A Day in the Life of Laker Diana

5:27 am
In my sweet slumber I lie, covered in a bed sheet surrounded completely by a mosquito net. Somehow the sounds of cats in heat infiltrate my dreamland. In my sleepy-eyed confusion I am worried that friends are calling my name from the next room. They sound as though they are in pain. When I find myself fully awake, I realize the noise was coming from some frisky felines instead. I am wide-eyed and unable to sleep until they have completed their deed.

7:14 am
My internal clock wakes me this time, 16 minutes before my phone alarm was set to sound. Quietly I stumble out of be and begin my morning routine. From my suitcase I grab some fresh clothes (a skirt and a plain t-shirt as usual) and head to one of the most luxurious bathrooms in Gulu. There is no toilet seat or lid to the tank, but the fact that there is a toilet rather than a hole in the ground is an immediate plus. To flush, I must fill the tank with water from a jerry can and pull hard on a black cord. I notice today that a grasshopper has met his demise in the tank and there he will remain until I find something with which to fish him out. This particular morning I decide to bathe. I fill up a plastic basin and step in. After my soap and shampoo I use a cut up water bottle as a cup for rinsing. The shower is cold and mostly unpleasant but when it is done, I feel absolutely clean.

8:20 am
When my Dwon Madiki coworkers and roommates are ready to leave, we head out. A short walk down the road and we are greeted by numerous boda-bodas (motorbike taxis). I hop on back of one and ask to go to Lacor Hospital. The price is 2,000 Ugandan shillings (UGX) equal to approximately one U.S. dollar. We leave town toward the office down a long dirt road I have come to know quite well. We pass small businesses and many signs for NGOs (Feed the Children Uganda, War Child, World Food Program, Catholic Relief Services) but mostly small clay homes covered with grass-thatched roofs. My boda driver speeds along expertly dodging potholes. It has not rained in two days so the road is dusty. I never fully could imagine the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression until a truck whizzes past and kicks up the dirt. I close my eyes wishing I hadn’t lost my sunglasses. We drive past children walking on their way to school. Every once in a while a small child (usually a girl) shouts from the side of the road “Munu, munu!” beaming brightly. I wave and giddy laughter follows. This used to bother me but Megan likened our presence here to that of a monkey wandering the city. I know that to see such an odd sight would bring me joy and if she waved at me?! So I have come to accept this. Finally after fifteen minutes or so we arrive at the Dwon Madiki office.

8:41 am
We arrive to find Kevin already there working. He is DMP’s administrative secretary, but we have come to know him as the hero of DMP. He does so very much for the organization. Twenty-four and always looking sharp, he is exactly how I picture a young businessman. Today Kevin will be taking Madisson and I to St. Joseph’s Primary School to observe the classes three of our students attend.

10:10 am
Breakfast is served, brought to us by the women from the compound behind the office. Today’s breakfast is mendazi (fried dough), avocado, and tea. There is always tea. We are not quite sure about eating plain avocado so we run next door and buy some chapatti. We use the thick tortilla-like bread to make our own burritos.

10:30am
Kevin shows us the way to St. Joe’s. He tells us it will be a long walk, but it is not too bad. The scenery is quite nice, lush and green. After about twenty minutes walk we arrive at the school and go straight to the head teacher’s office. He is a friendly man and he is prepared to show us around. As we wait for him to talk to the P7 teacher, he has us sign the guestbook, something so many places in Uganda have. I write my name Laker (La-kay) Diana, using the Acholi name I was given by the women of the compound. It is a name given to royalty or important people. We talk to the head teacher a little more before we make our way to a P6 classroom.

In the class the teacher greets us and special chairs are brought in for us to sit in the front of the room. The students are crammed together in a small classroom, sitting five to a bench or more. This is our second day in a Gulu school so we are not as surprised to see more than a hundred students in the classroom. We introduce ourselves and sit back for a lesson on the people of East Africa. I have my video camera and I film for a bit and take a few pictures but it is hard to be discreet with so many eyes on me. I take notes on a few things I notice but I nearly lose my cool when I see this quick moving newt crawling toward me. For the rest of the lesson, I have one eye on this creature and the other on the class.

12:30 pm
We are in a P4 classroom now and the subject is maths. Today we are learning multiplication. We sit in the back of the class and watch as the teacher explains the lesson with an obvious amount of passion and excitement that makes me happy to be there. Even though there are 111 students in class today, it does not seem too crowded, as a group of students sit in the front on the floor. After examples with the whole class, students go to the board to practice. They go over each one together. I am reminded of my experiences in American schools for I have seen these same things there. One of our students goes up to work on a problem and unfortunately gets it wrong. When she corrects herself with the help of the class they all clap for her. I try to join in on the clapping but it is a practiced rhythmic clapping I do not know and so I stop. I was so happy to see this student succeed, knowing especially of her many problems in school. In this moment she was able to do well and 110 students applauded her. Despite the crowded conditions and limited resources, great educational moments exist here. This moment fills me with hope.

1:00 pm
We go back to the head teacher’s office to say our thank yous and goodbyes. He encourages us to come back again sometime. We walk to the major road and take a boda back to the office.

2:30 pm
At the office we find out that Kevin has gone with Megan and Laura to talk to someone about joining the Board of Directors for DMP. As we wait for them we are served lunch. Today it is rice and beans (our staples here) and eggplant, which tastes so delicious. When we are done, we work on some things and wait for our roommates to come back to the office. When they get there we will all leave for home together.

5:00 pm
Megan and Laura finally have come back to the office, but instead of going home together Madisson and I will travel alone. Our two coworkers wish instead to run the four miles to our hotel. Fine by me, I will see you guys at home! Us non runners grab a boda boda and began our trek home. The journey is the same from the morning. The sides of the roads are now filled with children walking home from school, their uniforms telling which school they attend. Also along the road I see many goats grazing. Recently I have noticed a great influx of baby goats to this road. I think about how I want to bring Tracy’s goat to take a picture with her relatives. Nearing the end of our journey home I feel a raindrop. It is only starting the sprinkle but my boda driver, not wanting the rain to catch up to us, speeds up, zipping past cars and bicyclists. For a moment I fear for my life.

5:30pm
We are at home now. When we enter our hotel we are always so cheerfully greeted by the staff. “Welcome backs” and “Apwoyos” are exchanged as we make our way back to the room. Upon opening the door we see our bed nicely made and our pillows and covers creatively and hilariously arranged, a sure fire sign that Molly has come in today to clean.

I have started to write in my journal and Madisson has begun working on some things for the partnership. She is making a spreadsheet with all of the students’ information on it for quick reference in the future. For the most part we are just relaxing and enjoying our post work evening.

6:45ish pm
Laura and Megan have made it home from their run now. They try to embrace me in a sweaty hug but I refuse their advances. They clean up and we laugh together about their faux tan lines caused by dust.

8:55pm
We decided to go to Kope Café for dinner. It is hot tonight, and Kope is the only place I know that serves yogurt, which sounds absolutely delightful. A man named Jamie, who works for Invisible Children, owns Kope. Their menu has lots of good American foods like yogurt, pizza, and burritos. We go there when we need a change of pace. It is usually quite bustling with munus, and my first reaction when I see them is “What are you doing here? What brought you to Uganda? Won’t you be my friend?” When we get there tonight we are disappointed to find out that they do not have yogurt! Bummer. I opt for a cheese pizza instead. At every restaurant we go to food takes a while so I hunker down and wait. By 10:30 our food is served.

11:30 pm
We are not usually this late getting home. I am exhausted beyond words. I change into pajamas, use some left over bottled water to brush my teeth and climb in to bed. The thought of tucking in my mosquito net seems too big a chore for me to complete so I just sit there until Megan scolds me. As soon as I surround myself with insect repellent netting, I pass out, hoping not to be disturbed by cats again!