My Silver Lining: Labor Day, African Style.

Saturday was an adventure, to say the least. We had no idea when we headed off to Lugazi that we would be spending the day with the Chairman of the Buikwe District, Livingston Ssewa. Uganda is divided into districts, each of which includes many villages and are the equivalent of states in the U.S. The Chairman is the government representative of each district, and the equivalent of a congressman. When we arrived at TYOM on Saturday, Chairman Livingston came to meet us and invited us to join him for a visit to a remote village in his district where they were celebrating the National Labor Day holiday with a football tournament and gala. Although we had tons to do, we were honored by his invitation and felt like this was an amazing opportunity to see more of the community. We didn’t quite know where we were going, or how long it would take, but made it clear we needed to be back before dark, by 7 p.m. The hired driver pulled up in a Sedan, and Nicole, Robert (TYOM manager), Wilson and I squeezed into the back seat with the Chairman in front and headed down a dirt road for our next African adventure. We drove past mahogany trees, papyrus and sugar cane as the road became more and more bumpy. Some of the pot holes began to look more like ditches. Well, Nicole gets carsick. And so far she’d been a soldier, toughing it out in taxi after taxi. But this winding drive, being squished in the back while the windows fogged up from the rain, was the straw that broke my little partners back. She wasn’t talking so I knew she was ill, but she said she was ok. Well next thing I know she’s covering her face and heaving, and was about 2 seconds from throwing up on Wilson, our most trusted partner, in the back seat of the car with the Chairman. I felt SO BAD for her, but in my desire to not let the irony and humor of this situation be lost, I imagined how funny it would have been if she actually would have thrown up on him. After driving for about 2 hours, but only covering about 30 km, we finally arrived in the town of Ssi. It was well worth the trip, and Nicole’s puking incident. The town was beautiful and included a huge soccer field where we got to watch the most legit soccer game I’ve ever seen. I’m talking bicycle kicks and Africans in the mud. It was awesome. Hundreds of people had walked for miles to attend this celebration, an occasion that is rare, and it was so special to be a part of it.

At first people, especially the children, were shy, and content to just stare at us. But by the end of the day we had trails of kids literally climbing on us. We taught a little group of girls to play “Dush, Dush, Goose!” They couldn’t manage the “ck” sound for some reason. Music was played throughout the day, and every time it came on the kids would jump up and start dancing…Oh. My. Gosh. I know for a fact they don’t get MTV out there and these kids know how to MOVE. Video to come…At one point Nicole got up and started dancing with them and attracted the attention of the whole crowd. A man got on a microphone and said “thank you Madame for showing us your moves” It was pretty hilarious. By the end of the day we were dancing with the kids. Best day ever. And it’s only day 3 in Uganda.