Sometimes it gets hard to fill empty time here. Outside of reading, listening to my iPod on random, and incredibly small talk with locals in their broken English and my broken Luganda, there isn't too much else to do. So, I've started to become creative. Like making lists. Here's one for you guys. A lot of time went into this one, and there were quite a few Honorable Mentions.
Top 5 Guilty Pleasure Flicks
(Based on a sliding scale of "How much I enjoy the movie" and "How guilty I feel while watching it")
5.) Predator: Jesse Venture plays a serious role in it, so there is a limited threshold for how good the movie can actually be. However, the sweet noise the predator makes while he stalks people totally makes up for it. That, and he can see in infrared.
4.) Terminator 2: Judgment Day: I'm not so much embarrassed that I like this movie as much as I'm embarrassed by how much I like this movie. I'm also not sure about how I feel about the fact that there are two Schwarzenegger films on this list.
3.) The Notebook: I don't even feel that guilty... That's just plain good storytelling if you ask me.
2.) Sweet Home Alabama: This one really brings out the whiskey girl in me.
1.) Mean Girls: I can't quite figure out why, but I love this one. Ask Tony Prekop. We can go back and forth quoting this movie all night. And we have, actually. Ask Michaela Mack...
"There are things that drift away like our endless, numbered days" ~Sam Beam
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Holy Days
First term is already ending. Hope P.S. just finished their exams this past week and will be getting the results next week. Which means that we will be starting a new schedule for the youth center during their break. This term has flown by with only a few hiccups. Thankfully, we now have a regular schedule for the youth center established for when school is in session. That was the hard part.
It is hard to believe that there is only about a month and a half left for Courtney, Heather, and me in Ndejje. Hopefully, we will be able to have a good number of kids from the community at the center during holiday. We will have the youth center open from 1-5 pm, Monday-Thursday. The children will be welcome to come for reading, art, games and puzzles. We will also hold trainings from 3:30-5 for any of the children that are interested. We might try to divide our time up into shifts so that none of us get burnt out. We have been told not to have Saturday trainings over break because many of the children will be expected to be home for chores at that point.
We are all trying to make the most out of our remaining time here. Courtney has been active helping teach an English class that is being run by one of the SWB coaches in Kampala, and Heather has been putting some final touches on some aid projects she has will some of the local families. I'm trying to help Jacques from Hope P.S. establish some sort of sustainable agriculture program for some of the refugees in Ndejje to take part in to try to generate some income. The days are numbered, and there soon won't be any left.
It is hard to believe that there is only about a month and a half left for Courtney, Heather, and me in Ndejje. Hopefully, we will be able to have a good number of kids from the community at the center during holiday. We will have the youth center open from 1-5 pm, Monday-Thursday. The children will be welcome to come for reading, art, games and puzzles. We will also hold trainings from 3:30-5 for any of the children that are interested. We might try to divide our time up into shifts so that none of us get burnt out. We have been told not to have Saturday trainings over break because many of the children will be expected to be home for chores at that point.
We are all trying to make the most out of our remaining time here. Courtney has been active helping teach an English class that is being run by one of the SWB coaches in Kampala, and Heather has been putting some final touches on some aid projects she has will some of the local families. I'm trying to help Jacques from Hope P.S. establish some sort of sustainable agriculture program for some of the refugees in Ndejje to take part in to try to generate some income. The days are numbered, and there soon won't be any left.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Kids Helping Kids
This is long overdue, but I want to take the time to send a special "Thank You" to some amazing young people who have helped out with the Soccer Without Borders program in Ndejje by sending supplies for the Ndejje Youth Center. When I was back home for Christmas break, I stopped my my old elementary school, Hales Corners Elementary, to talk to my first grade teacher's class. While I was there, I started talking to one of the guidance councilors about talking to the 5th grade class about volunteering. Both classes were great to talk to and were so excited to learn about Uganda, the people there, and the work being done for them.
After talking to the students, they decided that they wanted to help the children of Ndejje by collecting school supplies and different puzzles and games for the youth. They also drew pictures for the Ugandan children to show them some things of what life is like for them in the US. All of the Ndejje kids were excited to find out about winter in Wisconsin. They were all really interested in what a 'snowman' is!
I can't say enough about what it means for people so young to try to help other people their own age who are in need. Too often, people don't realize they can help those less fortunate than them until later in life, and by that time they have wasted a lot of valuable time. That is why I want to thank every student in Mrs. Glick's 1st grade class and the entire 5th grade at H.C.E. for their contribution. I hope that it is just the start of many life long volunteer-careers! I can't wait to see you guys again when I get back in June!
Until then,
Adam In Africa
After talking to the students, they decided that they wanted to help the children of Ndejje by collecting school supplies and different puzzles and games for the youth. They also drew pictures for the Ugandan children to show them some things of what life is like for them in the US. All of the Ndejje kids were excited to find out about winter in Wisconsin. They were all really interested in what a 'snowman' is!
I can't say enough about what it means for people so young to try to help other people their own age who are in need. Too often, people don't realize they can help those less fortunate than them until later in life, and by that time they have wasted a lot of valuable time. That is why I want to thank every student in Mrs. Glick's 1st grade class and the entire 5th grade at H.C.E. for their contribution. I hope that it is just the start of many life long volunteer-careers! I can't wait to see you guys again when I get back in June!
Until then,Adam In Africa
Friday, April 1, 2011
Pressing On
Things have started to look up. Slowly but surely, we have begun to establish an after-school program that is acceptable for the Hope P.S. administration. We have the schedule, now it's just a matter of working out the kinks in implementing it. The term is almost over, so we really only have one week left to work with the kids before break, but at least break will give us time to inform all of the teachers on how the new schedule will work for 2nd term and to make sure that they support us. That means having them actually promote the program rather than threatening to beat the kids if they come to the youth center after school.
As my time here starts to draw to a close and my future inevitably creeps up on me, I have started to think about what to do when it gets here. I feel my mindset has changed drastically since this time last year, along with my priorities. I don't want to go home and fall back on old ways. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to stop it, but at least I can maybe try to hold on to a few pieces of the new me.
I want to continue to live simply. Cheap food and entertainment. I want to keep my mind active. Now that I don't have class everyday, I will be responsible for that on my own. Playing Zelda doesn't count. I want to keep reading books and not let myself waste away in front of the television for hours and hours each day. I want to start appreciating the time I have with my family. I don't want to be an absentee big brother anymore, especially since Bryan will be going off to college in a year and a half and starting his own life. Stuart needs someone to tease him about his weight, too, so that he will keep doing his Wii Fit. I'm perfect for the job.
There are still 2 months left in my time here, but that time will crawl by quickly. It took over a month to feel like I was settling in here, 5 months to establish an after-school program, and nearly 8 months to discover that I can buy chicken and chips (fries) right here in Ndejje and that I don't have to go into town for it anymore. I know I still have plenty of time to accomplish things with SWB, but it really is starting to feel like the home stretch. My biggest fear is that I will come home with regrets, feeling like there was more I could have done but didn't.
As my time here starts to draw to a close and my future inevitably creeps up on me, I have started to think about what to do when it gets here. I feel my mindset has changed drastically since this time last year, along with my priorities. I don't want to go home and fall back on old ways. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to stop it, but at least I can maybe try to hold on to a few pieces of the new me.
I want to continue to live simply. Cheap food and entertainment. I want to keep my mind active. Now that I don't have class everyday, I will be responsible for that on my own. Playing Zelda doesn't count. I want to keep reading books and not let myself waste away in front of the television for hours and hours each day. I want to start appreciating the time I have with my family. I don't want to be an absentee big brother anymore, especially since Bryan will be going off to college in a year and a half and starting his own life. Stuart needs someone to tease him about his weight, too, so that he will keep doing his Wii Fit. I'm perfect for the job.
There are still 2 months left in my time here, but that time will crawl by quickly. It took over a month to feel like I was settling in here, 5 months to establish an after-school program, and nearly 8 months to discover that I can buy chicken and chips (fries) right here in Ndejje and that I don't have to go into town for it anymore. I know I still have plenty of time to accomplish things with SWB, but it really is starting to feel like the home stretch. My biggest fear is that I will come home with regrets, feeling like there was more I could have done but didn't.
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