Details

Here are the details that I have/know, the rest will be filled in as I go!

First, I will not be heading on this adventure alone!  Katie Lemke will also be student-teaching in Uganda.  Katie and I have been in the same teaching program for the past two years, and have had almost all of our classes together over that time period.  She and I will be flying together, living together, traveling together, and doing pretty much everything together!

On Sunday, August, 26th, Katie and I will fly from Chicago O'hare to London Heathrow.  We then have a 12 hour layover in London, so our plan is to head into London and explore for a few hours.  I recently found out that Derek's friend Greg is currently working in London, so he has agreed to wander around with us (Greg is Derek's friend who came to Australia when Nick and I studied abroad there, so as Greg said, "We hang out in the coolest places!").  After wandering around in London, Katie and I then fly from London to Entebbe/Kampala in Uganda.  We will then spend two days in Kampala (the capital of Uganda), where we will have our orientation.  The orientation will take place at Makarere University.

After our orientation in Kampala, we will then be driven to Kasese, where we will be living.  Kasese is a district of roughly 500,000 people in western Uganda.  In Kasese, Katie and I will live in a modest home, which we are told has four rooms.  The house has electricity, running water, and a secure fence.  It is within walking distance to the center of town.  We will have a driver who drives us to and from school every day.  

While I will be living in Kasese, I will be student teaching in Rwentutu (about 30 minutes SW of Kasese) at the Rewentutu Community Christian School.  Rwentutu is a small farming community of about 10,000 people in Kasese.  The school is a primary school, and the students there are taught in English.  Despite being taught in English, Lukonzo is the local language of the region which the entire population speaks.  The school was opened in 2007 with the help of Amos and Edith Kambere and their donation of land and fund-raising in Canada, as well as with the help of the local community.  The school has about 250 students in grades K-7.  Instruction at the school follows the Ugandan National Curriculum.  Most of the students attend school as day students, but some do board at the school.  The school has 12 classrooms, 2 large dorm rooms, a health room, library, quest quarters, staff quarters, and a clinic.  The school has water provided by a well and solar electricity.

I will be gone for a total of 10 weeks, with 9 weeks of student teaching.  I will arrive back in Chicago on Friday, November 2nd.

As mentioned, these are the details that have been given to me by the program, but there will be more to come as I experience them first-hand!