Knitting Class

I went to a primary school next to my house yesterday to take a knitting class. The Primary 4 girls were excited to teach me and i was really excited to learn. (Mom, our knitting class at JoAnne's didn't stick~) They showed me how to make "windows" and i had a happy time listening to the conversation as they knitted. Lots of the students at this school are from Sudan, so the chatter was in Arabic, Luganda, English and their Sudanese local language.

There weren't enough knitting needles for all the girls to knit, so they were using bicycle spokes, the inside of their bic pens, toothpicks, small sticks and hard pieces of grass. And they were knitting such beautiful things.
When they first showed me their knitting tools i wanted to laugh an unbelievable-but-of-course laugh. Instead i said that they were doing amazing work and i couldn't wait til next term so they could keep teaching me.

These P4 girls just learned how to knit this term; it was taught by one of the teachers and a boy from Northern Sudan. They are advancing very quickly and are now teaching most of the other students there. So even the 5 year-old in P1 was happily knitting away using her two small twigs.

:)

Expectations

Girls decorating their poetry on my front porch
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I thought that i didn't have any expectations, but i was wrong. They were lying there quietly in the back of my mind only to surface during the most frustrating moments of service.
I wanted to share some of them with you.

1. I expected to live in modest housing without running water or electricity. My house is incredibly nice and very "western" with plumbing, lights and yes i have tiled floors.
2. I expected to have trouble communicating with home but there are internet cafes all over kampala, not to mention right next to where i work.
3. I expected to be on my own, without any american support system but I'm close to the city where many foreigners live and work AND i have some great PCV friends who live nearby. One amiga even works with me at the same Primary Teachers College.
4. I expected to miss people like crazy. So far, that one's right on the mark.
5. I expected to have plenty, if not overflowing amounts, of work to do. The work is "there" i just have to go out and get it.
6. I expected to be more motivated. I think the problem i'm facing with motivation is that i feel overwhelmed with the responsibility. There are up and down feelings of inadequacy, determination, melancholy and confidence. I'm working on self encouragement; "Si se puede" and stuff like that.

Besides what i did expect, i didn't expect so many other wonderful things that surround me now. So i'm thankful for that!

November Weekend

I went up north to a village called Mwareere to work with my friends Lizzie (who lives there), Christine, Amanda and Mandy for Girls Empowerment Day at Mwareere Secondary School. It went really well. I talked to the girls about goal setting and had them write a letter to themselves that Lizzie would return to them after a year. The other sessions were bead making as an income generating activity, information and prevention of HIV, self defense and self esteem. I think the girls were really excited to see so many foreigners gathered in one place~ they really enjoyed all the activities and we hope to come back next year for a re-fresher course.

I also went to visit my homestay family in wakiso. I was able to play with my little sisters and brothers for a few hours. It was loads of fun and it felt like home. We played cards, i helped pick up leaves in the yard, we watched a circus show on tv, we had tea and of course, before i left, they fed me lunch. Then i traveled back south to Kisubi and played music and colored and talked with the P5 and P6 girls at St. Theresa. It was such a happy day of laughing and talking with little ones. It felt good.

Thank You Castillos

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Thank you Casiana for this beautiful drawing. It makes me happy!

Love, Celeste

Walk to Lake Victoria

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My friends and i walked to the lake yesterday. It was me, Paulinee, Teddy, Sylvia and Scovia. They had never been to the lake! So we had a good time~ We hadn't walked 5 minutes before Pauline said we were walking So Far! We hitched a ride halfway down the road, which was kinda nice cause we were walking s-l-o-w. It was a fun sunday afternoon.
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So maybe you've noticed, i've been finding more internet time. I feel happier when i feel "connected" to family & friends in the good ole US of A. And i just wanted to say (again and again) thank you for the emails and letters you've been sending my way. Even the occassional facebook hello is a warm feeling...