So, as I am walking to work or town I usually pass the time by writing blogs in my head. I’ve written SO many that only a few make it down onto paper (or rather, onto my computer screen). But I’m determined to write them down now till I fall asleep. I will try and post one a day till I get them all out.
So, I wrote this one a while ago but never got it posted. I added onto the end:
Continuing with my descriptions of my work, let me tell you about the school.
Okay, so TECHNICALLY it is called the Orphanage. However, Sherry tells me that most of the kids go home for school holidays….????
Basically I walk to the orphanage, walk through the gate, and almost instantly, one of the kids spot me. That kid then disappears behind a building and then reappears with ten more kids. The first day I came, they were all very skeptical of this “mundu” girl who wanted to play and most just stared from afar. It didn’t take them too long for them to warm up to me though. Now, when I walk through the gate, one of the young girls (whose name is Sarah and she is eight and she reminds me a lot of my own sister, Sarah) will even run up and give me a hug. Now, this is very informal in their culture and the young girls are taught to be super respectful (never look a man in the eye, always kneel down to the ground when you talk to someone sitting in a chair, curtsy low when you shake a hand) so that first hug was a bit daring for her. It was the best feeling in the world. After the other girls realized that I loved the hug, they all wanted to give me one too, so I was soon surrounded by bear hugs. Again, best feeling in the world. EVER! After I greet them all, some of them will start yelling out for their favorite game. “Hot Potato,” “Chicken,” and “Bubble Gum” have been some of their favorites. They all stare at me with those big eyes till I decide on a game.
Hot Potato is the classic with everyone in a circle and one person in the middle with their eyes closed. The potato gets passed around until the person in the middle says “STOP!” Whoever has the potato is then the new middle person.
Chicken the new name for “Duck, Duck, Goose.” As I was explaining the game I realized that nobody knew what I was talking about with the ducks and the goose. So I changed it to “Goat, Goat, CHICKEN!” which are two of the most popular animals here seeing as they pretty much dominate the streets.
Bubble Gum is the game where you put your hands in a circle and say this rhyme while pointing to different hands:
Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish. How many pieces do you wish? *pick a number and count it out*
Whoever’s hand is being pointed at when the rhyme is over has to take that hand out. The winner is the last hand left. I taught them this game when I heard what their version is. “Cigarette” is played the same way but the rhyme goes like this:
“Cigarette, cigarette, how many does your father smoke in one day? *pick a number and count it out* Go away because you are not our friend.”
I decided bubble gum was more fun.
I need some ideas for some more games. I try to teach them at least one new one every week. They have big courtyard, so running games are good too. The problem is that not all of them are so great at English, so it has to be a fairly easy game to explain. Also, the group usually starts out with the same group of about ten young girls (about 6 to 10 years old) but then some of the boys and older girls will make their way over and soon there are about 30-40 kids. So something easy to explain with not a lot of rules and can be used with a lot of people.
Any ideas?
Anyways, the kids usually wear me out within one or two hours and I head back (for a cold shower to escape the heat). I started out shaking all their hands when I leave, but I have taught them “high fives” which they had never seen before. So after HI5ing them all I leave with a huge grin on my face. It really is the best thing, to play with those kids. I love them so much!
03/19/11
One day, I brought my camera to play. This is the result:
Everytime I would take a pic, they would all stampede toward me to see the picture.
The one on the left is Sarah and the one on the right is Wesahl. (Notice the Obama shirt on Sarah. I see at least two of these a day.)
This is Fatsna. She was eating peanut butter (I think) and was showing it to me.
I didn't find a picture with them in it but there are quite a few Guinea Fowl who are regular visitors to the courtyard. Along with the goats and chickens, the really liven up the place. Well, one day I walked in and the first thing I noticed was a HUGE turkey staring me down. Hadn’t seen that one before. It’s feathers were all ruffled as if it too was scared by this “mundu” girl.
Well on that same day, after noticing the turkey, the next thing I noticed was that the courtyard was unusually barren (besides the livestock). I went over and greeted the matrons and they told me that the kids were all inside the dining hall watching a movie.
HUH?
First of all, Winreco, (the Arua equivalent to Ozark Electric) hasn’t been in service for about a week or more. How were they watching a movie? Second, I didn’t know the orphanage owed a television.
So I went into the dining hall and found this:
Look VERY carefully and you will see the tiny TV that all those kids were transfixed by. Here’s another picture:
The movie wasn’t even in English or Lugbara (it was made in a different Uganda language), which means that none of the kids could understand what they were saying. Also, the generator that the TV was hooked up to was making so much noise, I couldn’t even hear the strange language they were speaking. The kids were just laughing and staring transfixed as the tiny people moved across the screen.
I watched for a while and then got a little too hot (all those bodies in a big room with no central air). I went outside to talk to one of the matrons (Gertrude). She was making a sweater as part of a school uniform for the secondary school here (why the school requires them to wear sweaters when they live on the equator baffles me). Then some of my friends started coming out of the dining hall. This was the result:
Gertrude making the school sweater
My friend, Wesahl, giving me a huge smile
Sarah, Christine, Mary, Winnie, and Wesahl
They ALL wanted to be in a picture and has shrieks of glee when I showed it to them.
At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said , “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.’ Matthew 18: 1-5
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