Three Good Things, A Lesson and a Caution

Three Good Things

1. Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer. I have recently become obsessed with this, after my first bout with traveler's tummy. I essentially interact with 250 children on a daily basis, none of whom wash their hands... it just isn't done here. I thought I brought enough Purell wipes, but there truly aren't enough in the world for the life that I live right now. And, there is no Purell to be found here. So the most exciting thing that happened to me this week was that I found a traveler who had hand sanitizer but no sunscreen who was willing to trade his bottle of sanitizer for my bottle of sunscreen. I brought way too much sunscreen anyway. I was elated to see the little gob of green good pass over my germ covered hands... it was heaven.

2. My head lamp. I have totally come to love my head lamp. I wear it so much-- for nearly five hours a day-- that I go to bed sometimes forgetting it is on. It's only when I realize that I can't fall asleep... and that the reason I can't fall asleep is because it is too light... that it dawns on me that my head lamp is still on, projecting forward from my head like a third eye. Kind of like not being able to find your glasses, and realizing that they are on your face.

3. My dry erase boards. Oh, the glory of dry erase boards! I couldn't teach without them. When I first broke them out in the class, it was as if I had introduced something magical. In reality, they are the $1.99 ones you can get at CVS that are for teenybopper lockers or dorm room doors. But kids and teachers here had never seen them before. Sometimes they will pay attention not because what I am saying is interesting (because it isn't... the stuff I have to teach makes me want to cry... who gives a crap about the word "unless"? Do we really need to dedicate an entire day to teaching that stupid word?), but because I write them on shiny white boards and can erase them with the flick of a finger.

A Lesson

Don't Bother Being Type A in Uganda. In the US, I am an anal retentive maniac most of the time. I am obsessed with planning. And punctuality. And I like to follow rules. These concepts are absurd here. I determine when I am teaching by triangulation... based on who isn't teaching. If the classroom is empty, you're just supposed to go in and assume it is your turn. You might teach for thirty minutes... you might teach for two hours. There is no way to know. You just wait until someone else shows up and then you stop. Life is one big "go with the flow." It's as though I've cosmically been slapped upside the head and told, "You've been way too annoying in your country. How about a little dose of African easygoingness, eh?" I can think of at least one person who will be excited to see if there is any carryover effect when I come home.

A Caution

If you ever come to Uganda, don't read the book "Last King of Scotland" while you are here, in bed, late at night with your headlamp. No one told me the main character is a doctor of tropical diseases! The descriptions are gruesome. Now I think every itch is some obscure parasite that has invaded my body. (Mom, Dad-- no obscure parasites have invaded my body). I really hope I don't come home with elephantitis. I already have monstrously big feet, for crying out loud.