Sunday, July 4th

I have now been in Gulu for about 5 days, and things are pretty similar, or at least the important things are the same. The people are just as inviting and welcoming as they ever were. Ugandans still know how to have a good time. And of course, they have the best sense of community.
We have just been sitting through a lot of orientation meetings, visiting old friends, and making new ones. As of right now, I’m not sure exactly who I will be teaching with, although I did go visit Sacred Heart Secondary School. It’s an all girls school, so I am definitely excited to teach physics to a classroom of girls. The teaching partner/pairs was re-arranged a little because one of the schools was closed down.
Last time I was here in 2008, I was teaching and living out in Pabo, one of the Internally Displaced Persons Camps outside of Gulu. There was another group of teachers at Atanga Secondary School which is also a camp. Well, apparently this week the students at Atanga S.S. were unhappy with their school officials, and thus they rioted. There are different rumors about why they started rioting, but I imagine it is about food. Apparently they won a district sports tournament (maybe futbol, or track?) and when that happens they are usually given a celebration party. This party typically includes a goat. But as the rumors go, Atanga S.S. did not have the money to purchase a goat for the students, they were mad, and thus they rioted and maybe even beat up the Headmaster. We’re not completely sure what happened, and Invisible Children cannot go to the school until the Ugandan government does something about it. So the 3 teachers that were suppose to live out in Atanga and teach at Atanga SS have been given placements here in Gulutown.
Last night we had a 3rd of July Party here at our house. It was a ton of fun. Students from Awere S.S. (where I taught in 07) came and did a bunch of traditional dances. They were SO good, and I loved watching them dance. I really enjoyed seeing some of my students from 2007 and talking with them. I also had the chance to visit with Agnes. She is the woman who did our laundry and house cleaning in 2007 and 2008. She still works at the other house, on the other side of town. I have not yet gone over to the old house, but I think I will try to go sometime this week. Doreen is the cook there, and she and Agnes are two of my favorite Acholi’s. Agnes now has an 18 month old son. I got to sit and hold him while she sat and ate dinner. I told her all about my niece Maggie and how she is the same age. Jared is Agnes’ son and he is so comfortable with Munu’s (white people) that I probably held him for 45 mins without him even squirming. It was really great to catch up with her and to hear about Gulu through her eyes.
The party included not only people who work for IC (like Agnes) but we also all invited our partner teachers. Since I don’t yet have a partner teacher, I ended up inviting another man named Robert. He was in charge of our lodging out in Pabo two years ago. He is really funny, sometimes on purpose, mostly because of cultural differences that he doesn’t realize are hilarious for us Americans. His ‘filler’ phrase is one of the most hilarious things. Every third sentence include the phrase “let me say like…” For example I was asking him about living in Kampala vs. Living in Gulu. His reply went something like this, “ Let me say like, I am going on here in Gulu, just like that since we had met. I am here in Gulu, let me say like, for 3 years. My brother and I are working together at, let me say like, this photo shop here in Gulu.” And it proceeds like that. I guess he doesn’t usually say it in every sentence, but I couldn’t help but accentuate it.
We got a DJ for the party, and proceeded to have a dance party for about 5 hours. At one point while I was just dancing around with everyone, I realized that people around me were greeting an Acholi man who was dancing just next to me. As many Americans were saying, “Hey Jacob! We’re so glad you came” and “Happy American Independence Day Jacob.”, etc…I then realized the man next to me was THE Jacob from the Rough Cut video. Because of his openness and vulnerability in front of 3 California kids, Invisible Children is now changing the lives of hundreds (I would argue thousands) of Ugandans here in the north. It was pretty surreal when you think of the impact of just one person. It starts as the tiniest pebble, dropped in a pool of water and next thing you know the ripples from that tiny pebble is affecting and changing the environment great distances away.
Definitely the most exciting thing about returning to Gulu is to see the lives of the Acholi people changing and improving. Everytime I come here it has been wonderful to see how Komakech Sheargold’s (partner teacher 07) life and his family’s life has changed for the better. He no longer has a regular bike, but he was actually able to afford a motorbike, and he now uses that to get around town, from Awere SS to Gulu University to Laliya, his village. It is pretty much priceless to the see the improvement of people’s lives here in Gulu.