Week 9 - Birthdays, Airlines, and the Beginning of Another Journey

Location: Kampala

This week we had not one, not two, but three birthdays...well four actually if you count Centurio --Man of the Century (who didn't tell us about his until it had already passed). The celebrations lasted days, beginning on Thursday and finally winding down on Saturday night. We started by gathered with all of our friends at a Thai restaurant to feast, reminisce and enjoy each others company. Our totally was 21 and included the nine of us, Professor Stewart, Dan and Centurio with their respective wives, Olivia, Paul and Martin from PCA, our three new break-dancing friends, and Brian. It was a warm and emotional gathering full of stories and memories. By brother Centurio's request, we were all encouraged to deliver a speech. Everyone had something to say, and the speeches were amazing and so full of love that the thought of the program's ending in a little over one week was overwhelming. The program had creeped to a start, but had surged to a finish before we could even realize it. Encouraged by the warmth of this country and its people I decided to prolong my adventure by staying on after the program.

Many had similar sentiments and had already began planning their summer activities in Uganda. However, it wasn't until we officially decided to change our return flight that we found out that our tickets were only good for a three month period including both outbound and return travel. Since I had left on March 20, to do some traveling around Europe, this arrangement meant that the latest I could return would be June 20, giving me only two additional weeks. To make matters worse, the cost to change the ticket skyrocketed from the expected $300 to over $1000, to account for the change in price of the new ticket, making purchasing a whole new return ticket a much better option. We were crushed. The week had been an emotional roller-coaster --peaking at the prospect the of staying and dropping at the thought of leaving. However, despite the heavy setback, all of us who wanted to stay on (7 out of 9) are staying thanks to the wonderful generosity of parents, fellowships, and grants. So although the study component of our trip is ending, a whole new journey enriched with our own interests and passions is just beginning.

Week 9: Happy Birthday in 3 Languages ... or 5

Location: Kampala, Uganda

This past week, I celebrated my birthday on May 29. I would have to say this birthday experience has been much more meaningful than any other birthday I have experienced in the past (except for my skating party back in 4th grade followed by some ice cream cake, that was COOL). There were multiple celebrations that week, as 3 of us aged one year in a span of one week.

The first meaningful experience came on Thursday. We had a dinner to celebrate Mary, Rachel, and my birthdays, where 21 people came to eat some Thai food. On top of the current students, Stewart, Dan and Centurio and their wives, there were Martin, Paul, the three b-boys, Olivia, and Brian. The dinner was great, but what touched me the most was what each of the other members had to say about their relationships with us students and how much it meant to them. It struck at that moment in time how amazing it was to meet such people, in such a short amount of time and build such meaningful relationships. I had met the b-boys only a week before, and Brian 10 days prior. Yet, we were able to click off similarities and talking about life that made it so much more.

The second significant experience came on my birthday. There was nothing planned; we had the dinner already so we didn’t need anything spectacular. Mark had originally invited us to go eat lunch with Congolese refugees hosted by his entrancing pastor Elijah and lovely wife. The whole crew went to the refugees expecting to only gather together for a lunch and some conversation, leaving in a short while. No one expected what was to come next. We heard some very real stories of how they became refugees and what they experience. They ran away from Congo to run away from war, brutality, rape, and just a horrible situation, but as one refugee pointed out, they still experience these problems in Uganda. They get treated poorly, and they don’t receive the same opportunities as citizens of this country. The stories were very telling, but what hit me the most was how even as they don’t know who I am, we celebrated my birthday together as if they had known me forever. Pastor Elijah graciously gave me a present of a hunter mounted with two spears to catch fish, representing the tribal Africa that once was. They even sang happy birthday to me in 3 different languages (English and another two that I assume was a local dialect of Congolese and Swahili, or maybe it was just Luganda) as though we had been family forever. I was rather speechless through the whole experience, dumbfounded at how they accepted us and told us their stories without hesitation and with meaning.

The last experience came with a movie night. We ordered some pizza, chicken with cabbage (enkoko ne embogo, yehh), ice cream, popcorn, and gather everybody together to watch Avatar and the Back-Up plan. In retrospect, the movie night was just like any other experience, gathering together as a group and watching some movies, but it hit me hard that we were going to separate in less than a week. Everyone is going back to their own lives and this truly beautiful experience in Uganda will all end in such a short while. I watched the Back-Up plan and started remembering all the good times we would go down to Wandegeya and pick up some movies on the way. I looked at the pizza and thought of the time that we ordered 4 large pizzas in a big group back in Week 2, and abhorred the fact at how immensely expensive it was, but provided a meaningful group experience that I will never forget. I looked at the chicken and cabbage and thought of the first day, where Tamon and I slept through the whole day, only to wake up at 1 in the morning to get the same chicken and cabbage, and some lovely Nile Specials to complement and take in the first experience of Uganda. And I look at the group and wonder when we will ever be able to get into a group like this again. I look at each person and wonder how different it will be to see each other back in school, and how different the relationships will develop.

Thank god 7 of the 9 of us chose to stay. The fun still hasn’t ended yet.