YEAH POSTAL SERVICE

So exciting news for everyone, we have a PO box of our own and it absolutely ROCKS! We appreciate people being patient with us (no one more so than our own parents) but now we want to pass along information about how you can get in touch with us directly.

Our Address:
Tony Markon and/or Stacey Frankenstein-Markon
PO Box 144
Mbale, Uganda

In just ten simple days your love magically travels to a town only 40 kilometers away!

But seriously, we now have a post office box and we really appreciate that you have been filtering your letters and notes through our parents. Luckily for Stacey and I Mbale is a large city and they get their mail from Kampala routed daily. Other places can have it be three of four weeks or more because they don't do anything until they have a full bag.

While mail in Kampala is held up because of the notoriously slow post office, larger cities handle it themselves and Mbale is one of the best. The one request is that if you send us a letter or package, shoot us an email, text or call as well because they may only hold it for two weeks, and we may have to work things around our schedule. I don't think the rule is seriously enforced, and a lot of other Ex-pats have PO Boxes there as well.

Either way, we have already been feeling the love with everyone who reads this blog, chats on skype, sends us texts, writes us emails/letters, calls us or sends carrier pigeons. Now there is simply another avenue and will also mean we will be around a post office to send items out of our own.

PEACE!

A less belated (but long) blog post

So while most of our blog posts have been about fun and games (relatively) I figured I would write a post about the actual work we are doing. Because surprisingly we are actually doing work! Who would have thunk it to be true!

Life was very busy settling into to our house, but that was because we actively filled our day with little projects here or there. Now with both Stacey and myself teaching we are finding things much more hectic. I will start with what I know best and tell you about life in St. Theresa's.

The history of the school is like this, it was founded in the 1930's or 40's just like everything else in this colonial complex. The school served the needs of the small rural population just outside of the small trading center. Initially things were developed near the train depot (Got to love the British, trying to put trains in Africa. Africa really showed them.) which is a kilometer from the college/our house. Now most things are built up along the highway connecting Mbale and Soroti with the stops of Bukedea and Kumi in between. The school was small, but able to handle the community it served. After colonialism ended and Uganda struggled through multiple political coups, two things happened. The population of Uganda started to grow rapidly and AIDS started to take serious effect. While Uganda has been the poster child of how to address AIDS in Africa, its ideas and perceptions about family raising also suffered. Uganda still has many AIDS victims and orphans as well as understandable fears of a relapse into more difficult times, but overall has handled things very well. With the amount of death occurring in families many produced large amounts of kids. The decrease in AIDS and other child mortality factors led to a baby boom in Uganda which puts it in its current state. The population has essentially doubled in a very short time with 50% of the population being under the age of 15. The increase in children led the government to keep pushing proactive things and Universal Primary Education was hatched. While this government has done many questionable things (and really which one hasn't?) I am going to focus a little more on the positives. Uganda saw the importance of educating children and set up government schools where the tuition would be covered which is approximately 40,000 shillings a term.

This resulted in schools being flooded with students. The idea had wonderful intentions and the batch of children it applied to from P1 is just making its way through secondary school, the jury is still out on how much it has helped the country with the strain it has put on the education system. Universal Primary Education was promptly followed by Universal Secondary Education making tuition free for all pre-college education. So, sorry for the history lesson, but that all leads us back to St. Theresa's. In 2007 the school had a student body of 140. They had a dorm and a small block of classrooms as well as a nice administration block. There wasn't much there and it wasn't preforming that well. USE hit and the population swell hit the rural schools hard because families are still popping out 10+ kids each. Today the student body is at 740 with 160 of those being boarders. Their dorm is too small so girls sleep in one of the rooms in the administration block. The teachers were moved into the library and the Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher and Bursar all share an office. There are three lab rooms, but each is a permanent classroom because everything is full. The S5 class actually has a store room in which to hold their classes. The school started a new block of classrooms, but the government told them they would take over building them and they remain half finished. The S1 students are all in one room, while the other classes are broken into two streams each.

St. Theresa's has started to do some things to address the student surge. Just before I arrived they started work on a new dorm for the boarding girls. The idea is most girls will move there and open up one or two rooms in the process. That will open up the old staff room for me to set up a computer lab. There isn't much use for a library, the lack of books, suspicion of students stealing everything that isn't nailed down (which is partially true) and the lack of interest most students have of studying alleviates the necessity. The school was donated 10 computers a few years ago and initially had them set up, but as the space got to small they returned to boxes and have been sitting for at least two years. They have also been putting more pressure on the ministry and have been rounding up local support for school improvements.

So where do I come in? I am currently watching, keeping my eyes and ears open, opening my mouth occasionally (sometimes for the better, other times not so much), learning as much as I can about my school and students, and teaching S1 and S2 students chemistry and biology. I have 5 double class periods (80 minutes each) a week. It is a small load, but with the unfamiliarity of the curriculum and the other events at school it is nice. I am a part of the science department so I have been sitting in on staff meeting (an adventure in itself), looking at the labs, and voicing input here and there. I am also charged with helping establish the computers in the school. Already there is a computer in the staff room and I have assisted in lessons for teachers which typically centers around formating things in Microsoft Word. I spend a lot of the day hanging around the school, talking with teachers and getting a feel for things.

In every school there is a delicate balance. The biggest problem is that Ugandan teachers are spoiled. If anyone thinks that being a teacher in the US is the easiest job ever, and you are a complete idiot if you do, you will be sorely mistaken once I drop a little knowledge. Ugandan teachers come in two forms, certified teachers and uncertified teachers. Certified Teachers are teachers which have been approved by the Ministry of Education and are assigned to posts by the ministry. They are also paid by the central government. That means they have one of the most consistent paychecks in the country as well as little or no loyalty to the school at which they work. They literally could be moved across the country at the ministry's whim so many people keep their family in one place and travel far to work so if they get transferred they don't uproot each time. That part of their life is difficult, but it is completely offset by how the system works in their favor. In the school they are assigned they teach 16 doubles a week to be considered full time. Most teachers condense these over two or three days which allows them to pick up days at other schools as uncertified teachers. Uncertified teachers are teachers who either haven't been picked up by the ministry (even though there are huge teacher shortages) or teachers who have ministry appointments, but want to fill holes in other schools staffs. These teachers are paid by the school and while their pay is less, the incentive is higher. Many do it at schools near where their family is so they may stay at home more than half the week. Another thing is how the schools act. Salaries are paid at the end of each month, so schools organize a stipend for each of their teachers in the middle of the month to help get them through till payday. So most teachers get a government salary, a second school income, and a bonus in the middle of each month from two different schools.

While this doesn't seem ridiculous, the attitudes most teachers have is what takes the cake. There is ALWAYS a reason not to give your lesson. Absenteeism is rampant in this country and since the central government is in control at the government schools there is usually little the school can do about it. Also, many times the administration is just as bad as the teachers and since everyone gets their paycheck at the end of the month, why rock the boat? My school is also a small and poor one. They charge extra fees besides tuition, but they don't have a lot of capital. My teachers constantly are complaining about not having enough resources. The truth is they have plenty of resources, just most of them are the wrong ones. They rant about teaching aids, but they only have ideas for ones that can be used once a school year and left on a shelf the entire rest of the time. They are huge on token pieces here, oh look at the nice shinny piece of instrumentation, no it has never been used, but it shows how good our school is. Or, yes we have a library, all the books are under lock and key so they are safe and no one is allowed to enter there ever so the 500 books are never read. Besides getting more supplies for the S4 practical lessons which prepare them for the UNEB exam, I have never heard a good idea of a teaching aid, but I have heard almost every teacher exclaim they cannot do their job properly without them. The structure of life at the school is also a reason lessons are missed. Teachers cannot teach a lesson until they have gotten their fill from break tea or lunch which always runs late. They will also leave problem sets on the board or diagrams for the students and call that a lesson and sometimes they will just hand their notes or book to a student had have them read it for the rest of the class to transcribe while they remain in the staff room.

Obviously not all teachers are like that, but it is much more prevalent than it should be. Other acceptable excuses for not teaching are but not limited to; death in the family, sick child, it rained (more legit than one would initially think), teacher is sick, transport is bad, just arrived late, didn't have the right materials, tea was late, lunch was late, the weather looked like it could turn, their dog died, they didn't feel like teaching, they had to discipline students instead, the lab assistant wasn't there, there is a school program which interfered with one lesson so to keep the at the same place they will skip the other as well, they needed to short call, they haven't been paid (which is probably false), they don't want to work at the school they were assigned to, or they don't agree with how the timetable is arranged.

So my goal at this school will be addressing teacher attitudes, more specifically in the science department. I have already started by introducing demonstrations into my lessons occasionally, which hadn't been done for a while because “resources weren't enough” or “our lab assistant hasn't been at work.” Ultimately they didn't want to improvise and clean their own glassware. My students hadn't even seen litmus or other indicators and how they worked, ever. It will be a long process (most likely longer than this post), but it is where I think there can be the longest and largest impact. I care about the students (or at least try on the days they are good), but I can only inspire a small group over a short time, the teachers I work will will teach for many years and spread a little influence of mine over a much larger crowd.

Think about it as a Reganomics, a trickle down effect of inspiration rather than wealth.

Cooking with Kids

Cooking with Kids – Episode 1 – Bread

I love cooking with my neighbor, Julius. He is 4 and like the average 4 year old he is full of questions, talks all the time, and loves to get in your way and know what you are up to.

It all started a few weeks ago. When Tony and I were walking back from school we had a number of “angels” heckling us and simply being jerks. Arriving home I decided I wanted to cool off and de-stress by making bread.

As usual Julius was outside bugging my neighbors.

Back story: Tony and I live in staff housing. We share a wall with my principal’s house and have two other families each less than 20 meters away from our back door. Close proximity plus 200 chickens squawking. It’s pretty nice though because there are always people around and we feel safe. Plus as neighbors we take turns occupying Julius.

So I decided I would distract Julius and have him help me out. I grabbed all the ingredients and tools and traipsed outside to our back veranda. Julius ran to my side and we started measuring and mixing.

What I didn’t expect though was bread making with Julius quickly became a neighborhood show. Within 15 minutes, 8 of my neighbors surrounded Julius and I wanting to see and learn about bread. I passed around the Peace Corps Uganda Cookbook and they paged through that.

It was great because I was having Julius do all the measuring with the flour so if it wasn’t full the neighbors were chiming in to tell him how to do it. Flour went everywhere but it was a ton of fun!

It was an awesome way to get to know my neighbors too because now they want to make other stuff out of the cookbook and we talk food all the time. My passion for cooking is connecting me with my neighbors. Hurray! Also, when they try our foods they let us sample their foods. Delicious!

Cooking with Kids – Episode 2 – Chicken

So I haven’t written about it yet but I have slaughtered a chicken, actually two. This story is about the second chicken’s delicious demise and 3 children under the age of 6.

We have 4 year old Julius, 5 year old Peter, and 1.5 year old Baby.

I was bringing a chicken home from the convent, a gift from the nuns for no particular reason. I was hoping to slaughter, clean, and butcher it quickly so that we could boil the meat and then cook it with herbs. (This sounds strange but if you don’t boil the chicken it will be very, very tough.)

However, the moment I rounded the corner of our house the three kids ran over to me.

“Auntie, what is that?”

“Auntie, you are going to eat?”

“Auntie!”

“Auntie!”

“Aughtslhe” (Baby – she was also climbing around)

All this while I was trying to unlock the door with a chicken in my arms. The chickens’ legs were tied together so I was able to set it down on the back veranda.

“Auntie, you are going to slaughter”

“Yes, but I have to go inside and get the saucepans and water”

“Auntie you go!”

“Auntie you get water!”

“Ok I will. Thank you very much.”

“You close the door!”

So I went back inside, grabbed all the supplies, and started to head to a clearing just behind the chicken coop. But before I went the kids asked about the chicken. I told them to keep it there and I will come back for it in just a second.

But I could see the look in Peter’s eyes. The chicken started to hobble. But I said wait! I walked about 10 yards before I heard the squawking of a chicken, wings flapping, and the kids running. I turned around to see the Baby, Peter, and Julius running after me; Peter trying to control the chicken who was flapping away. It was the most hilarious thing. Imagine a 1 1/2 year old, a 5 year old with a chicken a quarter of his size going nuts in his arms, and 4 year old running towards me with huge grins on their faces. I will never forget it.

So I now had 3 assistants for this event. All while I was slaughtering they were talking, laughing, and giving advice. As I poured water over the chicken they instantly started plucking the feathers. I could hear their parents’ words as they gave me advice:

“Auntie, the water will hurt you”

“Auntie, give me that”

“Auntie, do this”

Quickly the work was done and while I was cleaning the inside of the bird similar comments came out but with more “eeewwww” sounds and laughter.

They stayed with me until everything was set and again my neighbors came around to see how the “musugut” (white-person) was doing with the chicken. So many were surprised that I was even doing this. But the most surprised neighbor couldn’t believe that I threw out the gizzard!

A delicious chicken and great memories.

Cooking with Kids – Episode 3 – Banana Cake

What I love about cooking with kids is the excitement and pride they get from helping you. I remember growing up cooking with my mom and grandma around the holidays and waffles with my dad. It was my job to tell dad when the waffle light went off. That meant the waffle was done. It was a very important job.

Since I have started cooking with my neighbor Julius I see the anticipation in his eyes. Whenever I grab the sigiri (local charcoal grill) he is asking me what we are going to make. Chapatti? Cake? Food? I feel bad when I don’t have time to cook with him!

So on Thursdays I don’t have class and have decided to make that my cooking day with Julius. I asked him on Tuesday if he would like to cook with me and talked it up for the next few days.

By the time I grabbed the ingredients and went outside Julius was excited to start but he was about to bath and I told him to listen to his mother.

“Auntie, I bath and we make cake”

“Yes, Julius”

The kid probably took the quickest bath of his life because in no time he was coming outside with one shoe on and pulling the shirt over his head.

I gave him the special jobs of mashing bananas and stirring the batter. Baby and Peter soon joined us but Baby had ulterior motives once she spotted the bananas. One of my neighbors was there to learn how to make cake so she helped me keep watch over the bananas and make sure Julius didn’t stir too hard and spill the batter.

Upon dividing the batter into two cake pans Julius made a huge mess and had a hard time following my instructions but no worries. Thank goodness it’s outside. The kids then became the taste testers by sampling the batter.

About 1 hour later I checked on the cake and Julius and Peter ran over. I told them the cake was ready and before I even looked up, Julius was running away saying “I’ll get my plate!” It was precious.

I handed Julius his portion of the cake and thanked him for all his help. He had a nice smug smile on his face. I asked him if he would cook cake again and he coolly said yes while the older kids and his mom tasted the cake.

Nature Identical and Artificial Vanilla Flavor – 2 Ugandan recipes to try at home

Chapatti – Ugandan Tortillas

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 Cups of Flour
1/2 Green Pepper, Diced
1/2 Red Onion, Diced
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Teaspoons of Salt
2 Eggs
Hot Water to Blend, About 1/2 Cup
Oil for the skillet

Instructions:
Dice veggies and garlic and put into a medium size mixing bowl. Add the eggs and salt and whisk. Add the flour and blend with your fingers. Add hot water slowly and blend to make a soft but not sticky dough. Add remaining flour if needed.

Knead dough for about 5 minutes and let it sit, covered, for 30 minutes in the mixing bowl. Pinch off sections of the dough that are about the size of golf balls. Let these rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out to small circles on a lightly floured surface (a beer bottle is my rolling pin).

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat, cast iron is best. Add the chapatti to the skillet right on top of the oil. Flip the chapatti right away to coat the dough in oil, add a little more if needed. Cook and flip until lightly brown on both sides.

Makes about 8 Chapatti. Great with guacamole, taco filling, as mini pizza crusts, or just by themselves. Tony and I often eat them while we make them because they are so good! You can also make them without the veggies and make a cinnamon sugar sort of elephant ear with them too.

******

Banana Cake with Sugar Syrup

Ingredients for the Cake:
1/2 Cup of Butter (or the Ugandan equivalent, Blueband)
2 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Milk
1 Tablespoon of Vinegar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract (Optional)
1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda (Known as Bicarbonate of Soda here)
2 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
2 Eggs

Ingredients for the Syrup:
1/2 Cup of Water
1/2 Cup of Sugar

Instructions:

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Mix in mashed bananas.

In a mug or glass mix the milk and vinegar together to make sour milk. This is important! The sour milk brings out the flavor of the bananas.

Alternate between adding the flour mixture and sour milk to the batter and mix until smooth. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 baking dish (or aluminum saucepan). Bake for about 40 minutes. The temperature to bake at is unknown, maybe try 325.

Or if you want you can try to make it on a charcoal grill. I have one big aluminum saucepan with sand in the bottom. I pour the batter into a small saucepan and put on a lid. It’s a type of homemade oven. I cook it until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make the syrup pour the water and sugar into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Pour this over the finished cake. Enjoy!

Oh my gosh - We are alive

Hey Everybody,

Yes, it has been too long since we have written for our blog. Unfortunately the rain season causes power to drop a lot and so we have gone days without power. Also we pay for our internet by the month and had to wait till our last payday to renew it.

So basically we are slackers. But we have also been doing lots of things with our village. In the next few weeks I hope to write out these stories and post them. For right now here are some highlights since swearing in on April 21st:

End of April Highlights
 Swimming in Mbale town (look it up!) – Swimming never felt so good! We can’t go swimming in any Uganda lakes or rivers because of Schisto (parasites).

May Hightlights
 Erik and Anjali visited our house in Bukedea
 We attempted to make Gnocchi pasta and accidently tripled the recipe
 We got mountain bikes in Soroti town (look it up!) and can now get around much faster and easier! Thank goodness our area is flat or mid-afternoon would stink!
 I slaughtered my first chicken and made Chicken in Butter Sauce – hmmmmm
 I got a Singer Sewing Machine – the one you pump with your feet! Crazy yes but at $85 for a sewing machine who could resist
 We visited Sipi Falls (look it up!) with Arwen and Brennan and had a blast. (My facebook profile picture is from Sipi Falls)
 We went to our first Ugandan wedding – It was a Tuesday – The ceremony was over 3 hours long with a rain storm threatening to blow the tents away, literally.
 We ordered a table and chairs and after 4 weeks of not getting anything Tony’s Supervisor, Sister Salome, gave the carpenter a smack down – Hilarious!
 Classes really started one week after school started
 I began a question box at school and have had great questions that I am happy to tackle (i.e. Is it true that in America when people reach a certain age you kill them?)
 I had a 7 hour staff meeting where we only talked about new information for 1.5 hours…
 We were locked in a hotel one morning for 3 hours…
 I made Banana Cake for the Sisters at the Convent
 Meeting up with almost everyone in our training group in Kampala was a blast.
 We received our care packages! Only 2.5 months after being sent (will change now that we have a PO Box in Mbale)
 My Laundry Speed is approximately 15-18 items per hour (shirts, pants, and skirts – no comp outs with socks and underwear!) – Sheets and towels still are hard to do!

June Highlights
 I made bread with our 4 year old neighbor Julius. We sort of take turns occupying Julius because he can be annoying and get in your way quickly. I mean he is 4, it is only natural.
 We found a cheeseburger place in Mbale that also sells cheese! Can you say Homemade Pizzas?
 Tony learned he is not an electrician
 I slaughtered my second chicken with 4 year old Julius, 5 year old Peter, and 1.5 year old Baby.
 We accidentally made brownies for the Sisters and gave them a big surprise.
 I play games and sports with girls at my school and they are always surprised
 After 6 weeks we finally got our kitchen table. Can you imagine not having a kitchen table for 6 weeks, its crazy.
 Sister Betty wanted to learn how to make Banana Cake so we made it together
 We watched the first England/US World Cup soccer game in Mbale with lots of other volunteers
 Uganda has great fabrics – Soon I will have a piranha fish dress. I feel like Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus.
 I held a penpal meeting with the girls at my school and it seems that all of them want US husbands…hmm more to come on this issue.
 I have successfully fought Giardia for the second time (look it up!)
 I have mastered Chapatti (a Ugandan style of Tortilla).

Tony Projects / Adventure with Ants
 Various hooks and nails have made our life easier
 Hour camping shower is set up and hot water showers are amazing!
 Old chairs have been re-worked into bookshelves (since the school carpenter doesn’t have wood – now does that make sense? “T.I.A. – This is Africa”)
 We have retractable mosquito nets
 An attic mouse can no longer eat our food thanks to Duct Tape and Wood
 We have curtains that completely cover our windows and move from the top down (this is a Stacey project)
 And we have a 120L water drum with a tap that is now elevated and useable!
 Ant lines are being destroyed
 Ants are no longer in our food because we have tuperware and a water system.

So overall we are healthy and happy in this country of ours. We do have bad/horribly frustrating days but the good outweigh the bad by far.

School is going well. We are figuring out teaching and how to be effective. Currently I have about 60 students per class and Tony has around 110 students per class. But the people we work with are great people that are wonderfully helpful.

Thank you for your love and support! More to come soon!
Stacey

PS – We do have more pictures to post but we are going to find a web-site to post them to for our family members without Facebook.