Day 9: More Plays

Today Dad, John, Marissa and the Sims went to Bupoto to check on a health clinic and one of the outreach schools over there. They are staying the night and returning tomorrow evening. I asked if I could stay in Bumwalukani so I could work more with the kids - and we threw together four more plays! The fifth graders did The Ugly Duckling and The Three Billy Goats Gruff; the sixth graders did How the Zebras Got Their Stripes and a funny little story called The King, The Mice, & The Cheese. I found each of the stories in the library and adapted them in the morning. Before their 30 minute rehearsals, I sat each group down while I read them the story, then we did a little improv based on the animal movement needed for each story. They all really wanted to be elephants and were hysterical - they were far less successful as goats. It was a lot of fun and I got to really test my cat-herding skills. All the kids worked together very well and really seemed to enjoy themselves. As all of the classes were sitting down for our big presentations and the teachers were moving their chairs into the shade before we started, the mentally handicapped daughter of the janitor walked into the middle of the outdoor area that was our "stage" and embraced the tree in the center. One of the students went up to her and yelled at her to move, so the girl promptly hit him in the arm. The courtyard erupted in laughter. Another student came up behind the girl and tried to pry her from the tree so she hit him too, and the onlookers laughed and pointed. I took it as a teaching opportunity. "We are about to perform a play about people who look differently and sound differently than we do. It's about people who laugh and belittle others for being unique. It's about finding our family and being accepted by others. Right now you are not being kind to this girl - and she deserves your kindness. Would you like to be laughed at?" It was a really amazing moment and I couldn't believe the timing of it all. Once the janitor came to take his daughter's hand, we got started. The kids were far more focused than I expected them to be and there were some stand out performances. The boy playing the Greedy Baboon was fantastic and the boy who played The King was extremely committed. We had a blast and it all went so smoothly. After we finished all four, the Head Mistress Sarah wanted command performances right away of Zebra/Stripes and King/Mice/Cheese and another teacher suggested we vote for the best actor of the day. They are certainly competitive. Four whitegirl doctoral students from Penn State arrived yesterday to volunteer at a health clinic near the school for a month and are staying in the Guesthouse, so I wasn't alone. This evening we spent some time together and I taught them how to play Shanghai Rummy. (I smoked them.) Uganda factoids: - When greeting strangers on the street, which everyone does, people say "Mulembe!" or "Mulembe, Papa!" if you're speaking to a distinguished man, a la "sir." - When shaking hands to greet, women kneel all the way to the floor to show respect to men - and some elder women. - Folks here have no last names! They are given two names, an African name and a Christian or Muslim name, i.e. Mushika Seth or Nabutiti Jemimah or Wakooko Roger or Watsemwah Sarah. - The name Justin does not exist here, but there are several Justines, so a couple have laughed when hearing my name - "You have a girl's name!" And I'm like, "Your name is WAKOOKO."