Liz Set Loose on the Roads of Kampala!

Inevitably, I have to blog about the driving each time I move between African capital cities... it is vastly more interesting than driving in the UK... and more nerve-wrecking!

Despite Kampala's status as a capital city, here are some of the roads I am bouncing along in our 8-seater Prado:

These roads are extremely narrow. Meeting another vehicle coming the other way is testing my mental capacity of spatial awareness and stretching my ability to work out how far each vehicle needs to reverse or manoeuvre in order for us to pass each other without colliding!

There are many paved roads too-  some of them in a deplorable condition. The road I drive to school each day has some fantastic pot-holes, particularly the hole on the left of the road in this photo:

In the city centre, roads are paved but congestion can be a challenge. The one aspect we notice about traffic in Kampala is the sheer volume of motorbikes. Motorbikes, motorbikes everywhere: zipping and zooming in and out of the traffic, unpredictable and a law unto themselves- they may pass you on the left, or the right, stop suddenly in front of you or trail you closely behind. There's no knowing what they will do next. I've never driven anywhere with so many motorbikes! I find that I have to stay extra focused and alert. 

Maybe it's a good job that the CD player is broken in the car, as I do not have any music to distract me from driving in these early days as I adjust to Kampala!

Many of the motorbikes (or "boda-bodas") are used as taxis to transport people all over the city. They are a popular form of transport, which means they are prolific. For a small fare, you can hail a boda-boda and ask the driver to take you to your destination, hop on the back and be off to your desired place quicker than the cars and mini-bus taxis, which obviously cannot zip between the traffic the way a motorbike can. They provide a cheap- and riskier- ride across Kampala! You can even hail a bike and climb on with your friend- or your entire family- sometimes we see Mum, Dad and up to 3 children on a bike!

At the traffic lights, there will always be a huge group of motorbike riders impatiently waiting at the front of the line before the lights change to green. Well, that is, those who bother to wait for the lights to change, rather than the many who just take a chance and drive off at any time!

In addition to the motorbikes, there are barrow-pushers and bicycles galore which can pose an extra hazard. 

Few roads actually have pavements running next to the road, so it is paramount that I keep an eye out for pedestrians where they are walking on the road.

Finally, we have the white-uniformed traffic police who keep us on our toes... and there's always the risk that they may be wanting a bribe. My heart sinks when they want to pull the vehicle over. You never know how the conversation may go! They often stand on the road directing traffic or watch at the side of the road for any driving offences which they can fine drivers for. They are not above hopping onto the back of a passing boda-boda to hitch a lift between vantage points- like this lady on the right, waiting in front of us in the traffic queue last week:

 

All in all, driving in Kampala is proving to be an interesting experience- and one which I feel better prepared for after my initiation into the chaotic driving in Nairobi! I'm so thankful that I had Nairobi as the stepping stone before Kampala. Now I find that in comparison, Kampala drivers are more polite- some of them even let me into traffic when there is congestion! Unheard of in Nairobi! I can't help smiling as I wave at those lovely drivers who actually make way for other divers- what a refreshing boost for my confidence as I learn to drive in yet another African capital city!

Games Day

 Above are the staff and students of Heritage School, gathered for the start of "Games Day", It is similar to the "Sports Days" that we had when I was at school- but this was a lot more fun and lighthearted than the serious and competitive sports we were forced to take part in long ago, whether we could manage to do the sports or not! The students are gathered in their colour-groups ready to compete against each other for points and prizes.

The day started with each year group doing a sprint. Here come the girls from Esther's class!

And here comes Ben in his blue cap, with some of the boys from his class:

Joel made a valiant effort running with his Kindergarten class, although there seemed to be a little confusion among some participants about when to start running and where exactly to stop!

The Parents Race was last of all... and I was very excited to come in fourth place... even though there were only about 9 participants! ;-)

Unlike most Sports Days where I have been a student or a teacher, events did not run one after the other, but were organised to take place simultaneously. The field was set up with entertaining team games and activities, each event supervised by staff. The teams rotated between events, gaining points as they participated. 
It was fun for me to wander around and cheer on our children as they took part in the various activities- this is something I did not imagine myself doing when I was busy home-schooling two of our children in the Juba schoolroom last year! After a break from "real school" for two and a half years, we are soaking up all these fresh opportunities- and loving every minute!

Spot Ben in a circular relay game:

And spot Joel in the circular relay:

And Esther too!

This is still Africa!

There are some things which are very different about our life in Dodoma (Tanzania) or Juba compared to this big city of Kampala. Here, there is so much development and some great facilities: places to take the children out for the day, lovely cafes, ice-cream shops, restaurants, a choice of many good schools and churches, supermarkets galore which gives us competitive prices and choices about where to shop for our family groceries...

There are other things which are reminiscent of some of the challenges I have previously experienced when living life in an African context... like the bold and horrible RODENTS!! These foul, pesky, germ-ridden creatures keep turning up as I move from African country to African country...

Last week, I discovered droppings and a half eaten banana on my kitchen counter. On further investigation, I uncovered a lot MORE droppings IN MY LARDER!! OH NO,
 OH NO, OH NO!!!!
And not only that... the nasty little 4-legged thief had OPENED a vent on one of my tupper-wares and tried to eat the chocolate cake inside!!! :-(

I moved the entire contents of the larder to the lounge. Our house looked ridiculous, with sealed tupper-wares of supplies and food and cleaning equipment, as well as the draining board contents now decorating all the lounge surfaces, well away from Ratty's domain:

Yesterday morning, much to my delight, Andrew announced that we had caught the rat on a locally- bought glue-trap! Since he clearly liked chocolate, we had plced a chocolate biscuit as bait-- and it got him! Horray! I was too fearful to go an look at the thing myself, but sent my braver children in to the larder (!!!) to take this photo for me:

Unfortunately.... the saga is not over. This morning, to my horror, we discovered more droppings in the  kitchen- argh!!!!!!
I have now booked some industrial-strength fumigators to come in and KILL anything on 4 or 6 legs in my house. The house will stink and we will have a lot of inconvenience,,, bit I am not sure what else to resort to.... I'll keep you posted on what turns up when the exterminators have finished their job!

SCHOOL again!!

My children are at school!! And I am no longer a home-schooling mother!!

This is "Heritage International School" where Esther, Ben and Joel have been pupils since January 9th this year:

The main entrance:

The Administration building:

We had a few nerves on the very first morning of school as I prepared to pack our mini-Parkers into our Prado:

However, Esther and Ben really enjoyed their first few days! At the end of the first week, after just 4 days at a new school in a new country, Esther celebrated her 11th birthday... She was nervous that she would have no friends and nobody to celebrate with. Unfounded fears! On that Friday afternoon, 6 young friends (mostly, but not all, from MAF families) returned from school with Esther to help her celebrate her birthday, joining another young MAF friend back at our house. There were some challenging games and birthday cake- and lots of fun as we celebrated Esther!

Esther's Party Games:

• threading a necklace one-handed with pasta tubes and string.... and opening wrapped sweets while wearing oven gloves:

• using a small spoon to scoop cotton balls into a tub while blind-folded... 

• picking up as many pieces of lego as possible in one minute, using only chop-sticks:

• picking up a cut-down cereal box using only your teeth, with your hands behind your back:

Time to pose... and then eat cake!

Adapting to School

The transition to a much bigger school than Joel has ever been used to has been harder for him. Although he is posing happily for me in this photo, we have to remember that this photo was taken at the end of the school day, when he was happy to be going home! Going into school early in the mornings has not been so jolly :-(

Naturally, seeing him unhappy and worried while dropping him off at his classroom (pictured below) has been hard for me too. 

I heard a good quote the other day: that a mother is only ever as happy as her child- so when her children are sad, that affects the mother too. I know this to be true! It hurts to leave my child when he is genuinely sad and horribly anxious about the new environment and new people around him.

 

On the very first day of school, I had to congratulate myself for actually getting home at all. I had left a screaming Joel with his new teacher and felt wobbly myself as I headed back to the car, wishing I could just bring him home with me, but knowing he needed to stay at school. As I climbed back into the vehicle, the tears welled up-  and a flood was unleashed! 

I cried all the way home, tears streaming down my face for the 20 minute drive. I look back and am amazed that I made it back home in one piece... I was barely able to see the pot-holed road, the speed bumps, the wandering cows, multitudes of speeding motorbikes, not to mention the many bicycles loaded with unlikely goods like long, tall roofing beams, making them an absolute hazard as they lurched all over the road. It is perhaps a miracle that I did not hit anything! My mother's heart still aches when Joel is unhappy, but gradually we are seeing him relax and grow accustomed to the new routine and new people in his life.

To ease the transition, a MAF colleague suggested that perhaps Joel could do some half days. What a great idea! I approached his teacher, who was happy to oblige. Now Joel and I have some wonderful one-on-one time a couple of afternoons each week, which is great both for him and for me, as it helps to reassure me that he is coping and gives me someone special to spend afternoons with. This week, we had fun going for hot chocolate on a rainy afternoon at a nearby cafe. 

Joel snapped this "selfie" of us on my phone camera:

On the other hand, Ben is delighted with his new school! After a couple of days, he declared, "This school is so much easier than home-school!" !!! 

When we had a public holiday last week and the school was closed for one day, I found this note in Ben's homework diary. He had been asked to write down that there would be no school- and Ben had illustrated the note with a most revealing stick-figure, demonstrating exactly how he felt about missing school for a day!

Esther is adapting to school again after her two and a half years of home-school. This is the fifth school she has attended in her 11 years: she says she likes it here better than the other schools she remembers from the days before Juba. A little reserved at times, she is generally happy- but not at all pleased with the concept of home-work! To be fair, she does receive a LOT of homework. We are all having to learn how to manage our time better after the school day ends so that homework can be done at a reasonable hour before bed. 

We have entered a new phase and a new beginning! I have to be honest and admit that I find it hard to leave my children in other people's care and drive away from them each morning. It feels so strange to not be the one in charge of them during the day! I miss having them around. I still have mornings when I am tearful driving away from them, feeling like I have no longer the right to manage their days and feeling sad that I can't be there for them if they are finding it hard or overwhelming in their new school. 

I also have to watch that I am not too critical of the different way my children are now taught. I must have self control not to correct their work when I notice the fact that they are learning to spell using American instead of British English and calculate money in dollars and not pounds sterling. The school uses a mainly American curriculum as opposed to a British curriculum and while that is not something I dislike, it is something new that we need to accept.

On the other hand, I do NOT miss the pressure of having sole responsibility for the children's education.

 I do not miss the evenings and the Saturday mornings spent locked up by myself planning lessons and preparing resources. 

I do not miss the pressure of having to push all the time for the children to be working and for us to be focused on home-schooling.

I love having the freedom to organise my day- and it is amazing being able to be available for coffee dates when they present themselves! I used to feel so frustrated in Juba, when others would be socialising and I had to keep saying "no" so that the children's education could continue without them getting behind on assignments. I knew my priorities were correct and in order, but I did not like feeling that I could not invest in other areas and that I had little time for getting to know my team mates better. 

This is a new season. We are only beginning to adjust. It will take time for us all to settle, but it is an exciting new season. New possibilities are opening up ahead of us all! My prayer is that we can make the most of the opportunities ahead: that all three children will settle well, make kind friends and thrive in this new school that we have been blessed to become a part of...