A Good Day

Today was a really good day. It is exam time at school here, and the kids take exams even on Saturday. I woke up this morning at 6:30 and helped with some chores around the house, ate breakfast, did laundry, “bathed” and then headed up to school.

On the stairs I met “P”, an S5 student who had just finished his morning exam. I really like P, he is hard working and a good kid. (I like his mom a lot too- we met her in the back of a cargo truck one night, she mom’ed it up for Bekah and I, super sweet lady. She introduced herself as “mama wa ‘p’”. ) Anyway, back to P- he was feeling a bit discouraged cause he had gotten the equivalent of a 98% on an exam, not a 100% and on his physics exam he told me he failed…. Only to him, 88% is failing. We had a good talk about motivation and his future aspirations.

I climbed up the stairs to the roof with two of my favorite boys and we played a couple games of master mind. We laughed a lot and I really enjoyed watching them reason out their moves, and watching them encourage one another. From there I headed to the Head Masters’ house to pick up something, and his fabulous wife fed me a yummy lunch. I know I have said it before, but I am so thankful for the head master here- he is so neat, and his wife is great, and his two kids are fun. His wife went with Bekah and I to the hospital when I was sick and totally momma bear-ed it up when I needed her to.

After lunch I met a group of students who informed me they were heading to Kashasha, a neighboring village, in the truck. As it is the end of the term many students are heading home. The school truck was taking the kids from Kashasha and neighboring areas home. So I hopped in with the kids. I am still pumped from the whole experience; I can’t even explain it properly. Riding along rural dirt roads in the back of a truck with a bunch of kids is a great opportunity to see them for who they really are. Away from the classroom environment you get to see such different things.

There was a festive spirit the entire time, with the kids singing, whistling, hollering, and joking around. We would stop along the way to drop off students and pick up various villagers who wanted a ride down the road. Before reaching Kashasha we stopped to drop off three students; the DOS came around to the back and told me that I should stay with them and the truck would pick me up on the way back. (he was concerned that the ride would get bumpy) I refused… nicely of course!! Dirt roads aren’t anything new to me, and I wasn’t going to miss this time with the kids for anything.

Again I have to apologize for my inability to paint an accurate picture of all the humorous things which occurred on this trip. I am going to do my best though!

Turning the corner, we literally scared the milk out of a cow. I didn’t know such a thing was possible. One of the boys hopped out of the back and chased the cow down the road for about half a mile cause the dumb thing was either so stupid, or so scared, that it would only run down the middle of the road.

The kids were super psyched to show me the impenetrable forest (google it!) we drove past it on the way to Kashasha. On my end, it was even neater that some of the kids were seeing it for the first time themselves.

The pygmies live in and around the impenetrable forest. The kids pointed out every pygmy we passed; some of the pygmies were more startled to see me than I was to see them. Few actually ran away…

We stopped in a village center to drop off two boys and for the first time the kids got to witness what I tell them about. Hordes of people gathered around the truck shouting, whispering, gasping “dreeba, mzungu” (look, mzungu). As usual most of the children were afraid of me. I remained in the truck so as not to cause any heart attacks… one of the boys was shocked that they were afraid of me. So he jumped out of the truck and said, “I will catch one for you, Aunt” hahahaha…. I had a hard time explaining to him that catching a terrified child and forcing them to greet me would not ease that child’s fear.

I taught the boys how to play “catch” with potatoes. It was surprisingly difficult to explain the game of catch, but eventually I got them to “kwata” the potato. I feel super cool cause my sad catching skills were good compared to these strong athletic boys. Hehe!

“You are good” said in awe when I told them that yes, I do know how to drive, and yes, if something happened to Edward, our driver, I could get us home. Most of them fear driving, although it is the goal and aspiration of quite a few to attend “driving school”.

Finally reaching Kashasha: the name of the village literally means “To Pain” – what a sad name! One of the kids told me it was named thus due to the painful history of famine in the region. We piled out of the truck and the DOS bought porridge for all of us. “Porridge” is a locally made drink, made from sorghum and honey and water. As usual, I was the center of attention (although at least in Kashasha they stared quietly). One of the all time highlights of the trip occurred outside of the porridge shop. A group of men were commenting about me, and one of my boys said, “Be careful, she speaks Rukiga”. [Now, let me interject with this: the kids are ever telling me that I don’t know any Rukiga, they are always teasing me (kindly!) and joking that I may never learn- so having one boy warn the locals, and having his warning echoed by a few other students is huge] The men of course doubted the kids, so one of the boys said, “go ahead, greet her” [again, this whole convo is occurring in Rukiga] The suddenly not so brave group of men kind of push forward a spokesperson, “Agandi, Nyabo” he says , “Nigye, Sebo. Origye?” I reply [the most basic and straightforward greeting in Rukiga there is].“Yamawe!” echoes around the center. “The Mzunug speaks Rukiga”.

“For me, I know…” one of the most annoying statements I hear on a daily basis. On this trip though it was good because the kids were really free with me. I was able to answer and challenge the things they “know” about the world, and life.

“Speak the truth and be shame the Devil!” yikes…. These challenges are hard for me! A village man hopped in the back with a beer. I was asked if I knew what it was (I did) and if I had ever tasted the Ugandan beer… I hesitated a moment too long (these kids are quick!) “Speak the truth Aunt, Be shame the devil!” gaaahhh! Drinking is not kosher in Ug if you are a Christian. Only pagans drink and smoke and go to clubs (no I am not kidding, pagans). Yes I have tasted UG beer. Sigh. You will be pleased to know that I be shamed the devil and spoke the truth.

Seeing the boys do “gentlemanly” things!!!!! BEST THING EVER!!! Bekah and I have been really fighting to challenge the mindset here of ‘men are on top, women are lessers’ and it has been challenging. One of the things we instituted was making the S1 boys carry the desks for the girls. Now, other boys are following suit. Anyway, back to the truck… typically I see women struggling to unload their luggage, bags of irishes, etc… BUT NOT THIS TRUCK RIDE! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would have doubted it was possible, but I am telling you the absolute truth: some of my boys not only loaded the girls’ cases, they also lifted them out of the truck bed. No joke. Just like you see in the old western movies, a cowboy helping a lady out of the wagon bed. AND they loaded and unloaded the various sacks of irishes and maize for the old women who hitched a ride. The women were shocked. They gave the boys ears of maize as thanks. They boys were then shocked. Hehehe!! [ps: I did not tell the boys to do this, they did it of their own accord]

I love challenging the expectations of these kids. And they appreciate it. Something as simple as hopping in the back of a truck and riding down the road with them can make such a huge difference. Upon returning to school I was able to spend time with some of the S4 boys. These boys have rarely interacted with me but they sought me out. I am so glad I a building relationships with these kids- they have been lied to, abused, and neglected for so long, that it will take a strong relationship with them before they trust me with their hurts. And I love seeing my kids make good decisions and do the right thing, I love catching them in the act! If I hadn’t gone today I would have missed so much.