What made Saturday night so special was that we were ALL together; the 41 American teachers (and Amy and Catherine, our directors), our Ugandan teachers (more than 41 because some of us have more than one teaching partner), all of the Invisible Children staff, and additional friends of ours that we have made in Uganda. Even Justine and Rita, the Americans that run Café Larem were there. You all have them to thank for us all being able to be online as much as we are. They also supplied some of the most delicious desserts I have had in a long time.
Our party was at the Acholi Inn and it is like the 5 star resort of Gulu. It even has the only swimming pool in Gulu, which I have been saying there was no way I was going to go in because I was not sure how clean it was. For those of you that know me I am sure you can guess that it did not take me long to be jumping in, but I’ll get to that later.
As we walked into the yard of the Acholi Inn we saw tables and chairs spread out over the lawn area, and an empty stretch of grass towards the front which would eventually become the dance floor. Almost immediately I saw Okello Lawrence, my teaching partner (although I am not in class with him because he is the department head, but that is another story) Grace, who also teaches at my school and is Lisa’s teaching partner, and even Tonny, my student teacher partner. I was pumped when I saw Tonny because he had been sick and not been able to attend the conference all weekend, convenient right? I knew I liked this guy for a reason; he was “sick” for the weekend conference, but “managed” to get out of bed for the party. No, we all know that that is something I would do, but Tonny was legitimately sick and really did have to force himself to come to the party just to not let me down.
Not long after I saw them the WESTERN food came out, and the open bar opened. See, I told you it was an amazing night. The food was unbelievable and I loved watching the Ugandan teachers look terrified by not knowing what they were putting into their mouths. It was hilarious because they all laugh at me at school when I have to force myself to eat the posho and beans and pretend that I am enjoying it. It was now there turn to “guess” what they were eating. But, they all thought it was very good and they were shocked by how much I ate because they always see me eat at school and let’s just say that I fill up REAL QUICK at school. That is of course when I don’t sneak out of school and go to the Kope Café’ for a vegetable pizza or steak sandwich.
After dinner things really started to heat up. The DJ played plenty of Michael Jackson, which really brought both the American and Ugandan teachers to their feet. It is incredible how one man’s music can bring 2 groups of people from opposite sides of the world together so much. Every person there knew every word to every song of his that was played. You can say what you want about MJ, but he was an incredible entertainer and I would go as far as to say the most well-known, influential entertainer of all time.
Anyway, just when I thought that the music could not get any better, the unthinkable happened. They played a song called “Gulu Boy.” This is unbelievable because my roommate Michael’s teacher is a rapper and he gave Michael a DVD of a few of his videos and a video of his friend’s song called “Gulu Boy.” The two of us had been singing the song non-stop for the past few days and had NO CLUE that is was a song that would actually be played in public. The looks on the faces of everybody there was priceless as they watched Michael and I sign nearly every word of “Gulu Boy.” I don’t know if the American teachers or the Ugandan teachers were more surprised that we knew the song, but it was an incredible moment. I am not sure if you can find the song anywhere online, but I will bring a copy home and let everyone hear it or I will attach a link on the blog as soon as I can. For those of you wondering, YES, I now have to completely re-do my list of my 500 favorite songs of all time.
After jumping around like a complete idiot in the African heat I decided that it would be best to take a dip in the pool. I must have not been paying attention because I was so enthralled in the music, but many of my friends were already in the pool and looked to be having a blast. I bid farewell to Tonny (which is a story in itself, and I am absolutely NOT getting into it on this blog) because he needed to go home and I decided to swim it up. It was a blast and I taught some of the Bavubuka boys how to swim butterfly. I was shocked at how good they were, one was even better than me, which is not saying much because butterfly is by far my worst stroke. Anyway, when we got out of the pool, he said he would never forget me teaching him how to swim. I guess I really left my mark on the Bavubuka guys, even though I was kind of hoping the kid I gave my Kentucky Derby hat to would be back because I really miss that hat and kind of want it back. Hahaha. Just kidding, but I really did love that hat and looked really good in it.
Before or after going into the pool, I can’t remember the order of some of these things, might have been one of the best moments of my life. The music stopped and Amy came out with huge Ugandan sparklers that were like torches (of course mine only worked for about 3 seconds, but it was fun watching everyone else, actually it was not that fun and I tried to steal another one, but got caught.) She also had with her an American flag cake made by none other than Rose, from the wonderful family that took us into their house a few weeks ago. Anyway, as we all had the sparklers in our hands (working or not) I heard the greatest sound I have ever heard in my life. It was none other than the “Star Spangled Banner.” We all sang along at the top of our lungs, and I can say that if it was not THE greatest moment of my life, it is VERY close. Here we are, 50 Mzungus from all over the United States in the middle of Gulu, Uganda on the 4th of July signing the Star Spangled banner where just a few years ago people were being abducted, brutally attacked, and murdered.
Towards the end of the night (well, the night at Acholi Inn, certainly not the end of the night) the music stopped again and there was a speech by the biggest man I have seen so far in Uganda (and by big I mean large, heavy, and jolly, not tall.) He basically looked just like Idi Amin. He then proceeds to tell us that he was actually the president of Uganda for three days. I do not know the whole story, because I was not paying attention at that point, but I guess he is a huge deal, and very wealthy. He LOVED us and made us drink a toast with him (actually made us drink a few toasts with him.) He asked me where I am teaching and I told him Sir Samuel Baker. He said he lived just a little while from there and I must go fishing with him one day. I obviously accepted the offer, but I doubt I will ever see him again. Plus, he kind of scared me a little bit, so I think I am going to stay away from him. He was EXTREMELY nice, but if any of you have seen the “Last King of Scotland” you know exactly what I am referring to. And if any of you have not seen the Last King of Scotland, don’t watch it until I return home safely as it will only make you nervous.
After leaving the Acholi Inn many of us went to a party some guy named David’s house. Nobody really knows what he does, but it involves protecting Americans and involves being in control of a LOT of weapons. He says he is an “information specialist” and nobody has any clue as to what that means. We all just smile and nod. Anyway, most of us decided to go and check out his house. It was really nice and we all sat around a campfire in the back and listened to Mick and Lisa play the guitar and sign again. We were there for a very long time, and it felt just like a 4th of July party I would be at in the States.
As if that was not enough, some of us decided to go to the Havana Club. If I could redo the night I would have left this part out. We were THE ONLY Mzungus in the club and I don’t think I smiled one time. It really was a terrible end to one of the greatest nights ever. I took a Boda Boda home because I could not listen to the rap music any longer and finally got into bed around 4:30. Yes, it was very late, but when I awoke the next morning I found out that some of my roommates did not get back until 5, 5:30 and 6 o’clock. I was beaming like a proud dad when I found that out.
As always, this post has gone on for WAY too long, and I will stop here. It is now Wednesday, so hopefully I will update again tomorrow with what happened on Sun, Mon, Tue and today. Hope the summer is going great for everyone back home. Talk to you soon, and see you in a few weeks, - Ryan
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