Final Week in the States

Alright, a lot has happened since my last post. I found out the school I will be volunteering at, I found out where I will be staying, and most importantly, I have had a few going away parties. Also, the first group has arrived safely in Gulu, and is having a great time. They all seem to be adjusting well, and say they feel very safe.

I will be at Sir Samuel Baker School and I will be teaching Geography and History. The teacher I will be working with is Okello Lawrence. Sir Samuel Baker use to be known as one of the best schools in all of Uganda until it was destroyed by all the fighting. I believe that they started to rebuild it early this year, but am not sure if they are done or how far along they are.

I am very excited about where we will be staying. We just found out on Friday that we will be staying at Katharina's Hotel and Bar in Gulu town. It is in the heart of Gulu town and is in a very central location. There are even a few upright showers and pit toilets there, which is terribly exciting. It seems like the best of all the housing options, and I am sure that all the volunteers that are not staying there will be very jealous of us.

I want to again thank my faculty for the incredible gift basket they gave me. It had everything in it that I need, and way too much money was spent. It was greatly appreciated, and unbelievably generous. I will take as many pictures as possible of me using all of the stuff in the basket, well maybe not the baby wipes or the travel toilet paper, but all the other stuff.

I am just going to try to spend this week with family and friends and taking a lot of hot showers and watching a lot of reality TV. I will also savor my last few nights sleeping without a net enclosing me, and without deadly mosquitos hovering over my head.

I will try to post again towards the end of the week, and when I get to London. I just want to thank everyone again for their support and encouragement. I will be very safe, and return a better, more experienced, person in August.
Oh, and to my students, I hope that you have a great last week in Middle School and I wish you all the best. Sorry I could not be there to end the year with you. I hope that you have learned how fortunate most of us are in the United States, and appreciate all you have; including a very cool, caring, intelligent, fun, good-looking, hilarious Civics teacher.

See you all soon.
- Ryan (Mr. J)