The In-service teachers left last week and the college staff then had a module writing workshop. We spent last week trying to write the subject modules for moderation by Uganda Martyrs University. It has been really hard work and I am still working on the Communication and Educational Technology one with help from another tutor who also teaches the subject. I will also have to write some of the Special Needs Education module but haven't even started that! Pre-service students started drifting back to college during the week asking, 'Did you have a good holiday, Madam?' I suggested that asking tutors if they had had a good holiday was not a good idea as we haven't stopped since they left!!
We did however have a staff outing on Saturday. It was a very typical Ugandan affair! We were told transport would be provided at 10am. The tutor organising the trip did say that it was 'African time' so I knew we would not leave on time! We sat in the staff room reading the newspapers, doing crosswords and some did exam marking. We drank tea and coffee and finally were told the transport had arrived... at 12.00!! The problem we were told was that they had booked three matatus but there was not enough money so after protracted negotiation we were only having one! Matatus seat 14 and there were about 30 signed up for the trip! Not to mention we were also taking the college 'sound system', 4 large speakers plus all the extra bits...computer keyboard, electric cables etc. etc. On top of that there were crates of drink, sodas and beers, plates and of course food. They love their food here in fact if money 'goes astray' it is said 'the money has been eaten'!! Food consisted of twelve large cooking pots with food prepared by students in the Home Economics department.
At 12.30 the first group set off, including me with a large iced cake on my lap! The trip took about 40minutes and we arrived at a beach on Lake Victoria about half way between Kampala and Entebbe. It was a beautiful piece of parkland with green grass stretching down to the lakeside, huge trees with red-tailed monkeys jumping about and lots of birds. I was sorry I had not taken my camera but other places near the lake I have visited have always been a bit 'tatty and tired'! We tumbled out of the taxi, cake intact! We went to a thatched banda with the first food pots only to be joined by another group who had also booked in. We were sent to another banda and then spent time looking for a power source...remember the sound system! Some of the trees had fluorescent lights hanging in them with wires sticking out of broken sockets. Electricity here is pretty scarey...the students attatch the bare wires for the TV (no plug) to the socket by using the plastic top from a biro stuck into one hole and then they stick the wires in the other two.....it frightens me every time I see it but that's how they are used to plugging things in!! Anyway power was found and the sound system sparked -literally- into life. In the park next to us another party was going on and they also had loud music blaring so it was a sort of competition to out do each other! Such a shame in such a lovely place...it would have been so peaceful watching the birds by the water! The matatu had departed to collect the rest of the party so eventually everyone and everything arrived. Lunch finally happened at just after 4pm!!! It was a good spread:- fried chicken, fish, goat stew, bean stew, spinach,green beans, carrots, potatoes,yams, tomato salad, cabbage, chapatis, rice and a sort of gravy called soup! It was piled high on the plates and we ate with our fingers. There was beer and sodas and then we cut the cake. People danced to the music and sat on the grass chatting, The principal attended not wearing her nun's habit much to everyones' surprise. The first group left around 6.30 as the sun set leaving the younger staff members to finish off the beer and hopefully be picked up by the returning matatu! I shall hear about the rest of the evening on Monday!! We have attended a number of functions since we arrived and this one was very typical....non-existant time keeping and huge amounts of food (usually the same dishes) along with loud music! It was good to be out with the staff outside work having fun! Sadly no photos but others had cameras so I expect to see those...probably awful ones of me 'dancing'!!
The Nile as you approach Murchison Falls. In some ways the lovely green valley reminded us a bit of the Tamar except the trees are wrong and then we spotted this big crocodile!!
Me at the top of the falls getting wet.....was Rob saying 'back a bit..back a bit!' ???
The regulation photo of the rainbow over the falls. We drove to the top to look down! The noise of the water and the spray was amazing.
We went to see the bottom of the falls on a boat trip. it is very green in the valley with the spray from the falls. Oddly another couple on the boat who were also volunteering in Uganda were living in Launceston and he was one of the people that set up the CFE in Saltash....small world!
We stayed at Paraa Lodge - the view from our room. Did you know more people are killed by hippos in Africa than any other animal?!! This one was grazing happily early morning maybe looking for the swimming pool which was being rebuilt!
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest protected area in Uganda. It is in the far northwest and had some security problems but seems OK now. It has many giraffe. We drove in through forest north of Budongo where the charity has a project and this part of the park is savannah.
This is the ferry from one side of the Nile to the other! While we were waiting for the ferry there was some excitement, the game rangers spotted a dead hippo floating like a huge inflatable toy down the river! It had obviously been in the water some time going by the smell that wafted across! The rangers jumped in a boat to inspect it and came back saying it had been speared.