important consideration for the country as it undergoes rapid development.
Like Juba, Nairobi has this weird mixture of past and present. Imagine driving down Portage Avenue and having to dodge men pulling, what I would call, donkey carts loaded down with materials and other men herding their cattle on the grass down the centre boulevard... Val lives in an enclosed, developed neighbourhood and yet, when I went for a walk, 100 m down the road the pavement ended and I found myself in a slum (see the pictures that I added to the previous set)... Val's house has electricity but we still had to head water separately for bucket baths... Val's house also has a microwave and fridge and yet the cooking was done primarily on a coal "oven"... this awarded the perfect opportunity to bake one of my favourite camping treats- banana boats! (You take a banana, slice it lengthwise but not all the way through, stuff the "boat" with chocolate and cook it in the coals). Val's family all agreed that it is a delicious treat! Once again, it was a neat opportunity to stay with them while I waited for the "go" into South Sudan.
So, tomorrow morning I will catch an early morning, 1.5 hour flight from Juba into Aweil. From there it's a 3 hour, bumpy drive into Marial Bai. I will make this journey with Simon, a Ugandan who is heading to the school for the second year as a teacher. Unlike the Sudanese teachers, Simon has been trained and has 10 years of experience under his belt. He seems to be very passionate about making a difference in the lives of the students. I am looking forward to working with him and meeting/reuniting with the rest of the teachers tomorrow. I found out that the grade 12 students began their classes in February in order to get a head start in preparation for the national exams they will have to write in order to graduate. The rest of the students will be arriving to begin their classes in April. Now that I am in South Sudan, I feel closer to "home" and I am getting more and more excited to settle in. In the meantime, Val has me working on some interesting projects- writing a letter to the government to nationalize the school (in order to get government funding; right now the school runs entirely on donations); a proposal for a national drama festival (like the one in Uganda captured in the movie "War Dance"); and editing a collection of stories that he hopes to publish as a culturally relevant, educational resource for primary school English teachers since nothing like this exists in South Sudan. It worked for me! One story describes a boy's first flight in South Sudan and the process he goes through with the luggage for the flight to Juba. Unlike in Canada, before you get on the plane, you have to point out which pieces of checked luggage are yours from the luggage cart before they put it on the plane. If I did not know this, I would have just got on the plane and my luggage would have been left behind!
I am already learning so much, particularly from Valentino and his knowledge of the affairs in South Sudan. I am definitely being stretched personally and academically and so even though life seems to be moving at a much slower pace, I still do not feel as though time is being wasted. Until next time...