Gryffindor!

I am really lucky to be in Peace Corps Uganda! One perk to serving in my country is that we get to bid on our site. This means that, 1) we get a say in what our job will be, and 2) we get a say in where we live and what school we will teach in.

Basically, there are two jobs available in the education sector in Uganda. There are PTC teachers and literacy specialists. The PTC teachers teach content and typically have regular classes teaching math, science, or computers. They also train teachers in how to teach literacy across subjects and work with 17 and 18 year old students who are training to become teachers.

Literacy specialists work in elementary schools and focus on doing reading intervention with fourth grade students. They also train current teachers on how to teach literacy. I asked to be a literacy specialist.

I also got to list my top 3 choices for schools and my bottom 3 choices for schools in which to be placed after reading descriptions about each one. The descriptions included what the general living conditions are like (water sources, how far from town they were, etc.), what region of the country they are in, and specifics about the job at that school. PC reviews your requests, interviews you, and looks at your resume when deciding where to place you.

At the end of the day on Friday, PC said they were going to announce what our sites were "Harry Potter style." I literally squealed with delight at this announcement and exclaimed, "The sorting hat!" It. Was. Awesome. We were called up to the front of the room one at a time and sat on a chair. A hat was placed on our head, there was dramatic music in the background (okay, it was from The Lion King), and the hat told me what language group I belong to and what school I was assigned to (okay, okay, it was a person, but still!). I was assigned to learn one of about 50 languages spoken in Uganda called Lusogo. My assigned school was my first choice, so basically, I’m in the Gryffindor house! I’ll be living and teaching in the eastern region of the country. I’ll be paired up with a nearby PTC teacher and be able to collaborate with at least 2 other volunteers. I’m so excited!

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