Thursday - June 18, 2009
Apwoyo! I Tye NingNing! (Hello, How are you doing?)
Today I took a shower with running water. It was very exciting even though it was freezing cold. After breakfast at Kat’s we walked back to the IC house (about 25 minutes.) I had another great conversation this time, but with Catherine, the assistant director. I said it before and I will say it again; everyone here is so intelligent and so deep. It is great to hear everyone’s life story.
At the IC house we learned about Education in Uganda, and The History of Uganda / and the war. It was amazing to hear the history that took place and the violence that took place basically right where we were sitting. Uganda has come such a long way in the past few years and Invisible Children has a lot to do with it.
We then had a drama class with Catherine, which we learned to incorporate drama into class. I thought it was going to be real lame, and was kind of dreading going, but it was pretty awesome. I would go into much more detail about what we did, but I am sure it would just bore you all.
Dinner at Kat’s SUCKED tonight because I could not understand anything the waiter was saying and he could not understand me. It was very frustrating and I literally got 5 different meals put in front of me before it even looked like something I would put in my mouth. Kevin ended up giving me his food (that he loved) and ate whatever that was in front of me. It was very selfless of him, but I am sure he just didn’t want to listen to me complain about being hungry the whole night.
We then walked to the Invisible Children Office for the first time. It was quite a hike and took a good half hour. The office was fantastic because it had an actual flushing toilet. It was well worth the walk. Kevin and I shared a Boda Boda on the way back to the IC house and it was much less comfortable than sharing one with Bill. Bill is about my height and Kevin is a tall kid. I think I need to stick to sharing Boda Boda’s with the little guys because three men on a Boda Boda is difficult enough. The girls have to side-saddle when they are wearing skirts so they can not share. Although Dana and Daneen from group 1 told me that they managed to get on one with Lisa. I really wish I could have seen that in person.
We ended the night by going to Bamboo. This place is my favorite yet. It is very laid back. They have Trivia Night on Thursdays so we met the girls from group 1 there and got to know them a little more. We are going to go back tomorrow night because Lisa from group 1 is singing and we are going to support her. She has a CD out on Itunes so you should check her out.
When we got home, Lance Justine and I chilled with our guard David. He carries a huge AK-47 with him and I have a few pictures of us together, which are the coolest pictures of all time.
Talk to you all soon.
- Ryan


Wednesday 6-17-09
Apwoyo! (Hello)
Today was a jam packed day. We had breakfast at Katarina’s and then walked to the IC house. There we met Jolie (who is the woman that first met the filmmaker boys in the Invisible Children video), Jarrod, and Erika. We had an Invisible Children overview. We learned a lot about Acholi culture and about what a day in the life of an Acholi.
We then had our Lwo Language class. This was awesome. We learned about 4 or 5 pages of Lwo words and phrases that will come in handy wile in Gulu. Just about everyone here speaks English, but it is a sign of respect to them that we take the time to learn a little of their language. Kevin and I decided that we would learn 4 or 5 phrases a day and would be fluent by the end of the trip. Today we focused on “Apwoyo”, “Apwoyo Matek”, “Iri Maber”, and “Ari Maber” which mean Hello/Thank you, Thank you very much, Good Afternoon, and my afternoon is going well. I absolutely LOVE the language and can’t wait to learn it.
We then split up in three groups to go out to dinner. Big John, Bill, John, Sharon and I went to lunch at Acholi Inn. This place is like a palace in the middle of a ghetto. They have the only swimming pool in Gulu, and the food is delicious. It was a little more pricey (12,000 shillings, or 6 dollars)than the other restaurants, but it was worth it. That is twice as much as we have paid yet. Big John then took us on a tour of Gulu, and this was our first time really getting to see Gulu for ourselves.
The best part of the day is that we got to take our first Boda Boda ride. It was one of the best moments of my life. A Boda Boda is like a motorcycle; a taxi motorcycle. We flag them down and hop on the back of the bike and away we go. It was the first time that I felt like I was on my own in Gulu, and we could not stop smiling the entire time we were on them. The best part is that it costs 500 shillings if it is a semi-close ride, and a whole 1000 shillings if it is farther away. 1000 shillings is about 45 cents.
We went back to the IC house for more lectures and then Bill and I went to Ma’s Café for some internet. We had a great talk on the way from IC house to the Café. I have never had such deep conversations with people in my life because everyone here is so deep and has so much to share. I have already learned so much from them. After the Café we decided to go Katharina’s bar (part of our hotel) to continue our conversation. There we watched a bunch of football (soccer) and enjoyed a few Nile Specials.
After showering (if you want to call it showering) we all went to KSP for to celebrate Joanna’s birthday. We had an absolute blast. There was 11 of us and the 9 group 1 girls. There are some really cool girls in group 1 and I can’t wait to get to hang out with them more. Michael and I had a late night party in our room and get yelled at in the morning for being too loud.
We will meet our teachers on Friday, and go to our schools for the first time on Saturday. We are having the greatest time and every day gets better and better. I will post again soon.
- Ryan