The Universal Game

We have made some strides this past week in partnering with additional primary schools, and in the upcoming week we will begin work with four new schools. This is a step in the right direction for SWB programming in Ndejje as it increases our exposure to a wider array of students and allows us to be seen as an entity separate from HOPE primary school. The headmasters and mistresses of all of the other schools were very receptive to our desire to work with their kids, which was very encouraging. So, starting this week we should be very busy in the afternoons and will have a ton of new kids to meet and names to remember!

One of the things I enjoy most here is watching the girls play soccer. Many of them are very good athletes, and I feel as though they have so much pent up energy which they release joyfully in a competitive atmosphere. When we have Saturday trainings, we are able to outfit the girls in appropriate attire for which to play sports in. However, when we work at HOPE's sports day on Thursday afternoons, the girls are in their school uniforms. That doesn't phase them though, they simply kick off their shoes, hike up their skirts, and play with abandon, never mind that they get dirty and sweaty. I love it! Watching them play provides a window into the few moments in which these young girls can break free of the mold which society has created for them and the expectations, limitations, and rules which accompany it. And for this solitary hour each Thursday, they get to run around and shout and compete and celebrate and just be themselves. To me, that is the true beauty of soccer. The emotions that these girls experience in Ndejje, Uganda are the same emotions that I enjoyed watching my high school girls in Champaign, IL experience. It's the universal game.

There are so many adorable kids here, and so many of them are hungry for attention, probably because they are starved of it from elder family members at home. The kids love to draw pictures for us, or write us letters, and our wall at home is slowly being covered by their artwork. The best drawing (and by best, I really mean weirdest) is of a space martian. Picture a skeleton with butterfly wings, eight eyes, and horns and that should give you a pretty accurate idea of what this martian looks like. Anyways, the kids are so great, and each one has a very unique personality which is quite endearing. On Tuesday afternoons, some of the kids from HOPE have started a tradition of stopping by our house on their way home from school. They are full of energy after sitting through lessons all day, and so it is a whirlwind of activity as they explore every inch of mine and Heather's room, climb our neighbor's mango tree, or take turns shoving each other in the hammock. Tuesday afternoons are crazy!

Although Ndejje is our home base, SWB also has a presence in a town called Nsambya, just outside of Kampala. The program there is managed by three Congolese refugees and an Ugandan coach, all of whom are passionate about soccer and helping kids. The coaches are all in their early twenties and are fun guys to hang out with, so we often meet up with them whenever we head into the city. Last Friday though, we invited them out to Ndejje for a friendly 5v5 match and then dinner at our house afterwards. Prior to the match, our team (the Ndejje squad) was planning some celebratory moves for after we scored. I taught everyone the stanky leg (a ridiculous dance move, look it up on youtube) and we agreed to all do it after we scored our first goal. The game starts and about fifty kids from one of the nearby schools have lined the hillside to watch the mzungu-African showdown. We score the first goal and immediately I whip out the stanky leg. Well, much to the amusement of all the kids in attendance, I am the only person dancing. The hillside errupted in laughter at the sight of this ridiculous white girl doing this silly dance. My teammates all claim that they simply "forgot" that we had pre-arranged that celebration, but I still harbor doubts about that excuse...

The game was a lot of fun, all in all, although that was the last time I tried to initiate any extravagant celebrations. We all headed to our house afterwards for matooke, rice, and beans, and more dancing of course! The Congolese love to dance, so they taught us some moves. Adam wins the award of most awkward dancer with his performance of the "broken leg" dance (video footage of that particular dance to come). I thought it was only fair that they should get to experience some quality American dance moves as well, so I taught them...the Soulja Boy! They loved it and it was hilarious! I kept wishing that some of my Illinois soccer teammates who are much better dancers than myself had been there to show them. Good thing I paid close attention to our pre-game dancing in the locker room, that attributed to what was hopefully a decent rendition of the Soulja Boy performance.

So, I now find myself in October, almost two full months down and only two months and 14 days until I am headed home for Christmas! The days are long, but the weeks seem to fly by. I am learning a lot about myself, the world, and everything in between. The long days provide me with plenty of time to read good books and reflect on a lot of things. I am often homesick, but I make a conscious effort to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the time I have here. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to live and work in Ndejje, and definitely still believe that I am here for a reason. So, although I often feel outside of my comfort zone, I recognize that it is a part of growth and have to force myself to acknowledge it as such. That's it for now, hope all is well back in the states, I miss everyone and think of my family and friends often!