so what would you say you DO here?

a lot of people have been asking me about my job and the types of things i am doing here in uganda. it is a little strange at this point, as an education volunteer, because things have been moving along exactly as we have been told they would: frustratingly slow. what is keeping me from growing impatient are all the warnings we received throughout training about this very situation. volunteers in the education sector typically find that they initially have a lot of free time. little by little, though, meetings happen, schools are visited, workshops are held, projects are conceived. i am currently at the stage where work is not so plentiful, but i am eager to get rolling and trusting that things will start picking up soon.

that said, i have been quite busy. being a peace corps volunteer is not like working nine to five. rather, we are told on countless occasions that our job is 24/7. that does not mean we are planning lessons and writing reports non-stop; a big part of being here is learning how to integrate into an african community, speak a new language, grow comfortable with transport and local resources, and simply how to survive in such a foreign environment. it makes sense then that, at the beginning, these types of things would demand a majority of our time. that just about answers the question then, right? but it makes me feel a little strange when i hear people tell me how proud they are about the good i am doing in the world. sure, i am here with the best intentions, but if my job did not change over my two years here, i would honestly feel like this has been nothing more than one long, educational vacation. however, please know that i do not expect that to be the case! it's just gonna take some patience, creativity, discipline, and motivation to accomplish the goals i set for my work here. and i think i have come well-equipped.

i am still very new to this environment and the ugandan education system, but i feel like i have a couple decent ideas for projects while i am here. i recently met with the man in charge of the computer lab at our teachers' college. the lab is astonishingly well-equipped, thanks to contributions from usaid. the ten computers are old, but completely usable. they just need some tlc and reconfiguration, as well as a modest software library on hand for support if things go wrong. we discussed plans for installing a lean software set that will improve the performance of the machines and protect them from viruses and tampering without the need for any cash outlay on the part of the college. if this works out, i will have trained the lab manager on how to do all that we discussed and he will be equipped to pass that information along to others as he pleases. that, for me, would be a pretty satisfying victory.

another, more challenging, project i am committed to is that of encouraging a more creative approach to learning among uganda's crop of new teachers. in my brief exposure to the education system here, it is clear that instruction is very off-the-shelf. the teachers have been taught using a limited set of methods and have been trained to teach in that same way. i have witnessed young teachers exhibit an exciting amount of energy and enthusiasm in the classroom, but it is almost as if it is being wasted on teacher-centered methods which fail to actively engage the students or promote critical thinking skills. their personality, rich as it undoubtedly is, is sadly underutilized. my hope is to encourage even just a few of these young teachers to draw a little outside of the lines of habit and routine that have been confining education here. i believe that critical thought and a creative approach to learning are very crucial in recognizing limitations, facing challenges, and moving forward.

so, yeah, i don't think i'll be at a loss for things to do over the next two years. i just have to tune my expectations for this new environment that operates so differently from the one i am used to. as they say in dhopadhola, "moth moth..." (slowly, slowly...)