Day 13: Goodbye to AAH

There were warnings about this morning's assembly, that it would be sad and the children would cry when I left. And although it was definitely a sad farewell that came sooner than I had wished, it was also a lot of fun. I really love this school and these children are delightful. I use that word in its purest form. I had a smile plastered across my face the entire time. It was too bad that Dad couldn't join me this morning at the school. He went with John and Marissa to Bulobi for a meeting with an important Bududa district official to discuss the future of AAH and the possibility of building a secondary school now that the primary school has been such a massive success. Land is highly valued here and they need about 20 acres to build a new school. They also discussed the possibility of taking over existing buildings, perhaps of a local primary school nearby. It was great that they were able to have this meeting before we left the area, but it meant "Doctor Dean" wasn't there to receive his Bon Voyage from the students. Arlington Junior School assemblies take place in the central courtyard every Monday and Friday mornings. They always begin with calisthenics, basically a parade of militaristic marching, stomping, turning about face, etc. Then three young boys run up the stairs from the courtyard to three flagpoles and as they sing the Ugandan anthem and a song called "We are Women and Men of Uganda," they raise the Ugandan, American, and school flags. Afterwards they sing a few songs together, have a reading of a Bible quote, and have a short quiz of each class (one question per subject answered by volunteers) delivered by P-7 students, before announcements. Announcements were made by the two teachers on duty for the week. Teacher Moses talked about the importance of punctuality and "the embarrassment of late-coming" while teacher Edith focused on reminding children to bathe twice a day, cut their hair, and mend their uniforms. "Small tears and missing buttons can be de difference between looking messy and looking what...? Smart!" I'm fascinated by the rhythms which which they speak. Even when they aren't in school, the majority of folks here in Bududa speak as if they are interactively lecturing, adding ellipses to ends of every sentence to encourage listeners to complete their sentences for/with them. Edith continued, using a sixth grader Justine as a perfect example, "See, look hea! Her bow is tied perfectly where...? Dat's right. In de back. You do not want yoah dresses tied on de side. You may be a designer of fashion, but not wit yoah uniform. Yoah uniforms are meant to look uniform because dey are exactly dat... Uniform. I don't want to see any moah side bows, okay? So, follow de rules and you will not get in trouble! Keep yoah prisons, what...? Empty! That's right. Keep yoah prison empty." The school choir came out with their drums and sang a goodbye song to me and Doctor Dean. It was so adorable and they sang directly to me, using our names. Head Mistress Sarah spoke eloquently and kindly about how important my parents have been to the school and how I have left an indelible impression on the students. She asked me to speak briefly, which I did, thanking them for welcoming me so generously. I asked them to make a quick video to say thank you to Principal Holly for all of her support and love. (All of the teachers and staff asked me several times to make sure I passed on their love and greetings to you, Holly! They were insistent that you come back. They love you dearly.) To end the assembly, we did a reprise performance of The Ugly Duckling for the school in the courtyard. After considering the best ways to stay connected to the school this year and help out, I decided to become a sponsor for one of the first grade students, Muwangusi George. His story is devastating. Both of his parents died last year in a terrible landslide and he and his siblings were split up between a few different homes. He and I will write letters back and forth four times a year and I will pay his school fees for him - $360/year. I've included a photo of us together below. After the assembly, I went back to the Guest House and packed all of my things up. Dad and I left in a car headed for Kampala and had a really great time talking about the past 10 days. The drive took forever - we were stopped at one point for 45 minutes in a traffic jam outside Kampala - and after a nice indian dinner and my first hot shower in almost two weeks we hit the hay. We drive tomorrow morning to Murchison Falls Park, where we will be doing an early morning game safari Wednesday morning! Ugandan Factoids: - Watching the women balancing 80 pound bags of yams on their heads, or big bundles of firewood, as they scale the sides of hilly terrain just off the road reminds me that everywhere you go in this country you'll see strong women working their tails off! Where are he men? Often drinking homemade millet brew with their buddies out of long straws. - In Uganda they drive on the left, like the UK. - In Uganda, they notate the day/month/year, like the UK. - African time is no joke. Everything takes way longer than you'd expect!!