School Spirit, Socials, Jinjatown, Monkeys, and Paul Bunyan

The end of the second week concluded in a volleyball and netball tournament some HCLV students participated in at a different school. We went on Friday and Saturday to cheer them on. They won some and they lost some. It was fun to see extracurriculars at play, and I thought the ice cream boda bodas (motorcycle/scooters) were funny.

Friday night also featured a social hosted by the house I am staying in. There was so much good food–popcorn and peanuts, some pastry that vaguely tasted like apple fritters, and some of my other favorite Ugandan snacks. We also enjoyed a variety of beverage options. 

On Saturday, Br. George drove us out to Jinjatown, the main center in Jinja. We stopped at some giant 3-story market with individual vendors selling produce on the first floor and clothing on the second and third floors. After that, we made our way down to Mzungu Street (Mzungu means “white person”), the touristy/expat area. We did some window shopping there before going to a Swiss-owned cafe where, despite the slow service, I had one of the best paninis ever–bbq chicken and pineapple! There was even mozzarella cheese on it–and wow have I been missing cheese! We also got some ice cream (I got strawberry and pina colada) at a place called Sikita. The waiters are deaf there, and there’s a cool article about it (https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2020/0917/Fighting-stigma-with-ice-cream-at-Sikia-Cafe). We walked around some, making our way to the Hangout where we took pictures and had some very sugary pineapple soda called Novida. Br. George picked us up after and took us to where Holy Cross seminarians study philosophy–and there were about 50 monkeys roaming around! Incredible! It was so fascinating and entertaining to watch them in their natural habitats. We also found out that Bruce, a dog at the house where Justice and Avery live, had puppies! They were adorable, and the Jinjatown day was definitely a success!

The week was fairly typical, though we weren’t able to go to St. Ursula’s for a variety of reasons. What does a typical day look like? Around 6:30-7:00am, we attend morning Mass down the hall from our rooms. We then enjoy breakfast and head down to the school around 8:00 or 9:00am. Once at the school, we typically head to the staff room, the library, or a class before break at 10:30am. Break typically features a beverage–African black tea or milk with sugar–and some sort of snack. After break, we typically teach a class. We often go back up the hill to the house for lunch, though sometimes we choose to stay and have lunch at the school. After lunch, we teach another class. We then head back up to change into some athletic shirt and basketball shorts to play sports–typically volleyball–before dinner at 7:30pm. By around 10:00pm, I am typically asleep.

We also enjoyed some good food this week, including Rolexes (chapati with eggs inside) and banana bread. We also tried jackfruit, which tasted pretty good in the beginning, but the notorious smell got to me, making me lose my appetite. 

On Friday, Avery and Justice went to the clinic, so I picked up their English classes, which meant I was teaching 3 classes that day. I was pretty tired, but I had some fun with it. My class is learning about folktales and fables and the like, so Celia and I read them “Paul Bunyan” to give them a fun little comparison between American folktales and an African one we read in class. Later that night, we went to a social at the house Avery and Justice live at. Celia and I listened to one of the priests (who also happens to be a physics and math teacher) lecture us about the physics behind the Titanic submarine that's been on the news. Let’s just say I am happy I am a business major, but it's great that there are people so passionate about physics in the world.