As of last week I live in Kawempe, Uganda. I work as a soccer coach and youth coordinator. That means lots of things. I teach kids soccer. I teach kids English. I teach my assistant coach English. I try to learn Luganda: Oliyotya Sebo! Nzay Christian. Ellinyalyo qwani? Webale nyo! Welaba!
There's no set learning time, and there is no designated teaching time. Most often someone will tell me when I should start teaching or learning. Many times I'm learning just by being here. Some of the most important things I've learned I had never thought about learning before: How to live without electricity (some of the time) or running water (all of the time). How to find my home. How to communicate non-verbally. How to speak English with a Ugandan accent (I want wha-tuh). How to stay (relatively) clean.
I'm even relearning old things, like soccer. More specifically, I'm learning to coach. I'm learning tactics, practice drills. I'm learning how to manage a bunch of teenagers with a whistle. Being a mzungu (white man) helps, because they are already interested in everything I do, every gesture, every word.
Of course most of what I do is bluff. Bluffing is necessary when experience is lacking. Do I know what I'm doing half the time? (No.) Does it matter, as long as people have confidence in me? (Again, no.) I teach and I coach as best I can, without much experience at either. So far it seems to be working. Gradually, I plan to replace some of that bluffing with experience, both as a teacher- of soccer/English/life- and as a student- of Uganda/Luganda/life.
I think this is how life works. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
