I realized I have talked a lot about the fun experiences I am having here in Uganda, but I've never really talked about what a normal week looks like for me. I think most people think I am off running wild with lions and zebras and doing all sorts of crazy African things, but it's just not true. In fact, I haven't even seen any lions!! But, I did manage to see a few zebras one day when we were driving somewhere. College life here looks surprisingly similar to college life in America. So, while this may not be that exciting to read about, read it anyways!! :)
Monday: I have a class called Faith and Action, which looks a lot at the differences between African Christianity and American Christianity. We also explore different aspects of life and have read some really awesome books about Christianity. This class is required of all the students in my program. It doesn't start until 10:45 though so I get to sleep in, even in Africa. After class, we go for lunch which is chaos because there are soooo many people here. Also, we are the only white students so of course everyone stares-per usual. Then, I have a break until my African Literature class at 4. I usually nap or do homework or just hang with people around campus. In my African Literature class, we read poems or short stories and discuss themes and characters. It's very similar to the Literature class I took at Greenville already, but it is fun to see how different African authors write in comparison to American ones. Classes are pretty simple here and if you just show up and speak a lot, you will get an A. Not to mention life is graded on a 20 point scale here so 80-100 is an A!! Monday nights I don't do much of anything, like my normal life in America. I do homework or get online or hang with friends. We have a curfew of 8pm, so I can't go off campus after that point. It really puts a damper on life, haha.
Tuesday: I don't have class until 11 am, so yet again I get to sleep in! However, life here starts at about 6 am, so sleeping in can be quite a challenge sometimes. I have a class called African Traditional Religion(ATR) and this is probably my least favorite class. We just learn about African religions and what they consist of-sound impressive?! After this class, we have community worship which is chapel. It goes for about an hour and is actually pretty fun. However the messages are not my favorite and usually seem to attack America/Americans a lot or homosexuals(I won't even get into that). The music is really fun and interactive though. Then, I got to lunch at 1 and at 1:30 I head to my internship. It takes almost an hour to get to Salama and by the time we get there, the kids are super pumped to see us. I stay at Salama till about 5:30 or 5:45pm. My day there is basically filled with playing with the kids, reading books to them, and doing laundry. When I get back, I usually am ready for a shower because I most likely got peed on or worse-ha. I go to supper after that and then at 7:30 I have choir practice until 9:30ish. Then, I attempt to do homework or get online.
Wednesday: This is my day off-kind of. I don't have any classes on Wednesdays, but I do go to my internship. I leave for that around 12:15 and leave at like 5:15ish. My day there is similar to Tuesdays and sometimes I go out to the garden as well. When I get back, I usually don't do much either and just hang around. Nights here are pretty similar to my nights in America. I will watch a movie or hang around with friends.
Thursday: I have class on Thursday at 8:30am and it's my ATR class again. This class goes for 2 hours and is probably the longest 2 hours of my life! When it's over, I like to nap because waking up that early is too much for me-haha. I don't have class again until 2, so I try and get homework done in between there. I usually have lunch and then go to Literature class. After this class, I go to tea time which occurs 2 different times in the day. There is break tea which is 10-11 every morning and then 4-5 is the afternoon tea. Thursday nights I usually go get rolexes from a canteen off campus. Rolexes are chapati with eggs in them. It's like a tortilla filled with an omelet. :) So greasy, but so delicious! I have choir from 7:30-9:30ish again also. Choir here is so interesting because it involves us writing down the words and then they sing it for us and we just have to get it. It is quite a different experience than America. Also, when they teach us songs in Luganda, that is an exciting time.
Friday: I only have 1 class on Friday which is my Faith and Action class again. It is from 8:30-10:30, which I love because then I have the rest of the day free. We usually head to Kampala after class and shop around and go to different markets there. It takes about an hour to get there and only cost 1,000 shillings which equals about 50 cents. :) Lately, we have been going to our school basketball games which happen in Kampala too. This is hectic and probably some of the most awkward moments in my life here. Me and my few friends who go are the only white people in a huge stadium of black men. Basically, we are watched like pieces of meat-so fun....NOT! However, it is fun to see how involved people are here with sporting events.
Saturday: I usually just hang around and don't do much. If I stay with my host family, we go to church in Kampala on Saturdays. This usually turns into an all day event and I don't get back until like 8 pm. We go to church which is about 4 hours and then we have lunch at church. Then, we usually shop around or get whatever we might need for the next week. Downtown Kampala is probably one of the scariest places I've ever been in my life. Between traffic, boda bodas, people, and creepy men, it's enough to make anyone cry, haha. However, it is fun to see all the stores and shops and people.
Sunday: This is my sleep day/homework day/skype day. I sleep in as late as possible, which is usually only till about 9 or 9:30am. Then, I basically do homework most of the day and at night skype with people. The internet is the best, because most people are off campus. I spend a lot of time hanging with friends here and am really developing some close bonds. This makes it all the harder to leave when the time arrives, but I am soooo thankful for all of my amazing friends.
Well, that is a week of my life in a nutshell. Of course all of these days are subject to change and the weekends have been filled with some pretty crazy/random adventures. I am having the time of my life here and will be sad to go. I am blessed to even be able to come here and have such great experiences. :)
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