Back on the Flip Side

So much to say...

Back on the flip side where the earth is red and the air is thick with the essence of life, raw and real: trash burning, cars honking, cows grazing, birds laughing, children shrieking, chickens scattering, Luganda (local dialect) whispering in the wind...

We arrived to the general madness of Uganda but slowly we are settling in. The house is gorgeous. We literally have views from every window of Lake Victoria. We still need some furniture but things are coming together. We have battled our way in and out of Kampala, Dan finding comfort in the total disarray reminiscent of Boston streets. The car is a clunker perfect for this country. We've been barreling up and down the dirt roads like Kentucky Derby racers. Bodha loves it too - he leaps right in whenever we open the door and say "up up up."

Over the weekend we walked up this hill across from the house, sensing it was full of juju. When we reached the top the energy was intense and dark, with black stains of fire burnt into the shrubs, crippling the ground. As we came around the corner we met the caretaker and "fire-maker" of the area. He would make for quite a character with his over-sized red v-neck sweater, shredded at the seams, sagging khaki pants, and bare feet. He explained that it was indeed a ritual ground used for prayer to the local god, Jaja Lubowa." He instructed us in the traditions of the area, how to pray properly for luck and success in all things, reminding us to look to our dreams for signs from Jaja Lubowa.

My boys are thriving here. Dan is in love with the house, particularly for the astounding views, and is already well at work on his dissertation research. I cannot express the sheer bliss of returning home to him each afternoon, of waking up to his face each morning. It has completely transformed my experience. And Bodha is so freakin' happy here. He is always at one of the windows gazing at birds or romping around outside in the grass, schnuffing everything in sight. I think he's a bit confused by the schedule of everything since he doesn't have a consistent walk time but he'll get used to it soon. He came to school with us last weekend while we were setting up my room and ran around campus and had a blast. It's fun to have him here.

My students so far seem great. I've got a nice group for IB Theatre Arts with an interesting mix of nationalities (American, British, Ugandan, Italian, Indian, French, Venezuelan...). They seem excited. There is pressure on my end since I haven't had the training yet, but hopefully I can pull it off for a few months. In any case, having a room is awesome. Dan did a huge "theatre arts" graffiti banner for me and I created an "actors inspiration" board so that students in grade 6-11 can bring in anything that inspires them as actors and post it up on the board as an ongoing collage with layers upon layers of inspiration which I will photo-document throughout the year.

The first week of school is always a bit of madness and I need to do some planning so that we have a logical progression in each grade. It's hard work but I want to design a great program for this school so that whenever I leave there is a real curriculum in place instead of nothing at all. The students deserve that much.

Thus it begins. I miss you all and send an open invitation for visits at any time... come see the view, it might just change your perspective on the world.