Pabo Day 1

Pabo Day 1

Yesterday Catherine, Allison, Pablo, and I boarded a mutatu to head to Pabo. After stopping at multiple destinations our journey was finally underway. The ride itself was insane. The mutatu (kind of like a small bus) did not ride down the road in a straight line at all. The zig zag pattern was an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the potholes. We would avoid one set of bumps just to be met with another. The windows rattled so loudly that I could not hear what anyone was saying. At some point I just gave up and put on my ipod and stared out the window. That was the benefit of the drive. The landscape became increasingly beautiful. It was an eternal stretch of rolling hills with trees placed in just the right spot to make the scenery breathtaking. I was so excited over this view that I pulled out my camera and showed Allison the photo-op. She stopped me though, because of the police vehicle passing us. I quickly hid my camera and hoped that they did not see it. I did not want my footage to be taken. They passed and then we happily clicked away.

Finally, we arrived at Pabo. Our accommodations was going to be a hotel that was brand new. I was stoked…we walked by and looked at the beds (I was hoping the pillows would be better!) and the beds looked nice. Then he told us the bathrooms and washrooms were around the corner. I was the first one over there as I was most anxious about this information. I opened the door to the washroom…there was a drain on the floor, but where was the showerhead? A spicket at least? Nope…no running water. Our rooms had a basin that we were to fill from a spicket that contained collected rain water and that is what we were to use. Now I was nervous.

We went back outside to get our bicycles fixed (our mode of transportation-which was actually kind of exciting). The community looked a lot poorer than where we had been staying. Dirt roads and shacks. Then we headed to the school to have a tour. The buildings looked so worn as we pulled up, but there were students and teachers walking around willing to make education work. We entered the head teacher’s office to have our first round-table. Catherine (Teacher Exchange coordinator) would meet us on Fridays at 11:30 to discuss the week. Pablo and I would then leave with her and return to civilization until Sunday evenings. This will be my life for the next five weeks.

Catherine and Allison left, and Pablo and I were truly alone. We received a humbling tour of the school. There were many things to learn. The floors did not really exist, and on dry days students will try to pour their water on the floor in order to keep the dust down. The chalkboards had chunks taken out of them. No erasers. The teacher salary is equivilant to a US $25 a month…a little less than $1 a day. Our teachers, Charles and Sarah, live in sad conditions. Charles has a hut for his whole family, and Sarah rents out a single room. The teachers do not have a classroom. The students remain in one room and the teacher will travel. The rooms are about the size of my planning room, and there are over 70 students per class (and that is on the smallish side). Pablo and I looked around this heartbreaking place and Pablo mentioned that it was humbling.

We took a boda boda back to our accommodation. We had to figure out how to use a kerosene lantern so that we could see as it got darker. (One thing about Africa-the sun is brighter and hotter…the dark is definitely darker). I carried one into the washroom with me and attempted to bathe. My hair did not get washed. After a delicious dinner, a few “you’ll survive” texts from the group, and a call from my mom, I feel asleep in preparation for the following day.

Cheers,

Jenni